Bitcoin hits $100

What in your opinion do you think poses the biggest threat to Bitcoin, in both the short and long term? You seem very confident in the whole Bitcoin movement but you must have doubts.
Now there's a tough question.

I'm at an interesting place right now where I think I know exactly how it could be made to fail, but I don't want to say it publicly because the idea could spread and be used against bitcoin.

All I'll say about the threat is that it involves a specific tactic tied to a strong 51% attack technique employed at the same time... By a really major player like the US or China, and soon. I don't know if there is anyone competent enough in those states paying attention to bitcoin, however.

What's likely to happen is some stupid lawmakers thinking they can ban it once it becomes a threat to the USD; and they'll fail miserably. It'll be waaaaay to late then.

After we pass a certain hashing power window, I've got no fears at all.

I'm confident enough in bitcoin to both mine and invest in it until then, but I haven't put the bulk of my savings into it yet simply because there is that small chance that the bitcoin system itself is attacked. (Competently)

Meanwhile, I've got a lot of US fiat and Thai fiat sitting around depreciating that I don't feel comfortable about, so really all I can do for now is diversify and keep helping bitcoin any way I can until we're past the point I'm afraid of.
 


inb4 118

oh to late

little-engine-that-could.jpg
 
Keep in mind that the US government isn't a communist tyranny; they want to promote commerce provided it isn't elicit and the majority of bitcoin transactions are legal. It isn't congress's tendency to kill things off outright, but rather to regulate and tax it.
 
wow this is nuts, but completely rational according to the fundamentals.
now the coins are at 116 . it goes up 12% for four consecutive days before pausing 4 days and then repeating the cycle.
They will be used for all sorts of secure digital transactions, and eventually offline transactions like visa and mastercard.
Soon a coin will cost $1000-$5000 each and will be a prized possession like real gold coins. A single bitcoin will be the equivalent of a monthly or yearly paycheck and peopel will use these coins for subsistence and discretionary spending much like cash.
 
Keep in mind that the US government isn't a communist tyranny; they want to promote commerce provided it isn't elicit and the majority of bitcoin transactions are legal. It isn't congress's tendency to kill things off outright, but rather to regulate and tax it.
That would be 'good news' relatively speaking I guess (compared to the "we're out to destroy it no matter what" stance they could take). I'm guessing bitcoins will be regulated like gold and silver coins. You can freely buy it, but when you sell it later for cash and make a profit, you'd better pay the capital gains tax or else... :usa:
 
I'm guessing bitcoins ARE regulated like gold and silver coins. You can freely buy it, but when you sell it later for cash and make a profit, you'd better pay the capital gains tax or else... :usa:

Fixed that for you... Skirt your taxes and pay the consequences. Any American thinking that BTC is exempt from today's tax's may be looking for trouble.
 
Fixed that for you... Skirt your taxes and pay the consequences. Any American thinking that BTC is exempt from today's tax's may be looking for trouble.

That's pretty much what this article (BitCon: Don't in [Market-Ticker]) says.

Third, because Bitcoin is not state-linked and thus fluctuates in value there is an FX tax issue. Let's say you "buy" Bitcoins (whether for cash or in exchange for a good or service you provide) at a time when they have a "value" of $5 each against the US dollar. You spend them when they have a "value" of $20 each. You have a capital gain of $15. At the time of the sale you have a tax liability too, and I'm willing to bet you didn't keep track of it or report it. That liability never goes away as it was wilfully evaded and yet the ability to track the transaction never goes away either!

Worse, most jurisdictions only permit the taking of a capital loss against other gains, and not against ordinary income taxes. This really sucks because it's a "heads you pay tax, tails you get screwed" situation. This is the inherent problem that gold and other commodities have as "inflation hedges"; the government always denominates its taxes in nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted ones. The only currency against which there is no FX tax exposure is the one the government you live under uses and denominates its taxes in. That is why the government's issued currency will always be the preferred medium of exchange irrespective of all other competing currencies.
It brings up a bunch of other good points as well.
 
I beg to differ. You just need to rely on FinCen's (and whatever other official govt) standards there are for e-currency. This guy sounds batshit paranoiac.

If you think that the .gov will not go after Bitcoin when it becomes apparent it is a real threat you are delusional. Plenty of people have tried to evade the IRS, and it typically does not bode well for them.

Everything in that article could feasibly happen.
 
If you think that the .gov will not go after Bitcoin when it becomes apparent it is a real threat you are delusional. Plenty of people have tried to evade the IRS, and it typically does not bode well for them.

Everything in that article could feasibly happen.
Just follow FinCen's rules. No need to listen to that fruitcake. He doesn't speak for the US govt. Treat bitcoins as you would gold and silver coins. Hold onto some like you would gold/silver coins for a 'rainy day'. And as an investor, if you wanna play it absolutely safe, you can buy and then sell it later for USD for a profit and pay the capital gains tax just like you're supposed to with gold/silver coins.
 
Want some more good news? Can you handle it at this point?

In August 2012, the last time there was a press spike in Bitcoin, (due to the election mostly) the Silk Road’s estimated total revenue was $2 million per month, a number that was passed around between reporters so I have no idea if it was accurate or not.

For the month of March, Bitpay has officially passed the $2 Million mark alone! (In 25 days actually!)

Bitpay is just the largest payment processor. There are a few others, including the ones that power reddit and mega.

Together the processors (not the dinky direct-buy scripts, but just processing companies) that deal in "Legitimate" goods have more than DOUBLED the silk road economy!

Success stories are starting to roll in, like the Bitcoinstore contract renewal... They basically opened up an amazon competitor with 0% markup and no processing fees, and raised $500k in a single month!

The guys at Bitpay are estatic at this quadruling-per-month rate they've been getting, and now that they have passed the $2 Mill a month mark, they just announced that they have reduced their fee to 0.99% across the board for all customers!!

...The bitcoin economy growth is ON FIRE boys... Speculative bubble MY ASS.

If I were paypal or visa I'd be quite scared of bitpay and bitcoin right now.

Don't agree? Watch bitpay's speil, it will blow your mind:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHwB5fOvyr0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHwB5fOvyr0[/ame]
 
stocks surging , coins surging, real estate market booming
people getting richer than ever with minimal effort.
endless opportunities abound for those who take the plunge (and i don't just mean coins).
A wealth creation bonanza on an epic scale.
 
stocks surging , coins surging, real estate market booming
people getting richer than ever with minimal effort.
endless opportunities abound for those who take the plunge (and i don't just mean coins).
A wealth creation bonanza on an epic scale.
The US economy is fucked and so is the EU. We are heading into a global depression unlike anything you have seen before Cyprus is just a taste of whats coming.