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Everything I Need to Know About Bitcoin Trading, I Learned from Game of ThronesVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 5:58 pm October 25, 2014 Warning This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones, the TV series.For a lot of young pups, trading on Bitcoin order-book exchanges can be a daunting task — a Meereenese knot of technical jargon, complex user interfaces, and more graphs than you can shake a Greyjoy sausage at.But you don't have to have a maester's intellect or a Lannister's purse to get started with trading. You can start off small, making a few trades now and then and keeping at it until you become comfor |
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Chain Wars Kinaree UnmaskedVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Previously in epiodes 1 and 2 Tine attacked the Naga Sib chain worm, but it had infected another chain, meaning it could reestablish its presence on the NetherChain. She needed to kill it on both chains, or it would simply come back to life. If she could kill it, she would collect a huge bounty, and perhaps find out more about the worm, and who was behind it. Tine was well prepared this time, rather than rushed. Theo finished automating the NetherChain attack that they ha |
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Permacredits Episode 1 Conner's Life in the Colony Earth DevelopmentVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Note This is the first in a series of short stories that look at what life would be like in Colony Earth Corp., a member-owned lifestyle corporation that builds exquisite living environments that run on Permacredits. Conner gets out of his vehicle and approaches his house in Colony Earth's groundbreaking first development, an idyllic permaculture-based self-sustaining eco community. The house is an Earthship set into a hill, with a south-facing smart glass exterior that runs across the fron |
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Introducing Rebittance.orgVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Over the past two months, our Philippines-based Bitcoin startup has been quietly pushing the term rebittance to describe Bitcoin-powered money transfer that transfers bitcoin from the sender into local fiat currency for the recipient. On October 14, we launched the first version of an informational one-page website explaining the concept from a layman's perspective. The page includes a comparison with traditional bank-to-bank money transfers. The goal is to inform migrant workers the primar |
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The Yin and Yang of CryptocurrencyVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 In the fall of 2008, a credit crunch led to a deep recession following the bankruptcies of several large financial institutions. There are many perspectives on the causes of these events, but the effects are clear multi-trillion dollar bailouts for the large investment banks which held &ldquotoxic&rdquo sub-prime mortgage-backed securities, housing foreclosures for the sub-prime borrowers, and widespread un- or under-employment due to layoffs after the credit crisis. It has been almost s |
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Investing in Fantasy Is Reality!Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Article produced with input from Joe LooneyImagine you are watching your favorite ESPN Fantasy Football analyst Matthew Berry discuss his picks for successful players to start in your lineup. You are so enamored by his analysis that you decide to check out his fantasy team online. You see that he is in first place, he has a team you believe to be great, and he is routinely scoring more points than anyone else in the league each week. Below his team name, you see a button that invites you to inve |
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Erik Voorhees Explains Why Some Bitcoin Companies Are Blocking American UsersVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Although Americans generally believe that they live in the home of free markets, the United States&rsquo role as a leader of economic freedom has been declining for decades. The United States ranked 12th on the latest version of the Heritage Foundation&rsquos economic freedom index and is now relegated to the designation of &ldquomostly free.&rdquo The myth of unbridled economic freedom in America is being exposed by Bitcoin, as revealed by the choice by several Bitcoin comapanie |
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Chain Wars Tine AttackVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 This is part two of a series called Chain Wars. It started last week with this double length intro http//letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/chain-wars-the-wormTine van der Hoeff was an expert in keeping next generation blockchains running. But she was lured away on an important task by an unknown patron. Working with her friend Theo, she plans to attack the chain worm, Naga Sib. Tine understood how important it was for humans to maintain control over their technology. She knew that humans set |
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Trust-Controlled AccessVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Following on the same ideas Adam B. Levine discussed on P2P Connects Us around Token Controlled Access/Viewpoint, I got an idea for using Ripple's trust line feature to offer a similar, but different, model of access control.What Is A Trust LineIn Ripple, users can explicitly express trust to other users using a trust line. These trust lines are denominated with an amount and a 3-letter currency code. The purpose is to ensure that users never get stuck with a currency they don't trust |
