Is Bitcoin Making a Comeback?

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,399
Earlier this year the bottom fell out from under Bitcoin over security issues and the value hit a bottom of $2, losing 90% of its value against the dollar. From that $2 low, Bitcoin has risen to the $4 level possibly signaling a new confidence among speculators and consumers. The rise could also just be a short lived blip on the radar.

The traditional argument for Bitcoins has positioned the peer-to-peer currency as an alternative to conventional currencies like dollars, euros, and yen.
Click to expand...
 
First!



... but yeah I wonder if people are gonna start getting their 6990s back for this
 
Or maybe kids are using it for a digital silk road of research chems and other such goodies where it is desirable to transact money that doesn't change hands and is virtually impossible to track.
 
I hope bitcoin does make a huge comeback.. I have another 5830 to unload as I plan to move to the 7k series..
 
colinstu said:
Of what little I know about this currency, I wish it just went away.
Click to expand...

I seriously don't get why there are people out there that say this about bitcoin. What is it about bitcoin that makes you want it to go away?

This is the same adage the US politicians use. "I know little to nothing about this subject, but we need to fix/destroy it because we're scared."

I can only guess that people say things like that because they didn't get on the bandwagon when it was going good or they bought a nVidia card that doesn't do well and are mad. I personally have run miners part time on my 2 machines for a while and have made over $500. When it's time to game they get turned off. I see no reason why anyone should be upset that others are making money off something they spent their own money on.
 
Yossarian22 said:
Or maybe kids are using it for a digital silk road of research chems and other such goodies where it is desirable to transact money that doesn't change hands and is virtually impossible to track.
Click to expand...

that
 
Wish it comes back so the prices for 6000 series cards get inflated :D
 
meh -- I would mine when I wasn't gaming on my 6950 - our mild texas winters means I can heat my apartment a tiny bit.

I think I have maybe 2 BTC at this point? if it goes up cool, if not, who cares. I spend far more money at the bar in one night than the difference running one GPU on BTC.
 
Just so you guys know... any ATI card bases on GCN doesn't look like a good Bitcoin miner card. We're more than likely going to see Nvidia and ATI high end cards fighting it out for the gaming card, and any ATI 7xxx cards still based in VLIW4/5 fly off the shelves as mining cards.

I for one would gladly trade out the cads i have (2 5830's, 6 5850's, 2 6870s, and 6950) for lower powered 7 series cards, specifically a pair of 7970's for gaming (got eyefinity for Xmas) and the highest specced VLIW card for mining. Can't wait.
 
hah, hah, hahh! Just when some of you had sold everything off. Wise men play the stock market with the long-term in mind. ;)
 
xVPgm.jpg


:(
 
I've made $1300 since August through Bitcoin mining.

I've also shut off all the heat and the miners warm the place so I save money there to offset electricity costs.
 
bastage said:
I hope bitcoin does make a huge comeback.. I have another 5830 to unload as I plan to move to the 7k series..
Click to expand...

Huge comeback? From 1 out of every million people caring what it is to 3 out of every million people caring?

It's still a pointless currency with no stability. I wouldn't want all my money to be "stocks" that rise and fall in value. Normal currencies do that too, but apparently not so often. Its hardly a solid choice. Would be much better trading in facebook coins or something. :p
 
I never understood this whole bit coin thing

How can a currency have any value if people could just "generate money" from their computer. Isn't that like printing money out of nothing.
 
Hornet said:
I never understood this whole bit coin thing

How can a currency have any value if people could just "generate money" from their computer. Isn't that like printing money out of nothing.
Click to expand...

Where do you think money comes from?
 
idk how it works but the 3 months i mined i made $800 + payed for a third 6950
 
I stopped mining back in September when I got into the D3 beta. But Instead of mining I've been churning money buying and selling the last coins I had and from that I've made about $800. It's not the awesome 2k+ profit that I made during the 3 months of active mining I had but still very nice return considering I'm spending $0 on energy.

With that cash I'm giving myself a belated xmas present of dual 7970s in a couple of weeks and I can still sell the 2 5870s I have that are currently sitting in a box doing nothing plus the 2 6970s and unlocked 6950 that I'm currently gaming on.
 
Yeah.. for the few months I was in, with all the ups and downs, and then getting out and selling off my hardware.. I still made about 2,500$ on top of expenses.. Which makes me happy that uncle sam didnt get a dime, and was a huge kick start to the down payment on my house..

If bitcoin came back I would get back in for sure.. 1st round was a lot of fun.
 
I like the idea of bitcoin, but I've been led to believe the creators own a large part of the bitcoins that exist.

I mean they have to right?

I see problems with a decentralized currency that has a handful of people manipulating the system. You can say they aren't manipulating it, but their ownership in the currency and activity/non activity manipulates the market.
 
RealityCrunch said:
Well, it can't be much worse than the current manipulation of the dollar :p
Click to expand...

Lol, exactly my thoughts. Most of the criticisms in this thread could be made of our current debt-based monetary system. Private entities creating money out of nothing? Check. Moral hazards endemic to this money creation ability with minimal checks and balances? Got that too.

