Topic: The future of Bitcoin is illegal - page 11. (Read 20070 times)

I think thats where a coin like the proposed freicoin comes in.

Thx for very useful post. U r the first person in my ignore list who is included not due to personal insults.

I still think the cryptocoin ecosystem needs more than just bitcoins.

Bitcoins keep going up in value and can reasonably be expected to do so for quite some time.

We need things just as easy to use, compatible in their use, in short, altcoins, that do not go up in value as fast.

The prejudice against altcoins has been very destructive, I think.

Basically store of value and transmission of value are two different functions, and it is very useful to be able to use two different coins for these functions so you can stash your fast-appreciating bitcoins away in a margin aka collateral aka leverage account and borrow, using your bitcoins as collateral, something that appreciates much slower or not at all.

Obviously the fact that fiat tends to depreciate in value makes it tempting as the asset to borrow, but it lacks the ease of use cryptocoin users are accustomed to. Thus various altcoins are often much more convenient a choice as the asset to borrow.

From some reading I have been doing it seems possible that what "should happen" is the interest rates should adjust to prevent any one currency coming out ahead of any other as "the best one to borrow" but if in fact arbitrage or something is going to get to that point eventually it does not seem to have done so yet as some nice profits are being made even by the simple strategy of borrowing altcoins with which to buy more bitcoins to use as collateral to borrow more altcoins with which to buy more bitcoins, etcetera.

I do not agree that the future of bitcoin is illegal, as was already pointed out just one of the payment processors supporting bitcoin has over a thousand merchants accepting bitcoin, it seems unlikely they are all illegal businesses.

I do think though that the future is a diverse ecosystem of cryptocurrencies because there do seem to be advantages to diversity.

-MarkM-

I've been using Bitcoin as a currency since the autumn of 2010.  So far I haven't done anything illegal.  I report my coins and my earnings to th tax authorities, who have no idea what it is.  So far it is untaxed, but I have done everything right.  Nothing I have bought or sold has been illegal.  I use Bitcoin because it is usually simpler and faster and cheaper and more secure than all other ways of international money transfer.  That is a lot of pros and no cons.

In my opinion the future is legal.  I sell coins every day to people who use the coins to pay for services or as a store of value / investment.  Nothing of this is illegal.  And the value will of course drop to the bottom if Bitcoin is deemed illegal.  Both I and most other people will get rid of all we have as soon as possible, and it is going to be hard to do it in a legal way.

I'm interested in selling off my precious BTC for a fiat profit for as long as I need to use fiat on a regular basis. However, I also want to do something interesting and productive involving Bitcoin besides mining or speculating. I just have yet quite to figure out what that niche is, but I'm gonna try and work on it.

+1

OP voices what (my estimate) 90% of bitcoin holders is thinking.

This is true but people how many of these merchants don't accept other payment methods? Not many. The real value in Bitcoin is that it's a free money, not as in free beer, to paraphrase free software. So it represents a super-set of what you can buy with state currencies. Sure, much of that is illegal stuff. I think people will slowly wake up and experiment with what free money can buy and one of the potentially most important is "free speech", "free thought" products, ie. uncensored trade, unregulated knowledge.

I don't think this has been barely explored. I imagine a day when musicians or artists commonly have Tor hidden services and accept bitcoin for support.

That's just nonsense and if you consider yourself a normal person then you even brought a counterexample in your own post.

There's lots of reasons for "normal", law-abiding persons to use Bitcoin: some are in it purely for profit (like yourself); many are fed up by Paypal's fees and chargebacks so they look for alternatives; others use it as a marketing tool because you can get easy press if you say you accept Bitcoin; some have used it to build viable businesses (e.g. BitPay). Of course, there's also all the normal people who simply want to hedge against inflation and therefore buy some gold, silver and Bitcoins - what's wrong with that?

Finally there's all those tech people who are in it for the cool technology and the unique possibilities it offers - to actually program money! But I won't argue with you whether geeks count are normal people

*cough* There are hundreds of merchants accepting Bitcoin. Hundreds are listed on the wiki. There are more than a thousand merchants alone using Bitpay. There is so much to buy in bitcoins!

↑ Sounds like something someones mom would say.

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Sounds like what a terrorist would say.

You're suggesting only terrorists & criminals use bitcoin?

What a thing to say.  

There are plenty of legit reasons to support and use bitcoins.

1.  Economic stability.  Bitcoins are more stable than currency printed by central banks.

2.  Low transfer costs.  

3.  Independence from banks, credit cards and others who have near to a monopoly on money exchanges.

4.  Protection from inflation.

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Or they're Bruce Wagoner.

A growing number of goldbugs are parting with their metal for bitcoins. That says it all.

It also wrecks the rest of your not well thought out argument.

Rare to see commons sense in the bitcoin forums. Support.

I find Bitcoin useful for legal marketing strategies, although not very far reaching at this point.

I am working on a site that should increase Bitcoin popularity, the back end is still in development and hasn't reached beta, I need some alternative income so I don't have to waste my efforts on a day job just to get by.

anyone who wants dollars in this environment is not paying a great deal of attention

I hope you can sell them before the dollar goes bust.



I would adjust that a little bit: ↓↓

This is true, but what if the current rules, laws and regulations could not help people to get a better life any more? BTC will shine when there is a crisis for the current rules, laws and regulations, and it is already happening

It took JAPAN 2 decades to get out of the recession after their housing bubble, US people just started to enter this long and dark tunnel, and BTC definitely shed some light in this darkness