> All this Bitcoin crap is officially ruining Hacker News.
Yes, discussion about technology, math, physics, crypto, P2P and the markets they're creating have no place here on Hacker News.
29 karma · joined February 21, 2013
Yes, discussion about technology, math, physics, crypto, P2P and the markets they're creating have no place here on Hacker News.
Bitcoin actually provides a new choice: government or no-government. People that want government/cb currency are free to choose it. People that want no-government money can choose Bitcoin.
It can't regulate conduct it can't see.
They have no regulatory power regarding Bitcoin because they have no way to enforce it.
I also fail to see how the IRS has any regulatory power over a currency not defined by US tax law.
> "Coding democratized how we can solve our own problems, regardless of age."
Well said. I'd add that very few old men are innovators, especially when it comes to CS or the like.
What I'm glad to see is more folks in this generation learning how to create their own channels, sell what they make and not depend on larger entities for their survival.
What unthinking person leaves his bitcoins with a third party or on a computer? Would you leave your RL wallet with a stranger? Would you leave something easily stolen in public?
Store bitcoins in a paper wallet until you need to use them. They'll never get lost or stolen unless one is just as careless with the paper as they might be with their live keys.
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Category:Gambling
sealswithclubs.eu should be mentioned here too.
I have quite a number of btc stored in cold wallets.
My point is that because of Bitcoin, I actually have fluid wealth to move around and store, be it with metals or cryptocurrency. I didn't have that freedom with US cash, an instrument whose value is rapidly decreasing and has been for a long time.
Brewster Kahle at archive.org gives his employees the option to be paid in bitcoin received by the site.
> As a long term (or medium-term anyway) store of value, Bitcoin is really quite useless for the time being.
That's quite incorrect. Bitcoin has proven to be an excellent tool for buying low, waiting for a price rise, trading some of the bitcoin for gold, selling some of the gold and buying more bitcoin with the proceeds.
It's a great tool if you're willing to learn how to use it.
That's one way to look at it. Another way might be, "Influential data company prevented from disclosing what the government is doing on the company's network".
I'd never spend my bitcoins on drugs or gambling. That's what the rapidly devaluing dollar is for. Recall that the US dollar is Narco Currency #1 on the planet.
Bitcoins are useful as leverage due to their rapidly expanding (and sometimes deflating) value. I bought my first bitcoins for ~$3 two years ago and held them, even through the first spike and afterwards. I bought more btc at $5-12 as they were floating along last year.
I recently traded some of my btc for hard assets, gold and silver. I then sold some of the gold to a friend and bought more bitcoins.
Useless? No, Bitcoin is a very useful tool. It's the email of money.