Bitcoin....who's gotten into it?

[splat]

It's fucking with central banks. It's value has increased exponentially. It's every bit as virtual as the paper the banks give you.
Paypal considering using it. Schmidt and Gates say its good. Being incorporated into browsers. This is some trip shit.
Who has some firsthand experience with it? Is it like the pyramid parties of the 70's?

[splat]

Fuck. China national bank approved it today.
It is hard to imagine that something that has exponentially appreciated at 130,000% of it's original value hasn't already peaked.
Saw there was a bitcoin convention in Vegas last week.
If I had bought low, I prolly coulda used a bitcoin to book the trip.

[splat]

Real time value:

http://preev.com/

[Tuckerman]

Bump

Are all the exchanges the same rate?

[4matic]

Bump

Are all the exchanges the same rate?

No.

[Labcabin]

So what's the status of Bitcoin a year later?

[Tuckerman]

So what's the status of Bitcoin a year later?

preev.com

[Plainview]

Until I can buy a quart of Steel Reserve at 7-11 with it, fuck that shit.

[4matic]

co-worker is actively trading it. Transactions costs are high on Bitstamp.

[iceman]

Here is What the Hell Happened In Bitcoin In 2015

Wow. I was not aware of most of that craziness.

[shroom]

what is DevOps?

[iceman]

It's crazy about the whole Mt. Gox thing, as I read it ~$350MM in btc vanished into thin air (well, into someone's pockets).

I was thinking about this last night, the whole "anonymous founder" business...I'm sure it's far-fetched but who better than the founder to insert code into the system that acts like a key and gives a back door into the servers? And if there was such a key, and it was used to get into Mt. Gox and he pulled all that money out...well no one knows who the hell he is! Very mysterious. Would make a great plot for a novel, the kind of thing Dan Brown might write.

[The Suit]

what is DevOps?

Folks who both develop software and also operate the servers & systems on which that software runs.

[Kinnikinnick]

Funny thing about this thread is that Splat(or someone) deleted everyone's posts on the first page or two except for Splat's.
.

Bitcoin - I still don't get it. Its backed by no one and we're just supposed to believe in the magical powers of good developers over evil developers...yeah right.

[shroom]

hahahaha solid wording PG. I like to throw the same question at my execs and see what answer gets shit out.

Chef is my thang.

[highangle]

hahahaha solid wording PG. I like to throw the same question at my execs and see what answer gets shit out.

Chef is my thang.

Tighter and more modular than Puppet, but that's not saying much...

Be advised: INTPs play with fire when they seek to humble their judgmental superiors.

Played with BTC last year, shoulda went bigger.

[Tippster]

Funny thing about this thread is that Splat(or someone) deleted everyone's posts on the first page or two except for Splat's.
.

Bitcoin - I still don't get it. Its backed by no one and we're just supposed to believe in the magical powers of good developers over evil developers...yeah right.

Seriously - I don't even get the fundamentals, much less the specifics of how this is a unit of value.

Mining? Huh?

Cryptocurrency? What?

[highangle]

Seriously - I don't even get the fundamentals, much less the specifics of how this is a unit of value.

Mining? Huh?

Cryptocurrency? What?

Think about most of the reasons precious metals have historically been valued above their practical usefulness, and you'll catch on pretty quick.

[Tippster]

Think about most of the reasons precious metals have historically been valued above their practical usefulness, and you'll catch on pretty quick.

That honestly doesn't help either. I get that Metals may be valuable because they're:

1. Rare
2. Hard to refine
3. Useful

1/3 = has a value. 2/3 = more value. 3/3 = most value

Bitcoins are just a construct, vaporware, within a community. The lie of them was shown by the "invention" of Dogecoin which actually got some traction. It just seems to me to be an arbitrarily created monetary unit with a small community "certifying" its value, kinda like Vanuatu's currency, but with less GDP suporting it.

