The Blockchain

[zdo 20]

I am struck by the mainstream confidence that bitcoin is a fraud/fad that will soon collapse, while central bank fiat currencies are presumed to be rock-solid and without risk.

 

What if bitcoin is a reflection of trust in the future value of fiat currencies?

CH Smith

 

I’m thinking if bitcoin is reflective of trust in the future value of fiat currencies, then it is reflective of trust in the future value of current sovereign fiat currencies. But - it does not reflect a questioning of the general value of fiat currencies at all. It is a fiat currency! It’s just not generated via debt as the centralized ‘fiats’ are. It’s generated by, in essence, a lotto. Beyond that it is backed by nothing but ‘trust’ just like all the other ‘fiats’

 

In a few years, as we approach ‘all’ the btc being mined, there will be a push to ‘allow’ more quantity, - not because of btc’s intrinsic value but just to keep the system going and salient in the money world... just like the current sovereign fiats ...

 

...

 

BTC by BTC, BTC's 'decay'...

[zdo 20]

A gentle and sweet waking up... of your paranoia

Bitcoin as a monetary policy tool | Zero Hedge

 

meanwhile

Everyone is announcing Bitcoin but no one is doing - it's all vapor

[zdo 20]

Every time a block is validated, a single node in the network gets a reward, and everyone else’s computing time and energy is completely wasted.

 

...

 

 

I’ve regularly observed that the value of a currency is essentially the present value of the stream of “services” that the currency can be expected to deliver over time, either by serving as a means of payment or as a store of value. That depends greatly on the willingness of other individuals to hold it and accept it into the indefinite future. My sense is that, as with all speculative bubbles, buyers are conflating “rising price” with “store of value.” Meanwhile, there’s little evidence to suggest that Bitcoin will ever be an efficient means of payment for ordinary goods and services.

 

Episodes of speculation can persist for some time, so there may be some speculative profit potential in Bitcoin yet. Looking over the very long-term, it may also be worth something in the future, because value is always ascribed to things that have some combination of scarcity and usefulness. To the extent that Bitcoin is assured to have a limited supply, and is undoubtedly being used for money-laundering already, I doubt that the future value of Bitcoin will be identically zero, assuming governments refrain from any regulatory effort. There will likely be numerous alternative cryptocurrencies launched in the future, each one constructed to first enrich its originator with a large number of units, and then released in the hope that it will catch on. In evaluating these alternatives, efficiency and scalability will be worth considering.

 

Hussman Hussman Hussman Hussman Hussman

[fxeconomist 11]

A gentle and sweet waking up... of your paranoia

Bitcoin as a monetary policy tool | Zero Hedge

 

meanwhile

Everyone is announcing Bitcoin but no one is doing - it's all vapor

 

As expected. Its pure hype but still it offers great opportunity to make money. What we do is transferring resources from new members to old ones - Ponzi scheme.

 

Keep two short positions from 12K and 10K on Hotforex, looking forward to hit at least 4K to close both and consider major cryptotrade done.

[zdo 20]

“...the money is presumably safe for now...”

 

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8xddka/millions-of-dollars-in-ethereum-are-vulnerable-to-hackers-right-now-smart-contract-bugs

[zdo 20]

 

Outside of the cryptocurrency space, however, digital currency traveled a very rough road—one that began, as a successor to credit cards, in 1992, and brings us to today, when the market is flooded with over 1,500 different cryptocurrencies, all vying for market share and most prepared to meet their maker.

 

Here's where it all started:

 

DigiCash, 1992

DigiCash is the pioneer of online payment systems, but chances are you’ve never even heard of it.

Founded in 1989 by American computer scientist and cryptographer David Chaum, DigiCash introduced two digital currency systems: eCash and cyberbucks, both based on Chaum's blind signature protocols that kept user identities anonymous and untraceable (sound familiar?).

Banks were unable to trace how merchants were spending their eCash; however, complete anonymity was compromised because merchants had to return their ecoins to the banks.

It ultimately fizzled out due to poor adoption by banks and merchants and a glaring lack of adequate support for user-to-user transactions. Simply put, it was before its time.

