Those attempting to transact ought to pay the miners; those just sitting there shouldn't.

To be crazy safe;

0) examine yourself for bugs as thoroughly as possible; remove and destroy, i.e. burn/melt, any you find; you can enlist someone, e.g. doctor with x-ray machine, to help but that adds risk
1) get 256 uncompromised pennies
2) strip
3) go into a room by yourself; close the doors, shut the windows, close the drapes, etc.
4) turn the music up as loud as you can stand it or it goes
5) get completely on and under an opaque blanket handmade at the last moment for just this occasion
6) with your eyes closed, toss each penny one at a time and record the result, do not use the same penny twice, do not toss more than one at a time -> private address
7) calculate (paper and pencil is best; using mechanical aids, e.g. slide rule, abacas etc., is second best, if you feel you must use an electronic device then better shielding than a blanket is recommended and physically destroy, i.e. burn/melt, afterward) the corresponding public address, double check your calculations, triple check
8) calculate the transaction and signature to move Bitcoins into that address
9) destroy all work, e.g. eat the paper
10) secure the private address (record of the 256 penny tosses), e.g. wrap in multiple layers of duct tape, also, secure yourself, e.g. get trained in self-defense; you can hire defense, e.g. safe, safety deposit box, bodyguard, etc., but these increase the risk
11) burn the blanket and melt the pennies
12) as quickly as possible enter the transaction into the Bitcoin network, watch for it to be confirmed at least 6 blocks deep
13) never examine the private address ever again until the moment you are ready to access the Bitcoins
14) make provisions to pass the private address to your beneficiaries upon your death or incapacitation, do not tell them about the stash in advance

tips: 1KhR5VQi3MhstyqAEPruDqWNWPcrLGukrS

I personally will spend some and save some.  Anyone that doesn't save some is taking a very big risk of not having some when they need or want it in the future.  Why should we tolerate having our savings erode over any period of time?  Why should I be obliged to keep my savings in an investment?  A bank savings account is investment with risks.  A bank CD is too.  A government issued bond or treasury note is too.

The portion I spend contributes to velocity and fluidity.  The part I save doesn't hurt either.

The mistake made is to think savings reduces fluidity.  The divisibility of Bitcoin avoids that.  The lack of useful divisibility of gold led to big problems and our response was to let the dollar float away.

I can chose to invest some of my savings but then it is put at risk.  Investments help projects and businesses fund their activities; in return I am paid, dividends, interest, and/or capital gains distributions.  Later I might exit that investment with a capital gain or loss.

I want Bitcoin to succeed.  I own some Bitcoin.  I promote Bitcoin to my friends and family.  I participate in this forum, contributing ideas.  I run a full node without direct compensation.  Geesh, what more do you want?  If I spend all of my Bitcoin then I will want more.

How long does it take for a currency to be worth ½ of the present value?  At 0.7% annual inflation it only takes ~100 years.  At 0.1% it is ~700 years.

How much are folks willing to lose value to inflation?  Soon enough there will be no inflation in Bitcoin then no one will lose value forever.

Why do we have to tolerate *any* inflation?  Why do we have to tolerate *any* debasement?

The sooner we all begin thinking long term the better.

Describe Bitcoin to folks in terms of use cases.

For example, it doesn't appeal to everyone but I find I can sometimes win converts using it to hedge US dollar denominated investments against devaluation.  Unlike physical gold, Bitcoin can be obtained without extra cost of transportation and can be stored without extra cost to secure it.  Moreover, unlike physical gold, Bitcoin can be backed up.  Physical gold also suffers from the risk of it being devalued if more of it is found.  This use case makes the high amount of effort it takes to get into Bitcoin worth it.

Trying to justify Bitcoin for any one single purchase doesn't make sense all by itself.  If one is going to be making enough purchases then eventually it is indeed worth it.  Each Bitcoin transactions is much lighter weight than any other payment method but only after getting some Bitcoins in the first place.  Gyft helps increase the number of places where one can use Bitcoin.

