Silk Road was the best thing that has ever happened to Bitcoins.

[BitcoinBomb]

Without silk roads, and the subsequent underground marketplaces that utilize Bitcoins as well, it would be completely worthless. What is the point of Bitcoin. I understand you can argue: decentralized, we'll that's literally the only advantage I can think of.

Now, before the Gawker post, Bitcoins were practically worthless, and now that there hasn't been much news about Silk Road, the price has steadily gone down.

What the Bitcoin community needs to do is advertise it's easy for buying illegal items. If we don't do this it will fail miserably.

Whenever I told my friends about Bitcoins, they thought it was the most ridiculous and inconvenient thing to buy. I mean c'mon. Bank account-->Dwolla/paxum/LR/SEPA/etc...-->Mtgox/Tradehill/CampBX-->Bitcoin.
Who wants to go through that timely process for some digital currency that can't be used anywhere, except some odd website that sells novelty items.

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[odysseus654]

My guess is that "bringing BitCoin to more people's attention", especially with the idea that "it can buy illegal things" is a very controversial position.  I'd rather have a slow and steady system than one that goes through bubbles every few years.  And I'd rather it not have certain types of attention.

[BitcoinBomb]

My guess is that "bringing BitCoin to more people's attention", especially with the idea that "it can buy illegal things" is a very controversial position.  I'd rather have a slow and steady system than one that goes through bubbles every few years.  And I'd rather it not have certain types of attention.

I am stating it is the only true thing it can be used for. Otherwise Bitcoin will only benefit early adopters using their coins out of the fact that they already have them. Silk Road is the only true use, and if you argue against this point you are a fanboy. It's only uses are for illegalities, donating to Wikileaks, donating to Lulzec, anonymous. It will never bubble again without another Silk Road post.

[cruikshank]

Silk Road wasn't the only reason for the bubble. Sure it helped, but at the same time it was being reported bitcoins were already gaining traction anyways, which is what lead to Silk Road being reported on to start with.

"So where can you use bitcoins?" "Well, I know this one place called Silk Road that uses it..." is pretty much how it became known in the press.

[BitcoinBomb]

Silk Road wasn't the only reason for the bubble. Sure it helped, but at the same time it was being reported bitcoins were already gaining traction anyways, which is what lead to Silk Road being reported on to start with.

"So where can you use bitcoins?" "Well, I know this one place called Silk Road that uses it..." is pretty much how it became known in the press.

No they were not being seriously reported. They may have been mentioned, once or twice leading to the two dollar price tag that we are so close to reaching. And if all you can hope for is a bubble, then well you wouldn't exactly be a prime economist, by any current standards. In a true economy one hopes for commerce, then true value emerging. Not some idiotic bubbles that only the clairvoyant can realize their downfall.

Now as to the second paragraph of your post, you cannot even name a true reported commerce site that uses Bitcoins. Also any site that tries to accept Bitcoins is ridiculed and expected to give up all of their personal information to a bunch of random, disinterested forum posters, whom most likely scroll the internet throughout their days; instead of adding to the productivity of the nation.

[memvola]

Silk Road is the only true use, and if you argue against this point you are a fanboy.

I like how waves of new forum accounts come in and say exactly this. One wonders... I try not to be cynical and think it's because of the mainstream media.

Also, Freenet is for CP, Tor is for CP and silk road (more functionality), I2P is for CP and spam, and the Internet, well, for ordinary porn and spam. I would even go further and tell you that the Bittorrent has other uses than piracy but I suspect that wouldn't believe me...

For me, Bitcoin's true use is being able to send very small or very large amounts of money across borders easily. I support the system so that I can have monetary connections with more people with less trouble. It's not exactly fanboyism, it's called enlightened self interest. Not only that I am not comfortable with having to be in the open for every transaction I make, systems like PayPal aren't automatic for everyone in the world, especially developing regions of the world, where some of my real life contacts are. One trouble for me is artists though, they have very peculiar minds. There was this one guy which wanted to send and receive money between Siberia and Turkey, and he couldn't manage to do it in two years with banks. I wonder how I could even teach him how to use Bitcoin, let alone convince him to do that...  

[BitcoinBomb]

Silk Road is the only true use, and if you argue against this point you are a fanboy.

I like how waves of new forum accounts come in and say exactly this. One wonders... I try not to be cynical and think it's because of the mainstream media.

