Bitcoins is on Yahoo frontpage - Brace for impact people.

[15_year_old_blonde]

The Bitcoin Triples Again

by Jack Hough
Friday, June 10, 2011

The online currency has minted off-line millionaires. But for how long?

The world's fastest-gaining currency has tripled in price again. Last week, SmartMoney reported that the Bitcoin had exploded from an exchange rate near zero to more than $10 in about a year, making it one of the top-returning assets of any kind. On Wednesday the currency topped $30.

If returns like those seem otherworldly, perhaps its because Bitcoin is a world unto itself. To recap, it's is a purely online currency with no intrinsic value; its worth is based solely on the willingness of holders and merchants to accept it in trade. In that respect, it's not so different from fiat currencies like the dollar or Euro, but whereas governments back such money, Bitcoins lack central control.

In another way, the appeal of the Bitcoin echoes the appeal of gold. Instead of a central bank, a computer algorithm dictates their supply. Today there are six million Bitcoins, a number that will grow at a steadily slowing rate until it approaches 21 million, but no more. As with gold, some see such limited supply as built-in protection against inflation that could result from runaway government budget deficits. Gold, of course, has been a store of value for thousands of years and has at least some industrial use, whereas Bitcoins are brand new and exist only on the Internet.

For some early adopters, Bitcoins have turned from a hobby into a windfall. MtGox.com, the main exchange for users swapping Bitcoins for dollars and other currencies, charges buyers and sellers a fee of 0.65% for its brokerage service. (The name stands for Magic the Gathering Online Exchange, but the Bitcoin dabbler who bought the domain didn't bother to change it.) As recently as a few months ago, the site generated just pennies a day in income. By Wednesday it was making more than $40,000 a day.

Mt. Gox, needless to say, is not a regulated exchange, so its pricing and liquidity data aren't subject to any review or verification. Mt. Gox didn't respond to an email request for comment. The site offers no customer service phone number.

The largest Bitcoin account holder -- who is, of course, anonymous -- has 297,000 units of the start-up currency, according to Donald Norman, a spokesman for the The Bitcoin Consultancy, which offers advisory services for institutions interested in Bitcoin transactions. At $31 per Bitcoin, that's equivalent to $9.2 million.

Bitcoins are accepted by a limited number of merchants for services, such as website design, and some goods, such as music and clothes. The anonymous nature of the currency has also led to brazen use by drug dealers, including ones who hawk their merchandise on Silk Road, a website than can only be reached through a network that cloaks the identity of its owner. Lawmakers are not amused. "The only method of payment for these illegal purchases is an untraceable peer-to-peer currency known as Bitcoins," wrote Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Joe Manchin of West Virginia this week in a letter to the U.S. Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Cash, Bitcoin advocates are quick to point out, is also an anonymous payment system used to buy drugs, and Norman says the focus on drugs is sensationalistic and misguided. "It would be sad if the growth of Bitcoin was stunted because of this criminal byproduct," he says. "Bitcoin is going to change the world in the same way the Internet did and make societies freer."

It's not clear that U.S. law enforcement agencies could regulate Bitcoins if they wanted to. The currency runs on software similar to the file-sharing software used to download music and movies, technology the entertainment industry has been trying unsuccessfully to quash for years. There's no headquarters, main server or central bank to visit, just a network of thousands of users. It's also not clear whether U.S. regulators would have jurisdiction over a global, virtual currency. Last week, a spokesman for the F.B.I. said he was unaware of Bitcoins and would check into the Bureau's position on them. Subsequent calls for comment have not been returned.
 
Readers tempted to bet on the Bitcoin should resist, not least because it's unclear whether it will have any enduring worth. Beyond what fans say are the currency's design advantages, its chief appeal at the moment is surely that it's soaring in value. As of now, today is the first day in more than a week that the currency didn't hit a new high. And when the gains stall, the fall that follows may be as breathtaking as the rise.

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[Fleembit]

Don't read the comments on the Yahoo article unless you want to rage so hard. Well... unless you want to play a drinking game where you drink every time some one mentions ponzi, beanie babies, or tulips.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112907/bitcoin-triples-again-smartmoney

[Bit_Happy]

Thank you for posting the article.

[dingus]

Don't underestimate the stupidity of the general public, especially those who read Yahoo Finance.

[str4wm4n]

WTS ~50 BEANIE BABIES FOR 1 BTC, PST

[AllYourBase]

Well it's on yahoo, but it's neither on the yahoo frontpage nor the yahoo finance frontpage so far as I can tell...

[oneforall]

Well it's on yahoo, but it's neither on the yahoo frontpage nor the yahoo finance frontpage so far as I can tell...

thats what i thought at first too, but on the yahoo front page there is the little changing screen that allows you to sift thru 50 articles or so, that has it if you keep clicking next.

