Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, recently made headlines when he said that bitcoin is a "fraud." What do you fellow monkeys think? Is Jamie Dimon Correct? Will Bitcoin go bust, or will it soar to new heights?
I see an old and antiquated finance legend trying to shoot down an idea that could one day put him out of business. Peer to Peer banking sounds a lot better than Peer to Bank to Other Bank to Peer.
I'm not surprised if one day his company uses blockchain technology and or he invests in cryptocurrencies secretly. Correlation of the past does not lead to causation in the present/future. Old players who say its a scam doesn't understand the algorithm and technology behind it; they are also traumatized by past market crash. Bias opinion. Old textbooks can't define the present and future, just like how MBA is an 'old' program. Buying more ethereum if it reaches 250 in the near future.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that emerged in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It allows people to bypass banks and traditional payment processes to pay for goods and services. Banks and other financial institutions have been concerned about bitcoin’s early associations with money laundering and online crime, and it has not been adopted by any government.
I mean if you can't trust a seedy online drug ring with your digital currency who can you trust?
A secretive online black market was robbed over the weekend, costing its users possibly as much as $100 million in Bitcoins — and some say the thieves were the marketplace owners themselves.
After the FBI shut down the largest online black market, Silk Road, in October, a number of other black market sites filled the vacuum. One was a narcotics bazaar called Sheep Marketplace.
Like Silk Road and most of its ilk, Sheep Marketplace was only accessible via Tor, the anonymizing software designed to protect users' Internet anonymity. Furthermore, all transactions were in Bitcoin, a decentralized online currency that is difficult to trace.
On Sunday (Dec. 1), Sheep Marketplace abruptly closed down, claiming one of its vendors by the name of EBOOK101 had exploited a security vulnerability to steal $6 million in Bitcoins. Most, if not all, of that money belonged to the site's numerous users, who used it to buy and sell their dubious wares.
"This vendor found bug in system and stole 5,400 BTC [about $5 million]—your money, our provisions, all was stolen," reads the message posted on the now-shuttered site's homepage. "We were trying to resolve this problem, but we were not successful."
Despite the message's promise that "all of current BTC will be distributed to users, who have filled correct BTC emergency address," it doesn't appear that any Sheep Marketplace users have received refunds.
That's all of the theft that can be confirmed. But the story doesn't end there.
Some believe that the thieves were Sheep Marketplace's administrators themselves, and that the whole marketplace was an elaborate scam.
A website called sheepmarketscam.com, set up before Sheep Marketplace's closing, lists what it claims to be evidence suggesting that the theft was an inside job.
Sheep Marketplace users weren't able to withdraw Bitcoins for up to a week before the site's shutdown, according to several Reddit users. Deposits, however, were still possible.
The admins blamed the problem on a technical glitch and said it would be fixed within a few days. They then said the problem was fixed, though on Reddit, former Sheep Marketplace users say that was never the case.
By the time of the site's shutdown on Dec. 1, withdrawals still hadn't been enabled.
Sheepmarketscam.com alleges that many of Sheep Marketplace's higher-ranking administrators and vendors had drastically slashed prices, allegedly to encourage as many people as possible to deposit money.
And a public but anonymous record on a website called Blockchain.info, which tracks Bitcoin transactions, shows a transfer of 39,918 Bitcoins into a wallet associated with Sheep Marketplace at some point over the weekend.
At the current Bitcoin exchange rate, that's more than $43 million — far more than the originally reported 5,400 BTC, or $5 million.
Finally, a pair of Reddit users say they've been chasing a series of Bitcoin transactions that they claim originate with the Sheep Marketplace theft. The amount involved is more than 96,000 BTC, almost $100 million, and has been moved from wallet to wallet several times over the past several hours.
Meanwhile, other anonymous online markets on the so-called "dark web" are also affected by Sheep Marketplace's closing.
A site called Black Market Reloaded blocked new members, saying on its forums that Tor-based anonymous websites aren't designed to handle large volumes of users, and then announced a shutdownshut down as well, saying the site needed to close for maintenance.
