As Bitcoin Payouts Halve, Uncertainty Looms - Polidicks

[quote]The hosts who maintain the servers of the Bitcoin network (so-called “miners”) are expecting some bad news early next month. Around July 10th, their pay will suddenly be cut in half, with the reward for a unit of computing work dropping from 25 bitcoins (currently around $14,250) to 12.5 coins. Bitcoin watchers are debating what exactly the consequences of that drop will be for the decentralized payments network, and some think there’s trouble ahead. There’s no penny-pinching boss cutting fat at Bitcoin, Inc. (Actually, there’s no such thing as Bitcoin, Inc.) The regular halving of miner payouts has been baked into the open-source digital currency since it debuted in January of 2009, occurring roughly every four years. The cuts are intended to slowly throttle the growth of the Bitcoin supply, an anti-inflationary control that helped drive early faith in the technology.[/quote] source: [url]http://fortune.com/2016/06/05/as-bitcoin-payouts-halve-uncertainty-looms/[/url]

i hope the value goes up

Are Bitcoins actually used in any legitimate businesses now? Because to me it still looks like some hyped up version of stock, rather than an actual currency, with people trying to speculate on it to make big bucks and the value being highly unstable. The only thing that separates it from stocks/shares in practice is that it's frequently used to buy drugs.

[QUOTE=Doom64hunter;50465118]Are Bitcoins actually used in any legitimate businesses now? [/QUOTE] A few game retailers use Bitcoins, however that's the least of what I've seen to legitimize this virtual currency. Tried to check and I could only find G2A which is already a illegal gray market which comprises mostly of stolen keys or fraud bought keys.

[QUOTE=FezianEmperor;50465135]A few game retailers use Bitcoins, however that's the least of what I've seen to legitimize this virtual currency.[/QUOTE] Newegg takes them as well.

[QUOTE=FezianEmperor;50465135]A few game retailers use Bitcoins, however that's the least of what I've seen to legitimize this virtual currency. Tried to check and I could only find G2A which is already a illegal gray market which comprises mostly of stolen keys or fraud bought keys.[/QUOTE] Steam accepts Bitcoin too since recently.

In Slovenia in capital city there are 3 cash machines, also some restaurants and bars accept bitcoins. Also many mine close friends use bitcoins and some even work for bitcoins :). It's nice system, no denying in that.

[QUOTE=Fourier;50465168]In Slovenia in capital city there are 3 cash machines, also some restaurants and bars accept bitcoins. Also many mine close friends use bitcoins and some even work for bitcoins :). It's nice system, no denying in that.[/QUOTE] What's the reason for this? What's the advantage over just regular money?

[QUOTE=smurfy;50465184]What's the reason for this? What's the advantage over just regular money?[/QUOTE] I know quite a few people that use bitcoins to sell digital goods and evade taxes, hooray!

[QUOTE=Doom64hunter;50465118]Are Bitcoins actually used in any legitimate businesses now? Because to me it still looks like some hyped up version of stock, rather than an actual currency, with people trying to speculate on it to make big bucks and the value being highly unstable. The only thing that separates it from stocks/shares in practice is that it's frequently used to buy drugs.[/QUOTE] No, the biggest difference between stocks and Bitcoin is that owning a stock means actually owning a portion of the company.

[QUOTE=smurfy;50465184]What's the reason for this? What's the advantage over just regular money?[/QUOTE] Biggest advantage is that it exists in digital world, which means very easy (and instantly) send money to someone else (which might be your friend near you) or to another country. Also lower fees (compared to banks) when sending money. Second, you are not tied to banks for money storage/transfer, which means you are 'invisible' to government. Bitcoins can be tracked though. Third, Euro/Dollar are printed money, which means they are losing value over time (inflation). Bitcoin is limited (can exist only 21 million bitcoins there), but is reaching more and more use everyday, which means it's getting worth more everyday. (deflatory) [editline]6th June 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=MisterSjeiks;50465050]i hope the value goes up[/QUOTE] last halve nothing happened. Bitcoin actually rose 3 months after last halve (the moment when it was 1000€)

To me bitcoin was just a currency that some people managed to mine quite early before it blew up and got rich of it. The aftermath isn't really that much to care about as integrating it into storefronts removes the whole point of it being anonymous. In the end it's a criminals tool, you either use it for illegal goods or you want to hide your money in non traceable transactions. Though they can now identify you by the fact that you purchased something in bitcoin.

