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Topic: Silk road - page 2. (Read 7100 times)

hero member
Activity: 630
Merit: 500
Posts: 69
September 27, 2011, 09:03:49 PM
#10
Interesting to see this thread after seeing this post on /r/Bitcoin
"RoBoTs, a group of drug dealers, has threatened that they compromised several exchanges databases. In an attempt to stop day trading."

http://pastebin.com/0Yi7PBeT

Code:
   ..............
   .            .
O--.  O      o  .--O
   .            .
   .   /\/\/\   .
   .............. (We spent more time reading books then doing ascii art)
       RoBoTs
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

  We are an anonymous assemblage of black market pharmacist who use bitcoin.
We have recently united our ongoing efforts to stop day trading and the
commodification of bitcoin. If you have bought any our products, you have already
contributed to the cause, and we thank you.

  We have paid for several elaborate attacks against many bitcoin sites which
day traders rely on, and we have comprised the databases of several more and we
believe these sites do not yet know. We are able to do this because of our vast
bitcoin reserves which allow us to buy anything from private information, DDOS,
stolen databases or even complete dismantling of a website. The amount of bitcoins
we have to spend on offensive security will surely overcome even the most expensive
information security budgets.

 We know where the day traders lurk, we know who they are but you know nothing
about us. We will continue to dismantle day trading, crash the economy and
stabilize the price for merchants and you won't even know who did it.

 Bitcoin is ours, it may not have been made specifically for us but we have finally
united and we plan to make it ours by ending the commodification.

With Love,
RoBoT~PaRtY

Not so interesting, some guy asking to buy ritalin with Bitcoin
full member
Activity: 143
Merit: 100
September 27, 2011, 08:57:58 PM
#9
They also have a hedging feature, so if you want to sell something, and don't want the hassle of shifts in the value of btc:usd exchange, you can hedge your account in USD so if btc price rises, you have less btc but same USD, and likewise, if price reduces, you have more btc but same USD value.

Interesting... So.. the site holds a balance, in bitcoins, for each buyer, and if the buyer hedge his account and..... how does it work? The SR automatically do the trading? Trade against who? How did the user get more btc if the price drop?

you upload a balance, people name their prices, you pay. many will ask you release the funds early due to the deflation.

I meant how do they do the hedging to keep keep the account value in USD the same after you upload some bitcoins. This could be useful in other scenarios where user don't want to deal with the swing in bitcoin prices.
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
September 27, 2011, 04:20:51 PM
#8
I am a big fan of the Silk Road.   

It is funny that it took a 21st Century technology to give us what we had 4,000 years ago.
The historical context should be not be ignored and highlights the restriction of trade that modern sovereign government have thrown at us.

On a side note:

I have been tracking the price of illegal drugs in Australia for 20 years. 

This is what I have found:  (All figures adjusted for inflation - 1990 -> 2011)
CP = Current Price

Marijuana:  Up 22%  ~ CP =  AUD $200-300 per oz:  The only reason I can give for this increase, is the use of thermal imaging to detect crops from aerial reconnaissance -> Increased grower risk. 

Cocaine:  This is a strange one.  From 1990 -> 2000, the price dropped 38% as the cost per gram remained constant for the entire decade. 
              From 2000 -> 2010 prices rose 85%.  ~ CP = AUD $350-$400 per gram.

MDMA: Down 35% (Only 15 years of data) -> Increasing Usage and Popularity
Speed: Up 15% -> Decreasing Usage and Popularity

When looking for arbitrage opportunities, the big one is cocaine.  The current price of cocaine in Australia is 300% more than the current price on Silk Road.

My guess is that in 5 years the price of cocaine in Australia will fall at least 50% as local dealers are squeezed by the Silk Road.  Ain't competition grand?

member
Activity: 95
Merit: 10
September 27, 2011, 02:46:45 PM
#7
I think the fewer people know about S/R the better. We don't want Bitcoin to be associated with illegal activity, it might drive away legitimate business.
.
Like no one use dollars and euros cause they are used for illegal things?

There is a dichotomy about whether the silk road should be brushed under the carpet.  Frankly, illegal or not, I think these things are better in the open.  It is certainly more bitcoinish to be open and upfront about these things.

And don't forget, a lot of the best parts of the modern world have their roots in less than legal practices.  Look at medicine ...
legendary
Activity: 1148
Merit: 1008
If you want to walk on water, get out of the boat
September 27, 2011, 02:41:38 PM
#6
I think the fewer people know about S/R the better. We don't want Bitcoin to be associated with illegal activity, it might drive away legitimate business.
.
Like no one use dollars and euros cause they are used for illegal things?
full member
Activity: 238
Merit: 100
September 27, 2011, 02:11:09 PM
#5
I think the fewer people know about S/R the better. We don't want Bitcoin to be associated with illegal activity, it might drive away legitimate business.
.
full member
Activity: 224
Merit: 100
September 27, 2011, 06:57:42 AM
#4
They also have a hedging feature, so if you want to sell something, and don't want the hassle of shifts in the value of btc:usd exchange, you can hedge your account in USD so if btc price rises, you have less btc but same USD, and likewise, if price reduces, you have more btc but same USD value.

Interesting... So.. the site holds a balance, in bitcoins, for each buyer, and if the buyer hedge his account and..... how does it work? The SR automatically do the trading? Trade against who? How did the user get more btc if the price drop?

you upload a balance, people name their prices, you pay. many will ask you release the funds early due to the deflation.
full member
Activity: 143
Merit: 100
September 27, 2011, 06:11:30 AM
#3
They also have a hedging feature, so if you want to sell something, and don't want the hassle of shifts in the value of btc:usd exchange, you can hedge your account in USD so if btc price rises, you have less btc but same USD, and likewise, if price reduces, you have more btc but same USD value.

Interesting... So.. the site holds a balance, in bitcoins, for each buyer, and if the buyer hedge his account and..... how does it work? The SR automatically do the trading? Trade against who? How did the user get more btc if the price drop?
sr. member
Activity: 336
Merit: 250
September 27, 2011, 03:34:03 AM
#2
It's just another underground forum, the purpose of which is the distribution of illegal goods. There are many others like it. It's only special because it uses bitcoin as the means of payment. So it is much more advanced in that regard.

They also have a hedging feature, so if you want to sell something, and don't want the hassle of shifts in the value of btc:usd exchange, you can hedge your account in USD so if btc price rises, you have less btc but same USD, and likewise, if price reduces, you have more btc but same USD value.

The only reason it is important in providing an economic backdrop for bitcoin is that the majority of legal trade websites are not using bitcoin yet. Once it does, SR's "value" to the bitcoin economy will be much less significant.
member
Activity: 95
Merit: 10
September 27, 2011, 03:20:49 AM
#1
What do folk think about the silk road?  How many know how to get there via the Tor network?  Whilst it's main business is primarily illegal, I do think that it is a very important proving ground for bit coin.
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