Bitcoin Jumps Another 10% in 24 Hours, Sets New Record at $19,000 (arstechnica.com)

I have an idea. by AlanObject · 2017-12-16 15:20 · Score: 3, Insightful

Let's play Who's The Greater Fool?

Re: I have an idea. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:44 · Score: 0

You seem incredibly vocal for someone who doesn't care what he has to say.
Also implicit in your post is that APK's posts are not interesting or useful and the hosts file engine is not worthwhile.
People like you tempt me to post with an actual Slashdot account so that they don't assume you and I are are alike.
Re:I have an idea. by Pseudonym · 2017-12-16 16:44 · Score: 2, Funny

Well I invested all my money in tulips. Who's laughing mow?

--
sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
Re:I have an idea. by Rei · 2017-12-16 20:41 · Score: 1

Did someone just mow your tulips?

--
"This wallpaper is killing me. One of us has got to go." -- Oscar Wilde on his deathbed
Re:I have an idea. by Rei · 2017-12-16 21:05 · Score: 2, Informative

This whole situation reminds me of the old Onion article, AOL Acquires Time-Warner In Largest-Ever Expenditure Of Pretend Internet Money. The AOL-Time Warner merger was the peak in the Dot Com boom insanity, en route to it transitioning to a bust. Now: Bitcoin Plunge Reveals Possible Vulnerabilities In Crazy Imaginary Internet Money
The amount of money people are dumping into coins is just absurd. I was just checking, and Dogecoin now has a market cap of $754 - more than the combined GDPs of Tualu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Palau. For a joke.

--
"This wallpaper is killing me. One of us has got to go." -- Oscar Wilde on his deathbed
Re:I have an idea. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 21:08 · Score: 0

Ed: That should read "$754M".
Re:I have an idea. by Hognoxious · 2017-12-16 21:49 · Score: 1

Let's play Who's The Greater Fool?

I don't have time for silly games, I'm gonna buy me some of them thar bitcoins before they go up even more!

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Re:I have an idea. by Rei · 2017-12-16 21:51 · Score: 1

It's very much in "Greater Fool" mode. I was just messaged the other day by my sister, who is my standard bearer for the technologically illiterate (can't even remember how many times I've had to remove viruses from her system because she installed some program or opened some email attachment or another... probably is infected with spyware as we speak). Your standard instagram / pinterest / farmville / etc user. She and her husband had already bought a small amount of bitcoin and were thinking about buying a lot, and wanted my opinion on it; she sounded like she expected me to say "Go all in, it's going to be huge!" and appeared surprised and disappointed when I advised against it.
She has no clue what the technical merits of bitcoin are. Probably doesn't even know what it's supposed to be used for. She's just buying it because it's going up in value. And I guarantee you, it's people like these who make up an increasing dominant fraction of the money flowing into the bitcoin network.

--
"This wallpaper is killing me. One of us has got to go." -- Oscar Wilde on his deathbed
Re:I have an idea. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 00:12 · Score: 0

Bitcoin is pretty much dead as a usable currency, it's all about running up the price right now !
Re:I have an idea. by LordKronos · 2017-12-17 02:01 · Score: 1

Now: Bitcoin Plunge Reveals Possible Vulnerabilities In Crazy Imaginary Internet Money
That's a very weird Onion article....possibly the weirdest I've ever seen from them yet. The sarcasm in the article is almost undetectable.
Re:I have an idea. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:16 · Score: 0

Lets hope the IRS audits everyone suspected of transaction one bitcoin or more/. Only fair they get a bite of the action.
Re: I have an idea. by Brockmire · 2017-12-17 03:41 · Score: 1

Buy her a MalwareBytes subscription and save your time and hassle. My brother complained when my dad kept installing toolbars when he used his PC. Yet the only toolbar he has on his own laptop was Yahoo. I figured that was OK since he uses Yahoo mail. Malware Bytes ftw.
Re: I have an idea. by Rei · 2017-12-17 04:38 · Score: 1

I did the last time I was at her house. But she surely has a new computer by now.

--
"This wallpaper is killing me. One of us has got to go." -- Oscar Wilde on his deathbed
Re:I have an idea. by Kaenneth · 2017-12-17 06:36 · Score: 1

https://lightning.network/
Re: I have an idea. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 08:11 · Score: 0

Doge is an example of how market caps without liquidity are useless metrics.
All this tells you is that there are 2 billion Doge coins and someone sold one for 0.3 cents.
If anyone tried to sell $734M of them, they'd find it very difficult.
But I will buy 50% of them for $30 if anyone wants to cash out.
Re:I have an idea. by Blymie · 2017-12-17 12:51 · Score: 1

Thing is -- look at the whole subprime mortgage thing. People, businesses, unions, other banks, and even countries invested in securities they had zero idea about. If you're thinking bitcoin is a bad investment because the normals are getting involved?
Likely not.
If so, then there is quite the potential for it to take off like crazy. The real problem is -- getting out before the bubble pops... just like with every other scheme over the last .. well, since we've had markets.

MOD PARENT DOWN -1 TROLL by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:21 · Score: 0

MOD PARENT DOWN -1 TROLL

Re:APK MARATHON ALL DAY SUNDAY! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:22 · Score: 0

I'm on both APK's nice list and his naughty list! Too bad that huge fucking tool doesn't know who I am and frequently misquotes me.

ZIP

You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:29 · Score: 0

Yeah, this could all implode at some point, but on the off-chance it doesn't, you're all missing out on a huge amount of money.

I treat Bitcoin and other alt coins like high risk, high reward stocks. I laughed it off at the beginning so I missed out on the chance to be a millionaire, but I've tripled my money in a month, cashed out what I initially put in, and now it's house money.

You can all keep claiming that it's all a house of cards, and someday you might be proven right, but you're all missing out on easy money right now.

Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:35 · Score: 1

You can all keep claiming that it's all a house of cards, and someday you might be proven right, but you're all missing out on easy money right now.
I'm sure the Dutch tulip-market investors felt the same way.
Spoiler: It didn't end well.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:55 · Score: 0

That money you tripled came from somebody else who won't get it back. The money may be easy, but it's also absurdly risky.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:54 · Score: 0

How is that different from the stock market? If I'm making money, someone is losing money, no matter what the medium.
OP is right, treat it like a highly unstable stock and don't invest more than what you're willing to lose.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by ArchieBunker · 2017-12-16 17:33 · Score: 1

Neck beards are really stuck on this tulip thing. They said the bitcoin bubble would bust at $200, then $2000, and here we are nearly hitting $20,000 and no signs of stopping. Just admit this is new territory and doesn't work the same as traditional stocks.

--
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:26 · Score: 0

Ivan, go back to fucking goats - at least that was something you were good at doing.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by ShanghaiBill · 2017-12-16 19:44 · Score: 1

They said the bitcoin bubble would bust at $200
I remember, right here on Slashdot, people predicting the bubble was going to pop when bitcoin reached $1.
Re: You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 19:44 · Score: 0

Incorrect. The stocks are shares of corporations that can actually do useful things and earn money. They can pay you money that didn't come from another investor.
Bitcoin can record transactions, but not very well and uses beyond absurd amounts of electricity and hardware to do it.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by ShanghaiBill · 2017-12-16 19:48 · Score: 1

How is that different from the stock market? If I'm making money, someone is losing money
Nonsense. The stock market can go up when productivity improvements (or tax cuts) increase profits. It is not zero sum. In a growing economy, everyone can be a winner.
Bitcoin is negative sum, because someone has to pay for the electricity. Bitcoin mining is a lot more expensive than growing tulips.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by religionofpeas · 2017-12-16 21:38 · Score: 1

Bitcoin is negative sum, because someone has to pay for the electricity.
You have to offset the costs to the benefit of decentralized currency exchange. With growing utility, everybody can be a winner.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Rei · 2017-12-16 21:46 · Score: 4, Insightful

Just admit this is new territory and doesn't work the same as traditional stocks.
All forms of financial assets function as a form of promissory note: an asset that can later be exchanged for desired goods and services. The "selling point" for BTC was that it going to be some new global payment system replacing credit cards, unbacked by anything but public trust, but with sufficient public trust that it can retain value without physical backing assets or a country behind it. How's that assumption going?
* BTC is a terrible payment system from a technological perspective due to the huge processing cost and delays per transaction. Bitcoin fees aren't high because of gouging, they're high because bitcoin is technologically awful.
* It's far too volatile for such a role
* It already has a market cap as high as the major credit card companies combined, yet is accepted by a minuscule fraction as credit cards for the above reasons - which just screams "massive bubble".
* Indeed, many early "forward thinking" adopters have been going backwards and eliminating bitcoin payment options - the very excuse for justifying its price.
* Bitcoin is favoured target of hackers; it's proven much easier to compromise exchanges and wallets than traditional financial networks.
* Governments have numerous reasons to crack down on bitcoin (drugs, money laundering, deliberately crashing the assets of states with bitcoin reserves like North Korea, trying to pop a bubble gently to prevent a recession, etc), and extensive tools to do so, effectively driving it back to its innate value (a currency for underground criminal activity). Historically, the loss of one market - for example, China - has been compensated for by growth in western markets. But if you take western markets out of the picture, you're taking the vast majority of the world's capital out of the picture, period. It's even worse because western markets have disproportional leverage on the world's global financial systems, and decisions taken by them can reach well beyond their borders.
"Neck beards" also pointed out that the dotcom bubble was, in fact, a bubble, even though they couldn't tell you when it was going to burst. Yes, sometimes "neck beards" may underestimate the general public's willingness to mortgage all of their assets into internet fads when they blinded by a growth curve. But that doesn't change the basic issues underlying it all.
That doesn't mean that nothing will survive. Some of the dotcom crash's survivors became giants today eBay, Google, Amazon, etc. But most people who had their money lost their shirts. Perhaps some "coin" future may survive and even ultimately flourish. But what I can say is that BTC itself is going to pop at some point or another.