[QUOTE=FezianEmperor;50465265]To me bitcoin was just a currency that some people managed to mine quite early before it blew up and got rich of it. The aftermath isn't really that much to care about as integrating it into storefronts removes the whole point of it being anonymous.[/QUOTE] You can mix bitcoins and make them anonymous you know.

[QUOTE=Fourier;50465272]You can mix bitcoins and make them anonymous you know.[/QUOTE] When you buy something in bitcoin, you still show that you've bought something in bitcoin. Again, the whole purpose of bitcoin is to be anonymous. Sure, you can create a throwaway email adress over a VPN and make the purchase through VPN. Of course, you can use several bitcoin adresses and then have one which you use to actually make the payment. Transferring the money inbetween said adresses until you then transfer it to the one you make the payment with. Making certain that the bitcoin remain anonymous. This all ties back into the whole purpose of bitcoin, it's to stay away from all things concerning banks power of your money and being completely anonymous in making transactions. Integrating it into normal storefronts without revealing yourself is therefore quite hard without using the right precautions and sometimes the services deny you anonymity to even make said purchases over a VPN. Of course, this is all tied to purchases over the internet. offline payments in bitcoin, I have no clue how they could trace you. Except maybe "customer bought item with bitcoin at this moment". Considering they don't have your name like they do with traditional bank cards/credit cards. You'd be much safer making payments with bitcoin offline.

[QUOTE=FezianEmperor;50465295]When you buy something in bitcoin, you still show that you've bought something in bitcoin. Again, the whole purpose of bitcoin is to be anonymous. Sure, you can create a throwaway email adress over a VPN and make the purchase through VPN. Of course, you can use several bitcoin adresses and then have one which you use to actually make the payment. Transferring the money inbetween said adresses until you then transfer it to the one you make the payment with. Making certain that the bitcoin remain anonymous. This all ties back into the whole purpose of bitcoin, it's to stay away from all things concerning banks power of your money and being completely anonymous in making transactions. Integrating it into normal storefronts without revealing yourself is therefore quite hard without using the right precautions and sometimes the services deny you anonymity to even make said purchases over a VPN. Of course, this is all tied to purchases over the internet. offline payments in bitcoin, I have no clue how they could trace you. Except maybe "customer bought item with bitcoin at this moment". Considering they don't have your name like they do with traditional bank cards/credit cards. You'd be much safer making payments with bitcoin offline.[/QUOTE] Bitcoin isn't anonymous. It was never designed to be anonymous and anonymity has never been a selling point. The whole point is to operate a decentralized ledger which is pseudonymous. If you want to be anonymous, you'd just sell some bitcoins in person using a service like localbitcoins for cash and then just use cash. There are different schools of thought on whether bitcoin is "meant" to be for small transactions or for long term storage of value or whatever. Bottom line is its just a computer program and the miners behind it currently run the world's most powerful supercomputer. [editline]6th June 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=FezianEmperor;50465265]To me bitcoin was just a currency that some people managed to mine quite early before it blew up and got rich of it. The aftermath isn't really that much to care about as integrating it into storefronts removes the whole point of it being anonymous. In the end it's a criminals tool, you either use it for illegal goods or you want to hide your money in non traceable transactions. Though they can now identify you by the fact that you purchased something in bitcoin.[/QUOTE] There are a lot more uses than just for illegal goods and realistically bitcoin is at its highest adoption rate since starting and is constantly getting stronger. The main purposes/selling points are as follows: -Asset store -Asset transfer -Quick payments -Pseudonymous -Purchase of goods etc

Exactly, hence why I was quick to not state that your bitcoin adress is anonymous. The transactions that happen are however as you state pseudonymous. Not anonymous. My fault. I can see that viewpoint and I agree with it, however most people want to stay anonymous [B]using[/B] bitcoins. Even if they are full on in belief that using bitcoin makes them anonymous, which you and I have stated isn't exactly the truth. I just don't like the idea of tax evasion in a currency that is going to inflate in value over time or more surprisingly and less likely pop the bubble in its entirety, making sure all your saved assets are worth nothing. Which in turn means assets that should've been paid taxes for are also gone.

I think the biggest problem is that if people stop mining because it's no longer profitable then the bitcoin network is going to become very slow. Transactions could take days to be confirmed which makes using bitcoin very painful. But more than likely people will continue mining because they've invested money into hardware that has probably paid itself off already.

