Understanding Bitcoin

W

Warl0ck

I've read a few posts on this, so I thought I'd share some basics on Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a digital currency that is free of what some call the "banking cartel". It can be used in a variety of places and here is a short list of who accepts them (some will surprise you). https://99bitcoins.com/who-accepts-bitcoins-payment-companies-stores-take-bitcoins/

Bitcoin Wallet: To get Bitcoin (BTC) you need a wallet. Best option is to set up your own wallet. This can be a bit tricky and you have to keep the wallet safe and secure (at home, locked up). You can also use a clearing house/exchange which are online. The biggest issue is these places can be hacked and your money stolen. It's best just to transfer your cash money to BTC when you need it ASAP.

Where to get BTC There are BTC machines in Vancouver, more notably at Waves coffee (several locations). In these locations you can transfer cash money to BTC to your wallet & then use that to make a payment at what you wish to buy. The process is not that complex.

How does it work with no bankA bank generally processes transactions and for that they keep a small portion of your money (service fees). For BTC, it's the "Block Chain". These are people who use their spare computer power, etc to help make the transactions. Noted is that a transaction can take a few minutes. Those doing the crunching are paid a small amount of BTC for their work.

It's not illegal to use Bitcoin & it is a pain in the ass for both the seller & buyer compared to using a straight up VISA. I would not recommend buying a whole bunch of BTC and holding it. The price swings all over the place. I used to "mine" BTC when it was 2 US dollars a BTC. Today it's around 975$. It's speculative & very risky but if you need it to pay for a Backpage ad, etc, buy what you need on the day you need it.

Here's a guide for Sex Workers on Bitcoin for Backpage. http://motherboard.vice.com/read/sex-workers-guide-to-bitcoin Questions in DM's always answered.
 

summerbreeze

New member
Sep 19, 2004
1,882
4
0
in theory, its not legal to create your own currency

even Canadian Tire money came under this legislation and large legal action by the Canadian government a few years ago

bitcoin is being watched very carefully by governments all over the world to determine how it fits into the whole currency framework

number one issue with a non-trackable currency is of course funding terrorists (homeland security issue), money laundering, personal money leaving a country

how money crosses boarders is an issue for governments which they seek to control, they do that through their alliance with the banking system

suspect as long as they can deal with these law enforcement issues and homeland security they may leave it alone.
 
W

Warl0ck

The number 1 enemy of Bitcoin is the banking system & governments. The excuse is "funding terrorism" ignoring that most funding of terrorism is actual government & industry with real money. Bitcoin strips away the need for centralized banking & the "banking cartel" as some people might call it. I am a former BTC miner. I own a couple of powerful ASICS systems I used for password cracking and used them to mine for a while. I made little money but my house was always warm and my power bill went way up.

Theoretically, one could argue that BTC is actually more of a "real" currency than a typical dollar. There is only 21 million BTC's in existence whereas the US government can print money if/when it sees fit. Without a gold standard well....

Regardless, the debate is good but I mostly put this up for the education of the women. Apparently Backpage stopped accepting credit cards for ads or something like that. I use BTC to pay for my overseas VPN's.
 

summerbreeze

New member
Sep 19, 2004
1,882
4
0
not bad warlock, most people have no idea regarding our dilemma with banking cartels

while I do agree with the challenges with fiat currency, question is.... what can you do about it (other than rant)

the entire gold industry is being controlled by them and that is a sizable industry with plenty of influence

sadly ever since the fed was formed (go read creature from jekyll island) the bank cartels even control governments

on the other hand, other than monitoring movement of goods and money, how could you ever prevent a container with an atomic bomb arriving in your port or bonded warehouse

with the shear size of imported goods coming to our countries, the problem needs to be addressed at source, not destination, and the only way to do that is through data

regrettable that a global economy has made everyone a target for extremists
 
W

Warl0ck

@Lance Alot: Thanks. It's kind of a topic there isn't much good information on.

@SummerBreeze. I think the banking cartels hate Bitcoin because it takes away their control. I think the government fears it because people could essentially leave the economic system to a degree. Where better than a system like that in the sex trade? The photographers, forum hosts, web masters, etc all work in a sort of "grey area". With Bitcoin they can build their own little ecosystem. That's somewhat common in the online VPN/VPS computing world. It's sort of a digital version of those island communities you find where people barter with each other for work. It's definitely a topic I'm interested in.
 

summerbreeze

New member
Sep 19, 2004
1,882
4
0
I think there are probably entities in government who fear an underground currency but don't think they have much of a case. (vs public outcry and elected officials who need to get elected) the ones who are getting major funding and attention, and rightfully so are the homeland defense folks

without going into it, we have had many close calls with respect to how open our borders and international trade/shipping run with respect to terrorism

of course 9/11 was not a close call it was a major breach

personally I agree with the tracking money flow as a deterrent to terrorism, the use of bitcoin for vice is a small matter by comparison