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Darkcoin Anonymity Fully Functional and Open Source Instant Transactions on the WayVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 This is a follow up to a previous article I published on Let's Talk Bitcoin a couple months ago. That article focused on masternodes — servers comprising the decentralized network upon which Darkcoin builds services. The first use, and the primary reason for existence of the coin, is providing privacy. Anyone willing to perform the setup can run a masternode and receives compensation for their contribution. Today, I provide more detail on DarkSend, the name of Darkcoin's anonymity fea |
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Independence Bancshares Studying Virtual CurrenciesVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Independence Bancshares – a publicly traded albeit thinly on the OTCQX, FDIC-insured, community-based bank in Greenville, South Carolina – seemed poised to become the first bank in the United States to embrace Bitcoin payments, according to three patents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. However, after speaking with Chief Executive Officer Gordon Baird, Let's Talk Bitcoin has learned that Independence Bancshares has clearly distanced themselves from Bitcoin, but i |
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On Singularity – Part 2 Decentralized Autonomous … Human BeingsVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 In part one of this series, Ryan Walker discussed blockchain technology, decentralized autonomy, and the concept of singularity in relation to Terence McKenna's timewave novelty theory. Part two looks more closely at the concept of decentralized autonomy in nature, presents Bitcoin as the first decentralized autonomous organization, and makes the case that the concept will serve as a catalyst towards reaching singularity. It is 1056 p.m. |
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How Louis C.K. Could Make Millions More by Selling His Specials Via BitcoinVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 When it comes to monetizing online videos, Louis C.K. is an innovator. In 2011, he decided to distribute his new standup special on his website, downloadable for $5. Instead of making an exclusive deal with Netflix, HBO, or Comedy Central, Louis opted for the open garden of the Internet. One of the main reasons that people pirate content in the first place is that the material is often inaccessible online, even when they are willing to pay. Louis C.K. was able to bring in more than $1 million in |
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Crypto for Change – Using Token Controlled Access to Power Affiliate and Member-Invite ProgramsVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 A world of exciting possibilities is unfolding as we wrap our heads around digital tokens such as Counterparty assets like LTBcoin and their uses. Here are a couple of use cases I have been thinking about lately token-based affiliate programs and token-based member-invite-only systems.Adam B. Levine explained the idea of Token Controlled Access and the specific application of this called Token Controlled Viewpoint, where visitors to a website have different privileges and levels of access based |
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United States to Monitor Canadian Border for Illicit Drug-Related Bitcoin TransactionsVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:04 pm October 23, 2014 Recent publications by the US federal government indicate that Bitcoin will likely be used in illicit cross-border transactions, and that the Office of National Drug Control Policy ONDCP is ramping up efforts to detect and interdict bitcoin transactions. There is a special focus on Canada and the United States.As part of next year's budget, the Office of National Drug Control Policy ONDCP requested $3,730,815 PDF for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas in the Pacific Northwest. The ONDCP |
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Chain Wars The WormVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 It all started when a decentralized app called Naga Sib, running on the NetherChain, got out of control. These autonomous entities could be coded to prioritize self-preservation, even if that meant bad consequences for others. Naga Sib was no ordinary app. It was designed for trouble. How easily we lose control of our technologies when we're not careful.Robert Verde funded the project initially, paying huge bounties to the anonymous chain hacker known only as Kinaree. People paid little att |
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Bitcoin Is the Currency of the Private, Decentralized EconomyVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Many people often hear the claim that currency is only Bitcoin's first app, but it's difficult to understand what that phrase means after hearing it for the first time. Bitcoin has the potential to power many new decentralized applications over the next decade by providing a token for transferring value. Whether you're talking about hosting files securely in the cloud or placing a bet on the Super Bowl over the Internet without the need for a trusted third party, everything in thi |
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LTB Community Roundup 8Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Let's take a look at what happened on the Let's Talk Bitcoin! network over the past week.Are you in speculating mood at the moment This thread from nmswawan asks for your speculation regarding bitcoin prices at the end of 2014.Doge prices are on the rise once again and that makes this thread relevant once again and likely to see some action. What are your thoughts regarding the rise of Doge Is this something that is going to resume, or will Doge begin slipping I am curious to see your |
