I am starting a syndicate for the May 4th BitLotto draw, open to anyone who wants to join.

To join, send ANY amount (>=0.01) to:
1BYjghnHNjcvLsdSadJyTaiy6UaPtK1Hz6
(As with direct BitLotto entries, you must use your own wallet, NOT a web-based wallet like mybitcoin.com)

Pros and cons of joining a syndicate vs playing BitLotto directly:

Direct BitLotto play:

Pros

• If you win, you win the whole jackpot
• Greater transparency

Cons

• Must play in multiples of 1 BTC (Cannot play with 0.99 btc or less, and multiple entries requires multiple transactions)
• Smaller chance of winning

Syndicate:

Pros

• Greater chance of winning something
• More flexible payment option (Deposit any amount >= 0.01, in just one transaction if you wish)

Cons

• Need to trust a 3rd-party (me)
• Need to share winnings with other syndicate members

As the manager of this syndicate, I agree:

• To use all funds collected by May 1st* to purchase tickets in the May 4th BitLotto draw.
• To pay any winnings to syndicate members in direct proportion to their syndicate deposits within 48 hours of receiving the winnings.

*I'm suggesting a 3-day buffer to make sure all entries are in before the draw.

Disclaimers:

• I am not the owner of BitLotto or affiliated with BitLotto in any way. By joining this syndicate you are putting your trust in a 3rd-party.
• I am not making any profit out of this, just doing it because noone else has yet as far as I can tell, and I passionately want the Bitcoin community to explore any and every possible use of the currency that we can think of!

I'm not sure if this plan is something I'd be interested in (still thinking about it), but just want to mention that I purchased quite a large sum of coins (4-figure) from gusti which I paid for via WU... I sent first and gusti did send me the coins.

Gusti, if you're paying back capital in USD and interest in BTC, interest is 42% p.a. and BTC is (perhaps) growing in value, is that not like paying MORE than 42% p.a. interest on a standard USD loan?

Would you want investors that only want USD in and USD out? (Not me, I'm just throwing the idea around ).

Sorry, which country? I must have missed the part where you said which country you're from.

Thanks Gavin, that's both interesting and surprising.

I wonder what kind of handsets those 65% of Africans have at the moment?

I'm sure the smartphones will trickle through eventually as you suggest.

I guess that is ultimately where our disagreement arises from then, and I have nothing further to add.

Here's an example, let's say:

A owns $100
B owns $1
C owns $1
D owns $1
E owns $1
F owns $1
G owns $1


So A is 100 times richer than everyone else through hard work or sheer luck, whatever... for argument's sake let's say that's his rightful position in society.

Now G decides to distribute some new money equally and gives $1000 to everyone.

A now owns $1100
B now owns $1001
C now owns $1001
D now owns $1001
E now owns $1001
F now owns $1001
G now owns $1001

How is that 'fair' to all but obliterate A's purchasing power and position in society that he worked so hard to achieve?

Most definitely, yes.

When in your example Ben B distributed equally, he stole a little bit of Alice's and Bob's purchasing power (their money), to keep for himself.

If he had distributed unequally in a proportional manner, he wouldn't have taken anything from anyone.

One scenario where I could see people paying a premium when using btc, is where the buyer doesn't really feel like it's 'real' money... Like how casinos issue chips, or theme parks issue their own 'fun' notes, so that people are more likely to splash it around and overpay for stuff.

Ah, I messed that up, sorry.

Definitely nothing fair about equal distribution though.

If that really were the case, then I absolutely can't see any reason to increase the money supply.

Let's say the entire population consists of:

Alice who has $10
Bob who has $10
Ben B. who has $5

Ben decides to double the money supply, distributing equally as you have suggested.

Alice now has $20
Bob now has $20
Ben B. now has $10

They all have exactly the same purchasing power as before, so the whole exercise was pointless.

The only reason I can see for Ben B. to increase the money supply is to increase his (or his friends') percentage of the total purchasing power (Which is basically a tax on Alice and Bob).

Why else would he do it?

Then if a poor person has debt to a rich person for example, that 'initially' might only be 4.2 nanoseconds, before the wealth is redistributed.

Also, the only way 'inflation' could be equally distributed, would be if everyone had exactly the same amount of cash at the time of minting new money. Because if I have $10,000 in cash, and you have $6000 in cash and a $4000 widget, then when new money gets minted it affects me more than it affects you, even if we both get the same $ amount from the government.

Don't you need computer/internet access to make use of Bitcoin? I'd say that rules out a lot of people, especially in third-world countries.

Sorry I'm late to the conversation, but you're also missing customer mandate. Eg. If the people walking up to your bar only have bitcoins, then you'd better start accepting bitcoins.

And once bitcoins are the norm and paying in anything else is a rare and random event, of course you'd charge more when they pay the old-fashioned way.

Edit: Sorry, you said *only* bitcoins. My mistake.

At least 130 years anyway... hmm maybe not.

And I'd say a significant portion of them don't even realise it... They've paid $4.95 for a trial and are now unwittingly paying $39 per month for a site they never visit anymore.

So even if 20,999,999 become lost, the last 1 BTC will still be enough to run the whole economy.

(And then I'll be rich, because I just happen to find some of my lost coins).

Hence it won't eliminate poverty, because no matter how many statecoins you get each month, the baker still won't want to sell you any bread.

Wow, those are some fat pipes connected to Keefe and you nanotube...

No rush. I do enjoy a good social experiment now and then.

If only mndrix would decline the opportunity to steal my money