Also, Freenet is for CP, Tor is for CP and silk road (more functionality), I2P is for CP and spam, and the Internet, well, for ordinary porn and spam. I would even go further and tell you that the Bittorrent has other uses than piracy but I suspect that wouldn't believe me...

For me, Bitcoin's true use is being able to send very small or very large amounts of money across borders easily. I support the system so that I can have monetary connections with more people with less trouble. It's not exactly fanboyism, it's called enlightened self interest. Not only that I am not comfortable with having to be in the open for every transaction I make, systems like PayPal aren't automatic for everyone in the world, especially developing regions of the world, where some of my real life contacts are. One trouble for me is artists though, they have very peculiar minds. There was this one guy which wanted to send and receive money between Siberia and Turkey, and he couldn't manage to do it in two years with banks. I wonder how I could even teach him how to use Bitcoin, let alone convince him to do that...  

How could TOR only be used for CP and Silk Road. Are you out of your mind? It is one of the more useful software's out there. How can you support decentralization and Bitcoins and not support TOR at the same time.

My goal is not to make a new account to make an obvious point. I am here to speak the truth. And the truth is that Silk Road is the only reason Bitcoins have been publicized and discovered to this point. I mean did you register before, or after the Gawker's post. That is the question. By the way I've been active for months on these forums. Like my name says, I have a bombshell to release to the Bitcoin community that will most like ridicule some people, and further cement points.

[BitcoinPorn]

Preach it sister   

I would suggest taking the information from the post here http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/imoc0/using_silk_road/ and finding a way to drop things into 5 easy steps, make a landing page with five huge images on how to buy with Bitcoins or whatever.     

Next step, is taking that information and putting it where it matters, in the hands of people who don't even usually use computers.    I would suggest creating that page with the easy steps, printing out hundreds of copies of the page, put said papers in public bathrooms, college bulletin boards, your local church, etc.

[cruikshank]

They may have been mentioned, once or twice leading to the two dollar price tag that we are so close to reaching. And if all you can hope for is a bubble, then well you wouldn't exactly be a prime economist, by any current standards. In a true economy one hopes for commerce, then true value emerging. Not some idiotic bubbles that only the clairvoyant can realize their downfall.

Where did I say anything about hoping for a bubble? You were the one saying another Silk Road post was needed for another bubble. All I was saying was the Silk Road wasn't the sole reason for the first one.

Now as to the second paragraph of your post, you cannot even name a true reported commerce site that uses Bitcoins.

That line was just a jab at the lazy reporting that happened with bitcoin and Silk Road. Though for myself, no, I can't name any true reported commerce sites that use bitcoins; I haven't gone looking. Have stuck with using bitcoins to snag a vps off of Silk Road for a decent price, and for loaning some to friends that were getting a server that offered to give me a shell in exchange for doing so.

Also any site that tries to accept Bitcoins is ridiculed and expected to give up all of their personal information to a bunch of random, disinterested forum posters, whom most likely scroll the internet throughout their days; instead of adding to the productivity of the nation.

Okay? I haven't asked for anything of the sort like others have been.

[memvola]

How could TOR only be used for CP and Silk Road. Are you out of your mind? It is one of the more useful software's out there. How can you support decentralization and Bitcoins and not support TOR at the same time.

I was trying to be sarcastic.

My goal is not to make a new account to make an obvious point. I am here to speak the truth. And the truth is that Silk Road is the only reason Bitcoins have been publicized and discovered to this point. I mean did you register before, or after the Gawker's post. That is the question. By the way I've been active for months on these forums. Like my name says, I have a bombshell to release to the Bitcoin community that will most like ridicule some people, and further cement points.

Silk Road is not the "only true use" of Bitcoin, and not the only reason it has been publicized.

However it probably is the most sensational topic, so it's what made it interesting for laymen, especially via word-of-mouth. It's something you can talk about. I don't agree that it was the sole cause of the bubble, but is certainly one of the contributing factors. Some people might have thought that druggies and "other criminals" would be all over this, probably forgetting that cash is almost as good for those purposes.

It also possibly made it less appealing for serious businesses. They don't want to be associated with SR. And since, as you say, SR made that kind of publicity, it contributed to such an atmosphere surrounding Bitcoin, adding to all the "scam" talk that's been going on.

