[ANN][NOTE]DNotes - Celebrating DNotes 3rd Birthday - Forum Now Open

[Dyna]

Here's something I would like to hear some comments on. I initially posted this in the Digibyte forum since they were discussing the issue but, I would like to see what everyone here thinks:

"I'm hearing a lot of noise about Bitcoin's "flaw" regarding non reversible transactions. This is both a good and bad feature in the protocol depending on what the transaction is for. Perhaps, a solution would be to change the code so the transaction IS reversible for some period of time or, until the receiving party physically accepts it. Thoughts?"

Seems this is one of the holdups for mass adoption although most of that noise is coming from the established money/credit providers. Do you agree?

This is my take and I will try to make it brief. The irreversible feature of Bitcoin is an important security component and a great selling point to merchants. Legitimate merchants stand by their products and services they sell. Buyers have full recourse to a refund of their payments, if they so demand, within some reasonable scope of limitations, either directly or through the court of laws. I do not see this as an added risk exposure to the consumers, but a significant protection for merchants.

Reversible payments will drastically increase merchants’ risk exposure and a huge deterrent to mass merchant adoption. Anonymity, with the exception of certain merchants, is also a deterrent to mass adoption.

Unfortunately, I am having a very busy day and do not have the time to elaborate this further. I will conclude that in the absence of the irreversible feature and a required true anonymity for DNotes my optimism for the success of DNotes would be severely degraded. That is how strongly I feel about these two functions of Bitcoin as a digital currency technology.

I was trying to find an article I had read awhile ago about chargebacks, but haven't found it yet.  It gave the details on things like most reversed transactions are from online purchases, a lot of them are consumer fraud (receiving the merchandise, but saying you didn't), etc.  I'm of the opinion that this ("bitcoin's flaw") is just the credit card companies using this fact as their trump card.  Things will evolve and work themselves out and their argument will become mute.  Some of this can be dealt with on the shipping side ie. shipping insurance to guarantee receipt and in good condition where the customer must acknowledge upon receipt.  Best sellers ratings for reputable online businesses.  Apps that will recognize the addresses of the businesses on your safe list and issue you a warning if necessary, etc.  Who knows, this could weed out bad businesses and bad customers.

I did find this article on how much chargebacks cost merchants:

"The Unknown Costs of a Chargeback"  -   http://www.chargeback.com/blog/the-unknown-costs-of-a-chargeback

Thanks, Chase. That is an excellent article about the staggering cost of Chargeback. It is a serious burden to merchants and a lot of them are small business owners struggling to find enough money to cover the next payroll. When it is the merchant's fault they should absolutely take every responsibility to make the customer whole and satisfied. The consumer fraud component is the most troubling. If payments using Bitcoin are reversible, the negative impact will be crippling. We can forget about mass merchant adoption. The banks, credit/debit card companies, and the likes of Western Union will win the war. Irreversible payment does not equate to “no refund; all sales are final.” Reputable merchants will stand by the products and services you purchased, irrespective of the form of payment used.

[DNotes]

Here's something I would like to hear some comments on. I initially posted this in the Digibyte forum since they were discussing the issue but, I would like to see what everyone here thinks:

"I'm hearing a lot of noise about Bitcoin's "flaw" regarding non reversible transactions. This is both a good and bad feature in the protocol depending on what the transaction is for. Perhaps, a solution would be to change the code so the transaction IS reversible for some period of time or, until the receiving party physically accepts it. Thoughts?"

Seems this is one of the holdups for mass adoption although most of that noise is coming from the established money/credit providers. Do you agree?

This is my take and I will try to make it brief. The irreversible feature of Bitcoin is an important security component and a great selling point to merchants. Legitimate merchants stand by their products and services they sell. Buyers have full recourse to a refund of their payments, if they so demand, within some reasonable scope of limitations, either directly or through the court of laws. I do not see this as an added risk exposure to the consumers, but a significant protection for merchants.

Reversible payments will drastically increase merchants’ risk exposure and a huge deterrent to mass merchant adoption. Anonymity, with the exception of certain merchants, is also a deterrent to mass adoption.

