Bitcoin goes down, down, down

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:32 pm

193 by the count of the United Nations. 201 by a tight interpretation of the Montevideo Conventions. Somewhere over 220 by a looser interpretation. And if we were to go by the number of countries that have their own domain suffix — such as .us for the United States, or .de for Germany — we would find 243. So there is no firm answer, but 193 is commonly accepted, and somewhere between 193 and 250 seems rather certain.

from http://www.wisegeek.org/how-many-countr ... -world.htm

250 minus number of accepted countries = 75 ish countries where paypal is pointless and bitcoin is cool. So my vague guess was inaccurate ? woopee. I didn't have any money on it.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:39 pm

I use MoneyGram when I need to send money to a vendor in Nigeria. It works fine as a replacement for PayPal. I'm quite confident that I will go to my grave without ever having had the need or desire to pay someone or accept payment from someone in the form of Bitcoins.

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:40 pm

thekohser wrote:...and still expects to be taken seriously by adults with real jobs who pay taxes.

Lol. you're trying to peasant-bash me in the wrong country. HA!. There are a large number of countries, including ones in which I spend time, where there is no tax for individuals. There are also people in every country who pay no tax at all, through ineligibility or avoidance. Bitcoin is a useful tool for people who are not fond of tax as well.

dogbiscuit · Unread post by **dogbiscuit** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:43 pm

Pen wrote:
193 by the count of the United Nations. 201 by a tight interpretation of the Montevideo Conventions. Somewhere over 220 by a looser interpretation. And if we were to go by the number of countries that have their own domain suffix — such as .us for the United States, or .de for Germany — we would find 243. So there is no firm answer, but 193 is commonly accepted, and somewhere between 193 and 250 seems rather certain.
from http://www.wisegeek.org/how-many-countr ... -world.htm

250 minus number of accepted countries = 75 ish countries where paypal is pointless and bitcoin is cool. So my vague guess was inaccurate ? woopee. I didn't have any money on it.

I get the impression that you haven't actually had the benefit of using money much to be so fixated on the supposed utility of bitcoins.

I suggest you wander across to Romania sometime and then consider how useful any sort of currency that depends on electronics are.

Try a different calculation. Population of the world - people with ready access to computers = no. of people who would find bitcoins totally pointless. I'm guessing we are up to several billion.

Bugger off, troll.

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:54 pm

dogbiscuit wrote:
Pen wrote: well I don't see it. good for you sure, but not everyone. Wikileaks, which are supporters of basic human rights have been cut off by the banking system, visa, paypal, if you support wikileaks it's perfect. If you consider yourself too juvenile to make an informed decision about wkileaks, then , mommy visa and daddy paypal will insist they know what is best for you. Some people consider themselves adult, bitcoin is for them I'd say.
I see your criteria of perfect is "Useless for the vast majority of the population, but OK for supporting activities, including criminal ones, to avoid Government scrutiny."

Classic. your conditioning is complete. Wikileaks, a project dedicated to defending basic human rights, stopping war-crimes, and cutting the public support for war in the eyes of the pubic by exposing the truth, I mention them 3 times as my prime example of something bitcoin is perfect for. You actually QUOTE that part and then critique it with a comparison to criminal activity ? and you missed that ? Wow. Doesn't the regime where you are have perfect control of public opinion.

dogbiscuit wrote:I suggest you wander across to Romania sometime and then consider how useful any sort of currency that depends on electronics are.

as I suggest you try walking more than USD$100,000 cash through the airport. You could take it in bitcoin to Romania and change it at (or near, as they are always in populated areas) the airport, and no questions asked, or you could try any other method and make it everybody's business what you're doing.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:03 pm

Pen wrote:...Wikileaks, a project dedicated to defending basic human rights, stopping war-crimes, and cutting the public support for war in the eyes of the pubic by exposing the truth...

My understanding was that Wikileaks was dedicated to exposing Julian Assange to more poon than was otherwise available to him.

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:07 pm

thekohser wrote:
Pen wrote:...Wikileaks, a project dedicated to defending basic human rights, stopping war-crimes, and cutting the public support for war in the eyes of the pubic by exposing the truth...
My understanding was that Wikileaks was dedicated to exposing Julian Assange to more poon than was otherwise available to him.

