anywebsite Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 It's a total scam, an obvious one. I really can't believe people are falling for it. You will be lucky to ever get any of your money back if you give it to these scammers. http://www.quora.com/Bitcoin/Is-the-cryptocurrency-Bitcoin-a-good-idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 It's selling something of no real value, except the ability to trick other gullible fools into buying it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme Define value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 (edited) Define value. A useful product, service, or something that can easily be traded for a useful product or service. Bitcoins are none of those things. It's much more like a pyramid scam. You have to sell before the inevitable collapse, when the number of people stupid enough to fall for it runs out. Anybody who's ever studied any economics can tell you that this is a scam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money What can you actually buy for bitcoins? Right now, on a real website, one that hasn't been 'closed by the authorities'. Can you exchange them for a real currency anywhere or have those sites been closed too? I can't be bothered to check into it, because it's so clearly a scam, but I'd be willing to bet those websites never operated. Edited May 19, 2011 by anywebsite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 A useful product, service, or something that can easily be traded for a useful product or service. Bitcoins are none of those things. It's much more like a pyramid scam. You have to sell before the inevitable collapse, when the number of people stupid enough to fall for it runs out. Anybody who's ever studied any economics can tell you that this is a scam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money What can you actually buy for bitcoins? Right now, on a real website, one that hasn't been 'closed by the authorities'. Can you exchange them for a real currency anywhere or have those sites been closed too? I can't be bothered to check into it, because it's so clearly a scam, but I'd be willing to bet those websites never operated. Did someone make you a decaf this morning, by accident? If it is a scam, who is profiting from the scam? There's no pyramid here. Right now you can't buy a whole load with bitcoins. You can purchase hosting services, peanuts, coffee, and a few assorted nerdy items but the list is growing. Bitcoin is essentially a global LETS scheme with several twists. Firstly you can't just create arbitrary amounts of Bitcoin like you can with LETS. Secondly Bitcoin is not run through a central clearing authority like LETS must be. Thirdly Bitcoin is secure and relatively private, unlike LETS. Fourthly it takes time and money to mine bitcoin. It's not nearly-free to produce like LETS are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFoot Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 If it is a scam, who is profiting from the scam? There's no pyramid here. Without a doubt, those who were early into the mining game will be profiting given the way the 'price' of a bitcoin has rocketed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaFoot Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Some interesting reading here from both sides of the discussion: http://www.quora.com/Bitcoin/Is-the-cryptocurrency-Bitcoin-a-good-idea At first it looks like an article dismissing the idea, but there are good counter arguments after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagel Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 What I've read of bitcoin is that it's supposed to be independent of the banking systems deliberately to avoid the fluctuations in price/value that 'real' currencies experience. However we are already seeing people buying up bitcoins to hoarde with the intention of selling later, thus artificially driving up the value of the currency. When you have a lot of these bitcoins, where do you keep them? Better hope you have proper disaster recovery in place for your machines where you keep them. Or you could use a service that will keep them safe for you, for a fee. Or even free if they get to trade with them while holding on to your bitcoins, I don't know, maybe like a bank? It all feels rather like a bubble waiting to burst IMO. I wont be working for bitcoins just just yet. I agree it's a bubble, but which way is the bubble going? As I said before it might be money down the drain, but you never know. I wouldn't put a lot of money into it, but a little punt is fun. As for keeping them safe there are ways to backup your holdings. You just need to copy your wallet.dat file somewhere safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagel Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 A useful product, service, or something that can easily be traded for a useful product or service. Bitcoins are none of those things. It's much more like a pyramid scam. You have to sell before the inevitable collapse, when the number of people stupid enough to fall for it runs out. Anybody who's ever studied any economics can tell you that this is a scam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money What can you actually buy for bitcoins? Right now, on a real website, one that hasn't been 'closed by the authorities'. Can you exchange them for a real currency anywhere or have those sites been closed too? I can't be bothered to check into it, because it's so clearly a scam, but I'd be willing to bet those websites never operated. It's not fiat money, simple because fiat money is defined by government legislation and Bitcoins have no legal status. They're just worth what people are willing to pay for them. And yes, you can legally trade Bitcoins on this site in the UK which is handy because it's in Sterling unlike all the other sites. https://britcoin.co.uk/ If I was to sell my Bitcoins now I would have made 6% in two weeks (168% pa). Not bad, lets see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 It's not fiat money, simple because fiat money is defined by government legislation and Bitcoins have no legal status. They're just worth what people are willing to pay for them. Fiat money only has any value because a government says that it does. The only real reason that pounds have value is because you must pay your taxes in pounds. This isn't fiat money because it has no legal status, that should tell you something about it's real value. And yes, you can legally trade Bitcoins on this site in the UK which is handy because it's in Sterling unlike all the other sites. https://britcoin.co.uk/ If I was to sell my Bitcoins now I would have made 6% in two weeks (168% pa). Not bad, lets see how it goes. Sell while you still can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagel Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Sell while you still can. I'll hang on for now thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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