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Iago

The devastating bit coin bubble

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Besides being simply stupid, there are legitimate reasons to hate bitcoins.
http://qz.com/71813/malware-turns-hacked-computers-into-slaves-that-mine-new-digital-currency/


I'm not sure why that's a reason to hate bitcoins. Perhaps you can also elaborate on why bitcoins are "simply stupid"?



Because the process used to create them is the computing power required to make a transaction. It's completely artificial with no relationship to work performed by humans. They are going up in price due to speculation, but that has nothing whatsoever to do with their actual value. They are not only used in criminal activities, but actually encourage it due to their untraceable nature.

Further, you have no idea whatsoever what other nefarious activities might be hidden in the processing power of the transactions. If people are setting up bitcoin malware to "mine" bit coins, then what other malicious code might be involved? I would not be surprised to learn bitcoin mining are an enabling technology of world wide cyber war.



Interesting, sounds a lot like dollars or any other fiat currency. Most of the dollars out there are not actual physical currency but instead virtual dollars that only exist on computers.

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They are not only used in criminal activities, but actually encourage it due to their untraceable nature.



Like cash? Is cash to be hated because it's used by street gangs and in weapons traffic?

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Further, you have no idea whatsoever what other nefarious activities might be hidden in the processing power of the transactions. If people are setting up bitcoin malware to "mine" bit coins, then what other malicious code might be involved? I would not be surprised to learn bitcoin mining are an enabling technology of world wide cyber war.



A lot of the miners are open source as is the standard bitcoin client. Both have been mulled over by countless people. Most of the concerns you've outlined are basic computer security. Everyone should know you should never open executables in email, fall back on skepticism when opening links etc. The network posts how many G/Hash/second it's currently running at, so you could calculate if it's being used for nefarious purposes.

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So is Monopoly money. That doesn't mean it's actually worth anything.



I was accusing you of conflating a single persons computer security with the security of bitcoin. A lot of people in the media make the mistake of implying bitcoin is insecure because exchanges or online services are hacked. It's kind of like saying cash is insecure because a bank is robbed or a person is mugged in walking through a bad neighborhood.

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You're wrong in just about everything you mention here. The rest of it makes absolutely no sense and I don't even know how to respond. You should just read up on the bitcoin specification.



The bitcoin history is pretty easy to see, both in terms of theft events and in the wild gyrating price. It is gambling in the highest order to buy more than a handful for the coolness factor.

The finite supply guarantees a limited penetration into the economy.

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Sketchy at best. How could anyone trust this as a financial instrument?



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"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."

Henry Ford




Looks like quite a good investment to me...


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The currency hit a new high of $266 before falling to $105 and then bouncing back to $130. The fall is unlikely to put off speculators. Two months ago, a Bitcoin was worth $20.

With Europe racked by economic uncertainty following the banking crisis in Cyprus, there have been fears that a "bubble" is being created with speculators piling into the four-year-old digital currency. But Bitcoin has crashed before only to bounce back. It hit a low of $7 in August 2011 after hitting a high of $32 two months earlier.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/10/bitcoin-new-high-losing-160

Do you say that suggesting the currency supply of dollars or any modern currency is not also subject to a cataclysmic failure?

The fractional banking system we are all propping up with our 'faith' is much more volatile and is not so far from failure.

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Do you say that suggesting the currency supply of dollars or any modern currency is not also subject to a cataclysmic failure?

The fractional banking system we are all propping up with our 'faith' is much more volatile and is not so far from failure.



I've yet to see a paper currency rocket up and down like this. We've seen currencies fail (Germany, Zimbabwe, Argentina, etc) - in a one way direction. Usually a bit predictable, though the acceleration from at risk to toilet paper is very abrupt.

Bitcoins do this, even without the pressures of government printing presses. It's bubbled up and crashed before, and it will do so again.

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The bitcoin history is pretty easy to see, both in terms of theft events and in the wild gyrating price. It is gambling in the highest order to buy more than a handful for the coolness factor.



It is more than that, it is a revolution.

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Wednesday's wild ride came as someone gave away thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoins on Reddit, the social news site. News blog Business Insider calculated a Reddit user under the name "Bitcoinbillionaire" had given away $13,627.69896 worth of Bitcoins to Reddit users over the day. The mystery donor signed off with a quote from Ron Paul, libertarian politician and one-time would-be presidential candidate: "It's no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking."



http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/10/bitcoin-new-high-losing-160

Global currency is the endgame for the 'knob tweakers' that control the banks.

Bitcoins and Gold Dinar etc. are not part of that agenda so what ever means deemed necessary will be used to ensure they do not succeed.

What is intended and what actually happens are not always the same.

The Oligarchs are losing at present due to the ability of us minions to share information.

