Bitcoin can never be banned, or heavily regulated out, because it has so much more uses than just a currency. I think this is a good read if you want to know what I'm talking about in depth: http://zanture.com/bitcoininsight/understanding-the-role-of-bitcoin-in-society/

But to summarize, bitcoin is an asset like gold, fiat currency, and an antique all tied into one. It is one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century.

http://www.panture.com/bitcoin-could-financially-liberate-citizens-under-isis-rule/

I see people from Iraq and Syria on the internet, it's not like it's shut down. When terrorists come to your down asking for a tax, just show them that you have nothing. All you have to do is hide your private key, or use an online wallet like Coinbase. Using something like PayPal or Western Union can be risky, as terrorists are aware of it, and those services don't like doing business with those citizens anyways for obvious reasons.

We need to focus on educating people in third world countries more, that is where bitcoin can do the most good.

http://www.panture.com/twitch-accepts-bitcoin-turbo-subscriptions/

As an amateur LoL streamer on Twitch and bitcoin fanatic, this is huge!

There's an updated list like this here: http://www.panture.com/businesses-that-accept-bitcoin/

But they obviously don't cover all companies. And I must agree, eventually maintaining a standard list will become difficult

Bitcoin will adapt to quantum computers when they come, this topic is addressed well here: http://www.panture.com/how-quantum-computing-will-affect-bitcoin/

http://www.panture.com/how-quantum-computing-will-affect-bitcoin/

TL;DR, until the core protocol is changed, it would only be safe to use a public address once, as using it more than once can lead to the discovery of your private address. Will also have major implications on password security, high frequency trading, etc. Don't worry though, prob many decades away.

I'm sure many of you are aware of ISIS and the invasion that's currently occurring, and my friend was a victim. I didn't know much about him, I played League of Legends with him and talked to him in our community's teamspeak channel. I introduced him to Bitcoin a year ago, and he did his part in spreading it to locals who might be interested. I know that many people die everyday in that part of the world and nobody cares, and honestly I was part of the group that didn't care until I met him on teamspeak. He was part of the Bitcoin community, albeit in a small way, and I'm making this thread so that he lives on in some way and is not completely forgotten.

Taken from Reddit:

"We're scheduled to go into further discussion this Tuesday, but I'll summarize what the class action is about below.

As of this post, there remains to be a Google adwords advertisement that's shown to the public. Unfortunately, this advertisement is a cover up phishing site, which has stolen money from myself and possible others. Now, I don't know the full extent of theft that occurred as it applies to others, but I myself have lost a worthy sum due to this phishing site.

It is Google's responsibility to provide safe advertisements for the public, and this isn't the first time they've defrauded the public. In 2011, a similar situation occurred where advertisements for drugs were being sold that were not suitable for people and Google paid out 500M.

I'm aware that Google is currently facing a class action suit for its adsense program, where they allegedly stole funds from publishers a few days before their payout period. That class action shouldn't interfere with the one we plan to launch.

I've read reports right here on this subreddit of people being affected by this phishing ad, so I do believe that I'm not the only one who's been affected.

I'm planning on posting a follow up on the details of this civil action after Tuesday, when I speak with the designated attorneys. Hopefully they'll comply and go forward with this, if not I'll find people who will. I'm not giving up on this, not anytime soon."

Anyone plan on joining this if the case is taken by attorneys? If you weren't aware, there's a google ad that imitates blockchain's wallet, and when you put your info in.... well you know how phishing sites work.

I have a few questions myself:

How can anyone check how many bitcoins we lost? Couldn't someone lie about how much they lost?

How can anyone check if the person who says they got affected really did?

It's obvious that negligence occurred on Google's side, how much would a possible settlement go for?

You're looking at 4 days I believe, look at 24hrs.

This is fucking serious people get off GHash the consequences for 51% are huge. It could be detrimental for bitcoin going forward. Once people realize that the Achilles heel in bitcoin is real, they'll permanently mark it with a negative stigma.

I'm aware that not everyone is cognizant with what options trading is, so here's a simple definition from the SEC: "Options are contracts giving the purchaser the right to buy or sell a security, such as stocks, at a fixed price within a specific period of time. Stock options are traded on a number of exchanges."

