What's your views on Bitcoin and why?
Discussion
Afternoon all,
I'm quite involved in the Bitcoin space and have been for years now. It's been a rocky road but an incredibly exciting one!
The last time bitcoin was properly discussed on these forums it was when there was a huge uptick in price. Now that the Bitcoin community and market has matured considerably over the last 18 months I'm curious to find out if peoples perceptions on PH have changed much over this period?
So, price aside, what's your views on Bitcoin and why?
Michael.
I'm quite involved in the Bitcoin space and have been for years now. It's been a rocky road but an incredibly exciting one!
The last time bitcoin was properly discussed on these forums it was when there was a huge uptick in price. Now that the Bitcoin community and market has matured considerably over the last 18 months I'm curious to find out if peoples perceptions on PH have changed much over this period?
So, price aside, what's your views on Bitcoin and why?
Michael.
Ozzie Osmond said:
Before MtGox went tits-up I swore that I would avoid Bitcoin like the plague.
Why use fictional money when you can use real money?
Haha, I can understand that view. But at the root, what makes money real? Gov backing? Fed backing? Bank of england ltd backing? debt backing? Or simply because someone will exchange it for goods / services?Why use fictional money when you can use real money?
Fittster said:
Where can you spend them?
Hey Fittster, Various stores globally now accept bitcoin, over 90,000 in fact, including Microsoft & Dell.
For merchants it makes perfect sense, zero risk of charge backs as it's digital cash and you can tap into an audience you may / may not of had exposure to.
Also, with companies such as bitpay you don't even need to hold bitcoin, they will instantly exchange it into your local currency. So, zero volatility risk and you can serve a wider audience of customers.
HTP99 said:
Funny as I was chatting to a geeky collegue about this very subject yesterday, he had already tried to explain it me a few months ago, he tried again yesterday but still I don't get it.
To be fair to your friend, it's not the easiest subject to explain all at once. I'm very technically minded and I had to lock myself away for months to fully grasp what it is :P rog007 said:
What's a bitcoin?
Afternoon Rog007,Bitcoin is digital money, it's money just like sterling and dollars only its not owned by a government and you can send it from any point in the world, to any point in the world and it can be transmitted instantly and securely (without needing permission) for minimal or no fees at all.
What makes bitcoin unique and special is that money is merely an application of the Bitcoin technology.
Here's what I mean, Bitcoin is a technology, it's a currency and its an international network of payments and exchange.
Bitcoin is not a company, it is not an organisation. Bitcoin is a protocol just like TCP/IP is for the internet. it's completely decentralised, meaning that there is no single point of control / failure.
It doesn't rely on / require banks
it doesn't rely on / require governments
The invention truly is revolutionary and a historic moment in the evolution of computer science, in fact i'd argue Bitcoin is the most significant advancement since the internet itself. And the catalyst of a social, financial & political revolution.
in short, Bitcoin is the internet of money.
Michael.
shigs said:
Afternoon Rog007,
Bitcoin is digital money, it's money just like sterling and dollars only its not owned by a government and you can send it from any point in the world, to any point in the world and it can be transmitted instantly and securely (without needing permission) for minimal or no fees at all.
What makes bitcoin unique and special is that money is merely an application of the Bitcoin technology.
Here's what I mean, Bitcoin is a technology, it's a currency and its an international network of payments and exchange.
Bitcoin is not a company, it is not an organisation. Bitcoin is a protocol just like TCP/IP is for the internet. it's completely decentralised, meaning that there is no single point of control / failure.
It doesn't rely on / require banks
it doesn't rely on / require governments
The invention truly is revolutionary and a historic moment in the evolution of computer science, in fact i'd argue Bitcoin is the most significant advancement since the internet itself. And the catalyst of a social, financial & political revolution.
in short, Bitcoin is the internet of money.
Michael.
