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Virgin Galactic Now Taking Bitcoin For Suborbital Flights

Posted by Soulskill on from the blockchains-in-space dept.

Nerval's Lobster writes "Bitcoin hype has reached orbit: you can now use the virtual currency to fly on Virgin Galactic, which will begin taking passengers on sub-orbital flights in 2014. 'One future astronaut, a female flight attendant from Hawaii, has already purchased her Virgin Galactic ticket using bitcoins,' Virgin CEO Richard Branson wrote in a blog posting on Virgin's Website, 'and we expect many more to follow in her footsteps. All of our future astronauts are pioneers in their own right, and this is one more way to be forward-thinking.' Branson is an investor in Bitcoin, which has seen its per-unit value skyrocket from $10 to $900 over the past two years (today, its value stands at $766, but that could rapidly change). 'The lack of transparency from Bitcoin's founders has attracted some criticism, but its open source nature means anyone can audit the code,' he added in his posting. 'It is a brilliantly conceived idea to allow users to power the peer-to-peer payment network themselves, providing control and freedom for consumers.' A flight aboard Virgin Galactic costs $250,000, or roughly 320 Bitcoin at today's price. However, Bitcoin is also a volatile currency, diving and spiking in response to a variety of factors—while it's certainly possible that its value could zoom above $1,000 in the near future, there's always the possibility it could crash down to a few hundred dollars, or even lower."

1 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Old Chinese Saying by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There are 2 other Bitcoin apologists besides you slithering around here. Ornia and Triclipse. One thing is for certain. When Nerdcoin inevitably implodes, idiots like you will be totally silent on the issues, having lost a tremendous amount of face. But don't count on people like me forgetting. When the Shitcoin bubble pops, better get yourself a new Slashdot ID.

    Old Chinese saying: "If you wait by the river long enough, eventually you will see the body of your enemy float by."

    Your position requires that you sit back and wait. That's fine from my point of view, but a different course of action might yield better results from your point of view: take a chance!

    BitCoin might very well implode, and when it does I'll happily admit that I was wrong. There's nothing bad about that.

    At the moment, the issue is why will it explode?

    We can read all the economics textbooks and papers in the world and have a deep understanding of the issues, but unless we can make predictions the information is useless. Justifying and rationalizing historical incidents is a complete waste of time unless you can apply the lessons to future situations.

    I've seen no argument against BitCoin that holds up to the merest cursory level of scrutiny, and there are enough historical parallels to indicate that it will be wildly successful. (Of specific note, the ubiquitous use of non-standard currency in revolutionary times for contraband. Ever wonder why our monetary system is based on the 'dollare and 'centavo instead of the pound and pence?)

    Is that all of economics? Are you only able to see and explain the past, or are you able to predict the future?

    I'm taking a stand. BitCoin has no logical flaws, and will rise in popularity simply because it has better utility and fewer disadvantages.

    You think it will implode. What's your reasoning?