traceroute to bitcointalk.org (52.55.72.170), 64 hops max
  1   66.188.102.69  1.758ms  1.716ms  1.380ms
  2   10.138.25.1  8.794ms  8.299ms  7.270ms
  3   96.34.25.58  12.156ms  8.114ms  7.533ms
  4   96.34.30.244  10.548ms  10.108ms  13.480ms
  5   96.34.24.224  13.214ms  15.172ms  14.724ms
  6   96.34.2.153  23.590ms  19.557ms  20.528ms
  7   96.34.0.7  15.829ms  15.614ms  15.818ms
  8   96.34.0.9  50.145ms  38.974ms  39.729ms
  9   96.34.3.9  37.280ms  36.257ms  36.088ms
 10   96.34.152.11  35.331ms  42.634ms  38.625ms
 11   52.95.62.102  39.281ms  52.95.62.38  47.694ms  52.95.62.70  44.945ms
 12   52.95.62.63  30.711ms  52.95.62.111  43.375ms  52.95.62.31  36.705ms
 13   52.95.62.149  55.252ms  54.239.43.209  57.966ms  54.239.43.211  53.927ms
 14   52.95.63.155  53.908ms  54.239.42.66  55.924ms  54.239.43.30  55.082ms
 15   54.239.42.69  60.934ms  61.226ms  *
 16   54.239.110.171  89.224ms  54.239.110.129  66.549ms  54.239.110.165  80.067ms
 17   54.239.108.161  57.394ms  54.239.108.195  59.060ms  54.239.111.53  54.663ms
 18   205.251.244.210  51.549ms  205.251.244.216  56.412ms  205.251.244.214  58.403ms
 19   *  *  *

That makes me wonder about the profitability of mining? So if I mine one coin with a value of $1600, I would owe about 1/3 as income. Leaving me with about $1066. That is without factoring in mining costs. Of course I could hold until the price is higher, but I may have to give up 10% of that growth in cap gains.  Brutal. 

There is a near certainty that this bubble will pop and correct. When it does duck will be back to say "I told you so".  Then the cycle starts over again.

I can understand that, but why give up money when you don't have to? Why not just spend the bitcoin? It is cash after all. I spend then buy more and it has allows me to live life with a discount.

My guess... It's a good idea and good ideas are worth a lot when discovered.

I think you are correct in theory. However we have a very corrupt system compared to say Europe. If market forces were at work in the market now we would have $10/month 100GB service. We would pay $5/month for cable and our cell service would be $20, like in most of the rest of the world. But in America decades of influence and money have created an idiosyncratic and expensive system that is the laughing stock of my friends abroad. The same thing can be seen in pharmaceuticals. We pay twice what the rest of the world pays.  

And I'm supposed to believe what ISPs and Cable providers say? After literally 30+ years of bullshit, consolidation, and underhanded dealing?  America, you are about to get fooled a second time. That is a shame on you not them. If we go along with it, we don't deserve freedom.

Not to my knowledge.

I think that's right. Unless you are audited or target for something else or turn more than $10k into fiat it is simply not cost effective to pursue you.

Corporations do get away with evasion as do the wealthy, it's terrible. Terrible because no one is doing anything about it. But since it's the law our outrage means absolutely zero in court. I don't "want" bitcoin users to pay taxes but they should know that the law applies to them, fair or not. Since I know the rules I'm not afraid of the IRS.

It could also ruin your life by making you rich without a plan. 

My neighbor is a financial advisor who warned me about the bitcoin ponzi scam when I introduced him to it. I watched him go through all the stages of BTC from "You can't just create money, it's not allowed", to "well now it costs to much, better to buy alts like  stupid-coin, it's not so expensive." The final stage is "Please help me get bitcoins, I'm desperate!" He actually has asked me about doing a presentation at his business because they have had a few questions from clients.
You know what pushed him over the edge? His wife. I gave her some coin to play with on her phone and within weeks they were glued to watching the price. It is easy to understand that they have more money.
 

I really like the idea of incorporating bitcoin into games. The only RPG I have seen like this is http://www.dragons.tl/ . However it is more of a 3D casino.

Since different games have their own followers there may be broader interest in a software tool that works with multiple games. For example there are programs that fetch score data from the game and track wins, kills, etc. What if that were monetized? Players in a death-match could put up some bitcoin. If they are killed then their assailant gets the coin. After the match the accounts are settled.