[highangle]

That honestly doesn't help either. I get that Metals may be valuable because they're:

1. Rare
2. Hard to refine
3. Useful

1/3 = has a value. 2/3 = more value. 3/3 = most value

Bitcoins are just a construct, vaporware, within a community. The lie of them was shown by the "invention" of Dogecoin which actually got some traction. It just seems to me to be an arbitrarily created monetary unit with a small community "certifying" its value, kinda like Vanuatu's currency, but with less GDP suporting it.

"Rare" is enough. "Reliably rare" is even better. Hence "cryptocurrency", or "Hard to refine" in your statement.
The entire supply of refined gold would probably fit in your home. The entire above-ground supply of platinum and palladium definitely would. This is unlikely to change by much any time soon.

"Useful" doesn't mean near as much as a driver of value, other than that it affects the demand side of the old theorem. "Perception", however, very much does.

All mediums of exchange are simply markers, "Vaporware", if you must. What's a dollar? OK then, what's a penny?... See?

[Tippster]

OK, but gold, Platinum, and Palladium are tangible things that we have ascribed value to based on their rarity or usefulness. Bitcoins are not tangible - then again neither is the US $ - but at least the Dollar, Euro, etc. have the backing of their central banks and governments. We have socially underwritten their value. Essentially the value of a currency is based on the people who hold it - a tangible group. Bitcoin is "cryptocurrency" so their is no quid-pro-quo implied in holding it, at least not a tangible one. I cannot claim you owe me 1000Bitcoins in court for services rendered, because it isn't a tangible currency.

[MakersTeleMark]

Bitcoin as an idea is wonderful, but as it currently, no pun intended, exists, is a scary mess.

I'm all for a legit virtual and traded currency. Bitcoin, if I even could afford to have some, isn't it.

[highangle]

OK, but gold, Platinum, and Palladium are tangible things that we have ascribed value to based on their rarity or usefulness. Bitcoins are not tangible - then again neither is the US $ - but at least the Dollar, Euro, etc. have the backing of their central banks and governments. We have socially underwritten their value. Essentially the value of a currency is based on the people who hold it - a tangible group. Bitcoin is "cryptocurrency" so their is no quid-pro-quo implied in holding it, at least not a tangible one. I cannot claim you owe me 1000Bitcoins in court for services rendered, because it isn't a tangible currency.

You can't claim I owe you 1000 oz of gold, or oil (or face shots) either, unless we have a valid contract that specifies gold or oil (or face shots) as a medium of consideration.
"Legal tender" is a different issue from "Value" or "Inherent Worth".

Money is a construct of convenience. The Meter may be defined in terms of the construct "time" and the self-referential speed of light in a theoretical vacuum, but it's still a very practical construct. And if we hadn't settled on it, we'd have settled on something else just as arbitrary. All measurement systems are constructs.

Also, a big part of the appeal of cryptocurrencies is that they take power away from The Establishment. Something you can't do with gold, or dollars, or MBSs...

[MakersTeleMark]

Also, a big part of the appeal of cryptocurrencies is that they take power away from The Establishment. Something you can't do with gold, or dollars, or MBSs...

Agreed, but you miss Tipp's point about what's behind it. Investor confidence, like personal looks in the eye, means a lot for stability. The link that was posted up earlier showing the volatility, coupled with the shady origins, should make even the most calm person freak out.

[highangle]

Agreed, but you miss Tipp's point about what's behind it. Investor confidence, like personal looks in the eye, means a lot for stability. The link that was posted up earlier showing the volatility, coupled with the shady origins, should make even the most calm person freak out.

I didn't miss that. I said that all measurements are constructs of convenience...they're all vaporware, even if they're backed by gold or silver in a vault somewhere, or the speed of light. (Relative volatility is a side issue altogether.)

Backing a currency with silver or gold is just kicking the can. "What's a penny?" There is not an absolute answer, only theories.
Just because $$ is a man-made construct we came up with as a replacement for killing each other doesn't mean it's not "real".