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Bitcoin Hits Highest Levels In Almost Three Years (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the peak-time dept.

Digital currency bitcoin hit its highest levels in almost three years on Friday, extending gains since India sparked a cash shortage by removing high-denomination bank notes from circulation a month ago. From a report on Reuters: Bitcoin was trading as high as $774 on the New York-based itBit exchange, up almost 1 percent on the day and the highest since February 2014, having climbed almost 9 percent in the past month. It has climbed around 80 percent so far this year, far exceeding its 35 percent rise in 2015.

78 comments

  1. Reason isn't only India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Also the strong dollar and the fear of what is going to happen after Trump undoes the banking regulations that were put in place after the Great Recession are driving this thing north.

    1. Re:Reason isn't only India by dejitaru · · Score: 2

      Except Trump doesn't matter because those banking regulations have been stripped away one by one since at least the past 20 years, specifically pointing to the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act

    2. Re:Reason isn't only India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except Trump doesn't matter because those banking regulations have been stripped away one by one since at least the past 20 years, specifically pointing to the Grammâ"Leachâ"Bliley Act,

      Considering the Great Recession started 8 years ago, you're probably talking about something else.

    3. Re:Reason isn't only India by dejitaru · · Score: 1

      yep... read that as the great depression, my bad. Not even sure if any significant laws were passed to prevent what happened.

    4. Re: Reason isn't only India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You might want to read up on Dodd Frank

  2. I guess there is demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know who wants this stuff other than the criminals who keep trying to lock up everyone's data and demand ransom. Fake money? Who wants it?

    1. Re:I guess there is demand by hodet · · Score: 2

      There are many well documented use cases. Just take the time to understand it. Your comment makes as much sense as saying "the Internet is only useful for criminals."

    2. Re:I guess there is demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For when the government considers everyone is a criminal.

    3. Re:I guess there is demand by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · · Score: 4, Informative

      Fake money? Who wants it?

      All money is fake by definition. We all agree those paper bills cost something when in fact it's just worthless paper. What's more, there's hugely more electronic money and various forms of money derivatives (like shares, debts, obligations, etc. etc. etc. read this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... ) right now than real banknotes. I guess it's 100 to 1 nowadays if not more.

      So real money is only 1% tangible while bitcoin is 0% tangible. Not a huge difference for me.

    4. Re:I guess there is demand by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      I don't know who wants this stuff other than the criminals who keep trying to lock up everyone's data and demand ransom. Fake money? Who wants it?

      It is quite handy as a payment token that transcend international boundaries and VISA blockades. I can buy things from for example Russia and pay with bitcoins where I cannot pay with a credit card. All perfectly legal as per the Berne convention.

      I hold about 1.8 bitcoins. The other .2 is what I spent over the past few years. I wouldn't call it a high volume thing. But it's handy.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    5. Re:I guess there is demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You realize that the US dollar is fake money too? The technical term is "fiat"
      You can't go and get gold in exchange for it.
      It's worth as much as someone believes it is. Same as bitcoin.

      Most currencies are fiat.

    6. Re:I guess there is demand by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 1

      If you really think that inflation is going to run crazy, then instead of stuffing cash into your mattress, you can do one of the following: buy gold, buy shares in the stock market, or deposit into a savings account or certificate. The value of all of these will float with inflation. I remember getting 11% interest on a fixed-term deposit in the late 1980's. All of these have the advantage of not carrying the same risk exposure as Bitcoin, whose value can fluctuate by 20% over a few days.

    7. Re:I guess there is demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cash in general is worthless.

      Most humans don't depend on cash directly or indirectly and live perfectly fine lives.
      Sure, they might not have 15 iPads or Smart cars, but I count that as a good thing.
      They also have far superior health and overall happiness.

      But shh, gotta roll that 4+ billion people in to the 1.5 billion people considered as "in poverty", and lack basic necessities to live from day to day. (who, ironically enough, mostly live in the DEVELOPED world now)

      The money-driven world was a mistake. Money needs to go back to being a simple tool for trade, not the thing that drives society and locks people in poverty and prevents them from even living on their own damn land and farming it. (properly or improperly!)
      I can't wait to see it crash and burn.
      Self-sufficiency sure is great. Shame about all those people being repressed by money. They'll probably end up dying in riots over the next 5 years.

