Gold collapsing. Bitcoin UP.

[cypherdoc]

Finally capitulated and got a Trezor. Very cool.

I think they are cool. It's just like a locked down tiny computer whose sole purpose is to keep private keys safe and sign things. The same technology that makes bitcoin security easy can be used for everything else where a private key needs to be kept secret. BitID, Password Manager app, pgp, encryption, and others. Perhaps the first "personal crypto-computer"? By having it's own secure display and a pin that can't be stolen by spyware, and with locked down firmware, you can be certain what message you are signing.

I can't wait to sign into a website with no password and be impossible for anyone to impersonate me! And the bonus is that websites who use key auth means there is no password to steal. All they get is the ID/public key.

I'm sure you're following Steve Gibson's SQRL  project.  There's also a Bitcoin variant of this also. 

[L0uis]

http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/19/independent-investigators-find-fresh-details-mt-gox/

[cypherdoc]

Significant short term reversal in gold fortunes overnight:

[uki]

Significant short term reversal in gold fortunes overnight:
-snip-

Well, we had exactly opposite movement  (of even bigger range) yesterday on the release of FOMC minutes. Gold is very volatile asset in the last 3+ years, and such daily swings are nothing weird, neither positive nor negative. As I wrote in this thread, I believe, we have to wait till the end of Febraury to have more clear picture on the mid-term trend, as the calendar is full of events that may affect the price of gold.

[NotHatinJustTrollin]

http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/19/independent-investigators-find-fresh-details-mt-gox/

Interesting:

"Another interesting fact that caught Wizsec’s eyes was the Willy’s static nature during the Japanese sleeping hours. The Mt. Gox bot was supposed to be automatic, but as it turns out there was hardly any trading activity. This speculation multiplied the belief that the bot was actually being controlled manually — probably by Mark Karpeles."

[Melbustus]

Hive wallet is running a Bitcoin crowdfunding campaign on Lighthouse: https://mac.hivewallet.com/crowdfunding/

That's funny, cuz the CEO of Hive doesn't think Bitcoin should be valuable, nor considered money:

...
We at Hive agree that so-called crypto-currency is not money—even if it can be used that way, and even if it is sometimes convenient to describe it that way. We're actively working on our language, but let me be crystal-clear about that perspective now.

I know that $1,000,000/BTC was an exit strategy for a handful of people, but there's nary a prayer of it playing out that way. We of Earth love our novelty, and I in particular find the idea of artificial digital scarcity so painfully fucking boring that I'm going to spend my time making your world view more difficult to sustain, as both a career and a hobby.

[cypherdoc]

http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/19/independent-investigators-find-fresh-details-mt-gox/

Interesting:

"Another interesting fact that caught Wizsec’s eyes was the Willy’s static nature during the Japanese sleeping hours. The Mt. Gox bot was supposed to be automatic, but as it turns out there was hardly any trading activity. This speculation multiplied the belief that the bot was actually being controlled manually — probably by Mark Karpeles."

http://hackingdistributed.com/2014/05/27/mtgox-willy-markus/

[dnaleor]

Do we ever expect BTC to be above gold again?
If yes, then when?

Should cross at about $850  this year  :p

don't see that happening. A short v-type break in gold towards $1000 may be in the cards, but $850 is a far off bet. Despite what many perma-bears say.
So gold-BTC cross would have to happen higher and very likely not in 2015.

faites vos jeux

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=336761.0

[jsuder]

Hive wallet is running a Bitcoin crowdfunding campaign on Lighthouse: https://mac.hivewallet.com/crowdfunding/

That's funny, cuz the CEO of Hive doesn't think Bitcoin should be valuable, nor considered money:

If you read the crowdfunding info page (specifically "Why Lighthouse?"), it says there that I'm really doing this independently. I'm collaborating with Hive Labs to some extent, and we're keeping this under the same brand, but technically I no longer work for Hive Labs, that's why I need another way to fund the development.

