We already passed the tipping point of BTC

[Malin Keshar]

everyone has their own tipping point.

my tipping point of when i realised bitcoin is going to last a long time and is growing in adoption was in 2012. those people from 2009 probably had their tipping point to realise bitcoin will be huge was probably 2011

and as the OP says his tipping point of revelation was a year after he got into it.

there are more tipping points every day. there is no single tipping point. just an increase of tipping points. and the more we see of these 'revelations' that people have that they finally see that bitcoin is going to grow, the faster it will grow.

Well the "tipping point" is a formal term for when a new technology or idea is adopted by the masses or reaches a level of adoption that the acceptance of that technology or idea cannot be reversed. So, it's not about one person it's about the entire community. When is there enough collective momentum to push the idea forward such that it cannot fade away?

You're right that a lot of positive moments contribute to that momentum and the (singular) tipping point is only one that can be truly known in retrospect, after it's happened, after the history of events can be analyzed.

It's a very exciting time, for sure...no one on this forum will argue that!

Was sure that he meant we are beyond the level where the most significant bitcoin use is way to give and receive tips around the internet, like is with doge today. First time I see this expression("tipping point")

For me the tipping point was bitcoin survives Mt. Gox and all the chinese bans.

[qwerty555]

Definition of TIPPING POINT
:  the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place


significant...entry of big players/ big money/multiple start ups/10's of 1000's of merchants accepting/remittance activity increasing exponentially etc.

often unstoppable...these people will support their investments and bitcoin activity so as to make it hard to stop in the medium term ( barring a catastrophic event which none have yet foreseen..and if anyone knows one please share)

[Malin Keshar]

( barring a catastrophic event which none have yet foreseen..and if anyone knows one please share)

Gox fiasco was not predicted by most people, also the chinese bans went unwarned too. This is why I cited them as turning point(or turning proof, if you prefer) for bitcoin, because they proof bitcoin's resistence against unexpected big crysis.

For most of the community, and for 90% of the newcomers, Mt. Gox was reference for price and to buy bitcoins with fiat, their downfall was something bigger than a bitstamp collapse today.

And everyone agreed that the rise in bitcoin price was due to chinese demand, so no one could predict where would we stop if the chinese were unable to get bitcoins - maybe to the $200 level, again.

Now add both happening at same time, and you have your test.

[qwerty555]

( barring a catastrophic event which none have yet foreseen..and if anyone knows one please share)

Gox fiasco was not predicted by most people, also the chinese bans went unwarned too. This is why I cited them as turning point(or turning proof, if you prefer) for bitcoin, because they proof bitcoin's resistence against unexpected big crysis.

For most of the community, and for 90% of the newcomers, Mt. Gox was reference for price and to buy bitcoins with fiat, their downfall was something bigger than a bitstamp collapse today.

And everyone agreed that the rise in bitcoin price was due to chinese demand, so no one could predict where would we stop if the chinese were unable to get bitcoins - maybe to the $200 level, again.

Now add both happening at same time, and you have your test.

Gox fiasco was "predicted" by some twit in November 2013  ..and that twit says that it is probably not the last ..but bitcoin will survive nonetheless


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=316846.msg3748321#msg3748321

What could send us down to $274 given the current China interest?

Here's a few scenarios.

- Solar flare or cyber attack knocks out internet
- China or USA ban (temporarily)
- Large Chinese dealer or Mt gox/ Bitstamp folds up owing 10's of Millions (most probable scenario in my opinion)
- China and USA start war mongering over the Japanese/ Chinese disputed Islands
- Meltdown of financial markets run to PHYSICAL assets (gold silver)
- Governments start to introduce their own Crypto outlawing completely private Crypto's

There are others but those immediately come to mind.

NOT going to $150 again except for ability to purchase a few coins


and here's another one that's started

- Governments start to introduce their own Crypto outlawing completely private Crypto's

http://www.trendingtidings.com/ecuador-outlaws-bitcoin-create-state-controlled-digital-currency/


 China or USA ban (temporarily).. this one is also often in the news but no total ban

that leaves   solar flare ( coming??)  and meltdown of financial markets ( coming ? lol ) from the list

[keithers]

maybe 2014 is THE braketrough year for bitcoin

When you say 'brakethrough', you mean the year that it has the brakes on through the whole year, right?

