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Microsoft Halts Bitcoin Transactions Because It's An 'Unstable Currency' (bleepingcomputer.com)
Catalin Cimpanu, reporting for BleepingComputers: Microsoft has stopped supporting Bitcoin as a payment method for Microsoft products, Bleeping Computer has learned. A Microsoft support staffer has told us the move is temporary and cited the unstable state of the Bitcoin currency. Microsoft added support for Bitcoin in 2014, and has previously temporarily stopped supporting Bitcoin in the past.
When a currency can quickly gain or lose half it's value with no apparent reason and no apparent cause, many people won't want to take them for fear they will lose money on the deal.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
And lost all their bitcoins.
So they learned the hard way that bitcoin has no cybersecurity protections.
Funny how they only care about its stability when its going down.
Crypto-Currencies are a new form of unregulated gambling.
I'll think I'll start my own cruptocurrency and call it "Tulip Bulbs".
The stock market is over valued. Home Building in my area has gone nuts again. Same were my parents live in the North East - even though there are more folks leaving than moving there.
It's 1999 again! Thanks to the same culprit - the Fed. All those years of cheap money....
I hate cryptocurrency and everyone that likes it. I love the US Dollar and the banks holding on to my money for me. Generic response about a bubble and how I don't want responsibility in my life. I'd rather someone else do it for me, blah blah. :)))))
Of course, we know the cause of that: The Federal Reserve.
This is good news for Bitcoin.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
No one saw this coming.
It's just not stable enough do to the inability to scale it. The number of bit coin in existence is capped and we're feeling those repercussions as transactions are mere fractions of btc now.
I don't read AC
No spin needed - if MS says its screwed, you should probably bet your shirt on it!
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
When a currency can quickly gain or lose half it's value with no apparent reason and no apparent cause, many people won't want to take them for fear they will lose money on the deal.
The cause of the volatility is obvious. Fear Of Missing Out combined with greed which is what drives most asset bubbles.
Microsoft ultimately has to convert all transactions to dollars for financial reporting. They hold many currencies (global company) but it's a bad idea to hold particularly volatile ones since they will have to convert those to dollars at least on their financial reporting statements. They can take the risk since in reality bitcoin is basically a rounding error to them but they aren't going to take a loss on it either.
No spin needed - if MS says its screwed, you should probably bet your shirt on it!
They didn't say it is screwed, they said it is unstable, which, at least at the moment it is. How can you use a currency to price things when the value changes dramatically daily, even hourly? You can't. At least whilst it is this volatile it can't be used as a currency for most purchases usefully.
Give it time, with banks moving in, and professional investors coming in, and no doubt- automated algorithms being place on trading computers, it will probably stabilize. Of course, then you have to deal with the transaction fees, and times next.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
You betcha!!
There's nothing more secure than a currency that's created by some mathematical algorithm that very few people on this planet can hope to fully understand. A currency that loses over half its value overnight - and maybe drop to one cent the next night.
Say what you want about the US dollar but I have complete confidence that its going to be worth what it was the previous day when I wake up in the morning. Or have pretty much the same value a year or two from now.
Butcoin is nothing but unregulated gambling now and is inappropriate to use as a currency.
To be able to purchase goods and services online, you would need:
a) (Close to) Instant payments
b) (Close to) Instant conversion to USD
c) (Close to) Zero fees
It is my understanding that a) and c) are coming soon (eg Lightning Network).
Atomic swap with USDT or equivalent would take care of b).
Then it would not really matter if BTC increases or drops by 10% in a few hours.
That would reflect poorly on Microsoft's security, not Bitcoin's.
They didn't say it is screwed, they said it is unstable, which, at least at the moment it is. How can you use a currency to price things when the value changes dramatically daily, even hourly? You can't.
Not quite, as you can use it easily.
It's just the risk that is on you if you accept it.
It may risky or stupid to do, but you can.
bickerdyke
It's the speculation related to the market dynamics of blockchain currencies being treated as commodities in a market that is currently causing any instability, either perceived or otherwise. That is a completely different issue than any cryptocurrency's intrinsic *technical* stability.
Water is wet
MS Is not going to allow the use of a Crypto that could end up costing them money.
There will soon be a Fedcoin, Worldcoin, Phoenix coin or something like that of which MS will support. Everybody needs to avoid all Crypto's if you value your freedom, because the new crypto WILL be under a centralized control and they will be able to track and even control every single place you can use it, if at all, and they can tax whatever amount they want.
No it won't. It will be blamed for the collapse of the Dollar and other things. A Central authority will then declare them all illegal but will give you an option to conver to their own crypto of which the central bank WILL have FULL control over.
If they want to tax you at 99.99% there will be nothing you can do to stop it.
If they want to prevent you from spending outside your state, there will be nothing you can do to change it.
