I think in terms of technology Bitcoin is revolutionary but I don't see how it could revolutionize our current economic system.
Bitcoin will revolutionize our current economic system because it gives individuals the ability to opt-out of fiat currencies and transact or save in a currency that bankers have no control over. The key problem is that it does not address the distribution and accumulation of wealth.
Sure it does. New bitcoins are distributed to the miners that process the transactions, validate the blockchain, and secure the network. This is a brilliant way to distribute bitcoins because it rewards those that are providing value and offers an incentive to join the network and become a miner. With fiat currencies, newly created money is distributed to bankers, politicians, those with political connections, and people that are taking on debt and living beyond their means at the expense of savers. With Bitcoin, wealth is accumulated by those who choose to save, those who invest wisely, or those who provide goods and services that others are willing and freely choose to pay for. With fiat, it's the bankers, politicians, and people with political connections that accumulate the wealth. In fact the current mining system promotes this. People mine, collect coins, re-invest. Those with more coins can invest more and make more and over time the distribution of coins is unequal with a small percentage of people holding a majority of the coins.
New bitcoins are distributed to miners according to the amount of hashing power they contribute to the network. If you're like me and don't mine, then you can purchase bitcoins that someone else mined at market value. It doesn't get any more fair than that. The second problem is it's link with FIAT money which it needs for it to have any current real world use. This link makes it a commodity, like gold, and wealthier people always end up with more.
We have to have exchanges because it takes time to transition to a new currency. This sort of thing doesn't just happen overnight, especially when you're talking about the world's reserve currency. We are still in the early stages of transitioning to honest, sound money. It's going to take a while, you'll just have to be patient. As more and more people come to understand the benefits of Bitcoin, more of their transactions will be in Bitcoin and there will be less need to exchange back and forth between fiat. Gold isn't a commodity. That's what bankers want us to think. Gold is money. There is also an exchange rate between euros and dollars. Does this mean that the euro is a commodity? If the world were to implement a complete Bitcoin system wouldn't we just end up in the same place we are now? Minority of people holding the majority of Bitcoins? Instead of everything being done with various FIAT it would be done with Bitcoin - sure everything would be much simpler, digital, some things cheaper and less worry about inflation but for all intents and purposes the exact same underlying economic system.
Yes, a minority of people have the majority of bitcoins right now, but over time they will be sold or spent and that wealth will be spread out to others. Clearly, the Bitcoin monetary system is the best alternative out there right now because it in no way resembles the current fiat monetary system that bankers and politicians are so fond of. It's also important to remember that one of Bitcoin's greatest features is that it is completely voluntary. As of right now, there is no banker or politician forcing anyone to use bitcoins. If there is some aspect of it that someone considers unfair, they don't have to use it. In fact, anyone is free to copy the code, modify it to their liking, introduce a new currency and then let the free market determine it's value. |
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piuk,
I'm trying to transfer BTC from my blockchain.info wallet and I get the error message: "ReferenceError: Can't find variable: precisionFromBTC". Any idea what is causing this?
Thanks
In case puik does not answer: Have you tried clearing your browser cache, it often solves this kind of problems. Thanks for the assist, but it appears to have resolved itself. I'll be sure to try your recommendation if I happen to encounter this issue again in the future. |
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piuk,
I'm trying to transfer BTC from my blockchain.info wallet and I get the error message: "ReferenceError: Can't find variable: precisionFromBTC". Any idea what is causing this?
Thanks
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You know if its ever made illegal.
How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening? That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs. Not even a smart comparison. Drugs are addictive. No one has a need for Bitcoins. Add to that, as long as fiat is easier and more practical to use, it will always dominate because people are lazy and will use what is most convenient. Bitcoins are anything but convenient and easy to use. Yes, drugs are addictive, but if making them illegal made them go away, one wouldn't be able to use them in the first place to become addicted. The world actually has an enormous need for something like Bitcoin. Especially for those individuals that choose to live below their means and want to protect their savings from bankers and politicians. "Enormous need"? Maybe. Certainly one opinion but to go back to your original point, it's better said, that making drugs illegal did not make the addiction go away. One who's addicted, will do anything to get it. The law is irrelevant and that's what we've seen. There will never be such addiction to Bitcoin, thus making them illegal would pretty much end Bitcoin, with the exception of minor black market uses, because there are other forms of currency that people could readily use. Why risk jail time when there are legal alternatives, that at present, are easier to use? To answer the OP question: I'd sell them off as fast as I could, to the highest bidder. Yes, "enormous need". That will become very apparent as fiat currencies continue to be debased. See this thread for many of the other advantages that Bitcoin has over fiat: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=206328.0Yes, it's also true that making drugs illegal doesn't make drug addiction go away. But, suppose drug addicts were exempt from such laws and politicians decided to actually provide them with free drugs until they were able to kick their habit. Drugs would still be bought by and sold to individuals willing to experiment, wanting to self-medicate, or for recreational use. The point is making something illegal doesn't make it go away, no matter what it is--Bitcoin included. If bitcoins were made illegal in the US, I would take advantage of the ensuing price dip and convert as much fiat as I could to sound, honest money and then try to escape to a jurisdiction that doesn't outlaw it. |
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You know if its ever made illegal.
