Alternatives to Western Union

But the whole concept screams 'fad' to be, and that's being polite.

I think it's got beyond "fad" and is becoming more mainstream. However it's still the "currency" of choice for blackmailers, drug dealers and child pornographers on the Internet. I say "currency" but it's really just a digital commodity, the equivalent to gold but online. That's why its price fluctuates, just like any other commodity. What cdnmatt describes is exactly the process someone would undertake to transfer money to Thailand by buying gold in their own country, sending it to Thailand and having someone exchange the gold for baht. It's like Skrill (by using an intermediary "currency") - Skrill uses Euros, cdnmatt uses bitcoins. Unfortunately for your average Thai boy, the bitcoins process is infinitely more cumbersome. That cdnmatt thinks it a possibility shows his slim grasp of reality

Why not just use bank to bank transfer? For me it is the easiest and cheapest way.

"A fool and his money" Part 2

[cdnmatt]

But the whole concept screams 'fad' to be

See, knew this was the wrong crowd. Older folks are generally more wary of new technology, which is understandable. Bitcoin has been going for over 6 years, market cap of $4.8 billion USD, 100s of millions of VC investments, plus many livelihoods currently rely on it, mine included. I think we're out of fad territory.

I could also use the word 'scam'

No, not really. Calling Bitcoin a scam is the equivalent of calling cash a scam, or saying e-mail is extremely dangerous, filled with hackers and scammers, and should be avoided at all costs because some people send viruses through it.

So, as I seemed to recall that Neals claims all centred round the member and massive Bitcoin fraud perhaps if they're reading this ( as I'm sure you know who they are. :-) perhaps they'd like to comment now and tell us THEIR thoughts on Newils at the time hugely libellous claims ( God Neal so loved that word :-( and / or their thoughts on the overall safety and security of the Bitcoin industry in general perhaps ?

Really? Where was I when this was going on? Aside from myself, I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention Bitcoin on this board, so are you referring to me? If so, then no clue what the claims were, but no, I've never done anything nefarious in the bitcoin space. I'm on the good side. I'm the guy who protects people's funds.

Reason I'm in bitcoin is because I can charge triple what I can as a general purpose software developer. Plus I like the concept as well. I've had PayPal freeze my funds for 180 days before, and had Moneris terminate my merchant account without warning due to a 1.2% chargeback rate, I've had banks put holds on my funds before, etc. When things like that happen it can hurt, and leave you a bit high & dry. With bitcoin, that type of thing is impossible. Nobody has any say over my money, or ability to transact, except myself, which is how it should be.

As for general security, bitcoin in and of itself is extremely secure, and there's some amazing minds that work on the core dev team. The problem is the implementations that get built on top of the protocol can sometimes be quite shabby. Years ago many of the systems were ridiculously insecure, especially considering how much money they were handling.

Remember back when almost every week you'd hear a news story about 10s of millions worth being stolen by hackers? Those news stories seem to have disappeared, right? Things have advanced, and they're much better now, but there's still some pretty shotty services / implementations out there, so be careful.

For your own funds, the only rule you really have to remember is never allow your private keys to be stored online, hence why I discourage web wallets like https://blockchain.info/ and all the others. Use a HD BIP32 wallet (ie. Electrum), keep your private keys off the internet, and the likelihood you'll ever have funds stolen is nearly zero. In 2.5 years, I've never had a single dollar stolen.

EDIT: If you guys want a quick tip, you can expect the price to jump a fair bit starting mid-2016, which is when miner's rewards will be halved. Right now, block rewards are 25 BTC, meaning ~6750 new bitcoin are being generated daily. Come mid 2016, that's going to be halved to ~3375 BTC/day, so newly generated supply will shrink, and assuming demand stays the same, stands to reason the price is going to increase a fair bit. Well, either the price increases or bitcoin goes the way of the dinosaurs, because miners won't be able to afford to run the network anymore, and will shut shop.

[Smiles]

Sorry, but there is nothing in your response which impresses, or changes my mind.
Let's wait five years [I'll still be here] and you can give a new report - on this board - on how healthy the World O' Bitcoin is.
I suspect this will not end well.

