Bitcoin is hilariously broken in 2016

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EorayMel: May 30, 2015; WE GET IT. YOU LOVE GUN JESUS. Toujours des fusils Bullpup Fran�ais.

I love bitcoin.

It's so bad.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 06:00

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# ? Apr 20, 2024 03:06

Blue Train: Jun 17, 2012

EorayMel posted:

# ? Jan 18, 2016 06:07

EngineerSean: Feb 9, 2004; by zen death robot

lol @ anyone who has only $18k in their retirement account and anyone whose entire portfolio is entirely in one singular foreign currency, I mean this isn't even a bitcoin problem really

# ? Jan 18, 2016 07:04

ANIME IS BLOOD: Sep 4, 2008; by zen death robot

it's appropriate TCC glommed onto bitcoin the way it has

they deserve each other

# ? Jan 18, 2016 07:14

Alan Smithee: Jan 4, 2005; A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms.

Enthusiasms, enthusiasms...

EorayMel posted:

I love bitcoin.

It's so bad.

A reversal on the pyramid of naked Iraqi dudes

# ? Jan 18, 2016 07:20

Sick! Thats DOPE: Aug 1, 2008; Oh sick man thats sick

Serak posted:

Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange

# ? Jan 18, 2016 07:36

Serrath: Mar 17, 2005; I have nothing of value to contribute; Ham Wrangler

Darth123123 posted:

From memory, but your a smart guy serrath, how do you know idiots like this? Please have them film the back alley rape/transaction

quote:

lol @ anyone who has only $18k in their retirement account

Would it add more context to the story if I mentioned the victim in this case is a junior doctor and she likes this guy because he makes her feel "so free and uninhibited" in only the way that an unemployed 37 year old bartender who shares a rented house with 4 surfers in their early 20s can.

I don't even think he's trying to scam her, he sincerely believes that this $18k will grow into hundreds of thousands by the time he's retired and this is his "plan" (which is why he's being so protective over the fact that he "signed over" the money to her - he really does intend to pay back this $6000 but he just started year one of a four year humanities degree with this tuition money so who knows what's going to happen).

For reference (the way he tells the story, at least), he hasn't invested more than a couple thousand dollars into bitcoins, they've apparently just grown in value to this 18k. Before hitting up my friend, he's tried to use these bitcoins as a down payment on a house and he includes their value on personal asset tests and such. She says he's constantly on online forums talking with other Bitcoin collectors, reading things about bitcoins, attacking people on other message boards who say anything bad about bitcoins... Apparently he's really obsessed over this Pokemon money

Like, they're not even real, my god.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 07:41

Zeroisanumber: Oct 23, 2010; Nap Ghost

Serrath posted:

Story + question about bitcoins:

I have a friend who has been dating a new partner for about 4 months. My friend has a good job and savings of about $40 or $50k. Her partner wanted to return to university but lacked the means to pay and he asked if he could borrow tuition for a year (about $6000). My friend wasn't comfortable loaning that sort of money for a 4 month old relationship causing her boyfriend to offer to give her $6000USD worth of bitcoins as collateral for the loan.

My friend isn't that computer savvy and didn't know what a Bitcoin was so her partner set about studiously showing her magazine articles, pages printed from webpages, graphs showing their value over time and gave assurance after assurance that bitcoins were a real thing. She was still worried and, in the middle of an argument, her partner promised her his entire Bitcoin fortune (worth about $15,000 USD) as collateral for the $6000 loan. Wanting to avoid a longer argument she said yes and he set about putting the bitcoins in her name.

Since then, he's been needling her and making snide, passive aggressive comments about how she's holding onto his entire retirement savings and making allusions about how unfair it was that he had to turn over $15,000 (which is apparently worth $18,000 now) in exchange for a "mere" $6,000

Anyway she's sick of it and wants to cash out $6,000 worth of bitcoins so she can settle the loan and then send him back the remaining bitcoins so this doesn't keep coming between them. Except she doesn't know how to convert her Bitcoin fortune into real money and asked me to help her.

My question is, how screwed is she?