Well, that's made it much clearer! Bitcoin is digital money, it's money just like sterling and dollars only its not owned by a government and you can send it from any point in the world, to any point in the world and it can be transmitted instantly and securely (without needing permission) for minimal or no fees at all.
What makes bitcoin unique and special is that money is merely an application of the Bitcoin technology.
Here's what I mean, Bitcoin is a technology, it's a currency and its an international network of payments and exchange.
Bitcoin is not a company, it is not an organisation. Bitcoin is a protocol just like TCP/IP is for the internet. it's completely decentralised, meaning that there is no single point of control / failure.
It doesn't rely on / require banks
it doesn't rely on / require governments
The invention truly is revolutionary and a historic moment in the evolution of computer science, in fact i'd argue Bitcoin is the most significant advancement since the internet itself. And the catalyst of a social, financial & political revolution.
in short, Bitcoin is the internet of money.
Michael.
But thanks for having a go
It's considerably more difficult to use than cash, or cards. It's value is (or at least has been) mega volatile so your tenner today could be a pound next week.
I've watched various programmes on it, read up on it and had someone explain it and I'm still none the wiser as to how it really works, how they are mined, what happens when they are all mined, do we work on fractions of a BTC etc?
As a means of payment unless I'm buying supplies on Agora I can't see any advantage, and from a speculation/investment POV I've always been taught not to invest in things I don't understand. And Bitcoin remains one of them.
IMO it'll be a long time before the public trusts purely digital money.
I've watched various programmes on it, read up on it and had someone explain it and I'm still none the wiser as to how it really works, how they are mined, what happens when they are all mined, do we work on fractions of a BTC etc?
As a means of payment unless I'm buying supplies on Agora I can't see any advantage, and from a speculation/investment POV I've always been taught not to invest in things I don't understand. And Bitcoin remains one of them.
IMO it'll be a long time before the public trusts purely digital money.
shigs said:
rog007 said:
What's a bitcoin?
Afternoon Rog007,Bitcoin is digital money, it's money just like sterling and dollars only its not owned by a government and you can send it from any point in the world, to any point in the world and it can be transmitted instantly and securely (without needing permission) for minimal or no fees at all.
What makes bitcoin unique and special is that money is merely an application of the Bitcoin technology.
Here's what I mean, Bitcoin is a technology, it's a currency and its an international network of payments and exchange.
Bitcoin is not a company, it is not an organisation. Bitcoin is a protocol just like TCP/IP is for the internet. it's completely decentralised, meaning that there is no single point of control / failure.
It doesn't rely on / require banks
it doesn't rely on / require governments
The invention truly is revolutionary and a historic moment in the evolution of computer science, in fact i'd argue Bitcoin is the most significant advancement since the internet itself. And the catalyst of a social, financial & political revolution.
in short, Bitcoin is the internet of money.
Michael.
shigs said:
rog007 said:
What's a bitcoin?
Afternoon Rog007,Bitcoin is digital money, it's money just like sterling and dollars only its not owned by a government and you can send it from any point in the world, to any point in the world and it can be transmitted instantly and securely (without needing permission) for minimal or no fees at all.
What makes bitcoin unique and special is that money is merely an application of the Bitcoin technology.
Here's what I mean, Bitcoin is a technology, it's a currency and its an international network of payments and exchange.
Bitcoin is not a company, it is not an organisation. Bitcoin is a protocol just like TCP/IP is for the internet. it's completely decentralised, meaning that there is no single point of control / failure.
It doesn't rely on / require banks
it doesn't rely on / require governments
The invention truly is revolutionary and a historic moment in the evolution of computer science, in fact i'd argue Bitcoin is the most significant advancement since the internet itself. And the catalyst of a social, financial & political revolution.
in short, Bitcoin is the internet of money.
Michael.
That makes no sense to me either. Surely in order to use these "bit coins" you need to buy them from somewhere as clearly they must have some monetary value if you can buy st from Microsoft and Dell with them, thus whoever you're buying them from is making money from you and means that they are not decentralised as you claim.
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