So... This is how you kill bitcoin.

[LoweryCBS]

Gotta admit, pretty smart - Didn't see that coming, did we?

If you're a central bank, or a government feeling threatened by the rise of a paradigm such as bitcoin, how do you kill it?

Make it illegal? Make it difficult to use? Ostracize the theory's proponents?

Or just simply remove the underlying utility of the invention in question - in this case, bitcoin's use as either a transactional currency, or a useful store of value.

Other than the speculators, who in their right mind would store their worth in something that has no steady, definite value?

Forget the people hurrying to buy bitcoin today (because tomorrow it'll be 25% more!) - Who would dare use bitcoin to purchase a good or service from someone in another country, or at a retail counter?

If you're a central bank, or a government, with massive resources at your disposal, you don't care if you make a few people wealthy in the beginning (or destroy a few fortunes in the end) you've accomplished what you set out to do: "Bitcoin? That was a crazy ride. Who'd ever trust that thing again?"

It's a shame, really - there was so much potential, and yet it's proven so easy to destroy.

The destruction was just not conducted the way that any of us thought it would be done.

[tutkarz]

I would like also to remind some people that in 2011 bitcoin price already crashed. And if it would be that easy to just crash price, bitcoin would be dead in 2011 and nobody would use it anymore. But look at todays price. It only means, that if it will someday crash (i doubt in it honestly) then it will go back again and again like phoenix from ashes hehe Because it has real value for people but some fail to understand it.

[Dunbar]

Yes, the speculation around BTC is one of the major threats for BTC, but not really a long term one. Prices will plummet, or even out.

Other threats are:

- The blockchain. You can insert data in it, and at the moment it contains wikileaks stuff but also CP. This will give BTC a negative connotation with the general public, and they will lose all interest.

- ASICs. Instead of the general public mining, it will be a few hundred(?) miners buying huge ASIC racks. They have the power to kill off competing cryptocurrencies (TRC anyone?) and control the blockchain.

[HappyBitCoinUser]

I would like also to remind some people that in 2011 bitcoin price already crashed. And if it would be that easy to just crash price, bitcoin would be dead in 2011 and nobody would use it anymore. But look at todays price. It only means, that if it will someday crash (i doubt in it honestly) then it will go back again and again like phoenix from ashes hehe Because it has real value for people but some fail to understand it.

Crashed when fewer people knew about it.

We have how many more people investing into BitCoin now? Don't think we'll see a crash that hard again. Maybe below $100 but not down to 1 cent.

[BTC Books]

Gotta admit, pretty smart - Didn't see that coming, did we?

I'm sorry - too much Jethro Tull, I guess.  I must be thick as a brick...

Didn't see what coming?

[inge]

If Bitcoins crash, I’m going to buy. Seriously, the so call “real” economy has tangible benefits in using Bitcoins. Bitcoins are here to stay…

Regards, Inge

[Skinner73]

I will also buy extra if it crashes... Im here for the "world changing" perspective.... If i get a bit rich in the process, then im sorry

[HappyBitCoinUser]

I'm definitely going to buy a ton of BTC if it ever crashes. I'd love to buy 10,000 BTC plz

[Insu Dra]

/***/ oh damn I was not supposed to say that.  
All that is happening right now is just making some people very happy  

Edit: removed the part I was not supposed to say. <_<

[Bytas]

It's funny how you do not actually state how they will do it.
"so THIS is how you kill bitcoin", "didn't see THAT coming."

What are you talking about dude???!!

[Remember remember the 5th of November]

Gotta admit, pretty smart - Didn't see that coming, did we?

If you're a central bank, or a government feeling threatened by the rise of a paradigm such as bitcoin, how do you kill it?

Make it illegal? Make it difficult to use? Ostracize the theory's proponents?

Or just simply remove the underlying utility of the invention in question - in this case, bitcoin's use as either a transactional currency, or a useful store of value.

Other than the speculators, who in their right mind would store their worth in something that has no steady, definite value?

Forget the people hurrying to buy bitcoin today (because tomorrow it'll be 25% more!) - Who would dare use bitcoin to purchase a good or service from someone in another country, or at a retail counter?

If you're a central bank, or a government, with massive resources at your disposal, you don't care if you make a few people wealthy in the beginning (or destroy a few fortunes in the end) you've accomplished what you set out to do: "Bitcoin? That was a crazy ride. Who'd ever trust that thing again?"

It's a shame, really - there was so much potential, and yet it's proven so easy to destroy.

The destruction was just not conducted the way that any of us thought it would be done.