[DividingSolid]

Maybe the users on Yahoo being stupid is a good thing?

[oneforall]

Maybe the users on Yahoo being stupid is a good thing?

explain yourself?

[DividingSolid]

Maybe the users on Yahoo being stupid is a good thing?

explain yourself?

They won't go with us which means we won't have their stupidity here.

[gigitrix]

Particular Highlights:

Somebody call in Pacman cus @#$% these bitcoins are running wild! lol

"Bitcoin is going to change the world in the same way the Internet did and make societies freer. Just kidding"
21 million max. 9.2 million owned by one person already. Betting on the future of a digital currency eh?
This sounds like a trial run for a really stupid and horrible dream of the future. But at least this answers why there's a huge buy out for gold and jewelery. Escaping regulations. Cute.

Here's what's going to happen. SOMEONE (over sea's most likely) will hack the system, and either A. Steal all the digital currency, or B. Hack the main system giving themselves massive amounts of this currency and trading it in for "REAL" money. It will only be time.

How hard would it be to make yourself a Game Genie to hack as much bitcoin on your comp as you like. I feel a challenge coming on.

and of course, the most convincing argument yet:

Gay

You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen!

[Mark Oates]

gigitrix, those are good hilights (and kinda sad, too )

But, yea, it was on the front-page of http://www.smartmoney.com/ under "Must 5 Reads"

I guess if we have another "Black Friday Crash" we can keep most of these trolls at bay for awhile longer

[edit]

In that respect, it's not so different from fiat currencies like the dollar or Euro,

Ouch!  Well, that's only very wrong.

[edit2]

Mt. Gox [...] The site offers no customer service phone number.

LOL!  "We tried sending them a message through carrier pigeon, but we never heard back from them.  "

[dstanchfield]

http://pic0.picsorlinks.com/ph_or_115925_a6c164c.png

[Longmarch]

Here's what's going to happen. SOMEONE (over sea's most likely) will hack the system, and either A. Steal all the digital currency, or B. Hack the main system giving themselves massive amounts of this currency and trading it in for "REAL" money. It will only be time.

Lolling @ "they are gonna hack teh systimzzzzz"

[bitbitcoincoin]

Always hate when these articles neglect to mention the very important fact that bitcoins are divisible by up to 8 decimal points.  It makes a drastic difference when discussing the potential total of units of currency available at the cap.  You then get a large portion of people who have a completely inaccurate assumption on bitcoins based largely on a huge omission.  Whether it's intentional or done just due to the stupidity of the author we'll never know.

[Bit_Happy]

Yahoo!
Hey that looks great, thanks for the effort.

[hawks5999]

Yahoo is meaningless. The dozens of people who visit Yahoo's front page daily won't have an impact.

When you see BitCoin anywhere on the DrudgeReport - be sure to have a backed up the truck before hand. As of now, there are 0 occurrences of bitcoin in the Drudge Archives. Agree or disagree with him, he drives a ton of traffic.

[Bit_Happy]

Particular Highlights:

Somebody call in Pacman cus @#$% these bitcoins are running wild! lol

"Bitcoin is going to change the world in the same way the Internet did and make societies freer. Just kidding"
21 million max. 9.2 million owned by one person already. Betting on the future of a digital currency eh?
This sounds like a trial run for a really stupid and horrible dream of the future. But at least this answers why there's a huge buy out for gold and jewelery. Escaping regulations. Cute.

Here's what's going to happen. SOMEONE (over sea's most likely) will hack the system, and either A. Steal all the digital currency, or B. Hack the main system giving themselves massive amounts of this currency and trading it in for "REAL" money. It will only be time.

How hard would it be to make yourself a Game Genie to hack as much bitcoin on your comp as you like. I feel a challenge coming on.

and of course, the most convincing argument yet:

Gay

You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen!

This one is a Bit funny:


(From the comments)

YES. It might become the new money system.
YES. It will fight inflation.
YES. It will increase, if successful, much more yet in value. Probably up to a million each.

BUT NO. It will not protect us from the selfish, greedy, unhuman Dinasours that rule the earth.When Bitcons can be bought by money, and are accepted, People with the most money will buy the most.

Thank you.

[billyjoeallen]

The article is a retread, but it's timing and placement are suspicious.  Somebody with money and influence wants to get in cheap and is shaking out the weak hands. You can see this in the commodities markets all the time, most recently with silver.

We need to be thinking long-term and big picture.  It could easily get worse before it gets better.

[hawks5999]

The article is a retread, but it's timing and placement are suspicious.  Somebody with money and influence wants to get in cheap and is shaking out the weak hands. You can see this in the commodities markets all the time, most recently with silver.

We need to be thinking long-term and big picture.  It could easily get worse before it gets better.

I think a breakdown to 18-19 is terribly reasonable and probably healthy.