Author Topic: Does anyone here use Bitcoins? (Read 854,854 times)

IainB · « **Reply #750 on:** October 12, 2015, 02:32 PM »

Quote from: x16wda on October 12, 2015, 10:39 AM

...What I am curious about is why one would look at a dynamic, fluctuating "exchange rate" and then say that the answer is to do some kind of conversion to a static, unchanging barcode. ...
__________________________

I'm not sure that was what was being intended/proposed, or maybe it's a wrong interpretation (misunderstanding) of what was being proposed. It would seem to be nonsensical.

Quote from: Stoic Joker on October 12, 2015, 12:03 PM

The necessary BTC software is free, and they all do a dollars to BTC conversion on the fly...which is based on a user configurable exchange.
FOR SMB's CoinBase (and I'd wager other companies like it) offers a web based transaction handling service that will generate a QR code based invoice, send it to the customer, and then automatically sell off the coin and deposit the money in you bank account (at the agreed on/transacted exchange rate).
_______________________

If that is all indeed true, and if it's trusted/reliable/secure, etc., then the hypothesis of the "Wallmart problem" presumably has no validity - i.e., it's not a problem as described. Then Wall mart would probably be implementing - or would be about to implement - BC transactions. Are they, in fact? I wouldn't know - my experience and knowledge is limited to Australasia and what happens in EFT-POS systems and so-called "intelligent networks" used for high volume transaction processing, and the associated Payment Systems and GSS, a lot of which the BC system seems could potentially bypass or make redundant.
That's unlikely to happen without a fight.

Renegade · « **Reply #751 on:** October 14, 2015, 04:13 AM »

StoicJoker is right.

I'd started a post before, but never clicked "Post" because I was simply ranting about how Gary North is just a complete buffoon when it comes to Bitcoin. I really like him. He just loses his mind and sounds like a complete moron when it comes to the topic of Bitcoin.

What Gary misses, as SJ noted, is that you can accept BTC and convert on the fly. Barcodes have ZERO to do with anything, and again, SJ has already noted that.

In transaction processing, bitcoins are really not that much different than debit cards.

I can go to pretty much anywhere I want and stick my bank card into the reader and pay for damn near anything I want with zero problems. BTW - that bank card is in Korean won (KRW).

The difference between paying in KRW and paying in BTC is that there is a lower transaction cost for paying in BTC.

These things are really not that hard to understand if anyone takes the time to understand different payment systems.

Now, it does require a bit of knowledge about payment systems, transaction costs, and settlement procedures, but it's not really all that complicated.

For those that want to look into it, the more complicated the system gets, the more expensive it gets. (If anyone wants, call me out on it and I'll give you basic examples that you can verify for yourself.)

With Bitcoin, the procedures are all very simple. You're talking about a maximum of 2 layers of transaction processing to achieve an objective --- the payment processor and the exchange. It doesn't get simpler than that.

With fiat currency... oh god... the layers are insane. Bank to bank to bank to bank... And that very often means that Chase Manhattan gets their cut because f**k you pay me.

I wish that Gary would just take the time to learn about what he's writing about with Bitcoin because I really like him and hate when he makes a total ass of himself. ;(

IainB · « **Reply #752 on:** October 14, 2015, 04:05 PM »

^^ Why don't you post a polite comment to that effect on his website? It might be very helpful/useful to him.

Renegade · « **Reply #753 on:** October 31, 2015, 02:33 AM »

There's a sustained rally on BTC right now.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/30/the-bitcoin-rally-is-real/

It's also seen a golden cross (50 day moving average and 200 day moving average cross with both on the upswing).

**********

Quote from: IainB on October 14, 2015, 04:05 PM

^^ Why don't you post a polite comment to that effect on his website? It might be very helpful/useful to him.