Unfortunately, I am having a very busy day and do not have the time to elaborate this further. I will conclude that in the absence of the irreversible feature and a required true anonymity for DNotes my optimism for the success of DNotes would be severely degraded. That is how strongly I feel about these two functions of Bitcoin as a digital currency technology.

I was trying to find an article I had read awhile ago about chargebacks, but haven't found it yet.  It gave the details on things like most reversed transactions are from online purchases, a lot of them are consumer fraud (receiving the merchandise, but saying you didn't), etc.  I'm of the opinion that this ("bitcoin's flaw") is just the credit card companies using this fact as their trump card.  Things will evolve and work themselves out and their argument will become mute.  Some of this can be dealt with on the shipping side ie. shipping insurance to guarantee receipt and in good condition where the customer must acknowledge upon receipt.  Best sellers ratings for reputable online businesses.  Apps that will recognize the addresses of the businesses on your safe list and issue you a warning if necessary, etc.  Who knows, this could weed out bad businesses and bad customers.

I did find this article on how much chargebacks cost merchants:

"The Unknown Costs of a Chargeback"  -   http://www.chargeback.com/blog/the-unknown-costs-of-a-chargeback

Thanks, Chase. That is an excellent article about the staggering cost of Chargeback. It is a serious burden to merchants and a lot of them are small business owners struggling to find enough money to cover the next payroll. When it is the merchant's fault they should absolutely take every responsibility to make the customer whole and satisfied. The consumer fraud component is the most troubling. If payments using Bitcoin are reversible, the negative impact will be crippling. We can forget about mass merchant adoption. The banks, credit/debit card companies, and the likes of Western Union will win the war. Irreversible payment does not equate to “no refund; all sales are final.” Reputable merchants will stand by the products and services you purchased, irrespective of the form of payment used.

.5% cost was a bit of an eye opener for me, that is substantial, and reversible transactions would only make that figure grow.

[SmokeysGardens]

Here's something I would like to hear some comments on. I initially posted this in the Digibyte forum since they were discussing the issue but, I would like to see what everyone here thinks:

"I'm hearing a lot of noise about Bitcoin's "flaw" regarding non reversible transactions. This is both a good and bad feature in the protocol depending on what the transaction is for. Perhaps, a solution would be to change the code so the transaction IS reversible for some period of time or, until the receiving party physically accepts it. Thoughts?"

Seems this is one of the holdups for mass adoption although most of that noise is coming from the established money/credit providers. Do you agree?

This is my take and I will try to make it brief. The irreversible feature of Bitcoin is an important security component and a great selling point to merchants. Legitimate merchants stand by their products and services they sell. Buyers have full recourse to a refund of their payments, if they so demand, within some reasonable scope of limitations, either directly or through the court of laws. I do not see this as an added risk exposure to the consumers, but a significant protection for merchants.

Reversible payments will drastically increase merchants’ risk exposure and a huge deterrent to mass merchant adoption. Anonymity, with the exception of certain merchants, is also a deterrent to mass adoption.

Unfortunately, I am having a very busy day and do not have the time to elaborate this further. I will conclude that in the absence of the irreversible feature and a required true anonymity for DNotes my optimism for the success of DNotes would be severely degraded. That is how strongly I feel about these two functions of Bitcoin as a digital currency technology.

I was trying to find an article I had read awhile ago about chargebacks, but haven't found it yet.  It gave the details on things like most reversed transactions are from online purchases, a lot of them are consumer fraud (receiving the merchandise, but saying you didn't), etc.  I'm of the opinion that this ("bitcoin's flaw") is just the credit card companies using this fact as their trump card.  Things will evolve and work themselves out and their argument will become mute.  Some of this can be dealt with on the shipping side ie. shipping insurance to guarantee receipt and in good condition where the customer must acknowledge upon receipt.  Best sellers ratings for reputable online businesses.  Apps that will recognize the addresses of the businesses on your safe list and issue you a warning if necessary, etc.  Who knows, this could weed out bad businesses and bad customers.

