Click to be Added / Removed.
Posted on 01/21/2014 7:03:00 AM PST by Errant
In the next year, Bitcoin will start its transformation from a mere currency into an entire open-source, decentralized exchange for everything from futures contracts to car rentals.
FORTUNE -- In 2013, bitcoin's valuation didn't just skyrocket, but its infrastructure, services, and adoption exploded as well, culminating in recent announcements that major online retailer Overstock.com and NBA team the Sacramento Kings would accept the digital currency as payment.
Some still doubt bitcoin's usefulness and durability, but 2014 may leave skeptics even further behind -- developers and entrepreneurs are already hard at work building features on top of the Bitcoin protocol that will allow for the decentralized execution of financial services, from currency hedging to loans to stock issuance to rental and purchase contracts. These new services rely on the same innovative proof-of-work model of distributed security and record-keeping that has kept the bitcoin currency secure as its value ballooned well past $10 billion. In the long term, peer-to-peer finance threatens to weaken banks and other financial agents just as peer-to-peer file sharing did the music industry -- and some of the architects of this financial Napster seem gleeful about the possibility.
The Bitcoin protocol (crucially distinct from bitcoin, the currency it underlies) was built from the ground up to support far more complex transactions and relationships than simple value transfers.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.fortune.cnn.com ...
• Economies of Trust: Why Bob Geldof is Wrong About Bitcoin
• Marijuana in Colorado Faces Same Legal Obstacles as Bitcoin
• University of Cumbria First in UK to Accept Bitcoin
• Bylls Lets Canadians Pay Bills in Bitcoin
• Streetwear Trendsetter Hypebeast Now Accepting Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Hits Las Vegas As Casino Hotels Open Door To Virtual Currency
I’m starting to seriously consider accepting bitcoins for my charter business. I see it as simply offering another option for how my customers can choose to pay.
If I do go ahead with accepting it I will most likely have them deposited each day and avoiding losing anything because of their current volatility.
The banksters ain't gonna like that.
Bitcoin ISN’T what is volatile. The total number of bitcoin is constant. What fluctuates is the EXCHANGE RATE of bitcoin to other currencies.
The more dollars printed, the better bitcoin looks.
Yep, and their crescendo of calls for action from the polliwogs they’ve bought and paid for in DC will reach epic proportions soon.
This is the critical point that most people are missing I think.
It’s not whether Bitcoin is a viable currency or not ... it’s whether the dollar (and other fiat currencies) are viable currencies in relation to Bitcoin.
The more dollars printed, the better bitcoin looks.
With that said, more power to them that do it. What I do find interesting is that it is perceived as LESS risky than our dollar which is backed by the “full faith and credit” of our American Government. That is the BIG STORY. Risk is relative and Bit coin is perceived as less risky.
Personally this tells me to bring my wealth closer to home and in real property and assets. And even that is FULL of risk.
You never eliminate risk, you manage it.
Keep treating it as a ‘FRINGE’ currency. The less people know about it and use it, the more chances for me to mine it.
How many times have I told Freepers to “put down” Texas so liberals won;t move there?
It’s so important to ensure that history is being treated with the appropriate amount of respect, but at the same time ensuring that we are confident that the past applies to the present.
There is no more bitcoin than the bitcoin that exists today. That’s all the bitcoin that there is. True, its a fiat currency, but it is better than most because it is FREE OF CENTRAL BANK MANIPULATION.
Instead of a few key insiders actually knowing the books (China and the US are the worst about this point), with bitcoin, everyone knows the books. The US has literally been enslaving small countries with its currency manipulation.
There was even a quote from someone in our admin at one point I recent history with regards to that. “It’s our money, but it’s your problem,” or something to that effect.
Incredibly arrogant.
Anyway, the OTHER problem bitcoin solves is that in lieu of the dollar, bitcoin can be used as an international currency. Instead of states having to come up with 50 different currencies when the dollar falls, there will be bitcoin. It will be there to ensure there is international trade when the dollar and the yuan caves in (which it is going to, sure as you’re born).
The third thing bitcoin does is provides physical security against theft that you could not provide for yourself in protecting gold, commodities, etc.
The obvious dig against bitcoin is that it requires electricity and internet connectivity.
Diversify accordingly.
I sounds dangerous, very vulnerable, with the ones with the higher end PCs winning.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2033715/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-bitcoin.html
I’m not a risk-taker. Bitcoin is a little too weird for me. But you know what? If I ran a business and I could use it almost as soon as I accepted it as payment, how could I lose out? The only problem would be getting stuck with bitcoins if the whole thing came tumbling down.
It looks Intel, AMD, MS and Apple must be watching this closely, and it would help revive the PC. See top link above.
After hearing about Bitcoin, Iyengar quit his job to use his experience to outrace other Bitcoin-mining startups. Iyengar has watched Intel, IBM (IBM), Apple (AAPL), Samsung, and other heavyweights slug it out in the chip business for years. “No arms race in the history of the chip industry even comes close to this,” he says.
Cryptocurrency Exchange CoinMKT Announces US Banking Partner
I suspect the feds will soon be stepping in and limiting or eliminating bitcoin.
We still have a few freedoms left, though less and less everyday thanks to your big government and their overlord banksters.
18 comments...where have all the naysayers gone.
You snooze you lose!
Most new ideas seem weird in the beginning.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.