You guys are a lot more optimistic than I am. I believe a loss of neutrality would produce a fundamentally different internet. I think within a few years the price of service would skyrocket as people pay to add facebook or youtube to their plan. There could be basic internet service but then an endless set of options to pay for specific websites or open certain ports. It really would be up to your ISP to decide what you are allowed to do.
Most people I talk to (outside of the tech industry) simply do not understand what it means to move from an open and free internet to a metered and centrally controlled "view-net". I thought bitcoiners would understand better. Without net neutrality there would never have been a bitcoin, and it is utterly illogical to think that ISPs are going to leave a billion dollars on the table because they have our best interests in mind.

Good questions.
1. Why not? If I were an ISP I would be foolish to just let you use facebook without charging you a FB fee. I would confuse you with BS about speeds and Megabytes then bend you over and take every penny I can. No system will stand for long with money just sitting there to be taken. I heard all these arguments before when cable TV was new. It will make TV cheaper and better, you will never again watch a TV commercial because you will pay up-front. How'd that work out?

2. Yes. There will be some special ISPs that will not restrict your use. However you will pay a high price for them. And if they want they can change their mind and screw you anyway. Your internet use will be a choice made by others, not you.



Unless your ISP says "Na, we are not going to allow it. We are going to track every keystroke and you are just going to STFU."

I'm not risking it. I am out in that scenario.

The courts are full of people who believed that they are somehow exempt from taxes. In the U.S. there is no such thing. As Burt mentioned above you owe taxes no matter how you got the money. It may have been a big gift, you may have found a gold ring on the beach, or maybe you mined a gold nugget. It does not matter, you owe tax on it.  

What is sad is how many bitcoin users have deluded themselves into thinking they can't be caught. They are going to profit big from the best economic opportunity they have, then loose it all to the IRS and wind up in jail because they wanted to evade taxes. Why do that when all you have to pay is capitol gains on your profits?
I know for a fact that the tools to find bitcoin users have been under development for a while now. Every Tx you have ever done is on the blockchain and a few years from now the IRS is going to come for the money you owe. And they don't accept excuses.  

For me it is a huge thing simply because it introduces the ability for an ISP to control access to bitcoin. As mentioned above, your Netflix account may be a bigger loser. There will be endless fees to view content, have streaming speeds, whatever your ISP dreams up.  

And why would they let you use bitcoin for free? Your ISP could decide that you owe a fee for using their network for your bitcoin use. Right now no one really owns the internet, but this would put ISPs in the driver seat and allow them to meter, monitor, and restrict your use of all the internet. I can't envision a world where an ISP could do this, then not do it. That would be leaving money on the table, -an illogical act.

It's a deal breaker for me.

You are not going to like this answer. 

I think you will need to first register as a MSB: https://www.fincen.gov/money-services-business-msb-registration

To transfer funds you will likely need to get a "Money transmitter" license in each state you will operate. I have read that in some states it could be as high as $25 million dollars.

A selection of AML forms and rules can be found here: http://www.finra.org/industry/aml

This page does a reasonable job of explaining the KYC requirements: http://www.exim.gov/policies/due-diligence-standards

Compared to what? Bitcoin is the fastest payment network there is. 

There are endless threads here about how some evil entity will crush bitcoin and I have learned to ignore them on grounds of their lack of merit. No one ever presents a logical method to accomplish this, even a logical reason is often absent.  However that may be about to change and I now have to consider selling off my bitcoin holdings before a collapse in price.

The issue is net Neutrality. Without it your bitcoin use may be limited to whatever your ISP decides for you. They may cut it off or make it a TOS offense.  They may demand a fee for you to use it, really anything is possible. But make no mistake, your bitcoins will not be under your exclusive control anymore. For this reason I will be considering a 50% divestment and a possible total dumping of bitcoin. I will keep enough for the geo-cache contest, but that may be it.

Thanks guys, it has been a good project and can continue elsewhere in the world from here!


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/technology/trumps-fcc-quickly-targets-net-neutrality-rules.html?_r=0

Ok. I have tickets and I'll be in Africa for the new year to start the next geo-cache game. I will start a new thread in the games section when that time comes.
Now I just need to find someone to rent me proper wheels for bitcoin.

Some good advice in the comments above. You can have as many wallets as you like and debitcate them to different uses. For example, you might want to use a less secure wallet on your phone as a convenience. I would only keep a small balance on a phone. Perhaps no more than the value of the phone. A well secured desktop (Linux) might be ok for a larger balance used to buy more valuable items. For a large balance saved as an investment I would strongly recommend something like a paper wallet stored in a bank safe deposit box, another copy buried 3ft. down in your yard and a final copy at your Aunts house in Vermont.

Thank you for the reminder. It is easy to become frustrated teaching something you already know. But there was a time, not long ago, when no one understood bitcoin and we all figured it out together by sharing what we know.

You don't want to be this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfKL6RM8hsY