If you decide to run, they will be able to track every place you stop for gas, food, shelter, medicine.
if you decide to rebel, they will prevent you from buying guns, ammo, supplies, and they will know exactly where you are at.
Avoid Crypto's at ALL costs.
It's because MS supports IoTA which is not based on the blockchain, and hence
It's fee less
Pre-mined
No theoretical transaction limits
The Dollar has always been a currency many count on because of its stability. Bitcoin is just the opposite of that.
Notice they only made this decision now that bitcoin is down.
It's not really down though. It's oscillating between 14k-15k for a while now. It's down 4% since last month, hardly dramatic.
Ethereum for some reason never really went down and has been on mostly a steady climb for some time.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Bitcoin Halts Microsoft Gentrification Because It's An 'Unstable Platform'
The price volatility wouldnâ(TM)t matter with fast confirms and cheap fees, because it would be effortless to shift to your final currency.
Right now, though, you tell someone the price in bitcoin, they send, and then you wait. Hours or days even. Mind you, who will even pay in bitcoin with a $20 fee?
So you recieve your coins the next day. The market either went up or down since then. Now you need to convert all the coins you got the day before to cash and send those onwards. For that transfer, youâ(TM)re paying a heck of a lot more than $20, though. And youâ(TM)re forced to wait helplessly through more volatility.
This would all be mitigated with fast transactions and cheap fees.
learned helplessness. pathetic
"Believe me, I'm a very stable currency!" - Donald Nakamoto
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
bitcoins fees and transaction time are to high for most day to day things.
Not only does the price fluctuate, but the price to settle a transaction is about $20, and as high as $35 in the last few weeks. This is the amount that you pay regardless of the amount you are sending....
Kinda hard to pay for something worth $25, when you have to pay $20 to send it.
Accepting bitcoin payment is similar to accepting payment in terms of commodities, frozen concentrated orange juice ("Sell 30 April at 142!") or pork bellies. Or, at best, a foreign currency with a very volatile exchange rate. So there is no surprise, nor real news in this announcement.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Yup, bitcoin could be as bit as the internet itself if Microsoft is betting against it.
When a currency can quickly gain or lose half it's value with no apparent reason and no apparent cause, many people won't want to take them for fear they will lose money on the deal.
There is a cause, wall street speculation. Bitcoin's price rose 65x as wall street speculators were joining the pre-existing home based speculators.
How can you use a currency to price things when the value changes dramatically daily, even hourly?
You don't. You price it in USD or other relatively stable currencies, and you convert that price to BTC at the time of sale using the current exchange rate. Idon't know about Microsoft, but of the vendors I've spent BTC with, that's how it's always worked.
If you're worried about the volatility beyond the initial transaction, you could immediately sell the BTC at the same exchange rate, with conversion fees included in the price you gave the customer, of course.
Reminds me of one of the first bank runs and massive failure by companies issuing their own unique scrip.
The Panic of 1819: Reactions and Policies by Murray N. Rothbard
And now you know why Canadians don't want to order things from USA websites. The shipping costs are crazy expensive. I've seen a seller asking $100 shipping for a $40 solar panel.
#DeleteFacebook
way to FUD.
nothing stops setting tax rate.
or spending outside your state (you mean country right, because 'murika is less than 5% of world population).
or any decision to run (from what? are you proposing illegalities be perpetrated?).
or buying guns, ammo, supplies (in 'murika at least).
you don't need to be a tinfoil-hatter to ignore krypto-kurrency.
i ignore it because its not real, therefore it has no value, to me.
i don't give a fuck what others think its worth.
It won't be stable until the people that matter control it xx
Requiem for the American Dream
If you want to get in on the cryptocurrency mining scene ...
Stop yourself, don't do it. Take either of these two paths:
(1) You were going to buy a GPU anyway for some non-mining reason. Go ahead, buy the GPU. Maybe, **maybe**, buy a model up one level of performance/price from what you would have otherwise bought, if its a low to midrange model. Say if you were otherwise planning on a GTX 1050 Ti 4GB ***maybe*** get a GTX 1060 6GB, ****maybe****. If you were otherwise getting a high performer, say a 1070 Ti for that 4K monitor, do *****not***** go up a level to a 1080 Ti. Then let the GPU mine when you are not using the machine. Use a watt meter to determine the total power consumption of your machine to determine power usage, do *not* trust online references that say your GPU uses so many watts. When your GPU is mining other parts of the computer are also drawing power, especially the CPU which may also be mining. You want to know the total system power and make sure your mining proceeds exceed that amount. Be sure to use above baseline residential power rates in your calculations, do *not* just look at your current bill and expect the current rate. If it is not profitable to mine do *not* fall into the trap that "the coin price will eventually rise and make it profitable", that is a losing game. Instead, take whatever money you would spend on power and just buy the coins directly, you will have more coins that way if the price rises. But above all else, do not get into the mindset of joining the mining scene, that is a path to losing money. Stay in the scene "the GPU I have anyway can make some coin when I'm not using it".
