Heh, sure, I'll bite: 1BxUs1hjWzYLEYdECbrRTJJtcTmwBzNtFN

I always figured Ripple was a centralized scam anyway so I didn't think it was that big of a deal to lose some. My bad for not doing things the "right" way but at least I did my part to ensure no one else got scammed after that.

Sorry your account got hacked. If that happened to me, I'd just create a new account and start over.

Either way, your account is tainted because it was hacked in the past and for all we know could be hacked again in the future.

Based on your arguments, do Gold/Silver coins only have value as money if I own a smelter in my backyard (to create jewelry) or if I have a computer parts factory which needs the metal? Would you agree these coins have value (according to your argument) because other people see them as having value (presumably those with a smelter / factory)?

If that stretch can be made, then it doesn't take long to see why bitcoins have value: trust.

With a tally stick, a bar of gold (tungstun?), a shell, a stone with a whole in it, the paper in my wallet, etc... the challenge is trust. How can I trust you gave me the real thing this community agrees upon as a store of value? What if you gave me a bogus tally stick (I'd have to check with the king)? What if you gave me a different (more common) shell which isn't used on this island as money at all? What if the government is debasing the paper you just gave me so hyperinflation is around the corner (with no option of recovery... see Argentina)?

Via cryptography and the ability to prove (via the Bitcoin network) ownership and authenticity, bitcoins solve the issue of trust. That, to me, is a really big deal. Not only an amazing and useful form of money, but a way to take control away from central banking controls and give it back to individuals.

If governments and financial institutions were trust worthy, the value of Bitcoin wouldn't be so obvious. As it is today, those paying attention understand how corrupt the current systems are.

Is Bitcoin the best there ever will be? Probably not, but I do think it's a huge step in the right direction.

I put together a thirty minute presentation with my answer.

Short version: looking at central banking and the manipulation of money throughout history leads me to believe a value store and form of exchange which can't be controlled or corrupted will encourage the spread of freedom and liberty.

To the extent Bitcoin can be improved in the years to come to remain decentralized and free from manipulation, it will be beneficial.

I've thought about this also... I think the price of mining could be an anchor to the price of bitcoin.

Why would someone pay $10,000 or $20,000 for a single bitcoin if they can buy a mining rig for, say, $15,000 which will get them a bitcoin in, say 6 days. If a single bitcoin will really be worth $100,000 or so as some have claimed, wouldn't it be logical to think a mining rig for producing a bitcoin would have to be about the same price? And if that's true, how high would the difficulty be? How much power consumption are we talking about?

Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks all. I guess I was hoping for a more specific feedback.

For email, a simple paragraph explaining what it is and why they should support it.

For in person, a quick summary of the technology and its benefits.

I guess I'll put together my best effort, but I think others who have more experience with this could do a much better job than myself. If we all had this at our disposal and we shared that information regularly at the stores we frequent, that could really move the needle.

Last week I got the email address of the owner of my favorite Sushi restaurant near my house. I try to have as many meetings there as possible because the food is fantastic, and I like supporting local businesses.

What's the best way to educate him on Bitcoin (he had never heard of it) and get him accepting it as payment?

I've read similar threads on this topic:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=274931.0 (project development)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=288225.0 (economics)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=204140.0 (project development)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=214551.0 (marketplace)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=220636.0 (politics & society)

(note to moderators: I'm putting this in general as previous discussions have been all over the place as far as the category goes).

With last week's Senate hearings, I think this topic is worth bringing up again. If we had a super simple way to get someone educated and on board, it could rapidly change things. I'd personally feel more comfortable moving more of my savings to Bitcoin if I knew most of the stores I interact with on a monthly basis would accept it.

The story of the newly married couple living off Bitcoin for 100 days is inspiring. They could close the deal in 5 minutes. How can we all learn to do that?

One of the threads mentioned above points to http://www.takemybitcoins.com/ which is a good start. This video from Bitpay is nice as well and it doesn't hurt they used actors who are... easy on the eyes. https://www.youtube.com/embed/YZ-pqo0cLcE?autoplay=1&rel=0 I also like how http://www.weusecoins.com/en/ explains things.

Do you have any additional tools? What should I email the owner of this restaurant?

Ideally, I'd like a simple paragraph or two with links to more information.

I should also make it clear that I'm talking about brick and mortar stores doing in-person sales. My company (FoxyCart) is already helping with online stores via Bitpay.

Thanks for your feedback.

I put together a video recently you might find useful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJljgM6TSu8&feature=youtu.be

We're coming up on almost 4,000 views since it was uploaded on November 9th.

Not sure how qualified I am to be pedagogic since I had to look that word up.

