If I were to visit Bali, it would be because it has a lot of wonderful things to offer. I'm referring to the beaches, the temples, and other natural and man-made wonders. It wouldn't be because it accepts Bitcoin. So I guess I wouldn't mind if the province isn't Bitcoin friendly.

But supposing Indonesia accepts Bitcoin as payment, what can a lowly governor do? He will have no other choice but to abide with the law. It's just unfortunate that the country doesn't accept Bitcoin as a currency. What's even more unfortunate was its declaration as haram by the country's Islamic council.

I have never thought of this. But because you brought this up, let me try this myself if only to satisfy my curiosity. I know from the previous replies that this is possible. But the edited subject heading will only be shown above your reply. The original subject of the thread remains at the top.

A bit of off-topic here, but since we're talking of what will happen if I do this, I remember I was curious of the merit button that is available in your own post. Although I thought it was counterintuitive for the button to function properly, there was an itch to try but I simply couldn't do it. I learned later on that despite the button, it would result into an error.

I agree, and it is unfortunate how certain advocates of Bitcoin are like this, too close-minded that they seem to even get mad if others don't share their beliefs in Bitcoin.

I remember a time when I was eating in a small eatery. A lady selling something came in and went to a nearby table. The man eating looked at what the lady was selling. They talked for a while and then later on the lady raised her voice. She was mad because the man didn't buy. I was confused.

This is how some strong Bitcoin supporters, Bitcoin maxis among them, behave. This is how it looked like when they tried to discredit highly successful people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet when they rejected the idea of Bitcoin. Why so bitter?

It's probably because Binance, for example, is too closely associated with Bitcoin that it appears to many that Binance represents Bitcoin in one way or another. Of course, while Binance indeed helped a lot in giving people convenient access to Bitcoin, it simply isn't true. As a matter of fact, the way Binance does business with Bitcoin is exactly what Bitcoin finds problematic and tries to solve.

While I agree that "anything which is not really decentralized is going to collapse, as it should," I think it will not be happening soon. If we are to ask a crypto layman of the first thing that comes to his/her mind when talking of Bitcoin, I'm afraid he/she might not even mention decentralization but possibly Coinbase or Binance.

Things will certainly improve in the future. Time will come people won't anymore care when a centralized Bitcoin-related business collapses.

All right, so this was the same announcement that Binance made last month. The actual work must have started even earlier. It's already around 2 months and the integration hasn't been fully implemented yet. I guess this isn't really an urgent concern for Binance. The same with Coinbase. Brian has already spoken of integrating Lightning early in April. As a matter of fact, this might even be an addition they don't really want considering that their revenue from current transactions fees could be significantly affected.

Anyway, with the entry of Binance and Coinbase and other huge exchanges I'm expecting the Lightning Network capacity to balloon. At the moment, there's just around $145 million.

First, I don't think Bitcoin is the "Father and King of this digitalization." I believe it's the internet. Bitcoin, after all, is built on infrastructures that were already there before it was conceived. One of which is the internet.

Economic depressions will certainly affect Bitcoin in one way or another. It may not affect Bitcoin as in the protocol, but it will certainly affect its price. And the price of Bitcoin matters. After all, it's a currency. The purchasing power of Bitcoin may fall. What you can buy today with 1 mBTC you might buy with 0.5 BTC under a severe economic depression.

I haven't been a gambling addict myself. Neither am I a professional on this, but I think it's possible that a gambling addict about to steal something to support his/her vice has second thoughts. But the urge to have money to be able to gamble will easily overpower it. Gambling addiction is probably different from addiction on drugs in that a victim of the latter won't anymore hesitate to jump off a building. He/she would even do it with a smile on his/her face.

If a gambling addict is brought back to his/her sanity, he/she will surely feel remorse. Until then, he/she will continue to destroy himself/herself, his/her relationships, and so on.

While I agree that we may look back at our worst betting experiences in the past and learn a lesson or two from them, I don't think we can just easily turn those setbacks into profits.

In the first place, gambling isn't really money-making. More than anything else, it's for fun. You bet on the Lakers against the Nuggets, you lose, but you had fun. Self-discipline in gambling is important not so much to make money as to avoid suffering from an unreasonable loss.

That there is no central authority in Bitcoin shouldn't be perceived as a disadvantage. It's the opposite. Without a central authority means there isn't a single point of failure. Moreover, it minimizes the risk of abuse and other dangers related to incompetence, mismanagement, fraud, and others.

No physical entity involved? Not a problem. The world is turning digital. Furthermore, physical versions attract counterfeiting. And tell your friend to stop overthinking about doomsday scenarios.

Cryptocurrencies are overvalued. Bitcoin isn't. So if your friend were to eventually decide to invest in crypto, tell him/her to focus on Bitcoin.

DooMAD has actually PMed me about locking this thread. I didn't reply because I would've wanted this to die a natural death. That would hopefully mean this whole Ordinal thing has already gone past its short-lived hype and that it isn't worth discussing anymore. Also, I somehow wanted to defer to the moderators as to whether or not this whole discussion has gone pointless already and should be locked. After all, despite the request, even DooMAD himself/herself continued to clarify certain points.