Gifting Bitcoin is highly effective.  I give gifts.  Gifts of Bitcoin are a great way to open up the minds of the receivers to the possibilities.  I know some folks don't want Bitcoin so I give them something they will appreciate, e.g. flowers, etc.  On the other hand, I know some folks will be interested enough in Bitcoin that a gift of it will kick start them on the path of discovery.

Along the lines of gifting, I give tips of Bitcoin on occasion.  Always I have offered to purchase back the tips if/when the receiver wants out rather than making them figure out some other exchange process.

Well, after much time and effort my GBTC is in my trust account; geesh.  Unfortunately this is *not* a brokerage account and so I can't transact with them; sigh.  I am attempting to move the assets to a Schwab brokerage account ... just in time for a negative spread.  Now I'm wishing I had taken the path to hold raw BTC in a retirement account.

"...
No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need
..."

Wanting a slow steady rise, well, see lyrics above.  What do we need?  Adoption; so, I repeat;

1) don't just sit there and wait for someone else to do the work
2) actively promote Bitcoin
3) avoid losing heart

When the bubbles come and pop, do not lament.  Yes, some will point at that and find fault.  I defy anyone to come up with something that is bubble-proof *and* truly useful.

Volatile movements, i.e. >10% in less than a week, will keep the old bubble in mind.  Those hoping for a fresh bubble get prematurely excited.  Those new to the game don't know when to jump in.  When all of the jerky movement settles out then a quiet, steady influx will begin until it ignites into a bubble; sorry, Bitcoin is inherently bubble-prone until the coming fiat failures play out.  The next bubble, when it finally comes, will burst well north of $5,000 and fall again but not below $1,000/BTC ever again.  The bubble after that?  Who knows.

Er, be reasonable, don't invest more than you can afford to lose.  Geesh.

Here's my thought; the next bubble won't really take off strong until after the history of the last bubble fades from memory enough.  Developing fundamentals have to accumulate enough to blur the previous bubble into obscurity.  We aren't there yet.  The current developing fundamentals have a ways to go yet to mask the memory of the last bubble.  New features and functions will attract new users only when they features and functions are "better" enough.  Even then that won't be enough.  The potential new users need to become aware.  New investors won't remember the past performance directly; instead they will look at the charts which remain clearly visible for many years.

If you want Bitcoin to succeed then;

1) don't just sit there and wait for someone else to do the work
2) actively promote Bitcoin
3) avoid losing heart

If you want Bitcoin to fail then please go find something else to do.

I am invested and do indeed run a full node despite the lack of compensation.  If I sell off my investment then I will stop unless it is made to be worth my while.

*If* I were going to be compensated for running a full node then I would gladly pay other full nodes for the services they provide me.  If the full nodes are just going to pay each other then that is way less interesting than having SVP clients, etc., pay for services.

Ah, how about if we "enhance" the code to limit the amount of services provided proportional to the amount of services received?

Where do these rewards come from?

I do believe in Bitcoin and want to see it flourish; I'm going to continue to run my full node despite no payment.  I was just hoping to get people to think about and discuss the topic.

If/when Bitcoin is big enough then cashing out would be silly.

If a Bitcoin angel will give me 1 BTC now then I will run my full node as long as possible.

If/when one node is down then the other can remain available.

Oh, perhaps you shouldn't spend money (Bitcoins or any other kind) if you can't afford it.  I've never "earned" any Bitcoins even once.  I have only ever been given gifts of Bitcoins and I have bought them.  How did you earn yours?

If someone uses some of their Bitcoins to purchase something and then they want more Bitcoins, it's no big deal, they can just acquire more Bitcoins.

Hmm, perhaps Bitcoin folks don't want precious metals; unlike non-Bitcoin folks that don't know that Bitcoin is better than precious metals.

Even ignoring the spikes, https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions indicates the trend is for more transactions.  I do not doubt some people are holding; I am; but not everyone is holding.