I'm quite certain that people closer to Gary have pointed things out to him. Given the egregiously horrible errors he's made, I don't believe that any level of reason could work. It just seems to be a blind spot for him. Which is a darn shame because he's so good on other topics. I just don't see how he misses this.

barney · « **Reply #754 on:** October 31, 2015, 06:57 PM »

Quote from: Renegade on October 31, 2015, 02:33 AM

I'm quite certain that people closer to Gary have pointed things out to him.

That statement reminds me of the prettiest girl in high school going dateless

because every guy was certain another guy had asked her out. It also dodges your responsibility to yourself.

Renegade · « **Reply #755 on:** October 31, 2015, 08:47 PM »

Quote from: barney on October 31, 2015, 06:57 PM

Quote from: Renegade on October 31, 2015, 02:33 AM
I'm quite certain that people closer to Gary have pointed things out to him.
That statement reminds me of the prettiest girl in high school going dateless because every guy was certain another guy had asked her out. It also dodges your responsibility to yourself.

Good point, and fair enough.

Renegade · « **Reply #756 on:** November 02, 2015, 08:51 PM »

Every now and then you see someone speak with real passion. Passion that goes deep down inside them, and passion that pours out through their words, facial expression, and sometimes even to the brink of or past tears.

Cued up (47m 21s):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zKuoqZLyKg&t=47m21s

Inline, but probably not cued up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zKuoqZLyKg

Renegade · « **Reply #757 on:** November 03, 2015, 07:07 AM »

I'd not seen this before. Could just as well be in the music thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbzNJr26H-4

It ain't going away.

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #758 on:** November 04, 2015, 07:33 PM »

Bitcoin is going nuts

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #759 on:** November 04, 2015, 08:21 PM »

Quote from: Arizona Hot on November 04, 2015, 07:33 PM

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Bitcoin is going nuts

More like Bitcoin is driving me nuts. I was just about to do a -(breakeven)- partial selloff, but missed the peak...and now it's - floundering - in correction or something ... Ggaaaaaaaaa!

wraith808 · « **Reply #760 on:** November 04, 2015, 08:49 PM »

I really want to get into BC... but I don't even know where to start with it doing this mess.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #761 on:** November 04, 2015, 09:52 PM »

Quote from: wraith808 on November 04, 2015, 08:49 PM

I really want to get into BC... but I don't even know where to start with it doing this mess.

I honestly don't think there is a per se 'Right Way' to get started ... There are however a lot of wrong ways (like investing you life savings, etc..).

I went the mining route, because the whole investing/currency exchange thing confuses the shit out of me. But if you're good at that type of thing maybe pushing some shitcoin around might be a good way in.

In retrospect, I put more into the mining equipment than I should have and the money is kinda stuck there now ... But at the time - it looked good - I couldn't see the bottom falling out shortly thereafter. I'm not looking to pull out completely, I'd just like to break even.

wraith808 · « **Reply #762 on:** November 04, 2015, 10:32 PM »

Quote from: Stoic Joker on November 04, 2015, 09:52 PM

Quote from: wraith808 on November 04, 2015, 08:49 PM
I really want to get into BC... but I don't even know where to start with it doing this mess.

I honestly don't think there is a per se 'Right Way' to get started ... There are however a lot of wrong ways (like investing you life savings, etc..).

I went the mining route, because the whole investing/currency exchange thing confuses the shit out of me. But if you're good at that type of thing maybe pushing some shitcoin around might be a good way in.

In retrospect, I put more into the mining equipment than I should have and the money is kinda stuck there now ... But at the time - it looked good - I couldn't see the bottom falling out shortly thereafter. I'm not looking to pull out completely, I'd just like to break even.

Are you still running your mining setup? And is it still generating an appreciable amount?

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #763 on:** November 04, 2015, 10:58 PM »

Quote from: wraith808 on November 04, 2015, 10:32 PM

Quote from: Stoic Joker on November 04, 2015, 09:52 PM
Quote from: wraith808 on November 04, 2015, 08:49 PM
I really want to get into BC... but I don't even know where to start with it doing this mess.

I honestly don't think there is a per se 'Right Way' to get started ... There are however a lot of wrong ways (like investing you life savings, etc..).