How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening? That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs. Not even a smart comparison. Drugs are addictive. No one has a need for Bitcoins. Add to that, as long as fiat is easier and more practical to use, it will always dominate because people are lazy and will use what is most convenient. Bitcoins are anything but convenient and easy to use. Yes, drugs are addictive, but if making them illegal made them go away, one wouldn't be able to use them in the first place to become addicted. The world actually has an enormous need for something like Bitcoin. Especially for those individuals that choose to live below their means and want to protect their savings from bankers and politicians. |
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You know if its ever made illegal.
How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening? That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs. There's no law in existence that has ever stopped anything  Bitcoin's gonna keep happening per usual, with law or without law; it's simply something outside of the government purview. Exactly, look at prohibition Prostitution and guns are also illegal in a lot of jurisdictions. We still have them and always will. |
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You know if its ever made illegal.
How would making it illegal to buy or sell bitcoins prevent it from happening? That approach hasn't worked too well with buying or selling drugs. |
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The commodity nature of Bitcoin will dissolve eventually. As long as it is interfaced with fiat and used as a speculative tool it will just be this way for the time being. Though once fiat fails completely (and it will in the very near future I think) a Bitcoin will simply be worth a Bitcoin, as any valuation in USD or other fiats will be absolutely meaningless if they are so hyperinflated as to be basically worthless. The markets will have to readjust after that, it is difficult to say if fiat is no longer viable what prices would become, as fiat can't be used as a reference any longer to the price of goods and services.For now, hoard some, but do your part and spend some too to help the economy grow and get it adopted by businesses. The only reason I have yet to spend any is that there is simply nothing I need at the moment that can be bought with BTC. Unfortunately my local grocer hasn't caught on yet  "Hoarding" gives it a negative tone in terms of saving unless you really are just stuffing every BTC you earn into a paper wallet assuming they will have a much larger fiat value someday, as if they are real gold. What is wrong with having a savings account? Usually that is encourage by financial institutions and financial people... When this happens, the value of bitcoins won't be measured in units of fiat. Purchasing power will be measured with how much can be bought with a particular amount of bitcoins or how many bitcoins it takes to purchase a particular good or service. Of course there will be those that claim constantly declining prices are detrimental to an economy, but they will eventually fade away—like all of those people that used to think that Earth was flat. |
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True, both spending and hoarding(saving) can be done at the same time and would levitate some of the pressure. I think the best way to encourage spending would be if employers started making payments in Bitcoin, the fact that I dont get a regular flow of BTC like I do with FIAT kind of makes every day purchases more cumbersome. * Do we agree hat this long term hoarding mentality is our there though, and is a problem worth addressing?If so then perhaps simple things like mentioning your saving wallet & spending wallet in talks as separate entities would help, this would create a slight psychological division in other users minds that their own wallet can have multiple uses. I am not eliminating the fact I am the only one who has not applies this common sense logical to my Bitcoin usage.  * Yes, there are people out there that are willing to hoard their bitcoins for now and spend them later, but it's not a problem at all. In fact, it's the "hoarding is a problem" mentality that is so prevalent amongst bankers and politicians, and their insistence that "something must be done" that is, in part, leading to the demise of their fiat currencies. Fortunately, there is very little they can do to discourage hoarding when it comes to bitcoins. |
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For the record, here's a copy of a couple of the PM's between me and saudibull. I'll be happy to provide screenshots if anyone has doubts about their authenticity. Sorry saudibull, looks like no one is gonna fall for your scam this time. Better luck with your next account.  A reply of yours, quoted below, was deleted by the starter of a self-moderated topic. There are no rules of self-moderation, so this deletion cannot be appealed. Do not continue posting in this topic if the topic-starter has requested that you leave. You can create a new topic if you are unsatisfied with this one. If the topic-starter is scamming, post about it in Scam Accusations. I have already reported you to several mods for stalking, harrassment, delete your post on my rep, or me and my friends here will make sure you never gain rep on this forum -
Fuck you and all of your alternate accounts. I don't need rep. I'm willing to use escrow. |
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Created his account on May 8th and has since made a lot of useless posts to become a "Sr. Member" in an attempt to make himself more credible. Locks his threads and insists on negotiating over PM to avoid public scrutiny. Is now trying to negotiate deals in the Newbie section and other sections outside of the Marketplace where the "Trust" link to his feedback page isn't visible or as readily accessible.
HUGE RED FLAG!!!
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I've now received the satoshis and the dividend payment with confirmations.
Thanks sveetsnelda for conducting this auction and for doing so in a professional manner. I wouldn't hesitate to do business with you again in the future if the opportunity arises.
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I'm not a miner, so I don't know for sure. But, can't you create a paper wallet and then have the bitcoins that you mine sent straight to it? If so, that's what I would do if I was a miner. Makes it virtually impossible for your coins to get hacked and even if your computer gets stolen, your coins are safe.
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Can you provide proof of ownership?
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