I have no idea whether they do or they don't. I have no problem with working on the assumption right now that you're correct in your claim. However, that's not the fault of bitcoin. Those are the actions of the irresponsible.I claim then that enough people behave without common sense - by buying bitcoins in order to sell them later with a profit and by holding significant amounts in online wallets.
Chainalysis reckon between 2.8 and 3.8M bitcoins have so far been lost forever!
And the first seven words of that article is " Just like bars of gold at sea..."
In truth, no such claim can be made. Just as technological advances assist deep sea treasure hunters, so too will technological tools for searching for lost bitcoin.
Correct, if the private keys to any bitcoins have been lost completely - i.e. no copy of the data actually exists anywhere, then they are unspendable forever, because if you could find a way to spend them, then it would be a fatal vulnerability in bitcoin. We can't know for sure how many coins are lost though, as there is no way to prove that a private key for any particular address has really been lost.That would be an uncomfortable innovation for many. Would the tool (and it's owners) be able to discriminate between lost bitcoins, and those that were just sitting around waiting to be used by their rightful owners? I'm sceptical that such a tool can be made without finding flaws in the bitcoin crypto hashing algorithm that would leave it completely undermined (ahem).
That analogy has been made ad-nauseum - over the past few weeks. It may well be right. A different type of 'investor' has gotten involved in BTC in recent months.
Just because something is scarce does not mean it's value must go up to the extent is has. VW has stopped making the original Beetle. They are a store of value, but will their value increase by 10,000% do you think? (At least with a VW you can use it!)There's still enough to go around - but with a finite amount (the maximum 21 million will only be realised by 2040), the price must go up.
If Bitcoin has risen by over 10000% in recent years, why hasn't gold?Currently, it's being used as a 'store of value' - to compete with gold and such.
And a bunch of even more talented developers who now have an extremely lucrative payload to chase...Work is being done by a very talented pool of developers.
How? Are there meetings and minutes or something?Governance is also an issue. Everything in bitcoin is done by consensus.
Apart from the Dark Web though, I cannot think of anywhere where payment is demanded in Bitcoin, never mind accepted. I cannot use Bitcoin on Amazon or at my local Tesco for instance.
If it was reported the Bitcoin was going to be accepted in Amazon or Tesco I would expect its price to increase, and if these stores announced that they would ONLY accept Bitcoin for payment, I would obviously expect the price of Bitcoin to surge.
People determine supply and demand and what the value of something is...at least to a large extent. By the way, since you posted,the euro in your wallet has shed some value. As regards the valuation of bitcoin right now, I have no earthly idea as to what it should be. Equally,the flimsy piece of paper (be that euro or usd) - which is backed by vapourware - I equally have no idea what that should be valued at right now.Just because something is scarce does not mean it's value must go up to the extent is has. VW has stopped making the original Beetle. They are a store of value, but will their value increase by 10,000% do you think? (At least with a VW you can use it!)
Perhaps it isn't BTC that's rising of it's own accord...perhaps the rise in BTC is symptomatic of an effective devalutation (comparitively) of FIAT and Gold.If Bitcoin has risen by over 10000% in recent years, why hasn't gold?
I'm not sure what you're getting at here - please elaborate.And a bunch of even more talented developers who now have an extremely lucrative payload to chase...
Decisions with regard to BTC are carried out by consensus between the various stakeholders. In theory, it's a good system. However, in recent times - due to disagreement betweenv various stakeholder groups, reaching consensual results has been difficult....meaning that the development of the currency is not agile.How? Are there meetings and minutes or something?
When I first got involved in 2013, I was excited about the prospect of it developing as a currency. That has not come to fruition - due to a number of technical issues. However, it doesn't mean that said issues will not and cannot be addressed. I referred to lightening network on a number of occasions - but Im unsure if anyone took the time out to check it out.brianb said:This bit intrigues me - bitcoin was initially posited as a currency. So it was meant to facilitate the exchange of goods and services, just like any other currency. A euro represents a unit of work, or a portion of a good. If I found out by holding onto my euro for a week, I could buy twice as much with it next week, I'd be extremely worried. Thus, bitcoin is clearly not operating as a normal currency, but instead as some kind of appreciating asset of it's own accord. It is appreciating now at a rate that far exceeds what a cautious central banker would be happy with (which we repeatedly hear, is close to but less than 2% per year).