--
"This wallpaper is killing me. One of us has got to go." -- Oscar Wilde on his deathbed
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by religionofpeas · 2017-12-16 21:49 · Score: 1

But what I can say is that BTC itself is going to pop at some point or another
No doubt it will. The big question is, after it pops, what will the price be ?
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by drinkypoo · 2017-12-16 23:00 · Score: 1

You have to offset the costs to the benefit of decentralized currency exchange. With growing utility, everybody can be a winner.
As long as most of our electricity generation is coming from polluting sources, Bitcoin is helping to destroy the biosphere. From that perspective alone, it is evil and should be destroyed.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by JaredOfEuropa · 2017-12-16 23:09 · Score: 4, Insightful

Of course they said that and of course they were wrong. Nobody knows exactly when the bubble will burst, otherwise they'd be milking it for all it's worth. Though maybe a good many speculators are actually realistic about the long term prospects of BTC and are in fact just milking it while the going's good. Just keep in mind: when the crash comes, don't think you can unload gradually on the way down. When it comes, it will be extremely hard to get rid of your coins at any price...

--
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by religionofpeas · 2017-12-16 23:13 · Score: 1

Everything we do helps to destroy the biosphere. Better stop living.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by drinkypoo · 2017-12-16 23:22 · Score: 1

Everything we do helps to destroy the biosphere. Better stop living.
That is provably false, so the only question left to ask is whether you're an idiot or a troll. I'm pretty sure you're a troll, but I'm too lazy to check your posting history. Start here.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by omnichad · 2017-12-16 23:41 · Score: 1

The only important part is that it will be very little and that it's best not to hold the currency for much longer. Same as for any bubble stock.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by omnichad · 2017-12-16 23:42 · Score: 1

How is that different from the stock market?
Not much different at all, which is why everyone knows what a bubble looks like.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by 91degrees · 2017-12-17 00:00 · Score: 1

I agree.

I'm speculating a fairly paltry amount in altcoins. So far I've made a modest gain. If I lose it all, my investment is small enough not to worry about.

Personally I think it's all horribly overvalued right now, but I know nothing about this,and how it works.
Re: You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 00:12 · Score: 0

Btc will pop at 150000$ and return to 120000$
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by religionofpeas · 2017-12-17 01:00 · Score: 1

If you believe the hippie crap from that website, I'm afraid that you're the idiot.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by smallfries · 2017-12-17 01:07 · Score: 1

A whole new paradigm? This time it really is different!

--
Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
Re: You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 01:23 · Score: 0

You're making a huge assumption there. I wouldn't put it past any of the major intelligence agencies to be doing this very deliberately. How many are clearly using megawatts for something unaccountable?
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:19 · Score: 0

s/bitcoin bubble/beanie babies bubble/g
Re: You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:21 · Score: 0

It will pop at $21000 and afterwards be completely worthless.
Re: You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by religionofpeas · 2017-12-17 03:11 · Score: 1

It will pop at $21000 and afterwards be completely worthless.
If you truly believe that, I invite you to open up a short position @ $21k.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by LynnwoodRooster · 2017-12-17 04:00 · Score: 1

Actually, the bigger question is, how much of that BTC will you be willing to part with in order to cash out? Remember, the system is massively overloaded right now to process transactions, and you have to pay quite a bit to get "priority" processing. When the bubble pops, and everyone wants to cash out - what will be the price to process? How much would you be willing to lose in order to get your transaction processed now, not 3 days from now (when the price could be 3 times lower)?

--
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by drinkypoo · 2017-12-17 04:13 · Score: 1

If you believe the hippie crap from that website, I'm afraid that you're the idiot.
If you don't believe regenerative farming is possible, riddle me this: how did "nature" "do it" before we were here?

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 04:15 · Score: 0

And then people will just have coins. The intrinsic value of them, for use against tangible goods, will be minimal. Possibly nothing.
The loss, present value, compared against what was paid, will be staggering. People will want to know their money went, and not understand how it evaporated. Not evaporated mind you, since someone will still make out like a bandit.
When the crash comes expect Government to react accordingly;:investigations, no wrongdoing, and no real outcome, beyond they might decide to regulate it.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 05:12 · Score: 0

With no farming?
Re: You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 05:30 · Score: 0

Wouldn't that involve investing some money into the crock of shit world called Cryptocurrency? Sorry, not putting anything into to pot at your casino, bro.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by slshdtisctrldbysjws · 2017-12-17 06:24 · Score: 1

You really have points at all. You are strawmanning and making fluffy statements, that's all.
You have no concept of the selling point of Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.
If we are going to be as reductive as you prefer to be, the point is to replace the global central banking system and free people from debt slavery.
*It doesn't matter if Bitcoin is bad for daily transactions. It can still hold value. It is finding a role as a reserve currency that is sold to obtain other currencies that are better used for instantaneous transactions.
*This is a new system in the process of being hammered out. Volatility is a precursor to stability. The fact that it is volatile cannot be used to predict its future.
*Bitcoin is being used to trade for more instantaneously usable currencies
*Again
*Cash money and transportable assets are the favored targets of thieves. So what?
*Governments have absolutely no way to stop this. What are you talking about? If there are restrictive regulations people will just do it anyway.
Basically you just seem to be terrified of anything changing and are trying to justify your irrationality. You are anything but "Insightful".

--
My karma was manually wiped by site staff https://slashdot.org/~slshdtisctrldbysjws 18 mod up, 10 mod down = bad karma
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by drinkypoo · 2017-12-17 06:41 · Score: 1

With no farming?
Irrelevant. The land produced food for animals and became richer and richer, not more and more barren. The "secret" is that feces has to be returned to the field. If you just let it lie around for a year, poop turns into soil. It cooks its own pathogens to death and becomes more earth. You can do it faster with various kinds of reactor, and you can then actually capture the methane. We are doing this more and more now; it's called "sewage sludge". However, we can do it basically for free using technologies like AIWPS. You also have to grow crops in guilds, with integrated pest management. This is how nature grows plants; a plant which needs nitrogen naturally thrives in the presence of plants which fix it in the soil, making it bioavailable to their neighbors.
We have the intellect necessary to develop the technology to remediate the biosphere. Alas, we seem to lack the intellect to actually make that happen. No laws of nature prevent it, unless perhaps they are laws of human nature.
With our current level of technology, we could probably support many more humans on this planet. Probably twice as many, just at a glance. But we'd have to rethink a lot of our basic assumptions about how the underpinnings of society would function, and we'd have to plant a lot more trees.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 06:43 · Score: 0

any fees you pay to the network are going to be dwarfed by the fees exchanges charge, if you are selling any meaningful amount.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Joce640k · 2017-12-17 06:48 · Score: 1

How is that different from the stock market?
Simple: Shares in a company don't go up day after day like bitcoin does.
(and if they did you'd think something was wrong and not buy them)

--
No sig today...
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 07:14 · Score: 0

That's when you know it's bubble time: when people start saying "this time it's different!". Remember when VA Linux stock had gains similar to bitcoin and everyone said "it's a new economy, internet stocks don't work the same as traditional stocks".
Re: You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 07:21 · Score: 0

It will pop at $21000 and afterwards be completely worthless.
If you truly believe that, I invite you to open up a short position @ $21k.
And I invite you to learn about shorting before you ever open your mouth on the matter. If one believes bitcoin will go to a billion dollars, then there is zero risk in investing if they are correct, no matter what path the value takes between now and then. But if one believes bitcoin is going to zero, even if they are correct they are at tremendous risk of losing everything they invest if the path between now and then deviates even a little too far.
Challenging someone to short is just a stupid challenge.
Re:You're a fool if you don't hedge investments by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 10:26 · Score: 0

Yeah, you have to pay a whole $25 to make sure your transaction gets through. That's absolutely killer compared to international banking fees of $20 for a TT. The currency is doomed I tell you, DOOMED!

Bitcoin Mania by Bruce+Perens · 2017-12-16 15:35 · Score: 5, Informative

Bitcoin mania: people confuse creation of money with creation of value. Value is food, materials, information, useful work. Dollars/bitcoins are unreliable media for exchange of value, not the value itself. Creation of $300B in bitcoin won't help the world to feed one more mouth.

--
Bruce Perens.

Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:46 · Score: 0, Insightful

What makes you think that you're the one who is qualified to define what "useful work" is for the entire market and all of its participants? I know you're Big Bruce Perens, but even you are just an extraordinarily tiny player within our massive global economy.
Each and every market participant will decide what is "useful work" to them. That's the nature of a free or a quasi-free market, Bruce. It's not up to you, Bruce Perens, to decide how other market participants should value Bitcoin or anything else. That's a judgment that they need to make for themselves.
Your idea of "feeding one more mouth" as being the utmost form of utility is absurd. If anything, that will only serve to encourage and worsen what's probably the biggest problem facing humanity as a whole today: extreme overpopulation in areas like Africa, the Middle East and India that are already far, far beyond sustainable levels.
Bruce, you may be a big shot in the open source world, but your ideas are laughable within the scope of the global economy.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:46 · Score: 0

Cool! Can I have all your dollars? Ill help you unburden yourself of such unreliable media. You seem so wise!
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:52 · Score: 0

Bruce, can you please give us a detailed (as in exact numbers) breakdown of how you have your assets allocated? What's your total net worth? How much have you allocated to Bitcoin? How much have you allocated to cash or cash-like instruments? How much have you allocated to stocks? How much have you allocated to bonds and other forms of debt?
Since you're apparently an expert in the economy and in financial resource allocation, you should have no problem sharing this information with us. And since you're such a big proponent of Free/Libre Open Source Software, you should actually be eager to be completely open and transparent regarding this information.
So what's the breakdown?
Re:Bitcoin Mania by hey! · 2017-12-16 15:53 · Score: 5, Insightful

I wouldn't say that the creation of a currency is useless, if it fill some sort of need it will probably will metaphorically feed mouths. The problem with Bitcoin is that it sucks as money. Sure if you're trading in BitCoin as an *asset* and your timing works out you'll make a killing, but the volatility of Bitcoin makes it unattractive to set a price for goods denominated in Bitcoin. If the price swings high nobody will buy. If it swings low then you could be selling at a loss.

--
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Bruce+Perens · 2017-12-16 16:04 · Score: 1

It's all in GNUCoin, I have over 300,000 Stallmans of GNUCoin. :-)

--
Bruce Perens.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:06 · Score: 0

actually, idiot, you donâ(TM)t decide what your contribution is worth. The rest of the world decides.
you might think that jerking off to anime is worth a living wage, while the rest of the world thinks it is pathetic. Guess who wins
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:24 · Score: 0

300,000 Stallmans
Well we know that's worth at least $6,000, because RMS's opinion is always worth at least two cents.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by haruchai · 2017-12-16 16:28 · Score: 1

It's all in GNUCoin, I have over 300,000 Stallmans of GNUCoin. :-)
How many BogoMips of computation did that take?

--
Pain is merely failure leaving the body
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:29 · Score: 1

Every currency is volatile when it is thinly held. Give it time it will become boring like the rest.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Pseudonym · 2017-12-16 16:46 · Score: 1

Bitcoin probably keeps several amortised power generation plants in business.

--
sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:54 · Score: 0

I pay my rent with bitcoin - I pay my employees with bitcoin - I accept bitcoin as a payment method via Stripe directly as USD, and I use BTC as a long term store of value.
You said there’s no value? Seems you’ve been under a rock.
I’m gifting BTC to my families kids this year for Xmas. I’ll be the best Uncle ever in 20 years. Stop being so short sighted and scared of change. Value is in the eye of the beholder and creativity.
Cryptocurrency is here to stay and is going mainstream in 2018 with a market cap greater than 1 Trillion.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Brockmire · 2017-12-16 17:36 · Score: 2

How about you define "useful work"? I think the words speak for themselves when talking of value. My takeaway from Bruce's comment is the value. I can buy water bottles for $1 a piece. If people around me need water, I can likely sell to them for more than a buck. If everyone else has water, I sell for less than a buck and lose money. If nobody wants to buy my water for any amount and I'm stuck with them, then at least I have the water. I had stock in a company. It was worth some $$$. The company went tits up. The paper stock certificate is not even usable to reuse. At some point, I think Bitcoin will run into a brick wall, whether from technical issues, regulatory issues, or just that the big banks who didn't get in at the bottom do their collusion thing and fuck over bitcoin. But I would have guessed that would have happened already and that Facebook would fail when the kids left after all the grandma's joined, but I was very wrong about that. So do what you want with your money, just don't fuck over the entire economy if the thing goes tits up overnight. We don't need another housing crisis from people losing their houses after mortgaging it for bitcoin.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 17:37 · Score: 0

itâ(TM)s also worth zero showers or personal hygiene
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:16 · Score: 0

Surprised the fees haven't pushed you to use a different crypto for all that. And the blockchain wait times. Ugh.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:29 · Score: 0

you might think that jerking off to anime is worth a living wage, while the rest of the world thinks it is pathetic. Guess who wins
The funny thing is that the market would probably determine that at least one person could, in fact, make a living wage jerking off to anime. The trick is how you get to be that person.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by phantomfive · 2017-12-16 18:50 · Score: 1

Value is food, materials, information, useful work. Dollars/bitcoins are unreliable media for exchange of value, not the value itself. Creation of $300B in bitcoin won't help the world to feed one more mouth.
I agree with you 100%. And yet.......

Somehow I wish I had bothered to mine a few coins back in 2010.

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 19:03 · Score: 0

I mortgaged my house for dogecoins. Youâ(TM)ll bail me out though, right? Slashdot friends for life?
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 19:26 · Score: 0

^^^^ we found him. The one guy who does, in fact, making a living jerking off to anime.
Your parents must be proud. Your mom always said "Quit jerking off to anime and go get a real job!" Boy was she wrong!
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 19:51 · Score: 0

That's admirable how you're teaching them about the Greater Fool Theory.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 20:03 · Score: 0

The problem with bitcoin is, it will not become 'boring'. Its nature is that it will coalesce into large heaps of useless bits or get lost in electronic garbage dumps.
There is no replacement of 'lost' bitcoins. If your wallet is damaged, that bitcoin is out of commission. This will increase its scarcity artificially.
Mining new ones is increasingly difficult, while the difficulty of 'creating a new dollar' isn't so increasingly hard.
Eventually, the unit value will be so high that you cannot use it for its original purpose. But the number of units approaches zero. The last one who will own all the existing bitcoins will be a very very sore loser.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 20:07 · Score: 0

This. Plus I will strongly avoid using any currency that encourages hoarding (enrichment of wealthy holders) out of principle. Artificial scarcity is the enemy of the people. Bad enough we have to suffer it with property.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by johannesg · 2017-12-16 20:26 · Score: 1

It might do a very good job wrestling control over the financial system from unreliable governments, though. If I were living in Venezuela, for example, I'd much prefer to own bitcoin, rather than the local currency. And if it grows big enough it will be a threat to every other currency on the planet.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 20:27 · Score: 0

Oh really? How about this Brucey: https://pineapplefund.org/
Re:Bitcoin Mania by religionofpeas · 2017-12-16 21:43 · Score: 1

The volatility is a temporary thing. After the first gold nugget was ever found in a river, how long before it had a price that was stable enough to use it as global currency ? I'm guessing it took more than 10 years.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by orlanz · 2017-12-16 22:47 · Score: 2

Why is this marked insightful, in Economics sense, it is totally wrong. Creation/destruction of value and utility is straight up Econ so I will leave that to the reader. Let me tackle the -useful work- part of that. It is not an Economic term itself but used quite often to explain the general concept of utility and value; for laymen... which clearly it failed to here.
An example: If we find two robots, one digging a hole and one filling it up, one would be hard pressed to find anyone that would consider this useful work. The only exception is entertainment. If it was intended for and people find it entertaining, then it has value. Otherwise, it is not useful. And on the entertainment end, eventually it will not be so, and at that point the work no longer has value.
In such a scenario, it is fairly obvious to see that is not useful work. Who would disagree with this?
Anyway, it is very hard to define value and useful work. But we have many many examples throughout history where we determined something to not be useful work. Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme, greater fool theory, hyperinflation, etc. Note that legal gambling is not considered such because of the entertainment aspect.
As long as Bitcoin operates on the Great Fool theory, then it does not do useful work. In some ways one could argue that in a highly inefficient way, it is providing entertainment and educational services to society but that itself normally does not deem something to be considered useful.
And before people bring up -but it is just like stocks-. NO it is NOT. Maybe the stocks you are familiar with or heard about are zero sum games or based on speculations. That makes up a very small part of the market. The majority of the market is defined by the 401ks, pensions, insurance funds, trust funds, savings accounts, etc. The type of stocks these funds generally invest in represent growth in the pie; meaning everyones slices get bigger.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by thegarbz · 2017-12-16 23:01 · Score: 2

but the volatility of Bitcoin makes it unattractive to set a price for goods denominated in Bitcoin.
And this is precisely the chicken and egg problem that will be difficult to solve. Central banks can resolve this by decree but with an alternate currency stability comes through trading volumes against other more stable things. As long as that is just small one way trading against another currency in small volumes it will remain highly volatile.
It won't be stable until there's wide spread trade in goods and services in the currency.
There won't be wide spread trade in goods and services until the currency is stable.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by thegarbz · 2017-12-16 23:04 · Score: 2

Gold's stability was created through the near universal acceptance as a currency which lead to large trading volumes against more stable items with known value like food, wood, etc. Fiat currencies achieved the same thing via a decree from the government.
The GP described a chicken and egg problem. Why would you sell goods and services against an unstable currency? How do you stabilise a currency if you can't trade it against goods and services. The best you can do is trade it in high volume against a fixed currency, but all that achieves is pegging it to the dollar.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 23:16 · Score: 0

Stick it in an art gallery, call it 'The Futility of Existence', and charge $10 a ticket entry. Oh look, you're creating wealth!
Re: Bitcoin Mania by SimonInOz · 2017-12-16 23:19 · Score: 1

It might feed mine.