He's a good-looking man, I don't think anyone that handsome would goto THAT much trouble for poon. But history shows greater examples.... so it is possible.

you know you want him. put that up against a jimbo banner and see who gets the dosh. no wonder paypal, visa and mastercard all banned him, it's that steamy look, not the human rights,. link http://julianassangeisgorgeous.tumblr.com/

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:10 pm

Pen wrote:.... so it is possible.

There may be hope for you yet.

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:21 pm

thekohser wrote:
Pen wrote:.... so it is possible.
There may be hope for you yet.

No, in my day before the internet we couldn't take a photo and upload it to wikipedia, we had to use glass jars and couriers.

cyofee · Unread post by **cyofee** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:30 pm

Pen wrote:I think the internet has either changed OR it's the analogy of ' how petrol evaporates ' with the most energetic volatile compounds vaporizing fast leaving behind the heavier oily muck. That's what has happened to wikipedia, I recall ThatPeskyCommoner, and so many others,all the nice people leave first, tipping the balance of majority to the trolls. Same as the 1984 satirical image of Jimbo, humor is either not compatible or understood, or people have very faulty friend/foe detectors. I don't see you three as bad people or foes, but I get the impression that you might think of me as confusing your circuits, because of my eccentric exotic manners. Hmmm...

Greg, this would be a list first cab off the rank from google here. I wasn't ever sure of the exact figure, and I wouldn't call this list comprehensive either. http://www.youcopyright.org/country-list

Antarctica
[...]
Serbia and Montenegro
Sudan
Syrian Arab Republic
Zimbabwe

Valiant, just because americans hate british humor, and british don't like indian humor, and indians hate south africans humor....... you'd grow as a person if you embraced cultures and senses of humor different to your own. Or, at the least, tolerated them with some social grace.

Paypal works in Serbia and Montenegro (though that's not a country since 10 years ago). I'm pretty sure Antarctica isn't a country either.

He's a good-looking man, I don't think anyone that handsome would goto THAT much trouble for poon. But history shows greater examples.... so it is possible.

Apparently he's creepy and strange when he talks to women. Turns out it's not all about the looks.

Ming · Unread post by **Ming** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:35 pm

thekohser wrote:Pen, if you're willing to disclose who you are, and provide at least a glimpse of your credentials, then I'll be very willing to give you a fair shake. Until then, though... to me, you're just a nutter who spouts things like:
There are something like 157 or 187 countries which paypal shuns. Name me a way to send money anywhere without VISA data-mining AND telling you who you will and will not do business with. It shits on most other forms of payment in many areas. Is your business VISA's business ? if you send money from Brazil to Singapore, whose business is it ?? fuck all of the watchers, f all of the dataminers, f all the "Oh whoops Japan just had its largest leak of customers financial details from a credit card company ever" fuck the NSA. If you want to send your daughter or son overseas to get an education and make a long series of payments, whose frikkin business is that except your own?
...and still expects to be taken seriously by adults with real jobs who pay taxes. You're telling us that there are 157 or more countries besides these? Why should we struggle to engage reasonably with someone like you?

...especially since anyone with any foresight can figure out that the international governmental community is going to regulate this stuff if it proves to be important enough to do so. And Ming figures that the NSA is already tracing all Bitcoin transfers as it is, on the pretext that it's a good conduit for passing money to terrorists.

Look, Pen, you work this like every crank-with-a-cause on Wikipedia. It's as if there were no other intelligent people in the world, and no history of financial scandals or anything else germane. Ming perseveres because he enjoys taking crackpots down, but even Ming has limits as to his patience with the same tropes repeated over and over.

Ming would also like to point out that by his count the number of flags on that PayPal page is the same as the number of countries with UN representatives (even including the Vatican). So it appears that the number of places that Bitcoin is more useful is precisely the set of phony countries.

dogbiscuit · Unread post by **dogbiscuit** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:02 pm

