The “dollars” used to keep score in poker tournaments have no relation to real dollars and should really be called something else, like “points.” You can’t ever spend them in any way besides putting up bets in that tournament.
Thanks for the chuckle.
1 Like
Yeah, I know, but a the same time they had SOME value because they are you score and if you win, you win the prize for the tournament.
But my analogy still works because he gambled on Bit Coins being worth anything, and while he had to invest some time and money, he isn’t out anything other than the initial investment. Maybe more like a regular poker game where you could cash early if you wanted.
Not that there isn’t some loss. I mean personally if I had something worth a million bucks Id probably have already cashed out. Or at least cashed out some of it. So if I lost it all I’d be kicking myself. And in general I hate thieves. Though if this guy was just sitting on it, then obviously he still has enough money to live.
1 Like
Libertarian funbucks!
Well, the primary use for Bitcoin beyond drug purchases is degenerate gambling (at best highly margined speculation), sooooooooo
3 Likes
But Bitcoins are still worth something. He may have been gambling on them but he didn’t lose his bet, someone jacked his chips before he got them to the tellers cage.
3 Likes
The worst of it is, the first time I used my old Hotmail account to check for mail, it switched my Windows login over without telling me. That got switched back pretty fast. Idiots!
3 Likes
Don’t forget ransomware, money laundering, and financing terrorism. It’s pretty handy for some stuff.
5 Likes
I completely forgot about the billions of dollars in ransomware being transferred every year.
Killer app! Watch out, Paypal.
1 Like
You… I like you.
Wait, I lost track. Were we talking about bitcoin, or cash?
2 Likes
That is so clever!
We are discussing the intended-to-avoid-regulation cryptocurrency which only offers the benefits of circumventing traditional payment processors which screen for/out black market transactions with no value add over cash.
4 Likes
Your first statement tends to dilute your second one. That kind of sweeping generalization has more in common with populist scare tactics than it does with thoughtful analysis.
1 Like
The “thoughtful analysis” is that there is no consumer market for items using Bitcoin. There have been means to launder away DNM transactions, and there are sites like Gyft that work with carder networks, but it is a Potemkin Village when it comes to legitimate transactions.
3 Likes
Sorry, you’re right, I should refine that statement. 99% of the Bitcoin world is basically a toxic mess of organized crime and goldbug zealots. Then there’s the other 1% composed of people like you who also help keep my interest low.
3 Likes
Ah, I remember those good old days of ransomware when I just had to FTP $20 dollar bills to a Romanian server.
3 Likes
It’s a fair point, except that ransomware is just a modern take on a very old crime, and that crime has historically favored cash. And since you didn’t refute the other two places where cash is just as much in favor (money laundering and financing terrorism) I’ll just assume you’ve conceded your position on those.
1 Like
While the market is small, the notion that there is NO consumer market is provably false, and trivially so at that. But is it any wonder that the market has remained small, with (otherwise very smart) people like the ones in this thread spreading complete and utter bullshit about bitcoin?
1 Like
In Smell-O-Rama.
1 Like
A great many of those don’t receive any notable transactions, and others have stopped taking Bitcoins since.
“Accepting bitcoins” means fuck-all if nobody uses it for that purpose.
It’s not because of “FUD” but that Bitcoin is entirely a solution in search of a problem.
The only persons who wish to use it for everyday purposes are the goldbug/bircher ideologues.
Every sane individual who isn’t using it for drugs/gambling sees the annoyance/difficulty of Bitcoin and runs.
2 Likes
That’s moving the goal posts. The question was whether you can buy consumer goods with bitcoin, not whether it constituted a significant portion of the transactions at that retailer. Clearly, you can, and so the statement that there is no consumer market for bitcoin is false.
I’ll concede the market is small. But it’s not nonexistent.
1 Like