I woke up to find this got shared on Hacker News. Should be interesting: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6715744

Hey all. I recently gave a talk about Bitcoin at BarCamp Nashville. It was well received so I created a video of the slides and put it up on YouTube. It got 1,900 views in less than two days! We published it to our blog today as well. I thought you'd enjoy it:

http://www.foxycart.com/blog/could-bitcoin-be-more-disruptive-than-the-internet

We also got a write up in Southern Alpha which is a local online startup/tech magazine along with a podcast interview: http://southernalpha.com/bitcoin-will-disruptive-internet-luke-stokes-foxycart-history-future-money/

I'm doing my part to spread the Bitcoin love!

What exactly do you mean by "non-reportable"? If you're in the U.S. trying to avoid taxes and such, my hunch is things won't work out to well for you.

And with that, the auction is over. ProfMac sent the funds, and I'll be organizing shipment.

cchan just offered 2 BTC via PM (previous bid was 4) due to loss in time and increased difficulty. I'm tired of going back and forth via PMs with people not responding or changing their minds. I hope to finish this tonight or tomorrow morning and just do it publicly instead of via PM. I'm still waiting to hear from driksson. ProfMac offered 2.25 also so I'll see if he's still interested.

Why do people bid on stuff unless they are serious about it?

Exoskeleton just backed out on his 4.5 bid via PM (so much for 90%) because his board supplier fell through and he/she doesn't want to buy the module without anywhere to put the chips.

30contin was apparently never serious (though he/she offered 7.5 and sent multiple PMs, even going so far as to get the escrow process going), poochone hasn't been online for days (though he/she offered 6 btc and blamed "very bad internet on edge" for being out of touch previously). cchan and driksson appear to be serious via PM, but they haven't locked in or finalized a 4 btc price yet.

The 3 other auctions for the modules, case and components went really smoothly. This one makes me not want to bother with auctions here ever again.

</rant>

Sorry. I just want to get this finalized and get the module shipped to someone in the morning so the chips aren't just sitting there doing nothing.

I just found out about this via the coinbase article (and tweeted it here: https://twitter.com/lukestokes/status/371612919579942913 ). Though I didn't link to the thread, the coinbase article did. Hope that counts. I'm not even half-way through the launch thread, so I'll be holding off on promoting it until I learn more. I do like the idea of building something on top of Bitcoin instead of competing directly with it.

I've written some other Bitcoin blogs posts as well.

Here's a Bitcoin-QT address: 14KuX323cXtr8b9VmSBLETpXbbqczCrm32

Update: Looks like I have an offer for 4.5 that seems about 90% for sure and would be US shipping which is easy. They are confirming their tools will allow them to extract the chips and such. Hoping to get this finalized so it can be shipped on Monday.

I was checking my email regularly looking for PMs. I just got a new offer for 4.5 BTC via PM from someone new. If they are ready to close it out, I may, just to be done with it. That said, nothing ships on a Sunday anyway, so I may give everyone until Sunday night my time (CST). My other PMs haven't been responded to yet.

Sigh. Looks like those who want this are on a completely different timezone. I was hoping to get this shipped out today.

I understand. When I first looked at his post history, there were not nearly that many posts. I'm sorry, I've just been trying to be fair about this. The whole process has been annoying waste of time for me.

I've messaged poochone but he has not been responsive. If you finalize the sale before he responds, I'll sell to you for 4.5 BTC right now if you cover part of the shipping. I don't know who you'd want to use for escrow, but JohnK's signature says he's currently unavailable.

If you want, I can post a Bitcoin address publicly here you can send to and then we can PM Immuzikation to see if he can ship it out today. Does that work for you?

It seems 30contin just wanted to waste people's time. I caution anyone else who might be involved with them in an auction (they've been bidding on quite a few things). They confirmed the seriousness of their bid via PM and the desire to use JohnK for escrow... then delayed a couple days and reneged.

So here's where we stand:

poochone: Bid 6 BTC (UK)
driksson: "4 at least.. maybe 5." (EU)
cchan: 4 BTC (via PM) (China)
ProfMac: 2.25 BTC (US)

JohnK's profile says he'll be unavailable for escrow this weekend. I'd really like to get this module to the person who wants it most. It's a waste of everyone's time (and blockchain difficulty) while it sits in a box and we go back and forth. Someone can use those chips and/or repair it.

I'll PM the people listed above in the order listed. If you want to change your bid (and are actually serious), post here. If you want it, you'll have to suggest and pay for an alternate escrow process. Or, I can post an public address here and the shipper of the module (Immuzikation) will confirm publicly when the module is shipped.

That's the best offer yet and the finalization of the previous offer didn't happen over the weekend because of "very bad internet on edge" and no replies to my PMs.

Where do you need it shipped? PM and we can work it out.