In theory it could make central banks dissapear. I think in the future regular fiat cash will eventually be replaced by digital cash.There's just too many advantages. I watched a documentary about counterfeit us bills the other day and there's billions of it being made and flooded into the market. The bills are so good that it's hard to tell them apart. Bitcoin solves this instantly. Bitcoin also solves the issue of banks being able to print it as they like which as we know devalues the currency whereas the opposite is true of bitcoin.

Two entirely different services/concepts. I'm sure were all bitcoin fans here but something tells me you would rather use paypal for purchases on ebay to avoid being scammed and I'm also sure many of us would prefer to use bitcoin when we want to be fairly anon or make purchases on the darknet etc. Both services have pros and cons and are better/worse in certain circumstances but bitcoin is certainly an alt option outside of the mainstream but at the moment paypal ic accepted on pretty much most online retailers where bitcoin is the opposite.

Good. I think the governments who want backdoors built and more powers to survail are just shooting themselves in the foot. The more they try to encroach on our rights the more people become aware encryption and how they need to step up their privacy as their governments are constantly trying to spy on them.

I think it's a good example of why not every idiot should be able to own one and why there needs to be more restrictions in place.


Well that's certainly what they should be used for but does anyone have any stats or the percentage that guns are actually used efficiently in self defense compared to incidents like this and all the others that happen?

Technology moves and gets adopted much faster these days and continues to grow. Just look at the technology in mobile phones and TVs and how we've gone from these basic devices with one function to having powerful computers in them. Most of the concerns people have are similar to what people said about debit cards and mobile phones etc etc. Bitcoin probably wont work in 100% of the world but neither do phones and debit cards but the technology to spread internet and mobile phone networks worlwide is already there and companies are working on remote parts of the world in Africa etc. I think I read they might even get some sort of internet for free eventually (though it will come with ads most likely).

Alt coins are irrelevant to me but they're good in as much that they get newbies involved who feel they missed the boat on bitcoin. Most usually make their way over to bitcoin at some point when they realize the pointlessness and waste of time they are. People trading their alts for bitcoin also helps our economy. I think most will die off when people realize that ultimately you can't really buy anything with them.

You could probably earn a living on this forum alone if you had a lot of accounts and joined signature campaigns. If you had skills you could even make a little bit from offering them in the services section. I think mining is pretty much dead now for most people though. It's a shame that anyone can't just join in with simple equipment. I think bitcoin would be more appealing to the average person if they could easily earn them with their computers or a small investment.


How do you pay your bills with it?

What wallets say you have to be 18? Are you talking about exchanges? It's understandable you have to be 18 to use them as pretty much most places you have to be an adult to use such services dealing with the exchange of money. Trading could even be seen as gambling but either way it's definitely not something kids should be doing. Regardless you can still use many wallets like the main bitcoin one, electrum or blockchain.info etc without any problems so look at alternatives.

Of course there is. Read my above post. The halving will only matter as long as demand outstrips supply so there needs to be a big demand for btc. Once the hype and excitement has died off people will just go back to normal so there needs to be a reason why people are going to be buying more coins or the price will likely fall. Maybe we will get a big company or two accepting coins by then but I doubt it but I do know there's going to be a lot of people dumping their coins if we get a big increase.

https://www.youtube.com/user/h3h3Productions

h3h3 productions. They usually just rip the piss out of other popular youtubers and point out their hypocrisy or stupidity etc.

How do you know? That's what usually happens after a big price increase. The hype is going to be massive for the halving so people will buy bitcoins en masse expecting the price to go up and it very likely will just because of that but many people will also dump their coins looking to cash out as quickly as possible and of course this will send the price crashing back down. I think there's a lot of people who are still holding from buying in at 1k and those people will probably all dump if it goes any where near that again so I think we could be in for a turbulent time. Hopefully it doesn't crash down too far and remains at a decent price after the halving. I guess we can only wait and see.

Why take the risk? Don't be greedy. All will scam at some point when they collapse but many are just scams from the getgo and will take whatever they can get. You're better off either just holding coins or trading and buying low and selling high but I'd avoid ponzis or you'll likely learn the hard way.

Trust no one without good reason to. How do you normally work out how to trust in real life? You can only judge people for yourself but look at their post history and see how helpful they have been in the past. You can also look at a users rank or trust. Two users I like are dannyhamilton and shorena as they are very helpful and knowledgeable but I suppose it depends on what you need help with as there are many other great users here.

Personally I think the biggest thing stopping most people is that the Average Joe has no real need for bitcoin at the moment. Maybe it it gains traction at some point in the future and is accepted worldwide people would use it as a universal currency and wopuld save people time and money by not having to convert cash into local money etc.

Really? This thread seems to be just people mentioning that and Breaking bad, Mr Robot and Game of Thrones over and over again  . I think people should recommend lesser know stuff as everyone knows about most of the stuff that gets posted in here already.

Dream Theater Pull me under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGRgAULYgWE

Great prog metal (though a bit cheesy  )

I wouldn't say the opposite but the most important information here is that nothing is really safe if you don't know what you're doing. Android or apple phones may be safer than a windows PC in most instances but you could still download a dodgy app or get some virus from clicking a dodgy link. People could also lose their phones and if they haven't got a back up then they're screwed either way. My advice is to just know what you're doing and protect yourself and back up as much as possible in case something goes wrong.

Have they or anyone else accusing the bombing on terrorism actually produced any evidence yet? Call me a conspiracy theorist but I have yet to see anything but hearsay from the powers that be. Not saying it wasn't a bomb either but that would be more convenient for them.

If we ever have a doomsday fiat money will probably become worthless too and will likely revert back to a barter/trade system again.

I don't think there's anything guaranteeing mass mainstream adoption. Sure it might and it it does go there it will take several years but part of me just thinks most of the general public just has no need or desire to use bitcoin so the mainstream will largely avoid it. I thiunk it will still have its niche uses online and in some industries but will remain relatively underground still. I hope to be wrong though.