I did find this article on how much chargebacks cost merchants:

"The Unknown Costs of a Chargeback"  -   http://www.chargeback.com/blog/the-unknown-costs-of-a-chargeback

Thanks, Chase. That is an excellent article about the staggering cost of Chargeback. It is a serious burden to merchants and a lot of them are small business owners struggling to find enough money to cover the next payroll. When it is the merchant's fault they should absolutely take every responsibility to make the customer whole and satisfied. The consumer fraud component is the most troubling. If payments using Bitcoin are reversible, the negative impact will be crippling. We can forget about mass merchant adoption. The banks, credit/debit card companies, and the likes of Western Union will win the war. Irreversible payment does not equate to “no refund; all sales are final.” Reputable merchants will stand by the products and services you purchased, irrespective of the form of payment used.

.5% cost was a bit of an eye opener for me, that is substantial, and reversible transactions would only make that figure grow.

     Half a percent is huge!! Especially when it is on top of 2% to 4% of the CC fees themselves. As an online merchant, we pay 10K to 20K a year for the luxury and convienience of taking Credit Cards. That does not sound like a lot, but if ANY line item expense is over a percent, it has a HUGE effect on the bottom line. If I could switch from CC to Bitcoin overnight, my profit margin would be 2% to 4% higher!! That is HUGE in ANY business.
     The "standard" cost is crippling to the bottom line, but chargebacks are another "thing to hate", from a merchants point of view. It does not cost us a half percent, by any means (good customer service here!!), BUT.....a customer can do it within a certain amount of time when using CC or PayPal. So, to me, the merchant, it is kinda scary....NO CC or PayPal transaction is really safe untill a certain amount of time has passed. And we always seem to have "that one person", who will order flowers one day, and open a dispute two days later claiming they have not recieved the flowers yet! Or, simply change their mind, refuse the package, and start a chargeback. It is costly (what do you do with the product that comes back?), and frustrating.
     This is one MAJOR reason I (a merchant) would prefer Bitcoin to CC. Just because a Bitoin transaction is not reversable, in no way means "no refunds". Just because you paid cash at Wal Mart means no refund? Not in any way. It just means the customer cannot "scam" me, or change their mind without notification and just refuse the package. It does not stop refunds. It does make it harder to scam a merchant. The CC companies will jump on this, and claim a bitcoin transaction is not "safe" for the consumer. They will tout the "safety" of using a CC. The consumer does not realize that it is he, the consumer, that pays the CC cost. It is the consumer who pays for the scammers. To me, this is the "big secret". The consumer does not realize the true cost of that little piece of plastic.

Smokey

[Dyna]

As much as we appreciate Bitcoin being the Pioneer of digital currency I believe DNOTES will come into a league of its own. I plan to start marketing DNOTES through videos to attract day to day peeps that haven't even heard or even gotten involved in Bitcoin yet. I also donated all my DNOTES to QBK asset fund, my own baby little coin as that is a part of me anyway, to benefit more peeps and more people will hear about DNOTES in our own crypto currency thread too. There are only three digital currencies now I feel worthy to back our coin long term DNOTES being a primary one. Tee Gee have fun at your parties also and I will join in the discussion soon. I plan on writing a letter to the Greek Minister of Finance, they seem open to new ideas and they don't wanna give in to the Troika..Instead of buying into Wall Street Hedge funds, maybe they can look at CRI.S.PS as a source of long term fiscal stability for Greece.. Well you never know lol I gotta try.

It is always good to hear from you, qiwoman2. Thank you for your support and confidence in DNotes especially for saying "I believe DNOTES will come into a league of its own."

Come to think about, that is very true. We have no doubt that one day, digital currency will become main-stream. Despite all that destructions and disappointment we all have experienced in some ways, there have been a lot positive contributions being made to help advance our industry towards mass adoption. DNotes is firmly committed to be a positive force and we believe that we will be most effective by being a league of our own.

Good luck in any attempts to bring forth better awareness on the value of digital currency to political leaders. Even if we can only convince them to be neutral instead being adversarial, it will go a long way in assisting our industry to gain main-stream acceptance.

[mafort1469]

Yes, I firmly believe that DNotes will one day break the bitcoin model of cryptocurrency. By this I mean DNotes will stand alone and make its own market share, price, etc. without reliance on any conversion from or to bitcoin. This will be a GOOD day and I do hope DNotes will be the leader in this.

[Dyna]

Yes, I firmly believe that DNotes will one day break the bitcoin model of cryptocurrency. By this I mean DNotes will stand alone and make its own market share, price, etc. without reliance on any conversion from or to bitcoin. This will be a GOOD day and I do hope DNotes will be the leader in this.