"Sheep went down and BMR can't stand," wrote a Black Market Reloaded admin called Backopy in a forum post dated Dec. 1. In the post, Backopy says that people will be given the opportunity to withdraw their funds before the closing.
"Don't worry, we don't rip off anyone and will be back stronger than ever," wrote another administrator called LeContog in the same thread.
Yea, if only someone had mentioned this as a downside of Bitcoin...oh wait, its mentioned ad nauseum. A currency designed to be untraceable and unregulated attracts criminals. Shocked.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
Yea, if only someone had mentioned this as a downside of Bitcoin...oh wait, its mentioned ad nauseum. A currency designed to be untraceable and unregulated attracts criminals. Shocked.
Bitcoin is traceable. This doesn't seem to be so much of a problem with bitcoin but rather a security flaw in the site.
The Guardian had an article about The NSA starting to crack down on TOR browser. TOR is an essential part of the online drug deal black market. If we assume that the majority of Bitcoin usage is for black market goods and services, we can then conclude that if TOR is ever cracked by The NSA then Bitcoin value should plummet unless an alternative means of secure browsing emerges in time for people to make the switch.
Recent headlines suggest Bitcoin has been attracting the attention of alternative investors and hedge funds (not to mention our beloved Winklevoss twins) who have already setup quite a few Bitcoin funds. I wonder if the fund managers will be liable to their investors if the bitcoin market tanks due to nsa scrutiny of anonymous web browsers and the inevitable decline in online black market activities.
How do you tell a client that their money is gone because the government cracked down on drug dealers and guys cruising the web for local harlots giving cheap handy jammers?
Bitcoin is traceable, every single transaction is recorded. However one has no real control over the place where they park their bitcoins. Say you put your bitcoin account on a website and that website decided to pull its servers offline and lock everyone out then poof your account is gone.
Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays
Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
I don't believe this will ever truly be a currency, as a currency has to have some sort of stability...which it does not. It can however, pave the way for other payment networks such as (insert name)coin to be successful in the future.
Bitcoin is traceable, every single transaction is recorded. However one has no real control over the place where they park their bitcoins. Say you put your bitcoin account on a website and that website decided to pull its servers offline and lock everyone out then poof your account is gone.
Keep them in your own dat file.
sigmahatsquared:
I don't believe this will ever truly be a currency, as a currency has to have some sort of stability...which it does not. It can however, pave the way for other payment networks such as (insert name)coin to be successful in the future.
Of course it isn't "stable" yet. It will need more time and people to accept it before it it could stabilize.
I guess you missed the article about the guy who accidentally threw away his hard drive with 9MM worth of bitcoin on it.
There is no way to truly secure bitcoins that is 100% secure. If you store it on the cloud it can be stolen or erased due to server issues. If you store it locally it can be stolen or lost, if you store it on physical medium and lock it in a bank it can be stolen or it will deteriorate over time due to the fact that disk or SSDs will fail due to lack of electricity.
Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays
Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
Bitcoins aren't and can't be currency. They're a fictional commodity with no actual value, currently being bid through the roof with no possibility of ever stabilizing. Hate to say I toadyaso, but I toadyaso.
I can't believe it, I just bought a litecoin on eBay. Wow. It was that easy. Now I'm mining the suckers too. LOL if people are going to bid this bad boys up, I'll sell them. Hahahaha this whole thing is ridiculous
Bitcoin has value because the market is dictated by math problems. In the beginning you unlcck a bitcoin with a simple math problem. Now the problems are so complicated they take dedicated bitcoin machines weeks to crack. When you factor in the costs of actually cracking the problems on new bitcoin you will find the current price isn't really all that much higher than creation costs.
Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays
Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
Basically why I've started mining litecoins instead. The exchange rate is lower, but so is the processing power needed. At least for now.
On a more serious note: does anyone know if any HFT desks have poured any processing power into mining? I mean, these guys could probably tear through millions of dollars worth in a few days. Anyone know anything about this?