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Gems Taking Back Social NetworksVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Last week I discovered a peer-to-peer messaging system that could hold real promise for the future of social networking — Gems. According to the white paper information being released during the project's beta phase, Gems is a gateway to cryptocurrency, via the protocol of Bitcoin, and the Counterparty asset system, providing what could be a seamless slide into the world of shared success.Taking Back Social Networks. No blockchain knowledge is required, says Daniel Peled, who leads the Ge |
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Sponsor the Show, Advertise on the Front Page LTBn Logo ContestVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 The Let's Talk Bitcoin! show is now accepting sponsors and front page advertisers. Here's how it works.SPONSOREach sponsor is granted up to a minute of airtime during the sponsor break portion of the show they sponsor. That time may be used either with LTBn approved, pre-recorded audio or by an impromptu 30-60s exploration of your product or project by LTB's Adam B. Levine. Space is limited and advanced booking is encouraged. To see current availability please visit our Sponsor |
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Token Controlled Viewpoint TCV Genesis, Characteristics and Early Use CasesVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Edited by Mike Roncone and Denise Levinewith input from Xavier Hawk, Matt deCourcelle and Andrew De GabrieleAbstractToken-Controlled Access TCA is a simple idea. In a given system, different levels of access to that system and abilities within it are granted according to the combination of tokens in a particular users wallet.What is TCVToken Controlled Viewpoint TCV is an application of TCA to information content forums, posts, comments, bonus content, bloopers, walkthroughs, tips, tweets, su |
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Long-Arm Lawsky, Part II Interstate CommerceVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 The BitLicense is getting a lot of attention these days because it is the first significant regulatory attempt by a US authority to proscribe activity in the Bitcoin space. Not surprisingly, this first attempt is fundamentally flawed. Last week, I demonstrated that the regulations proposed by the New York Department of Financial Services DFS were unlawful because the DFS lacked the statutory authority to regulate Bitcoin. This week we tackle the constitutionality of the regulations and come t |
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Namecoin Building a Free and Secure InternetVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Namecoin The First AltcoinIn 2010, Aaron Swartz realized that a blockchain-based Domain Name System DNS would be a secure, decentralized, and human-friendly, readable naming system. In other words, it could square Zooko's triangle. Internet users had limited choices because friendly naming on the Internet was a necessity, so compromises had to be made.Early discussions on IRC and on the bitcointalk forum in late 2010 would soon lead to the launch of Namecoin in early 2011. N |
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Long-Arm Lawsky, Part I Statutory AuthorityVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 There are a lot of reasons to dislike the BitLicense regulations proposed by Ben Lawsky and his New York Department of Financial Services DFS. Two of the more potent arguments that have the greatest potential to strike down the proposed regulations, if they are not first withdrawn or extensively and materially modified, are 1 lack of statutory authority, and 2 unreasonable interference with interstate commerce. Today, in this part one of a two-part series, I discuss the issue of DFS statutory au |
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DEA Seizes Bitcoin Seizure Points to Earlier Mistaken IdentityVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 The Drug Enforcement Administration DEA appears to be involved in a case of mistaken identity over last year's seizure of 11.02 BTC. The DEA just issued a new seizure notice for the same wallet address, this time for 17.24 BTC. Interestingly, the new seizure notice lists the owner of this address as unidentified, while the first seizure notice listed it as belonging to Eric Daniel Hughes.On June 23, 2013 I broke the first ever Bitcoin seizure story with Let's Talk Bitcoin Editor in Chi |
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How many bitcoins does it cost to maintain the Bitcoin networkVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 A PDF of the article is also availableLet us be quite clear if Bitcoin was a cheaper or more efficient transaction method, for-profit organizations such as large payment processors would have forked it long ago and would likely already be using it internally in order to shore up their margins. They do not because it is not cheaper, in fact, it is significantly more expensive to maintain than any of a number alternative centralized methods e.g., running MongoDB on a Pi server. The bottom line t |
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On Singularity – Part 1 Decentralized Autonomy and Terence McKenna's Timewave ZeroVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 In this two part series, Ryan Walker discusses the parallels between decentralized autonomy and the teachings of the late Terence McKenna. Part one focuses on blockchain technology in relation to McKenna's timewave novelty theory and the concept of singularity. Part two will look more closely at the concept of decentralized autonomy in nature and Bitcoin as the first truly decentralized autonomous organization. It will make the case that Bitcoin's arrival represents a singularity of im |