Sorry, I did not see not one sentence in there that told me how you kill it. You just blurt random questions. Where is exactly your statement, the fact?

[Caesar V]

Don't see anyone using gold to buy bread.

[keatonatron]

Gotta admit, pretty smart - Didn't see that coming, did we?

I'm sorry - too much Jethro Tull, I guess.  I must be thick as a brick...

Didn't see what coming?

I don't get it either. The OP sounded like a lot of vague nothingness!

[wopwop]

yeah the op is just talking gibberish

a non-believer shill is what we bitcoiners call them

[pyromaniac]

I would like also to remind some people that in 2011 bitcoin price already crashed. And if it would be that easy to just crash price, bitcoin would be dead in 2011 and nobody would use it anymore. But look at todays price. It only means, that if it will someday crash (i doubt in it honestly) then it will go back again and again like phoenix from ashes hehe Because it has real value for people but some fail to understand it.

Crashed when fewer people knew about it.

We have how many more people investing into BitCoin now? Don't think we'll see a crash that hard again. Maybe below $100 but not down to 1 cent.

That would be good, because next bubble could be much bigger. If it goes down to 1 cent, I'll get a large loan to buy millions of bitcoins. At the next bubble I'll be a billionaire. 

[wopwop]

I would like also to remind some people that in 2011 bitcoin price already crashed. And if it would be that easy to just crash price, bitcoin would be dead in 2011 and nobody would use it anymore. But look at todays price. It only means, that if it will someday crash (i doubt in it honestly) then it will go back again and again like phoenix from ashes hehe Because it has real value for people but some fail to understand it.

Crashed when fewer people knew about it.

We have how many more people investing into BitCoin now? Don't think we'll see a crash that hard again. Maybe below $100 but not down to 1 cent.

That would be good, because next bubble could be much bigger. If it goes down to 1 cent, I'll get a large loan to buy millions of bitcoins. At the next bubble I'll be a billionaire. 

me too

[Impaler]

I think the OP is implying that "THEY" (government/central banks etc) are bidding up the price of BTC to destabilize its value such that it becomes terrible as a currency.  While I agree with him on the effect this is having, I doubt it's actually being orchestrated by any outside entity, it may be entirely the internal community doing it.

My theory is that the price run up is being driven by ASICs, my logic is as follows.  After reward halfing all existing miners were squeezed hard and many were forced to shutdown, the remainder were only just keeping their heads above water after a combination of reduced difficulty and increased value which took about a month to work out, these miners had to fund themselves by immediately selling newly mined coins.  Then in February the ASICs started up and despite large capitol investments their low electric costs and the fact that difficulty was chasing them meant they has nearly complete freedom to liquidate their new coins or NOT based on the current price (effectively its a sellers market).  Naturally many of them did hoard their coins and as they take a larger and larger share of the networks hash-rate they have more and more of the total daily supply of new coins which they offer at higher and higher prices creating a self-reinforcing loop ware fewer and fewer new coins need to be offered to cover running costs.  Older miners may still be hanging in their for now as valuation rises have been considerably greater then difficulty increases, but should we see and value crash I suspect the ASICs can just keep on running profitably which would keep difficulty high, that would put the entire legacy non-ASIC mining fleet out of business in one swoop and leave mining even more centralized then before.

This theory could be validated by a deep block-chain analysis, new coin generation are easily identified as are Mt.Gox transactions ware we would expect a miner to sell coins, determine to what degree miners liquidate new coins and see if that percentage is in decline recently.

[cho]

- ASICs. Instead of the general public mining, it will be a few hundred(?) miners buying huge ASIC racks. They have the power to kill off competing cryptocurrencies (TRC anyone?) and control the blockchain.

It's easy to build a "competing" cryptocurrency that uses a different mining algo. It would be unaffected by your ASICs.

[NikolaTesla]

Sorry, I did not see not one sentence in there that told me how you kill it. You just blurt random questions. Where is exactly your statement, the fact?

He's saying the central banks are promoting it to create a speculative bubble on purpose so when the bubble crashes people will lose faith in cryptocurrencies in general. It's a pretty ridiculous theory.

[warpio]

If they ARE trying to buy every bitcoin to pump up the price, then crash it, and start all over to repeat a loop of speculation bubbles to make the currency unstable, then the only way for us to fight against this is to stop selling our BTC for USD. Eventually, it will get easier to buy everything in BTC, and so these pumps and dumps will start looking like fluctuations in the USD rather than fluctuations in BTC... they will be exposing their ponzi scheme for what it is.