[NotHatinJustTrollin]

http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/19/independent-investigators-find-fresh-details-mt-gox/

Interesting:

"Another interesting fact that caught Wizsec’s eyes was the Willy’s static nature during the Japanese sleeping hours. The Mt. Gox bot was supposed to be automatic, but as it turns out there was hardly any trading activity. This speculation multiplied the belief that the bot was actually being controlled manually — probably by Mark Karpeles."

http://hackingdistributed.com/2014/05/27/mtgox-willy-markus/

I follow this guy on twitter and I admire him, but the article doesn't make much sense:

"For a pump and dump, there has to be a quick pump (buy action) to generate mass momentum, followed by a dump.
In this case, there was no quick pump; the buy orders were deliberately smeared across a very long time period. And there was no dump until the very end stage.
It's as simple as that. No fast pump, no dump, therefore not a pump and dump."

^^^What? This is false. A pump&dump doesn't have to be executed quickly to be a pump&dump, unless we are talking half a year to a year. The $1200 pump lasted two to three months. 2-3 months is a small time frame for a pump of that magnitude.

Large buys like those WILL have a BIG impact on the price, whether made in smaller chunks or not (impossible to buy that quantity of coins in a few market buys, literally impossible).


Also, is the author completely ignoring the fact that one of the mtgox bots (markus I believe) was buying with FAKE FIAT (amounts of money mtgox didn't actually have)? He didn't mention that.
Markus bought a gigantic quantity of BTC basically for free and Emin argues that that doesn't indicate any fraudulent activity?

[cypherdoc]

http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/19/independent-investigators-find-fresh-details-mt-gox/

Interesting:

"Another interesting fact that caught Wizsec’s eyes was the Willy’s static nature during the Japanese sleeping hours. The Mt. Gox bot was supposed to be automatic, but as it turns out there was hardly any trading activity. This speculation multiplied the belief that the bot was actually being controlled manually — probably by Mark Karpeles."

http://hackingdistributed.com/2014/05/27/mtgox-willy-markus/

I follow this guy on twitter and I admire him, but the article doesn't make much sense:

"For a pump and dump, there has to be a quick pump (buy action) to generate mass momentum, followed by a dump.
In this case, there was no quick pump; the buy orders were deliberately smeared across a very long time period. And there was no dump until the very end stage.
It's as simple as that. No fast pump, no dump, therefore not a pump and dump."

^^^What? This is false. A pump&dump doesn't have to be executed quickly to be a pump&dump, unless we are talking half a year to a year. The $1200 pump lasted two to three months. 2-3 months is a small time frame for a pump of that magnitude.

Large buys like those WILL have a BIG impact on the price, whether made in smaller chunks or not (impossible to buy that quantity of coins in a few market buys, literally impossible).


Also, is the author completely ignoring the fact that one of the mtgox bots (markus I believe) was buying with FAKE FIAT (amounts of money mtgox didn't actually have)? He didn't mention that.
Markus bought a gigantic quantity of BTC basically for free and Emin argues that that doesn't indicate any fraudulent activity?

you don't know it was FAKE FIAT.

gox could've been buying on behalf of a large whale.  plus, volumes on Chinese exchanges were large at the time.

[rocks]

Hive wallet is running a Bitcoin crowdfunding campaign on Lighthouse: https://mac.hivewallet.com/crowdfunding/

That's funny, cuz the CEO of Hive doesn't think Bitcoin should be valuable, nor considered money:

...
We at Hive agree that so-called crypto-currency is not money—even if it can be used that way, and even if it is sometimes convenient to describe it that way. We're actively working on our language, but let me be crystal-clear about that perspective now.

I know that $1,000,000/BTC was an exit strategy for a handful of people, but there's nary a prayer of it playing out that way. We of Earth love our novelty, and I in particular find the idea of artificial digital scarcity so painfully fucking boring that I'm going to spend my time making your world view more difficult to sustain, as both a career and a hobby.

What I've never understood is why those who generally take a more collectivist view, can not just leave those who take more of an individualist view alone? What is it to Wendell, and the many like him, that make him want to force his world view on others? Why can't he just say "I disagree with crypto-currency and think it will fail" and leave it at that? So what is it to him if a minority of people decide to transact and use a different system? Is it some sense of moral superiority, or insecurity and the need to be right, or is it a fear that if individualists are allowed to choose their own path and live-and-let-be that more will join them and the collectivists will slowly run out of people to rob from?

If you read the crowdfunding info page (specifically "Why Lighthouse?"), it says there that I'm really doing this independently. I'm collaborating with Hive Labs to some extent, and we're keeping this under the same brand, but technically I no longer work for Hive Labs, that's why I need another way to fund the development.

