Quote from: cryptonibb on July 02, 2013, 11:57:12 PM

Quote from: spartanmorning on July 02, 2013, 11:18:36 PM

I'm sorry but I'm failing to understand the principle concept the OP is espousing. Let me see if this is approximately correct: because regular people can't mine bitcoins trust will be undermined and the whole network will die.

Why? How is this a scam? Some people have resources to mine and some don't (as is the natural order of everything). The P2P nature of the payment system itself, the rate at which coin is produced, the security of the network and your coins are still fine. You just can't profitably mine them yourself. So most of the coins will be mined in China...and? How does that affect me as a saver/spender of bitcoin? It doesn't as far as I can see. I can't print USD or mine gold or anything similar now and it doesn't affect my use of currency at all. I still receive and spend as I like.

If the argument is that 2-3 players will control the market? really? why? what about competition? if I see my neighbor making a fortune with his ASIC factory, won't I build one too? And as the market floods with ASIC devices, so what? the rate of production will remain constant as is algorithmically determined.

If however the OP is right that only a couple of makers will stranglehold bleeding edge technology and hoard it, then truly all the eggs are in one scary basket.

My point is not that. Mining got peoples interests, and that will be lost. Not the coin itself, what will be lost is the P2P system.

First you lose miners, then you lose the P2P advantage.

What you say about factories, may be in a normal unlimited market. Bitcoins are not unlimited, and it could go under before that ever happens, or it would be to late to make profitable devices in your factory.

Losing the P2P advantage of being a distributed network is a huge drawback.

Also, you assume everyone will get an ASIC device like going to a store. This was not true last year, its not true this year and probably will not be true next year.

The only ones making a profit with ASIC devices will the ones having at least XX devices ready to be hooked as soon as they can.

Who controls the ASIC chips, will control the supply chain and bitcoin mining.

You assume things in the future, while I assume things that are happening as we speak.

I hear you, but I guess I'm less worried about this monopolistic fragile state (despite the logical incentives you've laid out). Do we have any numbers on ASIC distribution/concentration?