Difficulty is designed to increase so coins are mined at a certain rate. The only thing that is changing is your hashing power relative to the networks power and with the release of lots of ASICs most GPU miners have been squeezed out. GPU miners have mostly moved over to Scrypt based coins. Mining in pools also is much more efficient as you will get much more consistent results.
@UFOinsider @heister Actually, the mining is rigged by the originator of the concept. They (even though there really isn't any "they") control the rate at which new coins are mined with the difficulty of the problems. That way they're able to stagger the release of new coins. That's how they know it will take until 2040 to mine the last Bitcoin. Here's a short and sweet explanation:
In other words, throwing more processing power doesn't speed up the process, it only increases the likelihood that you (or whatever mining collective you're a part of) will be the one to crack a block. By that line of reasoning, you could invest the $27,000 in the most powerful (at the moment) commercially available mining rig and never crack a block. It would be extraordinary bad luck, but still very possible.
Would the rise of institutional banks that will specifically deal with storage and transaction services of digital currencies like Bitcoins be possible in the near future? If so, would it be a profitable business?
Mt. Gox has been lagging hardcore for the past hour or so, and prices have been crashing accordingly. That combined with the Chinese bank restriction SHOULD lead people to question the true worth of Bitcoin, but thinking isn't nearly as mainstream as Bitcoin nowadays...
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It's in his best interest to sabotage crypto. No it's not a goddamn fraud
a n g e l m o l e s t e r
is a dead meme
I see an old and antiquated finance legend trying to shoot down an idea that could one day put him out of business. Peer to Peer banking sounds a lot better than Peer to Bank to Other Bank to Peer.
I'm not surprised if one day his company uses blockchain technology and or he invests in cryptocurrencies secretly. Correlation of the past does not lead to causation in the present/future. Old players who say its a scam doesn't understand the algorithm and technology behind it; they are also traumatized by past market crash. Bias opinion. Old textbooks can't define the present and future, just like how MBA is an 'old' program. Buying more ethereum if it reaches 250 in the near future.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that emerged in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It allows people to bypass banks and traditional payment processes to pay for goods and services. Banks and other financial institutions have been concerned about bitcoin’s early associations with money laundering and online crime, and it has not been adopted by any government.
Having money doesn’t make you an expert. But I do agree that bitcoin is a bubble.
I prefer using monopoly money as my "go-to" fake currency.
Bitcoin: Not as Secure As We Thought? (Originally Posted: 12/05/2013)
Source: Bitcoin Heist: Millions Vanish From Online Black Market
I mean if you can't trust a seedy online drug ring with your digital currency who can you trust?
scary / crazy
Yea, if only someone had mentioned this as a downside of Bitcoin...oh wait, its mentioned ad nauseum. A currency designed to be untraceable and unregulated attracts criminals. Shocked.
Right, I know its traceable in that way but who cares? If you cant keep it (aka store it securely) its a pretty shitty way to hold value...
The Guardian had an article about The NSA starting to crack down on TOR browser. TOR is an essential part of the online drug deal black market. If we assume that the majority of Bitcoin usage is for black market goods and services, we can then conclude that if TOR is ever cracked by The NSA then Bitcoin value should plummet unless an alternative means of secure browsing emerges in time for people to make the switch.
Recent headlines suggest Bitcoin has been attracting the attention of alternative investors and hedge funds (not to mention our beloved Winklevoss twins) who have already setup quite a few Bitcoin funds. I wonder if the fund managers will be liable to their investors if the bitcoin market tanks due to nsa scrutiny of anonymous web browsers and the inevitable decline in online black market activities.
How do you tell a client that their money is gone because the government cracked down on drug dealers and guys cruising the web for local harlots giving cheap handy jammers?
You can print them out, delete your records and lock up your Bitcoins in a safe deposit box if you really want.
Bitcoin is traceable, every single transaction is recorded. However one has no real control over the place where they park their bitcoins. Say you put your bitcoin account on a website and that website decided to pull its servers offline and lock everyone out then poof your account is gone.