Thanks for the development and making a viable wallet on the Mac platform. I'm not a Mac person but think it's great the platform has this.

[ErisDiscordia]

What I've never understood is why those who generally take a more collectivist view, can not just leave those who take more of an individualist view alone? What is it to Wendell, and the many like him, that make him want to force his world view on others? Why can't he just say "I disagree with crypto-currency and think it will fail" and leave it at that? So what is it to him if a minority of people decide to transact and use a different system? Is it some sense of moral superiority, or insecurity and the need to be right, or is it a fear that if individualists are allowed to choose their own path and live-and-let-be that more will join them and the collectivists will slowly run out of people to rob from?

As you can see, there are many splendid reasons for the collectivist to choose from. I'll add another big one: the fear of watching the outsider succeed. When you've lived your life according to what your parents, teachers, priests and peers have told you - you might have a safe spot in society and respect of your peers. Yet at the same time feel like you've wasted your potential. Not lived up to what could have been. Didn't do that round the world trip or write that book. So when you see someone trying to forfeit the cozy spot in society and the respect of their peers in order to try and grasp that singular, unique something their heart desires...you want them to fail. Because if they should succeed, it throws your whole life and what you have achieved into grave doubt and makes you question your self-image. And if there is one thing we can't bear to part with it is our illusions about ourselves.

[Bagatell]

The fear of the farmer when he realizes the flock is smarter than he is.

[Melbustus]

Hive wallet is running a Bitcoin crowdfunding campaign on Lighthouse: https://mac.hivewallet.com/crowdfunding/

That's funny, cuz the CEO of Hive doesn't think Bitcoin should be valuable, nor considered money:

If you read the crowdfunding info page (specifically "Why Lighthouse?"), it says there that I'm really doing this independently. I'm collaborating with Hive Labs to some extent, and we're keeping this under the same brand, but technically I no longer work for Hive Labs, that's why I need another way to fund the development.

Thanks for the clarification. This is tough for me. On one hand, I absolutely think solid wallet software should be on as many platforms as possible. But on the other hand, if the company (or even just the brand) backing that wallet has what I consider a fundamentally destructive attitude (and even outright objective, as Wendell's quote is pretty aggressive/vehement), the negatives of such a brand gaining more traction probably outweigh the positives.

In any event, I do appreciate you making the distinction (both here and on Reddit) between your project and views, and Hive as a company. Perhaps you'd consider re-branding away from Hive?

[NotHatinJustTrollin]

http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/19/independent-investigators-find-fresh-details-mt-gox/

Interesting:

"Another interesting fact that caught Wizsec’s eyes was the Willy’s static nature during the Japanese sleeping hours. The Mt. Gox bot was supposed to be automatic, but as it turns out there was hardly any trading activity. This speculation multiplied the belief that the bot was actually being controlled manually — probably by Mark Karpeles."

http://hackingdistributed.com/2014/05/27/mtgox-willy-markus/

I follow this guy on twitter and I admire him, but the article doesn't make much sense:

"For a pump and dump, there has to be a quick pump (buy action) to generate mass momentum, followed by a dump.
In this case, there was no quick pump; the buy orders were deliberately smeared across a very long time period. And there was no dump until the very end stage.
It's as simple as that. No fast pump, no dump, therefore not a pump and dump."

^^^What? This is false. A pump&dump doesn't have to be executed quickly to be a pump&dump, unless we are talking half a year to a year. The $1200 pump lasted two to three months. 2-3 months is a small time frame for a pump of that magnitude.

Large buys like those WILL have a BIG impact on the price, whether made in smaller chunks or not (impossible to buy that quantity of coins in a few market buys, literally impossible).


Also, is the author completely ignoring the fact that one of the mtgox bots (markus I believe) was buying with FAKE FIAT (amounts of money mtgox didn't actually have)? He didn't mention that.
Markus bought a gigantic quantity of BTC basically for free and Emin argues that that doesn't indicate any fraudulent activity?

you don't know it was FAKE FIAT.

gox could've been buying on behalf of a large whale.  plus, volumes on Chinese exchanges were large at the time.

