Why Bitcoin?

[kelsey]

i've been around this community a few years and i still don't get why anyone would chose bitcoin.

don't get me wrong i believe in an alternative p2p currency, but to me bitcoin certainly doesn't cut it.

about the only answer people have is first mover advantage. but that's pretty much it.

bitcoin seems to, over time, be drifting more into a centralised system, core dev team where so few as 5 completely control the code, backed by what has come to light time and time again a very questionable central organisation.

have VC with their little startups jumping on board left right and center, and we know their goals  , bitcoin's heading more and more like being the bank product it was meant to be an alternative to  

seems the only way to back bitcoin is keep your head it the sand and hope it'll all turn out good in the end........

[ashour]

You could ask the same with facebook, why should someone use it instead of a different social network. The answer is simple facebook is the biggest social network with the most support worldwide. Bitcoin is like this the biggest crypto currency in the world, until a new crypto currency comes wich will have more support and more users than bitcoin we will still prefer bitcoin.

[NUFCrichard]

i've been around this community a few years and i still don't get why anyone would chose bitcoin.

don't get me wrong i believe in an alternative p2p currency, but to me bitcoin certainly doesn't cut it.

about the only answer people have is first mover advantage. but that's pretty much it.

bitcoin seems to, over time, be drifting more into a centralised system, core dev team where so few as 5 completely control the code, backed by what has come to light time and time again a very questionable central organisation.

have VC with their little startups jumping on board left right and center, and we know their goals  , bitcoin's heading more and more like being the bank product it was meant to be an alternative to  

seems the only way to back bitcoin is keep your head it the sand and hope it'll all turn out good in the end........

Network security comes with that first mover advantage, you can't easily replicate that.
It is the test pad for cryto in the real-world, if bitcoin fails then this generate of crypt will fail, if it succeeds, then others can too on it's trails.

If it is going to succeed, it will have to be more mainstream, it can fail and stay very liberal, insecure and hard to use, bit that will be a failure.

[Beliathon]

core dev team where so few as 5 completely control the code

OP does not understand how open source projects are developed.

Why bitcoin? That's easy, it's not an inflationary scamcoin like fiat. Nor is bitcoin backed by coercion and violence. No other currency with a 3bil+ market cap in the history of Earth can make that claim.

[dquancey]

You could ask the same with facebook, why should someone use it instead of a different social network. The answer is simple facebook is the biggest social network with the most support worldwide. Bitcoin is like this the biggest crypto currency in the world, until a new crypto currency comes wich will have more support and more users than bitcoin we will still prefer bitcoin.

Not exactly the same, but I get where you are coming from.

I believe in BTC, I don't hold a large amount so not going to profit from the "moon" scenario. I think the potential is there in the community, as well as the technology.

Time will tell as ever.

[Dabs]

We choose bitcoin because of it's properties: open source, decentralized (still is), near instant transactions, same day confirmations (with appropriate tx fees), trustless.

At this point, bitcoin is, like other big institutions, sort of too big to fail. It's value or exchange rate notwithstanding, it is currently supported by the most hash power, by the most number of nodes and miners, and the most number of users and websites that accept crypto currency.

[Amph]

it still offer a valide alternative to someone who does not want to use fiat, and for who that has the need to use a currency that can be used as a global currency, without convert it everytime

and btw there is no centralization(you're still in control of your portfolio, not like with a bank, were they "rub" you for their secret investment) in bitcoin

the project is open to everyone while the mine aspect even if it seems decentralized you can still join the net and mine as a casual miner if you have cheap electricy, otherwise go with cloud

[kelsey]

core dev team where so few as 5 completely control the code

OP does not understand how open source projects are developed.

Why bitcoin? That's easy, it's not an inflationary scamcoin like fiat. Nor is bitcoin backed by coercion and violence. No other currency with a 3bil+ market cap in the history of Earth can make that claim.

no its the core devs who don't.

thought bitcoins marketcap was 21 million?

[spazzdla]

THIS
IS
WHY
YOU
SHOULD
BE
MINING.

If you are a "bitcoiner" who does not mine you are NOT a bitcoiner.  You are allowing others to control the network.. tsk tsk tsk.

[Amph]

core dev team where so few as 5 completely control the code

OP does not understand how open source projects are developed.

Why bitcoin? That's easy, it's not an inflationary scamcoin like fiat. Nor is bitcoin backed by coercion and violence. No other currency with a 3bil+ market cap in the history of Earth can make that claim.

no its the core devs who don't.

thought bitcoins marketcap was 21 million?

market cap isn't the total numbers of bitcoin, but the toal value of the current coins in circulation

http://coinmarketcap.com/

[kelsey]

think most here are missing my main point, i'm saying i'm a fan of alt to fiat p2p currencies, so I'm no saying why btc vs fiat i'm saying why bitcoin v other p2p alternatives.

[kelsey]

core dev team where so few as 5 completely control the code

OP does not understand how open source projects are developed.

Why bitcoin? That's easy, it's not an inflationary scamcoin like fiat. Nor is bitcoin backed by coercion and violence. No other currency with a 3bil+ market cap in the history of Earth can make that claim.

no its the core devs who don't.

thought bitcoins marketcap was 21 million?

market cap isn't the total numbers of bitcoin, but the toal value of the current coins in circulation

http://coinmarketcap.com/

i was being sarcastic re the irony of pricing bitcoin in USD.
 

[Dabs]

Bitcoins are limited to less than 21 million BTC. The value of each BTC, and therefore the value of all BTC combined is now in the billions.

If there are about 21 million BTC, and each one is worth $200 USD, then the market cap of the entire cryptocurrency is more than 4 billion USD.

[kelsey]

Bitcoins are limited to less than 21 million BTC. The value of each BTC, and therefore the value of all BTC combined is now in the billions.

If there are about 21 million BTC, and each one is worth $200 USD, then the market cap of the entire cryptocurrency is more than 4 billion USD.

why price it in USD? peronally i've never used USD.

[Light]

If you are a "bitcoiner" who does not mine you are NOT a bitcoiner.  You are allowing others to control the network.. tsk tsk tsk.

Well that's a rather specific definition. I haven't mined in an eternity because it is no longer cost efficient nor fits my lifestyle - doesn't mean I can't do other things like run a node and be a supporting part of Bitcoin. Network security is maintained by the fact that generally most miners don't want to see all the mining to occur at a few specific pools (with the potential for 51% attacks) and that they want to make a profit. It's like saying you should make your own CPU and motherboard because you can't trust that the NSA hasn't tampered with it. At some point things become too difficult to live in land of golden principles - reality doesn't fit so well.

[Dabs]

why price it in USD? peronally i've never used USD.

I don't use USD either. However everything I buy using bitcoin is priced in USD as the reference.

[Light]

why price it in USD? peronally i've never used USD.

Because he needs a figure to indicate that the market capitalization of Bitcoin has increased - best way is to peg it against one of the most commonly accepted currencies for financial transactions in the world.

USD may not be useful to you if you don't live in the US - but they are important for all exporters/importers and a significant number of financial structures and companies.

[kelsey]

a crypto having a price is meaningless.

what gives bitcoin a price is mostly the greater fool theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory

[cryptojumper]

Why Bitcoin? Because with all other altcoins you will get Paycoined(tm) eventually

[kelsey]

Why Bitcoin? Because with all other altcoins you will get Paycoined^tm eventually

without a doubt i think overwhelmingly most cryptos are the devs quest for more fiat.