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We Talk, Share, Create, Exchange, and Resolve Decentralized Autonomous SocietyVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Decentralized autonomous society empowers individuals by rewarding innovation through sharing, distributed ownership, and abundance. By sharing innovative ideas, we can build a much better, fair, transparent, and innovative society that is based on group consensus, rather than a society enforced by rules and regulations. For any society to operate on complete autonomy, it should have the following five major components – in other words, the five pillars – as its foundation. I would like to explo |
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Counterparty, Dogeparty, and Why the Term 'Burning' Gives the Wrong ImpressionVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 The world of cryptocurrency has progressed so that now anyone can create their own cryptocurrency. With only basic experience using Bitcoin or Dogecoin, it is easy to create blockchain-based tradable digital tokens, thanks to the Counterparty protocol, and its brand new implementation called Dogeparty.How Does Counterparty WorkThe Counterparty protocol allows users to create and trade their own cryptocurrency tokens. Users do this with a wallet dedicated to sending and receiving Counterparty mes |
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Grandpa, Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' DaysVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Hey, Jimmy, what do you have there Oh, goodness, I haven't seen that shoebox since I was teenager. Were you in the back of my closet Bring it here. Open it up and let's take a look. It's my box of old paper dollar bills. I thought they might be worth something someday. Boy! Was I wrong!When I was kid, back in 2014, people used to trade this paper for housing, food, gas, and cell phone service. Yes, believe it or not — paper. I know, it's bizarre and still makes me ch |
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Banks Issue Bitcoin Report Bitcoin Community AbsentVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 Recently I took out Twitter to note my surprise that only a handful of folks have bothered to watch the Conference of State Bank Supervisors Public Hearing on Virtual Currencies on YouTube. The conference was part of a CSBS Emerging Payments Task Force Public Hearing on May 16, 2014. It took place a week after the Federal Advisory Council and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve met and discussed Bitcoin at great length at their quarterly meeting. The speakers were announced on May 5. T |
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LTB Community Roundup 4Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:03 pm October 23, 2014 The Let's Talk Bitcoin community seems to always be teeming with activity and since the last time we spoke even more great discussions have been taking place.Turn asked, What are you mining which is prompting an interesting discussion regarding the various altcoins that various members are currently mining. Are you currently mining or have you given up Chime in and let the community know your thoughts.Adam is preparing for the next version of the Let's Talk Bitcoin iOS application and |
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The Possibility of Alternative IncomesVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 I imagine everyone would prefer to get paid for everything they would like to do or are already doing. Since the Industrial Revolution, traditional economic theory suggests that developed economies such as the United States and Eurozone depend on labor specialization. The theory contends that with technology peoples’ lives are easier and better, and therefore people should specialize around a few specific skills and play their part on the assembly line of modernity. However, over the past fiftee |
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Long-Arm Lawsky, Part II: Interstate CommerceVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The BitLicense is getting a lot of attention these days because it is the first significant regulatory attempt by a US authority to proscribe activity in the Bitcoin space. Not surprisingly, this first attempt is fundamentally flawed. Last week, I demonstrated that the regulations proposed by the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) were unlawful because the DFS lacked the statutory authority to regulate Bitcoin. This week we tackle the constitutionality of the regulations and come |
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Namecoin: Building a Free and Secure InternetVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Namecoin: The First AltcoinIn 2010, Aaron Swartz realized that a blockchain-based Domain Name System (DNS) would be a secure, decentralized, and human-friendly, readable naming system. In other words, it could square Zooko’s triangle. Internet users had limited choices because friendly naming on the Internet was a necessity, so compromises had to be made.Early discussions on IRC and on the bitcointalk forum in late 2010 would soon lead to the launch of Namecoin in early 2011. Namecoin |
