Raising the limit of 21 million BTC is not possible. (not suggesting that is what you're implying ..just that it is more than just not necessary -it's not an option) The only way to increase coin availability is to divide it into increasingly smaller fractions of a coin; .00000001 is currently the smallest unit, however, it can be divided into smaller units if demand justifies it.

The coins associated with the lost keys are simply gone forever. There has been discussions about retrieving missing coins from oblivion, but nothing viable is in the works. Even so, it isn't really a problem; while the supply of coins shrink, the value of the remaining coins increase; and BTC can be infinitely divisible should the need arise to satisfy demand.

I've only had positive experiences with Coinbase. It can be a little annoying waiting for coin to be delivered after placing the order, but they have come through every time for me so far. However, I had just made a few purchases when BTC briefly fell to ~$550 and am waiting until Friday of this week for delivery -we'll see how it goes now as price has risen considerably since. They've also raised my buy/sell limits from 10 to 50 a day; so I've been a happy customer and plan to continue business with them, as long as they fulfill my recent order, of course.

It is located on the beaglebone at the back (or is it the front?) of the miner. Are you able to open the case? -a torx (star-shaped) screwdriver is needed. Just apply a bit of pressure to the card to assure it is sitting properly.

http://s9.postimg.org/wmu88vttb/Jupiter_Network_Card.jpg

If the aforementioned hasn't worked for you, try popping off the cover and check that the network card inside is properly seated. I've found this to be the source of problems for more than a few others including one unit I resold that was working before shipment.

HF has been shitting down our throats with delays, so we'll see fractional returns in relation to what was expected since the opening of the IPO;
Bitfunder closes shop, tanking share price and freezing assets

...and you're pissed off that IceDrill is requiring a Google account to verify share holdings?

Step 1) Take 45 seconds away from this ridiculously petty argument and go register some faux Google account using a VPN and a fake name to prevent Google from destroying your amazing life. I'll help you - just copy/paste:

Name: Bob Van Winkle
Username: iceicebabybreaker
Password: 12345
Then click a few times for birthday and gender, as well as accurately retype the captcha

Step 2) Stop worrying and learn to ALWAYS BET ON iCE, or whatever it is you do.

Why spend something today that will be worth more tomorrow?

That is the big question many economists will argue as to the validity of using a deflationary currency. Sure, right now it is difficult to imagine parting with our coins while the value increases so dramatically, but that won't be the case forever. At some point, the market will find stability and people will have to decide whether it is of more value to them to obtain a particular good or service now than it is to potentially gain a negligible % more by holding. You might be willing to go hungry today if you can make 50% on your holdings, but are you willing to go hungry tomorrow if your holdings only net you .25% earnings?

This deserves repeating.

It all depends upon your desired outcome.

Buying BTC would be the most profitable if you're looking for the greatest opportunity for ROI. If you're feeling a little altruistic, believe in supporting the BTC network, enjoy tinkering with hardware as a hobby, but would be ok if you potentially got out a little less than you put in, then give mining a shot. Maybe it's a combination of both mining and buying to diversify? However, if you have free electricity and you can run your miner indefinitely, you shouldn't have to worry about taking a loss by mining - but it likely won't end up as profitable as buying BTC outright either.

I guess we should first define by what function of a bank you are referring to? With BTC, every individual is essentially their own bank.

Secondly, it's important to make the distinction between a mining pool and a mining farm. A pool being a consortium of miners' (individuals') hashpower, while a farm; a centrally operated collection of miner hardware. My apologies if this is already understood, but it's necessary to differentiate the two.

A direct p2p transaction for a property with limited overhead for both parties ..this is deserving of much more attention!!

I understand you're asking 200 BTC for the apartment, but I'd like to know how many camels you'd like?

What is this other project? BTC related? I hope you are able to sell your apartment. Good luck to you!

Certainly an overestimation on my part ...but as you say the value of BTC rises, the amount paid in fees will decline... as a result of smaller units of coin necessary in transacting an equivalent fiat value? -to be sure I understand the logic.

How do you imagine block rewards to look then as the volume of transactions increase, and more emphasis is placed upon transaction fees in determining prioritization? I understand there's limits to the block size, so that might be something to counter growing transaction fees there as well. However, might smaller transactions allow for more transactions in a block?


https://blockchain.info/block-index/438711
Found the block in question, only it was 10 BTC in transaction fees. Certainly the largest I've seen to date.

At triplemining, your reward is calculated by the number of shares you've contributed within a 24hr period in relation to the contribution of the other miners. For example, say you quit mining at exactly the 24 hour mark. Your reward from that point forward is shrinking as your oldest shares expire AND the other miners that continue to mine gain a larger proportion of the total volume of shares at the pool in that time frame. The pool doesn't care if you are mining at the exact time a block is found; a share's value is constant, but will expire if a block is not found within 24 hours of that share being submitted.

BTC is built with the intent on being infinitely divisible for just that scenario, should it ever occur. At this time, I believe we can go back to eight decimal places. In the manner of exchange, the explicit unit is really irrelevant as it is only a reference. In time, you won't be spending .0000014 BTC to buy a pizza; you will spend 14 Satoshis. It is true, however, that those holding very large sums of coin right now could be extraordinarily rich beyond comprehension. It is unlikely to happen to quite the extreme as the price rises and approaches those figures, they'll sell, as will everyone, on the way up to take some profits. Nonetheless, they'll be very well off.

In order to better your position you will have to look for ways, beyond the conventional 'buy at coinbase' method. You might have to do some trading ..pay attention to supply/demand and see if you can sell high, buy low. There's certain risk here, but there is no inherently risk-less venture that can make a person rich. Even the people discovering they are rich now, had to make a commitment to spend real money on something that was relatively worthless at the time. Despite actual investment figures, that was a huge risk.