I don't anymore check this discussion as often as before, but whenever I read the new replies, it seems they're still largely relevant and interesting, and even amusing, although I admittedly don't understand most of the technical points. So, notwithstanding the bickering and the off-topic ad hominems and even name calling, it seems this is still a nice discussion to follow.  

However, you're probably right that at this point the discussion is already going around in circles. There's probably nothing left to add. Perhaps it's indeed time to close this thread, and focus your attention somewhere else.

On a side note, first, my sincere apologies to DooMAD for not responding to his/her message. Second, this isn't the first time that you guys (franky1, DooMAD, nutildah, BlackHatCoiner, and others) went into a heated head-to-head discussion. In fairness, it seems it's enriching. It's very much unlike the personal and political kind of feud that we used to witness here.

Finally, thanks everybody for taking part in the discussion. I should've added a poll to this.

Those are the right questions. And the answer to both is: nothing. There's nothing that guarantees us that our funds are safe in centralized exchanges. This SAFU thing is a big joke. The truth is that once you let go of your coins, it is not safe anymore. Once you lose control of your coins, you can no longer assume that they're safe.

Indeed, banks and centralized exchanges are no different from each other. They're using their depositors' money for something else. They risk and invest and even give away and spend money they don't own. Supposing each and every depositor decides to withdraw all that they have in their accounts right now, they will all end up short.

To me, it's enough that you disprove his claims. As a matter of fact, it is his loss if after responding to him and refuting his statements he doesn't care to respond anymore. If you give him a solid rebuttal, then who cares if he won't reply? Many might even think he's already lost the argument.

At the end of the day, the facts remain. While it is hard to pit your words against the words of a university professor, the facts won't change at all. Sooner or later, the truth will prevail. Those who make an effort to verify both of your claims will confirm that you are right.

However, if the discussion is subjective, I'm afraid you'll just have to put up a more convincing opinion. I wonder what specifically your topics are.

If I were to generalize, these bonuses are there to simply attract new users. They're not there to be actually given away. It's never the intention of the casinos to just give away money. It's not only the terrible wagering requirements that discourage me from claiming the deposit bonus. Normally, bonuses have special terms and conditions. A casino, for example, that doesn't require KYC upon sign up might require it to those who want to claim the bonus. With all of the conditions, you have to be Odysseus to successfully get it.

Again, no surprise. This has been a pattern for Binance. Theirs is like a hit-and-run business. Binance has this penchant to operate illegally. If caught and called out, they try to register, probably just to somehow appease the authorities, to make it appear that it isn't their intention to stay illegal and exploit the market without paying anything in return. They submit probably haphazard applications which are expected to be rejected. And then they leave.

In fairness to them, however, they seem to be making new grounds as much as they are losing old ones. I'm in awe of CZ's sneaky business skills.

You are one of a kind! What I know is that the birthday celebrant should be the one to receive gifts.

I offer you my heartfelt felicitations, not just for your 16^th anniversary but also-- and more importantly at that-- for being able to help countless of people all over the world with your platform. Everything's made easy because of BestChange. Time, they say, is gold. Your customers must have saved a lot of it. And money, too.

Again, congratulations, BestChange! You're older than Bitcoin itself, but I hope you won't outlive it. 

What about those who have the money but don't understand a thing about Bitcoin? Will they buy Bitcoin? Will they make the most of these cheap days and stack Sats? Nope.

All I'm saying is that you've already made it to the first stage if you're already convinced about Bitcoin. All you have to do now is to look for a job, find some side hustles, make money, and buy Bitcoin.

Those who have the money but are blind enough to discredit Bitcoin for its potentials are all behind you.

I agree, although Bitcoin will certainly be affected, its price in particular. Probably its image, too. But I fully support crypto regulations nevertheless. I even want regulations to be strict, so strict that people can't just easily create shitcoins out of thin air and use them to steal money from innocent individuals. I want regulations to be strong enough to prevent scam exchanges to simply come and go along with their users' money.

To those who are impatient with Bitcoin, take time to review its previous price movements. It's up and down all the time. But the up is always worth waiting. It pays to wait. Bitcoin is a waiting game most of the time. You lose patience and sell when Bitcoin is down, you lose money. Buy low sell high is a Bitcoin investment advice that can't get old. If only we stay within reason and stick to this, we can't go wrong.

If you're feeling tired, perhaps you're checking on the price too often. Quit it, especially during the not-so-good days. Do some other things.

I cannot seem to find the terms and conditions of Freebitco.in, but I have a strong suspicion that your country might be one of the blacklisted countries of the platform. That means residents of Egypt are prohibited from using the services of Freebitco.in. In the first place, your country declared Bitcoin transactions as haram, so I won't be surprised if Bitcoin-supporting gambling platforms won't be accommodating Egypt residents. Secondly, are you even allowed to gamble in online casinos?

I heard of the same concern in the US. There are also complaints here in my country of egg shortage and its rising price. But I doubt we all share the same reason.

In my country, what I heard is that the feeds for layer chickens are getting expensive. That and other expenses. Why they are all increasing I know not. I actually wonder why because I thought the ingredients of these feeds could be sourced locally. I don't know, perhaps much of these are imported. Or is this another artificial shortage?