The Doomsday Cult of Bitcoin

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This bitcoin editorial is your required reading assignment for the day.

The uncomfortable fact for Bitcoin believers is that every major prediction they've made has yet to come true. And as time passes and the inevitable fizzle-out of Bitcoin becomes visible, those believers will splinter. More will drop out of the cult. And the ones who remain will only grow more convinced, more zealous, more eager to share the good news.
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But Bitcoin itself will never recover from these initial pratfalls
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It didn't seem to die when Silk Road was shut down, or when it was announced the Government would auction off the coins they stole.

We'll see.
 
It's another for right-thinking people to conclude that Bitcoin has some kind of real-world potential, based solely on the wide-eyed, group-think-y opinions of the people around them.
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Someone else does it! I want to have Kevin Roose's babies! <3 <3
 
just like all the predictions of the nay-sayers have yet to come true either.

After several silk roads, GOX dying, countries banning it here and there... it's still around.

Seems no matter how hard it gets hit, it keeps bouncing back. Sounds like whoever wrote the article is just pissy they missed out on a boatload of free cash.
 
collegeboy69us said:
just like all the predictions of the nay-sayers have yet to come true either.

After several silk roads, GOX dying, countries banning it here and there... it's still around.

Seems no matter how hard it gets hit, it keeps bouncing back. Sounds like whoever wrote the article is just pissy they missed out on a boatload of free cash.
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Hell, I'm pissed I missed out on a boatload of free cash
 
i do enjoy being told i don't understand markets.

very amusing.
 
its difficult for either side to ignore logarithmic price increases.
 
I just want bitcoin to die so video card prices can go down to the norm for us gamers.
 
Video card pricing is just fine Nvidia is made for Gaming, AMD is made for mining. My gaming box is all Nvidia and my Mining Boxes are all AMD. I love it made enough from the bitcoin to buy two 780ti's in SLI love amd buying my nvidia for me.
 
Jimby said:
I just want bitcoin to die so video card prices can go down to the norm for us gamers.
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Why not just buy some slightly less than super high end video card that people don't want to buy for mining? Not every model's price is inflated because of bitcoin miners. Also, you could always just not worry about any of it and get a console so the whole upgrading parts and buying computer-y bits doesn't matter anymore as long as you can check e-mail. Sooooo much cheaper that way.
 
The guy writing this article seems like a cultish nutcase himself. I mean when he says that none of the predictions have come true, and then he goes and says that one of the predictions is that it, "would utterly transform the way the world stores and exchanges value. Government-backed currency would become obsolete" -- nobody in their right mind has said that. I mean honestly, anyone who thinks bitcoins will wipe out regular currency is nuts. Bitcoin is here to stay but it has a long way to go before the public will trust it, and honestly it's these BS news articles that keep setting it back, if anything. Geez people seem to think that bitcoin is some great magical mysterious thing.... it isnt....
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Why not just buy some slightly less than super high end video card that people don't want to buy for mining? Not every model's price is inflated because of bitcoin miners. Also, you could always just not worry about any of it and get a console so the whole upgrading parts and buying computer-y bits doesn't matter anymore as long as you can check e-mail. Sooooo much cheaper that way.
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This has to be the dumbest thing iv'e read on these forums.
 
I found this nugget in the article comments.


bakerthethird 13 hours ago
Wait a minute, isn't this the same author who wrote this masterpiece: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/bitcoin-apocalypse-is-nigh.html

Yea, he's definitely a credible source of valuable bitcoin commentary.
myn, 74gee, and 3 others like this.
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Think4Yourself 4 hours ago
@bakerthethird Wait, so he made a prediction a year ago that the demise of Bitcoin was at hand. And his prediction failed to come true.

So now, in order to overcome the cognitive dissonance of his situation and convince himself his time and energy were worthwhile, he needs to proselytize...
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Omg a commodity with no physical existence and no intrinsic value isn't going to solve the worlds economic problems? YOU DON'T SAY.
 
I still think it's funny how some people balk at the concept of using a gaming card to pay for itself.

Let's assuming you REALLY want a 290X and you want it JUST for gaming, of course you aren't going to like they are 250 OVER MSRP.

