Thanks Lurkina.n.Learnin!
Posted on 12/28/2013 10:41:57 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Bitcoin is the name of a group of peer-to-peer payment networks that serve as an open-source form of digital currency that was originally introduced in 2009 by a software developer with the alias of 'Satoshi Nakamoto." Bitcoin currency is created as rewards to "miners" for providing the computing power to solve difficult math problems to maintain the "blockchain" of internet transactions in the currency. Unlike online credit cards and PayPal systems that allow buyers to claim their money back, bitcoin permanently transfers value. The bitcoin cyber-economy compassed of merchants, users, service providers, and startup enterprises has flourished for the past three years. The value of bitcoins has appreciated by 6,000% and the capitalization of the bitcoins in circulation has ballooned to over $8 billion. The emergence of bitcoin virtual currency has created a powerful competitor to the dollar that will limit Congress and the Federal Reserve's effectiveness in fostering inflation as a way to tax away American's wealth. This is why the tech-savvy refer to the bitcoin as Gold 2.0.
Since the beginning of human history, only about 5.6 billion troy ounces of gold has ever been mined. The value of gold is rooted in its medium rarity, easily handling and other qualities most other metals lack. These properties are the basis of gold serving as money. Bitcoin has a stark resemblance to gold: "Both are backed by no one. Both are, relative to fiat currency, inconvenient for day to day use." Since there is a limit of 21 million that may ever be "mined" by the year 2140, Bitcoins are rare units of exchange. Bitcoins will remain rare like gold; by 2040 when the world population reaches 10 billion there will only be 1 bitcoin for every 500 people on the earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Isn’t the WHOLE POINT that it is not regulated???
Ping
Bitcoin is not gold.
It will be regulated, as soon as the current administration decides how to sock it to the folks who have some.
I think Mr Street badly misses the point of BitCoins.
When the control freaks see something the first thing they think of is regulate. It’s for the children don’t you know.
My poop is also rare. About a pound a day. By 2040 there will only be 9,855 pounds. Rarity does not equate with value.
Bitcoin cannot be allowed to continue to be a competitor to all of the government controlled fiat currencies of the world. If bitcoin cannot be manipulated like all of the current fiat money, it should be banned with extreme prejudice, and the proceeds be invested back into the fiat fake global markets.
The peasants cannot be allowed to circumvent our monopoly. If they wise up, the global players will be screwed.
Very true. There also needs to be demand for it.
Still a nonbeliever.
Beanie Babies!!
But a beanie baby or a pet rock is a thing. Maybe fairie dust and unicorn tusks?
Thanks Lurkina.n.Learnin!
I'm not sure exactly what the point of it is really. I understand that currently there's a speculative aspect to it, but other than that, I don't really see the point.
If one happens to make a real financial gain from selling/bartering bitcoins, they're already taxable just like any other gain in this country. If you give me a big mansion then I'm just as liable to the IRS as if you had given me the cold cash instead. Same thing would of course apply to bitcoins.
Personally, I prefer to accumulate my wealth in things like real estate, gold, fine art etc. If the economy croaks, I can at least generate rents from the property (or perhaps services/labor in lieu of rents if need be). Gold has value in that it has always been viewed as desirable due to it's beauty when made into jewelry and the like, and after some huge world disaster it stands a good chance of retaining some value.
I view bitcoins as a fad, a gimmick. Sure, some will cash in with them (probably the early acquirers who are now trying to talk them up in order to raise their value so they can now cash in while they still can).
I can't think of one valid reason for me to convert any sum of my hard earned cash into bitcoins. I don't care how many retailers start accepting them... they still accept my cash.
You can't regulate it because it's anonymous and doesn't exist in any one place.
When you pay someone with bitcoin, there is no way to trace the transaction to the recipient.
The very reason the government will regulate it "for the children" (stop kiddie porn sales), "fight the War on Terror," and "fight the War on Drugs."
The feds have been telegraphing this for the past year. Silk Road is the poster child for why it will be regulated.
Bitcoin miners will be heavily regulated, Converting bitcoins to U.S. fiat currency will be heavily regulated or illegal. If regulated, the I.R.S. will be used as the weapon to hit people with tax evasion charges for nonreporting of bitcoins as income.
It's a matter of when, not if.
They'll have to treat it like a controlled substance.
Anybody whose IP address is caught pinging a Bitcoin server will be arrested and incarcerated.
They won't be able to prove anything other than you visited a particular server.
The US government will just confiscate it. They have done it already and will do it soon enough. It will simply be declared a tool for terrorism and poof. All your bitcoin are belong to us.
Not to belabor the point, but unless you're freezing it, there will be none left. Gold and [we might expect] BitCoins will both still be around. Durability along with scarcity begin to meet the qualifications for value.
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