Bitcoins - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Sionyn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 03:19:46 pm
content: anybody tried this ?http://www.bitcoin.org/

author: FreeThinker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 04:49:59 pm
content: Ok initial thoughts are pyramid selling/ letter scam. I may be wrong (probably am) but I have a gut scepticism of ANY scheme that promises loads of money for no effort, if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. With these scams the only people that make money are the (very) early adopters. When it goes pear shaped who are you going to complain to? Some guy (?) no one even knows? How does it work? how is it funded? how is it regulated? 'I'm a geek I've read the code....' yea right I'll give it a miss.

author: Sionyn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 04:58:14 pm
content: its legitsupported by the EFFits all based on PKIsteve gibson did a crypto analysis of it

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 05:16:33 pm
content: i dont understand what it is. a new concept i think, sometime its coin, and then its a p2p, and then computer processing power.

author: FreeThinker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 06:08:33 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on February 24, 2011, 05:16:33 pmI don't understand either. Don't think Steve Gibson does either, as much as he would like to have us believe otherwise. This is it's fundamental problem. What it is trying to achieve is a confidence in itself but like the flim flam man it is trying to convince by confusion (ie people buy into because they DON'T understand but do not want to appear stupid and are greedy (free lunch syndrome)). Still looks like the old pyramid scam to me. Oh by the way I still have some JavaBeans I would like to sell if any one is interested (remember them?)EDITDon't think they were called javabeans now I think about it but it was some java program that you ran and got 'points' for which could then be exchanged for something else, just a vague memory now (it was that good)

author: Time
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 06:11:19 pm
content: All currency is based on confidence now. If you can get a significant population to confide in your Java beans than it could be legitimate.What they are offering is a transparent currency which can be closely monitored and controlled. The appeal of bitcoin is its transparency.

author: Sionyn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 06:11:56 pm
content: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/

author: FreeThinker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 06:21:01 pm
content: Quote from: Time on February 24, 2011, 06:11:19 pmAgreedBut I can follow the thought process behind Barter > Gold > Paper money but cannot comprehend how hashing header can generate anything but bandwith? Is he an ISP?

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 06:27:40 pm
content: 8 connections and counting, generating bitcoins active! I also got my free bitcoins.I think botcoins are like normal coins in the sense they have no value but can be traded. I also think the whole computational bit is to generate the bitcoins in the first place.I have NO idea what I am doing whatsoever. lol

author: Time
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 06:40:09 pm
content: I hardly ever touch paper money these days. I pay for things with a plastic card and everything is monitored/maintained through online banking. Bitcoin is not much different in actuality. It just has no tangible equivalent which gives rise to the problems with normal currency.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 08:36:42 pm
content: Quote from: Sionyn on February 24, 2011, 06:11:56 pmoh it got stock market?! aaah sux! if this is the new way of transacting money, buying stuffs etc, then this is big thing. and the effort to bring this to public and time needed should be exponentially big as well.

author: Sionyn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2011, 10:45:40 pm
content: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 12:52:50 pm
content: Did anybody actually invest in Bitcons? Anybody working on some mean bad-ass FPGA mining rigs?I missed the boat as always! - but I don't feel so bad because I'm not convinced the boat has enough lifejackets! ;-)

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 01:30:24 pm
content: Apparently there are hookers that will blow you for a bitcoin... god this world is awesome

author: metalphreak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 01:40:30 pm
content: I had a look at all my old accounts and found I left 0.5BTC in an exchange from 2011. Cashed it in for $120At one point I had 8800 Litecoins (around when it first started). Got rid of them for BTC instead. At one point recently they were worth $45,000. It's crazy how these things have exploded in popularity. Never would have expected it (otherwise I'd have kept that LTC!)

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 01:43:26 pm
content: I read that recently where was someone who invested $30,000 in bitcoins. He made about $250,000 I think.Crazy. But he did get pretty lucky. There was a huge dip just after he cashed them out apparently.

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 02:43:07 pm
content: Seriously though; what stores accept bitcoins? What is the good of them? Are there ATM machines to convert bitcoins to cash?