She will save much, much more by writing off the loan and dumping this guy right now than she ever would make by selling the bitcoins and keeping him around.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 07:47

Pittsburgh Lambic: Feb 16, 2011

Article linked in the OP was pretty cool, went through a lot of reasons why bitcoin is hosed but the best of them are:

Most bitcoin mining is now done by a few Chinese people with hilarious amounts of computing power at their command
Bitcoin mining plays a vital role in maintaining transaction records on the bitcoin network, which would be kinda cool if all the mining wasn't being done behind the Great Firewall of China and causing the network to continually poo poo itself
Even if the network wasn't controlled by literally a few wealthy Chinese businessmen and even if the network wasn't making GBS threads itself nonstop every day, the development team responsible for updating bitcoin's core software has splintered and now does nothing but bicker about the ~direction~ that bitcoin should take long-term while bitcoin burns to the ground in the short-term

Can't say I'll miss it, given how fantastically wasteful the bitcoin mining system is in terms of energy. From Wikipedia:

quote:

As of 2015, even if all miners used energy efficient processors, the combined electricity consumption would be 1.46 terawatt-hours per year�equal to the consumption of about 135,000 American homes.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 08:23

Wicker Man: Sep 5, 2007; Just like Columbus...; Clapping Larry

I want ALL the libertarian tears. That and their hilarious levels of denial.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 08:50

GrimGypsy: Mar 27, 2007

I think I know the answer to this, but is there any way for them to hit some giant reset button to revert back to a time when mining didn't require a small nation's electricity supply and an investment suitable to open your own restaurant?

# ? Jan 18, 2016 09:02

mclast: Nov 12, 2008; catchphrase over

Zeroisanumber posted:

She will save much, much more by writing off the loan and dumping this guy right now than she ever would make by selling the bitcoins and keeping him around.

I think the only IRL person I have met who has heard of TOR, let alone Bitcoin, what the guy who was moving into a bedbug infested house just as my gf and I were moving out.

'Don't move in! Wrap your things in plastic! Prepare for legal action!' we shouted

'I'm sure it will be fine! I haven't noticed a problem!' the internet hacktivist replied

# ? Jan 18, 2016 09:18

Ivor Biggun: Apr 30, 2003; A big "Fuck You!" from the Keyhole nebula; Lipstick Apathy

Serrath posted:

Like, they're not even real, my god.

So many red flags. Still, the training wheels have to come off some time and if she only loses $6k out of this then she might learn a lesson for the future.

Zeroisanumber posted:

She will save much, much more by writing off the loan and dumping this guy right now than she ever would make by selling the bitcoins and keeping him around.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 09:28

Mercury_Storm: Jun 12, 2003; *chomp chomp chomp*

GrimGypsy posted:

I think I know the answer to this, but is there any way for them to hit some giant reset button to revert back to a time when mining didn't require a small nation's electricity supply and an investment suitable to open your own restaurant?

I think that's what the bitcoin classic is trying to do, but assuming it actually works, you then have to convince tons and tons of nerds and the Chinese miners who control the network and have invested their lives into bitcoin working as it does right now to use it, just like any other major change.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 09:30

Novo: May 13, 2003; ^{Stercorem pro cerebro habes}; Soiled Meat

Mercury_Storm posted:

you then have to convince everyone to use it, just like any other would-be "currency".

# ? Jan 18, 2016 09:41

Oz: Sep 10, 2003; Minion Of Relin

Mercury_Storm posted:

I think that's what the bitcoin classic is trying to do, but assuming it actually works, you then have to convince tons and tons of nerds and the Chinese miners who control the network and have invested their lives into bitcoin working as it does right now to use it, just like any other major change.

This is why I put all my cash into dogecoin

# ? Jan 18, 2016 09:48

suck my woke dick: Oct 10, 2012; I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!

Put this cum-loving slave on ignore immediately!

Serak posted:

Magic: The Gathering: Online Exchange

fixed that for you

Oz posted:

This is why I put all my cash into dogecoin

Ponzicoin (a real thing that exists)

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:02

Noun Verber: Oct 12, 2006; Cool party, guys.