I went the mining route, because the whole investing/currency exchange thing confuses the shit out of me. But if you're good at that type of thing maybe pushing some shitcoin around might be a good way in.

In retrospect, I put more into the mining equipment than I should have and the money is kinda stuck there now ... But at the time - it looked good - I couldn't see the bottom falling out shortly thereafter. I'm not looking to pull out completely, I'd just like to break even.

Are you still running your mining setup? And is it still generating an appreciable amount?

(hehe) No. The miners I have are on the wrong side of unity, so they cost more to operate than they produce. I've got a friend listing them on eBay to see what (if anything) I can recoup from them. I may buy another faster/more efficient miner...or I may give up and bail. The coin currently is at $370 so I'm hosed if I selloff now. I'd have been fine if I could have dumped the bulk of the nut this morning @$499.60 ... But that plan got hosed by the exchange's hyper paranoid 3 factor authentication. By the time I (left work and) got home I'd already missed the crest ... So now I'm just right back to being slightly totally fucked again..

Yay...

Deozaan · « **Reply #764 on:** November 06, 2015, 01:17 AM »

Quote from: wraith808 on November 04, 2015, 08:49 PM

I really want to get into BC... but I don't even know where to start with it doing this mess.

I read somewhere recently-ish that it was practically impossible (for the average person) to earn more money through mining than the cost of the power expended to run the mining hardware. But that may have been before the even-more-recent-ish rally that BTC has had.

I, too, am interested in getting into BTC, but I have no idea how to create a wallet. And I lack basic knowledge about BTC, such as if it's even possible to have a wallet without mining.

wraith808 · « **Reply #765 on:** November 06, 2015, 05:40 AM »

Quote from: Deozaan on November 06, 2015, 01:17 AM

Quote from: wraith808 on November 04, 2015, 08:49 PM
I really want to get into BC... but I don't even know where to start with it doing this mess.

I read somewhere recently-ish that it was practically impossible (for the average person) to earn more money through mining than the cost of the power expended to run the mining hardware. But that may have been before the even-more-recent-ish rally that BTC has had.

I, too, am interested in getting into BTC, but I have no idea how to create a wallet. And I lack basic knowledge about BTC, such as if it's even possible to have a wallet without mining.

Yes, you can have a wallet without mining. And you can get into BTC from the exchanges or from other people. My problem is more not knowing where to jump in.

https://bitcoin.org/en/getting-started

http://bitcoinsimplified.org/get-started/how-to-set-up-a-wallet/

Deozaan · « **Reply #766 on:** November 06, 2015, 07:02 AM »

Some random thoughts: I watched the videos and heard people mention their computer blowing up and losing 1,000s of bitcoins. Are they lost and gone forever? How does that affect BTC overall since there's a maximum of 21 million of them, or whatever the limit is. What if everybody lost their bitcoin wallet? We'd all have a 21 million bitcoin blockchain but nobody would have access to the currency?

Quote from: wraith808 on November 06, 2015, 05:40 AM

Yes, you can have a wallet without mining. And you can get into BTC from the exchanges or from other people. My problem is more not knowing where to jump in.

https://bitcoin.org/en/getting-started

http://bitcoinsimplified.org/get-started/how-to-set-up-a-wallet/

Thanks for these links. Time for some reading.

Deozaan · « **Reply #767 on:** November 06, 2015, 08:46 AM »

Well, now I have a bitcoin wallet. Too bad I don't have anything to do with it.

Renegade · « **Reply #768 on:** November 07, 2015, 09:23 AM »

Quote from: Deozaan on November 06, 2015, 08:46 AM

Well, now I have a bitcoin wallet. Too bad I don't have anything to do with it.

PM me your address.

Deozaan · « **Reply #769 on:** November 09, 2015, 05:16 AM »

Quote from: Renegade on November 07, 2015, 09:23 AM

PM me your address.

Done.

