What is bitcoin, and why is it Important??

A useless idea to pretty much all of us HERE.
 
Bitcoin is a software-based online payment system described by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and introduced as open-source software in 2009. Payments are recorded in a public ledger using its own unit of account, which is also called bitcoin. Payments work peer-to-peer without a central repository or single administrator, which has led the US Treasury to call bitcoin a decentralized virtual currency
 
It may prove important for providing the building blocks for a more formalised (and secure) digital currency in the future.

Other than that, it is of no interest to me.
 
Way too volatile and unregulated. That is why the more shady types of characters love Bitcoin.
 
BlazeES said:
Way too volatile and unregulated. That is why the more shady types of characters love Bitcoin.
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You'd be surprised how many companies accept bitcoin for payment now. If you think about it,. it's only a step above PayPal
 
It is a currency employed by Russian Hackers to encrypt your computer data with Randsomeware and demand the ransom be paid in bit coins. I don't think it will catch on as it's usage is volatile and on a downward spiral.
 
I would rather be paid in sammiches and Chaska ladies auxiliary 'volunteers'.
 
HEY! What's up with the proliferation of actual stereo gear related avatars?
 
Bitcoin falls into the definition of "cryptocurrencies" and appeared about 6 years ago. It does have competitors such as Litecoin, Dogecoin, Darkcoin, etc. It's estimated there are as many as 350 of these alternate currencies, however, Bitcoin is the 800 pound gorilla. Most of those 350 are very marginal at best.

Much of the marketplace for Bitcoin has been the Darkweb or Deepweb. The 90%+ of the internet that's not indexed into the search engines like Google and Bing. Transactions over the Bitcoin network are virtually private with no institutional or govermental exposure. This may have changed in late 2013 as the "government" hacked the main Darkweb networks (TOR). Not Bitcoin per se, but the "dark" sites where people would buy drugs, guns, porn, murder for hire, art, cars, virtually whatever you wanted. Very anonymous!!

Ron's absolutely correct and most financial institutions are watching Bitcoin very closely. Where PayPal anonymizes your credit card number, Bitcoin anonymizes everything. I'd suspect we'll see this type of alternate currency mature in the future. At least until some gov't shuts it down. (Hello N. Korea!)
 
R1200S said:
Bitcoin falls into the definition of "cryptocurrencies" and appeared about 6 years ago. It does have competitors such as Litecoin, Dogecoin, Darkcoin, etc. It's estimated there are as many as 350 of these alternate currencies, however, Bitcoin is the 800 pound gorilla. Most of those 350 are very marginal at best.

Much of the marketplace for Bitcoin has been the Darkweb or Deepweb. The 90%+ of the internet that's not indexed into the search engines like Google and Bing. Transactions over the Bitcoin network are virtually private with no institutional or govermental exposure. This may have changed in late 2013 as the "government" hacked the main Darkweb networks (TOR). Not Bitcoin per se, but the "dark" sites where people would buy drugs, guns, porn, murder for hire, art, cars, virtually whatever you wanted. Very anonymous!!

Ron's absolutely correct and most financial institutions are watching Bitcoin very closely. Where PayPal anonymizes your credit card number, Bitcoin anonymizes everything. I'd suspect we'll see this type of alternate currency mature in the future. At least until some gov't shuts it down. (Hello N. Korea!)
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Dogecoin is cute.

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But on a more serious note. Crypto currencies are too volatile. Go research the valuation chart of Bitcoin over the last several years. If you are going to use it, you have to use it in relatively short order because the exchange rate hardly mimics world currencies and holding on to it for any prolonged period of time is a laughable coin toss. Even the "miners" were massively butthurt when their holdings were dramatically devalued and/or went missing recently. And if you are going to use it in more real-time to make purchases, you have to purchase it on exchange markets - so what's the point for the average joe?
 
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Current valuation as of today

1 Bitcoin equals
287.03 US Dollars


[h=2]Balances - block chain[/h]The block chain is a shared public ledger on which the entire Bitcoin network relies. All confirmed transactions are included in the block chain. This way, Bitcoin wallets can calculate their spendable balance and new transactions can be verified to be spending bitcoins that are actually owned by the spender. The integrity and the chronological order of the block chain are enforced with cryptography.
[h=2]Transactions - private keys[/h]A transaction is a transfer of value between Bitcoin wallets that gets included in the block chain. Bitcoin wallets keep a secret piece of data called a private key or seed, which is used to sign transactions, providing a mathematical proof that they have come from the owner of the wallet. The signature also prevents the transaction from being altered by anybody once it has been issued. All transactions are broadcast between users and usually begin to be confirmed by the network in the following 10 minutes, through a process called mining.
[h=2]Processing - mining[/h]Mining is a distributed consensus system that is used to confirm waiting transactions by including them in the block chain. It enforces a chronological order in the block chain, protects the neutrality of the network, and allows different computers to agree on the state of the system. To be confirmed, transactions must be packed in a block that fits very strict cryptographic rules that will be verified by the network. These rules prevent previous blocks from being modified because doing so would invalidate all following blocks. Mining also creates the equivalent of a competitive lottery that prevents any individual from easily adding new blocks consecutively in the block chain. This way, no individuals can control what is included in the block chain or replace parts of the block chain to roll back their own spends
 
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Speaking of alternative currencies, any of you cats seen one of these Liberty Dollars? Mine is a 2007

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Well, call me skeptical, or cynical......but it seems to me....that governments all over the world would love to see virtual currency. They would take their taxes right out of the stream, and the biggie.....with a little more finnegglin, regulate what you could or could not buy. They already want to regulate the internet in the name of "fairness".......so the next step is regulating any commerce conducted on the internet in the name of "consumer protection"....there is no such thing as a government granting itself power and NOT using it. To me it seems like a pretty slippery slope....
 
laatsch55 said:
Well, call me skeptical, or cynical......but it seems to me....that governments all over the world would love to see virtual currency. They would take their taxes right out of the stream, and the biggie.....with a little more finnegglin, regulate what you could or could not buy. They already want to regulate the internet in the name of "fairness".......so the next step is regulating any commerce conducted on the internet in the name of "consumer protection"....there is no such thing as a government granting itself power and NOT using it. To me it seems like a pretty slippery slope....
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Part of that is correct, but if there is no central bank or administrator the govmnt's are screwed. Is is like online cash peer to peer so they don't have a good way to get their paws on your dollars.
 
Yep, but if they regulate the internet there will be no true "peer to peer" without someone watching. Not that the NSA ain't already doing it....
 
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