This would be fantastic.  Imagine having a signed hash of any content on an any ssl webpage.  Then we could finally make use of all this certificate infrastructure for smart contracts.  Couple it with Eli Ben-Sasson's SCIP and you could have tiny transactions with fulfilment conditions that reference almost anything on the web!

So...I have it on good authority that http://virtual-notary.org/ will soon be adding Mt Gox USD/BTC to the list of exchange rates they "notarize".  Their hash chaining method (which they also publish to the blockchain every 24 hours) is sufficient to defend against rewriting of historical data, and by attaching the Cornell name to the project, they incur a nontrivial "reputation bond" against insider manipulation of data (though of course no one is immune to a breach).  What interesting things can be built with a comparatively trustworthy 3rd-party source of exchange rate data?

This is a cool idea--can we have people who specifically use sign language for regular communication identify that in your posts?  I'm all for interest in the topic from outside the signing community, but the opinions of people who rely on sign language for actual communication are much more important than just what a general audience thinks is fun or neat.

Wow, thanks Stunna!  You know I love me a chance to talk about my favourite cryptocurrency   Thanks for offering the bounty and launching this awesome thread!

Agreed.  How on earth could this paper be spun as anti-Bitcoin?  Who all here actually read it before jumping on the FUD bandwagon?

Both proposals for how the IMF member countries can reduce their risk with respect to Bitcoin require them to purchase bitcoins at market rates.  This paper is incredibly forward-looking and valuable, even if it is in an obscure journal.  Some slight misunderstanding of the block chain, mining, and the mt gox hack, but overall not too shabby.  This person's understanding of Bitcoin will only increase over time, and it's valuable to have people who understand Bitcoin publishing papers on opportunities for the IMF.

Looks like Xqisit is our community winner!  Your thousand mBits are on the way.

Thank you all so much for your participation.  We've established a clear movement toward mBTC and I've been receiving a lot of positive messages and emails.  Don't forget to point people towards www.em-bit.org for a simple explanation of mBTC, current pricing, instructions for how to change your wallet software to mBTC, and more (further suggestions welcome).  With your help, Bitcoin is going to get a lot more usable.  Thanks everyone!

Guess you didn't read the faq

Just kidding.  Personally I say em-bit for anything except a formal or technical treatment.  When I want to be more formal, I use millibit or millicoin.  I don't use millibitcoin at all.

When BTC were at .13, people didn't look at them and think they were crappy.  They thought they were a deal.  But nothing is stopping someone from talking about how much the price per bitcoin is--awareness of mBTC just gives people who are trying to sell things for less than $130 a way to meaningfully price them.

You can talk about the BTC price when you are discussing how valuable bitcoins have become, and you can use mBTC when, you know, you're trying to actually use bitcoins for something.

Why not make 10-50 mBTC instead?

Yeah, I noticed that.  Good job thinking up m-day, DanielTaylor!  Wait....    I sent them a correction, but I haven't heard back from them.

It was a little unlucky for m-day to be so close to the Bitcoin 2013 conference, but what can you do?  By the way, I don't want speak out of turn, but I have received promising feedback in private from a major site about adding mBTC support as a result of all the m-day attention

Bitcoin is the most amazing idea, with the most prickly community.  Don't worry, I love you guys!
But sometimes, I shake my head.

Happy m-day!

Just thought I'd put up a little post about m-day and answer any questions people might have.  For those who don't know, m-day is an information and advocacy day for the mBTC (or millibitcoin) unit.  I've been publicising m-day with my avatar image, my signature and a contest (among other things), but what many people may not know is that I did not choose the date of June 2nd for m-day.  Rather, June 2nd is the anniversary of the mBTC unit first surpassing the U.S. cent (the smallest circulating unit in the world's most circulated currency).  m-day 2013 is the two year anniversary of that occasion.

I also want to take the chance to let everyone know about www.em-bit.org, a community information site being launched today by project m-day to provide an easy, mobile-friendly resource for websites and programs to send users to when they have questions about mBTC.  We hope that by providing an easy reference we can make it easier for all websites to start showing prices and values in whole numbers instead of crazy decimal fractions

Soon we will be adding some icons and images that will help people show that they support using mBTC.  We also have a Q&A section, the current price, and a page explaining m-day.  Let us know if there's anything else you think we should add, and if the site works properly on your device and platform.

Project m-day also maintains the "m" list, an index of businesses, websites, and software which support the mBTC unit.  Check it out, and if we're missing your favourite site let us know so we can add it in!

This is by no means standard usage of XBT.  See http://mxbt.org/ for example.

To a techie:  Bitcoin is Money Over Internet Protocol

To an economist:  Bitcoin is irreversible, ultrasecure, mathematical cowry shells

To an entrepreneur:  Bitcoin is digital money Lego--you can use it to build anything

To grandma:  Bitcoin is money that you can send like email

To a merchant:  Bitcoin is no service fees, no specialised hardware, and no chargebacks

To a first generation immigrant:  Bitcoin is 90% off Western Union fees for everyone

To Joe Everyman:  Bitcoin is a 5% discount on online shopping

To your great-grandchild:  Dollar bills were how people paid for things before we had Bitcoin

zinodaur put it better than me:

With this kickstarter project we could get a bitcoin video played in space (recorded in timelapse with the earth rotating beneath) for only $2500 (20 BTC).  I would contribute towards this.  Anyone else?  The key would be getting a good 6 second/144 frame clip to use.

Sure, I will do that.  I don't have a commitment to specific terminology, so I will cover all the terms floating around from most common to least.  e.g. millibits, millicoins, mbits, millies; and of course other units like bitcents, microbits, and satoshis.

pm me with consistency details like resolution, background, length etc. so it will fit in properly.

Absitively.  1 BTC = $130 does NOT pass the grandma test, and it will only be going higher.  mBTC should cover us through at least $3000 per bitcoin, a 36 Billion USD market cap.  By then we should have fiat-equivalent instruments so that people don't have to know the bitcoin valuation at all unless they are traders or investors.

Still looks pretty good.  Where can I send you a tip?

@Xqisit awesome, tipped.

@alberthrocks sent you a tip too


Edit:  Sorry, it was staring me in the face.  Sent it to the address in your sig, @zinodaur