Guess what -- mine on it for 8 hours a day and at current rates it could pay off MOST of the purchase price if 3 to 4 months. That way you aren't burning up your card 24/7, you aren't jacking up your power bill or interfering with your gaming. Pay off even the 250 dollar inflated portion of the price (would take ~ 2 months) and then never mine again. You have your card, you have it at a reasonable price and everyone is happy.

Just makes no sense to me how people love to bitch about this or that, but aren't willing to the solutions that present themselves to your financial woes.
 
I think crypto currency will have to find secure itself from being stolen by hackers (or swindled by these exchange services, who knows). If we keep hearing news of people losing their money, surely we'll eventually reach a point where people lose their confidence in it. May not happen yet at the moment, but I don't think people's confidence in it is infinite.
 
Hornet said:
I think crypto currency will have to find secure itself from being stolen by hackers (or swindled by these exchange services, who knows). If we keep hearing news of people losing their money, surely we'll eventually reach a point where people lose their confidence in it. May not happen yet at the moment, but I don't think people's confidence in it is infinite.
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The vast majority of cases where people lose a crap ton of money is because they were too stupid or too lazy to secure it properly

If I have 1 million dollars, but I choose to leave it in my wood shed behind my house with a fisher price kiddie lock on it, should i REALLY be surprised or outraged if someone finds it and takes it?

until an exchange comes along that is able to implement actual bank style methods of security, then hackers are going to have a field day. Let's not forget the old tried and true method of fishing, scams, and other human based attacks.

I will agree in some respects it's the wild west of crypto right now, people aren't that bright or particularly well prepared for some the more savvy taking advantage of them, growing pains. But one thing to remember above all, it's not the fault of the currency itself, it's the fault of the weak ass systems we build, and the stupid ass people that use them without knowing the dangers.
 
so much negativity lately in the media, yet the price of bitcoin has gone up over the last few weeks.

I'm happy that this is something that is now used outside of government controlled currencies. Would I hold any amount of significant money in my bitcoin wallet...hell no. Not to say it's a bad idea but unless you're actually downloading the whole blockchain(large download only getting larger) then you are taking a pretty big chance in my opinion by holding on to them.

I honestly could see something replacing bitcoin in the future that's more secure and based around p2p completely.

However I would recommend all those complaining to jump on the mining bandwagon. It's made me quite a bit of money (including the costs I'm paying for electric) and shows no signs of stopping. Suck it up, learn to mine, and get free video cards for gaming. Or continue to cry how the world is only letting you get one company of video cards, of your opinion, at a reasonable price. All the while you have an option that requires a little work to get them entirety free.

Not only that show me a single investment that has comparable annual returns.
 
Taken from ZeroHedge:

There have been 9 senior financial services deaths in recent weeks:

1 – William Broeksmit, 58-year-old former senior executive at Deutsche Bank AG, was found dead in his home after an apparent suicide in South Kensington in central London, on January 26th.

2- Karl Slym, 51 year old Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym, was found dead on the fourth floor of the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok on January 27th.

3 – Gabriel Magee, a 39-year-old JP Morgan employee, died after falling from the roof of the JP Morgan European headquarters in London on January 27th.

4 – Mike Dueker, 50-year-old chief economist of a US investment bank was found dead close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State.

5 – Richard Talley, the 57 year old founder of American Title Services in Centennial, Colorado, was found dead earlier this month after apparently shooting himself with a nail gun.

6 -Tim Dickenson, a U.K.-based communications director at Swiss Re AG, also died last month, however the circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown.

7 – Ryan Henry Crane, a 37 year old executive at JP Morgan died in an alleged suicide just a few weeks ago. No details have been released about his death aside from this small obituary announcement at the Stamford Daily Voice.

8 - Li Junjie, 33-year-old banker in Hong Kong jumped from the JP Morgan HQ in Hong Kong this week.

9 - James Stuart Jr., a "very successful banker" and Former National Bank of Commerce CEO found dead (with no details of what caused the death) in Scottsdale, Az.

Some real skullduggery going on. You have to wonder just what the F is up; if this is all related to crypto currencies. Maybe some of these people were on the wrong side of big bets or knew something they shouldn't know, etc.
 
I'd wager they said similar shit about other "far-out" concepts... like color television, FM radio and credit cards.