--
"Cats like plain crisps"
Re:Bitcoin Mania by religionofpeas · 2017-12-16 23:19 · Score: 1

Just wait, and it will stabilize itself. The volatility is caused by a new asset starting out at zero, and trying to discover its real price. People are excited now, but in a few years time, it will become boring, and volatility goes down as price settles somewhere.

The GP described a chicken and egg problem
That problem was solved too. We now have chickens and eggs.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 23:34 · Score: 0

The limited supply and small limited supply at that means it will never become a stable currency.
It's a toy currency at best for people to make a quick buck on.
The currency is flawed at every area you look at it. Satoshi had HORRIBLE insight to computing and was way too trusting in people. (hence why the whole system ended up being abused instead of idle cycles)
THIS volatility isn't a new thing. It has been like this since large mining groups entered it years ago.
The index for it has been bouncing around all over the place (at exchanges) because of - literally - twitter posts.
Lightning isn't going to save shit. It's just as flawed. It just moves some of those flaws outside.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Solandri · 2017-12-17 01:42 · Score: 2

people confuse creation of money with creation of value.. Value is food, materials, information, useful work.

The purpose of money is to facilitate trade. Say you raise chickens, and you go to the market with eggs to sell. You want to buy some milk, so you visit the dairy farmer. He has milk, but he doesn't want eggs. He wants carrots. So you visit the vegetable farmer. Yes he has carrots, but he doesn't want eggs either. He wants apples. So you visit the orchard farmer who sells apples. He doesn't want eggs either, but he does need his horse shoed. So you visit the blacksmith, who does want eggs. So:you give the blacksmith some eggs so he'll shoe the orchard owner's horse, so the orchard owner will give some apples to the vegetable farmer, so the vegetable farmer will give some carrots to the dairy farmer, who will give you some milk.

Having a universal currency that everyone can trade in eliminates the need to chain together multiple trades like this just to accomplish a single transaction. Everyone can just do their trades immediately against the currency. This is what a lot of people who are anti-money miss. Value is not always tangible. There is value in making trade easier with currency. (Likewise there is value in more efficient distribution of goods. In the above example, the number of eggs, milk, carrots, apples, and horseshoes is exactly the same before and after the trade, but their value has increased after the trade because they've been distributed to the people who want them - i.e. who value them more than the original owners. That is how trading creates wealth/money/value seemingly out of nothing.)

But as noted in other comments, bitcoin's wild fluctuations in value make it a terrible currency. So aside from its anonymous nature facilitating illicit transactions, I'm not really sure what value bitcoin adds to the economy. Hence why economists conclude it's a bubble.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:30 · Score: 0

If you're going to keep using your iGadget here without fixing the punctuation bug, pretty much nobody is going to be your friend.
Using an unfixed iGadget on /. is like walking around with your fly undone,
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:37 · Score: 0

The weirdest uncle ever, for FOURTY years!
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:43 · Score: 0

Said universal currency needs to have a stable value, or nobody will trust it enough to use it as currency. And yet the main time we hear about Bitcoin is when somebody is crowing about how much the value has changed.
It's Beanie Baby speculators carrying on about how rich they are (on paper).
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Ol+Olsoc · 2017-12-17 02:52 · Score: 1

And before people bring up -but it is just like stocks-. NO it is NOT. Maybe the stocks you are familiar with or heard about are zero sum games or based on speculations. That makes up a very small part of the market. The majority of the market is defined by the 401ks, pensions, insurance funds, trust funds, savings accounts, etc. The type of stocks these funds generally invest in represent growth in the pie; meaning everyones slices get bigger.
2006 just called, and want's us to buy 600 square foot i bedroom houses for 2 million dollars, a steal, and remember Real Estate never loses value! So buy them now before they reach infinite value.

--
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by thegarbz · 2017-12-17 03:02 · Score: 1

Just wait, and it will stabilize itself.
Based on what? I just gave you the criteria required for a stable currency system. Something needs to change, it's not just a simple case of waiting.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by religionofpeas · 2017-12-17 03:17 · Score: 1

Based on what?
Like I said. It will become boring. Volatility depends on people changing their minds. There's a finite supply of people, and they can only change their minds so many times before they settle on something.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 03:29 · Score: 1

2006 just called, and want's us to buy 600 square foot i bedroom houses
A house with i bedrooms would be perfect for those of us who have only imaginary sex
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 05:20 · Score: 0

depends what the value of "i" is.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 05:34 · Score: 0

The 'i' is a pointer to void.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Kaenneth · 2017-12-17 06:41 · Score: 1

Liquid currency has a value; Bitcoins are cheaper to produce than the same value in US Pennys.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by thegarbz · 2017-12-17 06:52 · Score: 1

Like I said. It will become boring.
Like I said: Based on what? The bitcoin volatility attracts speculation which retains volatility. Boring? We've only just started trading bitcoin futures this week. That speculation in all things promotes instability and speculation never gets boring. Heck we're still pretty good at screwing up the price of oil, petrol, and even gold itself through this means.
Heck it may be worse than that. Much of the rest of the things on the world are traded at high frequency. That in itself provides a negative feedback cycle on instability. That isn't possible with bitcoin many thanks to the transaction delays.
Re:Bitcoin Mania by Bruce+Perens · 2017-12-17 07:05 · Score: 1

Liquid currency has a value; Bitcoins are cheaper to produce than the same value in US Pennys.
Actually, a hundred dollar bill is vastly less expensive to print than it is to mine a bitcoin. Even a dollar bill is.

--
Bruce Perens.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 12:09 · Score: 0

Speak for yourself. I'd love another great depression because my industry and my wife's industry are always in demand, regardless of how broke people get.
In fact, the only reason I was able to get into a townhouse was because of the last crash. The next one will probably be the only way I get into a real house because as of right now, they are ridiculously inflated. My own home has doubled in 7 years so I'm stuck here unless I leave the state.
We like living around all our friends and family so we won't be leaving just to get into a house.
Go crash go!!!
Re:Bitcoin Mania by ceoyoyo · 2017-12-17 17:07 · Score: 1

Sure it is. Just wait long enough and Bitcoin will find it's natural value. Just like pogs. And beanie babies. And baseball cards.
Re: Bitcoin Mania by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-18 07:42 · Score: 0

Booze? Prostitution? What industry?

What could go wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:36 · Score: 0

1) buy bitcoins
2) ???
3) profit!

Tulip price index 1636-37 by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:43 · Score: 1

This is good for tulips.

Re:Tulip price index 1636-37 by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 17:07 · Score: 0

LOL. I'd say we're in the Dec1-Dec12 jump portion of the current mania.

Re:Trump will face a grand jury by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:45 · Score: 0

Aaaannnny day now

Waiting... by VeryFluffyBunny · 2017-12-16 15:47 · Score: 1

...for this bubble to burst. I wanna see the look on those investors' faces when they watch the price of their Bitcoin fall.

--
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.

Re: Waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:00 · Score: 0

The illusion is that the real bubble is the USD.
Re:Waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:11 · Score: 0

You forgot to put scare quotes around "investors" (aka pyramid scheme victims).
Re:Waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:14 · Score: 0

My face will be a slight frown and a shrug. I'm making a killing off this, routinely pulling out half as I go.
It's all house money.
Re:Waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 08:29 · Score: 0

As they long as they don't ask for a fucking bailout. You know what's going to happen...banks will buy up all the bitcoins from the private investors with relationships with the banks, bitcoin crashes, banks claim they are insolvent, banks get bailed out, tax payers left holding the bag.

Re:Did using Bitcoin just compromise my Firefox? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:50 · Score: 0

I hope that's pasted from somewhere, because it'd be sad if you actually put effort into something so transparent.

talk about a bubble by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:51 · Score: 0

You know the scumbags on wall street are the ones pumping and dumping this. Anyone dumb enough to fall for this shit deserves it.

Re: talk about a bubble by SuperKendall · 2017-12-16 16:30 · Score: 1

Actually there have been a number of people pointing out from a technical side that there's only evidence of people holding the value artificially down... so they could buy in while it was still relatively low.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Re: talk about a bubble by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 07:27 · Score: 0

Actually there have been a number of people pointing out from a technical side that there's only evidence of people holding the value artificially down... so they could buy in while it was still relatively low.
Value?
<giggle>

Pump and dump by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 15:52 · Score: 0

Internet Research Agency is probably putting out fake news on BTC reaching highs to pump then dump.

A true niche by Arzaboa · 2017-12-16 16:02 · Score: 1

As much as Facebook is for forums and Google is for card catalogs, crypto-currency is to online money.

I think what most of us skeptics are overlooking is that as people move online, they are moving farther and farther from what we would call the "real world." There is absolutely a place for crytp-currencies. I always think -- but what if it all goes away due to a power outage. The problem with that thinking is that most of the planet doesn't think that way, virtual belongings are here to stay. Kitties, coins, UID's are examples.

Is this a bubble? Yes. Is there a base that does make sense? Yes. It may be $10k, it may be $50k. Is it another crypto-currency? I'd guess we will see multiple ones rise to the top as long sustaining currencies. We already do see upward pressure on hundreds of them.

This isn't going to go away. The question is what is the base price vs. what is the bubble price.

--
It's a bird, It's a plane!