I think your point is, the way of SR is the way to go, am I right? That's way I objected in the first place. We got past a lot of negative hype about Bitcoin in the past year. It proved to be a secure system, and most of the economic questions have been answered. The structure surrounding it is getting stronger, and methods of how to remedy the scammer problem are being established (not only for Bitcoin, but any possible free currency). I'm hoping that association with drugs will get old in the long run as well. The full potential of Bitcoin can only be realized if it gets wide acceptance as the method of value transfer globally. I want it to be true, for my kids. And not because I want them to buy drugs online.

If you are trying to support your own project with this rhetoric, I probably won't be too critical. Just don't advocate it as the sole outcome of the Bitcoin project. Looking forward to your bombshell.

(To answer your question, I've been using Bitcoin for longer than a year, read about it on Slashdot. Heard about it two years ago, but unfortunately the "deflationary spiral" demagogy on Slashdot somehow did make sense to me then.)

[RodeoX]

Silk road is nothing more than a distraction. I use bitcoin all the time, but would not even consider using their service.

[nighteyes]

There is no real commerce in bitcoin, including SilkRoad. Exchanging USD for BTC for USD only stabilizes BTC, not adds value. It does add value to the USD economy and profits to MtGox and the vendors selling their wares.

Probably 90%+ of bitcoins are being hoarded and not put to use. "Invest" a million USD into bitcoins and you get 13 cents of fiat paper value back, or a loss of 99.99%. The rest goes to the ballerz aka speculators aka the freeloaders.

Now SilkRoad COULD be gigantic to bitcoin, if the vendors complete the economic cycle and dont cash out or hoard. This possibility is what gives bitcoin hope, as a backup to the gov currencies. If the gov currencies stop working out, you can bet theres going to be a lot more interest in bitcoin.

But again, while the gov charade continues, no one cares...you are right. But when the credit card stops, which it will, and reality hits, hopefully something like bitcoin will be around to ease the suffering. Until the time of the NEW US dollar/gov currency...and then we play the game again...heck, the new USD could be a digital currency!

[evoorhees]

Silk road is nothing more than a distraction. I use bitcoin all the time, but would not even consider using their service.

+1... I use bitcoin almost daily. I work with several people in different countries and being able to pay them and get paid with bitcoin instantly has been a godsend. Best innovation for global trade since the internet.

[fuck]

Silk Road is what caused the bubble, no point in denying it. I made mad bank off that so I have no problems with it. It's settled down down and is back to a more realistic price.
Gotta give props to all my SR niggas WOOP WOOP

[RodeoX]

Silk road is nothing more than a distraction. I use bitcoin all the time, but would not even consider using their service.

+1... I use bitcoin almost daily. I work with several people in different countries and being able to pay them and get paid with bitcoin instantly has been a godsend. Best innovation for global trade since the internet.

Amen brother. I bought a $1 PDF file from a guy in China. Try doing that with..., well, anything.

[OgNasty]

I've never used Silk Road nor do I know anyone personally who has.  I do however know dozens of people personally that use bitcoins for everything from stockpiling precious metals without a trace, to gambling online.  I've found it's a great way to reward random people on forums for helping me with issues.  However, when it comes to buying drugs, the only people I could see paying the inflated Silk Road prices are nerds who wouldn't dare talk to a real drug dealer, kids, or people who recently moved to a new area and haven't found a real connection yet.  In my opinion, anyone saying Silk Road is the center of bitcoin is an immature kid who got his first dime bag online using bitcoins hashed from Mom & Dad's electricity.  That's a BitcoinBomb of reality for you.

[BitcoinBomb]

You all have made valid points that all point in one direction. Bitcoins main use is for either disregarding monetary regulations, buying illegal items, and or for speculative purposes to make small amounts of fiat currency.

You're point on the convenience of turning Bitcoins into dollars is irrelevant. It's not like you can make dollars come out of your computer, it comes from hard work, Bitcoin is a bandwagon that has to be accepted early to make true profit. It is the niche of niches, you are following a ghost a non-existent man that can control and entire currency.

What good has Bitcoin done for anything except spawn an entire group of basement dwellers who are trying to get rich as quick as possible, with minimal to no work. How has Bitcoin added to the national debt in any way, it's market is worth less than a cities transportation budget. In fact Bitcoin is a way of money laundering.

If Bitcoin ever becomes big (let's just imagine) the IRS would immediately shut down Mtgox as a form of money laundering. It would be the easiest way to launder money since the liberty dollar.