That is how we are positioning DNotes. It will take some time to reach that point and dependent on a more favorable regulatory environment. We all should do our part to promote a constructive and positive posture in order to encourage our political leaders to be supportive of our mission.

[Chase]

As I read through this article I kept thinking about what this meant for the potential of DNotes with it's stability and widespread adoption.  


"Bitcoin: Perhaps the Most Promising Investment Opportunity of Our Age"

These are some of the areas in which Bitcoin-oriented technology can directly compete:

$2 trillion annual market for electronic payments,
$1 trillion annual e-commerce market,
$514 billion annual remittance market,
$2.3 trillion hedge fund market,
$7 trillion gold market,
$4.5 trillion cash market,
$16.7 trillion offshore deposit market.

Full article:   https://bitcoinmagazine.com/19218/bitcoin-perhaps-promising-investment-opportunity-age/

************

Take a look at the chart of bitcoin future value potential based on different scenerios.  Wishful thinking, maybe, but I still think WOW!

[kubuminer]

our pool up and launch - http://dnotes.binpool.com

[DNotes]

our pool up and launch - http://dnotes.binpool.com

Thanks kubminer I will add it to our list.

[Dyna]

Hi everyone;

I am attempting to write a major article. Here is a sneak peek of an un edited first draft. Feel free to comments. No idea how far I can take it at this point.

Mass Consumer and Merchant Adoption of Bitcoin Has Been Underestimated.

Alan Yong, cofounder of Bitcoin alternative DNotes believes that a whole range of issues and the obstacles facing mass consumer and merchant adoption of Bitcoin has been underestimated. It will take more than the excitement of signing up a few $ multi-billion merchants, mega million dollars investment from Wall Street and serving a small number of the unbanked in various developing countries.

This is a great starting point but significantly more needs to be done before a clear acceptance path can be established. It may be helpful to envision the currency and its ecosystem as a single system whose success or failure is dependent on how well it can work with the other components or systems. We have never experienced anything with this level of complexities before. Consequently, the majority of the population, including many who are highly educated in the technology field, find Bitcoin to be too complicated and not worth getting involved. The negative presses, some of which are self-inflicted, along with industry leaders push-back among the most likely victims of this highly disruptive technology, have certainly not been helpful.

According to Yong, it will take another 4 to 5 more years and significant favorable progress in ten key areas: a) more wide spread merchant adoption including many small business owners as stakeholders of digital currency; b) dedicated charity efforts to assist the unbanked in many developing countries; c) increasing Wall Street investment with a strong endorsement to include digital currency as an essential part of asset allocation in any balanced investment portfolio; d) broad base and widespread ownership in savings plans available to the masses to capture potential high returns; e) Consistent currency stability within reasonable trading range; f) positive sentiment towards Bitcoin and Altcoins with main stream media support; g) favorable government regulation including granting tax deferred status to qualified savings plans; h) reliable long term appreciation to avoid currency loss in the normal processing time of transaction until the time funds are spent;  i) comprehensive global payment network systems for cross-border currency transfer and remittance; and j) meaningful participation of disrupted parties.

Yong, a well regarded visionary in the early days of portable computers and wireless communication has always been known to think outside the box in developing winning strategies. He has certainly competed against the “big boys” with enviable success. He led a startup company in 1989 to prominence by teaming up with two major partners to win two for two mega government contracts. His first win was in partnership with Sysorex Information Systems Inc. of Falls Church, VA. in a bid for Departmental Microcomputer Acquisition Contract (DMAC) II, a $400 million package that included portable computers from Yong’s company, Dauphin Technology. The second win was in partnership with Sears Business Systems of Chicago for Navy Lapheld II procurement, valued at $450 million.

The strategy of designing a number of portable computers that meet 100% of the specifications in accordance with the contract certainly paid off nicely. Riding on the momentum to advance the new start-up further, Yong went head on to compete with Apple Newton and others with the smallest handheld computer of its time, named DTR. It quickly became a media sensation which drew the attention of IBM top management leading to the signing of a manufacturing partnership. Unfortunately the widely anticipated adoption of the next generation of mobile computer was premature. IBM abruptly ended that partnership resulting in the demise of Dauphin Technology.

