You can't sell something you don't have! Leveraged margin trading in fiat has practically killed the fiat financial system. Why would you want the same happen to bitcoins?
I agree. Leveraged short selling on the futures markets has allowed the bankers to keep the rise in gold and silver prices under control. Considering all of the quantitative easing and fiat currency debasement going on around the world, the precious metals prices should be moving up in a parabolic fashion similar to what we see are seeing with bitcoin. I sure hope the bankers aren't able to devise a way to naked short sell bitcoins. Low supply and high demand are causing bitcoin's current rise in price. The rise in price is not indicative of a problem with bitcoin, it's a problem with the dollar. More and more people are trying to make their dollars someone else's problem. |
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I read through that thread and a couple that I think would potentially spark interest in those unfamiliar with bitcoins: From casascius: "You Asked For Change, We Gave You Coins" From btc_artist: "Bitcoin -- Of the People, for the People" Other ideas: "Bitcoin: Your change has arrived" (a variation of casascius' "change" theme) "Bitcoin: The money of the people, by the people, for the people" (a variation of btc_artist's Gettysburg theme) "Bitcoin: The new paradigm in money" "Bitcoin: The people's bailout" (my personal favorite) |
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I called up the Peter Schiff Show a couple of weeks ago and made a Bitcoin pitch.
He's still not convinced. Maybe others here can call his show and try to get him on board.
I actually had a 10 minute discussion with Peter Schiff today about Bitcoin and he asked some really good and penetrating questions. After he had finished an interview and while we had the camera ready, I offered to do a Q&A with him about Bitcoin. He dodged it and responded, "I don't want you to make me look like a fool." So, perhaps later. I think he does not quite understand the technology part and that is a stumbling block for him. That is too bad because by the time he does understand it the wealth transfer will largely have happened. One thing we do know; so far all indicators seem to point towards Bitcoin NOT going away. So ignoring, running and hiding from it will get increasingly more difficult to do without looking like a fool. And the longer one takes to get educated on the subject and actually produce some content about Bitcoin the more of a fool they will look in the future for being late to the wealth transfer party. I've been listening to Peter Schiff for years. He, like all of the Austrian economists, clearly has a very thorough understanding of how prosperous a free-market economy would be with a monetary system based on gold. From listening to what he says about Bitcoin on his radio show, I have to agree with you--that "he does not quite understand the technology part". The Austrian school of economic thought was developed before the internet (and perhaps even digital computing) was conceived. A lot of the Austrian economists haven't taken the time to challenge their assumptions and consider how open-source software, distributed computing, peer-to-peer networking, and digital cryptography can come together to not only replace gold to a certain extent, but improve upon it. If they had a basic grasp of what these concepts bring to the table perhaps that would help them better understand that Bitcoin outperforms gold in the attributes that are required of money--scarcity, fungibility, divisibility, portability, etc. Also, just because you are willing to accept that Bitcoin is money, doesn't mean that gold isn't. Bitcoin isn't an all or nothing proposition. You can still keep a portion of your wealth in gold as an insurance policy or safety net. |
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How do you sell a big amount of bitcoins without risking your ass in a fascist piece of crap country?
Maybe take a short vacation to a less socialist country that's nearby. Is it easy to bring Euros in Sweden and then sell them a little bit at a time? Also, it appears that Rick Falkvinge might have some experience selling BTC in Sweden. He might be willing to provide you with some advice. http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/10/virtual-currencies |
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What does "miners hoard more" mean? Not enough info.
I understand that hoarding isn't a very precise term and I wanted to avoid complicating the question (although I may have failed at that  ). E.g.: a miner creates 5 bitcoins per month. They usually immediately sell 4 of them and add 1 to their retirement/savings account, but this month they've decided to only sell 3 and keep 2. How about "withhold supply from the market"? |
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In this scenario I would expect a serious drop in demand and price for Bitcoin.
Funny, as I would expect an increase in both demand and price in this scenario. And why would demand increase if it becomes illegal for business owners to accept Bitcoin? I assume part of Bitcoins recent increase in price comes from the increased expected use as medium of payment in all kinds of companies. If this expected use as medium of payment drops because Bitcoin is banned from legal use in USA and Europe I can not see another outcome than a drop in price. Please explain. For example, selling drugs in the USA is illegal, but is very profitable for those who are willing to break the law. When bureaucrats make a product illegal, those who supply it are able to demand a premium. |
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There are things which you will probably never be able to do in any cybercurrency, such as pay your taxes, tip your waitress, rent a car, buy airline tickets, buy or sell titlable property (real estate, vehicles, etc.) These transactions require either physical cash or credit cards, or must be denominated in national currency for tax reasons.
You could make a habit of always keeping a few paper wallets--like the one's found at bitaddress.org--with you that contain a couple of bucks worth of BTC. You can then leave one as part of the tip for your waiter or waitress. My guess is the waiter's/waitress's manager would just scratch their head and wouldn't even bother reporting it to the IRS. Doing this would have the additional benefit of introducing more people to Bitcoin and perhaps spark their interest. I would include a note on the back saying that if the BTC are not transferred to another address within 60 days or so the funds will be forfeited. (You would need to keep a second copy of each paper wallet for yourself in order to transfer the BTC back to yourself if the recipient chose to forfeit them.) |
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In five years I think the exchange rate between US Federal Reserve Notes and bitcoins will be over 1000 to 1. I think the next five years are going to be very volatile with lots of ups and downs. Strap on your seatbelts and hold on tight, its going to be one hell of a ride!
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Hi MangoJ,
Just curious why are Avalon and BFL scams? I don't mine yet, but want to start when ASICs come online.
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Hello World. I will be pursuing a degree in Computer Science and I hope to one day be able to contribute to the Bitcoin development team's efforts. I believe if Bitcoin continues to succeed it will go down in history as a tremendous accomplishment in liberating humanity from fiat slavery. I'm sure the plantation owners, while they are behind closed doors, are concocting ways to shut down this escape route. Escape won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is.
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