And Mr. "Original Gangster" your attempts at justifying Bitcoins is absolutely awful. You only stated that it could be used for illegalities, therefore cementing my point. As long as people like you attempt to justify a currency that's main purpose is for illegal activities, then there is no room to grow. You yourself are probably just a teenager attempting to purport the fact that all people who use Silk Road are children who are taking advantage of their parent's resources.

You're actually quite an idiot, to mine the amount of Bitcoins to purchase an item on Silk Road would require serious amount of technical knowledge and intelligence. Something that a child does not have.

[MoonShadow]

You all have made valid points that all point in one direction. Bitcoins main use is for either disregarding monetary regulations, buying illegal items, and or for speculative purposes to make small amounts of fiat currency.

You're point on the convenience of turning Bitcoins into dollars is irrelevant. It's not like you can make dollars come out of your computer, it comes from hard work, Bitcoin is a bandwagon that has to be accepted early to make true profit. It is the niche of niches, you are following a ghost a non-existent man that can control and entire currency.

What good has Bitcoin done for anything except spawn an entire group of basement dwellers who are trying to get rich as quick as possible, with minimal to no work. How has Bitcoin added to the national debt in any way, it's market is worth less than a cities transportation budget. In fact Bitcoin is a way of money laundering.

If Bitcoin ever becomes big (let's just imagine) the IRS would immediately shut down Mtgox as a form of money laundering. It would be the easiest way to launder money since the liberty dollar.

Wow, that's incredible.  You've registered today and have it all figured out don't you?  I use bitcoins to buy things on a regular basis, exactly like I would if I were using cash to buy something in person, such as at a yard sale or via craigslist.  I've bought handmade jewlry off of Etsy, small hardware such as thumbdrives, sd cards and even a cell phone, as well as pre-paid cell phone service cards and online game licenses.  I've paid for server rentals.  I've never bought anything remotely illegal, and have never even connected to Silk Road.  The IRS isn't going to shut down MtGox, and even if that were possible, there are a dozen more such exchanges ready to snatch up their market share across the planet in as many different countries that don't care what the US IRS wants.

And Mr. "Original Gangster" your attempts at justifying Bitcoins is absolutely awful. You only stated that it could be used for illegalities, therefore cementing my point. As long as people like you attempt to justify a currency that's main purpose is for illegal activities, then there is no room to grow. You yourself are probably just a teenager attempting to purport the fact that all people who use Silk Road are children who are taking advantage of their parent's resources.

You're actually quite an idiot, to mine the amount of Bitcoins to purchase an item on Silk Road would require serious amount of technical knowledge and intelligence. Something that a child does not have.

My nephew has mined two blocks on his computer, he's a child.  I didn't show him how to do it, either.  I actually have never done so, or even tried.

[BitcoinBomb]

You all have made valid points that all point in one direction. Bitcoins main use is for either disregarding monetary regulations, buying illegal items, and or for speculative purposes to make small amounts of fiat currency.

You're point on the convenience of turning Bitcoins into dollars is irrelevant. It's not like you can make dollars come out of your computer, it comes from hard work, Bitcoin is a bandwagon that has to be accepted early to make true profit. It is the niche of niches, you are following a ghost a non-existent man that can control and entire currency.

What good has Bitcoin done for anything except spawn an entire group of basement dwellers who are trying to get rich as quick as possible, with minimal to no work. How has Bitcoin added to the national debt in any way, it's market is worth less than a cities transportation budget. In fact Bitcoin is a way of money laundering.

If Bitcoin ever becomes big (let's just imagine) the IRS would immediately shut down Mtgox as a form of money laundering. It would be the easiest way to launder money since the liberty dollar.

Wow, that's incredible.  You've registered today and have it all figured out don't you?  I use bitcoins to buy things on a regular basis, exactly like I would if I were using cash to buy something in person, such as at a yard sale or via craigslist.  I've bought handmade jewlry off of Etsy, small hardware such as thumbdrives, sd cards and even a cell phone, as well as pre-paid cell phone service cards and online game licenses.  I've paid for server rentals.  I've never bought anything remotely illegal, and have never even connected to Silk Road.  The IRS isn't going to shut down MtGox, and even if that were possible, there are a dozen more such exchanges ready to snatch up their market share across the planet in as many different countries that don't care what the US IRS wants.