Yong is of the opinion that the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin and Altcoin industry is loaded with potentials and pitfalls.

[TeeGee]

Hi everyone;

I am attempting to write a major article. Here is a sneak peek of an un edited first draft. Feel free to comments. No idea how far I can take it at this point.

Mass Consumer and Merchant Adoption of Bitcoin Has Been Underestimated.

Alan Yong, cofounder of Bitcoin alternative DNotes believes that a whole range of issues and the obstacles facing mass consumer and merchant adoption of Bitcoin has been underestimated. It will take more than the excitement of signing up a few $ multi-billion merchants, mega million dollars investment from Wall Street and serving a small number of the unbanked in various developing countries.

This is a great starting point but significantly more needs to be done before a clear acceptance path can be established. It may be helpful to envision the currency and its ecosystem as a single system whose success or failure is dependent on how well it can work with the other components or systems. We have never experienced anything with this level of complexities before. Consequently, the majority of the population, including many who are highly educated in the technology field, find Bitcoin to be too complicated and not worth getting involved. The negative presses, some of which are self-inflicted, along with industry leaders push-back among the most likely victims of this highly disruptive technology, have certainly not been helpful.

According to Yong, it will take another 4 to 5 more years and significant favorable progress in ten key areas: a) more wide spread merchant adoption including many small business owners as stakeholders of digital currency; b) dedicated charity efforts to assist the unbanked in many developing countries; c) increasing Wall Street investment with a strong endorsement to include digital currency as an essential part of asset allocation in any balanced investment portfolio; d) broad base and widespread ownership in savings plans available to the masses to capture potential high returns; e) Consistent currency stability within reasonable trading range; f) positive sentiment towards Bitcoin and Altcoins with main stream media support; g) favorable government regulation including granting tax deferred status to qualified savings plans; h) reliable long term appreciation to avoid currency loss in the normal processing time of transaction until the time funds are spent;  i) comprehensive global payment network systems for cross-border currency transfer and remittance; and j) meaningful participation of disrupted parties.

Yong, a well regarded visionary in the early days of portable computers and wireless communication has always been known to think outside the box in developing winning strategies. He has certainly competed against the “big boys” with enviable success. He led a startup company in 1989 to prominence by teaming up with two major partners to win two for two mega government contracts. His first win was in partnership with Sysorex Information Systems Inc. of Falls Church, VA. in a bid for Departmental Microcomputer Acquisition Contract (DMAC) II, a $400 million package that included portable computers from Yong’s company, Dauphin Technology. The second win was in partnership with Sears Business Systems of Chicago for Navy Lapheld II procurement, valued at $450 million.

The strategy of designing a number of portable computers that meet 100% of the specifications in accordance with the contract certainly paid off nicely. Riding on the momentum to advance the new start-up further, Yong went head on to compete with Apple Newton and others with the smallest handheld computer of its time, named DTR. It quickly became a media sensation which drew the attention of IBM top management leading to the signing of a manufacturing partnership. Unfortunately the widely anticipated adoption of the next generation of mobile computer was premature. IBM abruptly ended that partnership resulting in the demise of Dauphin Technology.

Yong is of the opinion that the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin and Altcoin industry is loaded with potentials and pitfalls.

I think it is a really good start, how much further do you plan on taking the discussion on the potentials and pitfalls of crypto?

[Dyna]

I am planning to elaborate on each of the 10 key points and end with a compelling conclusion. I don't remember seeing such a comprehensive look at what it will ideally take for the industry to achieve mass acceptance of digital currency as the future of money.

Feel free to contribute, comments and edit.

I am taking a break to watch Super Bowl and will continue tomorrow.

[CryptoBroker79]

I am planning to elaborate on each of the 10 key points and end with a compelling conclusion. I don't remember seeing such a comprehensive look at what it will ideally take for the industry to achieve mass acceptance of digital currency as the future of money.

Feel free to contribute, comments and edit.

I am taking a break to watch Super Bowl and will continue tomorrow.

That was a good game, and what an ending! The way coach Belichick runs the team like a business, and uses the highest degree of professionalism amidst controversy,  is a good example of how winners should act. In my opinion, DNotes shares many of these same winning traits.

