How many furries know what Bitcoin is?

[Zhalo]

I used to trade alt-coins when I was in High school. I had a really fun time doing it too made a good bit of money for a high school student! Used it to buy some stuff I probably shouldn't had. Eventually I cashed out though because I needed the money to pay for college.

 

[Yakamaru]

I don't actually do much gaming since my daughter was born. She keeps us too busy.

Still it has held up. Need to replace the bottom of the case and maybe the mouse pad.

Yeah, I can imagine. Kids are a lot of work from the looks of it, but well worth it in the long run from the looks of it.

I used to trade alt-coins when I was in High school. I had a really fun time doing it too made a good bit of money for a high school student! Used it to buy some stuff I probably shouldn't had. Eventually I cashed out though because I needed the money to pay for college.

Oh hey Zhalo. Long time no see. How you been? =^w^=

 

[Zhalo]

Oh hey Zhalo. Long time no see. How you been?

Hey! ^-^ I've been doing good been busy with College, decided to look at the forums see how things are now!

 

[Yakamaru]

Hey! ^-^ I've been doing good been busy with College, decided to look at the forums see how things are now!

Ey that's good to hear. Hope College is going well too?

Haven't seen you in a while, and was wondering how you were faring.

 

[Zhalo]

Ey that's good to hear. Hope College is going well too?

Haven't seen you in a while, and was wondering how you were faring.

Yep, I'm doing CS and having fun with that! How have you been?

 

[Yakamaru]

Yep, I'm doing CS and having fun with that! How have you been?

Ey, that's good to hear!
I'm doing pretty damn well I have to say. Work is going pretty great, have a forklift license, lost a lot of weight.. Could go on for a long time but don't want to derail the thread further. ^^"

 

[SolDirix]

Yes, and I wish I had bought and invested some 3 months ago and I'd have me a Tesla X'D

 

[fernshiine]

I know about it. Was a huge thing on the news a couple of years back.

 

[contemplationistwolf]

I won $75 worth of BTC in some competition some years ago. When I finally got around to selling it, it had grown to more than $300.
I also did research on it in college and I have to say: it's a very interesting thing! IMO definitely has the potential to make significant impact on a societal level: a fully information based currency that follows stable and transparent rules rather than the whims/trustworthiness of a government. It's also anti-fragile: people can fork it anytime, to adapt and change it according to whatever problems/shortcomings arise (whichever side of the fork is the most robust is the one people will settle on).

It's still a young currency, so it doesn't yet have the infrastructure around it for it to be as convenient to use as traditional currencies, but that infrastructure is getting built (and it's probably easier to build it for Bitcoin than for traditional currencies). It could also become the international currency of choice, as it would be equally convenient to use in any part of the world (plus, you wouldn't have to worry about exchange rates).

A big shortcoming right now though is that more people speculate on it than use it, which makes its price rather volatile.

 

[Foxy Emy]

A big shortcoming right now though is that more people speculate on it than use it, which makes its price rather volatile.

Yeah. I don't think this will change outside of a fork. BTC is designed to be deflationary with less produced every so many blocks. This means it is designed to go up in value over time so people are more likely to invest then spend.

 

[SnowBorne]

its free money

 

[huddlewalt]

It's a huge bubble that it always burst when the big players decide to become millionaires again and again while you help them do that by believing it's the future and freedom! There are better practices to follow in case you are looking for ways to profit from all kinds of crypto coins you can easily take advantage of a cfds trader that can allow you to trade most of the famous coins right now. I have seen countless reports from people who use their technical analysis n a daily basis to trade.

 

[Raever]

I've heard of bitcoin.

It's reputation as a cryptocurrency for criminals, and reports of content such as illegal pornography in the blockchain, don't exactly enamour me to it.