Now there is one significant point of divergence, bitcoin is absolutely inelastic, with the total number of bitcoins ever able to be mined already determined. Whether you consider that to be a good or bad thing for an alternative currency depends on your personal economic beliefs, but imho I think it will ultimately prevent bitcoin from achieving widespread acceptance/use.
 
Hornet said:
I never understood this whole bit coin thing

How can a currency have any value if people could just "generate money" from their computer. Isn't that like printing money out of nothing.
Click to expand...

The USD isn't backed by gold (or anything physically stable) and its buying power is purely on perceived value. Basically, i give you a piece of paper and say you can buy a truck with it, and you accept it with nothing but my word on it. That's the modern US dollar.

I'm not an analyst so i don't know the proper term, but there seems to be two types of money from my observation.

You-can-redeem-this-much

vs

I-owe-you-this-much

Bitcoin and USD both seem to fall under the latter. Altho, the relatively low number of bitcoins makes it more inherently prone to instability.
 
If it becomes a more stable, wide-spread currency then I'll be impressed. I haven't kept up with news related to bitcoin recently, but I hope it gets us going in the direction of a more stable, less government/corporation-controlled economy.
 
Hornet said:
I never understood this whole bit coin thing

How can a currency have any value if people could just "generate money" from their computer. Isn't that like printing money out of nothing.
Click to expand...

And what, pray tell, is it they do at the Federal Reserve?
 
I can't believe I've never even heard of this before. I just attempted to read up on it, but it's too damn early for me to understand where ATI video cards fit into the grand scheme of new currency, and the Wikipedia entry drained a few more brain cells...
 
KingSmoth said:
I can't believe I've never even heard of this before. I just attempted to read up on it, but it's too damn early for me to understand where ATI video cards fit into the grand scheme of new currency, and the Wikipedia entry drained a few more brain cells...
Click to expand...

From what i understand. You need massive cpu power to solve the vast computation problems needed ot maintain the server. Every time you solve one, you are rewarded with a bitcoin. The computations aren't complex, but you need to do a lot of them.

Simply put, the PC can only do a single "1+1" at a time, but the shaders on a GPU which are designed to handle massive numbers of pixels, can do a thousand "1+1"'s simultaneously.
 
traderj said:
I seriously don't get why there are people out there that say this about bitcoin. What is it about bitcoin that makes you want it to go away?

This is the same adage the US politicians use. "I know little to nothing about this subject, but we need to fix/destroy it because we're scared."
Click to expand...

Alternatives should always be welcomed, only someone with skin in the game and something to lose should fear this. I'm on the outside looking in, but I'm still rooting for anything that creates competition. This can only mean a win for the consumer, in a true free market capital system.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/12/bitcoins-comeback/
 
Sly said:
The USD isn't backed by gold (or anything physically stable) and its buying power is purely on perceived value. Basically, i give you a piece of paper and say you can buy a truck with it, and you accept it with nothing but my word on it. That's the modern US dollar.

I'm not an analyst so i don't know the proper term, but there seems to be two types of money from my observation.

You-can-redeem-this-much

vs

I-owe-you-this-much

Bitcoin and USD both seem to fall under the latter. Altho, the relatively low number of bitcoins makes it more inherently prone to instability.
Click to expand...

Except the dollar is backed by the US government. Bitcoin is backed by...who?

It's a ponzi scheme. It's been a ponzi scheme and it'll continue to be a ponzi scheme. Just that everytime something crashes it, you'll see Bitcoin saying "Well people before, they didn't get it. It wasn't *Insert the thing they were billing it as before* it's *Insert thing they're going to bill it as now*.

Thanks, but no.

As for those rocking the "but *I* made money at it.
Good for you. I'm sure people make money selling junk bonds and drugs. Doesn't mean I'm going to do it.
 
Without a wider retail market in which to spend the bitcoins, I don't believe it ever had, or will, have much of a future. And if the retail market did expand, you better believe Uncle Sam would come knocking.
 
That craze (May/June/July 2011) was especially awesome for those of us that were already running AMD cards or could get them cheaply. I bought two 5850's in May for $120 each and sold them a few months later for $150 each.

I got caught up on some bills and then financed a nice GPU upgrade with mining money. Couldn't imagine being one of those people that poured their savings into the hype though...eek.
 
Chas said:
Except the dollar is backed by the US government. Bitcoin is backed by...who?

It's a ponzi scheme. It's been a ponzi scheme and it'll continue to be a ponzi scheme. Just that everytime something crashes it, you'll see Bitcoin saying "Well people before, they didn't get it. It wasn't *Insert the thing they were billing it as before* it's *Insert thing they're going to bill it as now*.

Thanks, but no.

As for those rocking the "but *I* made money at it.
Good for you. I'm sure people make money selling junk bonds and drugs. Doesn't mean I'm going to do it.
Click to expand...

How exactly is the value of the USD determined anyway?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top