Slashdot Mirror
Bitcoin Currency Surpasses 20 National Currencies In Total Value
Velcroman1 writes "More than $1 billion worth of bitcoins now circulate on the web – an amount that exceeds the value of the entire currency stock of small countries like Liberia, Bhutan, and 18 other countries. Bitcoin is in high demand right now — each bitcoin currently sells for more than $90 U.S. — which bitcoin insiders say is because of world events that have shaken confidence in government-issued currencies. 'Because of what's going on in Cyprus and Europe, people are trying to pull their money out of banks there,' said Tony Gallippi, the CEO BitPay.com, which enables businesses to easily accept bitcoins as payment. 'So they buy gold, they put it under the mattress, or they buy bitcoin,' Gallippi said."
So, how do you "short sell" Bitcoin? I'd like to make a few bucks from this ridiculous bubble when it pops.
It means that ALL bitcoins are collectively worth more than ALL currency of the 20 countries listed. They're not comparing individual currency units.
The article should say that more than 1 billion dollars in bitcoins theoretically exists on the web. Given the horrific problems that a few bitcoin exchanges have had in the recent past, I think some skepticism is warranted. My prediction is that sometime in the upcoming years some kind of attack nobody foresaw will happen on bitcoins and the attackers will get wealthy and the bitcoin holders will be left holding dust or bitcoins will simply be another bubble that collapses. I don't see a bright future for bitcoins.
Have you seen the actual numbers? Who owns the US national debt?
- China 8%
US gov't and pension funds 46,1%:
- The Federal reserve 11,3%
- Social Security fund 19%
- US households 6,6%
- State & local gov't 3,5%
- State, local pensions funds 2,2%
- Private pension funds 3,5%
http://www.businessinsider.com/who-owns-us-debt-2011-7?op=1
You are incorrect on your tax idea there buddy. That is income and you should be reporting it. You might get away with not reporting a small amount, but if it is ever worth anything you will have the IRS after you.
But there seems to be this misunderstanding that China can just "call in" the loans. They can't. US securities are sold for fixed periods of time. They pay off on a given date, period. There is no ability to call them due early.
So all someone can do who wishes to cash out early is to sell them on the open market, and of course if you dump a ton of them the price will crash meaning you'll take a sizable loss on your investment.
People really need to go and look at how public debt in the US works before they chatter about it. Too many think it is the US going to China The Loan Shark and begging for money on any terms. Quite the opposite, it is China buying US securities (denominated in US dollars, held and tracked in the US exchange) when they are auctioned off.
What citation do you want?
Do you not think that income is taxable?
If I pay you to roof my house in Euros that does not mean you don't have to pay taxes.
This has already been covered:
Bitcoin Virtual Cash Get Money-Laundering Rule
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
A lot of this does seem like it could be a bubble but it also seems likely Bitcoin will crack $100 and that is a nice place to establish a new market bottom with the Bit cent then becoming equiv to a dollar. Bitcoin's appropriate value certainly isn't nothing. It was quite stable in the $8-12 range before the reward for mining halved. At the same time the difficulty (and therefore cost) of mining has skyrocketed as ASIC miners have come online. So we are looking at a price point between $30-40 dollars as a bottom just on the merits of supply reduction vs demand that existed before this climb.
:)
The good thing for Bitcoin itself is that Bitpay is offering merchants who take Bitcoin a much much less expensive payment option 0.99% with no other fees, credit requirements, or charge backs and they can have payments instantly convert to fiat to work like a credit card or can keep it in Bitcoin. They are signing thousands of merchants a month. So even if this is a speculation bubble, it is stimulating actual growth in the Bitcoin economy and therefore increased demand.
The increased demand combined with decreased supply would mean that the price should be somewhere beyond that $30-40 and the longer this run goes the higher that number is. Plus, this isn't a pure buying run. Every few days there is a dip of $10-20 dollars that indicates small market corrections throughout the rise.
Just my take on the whole thing. YMMV
Except Wall Street is at least nominally speculating based on equity, whereas Bitcoins have less inherent value than a bag of tulip bulbs.
We all know inflation on the dollar is crazy and trending toward never getting better.
We don't "all know" that, because it's not true. Inflation is at about 2% and has been basically unchanged since 1984 or so. Any ideas to the contrary are primarily in the minds of those who have a financial interest in convincing people holding dollars to buy some other kind of asset e.g. Glenn Beck and his gold interests.
I am officially gone from