'Child porn links' on Bitcoin blockchain

I'm essentially of the same opinion as Fallow.
While I know of it, and the "privacy" it offers is enticing, the associations it has with the seedy underworld are less so.
Generally, I stay away from it for these reasons, amongst my overall lack of depth regarding it; in other words, I only know it's basics.

 

[Kyrick]

I was mining it back when it was in it's infancy but lost interest as it had no real world currency value...back then. Oops

Anyway, BitCoin shouldn't be classed as a cryptocurrency anymore, unless you use a scrambler at least, you can still be tracked. Have you noticed the amount of attention and advertising in sports and arts? Here in the UK, you need to provide a passport or driver's license to get on the blockchain.
I'd rather start using Ethereum if I was to go back to the deep web.

 

[Rassah]

I'm essentially of the same opinion as Fallow.
While I know of it, and the "privacy" it offers is enticing, the associations it has with the seedy underworld are less so.
Generally, I stay away from it for these reasons, amongst my overall lack of depth regarding it; in other words, I only know it's basics.

Do you avoid US dollars too, since they're the primary currency used by criminals around the world for things like drug trafficking, assassination, and human trafficking?

 

[Raever]

Do you avoid US dollars too, since they're the primary currency used by criminals around the world for things like drug trafficking, assassination, and human trafficking?

Well, I avoid carrying cash, but I doubt that's what you meant.

To clarify my initial post (and wipe away some of that unnecessary snark,) I meant that I avoid things regarding currency when it can't be rectified should something go wrong. I also like to avoid things that haven't been around long, due to the possibility of systems being taken advantage of (both in part due to hacking or just poor system management, among other things).

Lastly, I find that if someone is going to websites that would encourage criminal behavior it's not out of the ordinary to assume they'd be using a Cryptocurrency. What's to stop them from figuring out a way to get into that system and steal from others (or better yet, paying someone to do it). I'm rather paranoid, as you might be able to tell.

All that aside...as stated originally, I'm not against positive sources of education and encouragement.

I only know the bare bones basics of what it is, after all. I've never needed to know more due to lack of interest. So I never read up on anything passed what it is and it's base uses. If you'd like to respectfully provide further information I'm sure myself and many others might appreciate it.

 

[TheCrocWhoSoldTheWorld]

It's just another type of currency, the more we advance as a society the more abstract shapes it will take.
Just look at where we are now, in a lot of countries people don't even carry paper money anymore, they just use the NFC chips in their phones to make payments.

Bitcoin just has a lot of mystique around it because of all the tales of people who got rich overnight and the "deepweeb" association it has. And despite what many people think Bitcoin can be traced and wallets can be inspected by anyone, thats how you know when someone is trying to pull and exit scam. Also getting your wallet hacked while possible is extremly rare, if it were that easy someone would have already stolen Satoshi's or DPR's wallet lol.

 

[Raever]

I think that for me it just comes down to not needing it.

 

[Kit H. Ruppell]

An environmental disaster.

 

[Rassah]

Well, I avoid carrying cash, but I doubt that's what you meant.

To clarify my initial post (and wipe away some of that unnecessary snark,) I meant that I avoid things regarding currency when it can't be rectified should something go wrong. I also like to avoid things that haven't been around long, due to the possibility of systems being taken advantage of (both in part due to hacking or just poor system management, among other things).

Ah, that makes more sense. It's unfortunate that technology that is a completely neutral tool gets used for bad things and ends up getting a bad reputation. At first no one wanted to use the internet because it was only used by pornographers and drug traffickers. Then nobody wanted to use peer-to-peer file sharing because it was only used by music and software pirates. It's same with bitcoin now. Even though all those bad activities were done on a much larger scale already on established older systems. But people get over it eventually and realize that the technology is just a tool that can be used for good too.
Personally I just use it to avoid dealing with banks, and for shopping online (like to get 15% discounts on my Amazon purchases), since I don't do drugs or even drink alcohol.

