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Bitcoin - Part 2

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jhunter1163 said:
Here you go; it wasn't my post but the numbers are the same.

http://duncanpredicts.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/bitcoins-and-bank-robberies/
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That article (which is referring to https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=576337) classifies every bitcoin loss as "theft" regardless of how the loss incurred. Even forgetting your encryption password is counted as a theft. It is meaningless.

Trusting larges sums of bitcoins to third party repositories of unknown reliability is a separate issue from bitcoin itself. ie MtGox is a MtGox issue - not a bitcoin issue.

You have raised nothing new. The fact remains that if you take sensible precautions with the storage and trading of your bitcoins, the risks are no higher than with any other form of money (whether it be a currency or not).
 
psionl0 said:
That article (which is referring to https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=576337) classifies every bitcoin loss as "theft" regardless of how the loss incurred. Even forgetting your encryption password is counted as a theft. It is meaningless.

Trusting larges sums of bitcoins to third party repositories of unknown reliability is a separate issue from bitcoin itself. ie MtGox is a MtGox issue - not a bitcoin issue.

You have raised nothing new. The fact remains that if you take sensible precautions with the storage and trading of your bitcoins, the risks are no higher than with any other form of money (whether it be a currency or not).
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Remember "transaction malleability"? How can you trust any exchange after that fiasco?
 
The_Animus said:
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. You aren't doing yourself any favors by living in denial or moving goalposts.

Bitcoin will probably be replaced eventually as the main crypto currency but that's not different than many new products. Someone puts the first one out there, issues are discovered, others get into the market, improvements are made, and someone else becomes #1.
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Gosh, this bitcoin thing sure is many things. A currency, a company share, a technology and now a product. All this to buy pizza without the government finding out. Impressive!
 
eirik said:
Gosh, this bitcoin thing sure is many things. A currency, a company share, a technology and now a product.
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Which of these is it not? It seems to have aspects of all of these.

All this to buy pizza without the government finding out. Impressive!
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If that's all you think it is you should read more about it.
 
I have. All i can do with it is speculate. That's not really a product or a share or a currency, any more than lottery tickets with winnings in krusty dollars.

With some work, it seems a viable technology though. Which anyone can put to use.
 
eirik said:
I have. All i can do with it is speculate. That's not really a product or a share or a currency, any more than lottery tickets with winnings in krusty dollars.
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Well, golly! I've used it to buy products. Did I by chance misuse it since it's not supposed to be a currency?
 
BTC can be used us a currency, but it is not well suited to the purpose because its value fluctuates so wildly. That's why retailers who want to be "hip" and "edgy" are saying "We accept Bitcoin*!" with the asterisk being "What we mean is, we accept USD from a company that deals in Bitcoin. We don't want BTC on our balance sheet, ever."

BTC is best described (and used) as a highly speculative investment.
 
Belz... said:
Depends. If someone accepts hot dogs as payment, are hot dogs a currency ?
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Yes, if enough people accepted it. Hot dogs doesn't seem to be very practical though.

eirik said:
You can buy products with krusty dollars as well. That doesn't make it a currency.
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So the problem isn't that you can't use it as currency, but that it doesn't fit some specific definition of currency? I don't care what you call it, it's a medium of exchange, a token used for money, hence justifiably called a currency. You know, like crypto-currency.
 
jhunter1163 said:
Neither is Bitcoin. Hardly anyone accepts it as currency, and its value fluctuates wildly (not unlike hot dogs, whose value fluctuates wildly depending on how long it's been since you've eaten).
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Not a very good comparison since hotdogs are not fungible and are a poor store of value (they become worthless after a couple of days).

Maybe you would prefer to compare bitcoins to raw sewerage. :D
 
In other news, the Bank of England has now co-signed the idea of the Bitcoin concept, and the related technology, labeling it as "revolutionary."

http://www.businessinsider.com/bank-of-england-report-on-bitcoin-2014-9

Bank of England said:
But the exciting part of this is that this technology could have implications far beyond payment systems alone. The Bank provides some fascinating hints for just how wide the applications of this could be (emphasis mine):

The majority of financial assets — such as loans, bonds, stocks and derivatives — now exist only in electronic form, meaning that the financial system itself is already simply a set of digital records ... This development could allow any type of financial asset, for example shares in a company, to be recorded on a distributed ledger.

Bitcoin may only be temporary phenomenon but the technology that underpins it may soon become ubiquitous. According to the Bank, it could mark "a first attempt at an 'internet of finance.'"
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Moving on...

jhunter1163 said:
I am not "ignoring" anything.
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After you *snip* 90% of my post to leave only the part where I say you're doing exactly that. You're now falling into self-parody.

It's very clear at this point that you DON'T want to be participating in this discussion anymore and are only doing so in vague attempts to save face. Which won't work because I have a long memory, a search function, and a strong desire to hold you and others accountable.

You were dead-wrong in your behavior, your claims, AND your knowledge. Admit it.
 
The bolded:

Originally Posted by Bank of England, via Business Insider
But the exciting part of this is that this technology could have implications far beyond payment systems alone. The Bank provides some fascinating hints for just how wide the applications of this could be (emphasis mine):

The majority of financial assets — such as loans, bonds, stocks and derivatives — now exist only in electronic form, meaning that the financial system itself is already simply a set of digital records ... This development could allow any type of financial asset, for example shares in a company, to be recorded on a distributed ledger.

Bitcoin may only be temporary phenomenon but the technology that underpins it may soon become ubiquitous. According to the Bank, it could mark "a first attempt at an 'internet of finance.'"
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is essentially what I said in post 60:

The encryption tech is the appealing thing; that's what the big banks will coopt and roll out as the VPL or similar.
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and in the previous thread at #4684:

I've said before that the fundamental principle of bitcoin (a secure and anonymous place to store value) is a sound one.
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and in the previous thread at #4409:

This is the way of all tech; a good idea arises (and I have never disputed that the fundamental idea behind Bitcoin is a good one), the pioneers get it out there in the public consciousness, and the big boys come in and use their resources to implement it better and cheaper. I don't think BTC will be any different.
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I'm not really sure where you get the idea that I think BTC is inherently bad. It's not a good investment, it's not a good currency, and over the long haul I think it's going to be either legislated out of existence or crushed by competition, but the tech is not going to magically disappear. There is clearly a market for a secure and anonymous store of value, and some bank (or banks) will service that market.
 
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