    8. Re:I guess there is demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's just a scare tactic. I've been using BitCoin for years and it's generally pretty darn stable. The US dollar has gone up and down relative to other currencies by just as much. I remember Canada and Australia were on part with the US dollar for a while too, but now both are significantly different. Reality is all currencies including the US dollar fluctuates. It doesn't mean you stop using currencies. BitCoin isn't an investment. It's value is as a medium of exchange. There are other costs that far outweight the negatives of BitCoin. When I accept BitCoin for instance through my business I save about 3% over credit card transaction fees. I actually get 100% of the amount that is owed rather than lose out $60-100 per laptop when the profit margin on laptops is only about $50-100. That just doubled my profit!!!! And my investments bring in significantly more than BitCoin ever word. It's not an investment. Neither is the US dollar. It's merely a highly convenient means of exchange that benefits those who aren't retarded.

    9. Re: I guess there is demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's been a while since you've looked at CDs hasn't it. If you find one yielding more than 1% annually please let me know.

    10. Re:I guess there is demand by Comrade+Ogilvy · · Score: 1

      So real money is only 1% tangible while bitcoin is 0% tangible. Not a huge difference for me.

      You live in a bubble, if the difference is so small to you. (1) The USD is backed by assets, even if not directly as it was when we had the gold standard. (2) The USD is also backed by binding explicit and implicit promises that 300 million US citizens will accept it. In comparison bitcoin is explicitly backed by nothing, and no one on the planet has made a binding promise to accept bitcoin.

    11. Re:I guess there is demand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I were Chinese, I would probably be looking into bitcoin. The value of the yuan has been slidding fast and capital controls prevent them from taking money out of China. Bitcoin seems like an "easy" way to circunvent both problems... or at least to get as much as possible out of China an then convert from a bitcoin to a different currency overseas.

    12. Re:I guess there is demand by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

      > All money is fake by definition.

      That's partially incorrect.

      * Hard currencies have an intrinsic value. i.e. Especially the metals.
      * Soft currencies -- you are correct -- they are completely artificial.

      However, this isn't telling the entire picture.

      There are 4 Levels of money. That is, money can represent 4 different things:

      1. Barter

      If you have physical good I desire, and vice versa, we can trade. The *thing itself* is money -- ANYTHING can have value -- depending on who wants it. Now this becomes impractical when you only want 1/2 a cow -- thus a solution was needed for this problem. Which leads me to my next point:

      2. Tokens

      Instead of trading the physical things themselves, we can trade tokens which represent them. The nice thing is that we can sub-divide tokens into any division we want.

      3. Time, Effort, and Skill

      I don't have the skills to build a house, nor the time, but if I have enough tokens, I can hire people who do. As a result we've started to ditch using physical tokens and moved to digital tokens, aka bits to represent money. For the time being banks will honor this Bits <--> Paper money equivalency.

      4. Energy

      At the end of the day, currency is really about energy. Hell, Bitcoin mining shows _exactly_ this. We can currently, very primitively, convert matter into energy and vice versa. This will play an ever increasing role as our technology moves beyond the primitive level we have.

      ZPE (Zero Point Energy) will free us from the greed of currency, and move the value into what people can create uniquely. But hat is still a few decades off before we evolve to that level.

    13. Re:I guess there is demand by Shane_Optima · · Score: 1

      > All money is fake by definition. That's partially incorrect. * Hard currencies have an intrinsic value. i.e. Especially the metals.

      Except in practice this "intrinsic value" is a laughable myth, especially the metals:

      1. Almost all of that "intrinsic" value is due to it being perceived as luxurious. Most people don't even like gold-colored jewelry; so-called "white gold" (i.e. gold that's been adulterated with other metals to hide its real color) is more popular. How is the totally psychological value of "I feel teh warm fuzzies because this ring is REAL!" any more "inherent" than the warm fuzzies you get from knowing you have 20 $100 bills in your pocket?

