Bitcoin . . . A Cruisers' Currency ?

[s/v Beth]

I think you should give the guy a break. Being that a lot of my time nowdays is spent figuring out where $$ should go so that I can use it later, I have invested a little time with digital currency. I agree that Bitcoin may not be the currency of the future, but digital currency has its advantages. Not one of the least is its ability to cross borders in a very cheap way. Right now a lot of companies are charging extra for coverting these currencies, but as the hoopla calms down, I am hoping that a very cheap way to get $$ out of my accounts anywhere in the world will come into place. (That's were it is heading anyway).
So if I am in Europe and want Euro's or in Thailand and want whatever, I can get it with only a few dollars per thousand, as opposed to what the banks charge now.
Bitcoin, BTW is not a scheme or flash in the pan. The largest retailer in Utah has announced that they will use it (Overstock.com) But it is too early to see which digital currency will end up on top.
Until then, it will be volatile.
So give the guy a break. I am sure he has an agenda, but I don't care.
And I don't even own a full bitcoin

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Capt Rottnest

Actually there's a bunch of bars in Oz accepting it, 4 or 5 in Perth alone. Serving the geek market they call it.
But, it is a Ponzi scheme. Built in deflation. Early adopters win.

There you go, PirateBooty! Someone who will accept your bitcoins for brews!

As for your earlier "butthurt" comment, if you have to make comments like that, it shows exactly who is butthurt -- the person here trying desperately to sell the idea of bitcoin. None of us care -- we don't have any.

Now all you need to do is find someone who will accept your bitcoin for a yacht, and you'll have it made! I can understand why you'd want to diversify into something other than bitcoin, though. As much of it as you have, it's worth close to half what it was worth in December. So I can't much blame you for trying to drum up some more speculators!

[tropicalescape]

I started out with Bitcoin about 2 yrs ago and I held on to them(forgot about them!) until approx. 4 months ago,I did well,but this too will pass,it was and still is a "bubble" and Bitcoin itself has a limited amount of time left until that "bubble" pops! Good luck..

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

There you go, PirateBooty! Someone who will accept your bitcoins for brews!

As for your earlier "butthurt" comment, if you have to make comments like that, it shows exactly who is butthurt -- the person here trying desperately to sell the idea of bitcoin. None of us care -- we don't have any.

Now all you need to do is find someone who will accept your bitcoin for a yacht, and you'll have it made! I can understand why you'd want to diversify into something other than bitcoin, though. As much of it as you have, it's worth close to half what it was worth in December. So I can't much blame you for trying to drum up some more speculators!

I didnt read this until after I posted,you are so right..This too will pass(bitcoin ie virtual money)..Silk road has already said that they will pay back all the Bitcoins that were stolen from them and their customers before they take profits,yea right!

[autumnbreeze27]

I wish I would have mined some bitcoins back in the day. I've got a buddy who's sitting on a bunch of them, still worth in the 5 figures, but not for much longer.

I think we've proven time and again that anything computer based can be hacked. They've already had issues... there will be more.

But the competition is good... if it ends up lowering BS fees then I hope it sticks around a long time.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by PirateBooty

Your attitude is correct about your personal security. I wish more people thought this way. However, there are two basic pieces of software when it comes to bitcoin.

First you have the mining software that mines bitcoins. It is no longer profitable to mine on a personal computer because the difficulty is very high. This difficulty I mention is the difficulty of completing the process that results in an accepted block which for now results in bitcoins as a reward to the persons who mined that block. The difficulty is dynamic and will change in such a way as to ensure the rate at which blocks are completed and bitcoins enter the ecosystem. We have dedicated hardware built specifically for the purpose of mining so you won't be installing mining software on your computer any longer.

Second you have the bitcoin wallet where you store the keys needed to access your bitcoins. Before there were online wallets that people could store bitcoins in the only choice for coin storage was the bitcoin wallet you installed on your computer and yes, if it had malicious code in it, it could be used as a vector for attack. The wallet software is open source which means the code is constantly reviewed by the public. Also, it is no longer necessary to run your own wallet, there are plenty of online wallet services to track your bitcoins. The tradeoff is that you have to trust the online wallet service with your coins.

I hope this was helpful. I too would be more worried about volatility if I was looking to enter the market right now. A part of me hopes it never stabilizes since it's just plain boring when it does.

WE???????????

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

There you go, PirateBooty! Someone who will accept your bitcoins for brews!

As for your earlier "butthurt" comment, if you have to make comments like that, it shows exactly who is butthurt -- the person here trying desperately to sell the idea of bitcoin. None of us care -- we don't have any.