No, he meant breakthrough....just misspelled the word...

[LiteCoinGuy]

everyone has their own tipping point.

my tipping point of when i realised bitcoin is going to last a long time and is growing in adoption was in 2012. those people from 2009 probably had their tipping point to realise bitcoin will be huge was probably 2011

and as the OP says his tipping point of revelation was a year after he got into it.

there are more tipping points every day. there is no single tipping point. just an increase of tipping points. and the more we see of these 'revelations' that people have that they finally see that bitcoin is going to grow, the faster it will grow.

Well the "tipping point" is a formal term for when a new technology or idea is adopted by the masses or reaches a level of adoption that the acceptance of that technology or idea cannot be reversed. So, it's not about one person it's about the entire community. When is there enough collective momentum to push the idea forward such that it cannot fade away?

You're right that a lot of positive moments contribute to that momentum and the (singular) tipping point is only one that can be truly known in retrospect, after it's happened, after the history of events can be analyzed.

It's a very exciting time, for sure...no one on this forum will argue that!

yeah right. i mean this kind of tipping point. its not about the price or my personal experience with bitcoin.

[OROBTC]

...

Maybe another way to look at "tipping points" is when we start to see more and more of them happening ever more quickly.  Kind of like now!  

With all the terrible things going on in the world now, it only makes sense for those in dangerous areas want to have a little value tucked away that is not easy for the local .govs to steal.  Something that is easy to take in large value in a small space.  Something that is truly a diversification of assets.

Something like Bitcoin...

***

Re my only experience with spending Bitcoin (buying a small gold coin), that was perhaps my "tipping point" (seeing for myself that it really worked) -- there are now at least FOUR companies who will sell you gold for BTC.

Or perhaps my "tipping point" was buying BTC by credit card (trucoin.com, but they are not selling for the moment until they get their service cranked up).  I am also waiting on another BTC seller (who takes checks!) to come through, I will let bitcointalk.org know upon successful completion of my order.

Or maybe my "tipping point" was finally being able to find more people in my town who will sell me BTC for cash...

The above THREE "tipping points" illustrate my contention at the top of this note.  "Tipping points" are coming along rather quickly.

[domainbrokers]

Trying to stop btc at this point is like you know standing in front of the ocean thinking your urine stream is gonna influence the tide or depth of the ocean

BTC is entrenched as the first legitimate digital currency unit

As mentioned above, just 10% acceptance means 8.5 Trillion of GWP on btc network

That's 500K btc in basic math

We don't need 100% acceptance

Just .1% of gwp the next bubble is 5K btc

1% of gwp is 50K btc

So a btc millionaire is positioned to become a btc billionaire

All the big tech players moving into btc shows it's REAL

[jonald_fyookball]

Definition of TIPPING POINT
:  the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place

The first tipping point was when Satoshi published his white paper.

[LiteCoinGuy]

Definition of TIPPING POINT
:  the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place

The first tipping point was when Satoshi published his white paper.

seems legit 

[ebliever]

Here's a few scenarios.

- Solar flare or cyber attack knocks out internet
- China or USA ban (temporarily)
- Large Chinese dealer or Mt gox/ Bitstamp folds up owing 10's of Millions (most probable scenario in my opinion)
- China and USA start war mongering over the Japanese/ Chinese disputed Islands
- Meltdown of financial markets run to PHYSICAL assets (gold silver)
- Governments start to introduce their own Crypto outlawing completely private Crypto's

There are others but those immediately come to mind.

Yep, someone was prescient there. As for the other possibilities:

1. My best understanding is that the risk from solar flares is somewhat exaggerated. And a really bad one would knock out satellites in geostationary orbit, giving us about 30 minutes warning before it struck earth. Assuming they are on the ball, this should give major utilities and internet outfits time to shut things down and greatly limit the resulting scope of damage... assuming they don't stand around aimlessly when the satellite shutdowns start happening. EMP attacks and cyber warfare are realistic possibilities, but almost certainly wouldn't take out the entire internet, so distributed blockchains should be fine.