When I first got involved in 2013, I was excited about the prospect of it developing as a currency.
Firstly, it's been speculated about amazon - but if they do start to accept, it will be a game changer.Even if Bitcoin was accepted as a method of payment by say Amazon, why on earth would anyone be bothered?
The establishment has made that a difficulty - yes. However, you have to jump the same hoops to open a bank account do you not? People jumped through the same hoops to open paypal accounts did they not? Furthermore, in the last 2 weeks, services such as Revolut and Square have made it easy to buy bitcoin. Craigslist have added (or are about to add?) the option for sellers to offer the option of bitcoin as an accepted form of payment. You seem to forget that this is a fast moving space. What you are looking at is ongoing technological development. It is not the finished article.They would have to open a Bitcoin account
Volatility is an recognised issue. However, work is being done on this. I don't expect that it will be something that will be resolved in the short term - but this is not a short term project. With regard why would they risk that or bother with that, if its not a substantial amount of money, they may be ok with it. Even if it is, volatility can roll in two directions - if it's money they can afford to speculate with, then they may not be bothered.unless they wanted to risk the volatility in its worth, they would have to constantly purchase Bitcoin with real money, buy whatever they wanted to buy and then go and sell their Bitcoin again for real money. Why would anyone bother??
You and your bloody dark web! We have been moving towards a cashless society for some years now. Ireland may be a lagard in that regard but there is still evidence of it. Some other countries are almost there already (eg. Scandinavia). Do you want people working in a government to have access to every single transaction you make? Do you place ANY value on your privacy at ALL? Are you happy that a government or government official could cut down your access to your hard earned money in a matter of seconds!? At least with cash, unless they physically confiscate it from you, then you can spend it! With bitcoin, it cannot be confiscated (at least not without your cooperation).I'll tell you why....because they want to conceal what they are buying that's why...and that's why it is so popular on the Dark Web. It makes zero sense anywhere else to go through the rigmarole of paying in Bitcoin when you can do so with real money.
ps. Please also be aware that a few years back - in trying to lodge money to bitcoin exchanges in both the UK and Ireland, there were plenty of reports of the establishment high street banks interfering with that process - sometimes refusing to allow customers to transfer to the accounts of a Bitcoin exchange - switching that access on and off. This happened across a number of high street banks - not just one or two.
Please, none of the household names are accepting BTC. Some are allowing you to think you are paying with BTC but in fact an intermediary changes your BTC into the fiat currency for passing on to the retailer. (Think about it, they can't quote prices in two currencies or else they would be wide open to being gamed against).Firstly, it's been speculated about amazon - but if they do start to accept, it will be a game changer.
They pretty much interfere all the time. They call it KYC / AML and censor transactions to exchanges.In the event that banks resort to such practices again anytime in the future, what can be done about it? What effect on bitcoin?
What effect on the assumption that we live in a free open democratic society?
Duke, since bitcoin transactions are irreversible, some companies can enter the market of some high fraud risk countries.Please, none of the household names are accepting BTC. Some are allowing you to think you are paying with BTC but in fact an intermediary changes your BTC into the fiat currency for passing on to the retailer. (Think about it, they can't quote prices in two currencies or else they would be wide open to being gamed against).
Why would anybody want to incur those intermediation costs unless there are folk out there whose only source of income is BTC? Ooops! I forgot, there are miners whose only source of income might be BTC but the mining community hardly amounts to a game changer.
OK (long post warning!)
Apart from the Dark Web though, I cannot think of anywhere where payment is demanded in Bitcoin, never mind accepted. I cannot use Bitcoin on Amazon or at my local Tesco for instance.
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