I have to say ASIC's are damaging bitcoin.
The reason for this is the manner in which all the companies that have been manufacturing the devices have rolled out the technology. All it has achieved is empowering a very small minority which is no different to having a central bank. The people that get their hands on them first make such vast profits they can then expand exponentially which makes it extremely difficult for anyone without very deep pockets to get involved.
The entire point of bitcoins was to empower the people not a select few corporations who in essence will become just like the banks.
It is a very dangerous game that is being played here. The only reason Bitcoins have any value is because of the community that supports it. If you alienate that community what will happen to the value?
??
I realise it is a new technology and it takes time to ramp up production but maybe it would have made more sense to stock pile and then release to even the playing field. Maybe the manufactures should have got together to discuss the issue of releasing the technology.
How many people as percentage of all miners actually have asics - I imagine well under 5%, yet they are probably generating 70% of the network hashrate.
Bitcoin has arrived where it is today because anybody could get involved. Maybe ASICminer realised this and hence the reason they are selling massively overpriced ASICs that are available next day delivery - the kind of throw the dog a bone mentality.
But alas as always GREED is the driving factor as opposed to the ethos of the currency.
If these asic companies put themselves out of business they only have themselves to blame.
I really would like Bitcoin to be the success it deserves to be but I have a bad feeling.
This may be partly the reason why there has been no Government interference because they can clearly see it will destroy itself at this rate.
If MTGox start trading LTC it will be very interesting to see what happens to the price of BTC.
All this testing of devices on the live network WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE COMPANIES. If these businesses want to use them to mine then they should not have taken anybodies money and just used their own investment - instead they have used us as an interest free no risk loan and in my eyes that makes them as bad as a bank - basically shafting the little guy. All the risk of an investor with none of the return.
You don't see Ford testing customers cars on the public roads, or Intel testing their processors in their office PC's before selling them to customers. All it achieves is brining the currency into disrepute through bad business practise.
It's like the saying goes the money is only as good as peoples faith in it.