Topic: [ANN][NOTE]DNotes - Celebrating DNotes 3rd Birthday - Forum Now Open - page 88. (Read 814539 times)

To Anyone Participating in FF4DC's NFL Playoff Challenge:

The NFL regular season is officially complete, make sure to pick your team before January 9th. To pick your team, go to "my picks" and select a player for each position.
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http://playoffchallenge.fantasy.nfl.com/group/241421

This is a winner take all event, but should there be a tie, prize money (current value over 200 USD) will be split evenly.

In the event that the winner cannot be reached for an extended period of time, the prize money will be awarded to the runner up.

The winner will be decided after the Superbowl on February 7th, best of luck everyone!

I met Brian Donegan, (the head of digital business at the Manx government’s Department ofEconomic  Development) last year. They are certainly the most digital currency and tax friendly. Additionally, they have removed most of regulatory uncertainties.

Bitcoin: How the Isle of Man is leading a cryptocurrency revolution

A scattering of businesses on 'Bitcoin Island' accept the digital currency for everyday transactions alongside sterling

“ ……The ability of Douglas’ 27,000 residents to go about at least some of their daily business using a form of money that many still associate with a netherworld of nerds is emblematic of a wider embrace of digital currency on the Isle of Man. While some jurisdictions, including the UK, continue to be cautious on cryptocurrencies, this crown dependency in the Irish Sea has set out its stall to become a global leader in the sector. Many are now referring to the Isle of Man as “Bitcoin Island”.

As of last month, legislation came into force that requires all cryptocurrency businesses on the island to formally register with its government  and submit to inspection by its financial regulator.
It is one of the final pieces in a two-year process to put in place what Manx legislators insist is the world’s first regulatory framework to help digital currencies become a game-changing tool.
About 25 start-ups using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are now working on an island hitherto best known for its tailless cats and annual TT motorbike race.

Brian Donegan, the head of digital business at the Manx government’s Department ofEconomic  Development, told The Independent: “We have an advantage here in that we can put the legislation in place and provide the rigorous oversight that is needed more rapidly than other jurisdictions.
“We move quickly because we can see the potential of what is out there. This technology is
transformational and we want to be in the lead.” …………

Read More:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bitcoin-how-the-isle-of-man-is-sparking-a-cryptocurrency-revolution-a6794756.html

Quote from: indiamikezulu on Today at 01:32:28 AM

Alt Prices Henceforth?

For ages, we’ve generally thought of crypto prices as Bitcoin vis a vis Everything Else.

We’ve recently been trying to figure out when total alt cap will rise above its present level (at about 8.5% of total crypto cap).

Now, we’re trying to figure out if total alt cap will rise -- the 2013 spike entailed pure speculative frenzy. Are stakeholders more discerning at this point?

So . . . what about a more nuanced analysis:

firstly, it looks like some dozens of low-cap/low-volume alts, certainly ones that trade only or largely on Cryptsy, are gonna bite the dust when Cryptsy does. So an amount of capital will be extinguished.

Secondly, a core of 2.0s will achieve a real degree of price independence – Ethereum’s charts show that it has held its value well since Bitcoin’s price start rising.

Next: if capital starts pouring into cryptos the way it did in late 2013, all ‘viable’ alts will at least lift in price to around where they were three months ago.

And: if not this year, certainly by 2017, we’ll see an epic tug-o-war for incoming capital, between, on the one hand, government and corporate coins, and on the other hand, ‘free’ cryptos of all types – and at that point I think that crypto communities with generally anti-social values will find themselves seriously hampered. Conversely, coins like Dnotes, with its understanding of normal social values, and its 'outwards-focused development model,' will fare well.

P.s. from Sabretooth: those cryptos will do will that leverage Bitcoin’s ‘network affect.’ For example:

http://allcoinsnews.com/2015/12/29/london-startup-plutus-develops-app-allowing-bitcoin-fiat-payment-enabled-by-ethereum-nfc-infrastructure/

What do you guys think?

Quote From Shepherd Today:

Mark, I believe that a group of Altcoins will begin to do quite well this year but a large number will fade away. Over crowded market always consolidates. Surviving that next two years is more important than trying to showoff as being more innovative. The technology side of the equation is becoming way too confusing for the average consumers. Technology always evolve quickly at the early stage, but should begin to settle as it becomes more mature by later part of this year or 2017.

