59 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

Bitcoin ATMs:

 

http://www.timescolo...toria-1.1649808

 

So, they had one at Good Planet, but took it away due to lack of use.  They had one at Smith's Pub, technical problems lead to its removal.

 

The one at Hemp & Co. has had 641 uses in 6 months.

 

 

[Szeven]

Would love to hear any pro bitcoin arguments from any enthusiasts here. Full disclosure I get why people think we need it and I get it has uses, but I cant understand the value in having any of it from an investment standpoint.

[Mr Cook Street]

The one at Hemp & Co. has had 641 uses in 6 months.

Any idea if this is considered a success? No clue if that is good or not.

[spanky123]

Any idea if this is considered a success? No clue if that is good or not.

 

Probably a little misleading tying this to Hemp and Co. If it is the only Bitcoin ATM left in Victoria then it probably services the entire town. Then the question is whether 640 transaction over 6 months for a population of 350K people is a success.

[gumgum]

Anybody want more info on bitcoins this guys knows it all. 3 hr podcast, fast forward 10 min past the ads. https://itunes.apple...t=2&i=326472842

[Dimitrios]

I note that it's been a pretty rough year for Bitcoin. The exchange rate started the year at over $800 US per unit, and is currently around $270. Ouch. I have trouble imagining much continued business interest with this sort of ROI.

 

I'll offer a January prediction that the last local ATM will go belly-up sometime in 2015. However, analysts have noted that interest in XBT tends to spike along with media interest, so I wouldn't be surprised by a few 'dead cat' bounces along the way.

[dasmo]

The ultimate pyramid scheme...

[Mike K.]

Doesn't Chase or another big bank have a competing currency that was released right around the time Bitcoin started to tank?

I smell something a little fishy. And with financial markets you literally follow the money to uncover the truth and so far the only sensible conclusion is the big banks want their own digital currency and not one playing second fiddle to something like Bitcoin.

[Rob Randall]

You must read this story about the trouble two local guys had installing a Bitcoin ATM in Victoria:

 

https://docs.google....m1AjdsgVER4/pub

 

We spend weeks on the phone with Frank Clark, their super agro support guy, just trying to get a single transaction to work successfully. Unfortunately, Robocoin is built on Windows 7 and a complete nightmare to configure. First, the ID scanner doesn’t work. Then the webcam keeps going black. Then the palm scanner refuses to work.

 

 

You will be amazed/entertained. One of the best rage stories on the Internet.

[VicHockeyFan]

 

Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity a year than Ireland

Network’s estimated power use also exceeds that of 19 other European countries, consuming more than five times output of continent’s largest windfarm

 

 

https://www.theguard...tricity-ireland

[rjag]

^ Just wait until the government figures out a way to apply a carbon tax to that!!!!

[Mike K.]

I know a fellow who operates several of these miners and has collected four bitcoins for his services.

The process of mining the transaction data is indeed incredibly complex and resource intensive, but then so is any other high-security processing requirement.

[VicHockeyFan]

It's my understanding that each bit coin becomes more difficult to extract, as each is extracted.

 

If the value was to continue to rise like it has in the last month, it'll use all the electricity in the world by 2020.   

[VicHockeyFan]

If Bitcoin miners were a country they’d rank 61st in the world in terms of electricity consumption.

Here are a few other interesting facts about Bitcoin mining and electricity consumption:

• In the past month alone, Bitcoin mining electricity consumption is estimated to have increased by 29.98%
• If it keeps increasing at this rate, Bitcoin mining will consume all the world’s electricity by February 2020.
• Estimated annualised global mining revenues: $7.2 billion USD (£5.4 billion)
• Estimated global mining costs: $1.5 billion USD (£1.1 billion)
• Number of Americans who could be powered by bitcoin mining: 2.4 million (more than the population of Houston)
• Number of Britons who could be powered by bitcoin mining: 6.1 million (more than the population of Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Bradford, Liverpool, Bristol, Croydon, Coventry, Leicester & Nottingham combined) Or Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
• Bitcoin Mining consumes more electricity than 12 US states (Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming)

 

• http://www.zerohedge...uction-feb-2020

[DavidSchell]

Bitcoin was created to be used as form of currency that could not be manipulated by a central government ... the problem is they are being hoarded and the percentage of bitcoins in circulation being used for actual transactions is very small. Most are being held as an investment to be liquidated at some point for a profit.

 

What is going to happen when the bulk of the people hording bitcoin decide to cash out and buy USD with it? Those that bought bitcoin because because they didn't want to be tied to the USD will still have their bitcoin(s), but will it not be worth near what they paid for it  and after the crash what merchant will want to accept it in exchange for good?

 

As a merchant do you want to accept bitcoin knowing it could drop 10% in a day? 

 

Tulip bulbs anyone?

[Mike K.]

You’re also limited to withdrawing $1,000 at a time due to the complexity of mining that transaction.

Bitcoin isn’t intended to be withdrawn. It’s intended to be its own currency and not converted into other currencies. But its massive value increase has changed the perception of the currency and it’s become an investment tool.

Truth is, the people who use bitcoin for its intended purpose bought it when it was valued in the single USD digits. They’ve become multi-millionaires now on paper but they certainly aren’t the guys buying $12,000 bitcoins in order to buy stuff online.

[Szeven]

Such a fascinating story. I agree with David, but how could I not say I wish I had bought some when I first saw them at $60 now that they are 12000 or whatever.

I wonder what anyone who has a legitimate amount of bitcoin left does now. Chances are they are regular folk from salary jobs who can't launder it. Do they sell and pay taxes? I wouldn't think people who believe in bitcoin as a movement believe in taxes.

Also, when these big moves happen, given the cap on the amount of transactions per period (I've read 7 per second) on bitcoin, it's entirely possible the USD value could be wiped before anyone has a chance to sell. Totally crazy, but again what do I know I've made nothing in it.

[DavidSchell]

It is happening ... merchants starting to say no to bitcoin.

 

https://www.polygon....coin-volatility

[dasmo]

Bubble coin....

[VicHockeyFan]

I think it's accepted that the bubble will burst at some point.  Where is that point though?  Why has it risen so much in the last few months?  It's been around a long time.