 

CyberCash, 1994

CyberCash was one of the more notable successes in the digital money industry, and even enjoyed the backing of the FDIC.

CyberCash was a credit card payment processing company that started using SET (secure electronic transaction) architecture to provide digital micro-payment solutions back in 1994. SET is a communication protocol for securing credit card transactions developed by Visa, MasterCard and a host of tech heavyweights.

But it also had a fundamental flaw in that it prioritized security over usability. All CyberCash users were required to obtain certificates through a long and arduous process. The system was hit hard by the Y2K bug of 2000 and the company ended up going bankrupt.

 

E-gold, 1996

This digital currency was launched by renowned oncologist Douglas Jackson in 1996.

E-gold lived up to its name and was backed by real gold--a fact that made it very popular. It even managed to garner more than 5 million user accounts across hundreds of countries. Continued hacking attacks on the platform and widespread use by money launderers and extortionists unfortunately sunk the company in 2009.

 

WebMoney, 1998

WebMoney is a Moscow-based company that provides a wide range of peer-to-peer payment solutions including internet-based trading platforms. The company launched WebMoney, an all-purpose digital currency in 1998, one of the few surviving digital currencies that are not crypto. The currency is still widely accepted and used by millions. It can also be converted to fiat currencies such as the Ruble, USD, GBP and even bitcoin.

 

Liberty Reserve, 2006

Liberty Reserve is another failed digital currency that attempted to create a centralized anonymous money transfer platform. The currency allowed users to create accounts and make money transfers without any form of verification.

As you might expect, the platform became a favorite hangout for cybercriminals, which led to its eventual shutdown in 2013.

 

Perfect Money, 2007

The shutdown of Liberty Reserves led to the rapid growth of its Russian-based rival, Perfect Money, as its users flocked to the newer platform.

Perfect Money is a digital money platform that offers pretty much the same services that Liberty Reserves did, minus the lack of verification. The platform works with multiple currencies including USD, EUR, BTC, GBP etc.

 

Bitcoin, 2009

Ultimately, all attempts at creating digital currencies face a major problem--they all require a middleman who has to earn the trust of users. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies sidestep this obstacle by working as decentralized platforms. [??? ??? mine]

Created in 2009 and easily the most successful digital currency ever, bitcoin is powered by an open-source blockchain protocol that stores transaction information in a distributed ledger. This makes it near-impossible to hack the network, though individual crypto exchanges are by no means impenetrable.

The popularity of bitcoin has spurred the invention of hundreds of other cryptocurrencies, with some created for niche sectors such as healthcare and logistics.

Now, the argument is that we still have a long way to travel down the cryptocurrency path, and that Bitcoin itself is merely the ‘gateway drug’ to other cryptocurrencies. In a couple of decades, it’s possible that no one will remember Bitcoin either.

By Jan Bauer for Safehaven.com

https://safehaven.com/article/45042/Before-Bitcoin-The-History-Of-Digital-Cash

 

 

PS Remember back when the then current TS ownership got desperate about the site's 'drop off'... SafeHaven is another example of a site going desperate ... to everything turn turn turn

[zdo 20]

Update:

the moneytalks 'spersions confirmed ...

https://support.bittrex.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003463331

[zdo 20]

Wanchain 

Aion 

Fusion 

Block Collider

[MayenB 0]

 

Judging by chart analysis, nothing radical has happened on the BTCUSD pair in the last 24 hours. The downwards trend on the daily timeframe remains intact. Because of this, it’s perfectly possible that bitcoin will test the low range formed at the beginning of February, which runs from around 6,000 to 7,500 USD

 

[zdo 20]

Judging by chart analysis, nothing radical has happened on the BTCUSD pair in the last 24 hours. The downwards trend on the daily timeframe remains intact. Because of this, it’s perfectly possible that bitcoin will make new highs, which runs to around 23,000 USD.

[zdo 20]

something is wrong with all my cryto candle charts. 

they won't go up.

please help

[zdo 20]

https://safehaven.com/article/45277/Satis-Group-80-Of-ICOs-Are-Scams

[zdo 20]

https://bankunderground.co.uk/2018/11/13/the-seven-deadly-paradoxes-of-cryptocurrency/