Bitcoin

[lowphat]

So I get a fancy PC, install a mining program, point it at something and wait for the moneys?

(laymans terms/gist of it?)

Pretty much, or just get specific hardware for it

https://products.butterflylabs.com

These haven't shipped yet after many many promised shipping dates by them. Currently, if you bought one and received one RIGHT NOW it would be extremely profitable, however with the waiting times by the time you get it ASICs will have flooded the market and the difficulty will fly up, it would still be profitable in the long run but for those looking a quick buck I think that boat has sailed unless you want to spend 75 BTC on an Avalon http://launch.avalon-asics.com/

For those wanting basic info on BTC go to bitcoin.org and there is a fairly informative about page (including the original white paper for Bitcoin).

[AxeD]

Maybe if they'd pay people to use their cpu power for useful stuff.. that'd be cool.
With this stuff you kind of have the whole 'use shit tons of power to do pointless calculations' thing.

Also, the extent to which your investment in the hardware and electricity is worth it depends on the value of course.
It's not just pay thousands + abuse power = more money.

[Muncey]

I only knew about it because of that Silk Road site.. I don't really get it but I've not read anything about it. I suspect from that graph it'll crash lol, very rare something grows that quickly without crashing. BUY BUY BUY.. oh shit look at the price.. SELL SELL SELL. Bang.

Plus I assume Governments are trying to fuck this up, purely based on the Silk Road thing alone. I dunno how Silk Road works but if (I'm sure loads of people will reply saying it won't) it does get closed, you can expect a lot of people to back out of this. Governments try ban 'legal highs' on sight, I'm sure they'll find some way to ban this.

Definitely seems like something a minority of people will get pretty rich from and a lot of people lose once it does pop. Interesting though.

[Jizz]

Definitely seems like something a minority of people will get pretty rich from and a lot of people lose once it does pop. Interesting though.

yeah and I think I'm already a bit too late to start on this tbh. looking forward to seeing how the concept will affect our lives though, this is definitely future m8

[AxeD]

Environment

[Genevieve]

Bitcoin's value isn't determined by processing power but by supply vs demand. Processing power only helps you get more bitcoins more quickly, but if the demand for them isn't there, they're gonna be worthless. And one thing bitcoins have over FIAT currency (infinite central bank money), unless it's hackable, is that its inherently FINITE.

The power of the idea goes over a lot of people's heads. Governments won't even care about the silk road that much. If everyone started dealing with a currency they can't control (through central banking and legal tender laws), they could run out of funds because bitcoin can't be taxed AND their control over the sector diminishes, because you can pay with it in a black market without having to launder it. Theoratically, you'll be able to use non-government approved drugs to treat your illness without the government finding out how it was paid or that the transaction even took place.

That's the theory anyway. It can be quite the game changer. This is related to printing 3D guns. Look up 'agorism' if you wanna know what I'm talking about.

Let's wait another 10 years, in a drastically different market, with new technology and a different political climate with (potentially) vastly more people using bitcoin to truly gauge exactly how useful it is or if it'l flop. People predicted a crash, that happened a year ago, but did anyone predict its recent bump?

The downside to all of this is a probably stricter control over the internet by the government though.

[murky21]

also something crucial is that Bitcoins will be finite, as when they get to 21 million, mining will be stopped. so they also will be finite in the same way as gold. whilst their value will still fluctuate for a long time until it reaches that point, it will eventually fluctuate less than something like the FTSE/ stock market

[chekov]

looks like axed was right
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-plunges-2013-4

[SCope13]

looks like axed was right
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-plunges-2013-4

Was just about to post this. Shame.

[chekov]

was inevitable though init

[lowphat]

I have a feeling this is the big boys scaring everyone into a selling frenzy.. we'll see though. Tthe main exchange (Mt Gox) seems to be fucked at the moment as well, so this is probably adding to the fear a bit but I think we may see another spike up as 'Gox had about 20,000 accounts waiting to be verified so people atleast wanted in...... Who knows!! Keep your BTC anyway, by nature they should get more valuable over time..

Also, regarding the Road, I believe they are about 20% of the total Bitcoin, but I agree with Genevieve, people are missing the point on the power it is able to provide people, this is much more worrying from a government's perspective than drugs I would think.

[Sonika]

yo my friend got 2 of these a couple years back and he just checked today and has made like 400 bucks

that's crazy

[SCope13]

co now u guys won't have to steal from your mom for drug money

[Terpit]

Are these like pogs?

I had to stop reading after this

[hifi]

i always use sr/bc , im on the deepweb to, find me @ 3hy584iuj3kx1.onion

[Muncey]

looks like axed was right
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-plunges-2013-4

Was just about to post this. Shame.

Was always going to crash, doesn't seem to have crashed that much. Probably fall a little more if the main exchange is fucked atm (thats gotta be a downside to this). Might keep an eye on this, will probably crash more and then it might be worth getting a few.. suspect it'll eventually get to pre-crash price if not higher once the panic selling is over lol.

[Phigure]

i sold my stockpile when the price hit $30, since i thought the bubble was probably gonna pop at $30 (where it happened last time a year or two ago).

so much regret

[Muncey]

Be happy with a win. Imagine all the people who brought at $250+ lol.

Couldn't this idea of virtual money get out of hand? To the point where people could have their own currency lol.. whats to stop a shit load of copies popping up? Get to the point where people are forcing you to use their currency to use their products. An extreme example but could happen no?

[Jizz]

Lol yh it could result in a new bunch of privately owned currencies. Taking Nectar cards to the next level m8

[Genevieve]

Be happy with a win. Imagine all the people who brought at $250+ lol.

Couldn't this idea of virtual money get out of hand? To the point where people could have their own currency lol.. whats to stop a shit load of copies popping up? Get to the point where people are forcing you to use their currency to use their products. An extreme example but could happen no?

If a company forces you to use their currency, but if no one values that currency, than the currency itself would be worthless and the company would get no benefits from forcing people to use it at all. They would make themselves poorer by selling a car for a currency only they use. Think about it.

And why shouldn't people create their own currency? What is the 'best currency' should be up for debate and it should be decided in a market place. We never said we want to use the Euro, or pound sterling, it's decided for us. Despite the inflationary nature of modern money, which makes it TERRIBLE for saving. So we're forced by law to invest in a currency that will make us poorer in 10, 20 years, if we hang on to it.

Saying that 'everyone will just use their own currency' is also a lot like saying that 'well if we don't have the government deciding which video playback medium to use, EVERYONE will just have their own medium'. Naw. We have Bluray now, that's the one that won in the medium wars. Currencies should be decided in a similar manner.

And if y'all are so scared of 'privately controlled currencies'. What do you think dollars are? The dollar is printed by a private corporation called the Federal Reserve. Than it itself is not an issue. It becomes an issue when that corporation is granted monopoly rights through govoernment laws and legislation. Even the Euroe works according to a similar system.