And Mr. "Original Gangster" your attempts at justifying Bitcoins is absolutely awful. You only stated that it could be used for illegalities, therefore cementing my point. As long as people like you attempt to justify a currency that's main purpose is for illegal activities, then there is no room to grow. You yourself are probably just a teenager attempting to purport the fact that all people who use Silk Road are children who are taking advantage of their parent's resources.

You're actually quite an idiot, to mine the amount of Bitcoins to purchase an item on Silk Road would require serious amount of technical knowledge and intelligence. Something that a child does not have.

My nephew has mined two blocks on his computer, he's a child.  I didn't show him how to do it, either.  I actually have never done so, or even tried.

Excuse me, What I meant by the Mtgox post, is that EVERY single exchange will be shut down for money laundering, IF Bitcoin becomes successful.

Based on the fact that you are a global moderator my guess is that you are an early adopter that has mined Bitcoins when the difficulty was extremely low. Therefore making it practical to attempt to use them on a regular basis. My point is that the inconvenience of trying to buy the currency to spend it on everyday things is too great to have a point. So at this point being a true adopter of the currency you are most likely in it for the niche (small amounts), speculation (small profits), or for online underground marketplaces.

And get off the sarcasm with your first sentence, you represent a community with that tag. Hostility is noticed, and noted. Who wants to join a community with irritable nerds at the helm?

It's a currency represent it as such.

[MoonShadow]

Excuse me, What I meant by the Mtgox post, is that EVERY single exchange will be shut down for money laundering, IF Bitcoin becomes successful.

1)  Bitcoin is already successful, it's just not widely reported yet.  As I have already pointed out, I have used it to buy many things online, both digital and physical.  Many others have as well, both within this forum and external to it.

2) You're excused.  If you think that it's even possible for every exchange to be shut down, even if every nation on Earth were to cowtow to the US government, you seriously lack understanding about how the exchanges work, or even how exchange works in general.  I've literally bought bitcoins for cash, in person.  I've never used MtGox or any other centralized currency exchange to get bitcoins, nor have I ever mined a single block (as I already mentioned and you ignored).  I've only dealt with individuals to buy more bitcoins.  I've speculated on MtGox, but I deposited in bitcoin and withdrew in bitcoin.  Never have I done so in any form of fiat currency, US FRN's or otherwise.

Based on the fact that you are a global moderator my guess is that you are an early adopter

We are all early adopters, it's still early.

that has mined Bitcoins when the difficulty was extremely low.

No, never.  Never even tried to mine.  Difficulty was low, only relatively.  It was never cost effective for me to mine.

Therefore making it practical to attempt to use them on a regular basis. My point is that the inconvenience of trying to buy the currency to spend it on everyday things is too great to have a point. So at this point being a true adopter of the currency you are most likely in it for the niche (small amounts), speculation (small profits), or for online underground marketplaces.

I understand your point, I'm trying to show you your error, but you're ignoring the realities I'm presenting.  I've neither mined, nor bought a single bitcoin on any exchange for a dollar that I had to deposit.  Considering that, and the fact that I actually have some to spend, how the hell did I get them if they are inconvenient to get?  Maybe if you live on a farm in Kansas, but if you live in any major urban area in the US, you can buy bitcoins from someone in the next week.  You just might not like the markup.  If you live in NYC, Seattle or Chicago; you can buy some in person today without much trouble.

And get off the sarcasm with your first sentence, you represent a community with that tag. Hostility is noticed, and noted. Who wants to join a community with irritable nerds at the helm?

Apparently not yourself.  You're a troll, and the very reason that we have a 'newbie hell' section.  If you had asked a single question about how bitcoin works, I'd have been happy to explain it to you.  But you come in our house and sh*t on our dinner table and expect me to treat you with kindness?  There are 10K forums on the Internet for you to talk bad about bitcoins, but this is our home.  Guests come in here to learn about the system, and to trade and talk in peace.  Not to have some newbie jerk tell them all how bad everything is, that money laundering is what they are engaged it, or tell them that they are reporting them to the IRS.  Most of the good trolls have the sense to act respectablely until they make it out of newbie hell, before they go off on their missions to destroy all things bitcoin.  Some of them actually post things worth reading, even funny, and manage to stay here despite being trolls; after all, it's no fun listening to your echo.  But you couldn't even manage that.

It's a currency represent it as such.

I have, always.  I know what it is, which is why I'm here.  Since you don't really seem to want to know what it is, or how it works, don't count on a long stay.