Gold collapsing. Bitcoin UP.

[cypherdoc]

Thanks.. It was probably the time you were saying that the dollar would cause a selloff in equities but I said they would rise together and since equities were rising I inferred that you would have been bearish usd.

you have been very right on equities, and yes, i thought the rise in the dollar would spark a selloff.  i still think it will eventually.  too much USD denominated debt used to prop up those same equities which increases in magnitude as the USD rises.  look at all the margin.  could take some time though.  it will be interesting to see how this current pause in stocks will play out.

[1714209282]

1714209282

[tvbcof]

<gold important on the international stage>

<admittedly it seems so>

with Bitcoin, you merely have to check the signature, which takes a millisecond.

Ask, oh, say everyone who's been robbed of their BTC, how great that is.  If I'm remembering correctly there may be a few people in this category.

FWIW, this is another pretty decent reason for considering Bitcoin as an important reserve more than a trivial exchange item.  As politically incorrect as it may be, there is a decent correlation between being smart and having enough wealth to benefit by solid protection.  Smart people are more often (but not always) able to retain exclusive control of their secrets.  Fewer hand-to-mouth types trying to figure out how to secure their secret keys equates directly to fewer thefts.  Technology is very unlikely to come to the rescue here any time soon.  It's simply not in the interest of the powers that be to allow the peons to have secrets of any type.

[cypherdoc]

<gold important on the international stage>

<admittedly it seems so>

with Bitcoin, you merely have to check the signature, which takes a millisecond.

Ask, oh, say everyone who's been robbed of their BTC, how great that is.  If I'm remembering correctly there may be a few people in this category.

FWIW, this is another pretty decent reason for considering Bitcoin as an important reserve more than a trivial exchange item.  As politically incorrect as it may be, there is a decent correlation between being smart and having enough wealth to benefit by solid protection.  Smart people are more often (but not always) able to retain exclusive control of their secrets.  Fewer hand-to-mouth types trying to figure out how to secure their secret keys equates directly to fewer thefts.  Technology is very unlikely to come to the rescue here any time soon.  It's simply not in the interest of the powers that be to allow the peons to have secrets of any type.

actually, i don't disagree with you.  i think Bitcoin works either as a reserve currency or as a payment network simply b/c it's voluntary, mathematically secure, and based on a fixed supply.  both of us are probably considered to be in the upper percentiles in terms of wealth but i, for one, do understand the argument that Bitcoin should act as a great "leveler".  i don't have a problem with that as it would allow the spread of Bitcoin to far ends of the earth, like Africa and corners of Asia, which would greatly increase its usage and probably benefit mankind overall.  i don't have a problem with sharing.  i'm hedged either way.  but i've come to like the concept of Bitcoin being a "noble" endeavor.

[cypherdoc]

what a crock of shit:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/story?guid=202a1eaa-9f62-11e4-b098-3bcc8cdda52c

[justusranvier]

what a crock of shit:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/story?guid=202a1eaa-9f62-11e4-b098-3bcc8cdda52c

President of the SNB probably started to worry about the risk of a strong CHF causing unexpected and fatal aircraft maintenance problems developing in his plane.

[cypherdoc]

it's great to see gvt sponsorship:

http://www.coindesk.com/singapore-government-sponsors-bitcoin-firm-attend-sxsw-event/

[tvbcof]

<gold important on the international stage>

<admittedly it seems so>

with Bitcoin, you merely have to check the signature, which takes a millisecond.

Ask, oh, say everyone who's been robbed of their BTC, how great that is.  If I'm remembering correctly there may be a few people in this category.