Re: A true niche by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:13 · Score: 0

what the hell are you talking about? âoekitties, coins, UIDsâ??!! fuckin lol
Re: A true niche by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 05:54 · Score: 0

Virtual cred. The kind of thing you earn by posting with a device that doesn't have a puntuation bug.

Excitement is misplaced by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:12 · Score: 0

People thinking that Bitcoin's rapid rise is a good thing are treating it like the IPO of a stock rather than the valuation of a currency.

Re:Did using Bitcoin just compromise my Firefox? by ixidor · 2017-12-16 16:19 · Score: 1

dude its all over the internet. something about Mr. Robot .. Mozilla autoinstalls this plugin

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:24 · Score: 0, Funny

As the DNC continues to pay trolls to post on Slashdot...

You Democrats are pathetic. Now you want to shut the government down over immigration, which isn't even related to the budget.

GROW UP!

Good advice for your president.

Grow up by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:25 · Score: 0

I only post on my program if hosts help vs. the issue @ hand (or if trolls like you bring it up in a dumb scheme you have).

Unjust downmoderation = censorship & can't affect me. I override it, reposting when it's unable to prove me validly wrong (& it never does) but it affects "your kind" (unidentifiable anonymous trolls) by ME running you DRY of your 'downmodpoints', easily.

* As to the rest of your bs? Please - I have no standing on 'bump stocks' @ all, & I don't talk Vatican conspiracies either - so You now vainly "trying to put words in my mouth I never said" you're doing? Is stupid & weak (like you).

APK

P.S.=> Grow up - & you must have a TRULY SAD LIFE that your Saturday night's spent being a troll "ne'er-do-well" you prove yourself to be... apk

Re:Doubtful by haruchai · 2017-12-16 16:26 · Score: 1, Interesting

Trump's administration is so corrupt, the FBI will find plenty to hang them with - and don't expect any to pull an Ollie North to save the orangutan in charge.

--
Pain is merely failure leaving the body

How is that different from other currency? by SuperKendall · 2017-12-16 16:29 · Score: 2

So what is your view on the difference between the non-value of BTC and the non-value of "real" paper money (which doesn't feed people either, but is equally a convenience).

I mean, is this a non-subtle way to tell everyone they should buy only gold? Or do you mean to say people should trade only using potatoes.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Re:How is that different from other currency? by Bruce+Perens · 2017-12-16 16:40 · Score: 1

I don't think much of dollars either. Especially at the moment.
Any investment counselor can tell you how to diversify.
I am welcome in a number of countries and have a way to make a living there if necessary. That's about the best you can do.

--
Bruce Perens.
Re: How is that different from other currency? by orlanz · 2017-12-16 23:01 · Score: 2

The US Dollar or any currency equivalent backed by a large and productive workforce provides economic value by lowering transaction costs and increasing liquidity.
Re:How is that different from other currency? by GerryHattrick · 2017-12-17 04:52 · Score: 1

My banknote is now made of plastic, but it still has printed on it "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of...", signed on behalf of one of the oldest banks in the world. Sure, they depreciate it on purpose, but -
Re:How is that different from other currency? by SuperKendall · 2017-12-17 08:36 · Score: 1

Sure, I am the same way - I can make a living it lots of countries also. But "making a living" implies you will be paid something, either USD or EUR or BITC. Because of volatility I'm not sure I'd want to be paid in BITC at the moment but long term I don't see a fundamental reason why I'd prefer other currency over BITC, and because of potential long-term volatility with countries I can actually see a case where I'd prefer to be paid in BITC. Any currency only has value if people all agree it does, look at countries like Venezuela where the currency became worthless extremely quickly. With BITC the value is distributed across the globe, not limited to one regional area that can destroy value with bad policy choices.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:30 · Score: 0

There won't be a shutdown because Trump thinks he's about to score a big victory on tax reform. The shutdown was only on the table when Trump needed a distraction and talking point for the base.

You prove exactly who & WHAT you are by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:39 · Score: 0

See my subject: You prove to all you're a slinking skulking unidentifiable anonymous trolling worm hiding from me & harassing me.

* You don't get it -We all know "your kind" & WHAT you represent (the worst kind of human being - what I call a "not man").

APK

P.S.=> Some "BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT" there on your part but I have to thank-you for letting me point out the obvious about you (that you're a psycho + a stalking loon)... apk

Re: You prove exactly who & WHAT you are by Brockmire · 2017-12-16 17:56 · Score: 1

"Your kind" ? You just went on a rascist tirade the other day for no fucking reason. You might want to choose your words better. You keep going on about being anonymous, ignoring the fact you're posting anonymously. I don't understand how you're overlooking this. You go on about others hiding on /., but you're *demonstrating* how you're being anonymous more than other AC's by getting around post limits with proxies and shit.
Re: You prove exactly who & WHAT you are by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 23:25 · Score: 0

Oh, no. You're supposed to identify yourself, but just not with a user account. Because reasons. Except when he doesn't and makes up his own sockpuppet ACs to agree with him.

Re:Doubtful by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:41 · Score: 0

Lay off the jenkem dude. You’re posts are getting way too looney.

Bitcoin makes as much sense as Trump by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:48 · Score: 0

why is Bitcoin so successful when it is simply the worst currency?

- Huge transaction fees
- Huge power requirements
- painfully slow transactions

Re:Bitcoin makes as much sense as Trump by fisted · 2017-12-17 02:43 · Score: 1

- Huge transaction fees
You're free to set zero transaction fee and it is still going to be confirmed. This will only change in ~100 years when transaction fees are the only reward for mining.

- Huge power requirements
I'm pretty sure all the banks in the world consume more power.

- painfully slow transactions
It's not that slow actually. Couple minutes - maybe a day, depending on whether you set (and if so how large) a transaction fee.
Now, on the pro side, it's decentralized. If that alone isn't reason enough, I don't know what is.

--
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
Re: Bitcoin makes as much sense as Trump by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:51 · Score: 0

Trump makes sense as a process, not as a thing. The effect of Trump has been huge.
If Hillary was president now, Harvey Weinstein would be sitting down at the dinner table with Hill & Bill for dinner tonight. Casting couches in Hollywood would still be suffering from significant abrasive wear.
It might seem ironic, but there has been a sea change. Political clowns may think they are still safe, big change is going to continue.
Re:Bitcoin makes as much sense as Trump by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 03:03 · Score: 0

I've tried to send $1000 THREE DAYS AGO with a TX fee of $20 and it's still fucking waiting there, nobody is picking it up.
Re: Bitcoin makes as much sense as Trump by AvitarX · 2017-12-17 05:10 · Score: 1

That fee is $30 now though right?
So it should get picked up.

--
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg

Bitcoin is worse than Ali Baba stock. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:50 · Score: 0

Ali Baba got caught faking it's stockjumps by department vendors selling wholesale cheapstuff to eachother to interpret as volumous commerce.

And Bitcoin is said to be worth so much because the U.S. domestic dollar is worth so little naturally just like how the Sadam Hussein War was about U.S. military confiscating IRAQ monitized gold before it could reach markets and tank the U.S. domestic dollar. Mind you CIA & FBI is owns over 40% stealing what it can bluff out of everyone's hands. I wouldn't be surprised if they have every anti-virus program in their profile except Kaspersky.

Supply and Demand by bobbutts · 2017-12-16 16:51 · Score: 1

Supply and demand explains the value. There's been a huge influx of new buyers and not enough coin being mined and sold to meet the demand.

Chain Letter by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 16:53 · Score: 0

Bitcoin,whatever its original merits, has essentially become a high-tech chain letter where early adopters make money from the people who come late to the game.

Bitcoins price, like any market, is set by buyers and sellers. People who hold bitcoins have no role in setting the price. As I understand it, most bitcoins are held in a relatively small group of accounts - like 1000. So why aren't they cashing out? They probably are but only in small amounts at ever higher prices. That gives them the money to buy the dips and keep the price escalating. It ends, like all chain letters, when there is no one left to buy.

I am not clear why people believe the popping of this bubble will leave bitcoin with any more value than a chain letter or a beanie baby. A store of value that doesn't hold its value isn't really very useful. Neither is a crypto-currency that is subject to irrational speculative pricing. Bitcoin seems to be entirely at the mercy of "animal instincts".

Re:Chain Letter by bobbutts · 2017-12-16 17:48 · Score: 1

It's still the early adoption period, that's why so many are jumping on board. Future newcomers will be facing an absurdly expensive and relatively tiny supply of mined coins even compared to today's seemingly inflated prices. Do not discount the possibility that the number of buyers will not run out, and instead continue to increase as it has done consistently since the beginning.
Re: Chain Letter by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 02:46 · Score: 0

That is what seals the fate of bitcoin. Picture this, Satoshi holding 99.99% of all bitcoins. Given a choice, are you going to pour money into that remaining 0.01% to the enrichment of Satoshi (who can dump at any time), or go with an alternative? Now, replace Satoshi with 'wealthy people', and its inevitable that the coins will get concentrated into the hands of a few, since they always go up (??). It can't work, not in a free market where people will come up with alternatives that don't involve filling the pockets of people hoarding the currency.

Only one question left: by Gravis+Zero · 2017-12-16 17:02 · Score: 3, Insightful

Who will be the ones left holding the bag?

--
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.

