Topic: Why aren't I filthy rich yet? It's been like two months. - page 3. (Read 11579 times)

Hang in there man. Sometimes it takes as long as three months to become filthy rich from bitcoin. 

Don't forget all the hacks that are going on. It's impossible to make a bitcoin business 100% secure as long as hot wallets are needed. If you haven't been hacked yet, you were simple not yet a target - seems to hold some truth here.

Why isnt Bitcoin closer to that 13600 USD/BTC already?
Because that number based on market share of 1% is what bitcoin may be valued once it actually gains that share. Atm we are looking at something like 0,000000000000000000000000000000000001% of all monetary transactions on the planet being settled using bitcoin (I made that number up ). So in fact it is rather suprising that bitcoin is valued at such high prices, considering your equation.

Seriously, I think a number of facts apply for which bitcoin is not valued higher or lower then it is right now. My favorite 5 of which are the following:
- Anonymousness of the whole bitcoin thing to the public
- Lacking adoption
- High risk of terminal failure of bitcoin
- Low market cap
- Strong competition


P.S.:
Good point. The problem is that this quality of bitcoin has yet to prove itself.

And I use vi you emacs sissy. 

Giving away bitcoins is the way to do it - give someone some bitcoins and they will take the time to find out what it is they've just been given.
A large company could invest in bitcoins and then give some away as a QR code with whatever they are selling and the value of their initial investment would increase, simply becasue of the publicity they generated for bitcoin by giving them away.

Bitcoin - It's more than a thing, it's an idea about stuff.

Great post ^

I carry around a Casasius physical bitcoin and often get the opportunity to show it and use it as a prop to help describe what Bitcoin is.  I also carry a second Casascius bitcoin, opened revealing the private key (previously spent), which is useful to understand how bitcoin is just data that can be used with a mobile or online.

I also have in my wallet in my back pocket a few strips of paper ... each a paper bitcoin wallet from BitAddress:
 - http://www.bitaddress.org
I have funded these with 0.1 BTC and have given them out in the same spirit as the Bitcoin faucet.  I do keep a copy of the private key and let the recipient know to redeem the code in 30 days (e.g., using "redeem" QR scanner on Mt. Gox Mobile app for Android) otherwise I recycle the funds to a new paper wallet address.

Additionally, what helps bitcoin move forward to is actually use Bitcoin today like we expect it will be used in the future.  For instance:

Purchase wireless prepaid refills using Bitcoins (there are now or will be soon three sources for this):
 - http://www.bitmit.net/en/user/TangibleCrypto  (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cricket, etc.) (to be branded as CellCoin.net )
 
 - http://www.btcbuy.info/CallingCards.cshtml

And coming soon:
 - http://www.bitcoinwireless.com  (from BitInstant)


Or pay for all NewEgg, Amazon, eBay, Barnes & Noble, etc. purchases using bitcoins:
 - https://www.spendbitcoins.com/convert
 - http://www.btcbuy.info/Default.cshtml


Offer to broker the trade of bitcoins for others (friends, family, neighbors, etc.).  If you already have a Dwolla and Mt. Gox account, for example, keep an amount of USDs at bay so that if someone wants bitcoins, you are prepared to help them (which, of course, expands the community and helps us all).  But make sure to impress upon them the need to get set up on their own for the next time.     Same thing goes for someone wanting to cash out -- you can leave an open offer to buy bitcoins.    There is a line though between doing this infrequently and not-for-profit versus someone acting as a money service business in which they might have restrictions (in many jurisdictions).

Learn the bitcoin economy, and what bitcoins can buy.  We all know about Alpaca socks.  But do you know about Bitcoin Deals, which has a catalog of more than a 100,000 products, from travel luggage to toilet tissue:
 - http://www.BitcoinDeals.com

Or did you know that in more than a half dozen cities bus/rail fare transit passes can be reloaded using bitcoins?
 - http://bitfare.org

The Trade page on the Bitcoin wiki continually sees new additions:
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade

Are there any "assets" at a bitcoin stock market which are interesting to you perhaps?  They aren't all mining endeavors.  Feed Ze Birds and ZipConf, for instance, are two issues whose success brings further commerce to bitcoin:
 - http://www.GLBSE.com

