See here https://www.casascius.com to buy physical Bitcoins with electronic Bitcoins
See here http://memorydealers.ecomm-search.com/search?catalog=memorydealers&keywords=bitcoins to by physical Bitcoins using a credit card
I own many 1 BTC coins and a few 25 BTC coins.
See here https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/pics-physical-bitcoin-bills-for-real-world-transactions-printcoinscom-52998 for a thread discussing paper Bitcoins under developement. I bought a few of the "proof of concept" Bitcoin bills but we all expect them to improve (read the entire thread to learn about concerns) before they "hit the market".
I use this wallet application on my phone: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-wallet-for-android-4384 Seems to work pretty well but remember it is still buggy so do not too many coins on it as you may lose them.
Here is an example of a project to develop a Bitcoin specific point of sale scanner: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/casascius-bitcoin-pos-system-46366 don't know the status of the project.
One last thing since it was mentioned above. I use https://www.strongcoin.com as my online wallet because it appears to be written in a way which is safe as far as private key handling and also it is handy for importing private keys in different formats. I use it to hold all of my vanity addresses like this one 1BurtWEejbnKeBRsvcydJvsNztB1bXV5iQ (donations accepted and appreciated)
Topic: Paper Bitcoins - page 2. (Read 2114 times)
Any chance of creating a completely new and independent card swiper?
A paper bitcoin network is in my mind unwanted when compared with the bitcoin network.
The bitcoin network is a public ledger system. (no counter-party risk)
A paper bitcoin network would entail a private ledger system. (identical to online wallets. carry counter party risk)
The 2 could co-incide, however:
Paper bitcoins would carry a risk premium (counter-party risk), and an ease of use premium for the customer.
The ease of use premium for paper fiduciary however over the last 20 years is radically approaching zero.
I think paper currency is quickly becoming obsolete, as the benefits of digital currencies grow.
In asia they are trialing phone payments. i.e. you swipe your phone to pay instead of a card. (that could easily be leveraged by the bitcoin network.)
What would be cool is if you could create a bitcoin card.
that contained your wallet, so you could swipe it at the checkout.
In Australia though that would entail merging both the private EFTPOS network and internet into the card readers which would never happen in a million years (all the security risks.)
Or banks letting you transact on the bitcoin network via their eftpos network. (which is currently farfetched.)
So probably swiping your phone would be the next step for the bitcoin network.
The bitcoin network is a public ledger system. (no counter-party risk)
A paper bitcoin network would entail a private ledger system. (identical to online wallets. carry counter party risk)
The 2 could co-incide, however:
Paper bitcoins would carry a risk premium (counter-party risk), and an ease of use premium for the customer.
The ease of use premium for paper fiduciary however over the last 20 years is radically approaching zero.
I think paper currency is quickly becoming obsolete, as the benefits of digital currencies grow.
In asia they are trialing phone payments. i.e. you swipe your phone to pay instead of a card. (that could easily be leveraged by the bitcoin network.)
What would be cool is if you could create a bitcoin card.
that contained your wallet, so you could swipe it at the checkout.
In Australia though that would entail merging both the private EFTPOS network and internet into the card readers which would never happen in a million years (all the security risks.)
Or banks letting you transact on the bitcoin network via their eftpos network. (which is currently farfetched.)
So probably swiping your phone would be the next step for the bitcoin network.
I look forward to the day somebody starts marketing paper Bitcoins, or Banknotes. That would make it much easier to trade in everyday transactions and would be a lot easier for the general public to accept as real money, instead of trying to get them to install Bitcoin on their PC's. Sure, you'd still have to trust the banks to not engage in fractional reserve banking, but that would be extremely easy to independently audit.
Each note issued has imprinted on it the total number of Bitcoins issued at the time of issuance. The note that has the highest number will show how many Bitcoins should be in the wallet of the bank. Anybody can go to the bank and have them show them that at least that many Bitcoins are sitting in the bank's wallet. If it is less, then the bank will need to show the redeemed banknotes that have been brought back by users in exchange for the Bitcoins.
Serious potential for Bitcoin Banking.
Each note issued has imprinted on it the total number of Bitcoins issued at the time of issuance. The note that has the highest number will show how many Bitcoins should be in the wallet of the bank. Anybody can go to the bank and have them show them that at least that many Bitcoins are sitting in the bank's wallet. If it is less, then the bank will need to show the redeemed banknotes that have been brought back by users in exchange for the Bitcoins.
Serious potential for Bitcoin Banking.
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