You might also consider selling goods or your services for BTC. Probably the most productive and mutually beneficial (you and the bitcoin economy) thing you could do right now.

Don't despair. There is still hope!  

Why? What would be so desirable about exchanging into another form of currency when you consider a single BTC reaching $1 million; extraordinarily high demand, there would likely be very few, if any, goods or services that couldn't be paid with BTC by that time. You are correct in that right now, the tangible items that can easily be bought with BTC are limited, but they are growing daily. Food, Clothing, Electronics, Autos, Media & Entertainment, Professional Services, even Real Estate can all be bought with BTC right now.

I can't say that I disagree with this; you may very well be right. I don't think there is any doubt that the largest majority of BTC holders at the moment are entirely speculative. What I don't think is fair to assume, is that being the case in 5, 10+ years. If in even a couple years, the landscape hasn't changed from speculators to consumers, the opportunity for BTC will likely have passed and it will be game over.

Again, this is with the assumption that people will actually want to exchange into the state currency. It isn't hard to imagine a very poor outlook for fiat money in the future when we can already see the state of disrepair it has become for many countries; and that our current methods of supporting our respective domestic economies are not producing desirable results. We are a global marketplace, and BTC is built perfectly well for that, without, and this is important, diminishing any benefits for small, local business. The largest uptake by merchants now are with small businesses, and it is only a matter of clarifying legislative gray area before the big fish decide it is time to jump in the pool. It will be the great benefits to the merchant<>consumer relationship that BTC, possibly another crypto, will eventually be the preferred currency of exchange.

To be fully honest about it, I don't expect BTC will reach the kinda of outlandish estimates of $100k - $1 million per coin, certainly not in less than 10 years. I also don't expect it will create as many billionaires and millionaires as everyone hopes for, but it will make many people very wealthy.

Admittedly, the rhetoric was nonsense, but no less so than claims of a tulip mania and ponzi schemes. You're certainly entitled to your own speculation, but to use buzzwords like ponzi, not only shows your opinions as anecdotal, but also a stubbornly ignorant understanding of BTC altogether.

No, of course Gox won't pay out millions of dollars - they can't pay out now. Though, it is true that any other exchange is likely unable to handle massive cash withdrawals on a massive scale simultaneously. Even so, you do understand how an exchange works, yes? Gox, for example, isn't buying your coins and giving you cash out of their account (if one existed) ..if I sell $2 million worth of BTC on an exchange, it means that another individual has bought, and paid in, the necessary funds. Further, if BTC should ever reach $1 million, a person would be buying goods and services directly - no reason to exchange into a different currency, particularly one that loses value as you hold it.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Currenci#
@ 3p EST
*ty for the correction, cr1776

The US Senate is meeting to discuss Virtual Currencies. I believe it's the first meeting of two meetings this week...

Agreed ..I think it's likely going to be at the point of currency exchange, we'll see the most prohibitive and annoying regulation. I know there are quite a few worried about this CoinValidation business too, alongside theories of regulation and centralization coming from governmental requirements on mining equipment. If governments are able to control mining ..checkmate.

In just under 30 minutes, we'll get a little glimpse of what is cooking in the Senate in regard to BTC. In any case, you are absolutely right. There is a tremendous amount at stake with the rapid acceptance of BTC. As you allude: Money, thus power. They could have a lot to lose but for all of our sake, let's hope they realize they have much more to lose by taking a position adverse to BTC.

What I'm imagining to likely happen are very rigid controls on exchanges between BTC and USD, the requirement to claim capital gains on taxes - in accordance with current law, but leaving the BTC market (P2P & Consumer2Merchant transactions) largely unfettered with the exception that merchants include a new federally defined sales tax.

edit: was off by an hour - 3pm EST

Actually, I think we can go much higher on speculation alone: $1,000+ easy. There are tremendously huge funds being stuffed into BTC from very wealthy and powerful people. As price climbs, it encourages a much larger financial status/risk tolerance and pushes entrance out of plausibility for the middle class investment - many of whom already looked at BTC as a fad/bubble/ponzi/..or just simply hard to accept in concept; now telling them they'll need to cough up over $600 for a single BTC, they're likely to respond with the same, if not greater, level of reservations and skepticism.

If this train keeps chugging along, and we find a level of stagnation combined with still little merchant acceptance - Look Out!! Fortunately, merchants seem to becoming more privy - even the large ones - at what they have to gain by accepting the precious.

Yes, correct category; as a newbie, you're restricted here for the time being and anything goes in the Newbies sub.

There are very few here that will give a favorable opinion of any type of regulation, much less by an entity most popularly considered as ominous as the US government. I like to consider the relationship the government, and other private regulatory commissions, have had with the torrent network. In a direct P2P network, such as a torrent or BTC, there is very little adversaries can really do to eliminate the activity. Then consider what we are really dealing with is technology, and technology will expand to new territories and crash through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but will in one form or another establish itself.

My thoughts on the governmental stance toward BTC isn't as sour as many would make it to be. I think they have a much more favorable outlook than many think, however, the activity we've seen taken by US enforcement has been focused on compliance, rather than on the BTC protocol. It's my opinion that they realize they can't stop it, they know it could have some extraordinary benefits to the world populace at large, but they also know that if they don't inject themselves into the market properly, they will be crippled. "Who is going to pay us our money?!?1! ..I mean, pay taxes?"

Yep, campbx is not accessible at the moment. Demand is extraordinary. There's potential this could be a well orchestrated pump leading up to the US Senate hearing, before profits are taken. However, it seems to be more likely that positive news coming out of the US today could push prices considerably higher.