On the other hand, when it comes to market investing I've been left licking dirt before, and have probably a few licks left in the years ahead. I have one stock in my portfolio which shows a graph eerily similar to the Bitcoin bummer shown in my post above.

Your condescending 'Old Folks' reference is just plain whippersnappily stupid.

[christianpfc]

I have used transferwise twice so far and am happy with their service (post comparing withdrawal at ATM, exchanging cash and transferwise in preparation). There are similar services, but I haven't used them, so I can't compare.

I blacklisted paypal because ebay tried to force it into the market as payment method (more expensive and slower and bank transfer in Germany), and while not personally experiencing any difficulties the few times I was forced to use paypal, I have read horror stories on the web.

I know about bitcoin, but not enough to consider using it for monetary transactions.

Never used standard bank transfer (obscene fees and poor exchange rates) or Western Union.

[francois]

But the whole concept screams 'fad' to be

Really? Where was I when this was going on? Aside from myself, I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention Bitcoin on this board, so are you referring to me? If so, then no clue what the claims were, but no, I've never done anything nefarious in the bitcoin space. I'm on the good side. I'm the guy who protects people's funds.
.

Yes, where were you? There was quite an expose posted by Neal regarding a bitcoin scam supposedly involving a poster on this forum. No, it was not you matt.

Sorry, but there is nothing in your response which impresses, or changes my mind.
Let's wait five years [I'll still be here] and you can give a new report - on this board - on how healthy the World O' Bitcoin is.
I suspect this will not end well.

On the other hand, when it comes to market investing I've been left licking dirt before, and have probably a few licks left in the years ahead. I have one stock in my portfolio which shows a graph eerily similar to the Bitcoin bummer shown in my post above.

Your condescending 'Old Folks' reference is just plain whippersnappily stupid.

Perhaps you're thinking of this sort of thing, Smiles - http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-crime/

[Smiles]

Perhaps you're thinking of this sort of thing, Smiles - http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-crime/

No, I wasn't. But now that you've posted that link, just more manure for the pile. Thanks.

Just as an example: surely to fucking christ no one in their right mind would have anything to do with Bitcoins with the kind of obtuse and unexplainable language used in this eyeball rolling critique of Bitcoin (one of dozens).

The bitcoins accrued тАУ known ransom demands range from the hundreds to thousands of dollars, according to the report тАУ are then washed through multiple addresses and known bitcoin services, though none are named directly in the report. Some of the funds are essentially reinvested in new exploit kits or rent payments for botnets.

Revenue-wise, the reportтАЩs authors note that, for its backers, CryptoWall "is extremely successful and continues to provide significant income".

"One variant alone involved with the 'crypt100' campaign identifier resulted in over 15,000 victims across the globe," the report states. "These 15,000 victims alone would account for, at minimum, roughly $5m in profit for the CW3 group.

obtuse and unexplainable language used in this eyeball rolling critique of Bitcoin ...

The bitcoins accrued тАУ known ransom demands range from the hundreds to thousands of dollars, according to the report тАУ are then washed through multiple addresses and known bitcoin services, though none are named directly in the report. Some of the funds are essentially reinvested in new exploit kits or rent payments for botnets.

Revenue-wise, the reportтАЩs authors note that, for its backers, CryptoWall "is extremely successful and continues to provide significant income".

"One variant alone involved with the 'crypt100' campaign identifier resulted in over 15,000 victims across the globe," the report states. "These 15,000 victims alone would account for, at minimum, roughly $5m in profit for the CW3 group.

I'm gob-snacked that you find the language in that piece "obtuse and unexplainable". It's crystal clear to me. And it reinforces the point I made in an earlier post - bitcoin is the currency of choice for blackmailers, drug dealers and child pornographers. One thing you can say for criminal enterprises - they will make sure they don't lose their own money. Bitcoin (or is emulators) is here to stay.

Here you go Smiles - sink your teeth into this - http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-bit ... 2015-11-02