Is there a point to this torrent now that bitcoind block verification is optimized?

Possibly the top 1 easiest place even.

I would be okay with using PayPal as an exchange but I would never let them hold the keys to my wallet.

Want reality? Bitpay and Coinbase process about 90% of payments and their numbers total about $5m a day. Paypal does close to half a billion dollars everyday.

How dumb are these people? Bitcoin is brilliant, but it's like saying the internet will overtake newspapers in 1994!

Notice to anyone actually trying to read through the implementation contract: this was coded in one of the languages that Ethereum supports: the Low-level LISP-like Language (LLL). Please note: low-level. Contracts can be coded at a much higher level of abstraction in Serpent, and simplified variant of Python.

To be sure, developing an ÐApp requires careful attention to the cost of computation and storage on the blockchain and often some of these will more properly belong on some other resource. But centralized front ends and middleware present rich attack surfaces to dark hat “security consultants” who get paid as much at they can take as they point out flaws in the systems they have chosen to look over. Putting a front end in the EthBrowser and having the back end blockchain cryptographically integrated presents a very small attack surface compared to web sites hosted at centralized cloud services.

"The Silk Road can only be accessed on the Tor browser, which provides complete anonymity for users."

That's assuming the exit nodes you're using aren't compromised..

So many developers these days fall in love with the decentralization ethos of Bitcoin and then what do they do? They go out and start a state-registered company and build a centralized software service that makes use somehow of the Bitcoin blockchain. Everybody trots out Mt. Gox as a cautionary example at this point in the discussion, so I may as well pile on.

Of course both of those approaches are perfectly reasonable and likely appropriate depending on the business niche, but the point is we need to look at all angles of a problem and work towards decentralizing them to find better solutions, if they can be made cost effective.

Great article guys. You are doing beautiful work. It is so cool watching thoughtful approaches and best practices in an emerging field develop from scratch.
Two advantages you didn't explicitly address: security due to potentially smaller attack surfaces and the general goodness of totally or more fully decentralized implementation.

Is it fiat to BTC/LTC/etc. only or does it work the other way too? I did not find anywhere on the site if they can withdraw cash.
And what are the conditions of sale? Any longterm percentage deeds like Robocoin has?

I know I've said it before but I don't think it can be said enough: Let's not make the mistake of trading one master for another.

We have come together into this new financial system to escape that very kind of control. Let's not allow that control to creep back into our lives. Not even a little. These threats to bitcoin will never stop. When we squash one, it will surely just pop back up with a different name. So we must never consider the battle to be won and we must always remain vigilant .

The current influx of governments, organizations, and individuals that are attempting to exert control over bitcoin both directly and indirectly demonstrates just how far we've come. They see the value in bitcoin and are taking us seriously now.

Happy 300K, but I hope the excitement dies down eventually and Bitcoin becomes common everywhere and business-as-usual.

Another scare tactic to keep the general public from using bitcoin.. truth is, more crime has been done with the American dollar then all other currency's combined

Here's how you can explain it to your grandparents and your kids, as well as anybody else who needs it explained like they're five:

"Bitcoin is money that hasn't been widely adopted."

The end.

Excellent. I hope you're set up to handle heavy traffic and API usage. This is the kind of approach the market needs to stay rational and decentralized.

Good Job! This will make it a ton easier to do conversions.  Thanks for seizing the opportunity!

Cex.io the company behind Ghash.io offers cloud mining.

Do not buy this. You will end up mining in the Ghash pool which is nearing 51% hash rate of the total network.
Which, in simple language, gives certain people the ability to perform a mass fraud (double spending) in bitcoin.