I no longer consider bitcoin as a decentralized currency...

[neuroMode]

I'm not saying I have lost any faith but it is lost its touch since I was introduced in 09 if anything it has become monopolized.

What is killing the bitcoin are the multi-million dollar data-centers dedicated to mining, little to no acceptance as an alternative payment method, nearly impossible to keep up with difficulty increases, and limited peer to peer exchanges.

Tell me otherwise?

Psst. Myriadcoin. The 1st Multi-PoW blockchain, something that Dan Kaminsky discussed at the 2013 Bitcoin Conference.

I love Bitcoin but I've gone head over heels for Myriadcoin, despite it being glanced over as a 'shitcoin' to most folks. So I understand there will be the typical negative reaction in a Bitcoin thread....

But at least check it out.

[tutkarz]

The volatility is killing it - small deviations are fine but not the huge drops and rises we see every few months

Without volatility = 90% of traders would not be interested in it.

You can't get huge leverage on bitcoin like with forex, so bitcoin gets its liquidity from volatility. Without volatility it would be even more illiquid.

Without volatility there would be way more merchants who would bring even more liquidity to the market.

[paulsonnumismatics]

the selfishness of miners will be one of the biggest issues for bitcoins.

Wow, a democrat jumped the boards.
So, YOU decide that a guy that invest dollars in a project to mine bitcoins and obtain a calculated profit from the venture is selfish.
Bankers are selfish.
Enterpreneurs are selfish. You know, they intend to buy some shoes at china and sell them at Marcus Neumann with profit. Thieves!
Probably farmers and fishermen are "honest jobs" because they get their "hands dirty" right? Plumber-Joe-ism.
Oh wait, miners get dirty too. Oh but we're speaking of another kind of miners. White collar miners... Criminals!
Cmon.

Bitcoin Mining is the only reason Bitcoin is in full force right now, as they ARE the decentralized net that supports the transactions.
Not a guy holding BTCs waiting to be worth 25,000 dollars. THAT is the big issue of Bitcoin right now, in my opinion.

[desired_username]

It was never surely profitable yes, but if you believed in the whole crypto world you would have made a lot of money. Remember those miners who were mining LTC and could barely pay off the electricity when LTC was around $1-2? Whoever kept those LTC and paid the electricity using fiat profited a lot. LTC later on jumped to $30-40 or more (I'm not sure about the exact numbers).

It was the same with btc, even some GPU miners turned on their rigs when the btc was around $1000. It's not about believing but good timing and luck (eg: exchange going up).

[Jakesor]

How the mining centers killing it? Nothing you have mentioned let consider bitcoin stop being a decentralized currency

[syebotext]

Bitcoin is a level playing field, but it is not a giveaway. You could also have taken the risk of starting your own data center. There is nothing unfair about it

Straw man...OP didn't say it was "unfair".

[Maidak]

Can anyone quote what is decentralized about bitcoin in this thread yet?

[Newmine]

Can anyone quote what is decentralized about bitcoin in this thread yet?

The code/protocol and rate of generation is decentralized. Nothing else. Transaction into the ledger can be controlled, exchanging and trading are beholden to your Government.

[roslinpl]

Well everybody should know that decentralized means "no 3rd parties" - right?

So yes - we aren't decentralized This is forum not p2p.

But is it wrong? IMO ... it has got many goods and bads too.

[joinmicah]

Get over it BITCOIN was never intended to be a currency that's like calling a Hammer which is clearly a Tool or Utility to help accomplish a certain task a Currency. BITCOIN is Clearly a Utility that can be used to Trade and Barter with people anywhere in the world. It gets its value from the Fact that no one BITCOIN is the same or a copy of another. They are all Verifiable on the Block-Chain which acts as a Autonomous Decentralized Public Ledger.

People need to wake up and learn why BITCOIN can't be Centralized and never will be no matter how hard the Banking Elites try. BITCOIN is a Protocol written entirely in Open Source which allows for virtually anybody that has a computer or mobile device the ability to Trade and Barter with People anywhere in the world without the need for any Third Parties. NO Central Banking Authority is required. We can now all have the Authority to Create and issue units of trade that are easily verified on the Block-Chain anywhere in the world.

[Corelianer]

Bitcoin can be a currency or a form of storing value. It can be both, the higher the volatility the more interesing it is for traders and the less interesting it is for the merchants. Ultimately the market will tell where the jurney goes. All is possible. Even if it fails as a currency, it will still be a system to exchange big values over large distances in short time with almost no fees. Plus there are other advantages like it's unregulated at the moment and of course the biggest advantages of all:

- The Banksters have no control over it
- The Banksters don't profit from it

[beetcoin]

i don't think it has come as much of a surprise to most people here that people are greedy and want huge pieces of the cake. if anything would surprise me, it would be if it didn't happen. im sure there are a lot of bitcoiners who are in it to change the status quo, but i'm also pretty sure that there are many (if not more) who are only in it for the financial gain.

[jonald_fyookball]

Decentralized means there is no one issuer like a government. 

Bitcoin depends on proof of work as issuance and we all know this.
Anyone is free to mine, anyone is free to join a pool.
If larger operations can do it more efficiently than smaller ones, so be it.
I don't see the problem.

[QuestionAuthority]

First, it's not truly a currency yet. It might be at some point but today Bitcoin is more like a competitor to the ACH/EFT system than a true currency. ACH is primarily used between businesses to transfer and collect funds in many different currencies. Bitcoin allows private citizens to control the funds transfer themselves without the need of a business middleman. This concept is similar to Amazon Payments, PayPal and other systems but no one would argue that Amazon Payments is a currency.