Re:Only one question left: by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:11 · Score: 0

You're already holding it. Based on your UID you've been around Slashdot for awhile, so you have known about BTC for a very long time, yet you passed up the opportunity. I invested a couple weeks worth of salary and have cashed out much more than that and my remaining coins are worth more than a year of salary now. At what valuation will you admit you missed the boat and/or shut up?
Re:Only one question left: by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:21 · Score: 0

You participated in the scam and are proud of it. Okey doke.
Re:Only one question left: by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:51 · Score: 0

Not only that, I also "participated" inside your mom and sister.
Re:Only one question left: by religionofpeas · 2017-12-16 21:46 · Score: 1

They're similar to the people left holding bags of gold.

Re: APK MARATHON ALL DAY SUNDAY! by Brockmire · 2017-12-16 17:02 · Score: 1

Honestly, I'd be able to ignore apk and let him post excessively in peace if he changed his format to be more in line with typical, universally accepted format. Nearly every thing from "see subject" to the "P.S.=>" to the random bold text just gets on my nerves. That's not acceptable in any form of writing. I would be curious if he did have Vatican conspiracies. Not enough Catholics know how dirty the church is/was with the accumulated wealth, Pope poisonings, deals with the Mafia, to pope's and cardinals with children and wives, etc. It's a fucking powerful shit show.

I look forward to the pitchforks and tribunals by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 17:03 · Score: 0

The bitter recriminations and accusations, and of course the I-told-you-so's.

I told you so.

Shorting Bitcoin, make *MILLIONS* by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 17:22 · Score: 0

Need money for Christmas?

Short Bitcoin, and enjoy your MILLIONAIRE CHRISTMAS

It's very easy, even a beginner can do it

https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004555165-The-basics-of-Margin-Trading-on-Bitfinex
https://www.investopedia.com/news/short-bitcoin/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-27/calling-a-bitcoin-top-here-s-how-you-can-short-the-digital-coin
https://www.thestreet.com/story/14414500/1/what-to-know-shorting-bitcoin.html
https://coincentral.com/short-bitcoin/
https://99bitcoins.com/short-sell-bitcoin-make-money-on-bitcoin-price-drops-thourgh-bitcoin-short-sale/
https://themerkle.com/top-7-ways-to-short-bitcoin/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/investing/gold/can-short-bitcoin/

Re: Shorting Bitcoin, make *MILLIONS* by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 00:17 · Score: 0

Yeaaa short bitcoin NOW at 20000 with 50% margin, and go bankrupt when btc will reach 30000....

Re:Doubtful by interkin3tic · 2017-12-16 17:23 · Score: 0, Offtopic

could be even bigger than the email investigation the FBI covered up for Hillary (which we also know for certain now thanks to the FBI agents' leaked texts).

The text of the text you're talking about:

“So look, you say we text on that phone when we talk about Hillary because it can’t be traced, you were just venting you feel bad that you’re gone so much but it can’t be helped right now.”

This is between two FBI agents who were having an affair with each other.

The white house staff meanwhile is using untraceable communications.

If you know anything "for certain" from the texts you're referring to, then you had already crawled so far up the right-wing's ass that you knew for certain Hillary was evil incarnate 30 years ago. For the rest of us, this would be funny were there no so many of you fucking lunatics running around, trying to destroy America.

And, as always, no matter how certain you are that Hillary was so conniving she was controlling the FBI (yet somehow was too incompetent to win an election she got more votes in)... she's not the president. She's not in any power. Hillary being literally hitler and the mother of satan wouldn't have any relevance to discussions of whether Trump is going to be indicted.

Which, in fairness, I don't believe he will.

Lots of useless things by Roger+W+Moore · 2017-12-16 17:37 · Score: 2

Creation of $300B in bitcoin won't help the world to feed one more mouth.

Neither will the creation of one more video game or the invention of some new beauty product. People invest money in lots of useless things, why should Bitcoin be any different?

Re:Lots of useless things by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 17:59 · Score: 0

Pretty sure there is more to life than getting fed, and that not everyone finds video games and beauty products useless. They serve some needs (or at least desires), whereas Bitcoin feeds (mostly) false hopes. Might as well head to Vegas.

Re:Doubtful by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 17:47 · Score: 0

Keep twisting and throwing out things to pretend Trump isn't going to prison, lol. I love watching you act a bitch Kendall.

Re:Doubtful by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:06 · Score: 0

Seriously dude, you should have your head beneath the guillotine with the rest of the fascist traitor fucks. Go salute your Nazi heroes somewhere else.

Bad Russian Scam by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:22 · Score: 0

for evading sanctions - don't collaborate!

Re: Trolling by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:31 · Score: 0

... Trollinâ(TM) Trollinâ(TM) Trollinâ(TM)
RawHide

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 18:33 · Score: 0

You mean just like Obama did? Or was it ok back then? Why not now?

Re: Shouldn't talk w/ your mouth full Brockmire by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 19:33 · Score: 0

You clowns make me ashamed to post as Anonymous Coward.

I'm considering blocking all of them so that I never have to read another one of your posts.

Re:Did using Bitcoin just compromise my Firefox? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 19:53 · Score: 0

Yes, Bitcoin is dangerous to your Firefox. Please send all of them to 19m9yEChBSPuzCzEMmg1dNbPvdLdWA59rS to make your system safe again.

Endless growth by Citizen+of+Earth · 2017-12-16 20:15 · Score: 1

Growing in value by 20% per week is totally sustainable. In 52 weeks, each Bitcoin will be worth $260-million and the market cap will be $3-quadrillion.

Re:Endless growth by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 20:40 · Score: 0

It has been 30% per month for a very long time. I'd call that sustainable for at least another half year.
Re:Endless growth by jasno · 2017-12-16 21:33 · Score: 1, Flamebait

Oh, look, another coinhead who can't do math.

--

http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/
Re:Endless growth by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 00:47 · Score: 0

20k*1.2^52 = ~260m. His math was correct.
Re:Endless growth by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 01:38 · Score: 0

You may be saying this in jest, but you are correct. Since there is no underlying proposition to the value of bitcoin other than the agreement that all bitcoin investors want the value to go up, then it CAN go up indefinitely. My own pet theory is that it will balloon to the point where it will threaten economic stability and be shut down forcibly by making it (essentially common stock of a non-existent company) illegal.
Re:Endless growth by gsilver0 · 2017-12-17 05:14 · Score: 1

30% growth is what the gain has been over the course of the year, aggregated, but against the pattern that we've seen since October where it's been sharply higher. At 20% a week (and it's been sharply higher than that since November), by the end of August, there will be more wealth in Bitcoin than the entire rest of the world combined.
Re:Endless growth by jasno · 2017-12-17 10:48 · Score: 1

Effing slashdot... I didn't reply to that guy, I replied to the other guy who thought we'd have 26 more weeks of 30% growth which is unsustainable(and obvious with a bit of math). It looks like I replied to the Bitcoin skeptic, but if you click 'parent' on my reply it shows the other guy.
Grandparent's math is correct. The current growth rate is not sustainable.

--

http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/

New asset class by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 21:26 · Score: 1

It looks like cryptocurrencies is becoming a new asset class that is inherently virtual and global. It bear similarities to already established asset classes.
Most cryptocurrencies are directly usable for payments, like a currency. There is also a network effect.
They work as a easy accessible store of value, like gold and silver, but easier to access for most people and can be traded in smaller volumes.
They are exchange tradable, like stocks. Everybode with a smartphone can participate.

Today's cryptocurrencies are worth around 0,6% of the world's stocks, or around 25% of all gold. It's not unreasonable to think that fund managers will need to include cryptocurrencies in index funds, and that people will move some of their assets to cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies market cap at 5% of the world's stock is certainly not impossible within a few years. That would probably put bitcoin over 100 000$.

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-16 22:22 · Score: 0

What about...

To have value, you must be able to exchange it... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 00:41 · Score: 0

There is very little liquidity now for Bitcoin.

Unless you are willing to pony up a large “fee” to post your blockchain transaction, it may take days to obtain USD or other less volatile stores of value. And when Bitcoin crashes, all the exchanges will be down. Likely permanently.

Can't be a racist vs. a religion... apk by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 01:02 · Score: 0

See subject + again, "Rinse, Lather & Repeat" - Can't be a racist vs. a religion (that are the BIGGEST RACISTS OF ALL no less).

* There WAS NO RACE INVOLVED!

(... only a religious cult & everything I said was fact - purest easily verified FACT...)

APK

P.S.=> I don't hide @ all on ANYTHING I say or do (but you do, or is "BrOcKmIrE" the name of your birthcertificate or initials? apk

Re: Can't be a racist vs. a religion... apk by Brockmire · 2017-12-17 03:00 · Score: 1

Oh, so you believe you're not anonymous because apk is your initials? Like that matters. My understanding is that Judaism is a religion, Jews are a race. In your rascist tirade, you didn't say Judaism. You have no fucking idea if a Jewish person believes and practises Judaism yet you still have prejudices. Non Jews can convert to Judaism, not convert to being a Jew. Others, correct me if I'm wrong on the difference.
Re: Can't be a racist vs. a religion... apk by Type44Q · 2017-12-17 06:39 · Score: 1

Jews are a race.
Merely a culture and a religion (a religion that has greatly ignored the self-evident need to remain separate fom government: theocracies- even indirect theocracies - not good). True Isrealites (Semitic Jews) are long extinct; living Jews are either Sephardic (Persian descent) or more likely Ashkenazi (Central Asian/Eastern European; mongrels like the rest of us)...

