Just thought I'd say, the difficulty jumped 78 percent. I predicted 75 percent. Not bad eh? XD
Ugh, you BTC flag wavers are TOUCHY! It’s simple economics. If you can make a BTC worth 9 bucks for 25 cents, and the barriers to entry are very little, then other producers will keep entering the marketplace until the price equals cost, ie perfect competition. If you don't even understand this there isn't any point in talking further.
It doesn't matter how many "producers" are in the marketplace because whether there's one or one thousand, bitcoins are added to the supply at the same rate. 50 BTC/block, 6 blocks/hour.
This is not true in the short run. If you understand how the system works, the difficulty is ALWAYS lagging growth. Currently, we produce about 13.33 blocks per hour. bitcoinwatch.com Besides, you are missing the point. Please go back and read if you wish to usefully contribute.
It's funny that you mention the short run where in your very first post you said you wanted to look at the long run. It's you who is missing the point.
Could you explain this?
It’s simple economics. If you can make a BTC worth 9 bucks for 25 cents, and the barriers to entry are very little, then other producers will keep entering the marketplace until the price equals cost, ie perfect competition.
You say that other producers entering the marketplace will cause the price to go down. Either you mean it will decrease the demand or you mean it will increase the supply.
But regardless of how many producers are in the marketplace, bitcoins will be created at the same rate. Adding more producers does not cause the supply to increase and price to lower!Nope, Im looking at the next two months. Thats short run. I dont say other producers entering the market place will cause it to go down. Again, missed the point, go back and read.