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 02:52:07 pm
content: There's people accepting bitcoin donations, a few stores accept bitcoins, you can put them on a market and get cash for them (see mtgox.com)Seehttp://www.reddit.com/r/bitcoin/for news about Bitcoin , stores that accept them, etc etc...Anyway, the currency is still somewhat at its infancy, there will be highs and lows but eventually it will become reasonably stable but as new bitcoins will be harder and harder to produce (and it's designed in such a way that the complexity constantly increases constantly so you can't just invent a magic number crunching machine to do them fast) the value may increase more and more.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 03:07:58 pm
content: Wikileaks accept bitcoin donations, about the only way they can raise money now since Uncle Sam put pressure on everyone else to shut them down.I'm thinking about accepting them for donations, but to what end? Can I feed Sagan with them?

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 03:09:35 pm
content: Quite a few places take them. I think even a hedge fund or two now dabbles in bitcoin.There are also places like Silk Road that can only exist thanks to the anonymity capability of bitcoin.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 03:41:39 pm
content: Bitcoin is the real pioneer of the crypto currency concept! I like the concept of Bitcoins but Bitcoin is very deeply flawed to me; To try to understand it I started writing a Bitcoin miner over the weekend in C#.I have a slow GPU Miner running at 23M Hashes per second right now! looking for a golden ticket!! If I find that golden ticket I won't buy into Bitcon!, instead I'll be straight down to the Rigol shop for a new scope!

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 03:43:33 pm
content: There was an insane bubble just this past few weeks when a few cents a coin went up to $200+. Just goes to show what a truly fiat currency can look like. Personally I wouldn't touch something that's more volatile than liquid helium.

author: Spikee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 05:37:46 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on April 15, 2013, 03:07:58 pmI'm a small business owner and i accept bitcoins. I use the Bitpay service to process the payments.Bitpays converts the euro value of a product to bitcoins (actual exchange rate) and the customer can pay it and be done in 20 seconds.It has options, you can get all you money in fiat currency or x% in bitcoins and x% in fiat currency. Therefore you have no currency risk if you choose for it.why i use it:-The fee is only 1%(bitpay) (paypal takes 0.35 euro +3.4%) , Ideal(netherlands) takes 0.45 euro etc...competition:PayPal: 0.35 euro for each transaction + 3.4%Ideal ( the Netherlands): 0.45 euro for each transaction-Can transfer all over the world without extra fee's (the actual recommended bitcoin transaction fee is like 0.01 euro)-No chargebacks,disputes,double spendingcompetition:PayPal: Disputes (can lead to account lock)creditcards: chargebacks-Free "advertising" because my shop is the only one that accepts it.-I have followed the development since the start and i understand how it works and how markets work.The bitcoin crash happened because one of the main fiat currency to bitcoin exchange couldn't handle all the traffic. A lot of new users came because of the media attention and saw it as a get rich quick scheme and didn't understand the mechanics of the system. When the exchange system lagged because of the immense orders the newcomers panicked and sold sold sold. Because it is still in the early stages with a current market capital of 1.2B $ a panick change like that will disrupt the market big time (from 2.6B -> 1.2B now).Bitcoin is still in the early stages, and a lot of things need to be improved to be considered a real competitor of PayPal etc...What it really needs is people that learn how it works and more (small) businesses to accept it.A practical example of the newcomers/get rich quick people: reddit.com/r/bitcoin days leading to crash: 24K people onlineDays after the crash: stable few K of people (like before the crash).As for dave, Mjlorton is one EE video blogger that accepts bitcoin donations. And as a Merchant or somebody that wants to collect donations there is little to no risk. Even for a service like bitpay you don't have to send your ID, sign contracts etc..A great place to learn more about bitcoins and merchants that use it:http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/Bitcoin charts:http://blockchain.info/chartsMain bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox:https://mtgox.com/Bitcoin current exchange rate:http://bitcoinity.org/marketshttp://bitcoin.clarkmoody.com/

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 15, 2013, 06:32:42 pm
content: It isn't all rainbows and unicorns though. Thefts have happened (sometimes pretty significant), and the whole system works only because there is currently enough incentive for bitcoin miners to outpace the "bad guys" in computing horsepower and connectivity.If you are paranoid though, there is at least one or two precious metals dealers who accept bitcoin for gold/silver and lesser metals.

author: kaindub
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 04:58:14 am
content: All I can say iswho remembers Beanz?Similar concept around 2000Don't remember them?That's because they died