Re:To have value, you must be able to exchange it. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 03:10 · Score: 0

I've tried to send $1000 THREE DAYS AGO with a TX fee of $20 and it's still fucking waiting there, nobody is picking it up.

Buy, Mortimer, Buy! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 03:12 · Score: 0

Sell, Mortimer, Sell!

Re: Shouldn't talk w/ your mouth full Brockmire by Brockmire · 2017-12-17 03:20 · Score: 1

"what is your malfunction w/ your trolling stalking of me anyhow?))" I've said lots of times, that you spam and misrepresent the benefits of hosts file and the format of your posts. But if you just fucking write normally, I'll refrain from replying to you forever. You can still spam us, just in a proper format. Deal?

LOL! You project YOUR "modus operandi" by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 03:26 · Score: 0

See subject: Thanks for showing your own "true colors" projecting what you do yourself! You don't dare post w/ your "registered 'luser'" account vs. myself anymore as you know I can toss 1 of TONS of your SELF-defeats vs. myself @ you & that's YOUR FAULT (you did it to yourself providing me the ammo to shoot you down with - I love it!).

* Hilarious you're just doing what you always do attempting to "project it onto me" with YOU doing it now yourself... classic & priceless!

APK

P.S.=> Your lack of intellect & not considering what you say? It's hilariously astounding anyone could be SO stupid (like you)... apk

Omg this NaziBot is awesome! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 04:12 · Score: 0

I'd love to see the algorithm or get a copy of your code.

Did you train it with Stormfront archives?

It's so good it almost looks like a human wrote this. I must say I am very impressed with your AI project.

Is there a GitHub URL? Please post!

You saw the jew algorithm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 04:21 · Score: 0

It makes nations despise and shun them. Their history of exiles nation to nation and jews' words does the rest. No wonder you had to spout your stupidity. It's all you had against verifiable facts. Especially facts from what great men in history said of jews. They do it to themselves.

But what about the climate impact? by LynnwoodRooster · 2017-12-17 04:26 · Score: 1

Bitcoin mining is estimated toconsume around 34 TWh of power. Sort this list by TWh consumption and you'll find that BTC mining consumes more power than 75% of all the nations on the face of the Earth. More power than places like Denmark, Ireland, Serbia, Myanmar. It's not sustainable - and I'm surprised so many strong climate-change proponents are accepting of this clear waste of energy (note that most of those countries are poor, and get a majority of their power from coal and other fossil fuels).

--
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!

Re:But what about the climate impact? by religionofpeas · 2017-12-17 05:28 · Score: 1

It's not sustainable
If the cost is too much, it'll slow down or go back down. Bitcoin doesn't need for it to grow.
Re:But what about the climate impact? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 07:28 · Score: 0

Either it will get too slow (which is already happening but due to block size limitations) or they will patch the network to reduce the cost, which is trivial but needs to be agreed by majority of the network.

Re:To have value, you must be able to exchange it. by AvitarX · 2017-12-17 05:18 · Score: 1

I doubt they'd go down permanently.

Didn't one exchange have a flash crash down to $200 and keep up?

All of the money on the exchanges came from other people, they take 0.02% on a transaction, over time they accumulate a lot of Bitcoin (maybe selling some to find themselves).

An honestly run exchange should be fine with a crash, since as people make a run, the $ value of Bitcoin drops, reducing their cash liability.

Their real risk is if everybody wants to pull their bitcoins out, but that is limited by blockchains ability to process transactions, so it shouldn't be a problem either.

--
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg

How is BitCoin any different? by SuperKendall · 2017-12-17 05:21 · Score: 1

BitCoin is backed by a large productive workforce also. In face I would argue that BitCoin is MORESO backed in that way, because all people keeping it going are productive and intelligent members of society - in the U.S. you have millions on welfare for example, that are not productive members of society in that they do not produce, just consume. Bitcoin has zero such overhead.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Re: How is BitCoin any different? by orlanz · 2017-12-17 10:42 · Score: 1

Thatâ(TM)s not what productive workforce means in this case. It means they actually use the currency as an exchange medium. The more in population and volume of transactions, the bigger the productive workforce that creates the bedrock of confidence & trust that others rely upon.
You canâ(TM)t really count someoneâ(TM)s daily life that runs in their local currency and only stores value in Bitcoin against Bitcoin. Thou the few storage and retrieval transactions do count toward it.
By its very design, Bitcoin clearly has a huge productive workforce that creates a massive amount of confidence in an unprecedented way (truely voluntary & democratic). However until it goes back to being a currency rather than an application of Greater Fool, that confidence sits on shaky ground that could vanish in a few days.
Re: How is BitCoin any different? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 17:41 · Score: 0

Stop posting from your iPhone. The "smart quotes" break Slashdot.

Re: Doubtful by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 05:25 · Score: 0

When the hate flames out, I call dibs on anything that can be salvaged from your smoking corpse.

Can you say Bubble by LeftCoastThinker · 2017-12-17 06:00 · Score: 1

Say it all with me "Bubble"...

Seriously, Bitcoin is nothing but a string of unique numbers at it's core. There is no tangible value, not even a government fiat supporting it. The only thing propping up the value is it's meteoric increase in value. If any of the major holders of Bitcoin decide to divest, the value will go down and all the speculators that are leveraged to the hilt will try to sell and the value will drop to nothing overnight. If it were a stock, I would short the hell out of it.

--
If you disagree, please post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like

This just in.. by h8sg8s · 2017-12-17 06:19 · Score: 1

1/1/2019:
Bitcoin just passed $1m per coin and governments worldwide have banned its use under penalty of death as it's too disruptive to existing economic norms. many "bit billionaires" are afraid of cashing in due to publicity and government scrutiny. Think this is unlikely, look at https://www.coindesk.com/price... (1 year) and do a linear regression of the trajectory. Makes tulips look like sawdust,

--
Organization? You must be joking..

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by Type44Q · 2017-12-17 06:21 · Score: 1

because Trump thinks

I'm quite certain that's not an explanation for anything that's occurred so far.

fantastic, don't invest in it by slashmydots · 2017-12-17 06:23 · Score: 1

Oh boy a 10x return since like a year ago. Wooow. Great, you missed that train. If you think t hey'll hit $100,000, they won't. That's basically impossible. If you want a return better than some 10% shift buy Sia, BCC, or LTC.

Re: Doubtful by Type44Q · 2017-12-17 06:25 · Score: 1

Trump's administration is so corrupt, the FBI will find plenty to hang them with

In this arena, the level of "corruption" is entirely orthogonal to whether or not a puppet is made an example of... and if that's not perfectly clear at this point, you either haven't studied any political history or you didn't learn anything useful from it...

Re:Trump will face a grand jury by Kaenneth · 2017-12-17 06:46 · Score: 1

Whoever mods this Offtopic is wrong.

Trump being president is a big part of why Bitcoin is rising this year.

Instability and uncertainty over possible war in Korea is driving people there to buy a currency that they'll be able to access if they have to suddenly flee the country.

Eastern Europeans afraid of Russia now the the US has all but abandoned NATO.

The US is losing it's global influence, so the Dollar is losing some of it's Store of Value ability.

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by DCFusor · 2017-12-17 07:01 · Score: 1

You piss yourself off? Yep, your hero is prison bound, not mine. Maybe you could keep her company.

--
Why guess when you can know? Measure!

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 08:05 · Score: 0

It was never ok to hold the country hostage to get what you want. Not when the Republicans did it under Obama, and not when the Republicans did it under Trump. Never.

Re: Doubtful by haruchai · 2017-12-17 08:35 · Score: 1

Trump's administration is so corrupt, the FBI will find plenty to hang them with

In this arena, the level of "corruption" is entirely orthogonal to whether or not a puppet is made an example of... and if that's not perfectly clear at this point, you either haven't studied any political history or you didn't learn anything useful from it...

Here's some "political history" for you - Richard Nixon. He was a much more wily & savvy player than Trump and couldn't save his presidency despite hanging on for a couple years.

--
Pain is merely failure leaving the body

Comment removed by account_deleted · 2017-12-17 09:00 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Who cares? by felix+rayman · 2017-12-17 09:06 · Score: 1

Slashdot has really gone downhill with this Bitcoin hits $19000 crap. How is it news for nerds that Bitcoin hits $17000? If I wanted to read about Bitcoin hitting $23000 I would be on Reddit.

Re: Trump will face a grand jury by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-17 09:15 · Score: 1

Yes, of course, anytime someone points out your blatant hypocrisy it's "whataboutism". Basically, when someone cries "whataboutism" what they are saying is "yes i'm a big hypocrite but so what".

Re:Did using Bitcoin just compromise my Firefox? by zieroh · 2017-12-17 09:43 · Score: 1

As for Bitcoin, I don'know if I even want to use it now, in case it's involved in some way with my Firefox getting compromised and this weird extension showing up without me installing it.

I understand your frustration. And I can help. Just send your Bitcoin to this address: 1Q8HcFA3GgTuL1NWr6PYB6mtYgdFgXRfGc and I'll take care of the rest.

--
People who say "sheeple" have about as much sophistication as an AOL user, and in fact are probably actually AOL users.