      2. Excepting supply issues, whenever gold skyrockets (usually dragging the other precious metals with it, although they don't always rise as dramatically), it's when all non-precious metals are crashing in value... the same fears that cause people to suspect copper will be worth less tomorrow also cause them to think gold will be worth more. Thus, it should be clear that gold's value as currency is definitely not rooted in its practical or intrinsic worth.


      All currencies will take on "artificial" qualities once they become widely accepted as a currency, or even if they are merely thought to be an emergency currency that almost no one currently accepts (gold).

  3. Looking forward to 1BTC/$3000 by mid 2017... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With BTC a deflationary currency that has a limit on coins, I'm looking forward to seeing it stabilize in the four digits next year, and be well above $2000 once segwit gets resolved one way or the other. This time around, there are no bad-apple exchanges to make the value of BitCoins go down.

    1. Re:Looking forward to 1BTC/$3000 by mid 2017... by PvtVoid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because this time it's different!

    2. Re:Looking forward to 1BTC/$3000 by mid 2017... by avandesande · · Score: 0

      It is different. There aren't half a dozen articles hyping bitcoin in the news every day.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    3. Re:Looking forward to 1BTC/$3000 by mid 2017... by rkordmaa · · Score: 1

      Heh, yeah obviously it will not be different, it will soar and crash as it always has. However, and this is the beauty of bitcoin, no matter how hard it crashes it never really goes away and will just come back stronger than before. Bitcoin is a brilliant and terrifying idea if i have ever seen one, if it becomes what its designed to become and that's no small if, it will rock the world. Will it eventually replace nation currencies, who knows, its not as far fetched as one might think, the potential is there. We are not talking about replacing any mayor currencies to start with, but just imagine a small and weak national currency crashing and burning real badly, is it so far fetched for a small nation to pick up bitcoin? Maybe not quite yet, but if it happens at a peak of another bitcoin hype, could happen you know. And if bitcoin continues coming back stronger every time, I think it will happen eventually. Once there is one country using it, its no stretch to see a second country adopting and so forth.

  4. In before the uneducated opinions. by ASDFnz · · Score: 1

    They are easy to spot, they include mentions of beanie babies, tulips and lists of "FACT"'s.

    1. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your the uneducated one. Your the sort of person who would buy a duck just so you could hear the echo of its quack because you dont know any better.

    2. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by ASDFnz · · Score: 2

      Sorry, you're right, I forgot to add baseless ad hominem to the list. (you may need to look it up)

    3. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Your the uneducated one."

      Aaaaaaahahahahah! HAha ha ha haaaa......AAAAAAHA HA HA! OMG LOL!!

      Thank you for making my day. You're such an ignorant retard that you can't even bother to learn the difference between

      YOUR and YOU'RE.

      Yet you call others uneducated! Oh man, that post is classic. Thanks again dumbass.

    4. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by ASDFnz · · Score: 1

      "Your the uneducated one."

      YOUR and YOU'RE.

      /facepalm

      You said that not me. I was just polite enough not to divert into your bad grammar.

    5. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can insult my grammar all you want, but I promise you, as surely as the sun will rise again tomorrow in the west nobodys ever going to care what you have to say..

    6. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by ASDFnz · · Score: 1

      I wasn't insulting your grammar, you were.

      Very rarely have I seen a slashdot troll call himself a "ignorant retard" though, it could be a first. Congratulations.

    7. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, don't let the facts get in the way of your profits as you "SELL, BABY; SELL!"

    8. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by ASDFnz · · Score: 1

      Yeah, don't let the facts

      What facts?

    9. Re: In before the uneducated opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FYI, not all ACs are the same person.

    10. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just letting you know. I mean, this time we are - but you should be careful for the future.

      And yes you were insulting my grammer. You called it bad.

    11. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by ASDFnz · · Score: 1

      Calling it bad is just factual. Besides, I did not even bring it up in the first place. We all make the occasion error and it was not germain to the discussion. Trying to win arguments by pointing out minor spelling and grammar errors is really only the resort of the week minded.