Ming wrote:
thekohser wrote:Pen, if you're willing to disclose who you are, and provide at least a glimpse of your credentials, then I'll be very willing to give you a fair shake. Until then, though... to me, you're just a nutter who spouts things like:
There are something like 157 or 187 countries which paypal shuns. Name me a way to send money anywhere without VISA data-mining AND telling you who you will and will not do business with. It shits on most other forms of payment in many areas. Is your business VISA's business ? if you send money from Brazil to Singapore, whose business is it ?? fuck all of the watchers, f all of the dataminers, f all the "Oh whoops Japan just had its largest leak of customers financial details from a credit card company ever" fuck the NSA. If you want to send your daughter or son overseas to get an education and make a long series of payments, whose frikkin business is that except your own?
...and still expects to be taken seriously by adults with real jobs who pay taxes. You're telling us that there are 157 or more countries besides these? Why should we struggle to engage reasonably with someone like you?
...especially since anyone with any foresight can figure out that the international governmental community is going to regulate this stuff if it proves to be important enough to do so. And Ming figures that the NSA is already tracing all Bitcoin transfers as it is, on the pretext that it's a good conduit for passing money to terrorists.

Look, Pen, you work this like every crank-with-a-cause on Wikipedia. It's as if there were no other intelligent people in the world, and no history of financial scandals or anything else germane. Ming perseveres because he enjoys taking crackpots down, but even Ming has limits as to his patience with the same tropes repeated over and over.

Ming would also like to point out that by his count the number of flags on that PayPal page is the same as the number of countries with UN representatives (even including the Vatican). So it appears that the number of places that Bitcoin is more useful is precisely the set of phony countries.

This may be relevant to the discussion

Mancunium · Unread post by **Mancunium** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:17 pm

Bitcoin: The Currency Of The Future?
Forbes, 27 January 2014 link

Saturday January 25, marked the start of the Miami Bitcoin conference. When I first told my partners I planned to attend, one asked “Why go to a conference when you can read about it on Wikipedia?” [...]

I'm not much interested in bitcoins,
because you can't do this with them:

William Shakespeare wrote:Gold? yellow, glittering, precious gold? No, gods,
I am no idle votarist: roots, you clear heavens!
Thus much of this will make black white, foul fair,
Wrong right, base noble, old young, coward valiant.
Ha, you gods! why this? what this, you gods? Why, this
Will lug your priests and servants from your sides,
Pluck stout men's pillows from below their heads:
This yellow slave
Will knit and break religions, bless the accursed,
Make the hoar leprosy adored, place thieves
And give them title, knee and approbation
With senators on the bench: this is it
That makes the wappen'd widow wed again;
She, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores
Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices.

Hex · Unread post by **Hex** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 10:09 pm

Mancunium wrote:I'm not much interested in bitcoins,
because you can't do this with them:

Fear not, my friend, human ingenuity has solved your problem.

Bitcoins, lasers, aeroplanes - it's a duck blur

EricBarbour · Unread post by **EricBarbour** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 10:24 pm

Oopsie:

http://www.businessinsider.com/report-c ... ted-2014-1

http://business.time.com/2014/01/27/bit ... aundering/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill ... lie-shrem/

"Shocked"? Ha ha. Assholes.

Note: "Shrem is a vice chairman at the Bitcoin Foundation."

We will see more of this in the near future.

I can just picture an FBI middle manager muttering "Those darn libertarian man-boys need a good spanking".

Unread post by **Zoloft** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:14 pm

Hey, remember Overstock.com (T-H-L)?

Patrick Byrne, the CEO, is a 'big fan' of Bitcoin.

Of course...

Fortune: Do you own any bitcoins?

Patrick Byrne: No. I own gold.

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:33 am

how did people ever manage to launder money before bitcoin came along ? wait, was there money laundering before bitcoin? I dunno, but nice to know it will all be gone when the police who have jurisdiction over bitcoin switch the network off. Yay.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:42 pm

Pen wrote:how did people ever manage to launder money before bitcoin came along ? wait, was there money laundering before bitcoin? I dunno, but nice to know it will all be gone when the police who have jurisdiction over bitcoin switch the network off. Yay.

So many logical flaws, so little time.

lilburne · Unread post by **lilburne** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:52 pm

Talking of bitcoins and laundry ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26031331

Cedric · Unread post by **Cedric** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:20 pm

thekohser wrote:
Pen wrote:how did people ever manage to launder money before bitcoin came along ? wait, was there money laundering before bitcoin? I dunno, but nice to know it will all be gone when the police who have jurisdiction over bitcoin switch the network off. Yay.
So many logical flaws, so little time.

Well, it does seem de rigueur nowadays for every discussion forum to have its own Bitcoin troll. Pen just happens to be ours. Such a snappy comeback, too. It only took a week.

