Call of the faithful- $5/day

[billyjoeallen]

7200 Bitcoins need to be sold on an average day to soak up the liquidity provided by mining and maintain a stable price. In dollars this translates roughly to a little more than $100,000/day. Assuming there are 20,000 true believers, that means each of us on average would need to buy $5 worth of bitcoins every day.

Speculators with no faith will need something to speculate with, so this soaks up some more liquidity and so will others such as traders betting that the price will fall less than the amount they would otherwise have to pay using other payment methods will help. But we can't always depend on them.

Our faith rests on the utility of bitcoin to make the world a better, more prosperous and more free place, based on our understanding of economics. Hard money advocates claim that bitcoin will fail because it's not backed by anything. They are wrong. It's backed by us, the ones who would see bitcoin succeed, even if we personally never make a dime from it. To see our vision come to fruition, we may have to keep a certain amount of bitcoins that we won't sell. ever. I am prepared to do just that. Christians tithe. Bitcoiners hoard.

So are the Christians right? Is the love of money the root of all evil?  I guess that depends on what exactly is meant by such a claim. I for one don't love money for it's own sake or for it's ability to gain me power over others, but I do love the freedom it brings to me and to other peaceful folks. Freedom from the necessity  the double coincidence of wants. Freedom to specialize according to our abilities. Freedom to do as we individuals, not others, see fit and yet to live without conflict among them.

Maybe our numbers will grow and our burden will be reduced as it is shared by new converts. Maybe in time the utility of Bitcoin will become so obvious that it won't need us anymore at all. Maybe, but until and unless that time comes, we are the keepers of the flame, and I for one will do my part, my ~$150/month. I will do my part to break the iron grip of our bankster overlords.   Hell, I was spending almost that much on beer anyway. Maybe redirecting that money into Bitcoin will help me lose that 20 pounds I keep trying to get rid of. I will do my part. If you are able and willing join me. Success isn't guaranteed, but it's gonna be an adventure!

[cunicula]

Good luck organizing a cartel with free entry and 60k incumbents.

[qualia8]

Rousing speech.  I am mining and holding my current investment, but not buying more.

However... am I the only one who sees some irony in this communitarian call to sacrifice when bitcoin is crypto-anarchic-libertarian or whatever, and the basic idea is that it's every man for himself and the invisible hand of the market turns greed into good?

[Bit_Happy]

Nice job billyjoeallen,
I promise to buy at least $25 to $50/day!*
*You left wiggle-room for short-term traders. I also will be selling (at least some or most) on many days.



What you are doing is great, and I promise to actually participate in the future.
EDIT: I haven't had a beer in a long time, that sounded pretty good.  

[billyjoeallen]

Rousing speech.  I am mining and holding my current investment, but not buying more.

However... am I the only one who sees some irony in this communitarian call to sacrifice when bitcoin is crypto-anarchic-libertarian or whatever, and the basic idea is that it's every man for himself and the invisible hand of the market turns greed into good?

Voluntary collective action is consistent with anarchy. Anarchy means "no rulers." It doesn't mean "no cooperation in the furtherance of mutual goals."

A sacrifice, a real sacrifice, is a trade- a trade of something you value less for something you value more. But you're right; it is every man for himself. Everyone must decide for himself if they want to heed the call to fight the good fight.  For me, it's an easy decision. How often do we get the chance to do something truly noble and glorious? David and his sling never had such an opportunity. This could be our finest hour. I I'm going for it. Carpe Deim!

[billyjoeallen]

Good luck organizing a cartel with free entry and 60k incumbents.

I have no intention of organizing a cartel and besides, they don't work anyway. Cartel members have a greater incentive to defect the higher the cartel drives the price. This isn't an attempt to cartelize. It's a declared intention to subsidize Bitcoin until it doesn't need us anymore. It may not need us now. We'll have a better idea this weekend.