      If I called you a "ignorant retard" because of it that would be insulting.

    12. Re:In before the uneducated opinions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *germane*, you nygger.

  5. That's the best reason to buy bitcoin by SuperKendall · · Score: 0

    I don't know who wants this stuff other than the criminals

    But that's exactly the point; buying BitCoin is a lot like being able to buy into a mutual fund solely dedicated to criminal profits!

    It's the ultimate hedge, the worse off society gets the more rewarding crime (and therefore your Bitcoin) becomes!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:That's the best reason to buy bitcoin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is well documented that when Europe switched to the Euro, the EU made sure black markets other grey areas of money would switch over as well, and the importance of this to making the changeover a success. Requirements for banks to report questionable transactions became a lot more serious _after_ the change to Euro was completed. Legal companies like transactions that can't be rolled back for the same reasons criminals like them.

    2. Re:That's the best reason to buy bitcoin by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Requirements for banks to report questionable transactions became a lot more serious _after_ the change to Euro was completed.

      That's bollocks. I was living in France when it happened and there were strict limits on changing Francs to Euro well in advance of the actual switch; they knew there was plenty of money stuffed in mattresses & teapots.

      It caused a short term boost to home renovation & antiques market.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  6. Too bad it's volatile as hell by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · · Score: 1

    Since there's no one standing behind it.

    Of course even major currencies sometimes go down (like it happened to the Russian ruble after 1991) but it's still a very rare occurrence, unlike Bitcoin where any major event can trigger a colossal loss in its value because a lot of bitcoin owners will rush to cash their bitcoins when they see something worrisome happening thus they will accelerate its fall even further.

    Also there are other purely technical reasons why Bitcoin is not a stable currency and most likely will never be. For instance it has long ceased to be purely decentralized. Nowadays you can easily say that it's directly and indirectly controlled by Chinese.

    1. Re: Too bad it's volatile as hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Clearly you haven't seen the USD ten year chart.

    2. Re: Too bad it's volatile as hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or JPY. Or...

      Traditional currencies are taking a beating and it will only get worse. I'm not saying Bitcoin is your safe refuge, but don't be a fool by thinking governments will save you.

    3. Re:Too bad it's volatile as hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unstable? It's a lot more stable than the oil price, and many 3rd world countries are actually using bitcoin because it's stability.

    4. Re: Too bad it's volatile as hell by Comrade+Ogilvy · · Score: 1

      Your argument only supports Artem's point. The USD has wandered up and down in about a 20% range in that time period. In comparison, Bitcoin has jumped around 50% within one year, and it looks crazier over long time periods.

    5. Re: Too bad it's volatile as hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know right. These slashdotters are clueless morons. They don't understand geopolitical fiat money and trade systems and sure as hell don't understand what bitcoin is and what new currencies look like.
      All they do is come on here and parrot pumpdump, volatile, and deflation.
      They simply dont have a clue.
      Anyone who sees even the five year BTC chart and doesn't immediately fall in love in context, needs to have their head examined.

  7. Just when I think things are getting better... by Baron_Yam · · Score: 0, Troll

    Another Bitcoin post makes it onto Slashdot.

    Take your ignorant techno-Ponzi cult somewhere else.

    1. Re:Just when I think things are getting better... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Looks like the pump-and-dump worked.

    2. Re:Just when I think things are getting better... by TodPunk · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oh come on, you have to see that the blockchain cryptomancy technology here will lead to a deep AI machine big learning data revolution and finally give us the open cloud paradigm for internet of dark web things computing we've always dreamed of.

      (Since Poe's Law is a thing, yes, this is in jest).

      --
      This forum Sig is licensed under the LGPL.
    3. Re:Just when I think things are getting better... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you really so dumb you call bitcoin a ponzi and those who use it ignorant? You're actually ignorant, did you know that?

      You don't know the definition of a ponzi and you spew out ignorant comments to demonstrate your lack of knowledge on the subject.

      Slashdot used to be where intelligent people went to talk about things. Clearly since you're here and got upmodded the standards have become epic-ally low. I wish your kind would just leave this place. You have no ability to think critically and are just happy little consumers, with no thought or care for intelligent discourse. Whatever confirms your biases must me true, right?