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:31 pm

Cedric wrote: It only took a week.

Chinese new year celebrations + friends = invitations & par-tae.

hmm, as unfamiliar a concept as bitcoin futures for some I guess. So hey, am I trolling you guys with reality, is that it ? charts and tables and sound financial advice is burstin that bubble of programming is it. Tell me, where on earth do you get this stuff from ? I mean what is it you lot watch or read that gets you so far removed from reality ? Is all reality like this for you, like non-bitcoin stuff, is watching some 'bitcoin sucks' channel on obscure cable tv like playing warcraft for two days non-stop where sunlight is really painful for you ? Is it the graphs going squarely towards $1,000 that gives you the headache or the idea that there are people out there who know something, anything at all. I have questions !!!

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:35 pm

thekohser wrote:
Pen wrote:how did people ever manage to launder money before bitcoin came along ? wait, was there money laundering before bitcoin? I dunno, but nice to know it will all be gone when the police who have jurisdiction over bitcoin switch the network off. Yay.
So many logical flaws, so little time.

Oh go on, it's a big cream-covered cake with strawberries and nobody is looking, just poke your finger in and get the best bit.

meanwhile look how reality continues to embarrass me by sitting at $1,000. Terrible, terrible, if this keeps up, how will i ever fit in socially ? I've officially lost interest in bitcoin as an investment. i should collect teapots, or coupons,yes, that's the ticket, coupons (haw haw - pun)

image : http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUS ... 10zm2g25zv

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:34 pm

This could muck things up in the UK!

Eclipsed · Unread post by **Eclipsed** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:41 pm

And more and more places are accepting bitcoin...

I just had a tasty dinner at a local restaurant and paid for it in bitcoins. I'm not saying I earned those bitcoins from anything wikipedia related, but that would be a good story, eh?

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:45 am

Poetlister wrote:This could muck things up in the UK!

No net effect. On one hand, it lends legitimacy because you don't taxi illicit activity, on the other hand it drives exchanges offshore from the UK, because you don't pay taxes you don't have to. Summary, another dumbass politician with an ill-thought out idea. Someone poked him out of his after lunch drunken stupor, and like talking in one's sleep, he barked out 'put a tax on it' and went back to sleep. the UK is fucked at the moment, they are calling UN reports 'marxist' -they're hilarious, back to the oliver twist / Irish genocide days. They need to brush themselves up on the world stage with another riot where someone sets a car on fire, and the police keep the fire department away for six hours so reporters can film the car burning for the anti-peasant propaganda machines.

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:49 am

Eclipsed wrote:I just had a tasty dinner at a local restaurant and paid for it in bitcoins.

What did you have, how did it taste ?? this is all I care about.

I want details !

lilburne · Unread post by **lilburne** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 3:36 pm

Pen wrote:
Poetlister wrote:This could muck things up in the UK!
No net effect. On one hand, it lends legitimacy because you don't taxi illicit activity,

Where have you been?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... iness.html

eppur si muove · Unread post by **eppur si muove** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 4:35 pm

lilburne wrote:
Pen wrote:
Poetlister wrote:This could muck things up in the UK!
No net effect. On one hand, it lends legitimacy because you don't taxi illicit activity,

Where have you been?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... iness.html

One of the regular posters on Cix was arrested early during Operation Julie. They tried to slap him with unpaid tax and he pointed out that he had been declaring all his income and paying the tax.

Ming · Unread post by **Ming** » Fri Feb 07, 2014 3:15 pm

So how are those Bitcoin values doing for you today?

dogbiscuit · Unread post by **dogbiscuit** » Fri Feb 07, 2014 3:45 pm

Some interesting facts(?) in here

including less than 1000 people own 50% of the bitcoins and bitcoin is now illegal in Russia and

Central banks across the globe have begun to crackdown on the cryptocurrency, instructing financial institutions not to accept bitcoins because they have no legal status or monetary-backing, like state-backed currencies.

Perfect currency?

Pen · Unread post by **Pen** » Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:20 pm

Ming wrote:So how are those Bitcoin values doing for you today?

Why I'm glad you ask, THREE days after I said

Pen wrote:I've officially lost interest in bitcoin as an investment.

I'm glad you ask, I didn't want to bring it up myself. Might make me look like I'm gloating, when in fact, I'm just gloating... you know, with good reason yet again.