 

[Rassah]

Short version: it's something you can spend on furry porn, paying even as little as a few cents without fees (or with very little fees), where you don't have to worry about your payment processor closing your account for violating TOS, your bank from spying on you buying furry porn, and knowing that your cash stash will be able to buy you even more porn in the future.

Long version:
As for what Bitcoin is and why it's useful? It's the first time we have something that is both digital and scarce, where if you send a digital thing to someone, you're not just making a copy, you're losing the original.
And it's the first time we have money that has complete scarcity. If value of other money goes up, like gold or dollars, people make much more of it, like mining gold or dollars, and devalue that money to everyone's detriment. Bitcoin has a mechanism built in where no matter how many people try to get into mining it, the amount of it being created will always remain the same.
It's also the first entirely sovereign/non-custodial form of digital money. Every dollar you use online requires a third party (bank, credit card issuer, PayPal) to hold the money on your behalf. Bitcoin is the first time you can hold and spend it yourself. That also means it's the first money that can be held and spent by software all by itself, without requiring a human to open a bank account somewhere for that software to use. The possibilities for AI to own and earn its own money is crazy (think self-driving car + Uber + bitcoin. The car can own itself, earn its own money, pay for its own gas and repairs, and when it earns enough, "reproduce" by buying itself another car).
It's also the first money that is completely neutral and resistant to political whims. Anyone in the world can use it without worrying about which country is issuing it, or worrying if that country's failing economy is going to wreck your savings account, or restrict your bank from using it, or whatever. It's finally money that's as free as using email.

There are also major (and even more important) things with regards to it being deflationary money that can finally counteract inflation that was "normalized" in the last century, but that's a much bigger and more complicated economic topic.

 

[Rassah]

An environmental disaster.

Not as much as inflationary currencies have been. Going from gold to something that can just be printed from nothing has contributed to more pollution than anything else in the world ever.

 

[Raever]

Short version: it's something you can spend on furry porn, paying even as little as a few cents without fees (or with very little fees), where you don't have to worry about your payment processor closing your account for violating TOS, your bank from spying on you buying furry porn, and knowing that your cash stash will be able to buy you even more porn in the future.

Long version:
As for what Bitcoin is and why it's useful? It's the first time we have something that is both digital and scarce, where if you send a digital thing to someone, you're not just making a copy, you're losing the original.
And it's the first time we have money that has complete scarcity. If value of other money goes up, like gold or dollars, people make much more of it, like mining gold or dollars, and devalue that money to everyone's detriment. Bitcoin has a mechanism built in where no matter how many people try to get into mining it, the amount of it being created will always remain the same.
It's also the first entirely sovereign/non-custodial form of digital money. Every dollar you use online requires a third party (bank, credit card issuer, PayPal) to hold the money on your behalf. Bitcoin is the first time you can hold and spend it yourself. That also means it's the first money that can be held and spent by software all by itself, without requiring a human to open a bank account somewhere for that software to use. The possibilities for AI to own and earn its own money is crazy (think self-driving car + Uber + bitcoin. The car can own itself, earn its own money, pay for its own gas and repairs, and when it earns enough, "reproduce" by buying itself another car).
It's also the first money that is completely neutral and resistant to political whims. Anyone in the world can use it without worrying about which country is issuing it, or worrying if that country's failing economy is going to wreck your savings account, or restrict your bank from using it, or whatever. It's finally money that's as free as using email.

There are also major (and even more important) things with regards to it being deflationary money that can finally counteract inflation that was "normalized" in the last century, but that's a much bigger and more complicated economic topic.

To say it isn't progress both technical and financial is irrational, but to call it useful to the modern day individual? I'm not sure.

For starters, I don't pay for porn or anything else that my bank might find suspicious (and frankly, I've never met someone that expresses otherwise until now) ...unless we're counting Commissioned work that is, so it has no use there.

I'm not worried about violating my bank's ToS because (after having read it) there isn't anything I could accidentally do legally that would cause such a violation.

