My major concern about Bitcoin

[FTWbitcoinFTW]

First of all, hello folks

I thinks i got it, finally after a little week reading, digging, i GOT IT.
The  basic pattern is almost clear in my head.
Need more knowledge about pgp, security and P2P basic rules, it's ok i'll continue my homeworks.

BUT my major concern about Bitcoin is the other factor, the one  outside my hands.


I think the growth of bitcoin will worry more and more people. Those who decide and who have powers
So I think it's just a matter of time before they set to work and decide to falling bitcoin

I understand that the system itself is "secure", but the intermediaries may still be under pressure.

I think this is the weakest point and an offensive against those who direct the media and the banks it will be hard to resist.

I keep in mind the campaign against wikileaks and i thinks something similar can be set up against Bitcoin.

This is the only thing that stopping me from changing all my savings into Bitcoin


Someone for help me with this concern ?

Thanks and long life to bitcoin

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[Stephen Gornick]

This is the only thing that stopping me from changing all my savings into Bitcoin

LOL, ...  put down that glass and step back away from the pitcher of kool aid.

If it was clear that Bitcoin would be free from interference from government and banks then you wouldn't be given the opportunity today to buy bitcoin at $13.40 or whatever it is at, as the exchange rate for a millibit would probably already be at parity with the dollar.

Recently Phillip Zimmerman was on Adam Vs. The Man:

AVTM End of the World Crypto-Party! Phil Zimmerman, Alan Reiner, John Light
 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwGu5k6R--o

He was describing how he was under investigation for several years for his work in exporting encryption (considered "munitions").

But they never even charged him with anything.

Here's a podcast of a panel with Zimmerman explaining further that period:

History of the Cypherpunks
 - http://www.bitcoinmoney.com/post/6136537609

We know various agencies and individuals in governments and banks around the world are aware of bitcoin:

List of court cases, complaints, regulatory actions, etc.
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=96118.0

There has not been a single action, to-date, that might be interpreted as the government coming down on Bitcoin.  To be fair, Doug Jackson had no indication they would be coming down on e-Gold either, ... until they did.  But Bitcoin is not centralized like e-Gold.

I'm not saying Bitcoin's exchange rate wouldn't get pounded if there was a move towards outlawing bitcoin trading or commerce, but the technology it uses is such that it will likely survive and continue functioning even if that were to happen.

[odolvlobo]

This is the only thing that stopping me from changing all my savings into Bitcoin

It would be difficult for governments to shut down bitcoin, but not impossible. Even if that doesn't happen, there is still a possibility that bitcoin will be worthless in the near future. Putting all of your savings into anything risky is a bad idea. I hope common sense is also stopping you.

[Lethn]

Diversification is always a good idea, that's why people put their money in Gold/Silver/International Stocks as well as other currencies, I do think people in the U.S mainly and nations who feel threatened will try and take down Bitcoin because they think it will be devaluing their own currency but one of the saving graces of the technological age is how little our previous generations understand anything about computers or what we do. It will most likely be a lot like filesharing, they'll take down a couple of big centralised sites here and there ( So think MTgox and BitInstant ) but in the end people will adapt and we'll just simply laugh at their attempts to censor and block everything to do with Bitcoin.

I hope I'm not being to overconfident, but I do think that the fact Bitcoin is an entirely different currency makes us nearly unassailable, we do not use the same funds that they do and what we have is worth more, so eventually as more and more people turn to Bitcoin they will lose the funding they need to take out Bitcoin altogether as it's all being transferred. At the rate things are going, I think we've already won the economic warfare currently going on between superpowers right now.

[FTWbitcoinFTW]

Thanks all  for advices.

But i thinks everybody here (include me) are losing some objectivity due to the commitment.

The resources that could be deployed if the institutions are feeling threatened are well beyond our imagination.

I'll buy a bit of BTC for cold storage, some on MPEX, some for developping a small macrowebsite
and give them one year
1 january 2014 we'll see what happened.

360 days for changing the world and i start NOW

[Jakers]

This reminds me a lot of silver, the bitcoin industry. Watch your shoes, you might take a massive drop, but then again if you stay in before the drop you could make some big buckeroo's

[mike80439]

What's the government going to do?  Shutdown 3000 mining rigs world wide?  Don't think so.

The major uptick in BTC value occurred when Greece was on the brink.  That can has been kicked down the road, but it is still there ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/02/euro-greece-barter-poverty-crisis ).  As with Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the US.  I suspect a lot of euros went into BTC when the ministers started talking currency restrictions.