The value of the digital currency Bitcoin fell dramatically on Friday after one of the world’s largest Bitcoin exchanges halted withdrawals to deal with technical issues.

Mt. Gox, a Japan-based exchange, said on its website that the pause in withdrawals was needed to address technical problems caused by an increase in withdrawal requests. Bitcoin prices plummeted from $831 on Thursday to $658 on

Bitcoin prices fell from $831 on Thursday night to $658 on Friday morning, before rebounding to $719, CNN reports. The price of the virtual currency has been extremely volatile in recent months.

Hex · Unread post by **Hex** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:00 am

Poetlister wrote:This could muck things up in the UK!

A fine example of why you can't trust that rag the Evening Standard for news. Compare that report with its claims of ministers being "grilled" and "considering slapping VAT on Bitcoin" with the actual Parliamentary exchange.

EricBarbour · Unread post by **EricBarbour** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 3:50 am

Pen wrote:
Ming wrote:So how are those Bitcoin values doing for you today?

Now that our little friend Pen has been shown the door, it's a good time to post this:
Bitcoin Touches $220 On Formerly Dominant Exchange MtGox — After 60% Plunge
That adds up to more than an 80% drop since the peak of over $1000, back in December.

Weep for Mr. Pen. (Or don't, I don't give a shit.)

Mason · Unread post by **Mason** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 5:29 pm

Apparent collapse of Mt. Gox exchange threatens Bitcoin economy

LA Times wrote:Mt. Gox stopped letting customers withdraw Bitcoins on Feb. 7, saying there was some kind of glitch in the Bitcoin system.

The company said it had developed a workaround that it was in the process of implementing. However, a week went by and users noticed that the site seemed to be disabled. The main homepage is blank.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 5:54 pm

http://mattvukas.com/2014/02/24/breakin ... ve-mt-gox/

$375M looted.

Go Pen, go!

Johnny Au · Unread post by **Johnny Au** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:38 pm

Here is a primer on the Bitcoin and the fall of Mt. Gox: http://www.thestar.com/business/2014/02 ... rency.html

See here as well: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/mt-go ... -1.2550256

CGP Grey really needs to reconsider the Bitcoin: http://www.cgpgrey.com/blog/on-bitcoin- ... mpressions (this was from 6 months ago, when Bitcoins were hot)

I knew that Bitcoins are not a good way to store life savings and without government regulation, they are volatile.

EricBarbour · Unread post by **EricBarbour** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 10:03 pm

Vigilant wrote:http://mattvukas.com/2014/02/24/breakin ... ve-mt-gox/

$375M looted.

Go Pen, go!

EricBarbour · Unread post by **EricBarbour** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 4:10 am

"Bitcoin virtual currency is on verge of collapse"
Libertarians Ho! Ho! Ho!

Hex · Unread post by **Hex** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:30 pm

I only learned recently that "Mt. Gox" was originally short for "Magic: The Gathering Online eXchange". Oh dear.

Johnny Au · Unread post by **Johnny Au** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:54 am

Hex wrote:I only learned recently that "Mt. Gox" was originally short for "Magic: The Gathering Online eXchange". Oh dear.

I never knew that. What do you expect trading unregulated currency through trading card games?

EricBarbour · Unread post by **EricBarbour** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:08 am

I Think It’s Reasonable To Declare Mt.Gox Truly Dead And Buried

With a link to the unredacted version of the notorious slideshow, that displayed what bad shape they were in.

At this point 744,408 BTC are missing due to malleability-related theft which went unnoticed for several years. The cold storage has been wiped out due to a leak in the hot wallet.

The reality is that MtGox can go bankrupt at any moment, and certainly deserves to as a company. However, with Bitcoin/crypto just recently gaining acceptance in the public eye, the likely damage in public perception to this class of technology could put it back 5~10 years, and cause governments to react swiftly and harshly. At the risk of appearing hyperbolic, this could be the end of Bitcoin, at least for most of the public.

We believe in the value of Bitcoin, its potential to change the world, and its principles of transparency. Most importantly we care about the customers of MtGox and other bitcoin-based businesses who will be affected.

And just remember, Bitcoin is a "net libertarian's dream come true". Its failure will expose the inherent idiocy of "net libertarianism".

cyofee · Unread post by **cyofee** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:20 am

I love how they're using the "too big to fail" argument to beg for a bailout.