FFS, bitcoin is nothing more than credit cards sans the plastic and greed, I imagine the people who moan about bitcoin are the same crowd that don't like things like solar energy, because nothing beats oil...... *ahem*
 
maverikv said:
Show me an investment with returns like that that are sustainable
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The SEC keeps data private before companies have IPOs. I imagine a graph for Facebook's valuation, before the public offering, would be rather entertaining to see.

Bitcoin has always been public, from its infancy.

Not to imply it doesnt raise eyebrows.
 
aardvark sandwich said:
The SEC keeps data private before companies have IPOs. I imagine a graph for Facebook's valuation, before the public offering, would be rather entertaining to see.

Bitcoin has always been public, from its infancy.

Not to imply it doesnt raise eyebrows.
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Not to mention how useless a currency is if you can make a 300% return holding it for a year.
 
Its good to see people here are not so dismissive of Bitcoin. I'm also glad it gets coverage on [H]. Time will tell if it will have a future long-term, but its too early to call it now. Those who say Bitcoin is dead or worthless or a scam speak out of misinformation or from some kind of hatred towards it. It has already endured growing pains far better than most would have predicted. The last few trials knocked the price down significantly, but it rebounded within days. Here's a pro-Bitcoin article from Forbes, a site that actually deals with money matters (unlike NY Mag, which has an 800 word fluff piece about an actress as its lead).

My point is: do some research if you are unconvinced that Bitcoin has merit, its unlike anything that has come before, old paradigms don't necessarily apply.
 
Budzman said:
This has to be the dumbest thing iv'e read on these forums.
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Yup, it's always dumb to entertain other options or maybe not spend everything possible on the highest end video card despite not really having a good reason to do so. I'm glad we worked that out. :D
 
cj3waker said:
LEAVE
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It's really strange to get emotional about a thing you use to play games.

Then again, people get emotional about bitcoins too which is also really strange so I guess it's reasonable to expect people to fall in love with mostly meaningless objects and then freak out about it. I do think it's funny that, for as aggressive and silly as guys get, that they can be the slightest bit upset when someone is moody over having a week of cramps and stupid hormones. Oh well...
 
Deepminer said:
I'd wager they said similar shit about other "far-out" concepts... like color television, FM radio and credit cards.

FFS, bitcoin is nothing more than credit cards sans the plastic and greed, I imagine the people who moan about bitcoin are the same crowd that don't like things like solar energy, because nothing beats oil...... *ahem*
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The net impact of solar panels on the environment, from creation to disposal, is pretty scary when you consider more than just the bit lobbyists repeat to get free government money.

Water is best, wind is second IIRC.
 
collegeboy69us said:
just like all the predictions of the nay-sayers have yet to come true either.

After several silk roads, GOX dying, countries banning it here and there... it's still around.

Seems no matter how hard it gets hit, it keeps bouncing back. Sounds like whoever wrote the article is just pissy they missed out on a boatload of free cash.
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This! Ive made some good money via Ltc>Btc via litecoin mining and read the bitcoin, litecoin subreddit to stay in the loop on developments...hell liberty bell put a bitcoin atm in south station boston recently. I dont see it(crypto currency) going away anytime soon.
 
The uncomfortable fact for Bitcoin haters is that they said all this shit three years ago when the bottom fell out of Bitcoin, and yet two years later, its value had beaten its former peak by a factor of 40.

It's not Bitcoin fans that are claiming they know the future, for to do so is folly.
 
LOL, pretty indifferent to the crypto commodities myself. There is money to be made, any moron can see that. But some of you sound like televangelists though.

Did Bitcoin become a religion, complete with fanatics, when I was not looking?
 
GORANKAR said:
LOL, pretty indifferent to the crypto commodities myself. There is money to be made, any moron can see that. But some of you sound like televangelists though.

Did Bitcoin become a religion, complete with fanatics, when I was not looking?
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here's the thing you haters are not responding to specific points just making blanket statements.

Here again show me an investment with a return that has matched this, and with mining continues to do so to this day. All this negativity and I just keep making money, I smell jealousy.
 
maverikv said:
Omg a commodity with no physical existence and no intrinsic value isn't going to solve the worlds economic problems? YOU DON'T SAY.
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I think its a shame that we're using real oil and coal to make the electricity to generate the pretend money. If aliens are watching us right now they must think we're pretty dumb.
 
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