DailyDirt: Does Bitcoin Matter?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There have been a lot of stories going around about Bitcoin, including some reports that Bitcoin could become a mainstream payment system. For now, Bitcoin seems like a relatively volatile place to store your money, but its protocol may spur innovation beyond online payments. Here are just a few links to check out if you haven't (yet) set up your Bitcoin mining hardware in your living room. If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
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Filed Under: bitcoin, byzantine generals problem, currency, glenn fleishman, marc andreessen, money, online payments, p2p microblogging, retailers, twister
Companies: overstock


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  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2014 @ 5:20pm

    yes there is recourse

    having no chargebacks and no recourse for disputed transactions.

    A contractual exchange a good for another good has an ability to have a Judge to weigh in with a Court Order.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    OldMugwump (profile), 30 Jan 2014 @ 6:44pm

    no chargebacks and no recourse for disputed transactions

    Just. Like. Cash.

    Which is the point.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2014 @ 7:46pm

    Caveat emptor

    'Bitcoins such as the "buyer beware" aspect of having no chargebacks and no recourse for disputed transactions.'

    Just like sending money via Western Union. The problem is not the currency, but the transfer mechanism.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2014 @ 8:49pm

    Until governments and banks stop trying to seize it and start trying to exploit it, Bitcoin cannot gain traction.

    I predict that eventually digital currency will take off - but it won't be Bitcoin. It will be some form of government currency.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Jan 2014 @ 9:08pm

    Having no chargebacks and little to no recourse for disputed transactions, is exactly why I don't use bitcoin. Sellers love bitcoin, because there's no risk on their end. All the risk is carried by the buyer.

    So with bitcoin, you need to 100% trust the seller (which is pretty much impossible), or they might just take your money and run or refuse a refund.

    Going through the court system, trying to get a refund, is a major pain in the ass compared to going though your bank/credit union. Not to mention expensive.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Just Sayin', 31 Jan 2014 @ 1:17am

    Bitcoin / Overstock

    This is a classic case of people trying to cash out for what they feel is good value, while the other side is taking the bitcoins hoping they increase in value - in part as a result of them announcing they are taking bitcoins.

    It also means the consumer is effectively betting that the goods are worth more than the coins, and overstock is betting the coins are worth more in the long run.

    A nice bitcoin crash and Overstock could find itself understocked on cashflow.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    Ninja (profile), 31 Jan 2014 @ 1:23am

    It's amusing to see the Govt so scared of bitcoin ;))

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    vastrightwing, 31 Jan 2014 @ 6:09am

    My 2 Bitcoins

    Here are my favorite reasons to move to Bitcoin for financial transactions.
    1. There is no middleman.
    2. The government can't seize your account by fiat.
    3. Transaction fees are zero or close to zero.
    4. No one can do QE (quantitative easing).
    5. There is no fractional reserve of Bitcoins.
    6. Retail data breeches won't compromise your Bitcoins.
    7. Good place to store wealth.
    8. Easy to move wealth from point to point without violating governmental laws.
    9. No one is in control of Bitcoin.
    10. Software can be used to emulate all banking features for less (UltraCoin)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. icon
    akp (profile), 31 Jan 2014 @ 9:05am

    Re: My 2 Bitcoins

    [blockquote]Good place to store wealth.[/blockquote]

    Is it though? Usually you'll want to store wealth in less risky and volatile places. Bitcoin's price fluctuates too often and too dramatically to make it a good idea for safe "wealth storage."

    That may change in the future, but for now, bitcoin seems to be "don't put anything in bitcoin you can't afford to lose."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    John Fenderson (profile), 31 Jan 2014 @ 9:12am

    Re: Re: My 2 Bitcoins

    I agree. Bitcoin is a terrible place to store wealth. It's far too unstable. It is a good way to engage in short-term transactions, though.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. icon
    mudlock (profile), 31 Jan 2014 @ 3:38pm

    Re: My 2 Bitcoins

    1. There sort of are (the miners that verify the blockchain.)
    2. True. (But as always, they can arrest you and demand the keys.)
    3. True-for-now. But when miners stop being paid in new coins (see 1) the only reward will be transaction fees.
    4. I would call the complete inability of the bitcoin money supply to react to demand a downside, not an upside. (But I'm aware that opinions differ.)
    5. I would call every bank's unwillingness to denominate loans in bitcoin a sign of the lack of trust in it, not an upside. This is, at best, neutral.
    6. Mmm hmm. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115807/bitcoin-thief-steals-100-million-sheepshead-marketplace
    7. Modern goldbuggery. (The same "differing opinion" as in 4.)
    8. ...yet. And if you use that freedom to violate enough other laws, they'll still find you.
    9. I think when the age of mining for more coins ends and the supply is fixed (and probably earlier, when it slows down) that the lack of being able to respond to changes in any way will prove to be a downside.
    10. Again, probably only true because the miners find the payments in new coins sufficient... for now. (See 1.)

    tl;dr: If you think gold is as good as money, then you'll think bitcoin is as good as gold.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Anonymous, 31 Jan 2014 @ 5:29pm

    Not to me.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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