ANIME IS BLOOD posted:

it's appropriate TCC glommed onto bitcoin the way it has

they deserve each other

Well, they both have a history of users getting heatstroke.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:08

Microwaves Mom: Nov 8, 2015; by zen death robot

So wait is bitcoin dead now?

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:09

Ivor Biggun: Apr 30, 2003; A big "Fuck You!" from the Keyhole nebula; Lipstick Apathy

Microwaves Mom posted:

So wait is bitcoin dead now?

As long as there are libertarians the bitcoin ideal will never die.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:14

Tokamak: Dec 22, 2004

Serrath posted:

If she is at the point where she wants her money back, then she may as well write it off. There is a 50/50 chance that this person will freak out and chase her to the ends of the Earth to get his bitcoin back. If the bitcoiner is thinking that his initial thousand dollar investment is going to be his retirement, then he believes that bitcoin will become the defacto global currency.

In other words... 21 million bitcoins (the total ever made) would be worth 60+ trillion dollars, or 3 million per coin. So her selling maybe 30 coins today would cost him 100 million in the future. That he is whining about her holding the coins as collateral is a big red flag, and I would suggest extreme caution in selling his precious coins. She should enjoy her relationship for what it is, and not loan him any more money. It is a costly lesson, but not the end of the world for a young professional.

You really don't want someone harassing/stalking you. Especially if you are someone who can be easily tracked down, like a doctor.

Tokamak fucked around with this message at 10:33 on Jan 18, 2016

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:31

LordArgh: Mar 17, 2009; Nap Ghost

"hmm, this guy who has all the hallmarks of being a major gently caress-up in life is someone i should loan money to so that he can start work on a useless degree"

-an idiot

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:36

LordArgh: Mar 17, 2009; Nap Ghost

LordArgh posted:

"hmm, this guy who has all the hallmarks of being a major gently caress-up in life is someone i should loan money to so that he can start work on a useless degree"

-an idiot

don't sign you're posts

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:37

super sweet best pal: Nov 18, 2009

Mercury_Storm posted:

I think that's what the bitcoin classic is trying to do, but assuming it actually works, you then have to convince tons and tons of nerds and the Chinese miners who control the network and have invested their lives into bitcoin working as it does right now to use it, just like any other major change.

So just another altcoin.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:38

DiggityDoink: Dec 9, 2007

Ive been in and out of buttcoin since it started and the entire time ive found it to be nothing but a goldmine of laffs.

Yeah you could have made money off of it, and yeah you might still be able to now when the market does its retarded rollercoaster, but the end result of all of it is going to be 99% of the idiots losing their kid's college fund. It's sad and yet rewarding at the same time.

I wish there was a forum like btctalk where real brokers talked about stocks the same way.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 10:51

Professor Shark: May 22, 2012

Cross Postin' from the Canadian Finance Thread:

quote:

Philadelphia�s first condominiums available for purchase in bitcoin will have their first open house today in the city�s historic Manayunk district. Susanna Kunkel, a veteran Philadelphia realtor, arranged the bitcoin offering as a way to entice tech-savvy, entrepreneurial-oriented buyers who are an important customer for modern urban condominiums.

The four condos from Falcon Condominiums range in size from 2,024 to 2,293 square feet of interior space. The initial asking price for each is 795 bitcoin.

Manayunk, a National Historic District, is a commercial neighborhood teaming with renovated Victorian storefronts located 15 minutes from Center City Philadelphia, King of Prussia, Chestnut Hill, and The Main Line.

Charting New Waters

�I�m really charting new water here,� Kunkel told CCN. �I just don�t think that (bitcoin) has been offered to our technology community as an option. Philadelphia has a growing presence of creative startup companies. As a realtor, I need to be in touch with our different communities and the trends.�

The condos, newly-constructed on the site of a former Polish social hall, has been on the market for one year. Kunkel recently came up with the idea of offering the four units for sale in bitcoin and suggested it to the property�s owners, who welcomed the idea.

The units are well suited to bitcoin-oriented buyers, Kunkel said. The condos have a flexible floor plan that can be used for work and as a meeting space that can accommodate 10 to 15 people. Kunkel envisions an entrepreneur who wants to work out of their home.