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I've yet to see a paper currency rocket up and down like this. We've seen currencies fail (Germany, Zimbabwe, Argentina, etc) - in a one way direction. Usually a bit predictable, though the acceleration from at risk to toilet paper is very abrupt.

Bitcoins do this, even without the pressures of government printing presses. It's bubbled up and crashed before, and it will do so again.



LOL, If you purchased one number of bit coins in June 2011 at $32 you would have lost 3/4 of that investment 2 months later...though if you held onto them until now they would be worth 3x the origional investment at the lowest price of the recent crash.

So still great gains for less than two years.

Now if you had purchased those same coins at the August 2011 low and sold them immediately before it crashed recently you could have gained value 38x your investment.

All investments have risks, I am sure there are plenty looking at Bitcoin for this type of 'gambling', you don't see Casinos struggling...

Better odds than a poker machine :D

Now look at quantitative easing and ultra low interest rates in the Fed system and tell me how dollars are so sound?

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Just sit back and let the market do it's thing. I don't think this is even a two billion dollar market. When there is more distrust of currencies...and there will be, the market will start to mature...that's going to be when you want to have your popcorn ready. When the big boys and girls decide it's worth their time to play it's game on.

I don't see why there is so much ill will towards the concept as it's very "american". It's been over a decade now that we've being indoctrinated with the idea of paperless money systems, it only makes sense for new actors to enter the scene.

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Wednesday's wild ride came as someone gave away thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoins on Reddit, the social news site. News blog Business Insider calculated a Reddit user under the name "Bitcoinbillionaire" had given away $13,627.69896 worth of Bitcoins to Reddit users over the day. The mystery donor signed off with a quote from Ron Paul, libertarian politician and one-time would-be presidential candidate: "It's no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking."



Bitcoins and Gold Dinar etc. are not part of that agenda so what ever means deemed necessary will be used to ensure they do not succeed.



if a $13k giveaway can cause this sort of variation, then the "knob tweakers" would have had no trouble destroying any credibility the faux currency has. And even without them trying, someone like Soros would certainly figure out how to take all you suckers to town.

Intelligent investors will stay well clear.

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I don't see why there is so much ill will towards the concept as it's very "american". It's been over a decade now that we've being indoctrinated with the idea of paperless money systems, it only makes sense for new actors to enter the scene.



no more ill will than shown towards the World of Warcraft economy. It's just not significant.

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no more ill will than shown towards the World of Warcraft economy. It's just not significant.



Whoa, whoa, whoa . . . I need that magic flying pony. How else am I going to get to where the dragons are? Walk? Don't be silly.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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if a $13k giveaway can cause this sort of variation, then the "knob tweakers" would have had no trouble destroying any credibility the faux currency has. And even without them trying, someone like Soros would certainly figure out how to take all you suckers to town.

Intelligent investors will stay well clear.



http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg360ztgSzm1g10zm2g25zv

Actually intelligent investors might try the field with a fraction of their portfolio and the way this currency is structured it is growing very well and will likely become an means to create wealth like any other investment.

Soros, Bernanke or someone of that ilk are probably behind the current bitcoin DDOS attacks. Someone is and it is not Anonymous, though I bet those pimple faces will currently be finding out who it is and I assume they will announce who once they work it out. They are the DDOS kings.

Investors like growth, rapid growth. The currency is bubbling, 400% growth in 30 days Investors love that shit.

Even with the crash is it still worth more than it was a month ago. The price is already stabilising while the attacks continue.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/10/bitcoin-crash/

Now what happens when Wall St has a crash like this...?

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I don't see why there is so much ill will towards the concept as it's very "american". It's been over a decade now that we've being indoctrinated with the idea of paperless money systems, it only makes sense for new actors to enter the scene.



no more ill will than shown towards the World of Warcraft economy. It's just not significant.



i can say with absolute confidence that Wall Street does not care nor see's it as a threat to anything. I'm saying this as a professional trader for I Banks for the last 20 years. Your WofW comment is very apt. This is a cute novelty and i'm sure there is money to be made but its not going to be taken seriously. I've been around long enough to see these things pop up numerous times. Anyone remember the adds Whoppie Goldberg did? i do. It also reminds me of many Eastern European issues in the 90's and early 2000's. No liquidity causing huge volatility. Sure there is money to be made but it is more akin to gambling than trading or investing. The other gentlemen's comments on penny stocks is also spot on to me.

I'm not against it at all. If a new security comes along that i can trade and profit from, i'm all for it. I traded Carbon Credits until they blew up. Another favorite of hippy types. I'm neutral on their success or failure. I'm bearish on them as a true currency, based on my life experience, though.
"The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird."
John Frusciante

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