Kelly Martin · Unread post by **Kelly Martin** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:38 pm

EricBarbour wrote:And just remember, Bitcoin is a "net libertarian's dream come true". Its failure will expose the inherent idiocy of "net libertarianism".

What has always amused me about bitcoin is it that (aside from all the people who use it for moneylaundering and for trade in illicit goods) it is used by people who don't trust other people, as consideration for contracts that inherently require trust (all contracts require trust). By and large, these are people who, when given any chance to screw the other sucker, will do so. And so they do, routinely. And they justify it by the belief that if the other guy had the chance, he'd screw him too.

Libertarians and their contradictory attitude toward contract, trust, and enforcement, amuse the hell out of me.

Johnny Au · Unread post by **Johnny Au** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:01 pm

See here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1711388

Bitcoin-Stealing OS X Trojan Now Masquerading as 'Angry Birds' and Other Popular Mac Apps

It is very funny that many Anonymous members claim to be libertarian and not realize that the mask they are wearing is that of a pro-Catholic conservative loyal to Spain.

Stierlitz · Unread post by **Stierlitz** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:51 pm

Kelly Martin wrote:
EricBarbour wrote:And just remember, Bitcoin is a "net libertarian's dream come true". Its failure will expose the inherent idiocy of "net libertarianism".
What has always amused me about bitcoin is it that (aside from all the people who use it for moneylaundering and for trade in illicit goods) it is used by people who don't trust other people, as consideration for contracts that inherently require trust (all contracts require trust). By and large, these are people who, when given any chance to screw the other sucker, will do so. And so they do, routinely. And they justify it by the belief that if the other guy had the chance, he'd screw him too.

Libertarians and their contradictory attitude toward contract, trust, and enforcement, amuse the hell out of me.

But it was done with no government! Everything is superior when there are no government overlords!!

.....Bitcoin never impressed me; there was nothing real about it, nobody to turn to if the whole thing went south, which it has. It was all inside computers, making it even less real than those notched slugs some amusement parks use for their video game arcades.

TungstenCarbide · Unread post by **TungstenCarbide** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:53 pm

any chance we can invite Pen back to benefit from his superior knowledge?

Unread post by **Zoloft** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 3:45 am

TungstenCarbide wrote:any chance we can invite Pen back to benefit from his superior knowledge?

You have to face a mirror and whisper his name three times.

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:09 am

TungstenCarbide wrote:any chance we can invite Pen back to benefit from his superior knowledge?

I'd assume he'd tell us that BTC is still trading at just below $600 USD, which is still 3 times higher than it was when the "speculative curve" (or "bubble" if you prefer) started in late October...?

I suspect it will keep going down slowly for a while, but if there are no further disasters it should stabilize at around $200 or so. Unfortunately (for BTC holders) I suspect there will in fact be further disasters, since that's what happens in unregulated markets.

Johnny Au · Unread post by **Johnny Au** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:16 am

Midsize Jake wrote:
TungstenCarbide wrote:any chance we can invite Pen back to benefit from his superior knowledge?
I'd assume he'd tell us that BTC is still trading at just below $600 USD, which is still 3 times higher than it was when the "speculative curve" (or "bubble" if you prefer) started in late October...?

I suspect it will keep going down slowly for a while, but if there are no further disasters it should stabilize at around $200 or so. Unfortunately (for BTC holders) I suspect there will in fact be further disasters, since that's what happens in unregulated markets.

...and the Bitcoin may end up just like your avatar.

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:39 am

Johnny Au wrote:...and the Bitcoin may end up just like your avatar.

What, photoshopped? I'd assume that had already happened.

I mean, let's be fair about this. The problem is stability, not necessarily viability, unless the lack of stability destroys their viability. I suppose there's an argument to be made that at minimum, Bitcoins have to be valued at a level that makes them worth mining, though the cost of mining them probably varies somewhat from country to country. Nevertheless, in the unlikely event that stability can be achieved, even at a low valuation like, say, $50... they could still be useful for things like hiring hit-men and buying dangerous drugs and such, right? They don't really have to be a "good investment" to be viable in that sense, do they?

I mean, it seems that way to me, but I have only the vaguest idea as to what I'm talking about so I could easily be wrong.