She said there have been private condo sales paid in bitcoin in Philadelphia, but this is the first publicly-listed offering. �It is the first mainstream, full-service offering in bitcoin,� she said.

Kunkel has promoted the offering on her blog and through social media. Phillymag.com, Philadelphia Magazine�s website, ran an article about it on Thursday. Kunkel has since received inquiries but no offers as of this report.

BTC Tied To Dollar Price

The property�s listing by phillyliving.com and on the multiple listing service does not carry the bitcoin price, only the dollar price. The prices for the four units range from $365,000 to $395,000. If a buyer makes an offer in bitcoin, the bitcoin amount will be based on the bitcoin-to-dollar exchange rate at the time of the offer. The amount may need to be adjusted when the transaction closes based on any change in the exchange rate.

�The seller is not going to take on the risk of bitcoin (price) fluctuating,� Kunkel said.

To complete a title transfer where funds are held in escrow, the party holding funds in escrow must be willing to accept bitcoin. Kunkel�s blog directs prospective buyers to an explanation by the title company that will handle the settlement, World Wide Land Transfer.

During the change of title, the buyer�s money floats through escrow usually held by a title insurance company, except in states like New York where it is common for either the buyer�s attorney or a bank attorney to handle the escrow. Either way, this party moves the buyer�s money to the seller, the creditor who is being paid off if applicable, the government recorder of deeds, and the tax agencies if taxes are being paid. The bitcoin will only become available to the buyer if the title insurance provider or the attorney handling the escrow is willing to accept bitcoin to close the transaction.

Whether or not the realtors get paid their commissions in bitcoin would be for the realtors and the seller to decide.

Real Estate Embraces Bitcoin

The Philadelphia offering reflects the rising use of bitcoin for real estate transactions.

The World Wide Land Transfer website noted that a New York City-based brokerage, Bond New York, is already accepting bitcoin as payment for real estate transactions. Noah Freedman, co-founder of the brokerage, said bitcoin is a convenient and inexpensive way for customers to transfer money. He cited reduced or non-existent processing fees as a key bitcoin benefit.

Echoing these sentiments was Ragnar Lifthrasir, president of an organization called the International Bitcoin Real Estate Association, in a recent article in Opp.Today (Overseas Property Professional). Lifthrasir said the blockchain is positioned to improve options for real estate record keeping. He also said bitcoin can make real estate a liquid asset, eliminate fraud, reduce costs, hasten transactions, improve financial privacy, democratize investing, internationalize markets, and reemphasize equity.

The Philadelphia open houses are scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 17 and Jan. 31 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 11:20

Sammus: Nov 30, 2005

Can I buy a house then take my bitcoins back and claim it's mine?

# ? Jan 18, 2016 12:36

Casimir Radon: Aug 2, 2008

ANIME IS BLOOD posted:

it's appropriate TCC glommed onto bitcoin the way it has

they deserve each other

Sunburnt Aphid should try to get a job as a Bitcoin mascot, appropriate because they're both probably dead

# ? Jan 18, 2016 13:19

Professor Shark: May 22, 2012

Sammus posted:

Can I buy a house then take my bitcoins back and claim it's mine?

My favorite part was how the contract ~~might~~ would absolutely have to be modified at the time of signing because the price of Bitcoin might not be the same as when they started

# ? Jan 18, 2016 13:23

Oz: Sep 10, 2003; Minion Of Relin

Professor Shark posted:

�The seller is not going to take on the risk of bitcoin (price) fluctuating,� Kunkel said.

...Does the seller not realize that after he get's paid, the value of his Bitcoins can still nosedive? It's not like he'll be able to exchange $300k worth of bitcoins into cash fast enough for there to be no risk of loss. Last I checked there were caps on amounts that can be converted and the network is lovely as hell.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:04

Germstore: Oct 17, 2012; A Serious Candidate For a Serious Time

At the very least the girlfriend needs to create a wallet she knows is secure and transfer the butts there.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:34

Maldoror: Oct 5, 2003; by R. Guyovich; Nap Ghost

Pittsburgh Lambic posted:

Most bitcoin mining is now done by a few Chinese people with hilarious amounts of computing power at their command

Only registered members can see post attachments!