FWIW, this is another pretty decent reason for considering Bitcoin as an important reserve more than a trivial exchange item.  As politically incorrect as it may be, there is a decent correlation between being smart and having enough wealth to benefit by solid protection.  Smart people are more often (but not always) able to retain exclusive control of their secrets.  Fewer hand-to-mouth types trying to figure out how to secure their secret keys equates directly to fewer thefts.  Technology is very unlikely to come to the rescue here any time soon.  It's simply not in the interest of the powers that be to allow the peons to have secrets of any type.

actually, i don't disagree with you.  i think Bitcoin works either as a reserve currency or as a payment network simply b/c it's voluntary, mathematically secure, and based on a fixed supply.  both of us are probably considered to be in the upper percentiles in terms of wealth but i, for one, do understand the argument that Bitcoin should act as a great "leveler".  i don't have a problem with that as it would allow the spread of Bitcoin to far ends of the earth, like Africa and corners of Asia, which would greatly increase its usage and probably benefit mankind overall.  i don't have a problem with sharing.  i'm hedged either way.  but i've come to like the concept of Bitcoin being a "noble" endeavor.

Another place where it's sidechains to the rescue.  The two-way-peg makes any (properly implemented) sidechain an excellent proxy for Bitcoin (and as I always argue, would make it BE Bitcoin.)  An implementation which provides some add-on protection for the less sophisticated user would be fine with me and it really would bring Bitcoin to the masses.  In fact I'd be inclined to use just such a thing in a limited role.  This would allow me to use Bitcoin from my Android and Windows machines with some confidence.  As always, such use would be just pocket-change class.  My nest-egg would be native Bitcoin and I'd have to visit my safe deposit box in order to get at it.

[JorgeStolfi]

it's great to see gvt sponsorship:

http://www.coindesk.com/singapore-government-sponsors-bitcoin-firm-attend-sxsw-event/

Wait, bitcoin is now being supported by money stolen from hard-working enslaved singaporeans by parasitic corrupt government thugs, under threat of violent harm and loss of liberty? 

[tvbcof]

it's great to see gvt sponsorship:

http://www.coindesk.com/singapore-government-sponsors-bitcoin-firm-attend-sxsw-event/

Not to me it isn't.

All governments are effectively hired managers of people-farming operations as I see it.  The bureaucracies they form are effectively the labor hired to work the farm.  Management class folks get to move up the chain into a farm ownership role sometimes (watch what happens to Obama when his work is done) while the hired labor are not all that different from the stock they work though they are allowed to take some limited stock for their own use in most implementations.

My hope for Bitcoin is that it tears some holes in the fences and allows some of the herd to escape.  Of course most of the herd would stand in the pasture and stare at the hole rather than make a break for it.  What can you do?

[cypherdoc]

it's great to see gvt sponsorship:

http://www.coindesk.com/singapore-government-sponsors-bitcoin-firm-attend-sxsw-event/

Not to me it isn't.

All governments are effectively hired managers of people-farming operations as I see it.  The bureaucracies they form are effectively the labor hired to work the farm.  Management class folks get to move up the chain into a farm ownership role sometimes (watch what happens to Obama when his work is done) while the hired labor are not all that different from the stock they work though they are allowed to take some limited stock for their own use in most implementations.

My hope for Bitcoin is that it tears some holes in the fences and allows some of the herd to escape.  Of course most of the herd would stand in the pasture and stare at the hole rather than make a break for it.  What can you do?

it's great in the sense that gvts are the linchpins of Bitcoin resistance, as they have the most to lose and have the power to make life tough for Bitcoin.  the more gvts disagree on their policies towards Bitcoin, the better chance it has to survive and thrive.

[sickpig]

also doesn't explain the Peter Todd debate reference from someone.

It seems I've missed this one. Care to share a pointer?

[sickpig]

p.s. you do have a big screen @cypher, don't you?

no, i use a laptop.

it's all about being detail oriented and an insatiable thirst for obtaining as much knowledge as possible to get a good sense of the Big Picture.  unlike tvbcof, and others, who come here to vomit on this thread once in a while after returning from the fields from humping little dogs (he is a little dog afterall).

