This is starting to not seem organic... what is the reason for this 30 hour spike?

Phishing proof... from Kraken
 "We know that some of you have accounts on bitcointalk.org and we wanted to let you know that a phishing attempt was made on bitcointalk email addresses earlier today.

If you received an email with the subject Mtgox.Claim assessment process, delete it and do not click on the link it contains! This email did not come from Kraken, but was spoofed to look as though it came from our support email (support@kraken.com).

For more information about the email, see this post on reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/4m3op0/psa_phishing_attempts_reported_today_kraken_re/

We do not know how the bitcointalk email addresses were obtained, however the bitcointalk database has been compromised in the past. You can be assured that this incident was not the result of any breach in Kraken’s database and your personal information with Kraken is safe.

Even if you did receive the email, you are safe so long as you do not click on the link (just delete the email and you will be fine). If you did click on the link and are concerned about it, please contact us at: support@kraken.com."

I used to post on this forum... now it's too heavy handed.
What is with all the threads asking questions. It's like some kind of phishing scheme. No other forums have nearly this many probing threads.
Have fun with your gestopo... off to a better experience

Such a pleasant place to post

I get the whole use the "speculation thread"... didn't think the forum would be that anal about a misplaced thread.
Segwit going live soon is a legit reason for buying coins... as is steam users gearing up.
For sure the halving is playing a role... if you don't mind contributing in this rogue thread what are your thoughts on the reasons for the increase?

Trying to put a finger on the nice increase recently...
Some possibilities:
Segwit going live
Open Bizzaar up and running
Steam BTC acceptance

Other thoughts?

Are people going to buy btc just to spend on Steam?... What's the chances of Steam holding coins?
I get the extra exposure... Just not the price increase if it's a quick cash out from Steam.

After googling western union there was no competitive adds for Bitcoin exchanges... Seems this would be an excellent opportunity for exposure.

Have not heard any indication that Bernie supports BTC... I have asked them to accept bitcoin contributions with no reply.
The only candidate I'm aware of that endorsed bitcoin was Rand Paul.

So they settled for a whopping $15, 000... son of a bitches got away with it.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/article62022452.html

Interesting... I added my name to the class action suit.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3034977/butterfly-labs-cant-afford-the-39m-fine-to-settle-charges-it-duped-bitcoin-hopefuls.html

Once a month for the same amount seems like you are signed up for a monthly service of some sort.

Should be an interesting event once the fork in the road presents itself... I still can't decide... Would like to see a poll of how many support moving to classic etc.
For those that are not in favor of block increase what is your plan for growth?

Since nobody invested more than they can afford to lose (right ?) the current trend is irrelevant for the long term future... smart folks realize this is about changing the financial structure over time.
The best course is put BTC on the back burner for your portfolio... or look at this lull as a buy opportunity.... bottom line, nobody is getting rich or poor for a while.

Sure and they have nothing to do with government sponsored cyber trade secret theft either.
Unless you can provide proof then the question is still valid. Again, why are they ok with mining but against bitcoin?

True.
Does anyone have proof that these minors aren't mining for their government?
Why is China anti bitcoin (merchants, spending btc etc.) yet huge mining farms are perfectly fine?

Anyone else concerned about the potential for collusion here?

Well thought out response Ron... I hope this gains some traction on Coindesk & WSJ.
Only a reactionary fool sells out a this time...  if anything we should consider Hearn's piece a blessing as it has created more resolve to alleviate our differences.
Bitcoin IS the financial future.

The last I heard there was a class action suit... I filled out the form but never heard from the Law Firm...
The new schedule says the trial date will be May 2nd, 2016
https://www.woodlaw.com/cases/butterfly-labs-and-bf-labs-inc-bitcoin-miners

Mike Hearn is dead to the community... It's important that no one follows Benedict Arnold to his anti Bitcoin sellout.
It's time to rally together.