Also, the initial sync was brutal. Over 50GB of blockchain data. If I had known then what I know now, I'd have chosen a different, "lightweight" bitcoin wallet software.

You live and you learn.

tomos · « **Reply #770 on:** November 09, 2015, 05:44 AM »

Quote from: Deozaan on November 09, 2015, 05:16 AM

Also, the initial sync was brutal. Over 50GB of blockchain data. If I had known then what I know now, I'd have chosen a different, "lightweight" bitcoin wallet software.

is that 50GB stored on your machine

Deozaan · « **Reply #771 on:** November 09, 2015, 06:03 AM »

Quote from: tomos on November 09, 2015, 05:44 AM

Quote from: Deozaan on November 09, 2015, 05:16 AM
Also, the initial sync was brutal. Over 50GB of blockchain data. If I had known then what I know now, I'd have chosen a different, "lightweight" bitcoin wallet software.
is that 50GB stored on your machine

Yes. I downloaded a client which locally downloads/stores the full blockchain because I was told it was more secure (for verifying transactions), and I guess it also makes me act as another node on the P2P Bitcoin network so it helps improve the network.

Quote from: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

This wallet is a full node that validates and relays transactions on the Bitcoin network. This means no trust in a third party is required when verifying payments. Full nodes provide the highest level of security and are essential to protecting the network. However, they require more space (over 20GB), bandwidth, and a longer initial synchronization time

I knew getting into it from the info quoted above that it was going to be a large download, but it didn't set my expectations properly because it said the blockchain is "over 20GB." While that is a true statement, it made me think that it might be as large as 25-30GB. The full blockchain is currently about 53.5GB. Not only that, but the download was relatively slow. I'm currently on a 200Mbps download plan but it took me about 24 hours to download it all. (Not quite that long, since I put my computer to sleep overnight--twice!--during the sync process.)

But if you use a "lightweight" wallet application, it doesn't store the full blockchain, just the parts that are relevant to your transactions (or something along those lines) and only uses a relatively few MB of local storage IIUC. For example, the app I downloaded to my Android device only uses about 8MB of internal storage, and most of that is the APK itself!

Honestly, I still don't feel I understand very well how it works, but I'm starting to get a feel for some of it.

Renegade · « **Reply #772 on:** November 09, 2015, 07:30 AM »

@Deozzan - Check your wallet. I just sent you about $10 in bitcoins. By the time you see this message, it will be in your wallet.

You can do anything you want with that, and **NOBODY** can stop you. Nobody.

That could just as well be any amount of money you can imagine. $10,000. A million. 10 million. And you could send it to anyone you want without any interference.

And it would cost you almost nothing.

It cost me about $0.01 to send it to you.

Jack all. Nothing. Near zero transaction fees.

I only asked that you PM me so that the transaction would be just between you and me.

Bitcoin is "pseudoanonymous". That means that it's not 100% anonymous, but close. As long as nobody knows our addresses, they can't track us.

If you don't know what to do with it, send it to mouser as a donation. He'll put it to good use.

But, do play around with it. Send $0.50 or $1 to a few people here just to see how fast and easy it is.

Here's an address for me where you can send some just to test:

1F1Eiruf9yzCH49jvjxtajVuzV6mBP3tef

But do check it out and see just how easy it is. Try it a few times.

Maybe someone else (that has participated in this thread) can post an address for you to send $0.50 or so.

You'll see just how easy it is.

Heck, it's fun~!

BTC FTW!

4wd · « **Reply #773 on:** November 09, 2015, 09:58 AM »

Finally reinstalled Bitcoin-core on my machine, still about a year and a half of blocks to download but I've got back the US$0.03 I had in the wallet ... YAY!

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #774 on:** November 09, 2015, 12:58 PM »

I've been using the Multibit (lightweight) wallet, and have been quite happy with it (very fast sync). But I wonder do the "Full Node" wallets get paid anything - like from the transaction fees - for their troubles (space usage etc.)? I'd go full node in a flash if is/could be profitable...otherwise I'd rather save the space.