      Bitcoin is not a ponzi. There is nothing about bitcoin that even remotely resembles a ponzi. A ponzi scheme is where money from new investors is used to pay dividends to old investors. Bitcoin doesn't pay dividends any more than the US Dollar pays dividends.

      Bitcoin is money. It is money because people use it for trade.
      It is also uncensorable. I don't have to worry about some bank blocking me from accessing my money because I managed to make it onto some list that I says I'm a naughty person.

      My bitcoin can't be forfeited either. (assuming I stored it correctly) No court can force some other entity to hand over my bitcoin because someone stubbed their toe on my walkway and now has a lifetime of pain and suffering.

      Bitcoin is other users recognizing your economic sovereignty. You own your money instead of borrowing it from the government. BTW Government isn't backing your dollars anymore than they are your bitcoin either. Good luck spending those bank dollars when the government decides to give your account a hair cut like they did in Cyprus a couple of years back, or decides to bank big bills rendering your cash on hand worthless, like they did in India just last month.

      So now who's ignorant?

    4. Re:Just when I think things are getting better... by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

      >So now who's ignorant?

      You, you mindless cultist. You know how to parrot the Bitcoin propaganda like any number of other morons hoping to get rich quick for nothing while understanding precisely none of the reasons Bitcoin is a giant, steaming, pile of crap that never had the potential to work for social, technological, business, and economic reasons.

      Or you're not ignorant and believe that if you lie hard enough and often enough, you can pump the price and some newb will buy you out and that's good, right?

      Either way, you're just a waste of a human being because you're a net negative for society. Maybe you're young and naÃve, and it's just for now and one day you'll be worth something as a person. If you're over 19 though... game over. This is it, the best you'll ever be as a human being. You've failed to engage your brain.

      Go somewhere else. I hear http://www.reddit.com/r/bitcoi... is good.

  8. Shameless Marketing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey MsMash, how many bitcoins do you control, exactly? Every article you post on bitcoin is an Up! Up! Up!. I wonder how much you have to benefit by taking advantage of more suckers.

    https://politics.slashdot.org/story/16/12/07/140255/bitcoin-could-rise-by-165-to-2000-in-2017-driven-by-trumps-spending-binge-and-dollar-rally

    https://politics.slashdot.org/story/16/11/09/1323220/bitcoin-boosted-by-safe-haven-demand-after-trump-victory

    https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/10/28/1558232/bitcoin-can-be-bought-with-cash-at-swiss-railway-ticket-machines

    https://it.slashdot.org/story/16/09/28/2121222/banks-adopting-blockchain-dramatically-faster-than-expected

  9. Please stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    As a bitcoiner, this isn't news

    Stop posting every time it moves

  10. Pump and Dump by MMC+Monster · · Score: 3, Interesting

    having climbed almost 9 percent in the past month. It has climbed around 80 percent so far this year, far exceeding its 35 percent rise in 2015.

    Don't forget mentioning that it may actually make up all the losses from 2014.

    I like the idea of Bitcoin. It's fantastic.

    But in reality it's still trading more like a commodity than a currency. Sort of like how Susan B. Anthony dollar coins are more hoarded than used as actual currency.

    --
    Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
  11. Every time I start thinking Slashdot is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you people post another spam article for a pump and dump scheme.

  12. B$7500 by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    someday James Howell's harddrive will turn up...
    you betcha...

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  13. Try buying something by sjbe · · Score: 1

    So real money is only 1% tangible while bitcoin is 0% tangible. Not a huge difference for me.

    That's because you're not trying to actually buy anything with bitcoins. Go try to pay for your Big Mac at McDonald's with bitcoin and see if you can tell the difference.

