Illegal use of Bitcoin affecting its value?

[Este Nuno]

I think the illegal use of BTC is affecting the price less and less as time goes on.   In the beginning, I think it actually had a positive effect because it got people talking about it. 

I first heard of BTC because I heard about people buying drugs, IDs, etc, online "anonymously"   I was intrigued, so I researched more and that is how I first learned of BTC

It definitely help drive the first bubble to ~$30. It was all over the news as I remember. Even congressmen were mentioning BTC.

But wait, if the price hasn't ever fallen below 30$ since, are you correct in calling the increase to 30$ a "bubble"?

What? The price went down to a few dollars.

Ok, I think I see what you're talking about now.  But again, given that prices eventually recovered and have sustained at much more than 30$, can you really say that 30$ was a bubble?

I guess it depends on whether you define 'bubble' as something that inflates then pops and dies after or just the rapid run up followed by a big drop ignoring whether the asset survives after.

A lot of people use 'bubble' to describe the big bitcoin run ups, so I do as well. Also, people like to call the mid 2000s housing price surge a 'bubble', and it's not like the housing market in the US is ever going to completely die.

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[blumangroup]

I think the illegal use of BTC is affecting the price less and less as time goes on.   In the beginning, I think it actually had a positive effect because it got people talking about it. 

I first heard of BTC because I heard about people buying drugs, IDs, etc, online "anonymously"   I was intrigued, so I researched more and that is how I first learned of BTC

It definitely help drive the first bubble to ~$30. It was all over the news as I remember. Even congressmen were mentioning BTC.

But wait, if the price hasn't ever fallen below 30$ since, are you correct in calling the increase to 30$ a "bubble"?

What? The price went down to a few dollars.

Ok, I think I see what you're talking about now.  But again, given that prices eventually recovered and have sustained at much more than 30$, can you really say that 30$ was a bubble?

Yes bitcoin was very much a bubble at the time. The high prices of most bubbles are eventually surpassed over time as fundamentals of the underlying asset catches up to the price of the asset. 

[polynesia]

Yes bitcoin was very much a bubble at the time. The high prices of most bubbles are eventually surpassed over time as fundamentals of the underlying asset catches up to the price of the asset. 

Definitely. At that point of time, there was nothing to justify its valuation.
There is only so much of future potential (given the uncertainty) that you can squeeze into its valuation. 

[Kluge]

I simply wouldn't be here if Chuck Schumer didn't do that ridiculous Silk Road Youtube video. From right out of the Ron Paul camp, I came here and never looked back, because here are people not just threatening the US government, but actively undermining them. That was a clear proof-of-concept and I'd argue we're all indebted to Silk Road, to some extent, for Bitcoin's popularity today, an exponential expression of past adoption and evangelism.

[DrG]

Yes bitcoin was very much a bubble at the time. The high prices of most bubbles are eventually surpassed over time as fundamentals of the underlying asset catches up to the price of the asset. 

Definitely. At that point of time, there was nothing to justify its valuation.
There is only so much of future potential (given the uncertainty) that you can squeeze into its valuation. 

The 3 bubbles or overjoys if you want to call them (people getting giddy at their computer pressing F5 every 3 seconds) happened at $30, $265 and that last run to $1200.  So far this year despite dropping to 1/2 and then going backup up 50% we have not seen bubble.  The good and bad news seems to be canceling each other out realtime.

[serje]

Yes bitcoin was very much a bubble at the time. The high prices of most bubbles are eventually surpassed over time as fundamentals of the underlying asset catches up to the price of the asset. 

Definitely. At that point of time, there was nothing to justify its valuation.
There is only so much of future potential (given the uncertainty) that you can squeeze into its valuation. 

The 3 bubbles or overjoys if you want to call them (people getting giddy at their computer pressing F5 every 3 seconds) happened at $30, $265 and that last run to $1200.  So far this year despite dropping to 1/2 and then going backup up 50% we have not seen bubble.  The good and bad news seems to be canceling each other out realtime.

What is happening in fact is STABILITY!

Bitcoin is accepted by more people and this can only lead to a more stable market for bitcoin .... I wonder where all the people that said that BTC is not stable vanished!

[Kluge]

Yes bitcoin was very much a bubble at the time. The high prices of most bubbles are eventually surpassed over time as fundamentals of the underlying asset catches up to the price of the asset. 

Definitely. At that point of time, there was nothing to justify its valuation.
There is only so much of future potential (given the uncertainty) that you can squeeze into its valuation. 

The 3 bubbles or overjoys if you want to call them (people getting giddy at their computer pressing F5 every 3 seconds) happened at $30, $265 and that last run to $1200.  So far this year despite dropping to 1/2 and then going backup up 50% we have not seen bubble.  The good and bad news seems to be canceling each other out realtime.

What is happening in fact is STABILITY!

Bitcoin is accepted by more people and this can only lead to a more stable market for bitcoin .... I wonder where all the people that said that BTC is not stable vanished!

... What? You just quoted someone talking about a 50% decline followed by a 50% increase in price over six months. Do please give me an example of any widely-used currency or commodity which has jumped around like that and called stable, because all I can think of in wide(ish) use which dwarfed bitcoin's volatility is the Zimbabwean dollar.