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:35

Stabbatical: Sep 15, 2011

How do I, an average Joe without an entire Chinese computer farm, even get one of these Bitt-Coins? Can I buy one from an e-shop?

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:41

Fat-Lip-Sum-41.mp3: Nov 15, 2003

Serrath posted:

Story + question about bitcoins:

I have a friend who has been dating a new partner for about 4 months. My friend has a good job and savings of about $40 or $50k. Her partner wanted to return to university but lacked the means to pay and he asked if he could borrow tuition for a year (about $6000). My friend wasn't comfortable loaning that sort of money for a 4 month old relationship causing her boyfriend to offer to give her $6000USD worth of bitcoins as collateral for the loan.

My friend isn't that computer savvy and didn't know what a Bitcoin was so her partner set about studiously showing her magazine articles, pages printed from webpages, graphs showing their value over time and gave assurance after assurance that bitcoins were a real thing. She was still worried and, in the middle of an argument, her partner promised her his entire Bitcoin fortune (worth about $15,000 USD) as collateral for the $6000 loan. Wanting to avoid a longer argument she said yes and he set about putting the bitcoins in her name.

Since then, he's been needling her and making snide, passive aggressive comments about how she's holding onto his entire retirement savings and making allusions about how unfair it was that he had to turn over $15,000 (which is apparently worth $18,000 now) in exchange for a "mere" $6,000

Anyway she's sick of it and wants to cash out $6,000 worth of bitcoins so she can settle the loan and then send him back the remaining bitcoins so this doesn't keep coming between them. Except she doesn't know how to convert her Bitcoin fortune into real money and asked me to help her.

My question is, how screwed is she?

Odds are decent that this arrangement isn't legally enforceable at all and she could probably cash out all of it, dump him, and keep it.

It would cost a couple hundred bucks to talk to a lawyer about it. She should do that.

This is a public service reminder to young people that lawyers still exist, they do offer valuable services, and they are not monsters.

Fat-Lip-Sum-41.mp3 fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Jan 18, 2016

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:42

blugu64: Jul 17, 2006; Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?

bit coins are not real and don't exist

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:43

Germstore: Oct 17, 2012; A Serious Candidate For a Serious Time

LegoPirateNinja posted:

Odds are decent that this arrangement isn't legally enforceable at all and she could probably cash out all of it, dump him, and keep it.

It would cost a couple hundred bucks to talk to a lawyer about it. She should do that.

This is a public service reminder to young people that lawyers still exist, they do offer valuable services, and they are not monsters.

I don't think any lawyer would ever recommend that even with lolcurrency.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:46

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

LegoPirateNinja posted:

Odds are decent that this arrangement isn't legally enforceable at all and she could probably cash out all of it, dump him, and keep it.

It would cost a couple hundred bucks to talk to a lawyer about it. She should do that.

This is a public service reminder to young people that lawyers still exist, they do offer valuable services, and they are not monsters.

Sounds like a goood way to get murdered by your retarded ex

# ? Jan 18, 2016 14:59

Oldstench: Jun 29, 2007; Let's talk about where you're going.

Don Tacorleone posted:

https://medium.com/@octskyward/the-resolution-of-the-bitcoin-experiment-dabb30201f7#.oh97d91e

prominent bitcoin app developer gives up in a long rear end article :

This article is loving hilarious.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 15:38

JazzFlight: Apr 29, 2006; Oooooooooooh!

Oldstench posted:

This article is loving hilarious.

And people in the comments aren't even denying the problems, they're pathetically attacking him for "talking poo poo about his ex-employer."

# ? Jan 18, 2016 15:41

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# ? Apr 20, 2024 03:06

IPCRESS: May 27, 2012

Stabbatical posted:

How do I, an average Joe without an entire Chinese computer farm, even get one of these Bitt-Coins? Can I buy one from an e-shop?

Go to a bank and buy a roll of pennies. Place these pennies in your rear end and leave them there for 2-6 hours. Extract the pennies - congratulations, you now have butt coins.

In addition to ground-flooring you on the currency of the future, this tip may also help you in negotiations you have with people you find to be intimidating.

# ? Jan 18, 2016 15:45

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