The Plutus project your link provided is interesting. Unfortunately, the net cost to the consumer is likely to be quite high as much as Plutons to have zero fees and free conversion to fiat. With high volatility and low liquidity the exchange rate is not likely to be favorable but you are selling Bitcoin for fiat at any price. Nonetheless, it is a nice setup.

Thanks RJF, many of the critics also have something to gain by the digital currency industry taking dive as well, creating a mental road block for seeing the true potential we have here. As the recent article pointed out "The post ultimately concludes that there is a transformation underway that leaves the financial industry with no choice other than to adapt to the changing technologies or be left behind.", I believe we will see a cooperative trend in 2016 where traditional financial services will be open to working with our industry.

Good point Bergman, we are still in the infancy of what digital currency will become as well as tools and ways to utilize it. DNotes will need to get ahead of the curve by focusing on building and growing with the anticipation of what the future will hold and how we can shape it in mind.

To paraphrase a line from Hamlet "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" The louder the critics are, the more scared they are. At some point the public will see the connection and jump on crypto en mass. I wouldn't worry too much about all the noise right now, it will happen soon...

I look at it this way. The technology that will allow anyone to use crypto easily and safely hasn't come out yet, but it will and it's only a matter of time now.

Another excellent write up by Ken, this really caught my attention: "2015 was seemingly filled with pessimistic talk about cryptocurrencies, with special attention paid to better-known digital currencies like Bitcoin. It seemed that nary a week went by without one banking executive, government official, or other personality of note offering a new opinion about how cryptocurrency was doomed to fail. Alex Batlin, Senior Innovation Manager at Zurich-based UBS, recently bucked that trend when he expressed his belief that cryptocurrencies would not only survive but would actually come to dominate the banking industry." [...]

Digital Currency Weekly Recap 1-3-2015

Elephant Launches elCoin Cryptocurrency
Lithuanian Minister: Baltic Nation Looking to Crypto and Blockchain
UBS Executives Bucks Trend, Suggests Cryptocurrency Will Disrupt Banking Industry

http://dcebrief.com/digital-currency-weekly-recap-1-3-2015/

Not a surprise. This is just the beginning. Millions more bank jobs will be lost over the next ten years.

Here is a good example that perception is reality. Medium of exchange is the perception of sufficient value to great value at the time of exchange between two parties.

This is a good reminder for those interested in investing in Bitcoin and digital currency as a small portion of their long term high risk investment portfolio.

“two Papa John’s pizzas, in exchange for a payment whose present value currently exceeds US $4 million” on May 22, 2010

“To software engineers like me, this all seems very strange and surreal. A blockchain is just a data structure. A fascinating and powerful one, granted, but not revolutionary in and of itself. Imagine headlines extolling “linked-list startups” or proclaiming “B-trees will transform banking.” Aren’t we supposed to be the ones who confuse interesting technology with valuable applications?
Allow me to suggest a heretical thought, a violation of the new conventional wisdom. What if Bitcoin is more important than the blockchain? What if decentralized, permissionless Bitcoin is to financial-services blockchains almost exactly what the Internet was to corporate intranets twenty years ago?”


Why Bitcoin Matters

CRUNCH NETWORK
by Jon Evans (@rezendi) 12-02-2016

The most epochal financial transaction of this century, to date, occurred on May 22, 2010. It did not involve Wall Street, or the City of London; it took place in Jacksonville, Florida. It did not feature collateralized debt obligations, or credit default swaps. It was a purchase of two Papa John’s pizzas, in exchange for a payment whose present value currently exceeds US $4 million.

But the most remarkable thing about that transaction was the decision by the provider of the pizza, 18-year-old Jeremy Sturdivant, that the compensation he received—10,000 units of a newly birthed currency, one called into being from the ether of the Internet, and backed by no bank or nation—was worth real bread and cheese. Those pepperoni pizzas were the first real-world bitcoin transaction.
Blockchain Buzzword Bingo

It has become de rigueur over the last year to speak approvingly of blockchains, the technology on which Bitcoin is built, and dismissively of Bitcoin itself. The Financial Times writes breathlessly about banks “racing to harness the power of the blockchain.” Forbes enthuses: “everyone seems to agree that the technology will disrupt financial services.” But Bitcoin itself? It’s the weird sister, the ugly stepchild, the player to be named later. One gets the distinct sense that everyone would feel better if it would just go away.