[serje]

Yes bitcoin was very much a bubble at the time. The high prices of most bubbles are eventually surpassed over time as fundamentals of the underlying asset catches up to the price of the asset. 

Definitely. At that point of time, there was nothing to justify its valuation.
There is only so much of future potential (given the uncertainty) that you can squeeze into its valuation. 

The 3 bubbles or overjoys if you want to call them (people getting giddy at their computer pressing F5 every 3 seconds) happened at $30, $265 and that last run to $1200.  So far this year despite dropping to 1/2 and then going backup up 50% we have not seen bubble.  The good and bad news seems to be canceling each other out realtime.

What is happening in fact is STABILITY!

Bitcoin is accepted by more people and this can only lead to a more stable market for bitcoin .... I wonder where all the people that said that BTC is not stable vanished!

... What? You just quoted someone talking about a 50% decline followed by a 50% increase in price over six months. Do please give me an example of any widely-used currency or commodity which has jumped around like that and called stable, because all I can think of in wide(ish) use which dwarfed bitcoin's volatility is the Zimbabwean dollar.

Well ... check this chart https://blockchain.info/charts/market-price .... I would say the period from jan 2014 till now it was pretty much stable

january 2014 price 579 usd .... price nou 591 usd ....


now let's check Gold on bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/XAUUSD:CUR   (click on 1Y)


You can even compare it to EUR/USD http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/EURUSD:CUR


so you just can't compare 14 mil coins with 1.29 trilion $

How much U.S. currency is in circulation?
There was approximately $1.29 trillion in circulation as of July 2, 2014, of which $1.24 trillion was in Federal Reserve notes.
(source: http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12773.htm )
Or with €956 billion.
(Source: http://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/circulation/html/index.en.html )

so yes ...I think BTC is becoming more stable each day

[polynesia]

so yes ...I think BTC is becoming more stable each day

which is the end objective... a currency which does not get inflated away.

[martinnew]

I think all kinds of money whether virtually or physically have been being used illegally.
The higher the demand, the higher the value.

[Mobius]

I simply wouldn't be here if Chuck Schumer didn't do that ridiculous Silk Road Youtube video. From right out of the Ron Paul camp, I came here and never looked back, because here are people not just threatening the US government, but actively undermining them. That was a clear proof-of-concept and I'd argue we're all indebted to Silk Road, to some extent, for Bitcoin's popularity today, an exponential expression of past adoption and evangelism.

I agree that the senator demanding that Silk Road be taken down defiantly increased the public awareness and adaptation of bitcoin. It also indirectly proved just how safe it is to use bitcoin (and TOR) as it took years and massive amounts of government resources to shut down Silk Road and catch Ross.

[dompsairs]

Well bad guys are doing this daily with cash

[polynesia]

I agree that the senator demanding that Silk Road be taken down defiantly increased the public awareness and adaptation of bitcoin. It also indirectly proved just how safe it is to use bitcoin (and TOR) as it took years and massive amounts of government resources to shut down Silk Road and catch Ross.

Plus, eventually the government got lucky.

[blumangroup]

I agree that the senator demanding that Silk Road be taken down defiantly increased the public awareness and adaptation of bitcoin. It also indirectly proved just how safe it is to use bitcoin (and TOR) as it took years and massive amounts of government resources to shut down Silk Road and catch Ross.

Plus, eventually the government got lucky.

I think that Ross made mistakes, and the Government got lucky, but these facts adds to the fact that bitcoin is good for transacting anonymously (even though bitcoin is psydo anon)

[Mobius]

I agree that the senator demanding that Silk Road be taken down defiantly increased the public awareness and adaptation of bitcoin. It also indirectly proved just how safe it is to use bitcoin (and TOR) as it took years and massive amounts of government resources to shut down Silk Road and catch Ross.

Plus, eventually the government got lucky.

I think it was more Ross making mistakes early on that caused him to get caught. I doubt that he ever imagined that Silk Road would have been as successful as it was. The success of silk road caused him to become a target for attacks from not only the government but also from people trying to scam and steal from him. The point is that it took a lot of resources to track down his identity, so it would really not be possible to track down the "average joe" because it wouldn't be worth what it would take to track him down.

[martinnew]

Right that since transacting in BTC is anonymous, it can be used by the bad guys on its maximum. 

[keithers]

As time has gone on, there has been less and less talk of the illegal uses of Bitcoin.   I think this is because it has gotten a lot of legitimacy as the larger corporations are starting to recognize and accept it as a means of payment...

[Este Nuno]

As time has gone on, there has been less and less talk of the illegal uses of Bitcoin.   I think this is because it has gotten a lot of legitimacy as the larger corporations are starting to recognize and accept it as a means of payment...

Yeah, I rarely see this brought up in mainstream articles these days. While two or three years ago no journalist would ever leave the fact that people buy drugs online with Bitcoin out of an article.

It's good to see the media not focus on such a small part of Bitcoin.

[onlyu]

Cash has illegal use also. Don't think it affect the value much.

[wachtwoord]

Illegal use of USD affecting its value?