Personally, I think we should be (privately) promoting BTC to the general public as a place to park one's wealth.  If your friends/family have money in savings accounts or money market funds, explain to them the safety of BC, especially during times of high inflation.  Explain that every month the US government prints $40Bn, and that every month, the buying power of their dollars is reduced.

My problem is that my savings is in IRA accounts.  If someone could tell me how to convert dollars for BTC without paying the income tax, I'm all ears   :-)

[Mvann]

I think its here to stay for sure, even with goverments banning it will still be allowed in other countries and the demand with allways be there. People have been looking for anonymous ways to make payments for a long time and this does that along with several other thing.

My only concern would be in the way mining and all that work, I dont know much about it tho but if there is any flaw or unseen problem down the line that would be the only possible fall in my eyes.

[Anon136]

What's the government going to do?  Shutdown 3000 mining rigs world wide?  Don't think so.

Out of those 3000 mining rigs world wide only few % are solo-mining ready. You haven't noticed major drop in network hashrate at
the time just one of big pools - BTCGuild - was under DDoS attack? Take out 10 biggest pools and Bitcoin would be dead and buried.

To anyone thinking Bitcoin is safe, especially those thinking putting in huge amount of money = waste it on drugs, alcohol and hookers! 

isnt there something called p2pool that is ddos resistant?

[xorxor]

goverments can't just shutdown bitcoin like that full stop.
but they are the most serious threat to the network.


we are safe for next few years, because now it's better for goverments to ignore the subject - more attention will only grow the network.
also it needs a lot of negative media campaining. so we have a long goverment free grow. but not for ever

first easiest and possible fatal is simple outlawing bitcoin.
all bitcoin power is in our belief, our commitment, our choice to use it as medium of exchange, as storage of purchasing power, and that gives bitcoin a value.
if some people decide to chashout when outlawing, and some will, it could start a crash. its not certain, but it's real.

second, 100% effective method, is forcing disabling uncertified p2p connections on ISP's. its a hardcore move, that is years from now to be possible, but definetely we are going in that direction, so we can't rule it out.

media can go every day about stealing games and movies and music - torrent, money loundring and untraceable drug payments - bitcoin , child porn and black market - TOR . all this   through not necessary for anything else p2p connections.   of course that is  a lie, p2p IS necessary for other things but who cares, if bitcoin cap rise to 500 billion - they will attack.

[xorxor]

As long as those and other activities keep herd fully preoccupied, it is just fine for rulers. Their priorities don't go in parallel with herd.

You completely misunderstood me. I completely agree - goverments dont give a fuck about illegal activities, only geting reelected.
money running away from goverment FIAT to bitcoin and gold is a serious concern for them. they will attack illegal p2p activities only as a media propagnda thing, in order to stop bitcoin and alternative media.

[Coco888]

If there is no 51% attack on bitcoin network, I think bitcoin will be fine. The worst case will be the banning from all government, which cannot be there in 15 years. But bitcoin will still survive from such banning.

[Mvann]

Well the future will have a currency like this in it for sure, because the demand is so huge. So really the only way for bitcoin to fail would be if there comes a better alternative... Anyone know if there are other ideas around or alternatives to bitcoin?

[xorxor]

Well the future will have a currency like this in it for sure, because the demand is so huge. So really the only way for bitcoin to fail would be if there comes a better alternative... Anyone know if there are other ideas around or alternatives to bitcoin?

there are a lot of them https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=134179.0

but bitcoin is to good for something a little better to take it over, it's like google - bing algoritm is better, but google searches are more accurate because more people use them. the same is with bitcoin, you can make a lot of theoreticaly better alternatives, but bitcoin will be beter simply because of more people using it.

also, OP's and my points apply 100% identicaly to some other currencies than could replace bitcoin, so this brings nothing new to the topic.

[Mvann]

Well the future will have a currency like this in it for sure, because the demand is so huge. So really the only way for bitcoin to fail would be if there comes a better alternative... Anyone know if there are other ideas around or alternatives to bitcoin?

there are a lot of them https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=134179.0

but bitcoin is to good for something a little better to take it over, it's like google - bing algoritm is better, but google searches are more accurate because more people use them. the same is with bitcoin, you can make a lot of theoreticaly better alternatives, but bitcoin will be beter simply because of more people using it.

also, OP's and my points apply 100% identicaly to some other currencies than could replace bitcoin, so this brings nothing new to the topic.

thanks. I was just pointing out that the ONLY way it can fail is if its replaced by something else, as the demand is so high.