2. (Most) Governments won't flatly ban crypto, and even if they did they would thrive on the black markets.

3. Warmongering creates fear, motivating people to safeguard their assets. This would drive people away from at-risk investments (such as in companies that would be in trouble if international trade shut down in the example given above), towards safe havens like gold and bitcoin.

4. A financial market meltdown will cause people to flee AWAY from fiat currency, not TO precious metals in particular. If your fiat becomes worthless, you still need a way to buy and sell things. Which would you rather have at that point, a lump of gold in your pocket or a couple bitcoins in your online wallet? With each passing day the usability of BTC in everyday transactions grows. Gold? Try cashing that at Walmart or spending it online.

5. Government-backed crypto. Ecuador will be showing us what a stupid idea this is. Does anyone really think this stands any chance of acceptance? Really? It combines the disadvantages (such as they are) of crypto with the disadvantages of fiat. Lose-lose.

[beetcoin]

i wonder how many years it would take for people not to think that bitcoin is just another "ponzi scheme." i guess big companies accepting it are helping the narrative some.

[Armed]

i wonder how many years it would take for people not to think that bitcoin is just another "ponzi scheme." i guess big companies accepting it are helping the narrative some.

I honestly doubt that the thought of bitcoin being a "ponzi scheme" is the main reason adoption is so slow.

The biggest reason is that the common joe doesn't feel the need to use anything other than fiat.

[minimalB]

I honestly doubt that the thought of bitcoin being a "ponzi scheme" is the main reason adoption is so slow.

I personally find Bitcoin adoption to be extremely fast. I became a "Bitcoiner" in 2011 and since then things happened with astronomical speed. What Bitcoin has achieved in just few short years is breathtaking to me.

[LiteCoinGuy]

I honestly doubt that the thought of bitcoin being a "ponzi scheme" is the main reason adoption is so slow.

I personally find Bitcoin adoption to be extremely fast. I became a "Bitcoiner" in 2011 and since then things happened with astronomical speed. What Bitcoin has achieved in just few short years is breathtaking to me.

lucky guy  

first time i heard of it was in 2012 when it went from 30 USD to 2 or something like that but i didnt care back then.

[eden1]

lol, all this from litecoin guy

[franky1]

Well the "tipping point" is a formal term for when a new technology or idea is adopted by the masses or reaches a level of adoption that the acceptance of that technology or idea cannot be reversed. So, it's not about one person it's about the entire community. When is there enough collective momentum to push the idea forward such that it cannot fade away?

You're right that a lot of positive moments contribute to that momentum and the (singular) tipping point is only one that can be truly known in retrospect, after it's happened, after the history of events can be analyzed.

It's a very exciting time, for sure...no one on this forum will argue that!

thats what i meant. everyone has their own tipping points where they wont go back. but not one person can say . this is it here and now. this is the single tipping point.

because with bitcoin and many other things. it is more like a curve not a singular event, and we have not yet seen the 'point' where the curve moves by any sharp degree

but as you say looking back in retrospect you can easily analyze the data and see where most people all had their moment of realization and the consensus of the masses all caused what appears to be a singular event or atleast a more angular curve upwards.

but in my mind we are not there yet, but it is getting closer

[keithers]

Definition of TIPPING POINT
:  the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place

The first tipping point was when Satoshi published his white paper.

That would be more like the starting point rather than the tipping point.   I would think that the first tipping point was when BTC started moving up in monetary value due to exchanges opening...

[BittBurger]

maybe 2014 is THE braketrough year for bitcoin

When you say 'brakethrough', you mean the year that it has the brakes on through the whole year, right?

Yes.  Dont forget the "hunderts of millions of VC Money" as well.

Apologies to everyone.  American Schools.  You know how it goes.

-B-

[twiifm]

How many of you guys actually spend bitcoins for transactions?   Sounds like all you guys care about is the price