Now all you need to do is find someone who will accept your bitcoin for a yacht, and you'll have it made! I can understand why you'd want to diversify into something other than bitcoin, though. As much of it as you have, it's worth close to half what it was worth in December. So I can't much blame you for trying to drum up some more speculators!

why not just cash it in on the site for dollars and buy the boat? I don't get it.

[Jimbo485]

Apparently there are bitcoin ATMs about to sweep USA and Europe.

Bitcoin ATMs coming to a place near you | News.com.au

[cal40john]

Just saw a news report here in Seattle, BitCoin ATMs are going in and at least one food stand is taking bitcoins that they interviewed.

Too volatile for me.

[Sondor]

It was only a couple or so weeks ago where our local news (Pacific NW) channel did a feature on all the bars and restaurants in the area who are presently accepting bitcoins.

The gist of the story can be summed up by the following:

1) Bitcoin transactions were less expensive for the proprietor than their Visa/MasterCard merchant accounts to process

2) Since the bitcoins were quickly converted to the proprietors currency of choice it obviates volatility concerns

...Personally, I just can't fathom owning any 'coins' that can't be instantly converted to pinball games ~

[denverd0n]

I suspect that in the long run electronic currencies (like bitcoin, but possibly NOT bitcoin) will catch on and eventually proliferate to the point where they become stable. The problem right now, of course, is the insane volatility, which makes it nothing less than wild-eyed speculation to hold onto bitcoins for more than a few days. This is a little bit of a Catch-22, since stability will not come until a critical mass of people are using them, and people are hesitating to use them because of the lack of stability.

Of course governments (meaning, the politicians) are very suspicious of any kind of currency that they can't control, because without control of it they cannot profit from it, or use it to control the public.

As of now, I see bitcoins as nothing more than a novelty, and fairly useless for the average cruiser. Of course, when this thread was first started, most people had never even heard of bitcoins and that has obviously changed dramatically in the last three years. Where electronic currencies--or bitcoins in particular--will be in another three years is anybody's guess. I think it will at least be interesting to see how this plays out, though.

[letsgetsailing3]

An electronic currency makes sense.

A highly speculative currency that was worth $10 last January, $1200 in December, and $600 now isn't something that you want to be using to buy beer with.

Of course if you bought 200 of them last January for $2000, and someone will trade you a $120K boat for them now, go for it. Don't forget to declare the $118K of income.

Oh yeah, Uncle Sam will be wanting his cut, and I'm also guessing the Bitcoin ATMs will be wanting a cut also. Suddenly, it will have the same types of issues that other currencies have.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Sounds an awful lot like the old vendor tokens of years past--such as what one would spend in company stores, brothels, speakeasies, etc.

I love running across "old gem" comments like this!!! Thanks Astrid!

[valhalla360]

The biggest threat with bitcoin is it is primarily used for illegal activities.

While you may not like the rules, the IRS gets really cranky if you try to engage in tax evasion. Moving money out of the country outside the normal channels is typically assumed to be an attempt at tax evasion (even if that isn't your goal). When it was a couple dozen geeks mining coins and talkin big while dealing with a few hundred dollars worth, the IRS probably didn't want to be bothered.

If it ever moves mainstream, you can expect them to enforce the rules and anyone caught will be guilty until proven innocent. At that point the currency will collapse or it will move into the banking system, where it will have the same transaction fees you see with euros and dollars. At the institutional level all currencies are digital already. It's the rules related to keeping track of transfers for tax purposes and maintaining secure transactions that drive up the transaction costs.

What people forget is we are actually living in a golden age of money transfer already. I can walk into a bank in most countries, stick my ATM card into the machine and walk out with a few hundred worth of local currency for $2-3 in 2-3 minutes.
- Go back to the 1950's and you had to go thru the hassle of paying for travelers checks before you left, then finding a place to convert them. If you didn't get enough ahead of time, it was a major hassle to try and come up with extra cash after the fact.
- Go back to the 1800's and with a few key exceptions, you had to carry cash or in some cases precious medals.
- Go back before the italians set up the first banks and it was hard coins or nothing.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

At the institutional level all currencies are digital already.

Absolutely true. That's why the thing that really sets bitcoins apart is not the fact that they are electronic, or that they are traded on the internet, but the fact that they are an independent currency, not issued and controlled by any government. In many ways, they are not that much different than the independent currencies that various companies and organizations have tried to make use of in the past (mostly with little to no success).