[QUOTE=reedbo;50465743]I think the biggest problem is that if people stop mining because it's no longer profitable then the bitcoin network is going to become very slow. Transactions could take days to be confirmed which makes using bitcoin very painful. But more than likely people will continue mining because they've invested money into hardware that has probably paid itself off already.[/QUOTE] In this case transaction fee becomes a bit bigger so it will be profitable for miners.

[QUOTE=Headhumpy;50465208]No, the biggest difference between stocks and Bitcoin is that owning a stock means actually owning a portion of the company.[/QUOTE] Well, the point is that Bitcoin is about as volatile as stocks. The problem for businesses adopting it was to eliminate the holding risk by converting it back into fiat ASAP. It wasn't "eh I don't want to actually do the work to accept Bitcoin", it was "I don't want to be holding Bitcoin if someone pays me with it". And minority stock ownership is pretty much negligible in its control and liquidation value. The practicality of owning a portion of the company is essentially worthless on an extreme minority scale.

[URL]https://plutus.it/[/URL] Bitcoin will be as good as real money when this goes live. NFC payments are already accepted in a ton of places.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;50466075][URL]https://plutus.it/[/URL] Bitcoin will be as good as real money when this goes live. NFC payments are already accepted in a ton of places.[/QUOTE] i've heard this saying every few months for over half a decade now lol

[QUOTE=Anti Christ;50466765]i've heard this saying every few months for over half a decade now lol[/QUOTE] The point is I can walk into almost any supermarket and buy groceries now with Bitcoin at no effort. That was the barrier to entry. It's a real currency now for those who know of it.

The only people who truly have seen benefits from bitcoins are the ones who mined early and got huge cash out of it later on

[QUOTE=MisterSjeiks;50465157]Steam accepts Bitcoin too since recently.[/QUOTE] Steam accepts Bitcoin through a third-party service that immediately converts it to USD. The only reason they "accept" Bitcoin is because they can do it without ever having to bother with Bitcoins. If that service went under, they're not going to start processing Bitcoins themselves. I could start up a service that exchanges pocket lint for USD and partner with Steam to let you buy games with pocket lint, but that wouldn't mean Valve considers pocket lint to be a viable currency.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;50466075][URL]https://plutus.it/[/URL] Bitcoin will be as good as real money when this goes live. NFC payments are already accepted in a ton of places.[/QUOTE] except isn't this just a pretty way to turn bitcoin into real money merchants aren't accepting bitcoin in this case, so it's kinda a moot point

[QUOTE=Doom64hunter;50465118]Are Bitcoins actually used in any legitimate businesses now? Because to me it still looks like some hyped up version of stock, rather than an actual currency, with people trying to speculate on it to make big bucks and the value being highly unstable. The only thing that separates it from stocks/shares in practice is that it's frequently used to buy drugs.[/QUOTE] I pay for server hosting in bitcoins They're very useful if your site generates them, you can essentially have it be a completely self-sufficient system that's automatic.

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;50467761]except isn't this just a pretty way to turn bitcoin into real money merchants aren't accepting bitcoin in this case, so it's kinda a moot point[/QUOTE] It would depend on whether the merchant accepts [insert competing NFC standard here], and whether they can actually get signed onto any specific NFC service in the first place. I would not be surprised at all if all of these strange vendor-created cryptocurrencies that are popping up (what the fuck is a pluton now?) end up in the same fate as the dot-com bubble.

[QUOTE=icarusfoundyou;50465525] The main purposes/selling points are as follows: -Asset store -Asset transfer -Quick payments -Pseudonymous -Purchase of goods etc[/QUOTE] Bitcoin is not quick, it's slow as fuck and asset store has got to be a joke.

[QUOTE=Killuah;50470527]Bitcoin is not quick, it's slow as fuck and asset store has got to be a joke.[/QUOTE] Even on its slowest days its still far faster than international SWIFT. How exactly is asset store a joke? You buy some bitcoin, print it in a paper wallet and then use it when you want/need it.

[QUOTE=Killuah;50470527]Bitcoin is not quick, it's slow as fuck and asset store has got to be a joke.[/QUOTE] Well, It used to be fast. It just became flooded with custom built mining machines which killed it. Further more group mining suddenly became harder to do because staff would routinely become greedy and prevent users from earning their share.