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Telephone and the BlockchainVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The security of an individual Bitcoin address is well-documented and an awesome mathematical certainty. But what about the security of sending Bitcoin to somebody? Is there a mythical CEO of Bitcoin somewhere, warding off would-be hackers who might attempt to steal your funds through a man-in-the-middle attack? What guarantees the absolute certainty of your transactions? Quite frankly, mathematics!The Telephone GameDo you remember the telephone game from your childhood? A big group of people, sa |
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Bitcoin Value and Mining DifficultyVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 It is not a coincidence that the value of Bitcoin increases as mining difficulty rises. It is also not a coincidence that the mining difficulty increases as the value of Bitcoin rises. There is a very tight linkage between the two. To understand why, we must first understand how mining affects the difficulty.Commercial mining closely resembles regular manufacturing businesses. There are capital costs including mining hardware—ASICs (specialized mining hardware), GPUs (graphics cards), CP |
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Long-Arm Lawsky, Part I: Statutory AuthorityVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 There are a lot of reasons to dislike the BitLicense regulations proposed by Ben Lawsky and his New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). Two of the more potent arguments that have the greatest potential to strike down the proposed regulations, if they are not first withdrawn or extensively and materially modified, are: 1) lack of statutory authority, and 2) unreasonable interference with interstate commerce. Today, in this part one of a two-part series, I discuss the issue of DFS statuto |
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DEA Seizes Bitcoin: Seizure Points to Earlier Mistaken IdentityVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) appears to be involved in a case of mistaken identity over last year’s seizure of 11.02 BTC. The DEA just issued a new seizure notice for the same wallet address, this time for 17.24 BTC. Interestingly, the new seizure notice lists the owner of this address as “unidentified,” while the first seizure notice listed it as belonging to “Eric Daniel Hughes.”On June 23, 2013 I broke the first ever Bitcoin seizure story with Let’s Talk Bitcoin Editor in Chief A |
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The Blockchain, the BitLicense, and the High Costs of ComplianceVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Since the release of the proposed New York Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) BitLicense regulations on July 23, 2014, the crypto community has been concerned, but there has not been enough discussion of the specific implications such regulation would have. It is about time we put some flesh on those bones. Specifically, what would compliance with the regulations as written actually cost?The goal of this post is to provide some answers, but first let me tell you a quick story about how I s |
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How many bitcoins does it cost to maintain the Bitcoin network?Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 [A PDF of the article is also available]Let us be quite clear: if Bitcoin was a cheaper or more efficient transaction method, for-profit organizations such as large payment processors would have forked it long ago and would likely already be using it internally in order to shore up their margins. They do not because it is not cheaper, in fact, it is significantly more expensive to maintain than any of a number alternative centralized methods (e.g., running MongoDB on a Pi server). The bottom l |
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On Singularity – Part 1: Decentralized Autonomy and Terence McKenna’s Timewave ZeroVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 In this two part series, Ryan Walker discusses the parallels between decentralized autonomy and the teachings of the late Terence McKenna. Part one focuses on blockchain technology in relation to McKenna’s timewave novelty theory and the concept of singularity. Part two will look more closely at the concept of decentralized autonomy in nature and Bitcoin as the first truly decentralized autonomous organization. It will make the case that Bitcoin’s arrival represents a singularity of immeasurable |
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We Talk, Share, Create, Exchange, and Resolve: Decentralized Autonomous SocietyVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Decentralized autonomous society empowers individuals by rewarding innovation through sharing, distributed ownership, and abundance. By sharing innovative ideas, we can build a much better, fair, transparent, and innovative society that is based on group consensus, rather than a society enforced by rules and regulations. For any society to operate on complete autonomy, it should have the following five major components – in other words, the five pillars – as its foundation. I would like to explo |
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Counterparty, Dogeparty, and Why the Term ‘Burning’ Gives the Wrong ImpressionVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The world of cryptocurrency has progressed so that now anyone can create their own cryptocurrency. With only basic experience using Bitcoin or Dogecoin, it is easy to create blockchain-based tradable digital tokens, thanks to the Counterparty protocol, and its brand new implementation called Dogeparty.How Does Counterparty Work?The Counterparty protocol allows users to create and trade their own cryptocurrency tokens. Users do this with a wallet dedicated to sending and receiving Counterparty me |
