Anyone Going To The Bitcoin Conference Next Weekend In Bsas?

[sesamosinsal]

http://en.wikipedia....Silver_Thursday

pretty much covers it.

Did you read it?

But on January 7, 1980, in response to the Hunts' accumulation, the exchange rules regarding leverage were changed, when COMEX adopted "Silver Rule 7" placing heavy restrictions on the purchase of commodities on margin. The Hunt brothers had borrowed heavily to finance their purchases, and as the price began to fall again, dropping over 50% in just four days, they were unable to meet their obligations, causing panic in the markets.

So, COMEX changed the rules in the middle of the game, they got margin called and as a result they (COMEX) crashed the price. When you talk about Silver Thursday, the debate really is about leverage in trading, not the issues of supply and demand, currency debasement, and inflation. One should note that they bought silver because it was illegal for Americans to have gold under Executive Order 6102 -- at least Argentina hasn't gone that far with the dollar. Can you imagine the outcry?

People turn to precious metals because there are finite supplies, and mining production of those metals is stable and predictable. Can you say the same for the erratic behavior of the US government and the Fed? Cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, offer these possibilities in the same decentralized way as precious metals, but with more efficiency. That's why most people find them interesting.

 

[notebook.fix]

Sleuth, El Queso, bradley, ejcot & others have put forward some very compelling and thoughtful opinions and so without going into any pro or anti bitcoin arguments, I just want to say that the fact that there is an honest and open debate about this topic on this forum, is extremely positive and valuable. Sooner or later, time will reveal her hand & the truth will stand on it's own. At least we are debating without attacking one another. I'm not 100% certain of anything but my mind will remain open to all sides and points of view.

 

[arlean]

How long will it be before governments outlaw bitcoin, do you think? That is, unless they want the idea well established because they want an electronic currency so maybe let people get used to it? I wish I were there to go just to understand it better. But these are my questions about it.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

How long will it be before governments outlaw bitcoin, do you think? That is, unless they want the idea well established because they want an electronic currency so maybe let people get used to it? I wish I were there to go just to understand it better. But these are my questions about it.

No need to "outlaw" per se. A few fraud prosecutions by consumer protection agencies, at multiple levels, should help turn things around.

 

[scotttswan]

http://compoundingmyinterests.com/compounding-the-blog/2013/11/11/the-rise-and-inevitable-fall-of-bitcoin-1.html
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131123214850-68263102-bitcoin-when-money-is-not-an-investment

couple of links for people thinking about "investing" in bitcoins.

 

[Sleuth]

Read this WSJ article. Seems to be pretty well-balanced:

Should You Invest in Bitcoin?

Is It Just the Latest in a Long Line of Speculative Manias, or Could it Have Staying Power?

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579212101356897382

(Search for the title in Google News and click from there in order to get around their paywall.)

 

[notebook.fix]

Interesting short article:

"Richard Branson endorses Bitcoin, says Virgin Galactic will accept the virtual currency"
"Richard Branson believes in Bitcoin, and he's putting his money where his mouth is. The billionaire CEO has announced that his commercial space startup Virgin Galactic will now accept payment from future astronauts in the virtual currency."
http://www.theverge....will-accept-the

 

[Sleuth]

Interesting short article:

"Richard Branson endorses Bitcoin, says Virgin Galactic will accept the virtual currency"
"Richard Branson believes in Bitcoin, and he's putting his money where his mouth is. The billionaire CEO has announced that his commercial space startup Virgin Galactic will now accept payment from future astronauts in the virtual currency."
http://www.theverge....will-accept-the

I wish this one was more than just a publicity stunt. If he had said, Virgin Airlines will now accept Bitcoin, it would have been much more interesting. Not a lot of people going to pay $250,000 for a space flight.

 

[notebook.fix]

Agreed Sleuth, it is a cheap publicity stunt...another link on how the general media focuses more on the issue of tax avoidance, drug dealing & all sort of dark activities instead of stopping to recognize the criminal activity by governments in collusion with banksters and the loss of public trust in them. I know it's a tired old subject but it's still interesting to see the resistance & hostility towards change. Here we are in 2013 , between 2008 and the inevitable collapse of the fiat $ print system and we are still being told to trust in the old Central bank mafia.

Since when are governments the rightful owners of our money?

Bitcoin is the offshore tax haven of the future
http://www.dailydot....hore-tax-haven/
"If a citizen’s home government twists the arm of the bank to hand over information about its account holders, those account holders could be forced to pay up.
Bitcoin doesn’t have this problem because, by definition, it can be exchanged directly from one computer to another and then held in anonymous online wallets without a third-party financial institution ever touching it."

 

[EricLovesBA]

How long will it be before governments outlaw bitcoin, do you think? That is, unless they want the idea well established because they want an electronic currency so maybe let people get used to it? I wish I were there to go just to understand it better. But these are my questions about it.

I really doubt any government is doing more than barely tolerating bitcoin. Anything that competes with the government monopoly on money (gold, other currencies, etc) are always a target for restriction and legislation. The anonymity issue encourages black, untaxable markets. I suppose they are just biding their time, waiting for any provable large scale examples of bitcoin's use in illegal/illicit activities so they can target it without so much political risk.

As for electronic money - isn't it already very well established? If you pulled physical money out of the marketplace even today, would the world really come crashing to a halt? How many people do you know who don't own a credit or debit card? I think if the government had any motive to want bitcoin to continue (which I don't they they do), it would be that they have or are seeking technology to covertly track its use.