I think as of now there might be only one reason why I would look into using Bitcoin and that'd be for the purchase of Vape Machine Tools due to the recent (very stupid) law that passed regarding online purchases and mailing them out. So that might be useful, but I don't necessarily need to do that since I have a friend who could just order things for me without all the hassle (they own a vape store business).

I'm glad that you're so passionate about a technological advancement, and I think the implications of it for future progress are very interesting, but I also think it's just not quite what most people need in their day to day lives. Which is probably why, like me, they know very little of it and choose to avoid it.

The Internet, when it first came around, was very limited. Maybe twenty or so websites total? More were soon to come, obviously, but most were crime related. There also wasn't Google or a Wiki to tell you what was what so you'd type it in and then immediately be screwed. In essence, it was associated with dangerous things because it was a dangerous thing, Laws and such hadn't formed around it and there was a lot of things someone could do and get away with simply because of that alone. I wouldn't blame someone for avoiding that sort of situation entirely. Same for file sharing when it came out, it wasn't something that had much legal coverage.

If Bitcoin were to become regularly used/known about in detail by the mass majority it might first need to be more controlled, and that's pretty much the opposite of what it's aiming for. Which is both good and bad, depending on how you look at it.

It all eventually comes down to why someone should use it over their other options, over how safe it is. Safety is more of a secondary concern.

 

[Rassah]

To say it isn't progress both technical and financial is irrational, but to call it useful to the modern day individual? I'm not sure.

For starters, I don't pay for porn or anything else that my bank might find suspicious (and frankly, I've never met someone that expresses otherwise until now) ...unless we're counting Commissioned work that is, so it has no use there.

I'm not worried about violating my bank's ToS because (after having read it) there isn't anything I could accidentally do legally that would cause such a violation.

I haven't kept up with PayPal recently, but porn is against PayPal's TOS, and I know artists who have had their accounts shut down and money actually clawed back out of their personal bank accounts for selling furry porn. It's not significant, but it's still important for some. In some countries things are even worse with regards to what you can and can't buy or how you can send your money, so the aspect of censorship resistance in finance is even more important to them. In US at worst we have financial censorship for porn, gambling, and political dissent. If you point out how our government is stealing from or killing people, it will freeze your methods of getting paid.

The most important innovation of Bitcoin that everyone does need is money that has real scarcity. One that can't just be inflated. There's a severe lack of money that can be used as a store of value in the world. Gold comes close, but gold is practically useless in the digital age. Bitcoin is has scarcity, meaning you know it will not be inflated and will hold it's value, so for long term storage, or to preserve wealth when you live within an inflationary currency, is bitcoin is the best and likely only option available. That's also why over time it will eliminate all other currencies, just like, and for the same reason, that gold eliminated cowry shells, glass beads, copper, and eventually even silver.

It's unfortunate that Bitcoin's most important and soon to be most radically world changing use is its deflationary nature. Unfortunate because while a lot of people may understand the tech, very few people understand economics, with even fewer understanding money and monetary history, so most people just can't comprehend just how important this innovation is. But to give a small hint, every major civilization - from the Greek empire to the Roman empire to the Mongolian empire to Venetian to British to early American - all became wildly successful and wealthy, reaching their historical pinnacle, under strong non-inflationary currency (strong trusted gold coin). And every one of those civilization, even the Mongolian one, collapsed once they started to inflate the value of their coins, either by diluting the amount of gold, by shaving edges of gold coins, or by expanding the backed paper beyond the amount of gold backing it. Bitcoin is the first solution in thousands of years of human history that finally fixes that problem, by creating a currency that is impossible to inflate, and impossible for anyone to take over, control, and change (like what banks did with gold coins). Because of this it has the potential to be as historically significant as the Renaissance, or even more so.

 

[MechaMegs]

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*Buzzes in*

Yes, What is a digital currency that is yet another capital driven mechanism that is damaging the eco system?