[Dyna]

I am planning to elaborate on each of the 10 key points and end with a compelling conclusion. I don't remember seeing such a comprehensive look at what it will ideally take for the industry to achieve mass acceptance of digital currency as the future of money.

Feel free to contribute, comments and edit.

I am taking a break to watch Super Bowl and will continue tomorrow.

That was a good game, and what an ending! The way coach Belichick runs the team like a business, and uses the highest degree of professionalism amidst controversy,  is a good example of how winners should act. In my opinion, DNotes shares many of these same winning traits.

That was an excellent game. Good thing I did not have a favorite going in.

[Dyna]

We have scheduled 4 press releases for CR.I.S.P. at the rate of one per month over the next four months. There will also be other PR efforts, and we are trying to approach those from different angles and plan to post different concepts to get some feed back from our community.

How do you like the following theme?


Mass Acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin May Come Sooner With Some Help

Alan Yong, cofounder of Bitcoin alternative DNotes believes that mass consumer and merchant acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin may come about sooner with some help from the mainstream media and more favorable regulatory environment.....


It normally takes serval versions before it is finalized, edited and approved for release. I used to have 5 full time employees in our PR department, and now it's part of my night job and frankly I do not enjoy writing. So any help I can get will be well appreciated.

[Chase]

We have scheduled 4 press releases for CR.I.S.P. at the rate of one per month over the next four months. There will also be other PR efforts, and we are trying to approach those from different angles and plan to post different concepts to get some feed back from our community.

How do you like the following theme?


Mass Acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin May Come Sooner With Some Help

Alan Yong, cofounder of Bitcoin alternative DNotes believes that mass consumer and merchant acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin may come about sooner with some help from the mainstream media and more favorable regulatory environment.....


It normally takes serval versions before it is finalized, edited and approved for release. I used to have 5 full time employees in our PR department, and now it's part of my night job and frankly I do not enjoy writing. So any help I can get will be well appreciated.

I like that.  The "Some Help" would be every one of the things needed for mass adoption you mentioned in the article - very clever. 

[TeeGee]

We have scheduled 4 press releases for CR.I.S.P. at the rate of one per month over the next four months. There will also be other PR efforts, and we are trying to approach those from different angles and plan to post different concepts to get some feed back from our community.

How do you like the following theme?


Mass Acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin May Come Sooner With Some Help

Alan Yong, cofounder of Bitcoin alternative DNotes believes that mass consumer and merchant acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin may come about sooner with some help from the mainstream media and more favorable regulatory environment.....


It normally takes serval versions before it is finalized, edited and approved for release. I used to have 5 full time employees in our PR department, and now it's part of my night job and frankly I do not enjoy writing. So any help I can get will be well appreciated.

I'll have time to give it a good once over. And then people can modify it as they please, and ensure I used 'American' english . I'm about half way compressing my CRISP idea proposals into a readable format, doing some work on that right now.

I'm watching the superbowl delayed. Never watched an American Footy match before.

[Dyna]

We have scheduled 4 press releases for CR.I.S.P. at the rate of one per month over the next four months. There will also be other PR efforts, and we are trying to approach those from different angles and plan to post different concepts to get some feed back from our community.

How do you like the following theme?


Mass Acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin May Come Sooner With Some Help

Alan Yong, cofounder of Bitcoin alternative DNotes believes that mass consumer and merchant acceptance of Bitcoin and Altcoin may come about sooner with some help from the mainstream media and more favorable regulatory environment.....


It normally takes serval versions before it is finalized, edited and approved for release. I used to have 5 full time employees in our PR department, and now it's part of my night job and frankly I do not enjoy writing. So any help I can get will be well appreciated.

I'll have time to give it a good once over. And then people can modify it as they please, and ensure I used 'American' english . I'm about half way compressing my CRISP idea proposals into a readable format, doing some work on that right now.

I'm watching the superbowl delayed. Never watched an American Footy match before.

Thank you TeeGee. I am going to take you up on that. I am sending you my notes. Please check your email.

[Dyna]

This article and video is much more supportive of what digital currency is capable of achieving.  The video is an interview with the author of the book "The Age of Cryptocurrency".

