Bitcoin fanboys
Out of curiousity, what combined currency/payment processing network/ledger system has your devotion?
You're missing an important point: no person or group issues the currency in Bitcoin. That kind of power is removed from mere human whim and given over to an agreed upon protocol. If you don't like the protocol, you can go start your own.
The bankster cabal would never think to tell us, "Hey, go start your own currency if you don't like ours."
Umm, yes a rather special group does issue the currency in Bitcoin: the miners with enough state fiat capital to invest in the increasingly expensive equipment required to mine Bitcoins.
The underlying Bitcoin implementation is fine, but I find the mining aspect hugely problematic. Bitcoins should been distributed freely to people that want them so as to provide everyone an opportunity to be part of a financial reboot. Sadly Bitcoin went down the road of having engineered inequity and is as morally bankrupt as the system it seeks to supplant.
You do know that you can just buy the damn coins, right?
Sure, the miners currently have to shell out some fairly substantial capital to rake in big gains, but you can get in the game as a small player for a few hundred bucks - whether you buy coins, or buy hardware. Hell, If I wanted to burn out my video card, I could be mining right now in a pool.
And they are "freely distributed to any who want them," ... just not for free.
Exactly. Another point to add here that most miss is the inclusion of technical expertise required to maximize gains for the small player. You can play small in this game, but unlike the old-school fiat capitalization game, when you play small here you can further increase your gains with small amounts of technical expertise that might have previously been learned from another field or hobby. i.e. if you enjoy both A) building rigs and B) burning out video cards, then mining is appealing at any profit level.