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 06:23:09 am
content: I'd been lightly listening to steve gibson's bitcoin stuff, planning to re-listen, but missed the early boat.I was planning on using bitcoin for my customers at some tie, but had Paypal available so didn't bother.Now if Dave is listening, I'd gladly switch from my 2.00 per month paypal donation to eevblog to bitcoins, just tell me how.

author: PeteInTexas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 02:24:07 pm
content: Quote from: Time on February 24, 2011, 06:11:19 pmActually its the opposite- untraceable transactions is its main appeal. And fiat money is not based on confidence- its based on law (something about "legal tender").

author: PeteInTexas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 02:27:35 pm
content: Quote from: Time on February 24, 2011, 06:40:09 pmActually, paying with plastic is just an accounting and transaction convenience. Ultimately, paper money will get exchange at some point some where.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 03:07:07 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on February 24, 2011, 05:16:33 pmIf you took Bitcoins and put them in a pan and boiled them for 2-3 days, what your left with is in essence just a file format of an open-source bit of software and trust. Now the interesting part is how much is a Bitcoin actually worth? now the term "coin" would lead you to believe it's a currency, when in reality it's not! Bitcoin "coins" are more like shares in a piece of software or the Bitcoin brand. The hype surrounding Bitcoin allow early adopters to make large sums of money from the later investors jumping aboard.The p2p part is clever but flawed in that if any one bad person controlled 51% of the validation nodes etc, they could potentially "cook" the books.My view is if Bitcoin survives it will either be a contender for the next generation of Paypal, thus making the holders of the Bitcoins effectively the shareholders; OR just a craze driven virtual currency version of "The Pixel Millionaire" website!Edit: some more interesting things...Some people are selling hardware to specifically compute the SHA-256 hashes.http://www.butterflylabs.com/

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 07:31:26 pm
content: Actually, no. The Butterfly Labs hardware hasn't materialized yet. There are quite a few unhappy people right now who gave them "pre-order" money and haven't seen working hardware yet. There are other turnkey systems on the market now however which do work.Also, it's not just a "file format and trust". It is trust in the mathematics behind modern cryptography. It is also trust that there is more incentive in keeping the system honest than there is in trying to cheat it. For the time being, that seems to be holding true. And for as long as governments are allowed to legislate fiscal policy (such as QE), these kinds of distributed trade networks will thrive.They aren't "shares" any more than the currency in your own wallet. Owning a bitcoin doesn't confer any rights. You don't have a say in how the medium evolves. You aren't entitled to dividends, you don't get quarterly shareholder reports. It is simply a credit-based trading network. A step up from bartering. Just like modern banking systems, except instead of the fundamental trust being placed with corruptible bank officials, that trust is instead placed on computer science and mathematics and social behavior theory.Similarly, the whole "51%" thing isn't correct. Simply controlling nodes isn't enough. And even if you did take over 51%, all that would do is bring the system to a halt due to lack of consensus. You would literally need to control the great majority of the network in order to pull off any "book cooking".And about the comment about paper eventually trading hands - that just simply isn't true in the modern economy. Everything is a digital transaction. The amount of money that flows on a daily basis is impossible to move by physical means - and it would be impractically expensive to even try to. All-digital currency isn't as alien and scary as one might think.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 20, 2013, 04:09:02 pm
content: Quote from: MacAttak on April 17, 2013, 07:31:26 pmAnd trust that your money in your Bitcoin exchange is safe. The Bitfloor exchange website now reads..QuoteIt's ironic that a de-centralised currency such as Bitcoin relies on a centralised system to operate; no wonder the inventor/s didn't want to sign their name to it! ;-)Quote from: MacAttak on April 17, 2013, 07:31:26 pmThe thing is Dr Evil's single 51% node network wouldn't simply announce itself as such; it might appear as friendly smaller independent cluster nodes which would be colluding to periodically cook the books as to not draw too much attention.Some info from the Bitcoin Wiki...QuoteQuote

author: nitro2k01
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2013, 07:06:12 pm
content: Quote from: PeteInTexas on April 17, 2013, 02:24:07 pmYou're both right in ways. All transactions are traceable. What's not necessarily traceable is the person behind the transaction, if appropriate measures are taken.