You're right, it's possible, but the whole thing is shady as hell. One of the bots was not paying fees, the other one was, one was paying with money technically not in the exchange, the other was not. The fact that the bot was active even when trading was closed to anybody else... etc.
It's possible it was a bot for wealthy clients that had favours, but many things don't add up.

Police is investigating and their findings and statements just add the the whole shadiness:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bitcoin-theft-mtgox-was-inside-job-according-police-1481599

In his article, Emin was basically saying that the willy report's findings are not a big deal and not an indication that the bot actions were manipulative. While we clearly don't have conclusive evidence, I would say we have few indications that something was not quite right.

[solex]

As you can see, there are many splendid reasons for the collectivist to choose from. I'll add another big one: the fear of watching the outsider succeed. When you've lived your life according to what your parents, teachers, priests and peers have told you - you might have a safe spot in society and respect of your peers. Yet at the same time feel like you've wasted your potential. Not lived up to what could have been. Didn't do that round the world trip or write that book. So when you see someone trying to forfeit the cozy spot in society and the respect of their peers in order to try and grasp that singular, unique something their heart desires...you want them to fail. Because if they should succeed, it throws your whole life and what you have achieved into grave doubt and makes you question your self-image. And if there is one thing we can't bear to part with it is our illusions about ourselves.

Personally speaking, it is gems like this which makes reading the internet so rewarding.

[rocks]

As you can see, there are many splendid reasons for the collectivist to choose from. I'll add another big one: the fear of watching the outsider succeed. When you've lived your life according to what your parents, teachers, priests and peers have told you - you might have a safe spot in society and respect of your peers. Yet at the same time feel like you've wasted your potential. Not lived up to what could have been. Didn't do that round the world trip or write that book. So when you see someone trying to forfeit the cozy spot in society and the respect of their peers in order to try and grasp that singular, unique something their heart desires...you want them to fail. Because if they should succeed, it throws your whole life and what you have achieved into grave doubt and makes you question your self-image. And if there is one thing we can't bear to part with it is our illusions about ourselves.

Good point. This article, from theAtlantic of all places, touches on a similar vein.

The Rage of the Almost-Elite
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/the-rage-of-the-almost-elite/247638/

[HeliKopterBen]

http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/19/independent-investigators-find-fresh-details-mt-gox/

Interesting:

"Another interesting fact that caught Wizsec’s eyes was the Willy’s static nature during the Japanese sleeping hours. The Mt. Gox bot was supposed to be automatic, but as it turns out there was hardly any trading activity. This speculation multiplied the belief that the bot was actually being controlled manually — probably by Mark Karpeles."

http://hackingdistributed.com/2014/05/27/mtgox-willy-markus/

I follow this guy on twitter and I admire him, but the article doesn't make much sense:

"For a pump and dump, there has to be a quick pump (buy action) to generate mass momentum, followed by a dump.
In this case, there was no quick pump; the buy orders were deliberately smeared across a very long time period. And there was no dump until the very end stage.
It's as simple as that. No fast pump, no dump, therefore not a pump and dump."

^^^What? This is false. A pump&dump doesn't have to be executed quickly to be a pump&dump, unless we are talking half a year to a year. The $1200 pump lasted two to three months. 2-3 months is a small time frame for a pump of that magnitude.

Large buys like those WILL have a BIG impact on the price, whether made in smaller chunks or not (impossible to buy that quantity of coins in a few market buys, literally impossible).


Also, is the author completely ignoring the fact that one of the mtgox bots (markus I believe) was buying with FAKE FIAT (amounts of money mtgox didn't actually have)? He didn't mention that.
Markus bought a gigantic quantity of BTC basically for free and Emin argues that that doesn't indicate any fraudulent activity?

you don't know it was FAKE FIAT.

gox could've been buying on behalf of a large whale.  plus, volumes on Chinese exchanges were large at the time.

What about all the bots shorting the market now with FAKE BITCOIN. 

I don't really believe in market manipulation on a wide scale, especially since we have a publicly verifiable blockchain, but it could be happening.

[Pruden]

you don't know it was FAKE FIAT.

gox could've been buying on behalf of a large whale.  plus, volumes on Chinese exchanges were large at the time.

Yeah, buying when trading was closed, great way to give the whales a good price.  

Between your hypothesis and Karpeles trying to make a quick buck even while he ruined Bitcoin for years, my gut makes a clear choice.