Second, it is decentralized by definition. Centralization is a system where a central controlling force exercises absolute control over all lower levels. Bitcoin clearly does not fit into that category. If I want to send a transaction today that puts an image of Ben Bernanke in the blockchain there is absolutely nothing any of you can do about it.

[Maidak]

First, it's not truly a currency yet. It might be at some point but today Bitcoin is more like a competitor to the ACH/EFT system than a true currency. ACH is primarily used between businesses to transfer and collect funds in many different currencies. Bitcoin allows private citizens to control the funds transfer themselves without the need of a business middleman. This concept is similar to Amazon Payments, PayPal and other systems but no one would argue that Amazon Payments is a currency.

Second, it is decentralized by definition. Centralization is a system where a central controlling force exercises absolute control over all lower levels. Bitcoin clearly does not fit into that category. If I want to send a transaction today that puts an image of Ben Bernanke in the blockchain there is absolutely nothing any of you can do about it.

So what do the bitcoiners need to do to turn it into a currency and keep it decentralized? Myself I'm trying to convince my local watering hole to be the first to accept BTC for beers and turtle soup! Hell it costs nothing to accept it why the hell not. Now a days if you can get on facebook you can use bitcoin on top of that its free global advertising to About 76,800,000 results (0.59 seconds) with the keywords bitcoin + bar.

[QuestionAuthority]

First, it's not truly a currency yet. It might be at some point but today Bitcoin is more like a competitor to the ACH/EFT system than a true currency. ACH is primarily used between businesses to transfer and collect funds in many different currencies. Bitcoin allows private citizens to control the funds transfer themselves without the need of a business middleman. This concept is similar to Amazon Payments, PayPal and other systems but no one would argue that Amazon Payments is a currency.

Second, it is decentralized by definition. Centralization is a system where a central controlling force exercises absolute control over all lower levels. Bitcoin clearly does not fit into that category. If I want to send a transaction today that puts an image of Ben Bernanke in the blockchain there is absolutely nothing any of you can do about it.

So what do the bitcoiners need to do to turn it into a currency and keep it decentralized? Myself I'm trying to convince my local watering hole to be the first to accept BTC for beers and turtle soup! Hell it costs nothing to accept it why the hell not. Now a days if you can get on facebook you can use bitcoin on top of that its free global advertising to About 76,800,000 results (0.59 seconds) with the keywords bitcoin + bar.

It needs to be widely accepted to become a replacement currency. Your local watering hole needs to be able to buy all the supplies to run his bar and pay the rent with the Bitcoin he accepts. Some day that might happen but not today. It can stay decentralized and be used as a medium of exchange. The two are not mutually exclusive.

[Maidak]

First, it's not truly a currency yet. It might be at some point but today Bitcoin is more like a competitor to the ACH/EFT system than a true currency. ACH is primarily used between businesses to transfer and collect funds in many different currencies. Bitcoin allows private citizens to control the funds transfer themselves without the need of a business middleman. This concept is similar to Amazon Payments, PayPal and other systems but no one would argue that Amazon Payments is a currency.

Second, it is decentralized by definition. Centralization is a system where a central controlling force exercises absolute control over all lower levels. Bitcoin clearly does not fit into that category. If I want to send a transaction today that puts an image of Ben Bernanke in the blockchain there is absolutely nothing any of you can do about it.

So what do the bitcoiners need to do to turn it into a currency and keep it decentralized? Myself I'm trying to convince my local watering hole to be the first to accept BTC for beers and turtle soup! Hell it costs nothing to accept it why the hell not. Now a days if you can get on facebook you can use bitcoin on top of that its free global advertising to About 76,800,000 results (0.59 seconds) with the keywords bitcoin + bar.

It needs to be widely accepted to become a replacement currency. Your local watering hole needs to be able to buy all the supplies to run his bar and pay the rent with the Bitcoin he accepts. Some day that might happen but not today. It can stay decentralized and be used as a medium of exchange. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Of course I accepted it as a payment alternative in 2010 for my online stores. I'd like to see more local stuff accepting it its by far easier now and it is a start.

I mean if i'm going on a vacation and I read about a place that sold beers for bitcoins i'd go in and buy everyone a round who was sitting there. Thats really only one example I've been consulting several businesses.

Maybe i'm just salty that i'm not an over night multimillionare because I used bitcoins on a daily basis instead of holding lol.

[Jan]

I'm not saying I have lost any faith but it is lost its touch since I was introduced in 09 if anything it has become monopolized.

What is killing the bitcoin are the multi-million dollar data-centers dedicated to mining, little to no acceptance as an alternative payment method, nearly impossible to keep up with difficulty increases, and limited peer to peer exchanges.

Tell me otherwise?

Local Trader was launched recently: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/236k5d/mycelium_local_trader_is_now_available/
It is a person 2 person exchange built into Mycelium where you don't let a third party hold your coins or fiat.
... and is gaining traction: http://www.mycelium.com/lt/m/

[Malin Keshar]

cannot exists a centralized currency, in your terms, in a world where the resources are highly centralized.At least the centralization is less damaging than the others we have, and big investidors = pressure against bitcoin bans

[dogechode]

So basically it's now "semi-centralized." I think that would be a fair statement. Calling it de-centralized is misleading at this point, though it may still technically be true.