    1. Re:Try buying something by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I frequently buy burgers (almost weekly basis, and when I don't I get a hot dog) from a burger joint locally called Local Burger in Keene, New Hampshire. Every Sunday in fact I go to Local Burger to meet up with other liberty-minded people. I'm paying car insurance (In Guard) in BitCoin and car repair bills (Wilder Automotive in Keene, New Hampshire). I pay for all sorts of stuff in BitCoin. Most of my electronics that I Buy online I pay for in BitCoin (from New Egg to ThinkPenguin). I pay for other stuff in BitCoin through Amazon via Purse (I get a discount up to 45% off when I use purse to buy stuff in BitCoin off Amazon). BitCoin is here. I also buy pizza from Little Zoes (also in Keene, New Hampshire) and I even shop occasionally at 101 Local Goods in Keene, New Hampshire.

      BitCoins isn't worth anything? Then why is everybody accepting it? Why would I accept it in my business if it was really worthless?

    2. Re:Try buying something by murdocj · · Score: 1

      And the advantage to paying in bitcoin is?

    3. Re:Try buying something by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Sticking it to the man!

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  14. Dumping Cash by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    With a mentally ill about to be president named trump the Chump many people may seek to get away from US cash as well as investments in US companies. If we get rid of Donald Chump maybe America would be a good place to invest in again. Please help dump the Chump ! Dump the Chump !

    1. Re:Dumping Cash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a sucker if you honestly think that's going to happen (getting rid of Trump)

  15. Currency is a type of commodity by sjbe · · Score: 2

    I like the idea of Bitcoin. It's fantastic.

    Not if you actually understand finance and risk it isn't. Bitcoin is an interesting experiment in some ways but as a practical matter for real world use it's rather clumsy, risky and impractical. It's flawed in so many ways I barely know where to begin. The only thing about it that I really think might eventually prove valuable is the block chain technology which has applications far beyond bitcoin.

    But in reality it's still trading more like a commodity than a currency.

    Currencies ARE commodities. The term commodity is specifically used for an economic good or service when the demand for it has no qualitative differentiation across a market. A dollar is a dollar no matter where you trade it. Don't feel bad, a lot of people fail to understand this. Currencies in forex markets are traded very much like other commodities. They're just an abstract/intangible sort of commodity rather than bars of gold or barrels of oil. There is some nuance to the market just like every other commodity but they really are commodities all the same.

    1. Re:Currency is a type of commodity by bspus · · Score: 1

      "Not if you actually understand finance and risk it isn't"

      Well, I would hesitate admitting to knowing much about finance (despite holding a degree saying I supposedly do) but I'm pretty confident there are many people out there that really know their stuff and still find it fascinating

      "Bitcoin is an interesting experiment in some ways but as a practical matter for real world use it's rather clumsy, risky and impractical. It's flawed in so many ways I barely know where to begin"

      Flawed it is and undoubtedly so. But as far as practicality goes, there are use cases in which right now it is by far the most practical if not the only way to perform a few transactions.
      Sure many of those transactions are illegal (unethical is harder to define) and enabled by the existence of bitcoin but that's really now all it's about.
      Just like the internet is not only about porn, even though some people I'm sure only use it for that.

    2. Re:Currency is a type of commodity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Currencies ARE commodities.

      No, currencies and commodities are two different things - that's why we have two different words for them! You know how words have meanings, right?

    3. Re:Currency is a type of commodity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right- so Local Burger, Welder Automotive, InGuard, 101 Local Goods, ThinkPenguin, NewEgg, my Yoga Studio, Little Zoes Pizza, Local Burger, Amazon (via Purse), my local theater, my rent, my employer who pays me my entire pay check in BitCoin... etc all must be a figment of my imagination. BitCoins has real world and even local use cases and value. And yes- I pay taxes. Though I do have to exchange BitCoin for USD to pay them still.. though we did almost get New Hampshire to accept BitCoins as payment for taxes.

  16. Who is buying? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They are idiots.

  17. Shameless pump and dump promotion by gatfirls · · Score: 1

    Did I wander into the Yahoo financial message boards? WTF? This is damn near a copy paste of every penny stock spam in my spam folder.

    1. Re:Shameless pump and dump promotion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe bitcoin is worth a bit more than a penny in this story though.