 
"Bitcoin just getting started and its potential is "almost unimaginably broad"

Bitcoin is an "exciting new technology" but Bill Gates doesn't think it's a proper tool for the world's roughly 2.5 billion 'unbanked' poor.

"We don't use bitcoin specifically for two reasons," Gates said Wednesday during a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' session. "One is that the poor shouldn't have a currency whose value goes up and down a lot compared to their local currency. Second is that if a mistake is made in who you pay then you need to be able to reverse it so anonymity wouldn't work."

Those are "valid criticisms," according to Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Vigna, but should not detract from bitcoin's huge potential to fundamentally change the world of finance.

Bitcoin is "one of the most powerful innovations in finance in the past 500 years," Vigna and co-author Michael Casey argue in their new book: The Age of Cryptocurrency. (Coincidentaily, the authors did their own Redditt AMA today which can be found here.)

In the accompanying video, Vigna compares bitcoin to the "horseless carriage" in the late 19th century. "This thing was just invented," he says of the digital currency. "We are just figuring out what can be done with this.  They are just starting to build it."

Indeed, bitcoin has come a long way since its launch in late 2008: More than 82,000 merchants currently accept bitcoin, including Microsoft, and global usage of the currency averaged $50 million a day in 2014, The WSJ reports. Coinbase, the first U.S.-based bitcoin exchange, just launched this month after receiving $75 million in backing from investors including the NYSE and Spain's Banco Bilbao. And the Winkelvoss twins have committed to launch their own exchange, Gemini, which they claim will be 'the Nasdaq of Bitcoin'.  

"What most excites these" -- and other investors like tech legends Marc Andreesen and Reid Hoffman -- "is bitcoin's promise as a platform whose future applications are almost unimaginably broad," Casey and Vigna write. "Already, hundreds of specialized apps are being built on top of the digital-currency blockchain software, which is seen in this context as a kind of base operating system."

Bitcoin's benefits -- including transaction speed and anonymity -- and its potential to disrupt the current system where banks serve as financial intermediaries, aka middle men -- have been widely discussed and debated.

But what about the price? Bitcoin fell over 60% vs. the dollar in 2014, which also saw the bankruptcy of one of its biggest exchanges, Mt. Gox. This year didn't start much better in terms of price; an early drop to start the year left bitcoin, at its recent nadir, more than 80% below its 2013 high.

"The market is volatile because it is very thin and it is still being built," Vigna explains. "If [bitcoin] keeps growing, if it keeps building the price will smooth itself out. It will become a more stable currency as more people use it.  And you’ll see that [volatility] go away and then they will build the rest of the products around it. The biggest thing is these are very early days for this. This is a very, in my mind, it’s a very exciting technology."

On that, at least, Vigna and Gates are in agreement.

http://news.yahoo.com/bitcoin-just-getting-started-and-its-potential-is--almost-unimaginably-broad---vigna-

Thanks for bringing up the book "The Age of Cryptocurrency" by Vigna and co-author Michael Casey to our attention. I did not have a chance to read the book yet, but based on all the book reviews and comments I came across it does appear that it is a very good book about Bitcoin and Blockchain technologies. For the most part their opinions are very favorable. I thought that they were objective and impartial. However, they seemed to have been negatively influenced by the volatility of Bitcoin to conclude that Bitcoin is not a currency because it is highly volatile. I hope I am wrong, since I have not yet read the book. Please post your comments if you have a chance to read the book.

I have covered the functions of money in details before. Should we briefly revisit the "Functions of Money" and why we believe that DNotes is positioned to fulfill all the functions of money and more?

One other thing we can do as a community is to research and post the arguments against Bitcoin, especially against the viability of Bitcoin and see how they would stake up when compared against DNotes instead of Bitcoin.

Of course, by choice, at this time DNotes has nothing to offer yet as a medium of exchange. We are laying all the ground work in preparation to launch DNotes as a medium of exchange. Our family of CR.I.S.Ps. will be the catalyst and drivers towards mass acceptance and use of DNotes as a medium of exchange. This is a rather different path that DNotes has chosen.

[mafort1469]

Yes I can proofread any documents or releases. I am very good at this as I have to write SOPs, methods, etc. for my job. I like the start you have already!!

This last week has been quite busy so I am still catching up on few things here then I can add more input.