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Death and BitcoinVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 What happens to your bitcoins when you die?For some of us outliers in the US cryptocurrency community, those of us old enough to have grown up without a computer in the home and who learned how to type on an actual typewriter, the twin certainties of death and taxes are on our minds more than on others’. In this regard, crypto presents unique challenges. How do we pass on our bitcoin wealth, and legally avoid unnecessary estate expenses, but also protect our private keys while we are still alive |
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Grandpa, Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ol’ DaysVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 “Hey, Jimmy, what do you have there? Oh, goodness, I haven’t seen that shoebox since I was teenager. Were you in the back of my closet? Bring it here. Open it up and let’s take a look. It’s my box of old paper dollar bills. I thought they might be worth something someday. Boy! Was I wrong!”When I was kid, back in 2014, people used to trade this paper for housing, food, gas, and cell phone service. Yes, believe it or not — paper. I know, it’s bizarre and still makes me chuckle. And they had |
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International Monetary Fund Asserts Bitcoin Not a Currency in Draft ReportVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently drafting a “Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual & Compilation.” The document has a “Draft” watermark and a meta-data creation date of June 26, 2014.Chapter four of the manual is entitled “Classification of Financial Assets and Liabilities” (PDF) which includes in part classifications of “Monetary Gold and SDRs” and “Currency and Deposits.”Under Currency and Deposits we find section 4.36 with Footnote 13:Not all electronic payments invol |
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Overstock to CryptostockVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The cryptocurrency industry has been abuzz ever since Wired published an article entitled “Overstock’s Radical Plan to Reinvent the Stock Market With Bitcoin.” Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, has seen the corruption of Wall Street firsthand, and he is eager to fix it. He identified two primary sources of corruption: centralized clearing (exchanges) and fractional reserve banking. These systems enable unscrupulous insiders to sell shares in companies that do not exist, while allowing invest |
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Banks Issue Bitcoin Report: Bitcoin Community AbsentVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Recently I took out Twitter to note my surprise that only a handful of folks have bothered to watch the “Conference of State Bank Supervisors Public Hearing on Virtual Currencies” on YouTube. The conference was part of a “CSBS Emerging Payments Task Force Public Hearing on May 16, 2014.” It took place a week after the Federal Advisory Council and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve met and discussed Bitcoin at great length at their quarterly meeting. The speakers were announced on May |
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LTB Community Roundup #4Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The Let’s Talk Bitcoin community seems to always be teeming with activity and since the last time we spoke even more great discussions have been taking place.Turn asked, “What are you mining” which is prompting an interesting discussion regarding the various altcoins that various members are currently mining. Are you currently mining or have you given up? Chime in and let the community know your thoughts.Adam is preparing for the next version of the Let’s Talk Bitcoin iOS application and is soli |
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Bitcoin and Intrinsic ValueVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Warren Buffett, generally a shrewd investor, surely knows the financial definition of intrinsic value, but inexplicably he does not understand Bitcoin. How do I know he does not understand Bitcoin? Because he called it a “mirage,” said it had “no intrinsic value,” called it “a joke,” and compared it to a check. A check? Bitcoin, the network, can be compared to the entire banking system that processes a check, which includes the clearing system, the image scanning system, |
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eBay and Microsoft Eye User-Created-Value Platforms Similar to LTBVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 On July 9, 2014, EcommerceBytes reported that eBay is considering “Compensating Users to Post on the eBay Boards.” This was revealed when eBay held a “Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team” on July 2:”This week, the eBay Community team wants to hear your ideas about rewards & recognition for Community participation.”EcommerceBytes noted that:”In response to a question about what the eBay moderator meant, the moderator replied, ‘For example, if eBay were to reward members for their Communi |
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Crypto for Change – Is this Wall Street’s Kodak Moment?Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 On July 29, 2014, Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock – one of the world*s largest online retailers – launched a wiki page where he invited open discussion about the best way for a public company to completely bypass entities like NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange and issue its securities on a decentralized platform similar to Bitcoin.The timing could not have been more comical.That same Tuesday, a number of Wall Street suits, including representatives of Visa, Citigroup and other financial ins |