  18. This is not a problem... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just convert it into local currency before paying. *shrugs*

  19. Sucks for the guy with the missing hard drive by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

    Major bummer for the guy who had 10,000 bitcoins on a hard drive and threw it away.

    1. Re:Sucks for the guy with the missing hard drive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about the guy who bought two pizzas with 10 000 bitcoins? ( https://bitcointalk.org/?topic=137.0 )

  20. India explanation by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    The India explanation is strange: if a note is removed from circulation, people would tend to use lower value notes. Why would they move to bitcoin?

    1. Re:India explanation by SeaFox · · Score: 2

      They're trying to find a way to hoard wealth that can't be taken away by the stroke of a pen (like what just happened).
      The issue is people are working under the table and the government is trying to increase revenue by making it harder to dodge taxes.
      Keeping money in cash where it can't be traced easily is how they were doing it.

    2. Re:India explanation by manu0601 · · Score: 1

      If government is cracking on tax dodging, then how can they consider bitcoin as safe? In order to be used, money will have to be converted back into rupees, and this conversion business can be regulated. Government can monitor it for tax dodge, or even tax it on its own.

    3. Re:India explanation by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      If government is cracking on tax dodging, then how can they consider bitcoin as safe?

      Because Bitcoin isn't a form of currency (or commodity, if your see it as such) that the government has any direct control over. It's not looked as a "real money" enough to be tracked that way.

      In order to be used, money will have to be converted back into rupees, and this conversion business can be regulated. Government can monitor it for tax dodge, or even tax it on its own.

      I'm not too familiar with the Bitcoin exchange system, but I think you're overestimating the Indian government's abilities here. BitCoins can come from all sorts of places besides unreported income. People can resell items they already own (and therefore already paid tax on the income to purchase) for BitCoins, they can mine them themselves, etc. The government isn't going to immediately know the reason someone has come into Bitcoins.

      I never said this plan was a foolproof way to stop tax evasion. The point is just to make it less convenient for the general populace. The government gave everyone free bank accounts for a reason -- that was for people to use them if they want to save money. Cash is supposed to be a form money takes for actual usage in trade, not a way of storing wealth.

    4. Re:India explanation by manu0601 · · Score: 1

      I think you're overestimating the Indian government's abilities here

      Indeed, the government has little abilities to regulate bitcoin exchange in its own. But it has some teeth when bitcoin hits the local economy, either when bitcoins are converted into local currency, or when they are used for domestic financial transactions.

      In both case, regulation can uncover actor's identity and force cooperation with the tax administration. In such a situation, you can still remain anonymous and dodge tax for foreign income that is spend outside of the country, but I guess that is not the biggest concern for the government.

    5. Re:India explanation by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      Indeed, the government has little abilities to regulate bitcoin exchange in its own. But it has some teeth when bitcoin hits the local economy, either when bitcoins are converted into local currency, or when they are used for domestic financial transactions.

      Not all BitCoin exchanges are under Indian government jurisdiction.
      What's to stop someone from getting rupees from an exchange in China, or Russia, etc?

      And you're still trying to apply a geographical identity to something on the Internet.

      What makes a BitCoin transaction a "domestic financial transaction"? The nationality of the people? Whether the goods/services were rendered on Indian soil? Where the wallets are located in meatspace? None of these are things that can be easily tracked by the government because, like cash, they aren't really assigned to a specific person in any government ledger. If Bitcoin was so easy to track and maintain an ownership record on, you wouldn't hear these stories about people losing large amounts of Bitcoin when they "accidentally throw out a hard drive". It's like the difference between losing your wallet with your debit card and losing a wallet full of cash. One is just an access method for electronic records of wealth with your name and other identifying information assigned to them. Bitcoin is more like losing the actual bills because the private key is just a string you literally hold.

      In both case, regulation can uncover actor's identity and force cooperation with the tax administration. In such a situation, you can still remain anonymous and dodge tax for foreign income that is spend outside of the country, but I guess that is not the biggest concern for the government.

      The biggest concern for the Indian government is the huge swath of people who appear to be earning no income on paper, and yet still manage to function and keep food on the table. Those people aren't likely to be messing with virtual currencies.