jimrobo wrote:so there is a centralized network centre that tracks and verifies bitcoin ownership and locations.
This is my point though. If this system is compromised the entire system is worthless??
The fascinating thing is that all bitcoin transactions ever made can be publically viewed by anyone, they are all recorded in a distributed public ledger, go to the website below and you can actually see all new transactions happening in real-time:
If you type any bitcoin address into the search box, you can call up the balances and transactions for that particular bitcoin address. For instance, my own bitcoin address is:
When people realise a speculative top has formed, speculators head for the exit in rapid succession and that often sets of a down-wave as people attempt to hold onto what profit they have.
I just woke up my friend in the US to tell him he isn't a millionaire any longer.
I wouldn't put a penny into bitcoin its a fantasy world.
Why doesn't someone start a new currency where say 20% of investment is used to buy gold or maybe invested in new homes for the large amounts of romainians that are due here
LeTiss 4pm wrote:It's not a real currency, so it has no value.....it's all based on piss and wind
exactly the same as all unbacked fiat currencies.
you used to be able to go to the bank of england with your notes and exchange them for an equivalent amount of gold/silver "i promise to pay the bearer on demand..." - pounds, dollars, euros etc. are backed by nothing and it's only confidence (that the supply is controlled and limited that gives them any "value").
checkout the exponential expansion of central bank balance sheets (expanded by massive money printing) and you'll see why savvy people are worried and looking for alternatives.
superfrank wrote:you used to be able to go to the bank of england with your notes and exchange them for an equivalent amount of gold/silver "i promise to pay the bearer on demand..." - pounds, dollars, euros etc. are backed by nothing and it's only confidence (that the supply is controlled and limited that gives them any "value").
Totally agree. currancy is worthless.
saving money in a bank is now a risk, you are investing in the bank unsecurly and could loss it all.
If your looking to save or invest your better buying stuff thats worth something gold or maybe a second home, the way banks are now run they will fail again.
marko236 wrote:Totally agree. currancy is worthless.
saving money in a bank is now a risk, you are investing in the bank unsecurly and could loss it all.
If your looking to save or invest your better buying stuff thats worth something gold or maybe a second home, the way banks are now run they will fail again.
a savvy man!
the "recovery" is smoke and mirrors and is only due to ultra-cheap money (and money printing) as tptb try to solve a debt crisis with more debt - it WILL collapse sooner or later.
gold and silver are getting very cheap considering the the state of things (most probably manipulated lower by banks/central banks).
Like Rothschild said, “Buy when there’s blood on the streets.” The thing to do to prepare for hyperinflation would be to invest in a diversified hard-metal basket before the event—no equities, no ETF’s, no derivatives. If and when hyperinflation happens, and things get bad (and I mean really bad), take that hard-metal basket and—right in the teeth of the crisis—buy residential property, as well as equities in long-lasting industries; mining, pharma and chemicals especially, but no value-added companies, like tech, aerospace or industrials. The reason is, at the peak of hyperinflation, the most valuable assets will be dirt-cheap — especially equities — especially real estate.
Euler wrote:When people realise a speculative top has formed, speculators head for the exit in rapid succession and that often sets of a down-wave as people attempt to hold onto what profit they have.
I just woke up my friend in the US to tell him he isn't a millionaire any longer.
Yes, but this short-term crash is nothing we didn't expect. People have been calling 'bubble' on Bitcoin for 4 years now, and the interesting thing is that every time there was a crash, the price later went on to new highs.
My recent reading of the e-book 'Bitcoin Explained' (Forrester, Solomon) has caused me to start to become more positive on Bitcoin, after I was initially very sceptical.
steven1976 wrote:I bet he loved your call peter! What would you advise him now?
My opinion would be, if he can sell out still do it. Im sticking my neck on the line and saying it will hit 100 at least.
Bitcoin price showing a strong rebound - now back up to $US 843, whether it's a dead cat bounce or not remains to be seen.
I've changed my mind on the Bitcoins. Count me in.
The earlier trend before the spike supports a price floor of $US 100 - $US 300, I would buy in for that price range.
Bank of America: Bitcoin Will Be 'Serious Competitor' to Cash BY Will Yakowicz
"A new report from analysts at the bank suggest the digital cryptocurrency is on its way to becoming a major player in electronic payments."
Here is an asset that has no fundamental value, it's purely a speculative instrument. It isn't a currency either. There is nothing to base the value on at all apart from what the previous guy sold at. At least when you bought a Tulip you have a physical item in return.
When something goes up in price it gets less value not more, but for some reason people see a line pointing in one direction and see that instead. Of course they could go much higher, there is nothing stopping them if somebody is willing to buy them at a higher price. But nothing about the underlying value will have changed and therein lies the problem.
This is just one of many similar scenarios throughout history and none have ended well. I can tell they haven't topped out yet, because the cleaner hasn't bought any yet or asked about them!
A group of friends gather to play cards. They use a set of plastic tokens (old drafts pieces) as chips. They agree chips are worth five dollars. At the start of the night they each buy tokens from the organiser and at the end of the night they each sell their tokens back to the organiser.
You and I are not part of this game. What would you pay for a token, if offered to you? Nothing. We can't join the game or do anything with a plastic token.
Bitcoins are nothing more than friends saying that something has value (like plastic tokens at a private poker game), that does not have value.
Paper money on the other hand is the same game but on an all of society and social scale backed, in the western world by the rule of law. That is, a debt owed to the government or payable to another person by order of a court, can be discharged by legal tender (ie paper money in that jurisdiction). Bitcoins, just like the plastic token or any other store of private value between friends, cannot be used as legal tender to discharge a debt to the government or payable to another person by order of a court.
In either case, the game can end. In the private card game, the impact of the game ending at a point where people still hold tokens and are unable to exchange them is localised to those involved. In the paper money game, if your society collapses your paper money is also worthless - absent everyone agreeing during the game there is value the paper reverts to its true value, nothing - eg Zimbabwe dollar. Along the way of the collapse, people swap to another store of value.
The bitcoin game might continue, but it is less likely to be as durable as paper money in a stable society. After all, only a relatively few people need to walkway from the bitcoin game for the game to end.
Last edited by gazuty on Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