I've no doubt about your thirst for knowledge, I was referring to your habit of posting hi-res screenshots without resizing or using img tag "with" property, though

[cypherdoc]

also doesn't explain the Peter Todd debate reference from someone.

It seems I've missed this one. Care to share a pointer?

Go back over the last few days of posts.

[tvbcof]

also doesn't explain the Peter Todd debate reference from someone.

It seems I've missed this one. Care to share a pointer?

Go back over the last few days of posts.

All I remember is some tweet from a guy who is threatened by the existence of Blockstream (and many in the rapidly expanding ecosystem are.)

[zanzibar]

also doesn't explain the Peter Todd debate reference from someone.

It seems I've missed this one. Care to share a pointer?

Go back over the last few days of posts.

All I remember is some tweet from a guy who is threatened by the existence of Blockstream (and many in the rapidly expanding ecosystem are.)

That was me who posted, here is the article for reference:

http://cointelegraph.com/news/113314/last-minute-tnabc-changes-garza-cancels-robot-roger-ver-and-more

[tvbcof]

also doesn't explain the Peter Todd debate reference from someone.

It seems I've missed this one. Care to share a pointer?

Go back over the last few days of posts.

All I remember is some tweet from a guy who is threatened by the existence of Blockstream (and many in the rapidly expanding ecosystem are.)

That was me who posted, here is the article for reference:

http://cointelegraph.com/news/113314/last-minute-tnabc-changes-garza-cancels-robot-roger-ver-and-more

by Ian DeMartino @ 2015-01-16 10:47 PM
...
There was a planned debate between Blockstream's Adam Back and Bitcoin Core Developer Peter Todd, but Back reportedly canceled just before this article went to press. It is unclear why, and we are attempting to reach out to him for comment.  ...

More clear now I guess.  In general, after countless blatant pump-for-hire stories, I rate the reliability of many of these crypto-rags to be a step below an off-hand tweet from some random wanker.

[cypherdoc]

i made a point some time ago that if Bitcoin were to become a global reserve currency, much like gold, due to maintaining the 1MB block size, all Bitcoin 2.0 projects trying to ride the MC would be eliminated due to high tx costs.  in that case, the blockchain would only be applicable to Bitcoin as Money:

https://twitter.com/bramcohen/status/557287567121346560

[justusranvier]

i made a point some time ago that if Bitcoin were to become a global reserve currency, much like gold, due to maintaining the 1MB block size, all Bitcoin 2.0 projects trying to ride the MC would be eliminated due to high tx costs.  in that case, the blockchain would only be applicable to Bitcoin as Money:

Bitcoin can't be money with a capped transaction rate.

Gold only maintains purchasing power due to being subsidized by central banks - there's no such thing as intrinsic value for a currency.

If those transaction rate limits are hit and the situation isn't fixed, then Bitcoin will disappear.

[JorgeStolfi]

Bitcoin can't be money with a capped transaction rate.
Gold only maintains purchasing power due to being subsidized by central banks - there's no such thing as intrinsic value for a currency.
If those transaction rate limits are hit and the situation isn't fixed, then Bitcoin will disappear.

The transaction rate limits are fixable.  The real problem is the inevitable centralization of mining.  It seems that no one knows how to fix that.  Bitcoin with centralized mining does not make any sense.

[bassclef]

i made a point some time ago that if Bitcoin were to become a global reserve currency, much like gold, due to maintaining the 1MB block size, all Bitcoin 2.0 projects trying to ride the MC would be eliminated due to high tx costs.  in that case, the blockchain would only be applicable to Bitcoin as Money:

Bitcoin can't be money with a capped transaction rate.

Gold only maintains purchasing power due to being subsidized by central banks - there's no such thing as intrinsic value for a currency.

If those transaction rate limits are hit and the situation isn't fixed, then Bitcoin will disappear.

I think Gavin has been working on a solution, where block limit grows over time, using the testnet. Which got me thinking--the fact that we have a testnet is pretty cool in itself--if only central banks had one to test interest rate adjustments!