Everything trades in options nowadays; gold, silver, wood, copper, cows, coal, cotton, stocks, YOU name it and it has options. Does bitcoin have options? Unfortunately the answer is no. There are many people out there who may have longterm bullish views on bitcoin, but aren't ready to take on short term volatility. If serious investors are given the chance to partake in bitcoin in a designated time period, they're more likely to do so.

So what can we do? Petition the CBOE (Worlds largest option exchange) to allow for options w/bitcoin. I know many people here aren't aware of how options work, but you must trust me on this on. It's absolutely HUGE. CBOE has nothing to lose from this, they'll just have another avenue of potential revenue.

Call their investors relations Mon-Fri and advise that they would be better off if they took on bitcoin.

Inside the US (Mon-Friday 9am-7pm) - (866) 301-8223
Outside the US(Mon-Friday) - (201) 680-6578

Lets go to Pluto people, lets get options trading for bitcoin!

As many know, Carl ICahn is a large shareholder in eBay. On Friday, there was a federal investigation into perceived price manipulation for eBay's stock by Carl Icahn and a few other big shareholders. Wall street Journal broke this news, more to come. http://online.wsj.com/articles/fbi-sec-probe-trading-of-carl-icahn-billy-walters-phil-mickelson-1401492772

The reason why this is being posted is that eBay (with PayPal) are direct competitors to Bitcoin. If eBay/PayPal take a bit, Bitcoin will likely take market share from it.

Today the consumer spending numbers came out, and they were actually negative by .1%. I'm just curious if anyone knows, are bitcoins and other digital currencies included in this gauge or is it just tracking spending via US dollar?

Umm.. PayPal will be providing their own service, which they would secure themselves. PayPal has never been hacked, and they get attacked WAY more than any Bitcoin service out there.

I have a few hundred dollars on my PayPal account at all times, so sure. I mostly use it for buying though, so I'm aware that they don't treat their sellers too well. (I know how people charge back with virtual currencies and PayPal always backs up the buyer) Hopefully they will fix this policy and advance. Do I think the board members of eBay are smart enough to do this? Maybe. I would give it some time though as the only person on that board with a little bit knowledge about Bitcoin is Marc Andreesen.

It's not quite like MtGox, I think that's exaggerating it a bit. Perhaps they could do something where they don't have access to your private keys, but tbh none of that matters when you're looking at this from a business sense. It doesn't matter how much we hate PayPal for their sharky fees, if it makes business sense to do this they'll do it. There's no doubt in my mind that a lot of people would get involved if PayPal got involved, and we can use the services we trust. Nobody can stop them, if they can make money doing it they'll give it a go.

I despise PayPal for their greedy fees too, but in the end if there's money to be made they'll go after it or someone else will. At least for now, I see PayPal getting involved as something more beneficial to Bitcoin than Bitcoin being more beneficial to PayPal. Also remember, they both compete with each other!

They could make cash from the fluctuations in Bitcoin's price, as opposed to transaction fees. This would force them to create an exchange and act as a wallet. This would not only help PayPal business wise, but it would help the people who are interested in Bitcoin get involved that aren't too sure about about digital currencies. If they don't do it, they'll be out of business from someone that will.

Exchange/Wallet combination idea comes from http://www.panture.com/why-paypal-should-integrate-a-wallet-service-for-bitcoin/

No no, I believe nobody should be appointed, but rather emerge on their own. If there's someone out there who can properly explain Bitcoin and all its nuances, then he'll slowly emerge as a credible person. When there's people that go on the media to bash Bitcoin, it's ideal to have someone that knows what they're talking about to argue with them. And the foundation only cares about themselves, corrupt group imo

First and foremost, it starts with forgetting the Bitcoin foundation, and any other organization that acts as a central figure for that matter. Then we need a good spokesman, someone who does a good job with being interviewed about Bitcoin, and someone who has some skin in the game. If the media gets educated, the general public will slowly learn too. Lastly, we need to de-tech Bitcoin for the average person. Tech terminology can really scare people away, as many people won't invest in something that they don't understand. The only solution to this would be more user friendly services. This goes for ATMs, wallets, security, etc. Bitcoin has to focus on its PR, it's the only way good exposure can be spread. If there's positive sentiment towards Bitcoin, people will focus on the perks and not the cons. (Association to drugs/crime)

This post describes some of the reasons why Bitcoin has a PR prob: http://www.panture.com/5-reasons-why-bitcoin-has-a-pr-problem/