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Intro to Decentralized DNSVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 The Domain Name System (DNS) is the Internet version of a phone book that allows computers to look up an IP address, such as 66.175.222.204, from a given domain name, such as letstalkbitcoin.com. Today’s Domain Name System sags under the heavy weight of political and technical problems. It has held fast for years, but worsening technical issues and growing concerns over governance seem implacable in a system designed under centralized control.In a series of articles, we intend to examine the key |
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LTB Community Roundup #3Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Have you been able to keep up with the ever-growing Let’s Talk Bitcoin! community? We’ve seen some explosive growth and some amazing discussions since our last community roundup.Keep in mind that this is just a sampling of all the great activity across the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! community since the last roundup. The best way to find even more is to register and discover even more great discssuions.Have you been wondering about the various exchanges out in the cryptocurrency world? User inigthz aske |
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Solution to Sybil attacks and 51% attacks in Decentralized NetworksVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 In its early days, the Internet started as a symmetric peer-to-peer decentralized network of computers. As time passed, it became more asymmetric and concentrated in a few data centers with billions of PCs and laptops on the edges. The reasons Internet started as peer-to-peer decentralized networks are scalability, high fault tolerance, and resilience to censorship. However security is a major drawback in these types of networks, as malicious nodes inevitably join the network. These malicious no |
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Hashing, Football, and BitcoinVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Say you are presented with the list of National Football League (NFL) players with their teams omitted. You are then asked to name every player on the Indianapolis Colts, using only the list. You can guess as many times as you want until you are successful. However, many people are playing the game, and only the first person to guess correctly wins the prize.Of course this would be easy if you had some familiarity with the NFL or a smartphone nearby. However, assuming you knew nothing about foot |
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SecretBitcoinProject.com goes Stellar! But… why?Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 No I’m not referring to the Incubus song, although I like where your head is. Rather, Jed McCaleb’s new project (formerly secretbitcoinproject.com) has finally come to fruition. Today users who signed up to be alpha testers received an email which introduced the new project: “Stellar”.Before we begin, I would like to caution you that this article is not intended to give a full technical breakdown of any of the protocols described within. The information presente |
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A History of Zombie EventsVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 About a month ago, I posted an article on Let’s Talk Bitcoin entitled “Rise of the Zombie Bitcoins.” In this article, I presented a great deal of data and analysis about the state of the bitcoin blockchain in relation to long-unused addresses. In that article, I argued that the bulk of the bitcoins mined for the first two years have never been moved and, most likely, never will be. I also argued that bitcoins that have sat in particular addresses for an extremely long time with absolut |
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Crypto for Change – Gatecrashing the Gatekeepers PartyVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 We all remember that kid at school who was strong or influential enough to decide who got to play ball or form part of the gang. That is a gatekeeper.The gatekeepers of the adult world wield much greater power, of course. And yet, just like the class bully, they typically use their influence to get their way and exclude people or entities they dislike.The problem with gatekeepersIn April 2014, Stefan Molyneux, came down heavily on political corruption and warmongering in an Amsterdam conference |
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The Evolution of BitShares (Formally ProtoShares)Via LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 On October 5, 2013, at Crypto-Currency Con, Daniel Larimer, the founder of Invictus Innovations gave a presentation on Decentralized Autonomous Companies (DAC). One idea he presented was the creation of ProtoShares (PTS). PTS is a mineable cryptocurrency used to raise funds for the development of a suite of DACs sponsored by Invictus Innovations. ProtoShares was initially mineable only with CPUs and eventually with GPUs. PTC were not pre-mined and quickly rose in value to over $9.00 USD wit |
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Our Fractious Bitcoin CommunityVia LetsTalkBitcoin – 9:58 pm September 11, 2014 Divides grow among the ever-increasing numbers of Bitcoin supporters. These schisms have existed since the very early days of the technology. Yet people were compelled historically by a common vision to band together and push forward as a united movement. Bitcoiners hold a wide range of views about why Bitcoin specifically, and crypto-currencies generally, excite them. Initially, supporters supressed their divergent opinions in favor of universal goals, but as the Bitcoin ecosystem has matu |
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