Bitcoins in 2014?

[Edwin]

I think you are confusing commodity and currency. Bitcoin isn't a commodity.

If you read back through the thread, I wasn't the one getting the two confused!

 

[diablo]

If you read back through the thread, I wasn't the one getting the two confused!

My apologies. I see it was disruptive who should know better!

 

[AssetDomains]

Interesting infographic for those wondering what its all about.
http://theartofthename.com/the-definitive-history-of-bitcoin/

 

[tifosi]

So it's all run now by a Mr Andresen. Knew we were in the matrix! Or, is that Mr Anderson? Don't know. but I keep seeing the same cat!

 

[Edwin]

If you see just how many security breach type events happened in the very short history of Bitcoin (look at the infographic) it's amazing that ANYONE is foolish enough to "invest" (deserves the quotes) in them.

 

[disruptive]

My apologies. I see it was disruptive who should know better!

It behaves like one - which it isn't - so pointless to speculate on something that has no backing.

 

[Admin]

re-opened

 

[retired_member36]

Just seen bit coins have hit a new low, and thought id keep the thread updated

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2100100/mt-gox-bitcoin-price-falls-below-100.html

 

[Retired_Member38]

Bitcoins haven't hit a new low - it's one specific company who appears likely to be in the process of scamming their customers. Price is collapsing there as you can't make withdrawals.

It's pointless looking at mtgox for prices.... You need to look at a market place where withdrawals can actually be made

 

[boxerdog]

So many people are buying up peoples MT-Gox accounts for next to nothing in the hope that they resolve their "technical issues"

 

[Retired_Member38]

So many people are buying up peoples MT-Gox accounts for next to nothing in the hope that they resolve their "technical issues"

Time will tell, but imo that is looking like its going to leave these people on the end of a losing bet.

If mtgox was solvent, surely the owners should be snapping up all of the $100 sell orders personally, and offloading them on other exchanges at $600 plus?

Something is obviously going wrong here, the numbers simply don't make sense.

 

[boxerdog]

I agree the numbers don't quite add up, i personally wouldn't go anywhere near Gox even at £30 a pop but there is a slim chance that it could pay off, it will be interesting to see.

 

[Retired_member41]

bitcoin question.


It is a mathematical string that you can keep on your computer or deposited in an online bitcoin bank

I guess there are several of these banks or depositories etc, so if I was to deposit one at one place, and then use a backup of my bitcoin and deposit it at another, how would this not work?

Are they all linked to a central database?

And if a bitcoin can only be spent once, how does a shop who has taken them in exchange for goods get paid?

Apologies if these are really basic, but its very confusing

 

[newguy]

Bitcoin is a figment of programmers' imaginations, nothing more. Commodities exist - they can be touched and used (eg coffee, copper, oil, gold etc.) There is nothing at all behind a Bitcoin, on the other hand. They're inherently worth exactly zero - everything above that is "froth" from tulip speculator-like behaviour!

Domain names were a figment of someones imagination at one point in time .

 

[retired_member33]

I agree the numbers don't quite add up, i personally wouldn't go anywhere near Gox even at £30 a pop but there is a slim chance that it could pay off, it will be interesting to see.

Funny that at Bitbargain they still go for around 350GBP where they go for around 120USD at MtGox

I own quite a lot of coins, mostly Scrypt coins and a small number of SHA-256 coins, glad I didn't order any new mining equipment and that the ones I currently have have maid their money back and are still profitable.

There must be a lot of people out there who have invested heavily in new mining equipment and are waiting for it to arrive.. Glad I am not one of them

 

[boxerdog]

For any Scottish residents here you can register at Scotcoin.org to receive 28 free Scotcoins, there will be 98 million of them so works out about 28 for each adult, you never know it might be worth it

 

[julian]

Feels like the whole bitcoin thing has lost momentum recently - still too shaky for genpublic to use at moment.

 

[retired_member33]

Feels like the whole bitcoin thing has lost momentum recently - still too shaky for genpublic to use at moment.

Some payment providers are starting to accept Bitcoins as a payment option, I feel it will get some traction from the general public at some point.

 

[jasman]

On the subject of comparing bitcoins to currencies and commodities and the point that bitcoins are not backed by anything, the same can be said of most currencies including the UK pound and US dollar. They are not backed by gold or anything else either and are only worth something because people are conditioned to think they are.

At least with the bitcoin concept, in theory inflation should be kept under control and the benefit from any expansion of the bitcoin supply shared by the users/ miners. Unlike any currency, bitcoins have been going up in value, though admittedly this is due to heavily increasing demand rather than a change of supply. If the bitcoin infrastructure can be made secure and deposits guaranteed, it would have a huge advantage over currencies because the banks in each country keep creating more and more units of the currency out of thin air each day when they issue loans hence the money supply increases and we have inflation, eroding away the value of the currency to the population's detriment. This is happening much faster than people realise. People think inflation is about 2%, not worth worrying about. But that's based on the CPI which is a deceptive statistic as it includes stuff like computer goods which get cheaper and excludes house prices, by far the largest expenditure for most people and the country as a whole! It's bullshit.

I was chatting to my father-in-law the other day who told me that the first house he bought when in his 20s in the 1960s, cost about £2500 and now that house would cost at least £250k or around 10000% inflation! So in one man's working lifetime, the pound has lost as much as 99% of its purchasing power, all because greedy banks are allowed to create millions of mortgages and loans out of thin air each year, diluting our money supply. Think twice before you keep your money tied up in crappy 1% per annum savings accounts for a prolonged period.

 

[websaway]

On the subject of comparing bitcoins to currencies and commodities and the point that bitcoins are not backed by anything, the same can be said of most currencies including the UK pound and US dollar. They are not backed by gold or anything else either and are only worth something because people are conditioned to think they are.

At least with the bitcoin concept, in theory inflation should be kept under control and the benefit from any expansion of the bitcoin supply shared by the users/ miners. Unlike any currency, bitcoins have been going up in value, though admittedly this is due to heavily increasing demand rather than a change of supply. If the bitcoin infrastructure can be made secure and deposits guaranteed, it would have a huge advantage over currencies because the banks in each country keep creating more and more units of the currency out of thin air each day when they issue loans hence the money supply increases and we have inflation, eroding away the value of the currency to the population's detriment. This is happening much faster than people realise. People think inflation is about 2%, not worth worrying about. But that's based on the CPI which is a deceptive statistic as it includes stuff like computer goods which get cheaper and excludes house prices, by far the largest expenditure for most people and the country as a whole! It's bullshit.

I was chatting to my father-in-law the other day who told me that the first house he bought when in his 20s in the 1960s, cost about £2500 and now that house would cost at least £250k or around 10000% inflation! So in one man's working lifetime, the pound has lost as much as 99% of its purchasing power, all because greedy banks are allowed to create millions of mortgages and loans out of thin air each year, diluting our money supply. Think twice before you keep your money tied up in crappy 1% per annum savings accounts for a prolonged period.

If your argument is that bitcoins have credibility because the BOE and the Fed do not hold reserves to support the Pound and the Dollar, you need to do a bit of research.
And on your point about prices, of course the pound would have lost 99% of it's purchasing power but only if your Father in law was still earning £800 per year today as he would have been doing in the sixties.

I would not use your arguments to support the validity of bitcoins.