It's like watiching an approaching hurricane by Tony+Isaac · 2017-12-17 12:43 · Score: 1

I live in Houston, which was devastated by Hurricane Harvey this year. As the storm approached, we could all see (on radar) the progress of the storm, getting closer and closer. We knew it was going to cause a lot of damage, we just didn't know exactly when, or how much, or exactly where.

Bitcoin is going to be a disaster just as surely as Hurricane Harvey. It's going to hurt a lot of people, leave others unscathed, and help a few. But a collapse is certainly coming.

The best thing we can do for our friends is warn them away from investing money in Bitcoin that they can't afford to lose.

Re: Quoted /.ers disagree "BrOcKmIrE" by Brockmire · 2017-12-17 20:01 · Score: 1

Again, the problem is *you* and your *spam*. No one gives a shit what people no one knows says about your program. I need to remind myself to stop arguing with the mentally disabled. I do kinda feel bad. But I do hope the Polish equivalent of the FBI monitors you so you're stopped before physically harming someone.

Gambling by DarthVain · 2017-12-18 04:23 · Score: 1

Bubbles like this are basically just gambling at this point. Sure some idealists might believe in bitcoin, but I'd guess most of those investing are simply looking for the next get rich quick scheme. I have no doubt some will. Some very few will. It is like a lotto ticket, but a bit different in that the earlier you bought your ticket, the greater your chances of winning.

You mention the .COM bubble. Indeed as an investment analogy it isn't wrong. I've seen these investment pundits out there giving out their sage investment and business advice, and hey they must be knowledgeable because they are worth many millions or even billions. Then you look into their background a bit and see that they basically owned some sketchy dotcom website that they sold for hundreds of millions of dollars to some stupid established company with too much money just before the bubble burst. At which point the useless turd was exposed for what it was, and the loss written off. Then said person essentially invests their now massive wealth into safe investments now that they can leverage their increased wealth. That said, those people exist, and those people investing in BC would like nothing more that to become the next one of those guys. That said, for everyone of of those people who got lucky (and by lucky, usually also did something unscrupulous along the way like misstated accounting prior to sale for example), there were probably many thousands of losers.

Petrocurrency by NewYork · 2017-12-18 20:31 · Score: 1

I'd not invest in Bitcoin unless its a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrocurrency

--
Casteism

"BrOcKmIrE" they're our /. peers (here's more) by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-20 12:04 · Score: 0

"APK your posts on this & the hosts file posts, & more, have never been in error &/or bad advice" by BlueStrat June 21, 2017

"APK... I've tried his hosts file generating software. It works." by bmo October 15, 2015

"I would like to note that I find your hosts file admirable." by vel-ex-tech November 24, 2015

"that APK guy, I use his host file" by rogoshen1 March 03, 2015

"APK's monolithic hosts file is looking pretty good" by Culture20 November 17

"APK, I know people give you a lot of shit regarding hosts, but please don't ever stop" by nasredin June 12, 2015

"I love APK!The power of the hostfile compels you!" by ratboy666 January 29, 2016

"(APK) is still right, a hosts file really does work. It even blocked a some of the video ads that were inserted into a stream" by OrangeTide February 10, 2016

"You need APK's hosts file" by Teun August 06, 2014

APK

P.S.=> Who says anything good about your non-existent work? apk

Jew history & beliefs/practices speak for 'em by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-20 12:11 · Score: 0

Jews believe this of others they call goyim/gentiles (any non-jew): Jews = biggest racists of all (for which they "jew guilt" you for no less! They're hypocrites known as thieves all thru history or were Argentines in the 1940 under Perrone, Spanish inquistion, France (1306), Egypt (despoiled/robbed by jews), Arabs (pre & post 1948), England (1330 Edward longshanks), Romans under titus, Russia pogroms and Germany who got rid of them from their nations nazi german's too? No. Driven into DESERTS ages ago! Don't wonder why after all those exilings above. Should anyone doubt any of this see Jacob Javits' crony Rosenthal spill the beans on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4zMVZ8HnFI/ where he called all Christianity fools for helping Israel and the biggest scam of all time per their beliefs below from their Talmud. This is the province of the synagogue of Satan (Khazar/Pharisees whom Jesus Christ himself kicked to the curb out of the temple & they killed him for it. Jeremiah did the same to them also + the Essenes could not stand them either breaking away from the pharisee corruption):

Barbara Spectre, a jew, tells everyone it's jews orchestrating the muslim migrant problem in Europe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFE0qAiofMQ/ . No migrant raping of women in Poland. Tons in Sweden. Do the math. Use common-sense. This is to get muslims and other goyim/gentiles to wipe one another out as incompatible cultures that will clash and always have.

George Soros who funds groups to create division in the USA?? A jew. One who sold his own jew people into death for the nazis. Zucker @ CNN is another frying publicly for lying about "russians" and John Bonifield a producer @ CNN said it is bs. Van Jones did also.

What World-famous Men have said About the Jews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MYPzKNQUE0/

Harvey Weinstein the sexual predator tops it all off.

There are 4 types of people who call themselves Jews:

1. True Torah Jews = Descendants of Prophet Jacob-Israel (Jacobites or Israelites) (about 5%-10% of all Jews)

2. Khazarian or Ashkenazi Jews: these are the descendants of a Turkic idol/phallic worshiping tribe who migrated to Russia in the 7th Century A.C. and whose nobility converted to Judaism in the 8th Century A.C. and now inhabit mostly Europe. (about 90%-95% of all Jews)

3. Sephardic Jews = Persian descent.

4. Zionist Jews: these are the ones from the 2 above who are pretending to be Jews for political reasons but whoâ(TM)re are actually Illuminists-Luciferian-Masonic-Satanists as Harold Wallace Rosenthal admits in this interview.

They are led by the neo-Pharisees (occult-priest-banklords). They want to establish a Zionist Luciferian state from the Nile to the Euphrates from where they plan to rule the Earth. The new Israeli Supreme Court funded by the Rothschilds Banklords is full of Masonic Symbols, just like the B.I.S. Bank of International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, which is the Mother of All Private Central Banks.

The hexagram symbol on the Israeli flag is the ancient Star of Moloch, a Satanic-Baal deity to which people were sacrificed. There is no such thing as a Star of David which the modern Jews have been fooled into believing; however, the True Torah Jews are not fooled by the Zionists Illuminatis and you can visit their websites for more info .

1. Sanhedrin 59a: "Murdering Goyim is like killing a wild animal."

2. Abodah Zara 26b: "Even the best of the Gentiles should be killed."

3. Sanhedrin 59a: "A goy (Gentile) who pries into The Law (Talmud) is guilty of death."

4. Yebhamoth 11b: "Sexual intercourse with a little girl is permitted if she is three years of age."

5. Schabouth Hag. 6d: "Jews may swear falsely by use of subterfuge wording."

6. Hilkkoth Akum X1: "Do not save Goyim in danger of death."

7. H

Shouldn't talk w/ your mouth full Brockmire by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-20 12:20 · Score: 0

See subject: It's impolite while EATING YOUR WORDS https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10557875&cid=54347839/ vs. your post before it (/.ers blew you away for me & that's only a single example thereof of probably dozens vs. you no less - what is your malfunction w/ your trolling stalking of me anyhow?))

* Additionally since you bring it up?

Let me tell you what my thoughts on ANY organized religious sect/body etc.:

They all (if not all) DO pull shit left & right + manipulate people (often not in a good way) to THEIR own ends - not yours.

(However - as far as worshipping an almighty creative spirit (some call God, others other names for the same is all)? I do & I consider Jesus Christ a great model to TRY go by is all as well - to each his OWN here (pun intended - you the individual are in control here, hopefully - not being dogmatized with 1/2 truths or untruth instead))

Everytime I look around religious sects & their personnel are pulling shit & I mean damn near, IF NOT EVERY single one @ some point in some fashion - makes humanity look bad ultimately. Ugly, bogus, uncool... & it's not just religions that do this. Cliques of MEN (imo uncool & weak men + street-hustling scum) do... It's really sad how "fraternal organizations" are really only about 1 being distilled down to 1 ugly thing in the end - seeking power & doing anything (right or wrong) to get it.

APK

P.S.=> Lastly - I'll write as I see fit. A 1,000++ upmods say so for my posts. Don't like it? Don't read it. You are the "registered 'luser'" (easily tracked sheeple slaves to script & cookies) - set your slider to +1 only, simple. AC is a native intended feature of this forum. I use it... apk

Quoted /.ers disagree "BrOcKmIrE" by Anonymous Coward · 2017-12-20 12:29 · Score: 0

"I'm going to continue using the Host File Engine. Your software is well written, functional. The Host File Engine performs exactly as promised" by mmell February 16, 2017

"I've never tried to belittle (APK's work), I've flat out said it's good" by BronsCon February 11, 2016

"his hosts program is actually pretty good" by xenotransplant August 10, 2015

"his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources" by alexgieg September 25, 2015

"I like your host file system." by Karmashock September 09, 2015 (#50489401)

"I do use APK's host file on all my systems at home" by OrangeTide December 01, 2017

"I personally use a HOSTS file blocker produced from a genius called APK." by 110010001000 October 27, 2017

* More here too you asked for https://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=11492625&cid=55780165/

APK

P.S.=> I'm glad my writing makes your dull brain go "PoP!", lol...apk

Slashdot Mirror

Bitcoin Jumps Another 10% in 24 Hours, Sets New Record at $19,000 (arstechnica.com)

224 comments