Taking your responds that is highly unlikely so I guess its here to stay

[dree12]

Well the future will have a currency like this in it for sure, because the demand is so huge. So really the only way for bitcoin to fail would be if there comes a better alternative... Anyone know if there are other ideas around or alternatives to bitcoin?

there are a lot of them https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=134179.0

but bitcoin is to good for something a little better to take it over, it's like google - bing algoritm is better, but google searches are more accurate because more people use them. the same is with bitcoin, you can make a lot of theoreticaly better alternatives, but bitcoin will be beter simply because of more people using it.

also, OP's and my points apply 100% identicaly to some other currencies than could replace bitcoin, so this brings nothing new to the topic.

thanks. I was just pointing out that the ONLY way it can fail is if its replaced by something else, as the demand is so high.

Taking your responds that is highly unlikely so I guess its here to stay

To be able to improve perfection is what separates humans from apes. When (not if) Bitcoin is replaced by something else, I would consider it a success. For millennia, this has been humankind's ultimate goal: to take something good, and replace it with something better.

The postal system was great, and everyone used it. When email was invented, very few initially used it. But email was better, and so it eventually took over. This will, one day, happen to Bitcoin. And if we current Bitcoin users are still alive, we can finally say that we took a technology on a journey from conception to obsolescence.

[goldnugget007]

This reminds me a lot of silver, the bitcoin industry. Watch your shoes, you might take a massive drop, but then again if you stay in before the drop you could make some big buckeroo's

lol, in a weird way im here learning about the bitcoin world because of silver.... she has been very good to me the past 4 years... Im a gambling man and im putting my next bet on BTC

[FTWbitcoinFTW]

Im a gambling man and im putting my next bet on BTC

Easy bet when you look back the curve.

Once again, if you stick just with the theory, it's a dream.
But a nightmare for those who  rob you with the fiat system.

Take out 10 biggest pools and Bitcoin would be dead and buried.

That's my point, if you centralize a service who normally is create for P2P, its a good start for having troubles
eg : mtgox, big pool,...

[SBC]

Bitcoin like Bittorrent and Mp3 before that, is only going to gain traction regardless of the interference of the state - the underlying technology is just too useful. In any event rarely do governmental institutions act in harmony within their own borders let alone on a global scale. For a recent example; see the inability of the Republican and Democrat parties in the USA to negotiate a budget until the 11th hour, despite knowing about the potential consequences of failing to do so months in advance.

[Luno]

Let's not disregard that the Bitcoin network might be useful for governments:

Intelligence agencies have been running TOR nodes for tracking purposes for years. Similar if Bitcoin attract organised crime and Terror-networks, it would be a useful tool to track and crackdown on these things.

There are signs Silk Road has been monitored for some time while identifying sellers and tracking transactions. Just the fact that mainstream media keep describing Silk Road as untraceable because of Bitcoin and TOR, should get any serious criminals alarm bells ringing.

Last month there was a 25 minutes reportage in my country on Silk Road and Bitcoin an early Sunday evening. It was almost "Buying drugs with Bitcoin for dummies" Normally there would be some political comments the following day in news papers by both right and left wing politicians, but there was nothing! You could argue that it was over our politicians heads, but the reportage was well researched and the comments from law enforcement, made it clear that they now exactly how it works. The drug buyer's identity wasn't even masked. There was almost a shot of his front door!

The fact that no serious busting of Silk Road has happend yet could be because Tor and Bitcoin serves a higher intelligence purpose. Recreational drug users are too small fry for blowing such a valuable tool.

If US law enforcement want to identify Americans playing illegal poker online, they will be able to use Bitcoin for that also if they strike a deal with a gambling site.

Most Bitcoiners are too careless to cover their tracks, myself included, and why should we be careful? Our coins are safe but not our identity. I you break the law, you will get busted, that has nothing to do with Bitcoin. The good news is that as a legit Bitcoin user you will be able to document your transactions to the cent if you need to prove your usage of your Bitcoins.

A crackdown will be on criminal Bitcoin users not the Bitcoin network. Next might come the banks refusing to  transfer money to known Bitcoin exchanges. Wil this kill Bitcoin? No and some countries will openly endorse Bitcoin, as Finland has.

This is a race. We need to have enough legit uses and businesses to not let Bitcoin be stained by a major crackdown on illegal Bitcoin related uses, if it ever comes, or the price will tank.

I don't think that there will ever be a law against Bitcoin itself. We would have a P2P ban already because of file sharing if that was deemed possible.