I don't believe this will ever truly be a currency, as a currency has to have some sort of stability...which it does not. It can however, pave the way for other payment networks such as (insert name)coin to be successful in the future.
I guess you missed the article about the guy who accidentally threw away his hard drive with 9MM worth of bitcoin on it.
There is no way to truly secure bitcoins that is 100% secure. If you store it on the cloud it can be stolen or erased due to server issues. If you store it locally it can be stolen or lost, if you store it on physical medium and lock it in a bank it can be stolen or it will deteriorate over time due to the fact that disk or SSDs will fail due to lack of electricity.
Bitcoins aren't and can't be currency. They're a fictional commodity with no actual value, currently being bid through the roof with no possibility of ever stabilizing. Hate to say I toadyaso, but I toadyaso.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L8GhEb72HTw/UOX-X2N1NdI/AAAAAAAAAqo/TrkV5pQ6V…
It seems like not a soul these days remembers the lessons of the Dutch Tulip Bubble.
I'm just gonna wait for Anonymous to get involved. If they don't I will have lost all faith.
I think I'm going to start manufacturing punchcard machines.
From a price perspective:
Gold : silver :: BTC : litecoin
I can't believe it, I just bought a litecoin on eBay. Wow. It was that easy. Now I'm mining the suckers too. LOL if people are going to bid this bad boys up, I'll sell them. Hahahaha this whole thing is ridiculous
Holy hell, you can farm out the mining:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Month-1-GH-s-Bitcoin-Mining-Contract-/2713385…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-05/bitcoin-tumbles-after-china-ce…
Bitcoin has value because the market is dictated by math problems. In the beginning you unlcck a bitcoin with a simple math problem. Now the problems are so complicated they take dedicated bitcoin machines weeks to crack. When you factor in the costs of actually cracking the problems on new bitcoin you will find the current price isn't really all that much higher than creation costs.
Basically why I've started mining litecoins instead. The exchange rate is lower, but so is the processing power needed. At least for now.
On a more serious note: does anyone know if any HFT desks have poured any processing power into mining? I mean, these guys could probably tear through millions of dollars worth in a few days. Anyone know anything about this?
Difficulty is designed to increase so coins are mined at a certain rate. The only thing that is changing is your hashing power relative to the networks power and with the release of lots of ASICs most GPU miners have been squeezed out. GPU miners have mostly moved over to Scrypt based coins. Mining in pools also is much more efficient as you will get much more consistent results.
This is a misleading title. Bitcoins =/= Sheep Market Place
@UFOinsider @heister Actually, the mining is rigged by the originator of the concept. They (even though there really isn't any "they") control the rate at which new coins are mined with the difficulty of the problems. That way they're able to stagger the release of new coins. That's how they know it will take until 2040 to mine the last Bitcoin. Here's a short and sweet explanation:
http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/10486/when-will-the-last-bit…
In other words, throwing more processing power doesn't speed up the process, it only increases the likelihood that you (or whatever mining collective you're a part of) will be the one to crack a block. By that line of reasoning, you could invest the $27,000 in the most powerful (at the moment) commercially available mining rig and never crack a block. It would be extraordinary bad luck, but still very possible.
Its going to be interesting to see the rise of bank precision jobs to rob peoples hard drives.
Would the rise of institutional banks that will specifically deal with storage and transaction services of digital currencies like Bitcoins be possible in the near future? If so, would it be a profitable business?
I'm confused as to when we actually began thinking of Bitcoins as "secure"?
Secure as in a bank can't just lick you out of your funds like JPM recebtky did
Time to short your bitcoins, boys.
Mt. Gox has been lagging hardcore for the past hour or so, and prices have been crashing accordingly. That combined with the Chinese bank restriction SHOULD lead people to question the true worth of Bitcoin, but thinking isn't nearly as mainstream as Bitcoin nowadays...
Lol since when has thinking ever been mainstream?
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