And Bitcoin doesn't have to be all business.  Do you have a buddy insisting your team isn't going to win?  There's an app for that:
 - http://www.BTCSportsbet.com
Or is there interest in the election?  Right now there is a bet with skewed odds on the chances who will win the presidential election:
 - http://betsofbitco.in/item?id=122
Or any number of topics:
 - http://www.BetsOfBitco.in

What it boils down to is, those holding bitcoins shouldn't just sit on them.  A position can be maintained at a steady level by spending bitcoins on goods and services and then replenishing the position to accommodate for that spending.  These actions help bitcoin businesses make it through this crucial period where the market might naturally not yet be large enough for the business to be viable.  But with each additional bitcoin used in commerce, these businesses can start to justify their existence.  Because the revenue stream for these endeavors is in bitcoins, they then use the proceeds and profits for spending and that spurs further economic activity.  Your spending has a multiplier effect in the bitcoin economy.

And a much wider bitcoin economy is what is needed to justify over the long term the exchange rate at a level anywhere near where it has risen to ($55 million "market cap", currently).

Something I like to remember is that bitcoin makes a much better savings money than any government money ever and a better spending money than gold. That is a killer combination. It seems possible that in the very long run it will hold more value than all government money and all gold combined. Then after that there is the fact that the world's wealth tends to grow anyway so there will be more wealth to store. Then on top of that bitcoin will likely increase the rate of the growth of wealth in the world because it allows easier trade and more incentive to accumulate wealth to save.

It's a me Mario money



I think it will do well for some time My wife sees it as free money....Can't complain about free money

I'm also super-bullish on Bitcoin.

But you have to realize that the masses don't really care about Bitcoin as long as there are established systems that work practically just as well, such as Paypal.

Currently, it's only the nerds and the bankers that are interested in Bitcoin.

What is needed IMHO for a breakthrough is some niche market that really profits a lot from using Bitcoin, such as money remittances.

And it's worth spreading for.

Sorry, had to do it. 

Bitcoin - It's more than a thing, it's an idea.

Yes, the slow and steady undercurrents are what will propel Bitcoin in relative obscurity, not the dazzling spike highs and emotionally-engaging news stories. Pandora's box has been opened - Bitcoin is an idea more than a thing, and now that the a good portion of the world knows about it, it cannot be stopped.

Seems so simple, but I hadn't thought of looking at things from the perspective of market cap; and you're right, it is pretty remarkable.

I really want Bitcoin to succeed, but I'd say even 1% of the world is very optimistic.

What % of the world's transactions are Paypal or Western Union?  We need to get to those lower numbers first.

The recent stable price was actually a period of quite substantial growth.
Bitcoin is currently in a super inflation phase and the price kept up with this inflation. It's very clear to see this growth on a market capitalization chart.

http://blockchain.info/charts/market-cap?timespan=180days&showDataPoints=false&daysAverageString=1&show_header=true&scale=0&address=

The value overall of bitcoin increased substantially in the last 4 months - a $5 bitcoin 1 week ago is a healthier sign than a $5 bitcoin 3 months ago.
Bitcoin (the network) is worth more now than at the $7+ January high.

OP, if this post is good for nothing else, it did make me smile a smile of genuine happiness

My lessons from year 2011:

1. Bitcoin will not lose all of its value unless the underlying network somehow fails.
2. Those who bought in / started mining during the single digits won't be filthy rich any soon.

I think, if the infrastructure doesn't fail, BTC is going to top $100 no matter what, but this may take several years. It just might top $10 000 but this won't happen until the infrastructure has really matured, and will definitely take more than ten years. The network is kinda struggling already.

This. Good points.

I've had numerous opportunities to discuss Bitcoin with high net worth individuals, and the overwhelming majority are not even aware of its existence, let alone participating. Though they have universally seen the potential and hope the best for Bitcoin after it being explained, the main view is indeed that the system is too young and unstable to be upset with large capital flows.

A primary use for Bitcoin among the wealthy is not as a standalone form of currency, but as a means to safely transfer wealth without having to incur the risk of physically moving it. For instance: sell physical gold to buy bitcoins; relocate; sell bitcoins to re-buy physical gold. In most situations, this is far less expensive than physically transporting it, and it can be done in stages with a few million of EUR or USD at a time.

The one factor that will change this is awareness - spread the knowledge of Bitcoin.