Source:
http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/02/why-bitcoin-matters/

Informative post. Taa.

Very disheartening.

I'm not surprised by the banks requiring a large legal fund for all their 'barely legal' activities, but it is sad when honest investments in Bitcoin related companies are eaten up by a quagmire of legal doubletalk.

The banks must have been freeing up money for legal bills  (massive layoffs since the financial crisis - with more to come):

600,000 bank jobs have vanished since 2008.  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-31/half-a-million-bank-jobs-have-vanished-since-2008-crisis-chart

This was a bit disheartening, there is some truth to it. We as an industry, especially in the US, are spending far too much on legal costs and it does prevent innovation and progress.   Where Is All That Bitcoin VC Money Going?

"Headlines highlight investment in Bitcoin companies seemingly monthly these days. So, where is it going? Into defense fund accounts. That is a large reason why, despite a lot of investment into the space, the community seemingly ebbs.

Evangelists will state that the reason Bitcoin is not growing is because people are not doing a good enough job promoting it, but when you have a consortium like R3 looking into blockchain technology, that’s not the problem.

Instead, the real problem is that much investment into Bitcoin is going into a certain black hole: defense funds. This money sits there until one day the firm faces some sort of legal kerfuffle.

Not to mention, 2014 was the year of patent applications, many of which have been published in recent months. So, again, legal work. It costs money to file a patent and it costs money to defend a patent lawsuit.

There’s been approximately $1 billion put into the space, into all sorts of firms. But it costs millions of dollars to operate many Bitcoin businesses in the US in line with on-the-books regulation. You never know when your business model, or the Bitcoin business model of an associate or partner, will land you on trial or on the witness stand. Thus, the Bitcoin defense funds.

There is a long list of organizations and individuals who have accepted Bitcoin donations to go towards their legal defense funds, including Brandon Shavers, the Bitcoin Foundation, Edward Snowden, Ross Ulbricht, Charlie Shrem, Pascal Reid and every company in the space that has taken on funds. In 2014, banks secured more money for their legal defense funds. As Reuters reported,

Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all added hundreds of millions of dollars to funds they have set aside to pay for the cost of litigation, including legal fees, fines and settlements. All four banks are facing mortgage-related investigations by federal prosecutors located in different parts of the country."

Thank you Kanus, same to you as well. 2016 will be our year!

Loving the recaps, right to the point and informative with good coverage. "the financial industry with no choice other than to adapt to the changing technologies or be left behind" exactly, time to get on board.

Happy New Years DNoters! Look forward to what 2016 will bring.

Great quote from the recap this week:

The post, titled, Why 2015 Was the Year for Payments, addressed the growth in payment transactions, FinTech, and both Bitcoin and the Blockchain. The post ultimately concludes that there is a transformation underway that leaves the financial industry with no choice other than to adapt to the changing technologies or be left behind. As the post notes,

“2015 has turned blockchain into something the industry has to live with. It is no longer a choice anymore. Recent news speculating about the identity of its creator and the formalization of virtual money as a commodity just makes it more real than ever before.”

Blockchain Weekly Recap 1-2-2016

India’s Reserve Bank Acknowledges Blockchain Benefits.
Visa Europe Retrospective: Industry Must Learn to Live With Blockchain.
Nasdaq Linq Used to Issue Chain.com Shares.
Coilsillium: First Blockchain Tech Firm IPO.
Honduran Politics Disrupt Factom Blockchain Effort.

http://dcebrief.com/blockchain-weekly-recap-1-2-2016/

This is a Bitter-Sweet Pill. It just bumped up the chances of a global financial crises by a few notches. The global banking and financial systems have already been showing cracks with increasing pressure from FinTech and digital currencies. A sudden shift could be very bad for everyone. A more gradual adjustment would be my preference.