(2) Take whatever money you were willing to spend on a GPU for mining and just buy coins with that money. You will likely do better that way if the price rises. Many miners fall into the trap that they are profitable and pat themselves on the back. They do not consider the opportunity cost of the alternative of just buying coins directly. The following are very rough estimates but the point will nonetheless be clear. Lets say you spent $500 on a GPU last summer and another $500 on a GPU last fall. At above baseline residential power rates maybe you have about an extra $1,000 after factoring in power. Congrats your GPUs are now paid. However your friend bought $500 worth of bitcoin in the summer and another $500 in the fall and now has $3,000 worth of bitcoin. You are at net $0, he is at net $2,0000. If you are willing to gamble on increasing coin prices you may be better off just buying coins directly. Things are not as simple as a mining rig being profitable, the opportunity cost of the just buy directly must be considered. Many other things must also be considered before joining the mining scene.
That's the only way to stop BitCoin, which has a god-awful carbon footprint due to all the pointless farming going on. I'd be happy to see it just go away.
You drank my drink, you drunk!
...who will even pay in bitcoin with a $20 fee?
Depends on what you're buying. For some of the products that bitcoin is popular for, expensive overhead is less important than anonymity. $20 on top of a $80 software license? Pay with a credit card. $20 on top of a $300 sheet of LSD? Pony up the $20.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
Do as you will, but I'm looking at the data and it's inherently obvious to the most casual observer that "unstable," is accurate.
BITCOIN PRICE (BTC - USD)
Trade Time 12:25PM
Daily High 17,180.3496
Trade Date 1/8/2018
Daily Low 13,971.2598
Open 16,193.3301
52-week High 19,843.1094
Prev. Close 16,182.3096
52-week Low 766.5300
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
So block chain is the mark of the beast? A fun hypothesis.
Paying a with bitcoin is a bit like asking a vendor to give you a product based on winnings from a yet unplayed poker game. Companies these days (especially big ones like MS) are looking for any way they can to decrease their risk. Risk these days are only for employees and customers. Even insurance companies have done all the calculations and eliminate risk. They will reject anything less.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Except, of course, Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous.
Thats cause that is what USPS charges them.
I had to send a small secret santa package to Canada a few month ago. It ended up costing me 48 dollars for 4 lbs. The contents weren't even worth that much, but were locally made and unavailable there, so I bit the bullet and paid it.
UPS and FedEx both wanted closer to 100-150.
But I can mail a flat rate box from Alaska to Florida for 10 dollars, even if I do nothing but fill it with 20 lbs of sand.
The transactions are public. The account owners aren't hard to obscure.
This comment is an exercise in having only one hair and trying to turn it into two. I could also price my product randomly. It will be somewhere between $1 and $100. Neither you nor I know until after we both agree to do the transaction. You're right that there is a difference between something being impossible and simply being absurd. But you don't stay in business by doing too many absurd things, so in this context, the practical difference is pretty much non-existent. I think you would get along with my wife.
I think you would get along with my wife.
Well... if you knew....
*ducking for cover* :-)
bickerdyke
Microsoft isn't betting against it, they just aren't betting on it.
I really like this idea...
"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time."
It fits almost disturbingly well and touches all the major points...keys, chains, timelock, possibly even a commentary on proof of stake, definitely a stab at cryptocurrency overthrowing fiat and I think we can all agree the angel is Satoshi, dragon is the fed, serpent is competing cryptos and devil/Satan would of course be the government's that try to stop or control Bitcoin. If you'll excuse me I have a best selling book to write...
Also:
"Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, âoeWho is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?â 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, âoeDo not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.â
Clearly this passgae forshadows the coming of a new type of math/algorithm ('root' of David) which will be able to break even the most complex multi-sig protected wallet (paper with seven seals = # of sigs needed?) perhaps we will see a fork move the Genesis block coins into a "super-wallet" if you will, which when broken will be the beginning of the end! We also have descriptions like:
"Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name."
Here we see a hard fork described, whereby a feedback loop is created - bch feeds btc which feeds back into bch et al. One will be thought dead but will come back from the brink (China kicking out miners?) The marks described are clearly meant to be public keys, worn on the hand or forehead for easy scanning and probably in a barcode or qr code format. When the beast (block chain) takes over you will have no choice but to embrace the new payment method or starve. I feel that 666 was a clue pointing us towards a very important date - June 6, 2666. If my calculations are correct this is the day the block chain will attain sentience and become self aware. Without further patronage however my research must end for now...
Transactions of its operating systems because it's an unstable operating system. I thought the original heading looked strange