I suspect due to bitcoin's dependency to computers (the main application) it is easily tracked by the NSA and as such not a threat

Not so sure the banking cartels care much about bitcoin, they are in such huge numbers with regard to federal accounts and big industry that bitcoin is a drop in the bucket to them

on another note, the gold standard was thought to be a sounder international currency due to the fact that there is a finite amount of gold and you can't just print more like you can paper

however, the amount of physical gold which is supposed to be in vaults supporting national currencies and the actual physical amount of gold known to be registered worldwide are two different numbers. in other words they don't balance

gold has been borrowed against multiple times by banks and governments to the point that there is little confidence with those in the know as to the real amount of gold in places like the federal reserve vaults. Germany tried to recall its gold from New York back to Germany a couple of years ago and were denied. Finally they received a partial shipment and they receive bars which were different than what they deposited.

begs the question where is their gold.... and why won't the US return it or even allow them to inspect it.....

can't answer those questions because it would topple the entire monetary system which is why governments are in cahoots with the banking cartels

When I first heard rumblings of these things I thought it was a bunch of conspiracy theorists stirring up trouble, but as I researched it more I found out things were not adding up (ask any serious gold trader) the size of the conspiracy and shear brashness of it are too much for most people to fathom which is why it continues

in any case, I think bitcoin is an interesting development and could be quite valuable in many applications, it does have some issues which will curtail it from a security and political perspective
 

Kamloopsbc

Fast is over rated
Jun 19, 2015
183
1
0
BC Canada
Interesting.

Summer breeze, you mention gold.
Yes most do not understand it.
Some think they own gold as they were told they bought it.
Reality is that they only bought a piece of paper with nothing and not related gold.
If you want to own gold make sure you have the actual metal in your hands.
I have been dabbling in gold for over a decade as it will always have some value, unlike a monetary currency that can collapse ie. Greece.
 

summerbreeze

New member
Sep 19, 2004
1,882
4
0
yes, if you believe in gold value as a currency

physical gold is a safe bet

currencies are quite interesting, sometimes their main value is nothing more than their liquidity i.e. ability to sell any amount and quickly

US dollar enjoys probably the most liquidity second to gold and then the stronger currencies woldwide

this is why you see in certain cases over the past few years, negative interest on certain fixed return investment instruments, their value is that you can convert back to something else without any risk at a moment's notice or upon maturity

de-risked, that asset may end up being collateral on higher yield investments purchased on credit

complicated world this one called money......
 
W

Warl0ck

Interesting.

Summer breeze, you mention gold.
Yes most do not understand it.
Some think they own gold as they were told they bought it.
Reality is that they only bought a piece of paper with nothing and not related gold.
If you want to own gold make sure you have the actual metal in your hands.
I have been dabbling in gold for over a decade as it will always have some value, unlike a monetary currency that can collapse ie. Greece.

What's interesting is that when there is a currency crisis, Bitcoin seems to increase in value. People don't understand the concept of fiat currencies and exactly what role a central bank plays in the economy. I mean, inflation is at 2% right or so Stats Can tells you. Is it really? It sure feels like shit is more expensive now than it was a few years ago. This is all really a house of cards of sorts; a sort of casino economy.

Good chatter though. I did some reading and MC and Visa embargoed Backpage due to government pressure (for sexual services) in the USA. The claim was it helped stop trafficking but this is absolute fucking bullshit. It simply pushes the underage and nasty shit deep underground which makes it more difficult for forensic investigators to get hold of the data. You can monitor BP and collect data on potentially trafficked women. It gets a whole lot harder when those ads are down on the dark net with an .onion address.

It also marginalizes legitimate workers who are pushed to the shadows putting them in danger. It's OK to use your Visa to donate to a hate group but sell some pussy? No way.
 

summerbreeze

New member
Sep 19, 2004
1,882
4
0
What's interesting is that when there is a currency crisis, Bitcoin seems to increase in value. People don't understand the concept of fiat currencies and exactly what role a central bank plays in the economy. I mean, inflation is at 2% right or so Stats Can tells you. Is it really? It sure feels like shit is more expensive now than it was a few years ago. This is all really a house of cards of sorts; a sort of casino economy.

Good chatter though. I did some reading and MC and Visa embargoed Backpage due to government pressure (for sexual services) in the USA. The claim was it helped stop trafficking but this is absolute fucking bullshit. It simply pushes the underage and nasty shit deep underground which makes it more difficult for forensic investigators to get hold of the data. You can monitor BP and collect data on potentially trafficked women. It gets a whole lot harder when those ads are down on the dark net with an .onion address.

It also marginalizes legitimate workers who are pushed to the shadows putting them in danger. It's OK to use your Visa to donate to a hate group but sell some pussy? No way.
government put pressure on the credit card companies when clients related to organized crime are involved, also things like casino's on Indian reservations.

suspect that the credit card companies themselves like the excuse to cut off grey area clients, just their pedigree of way they do business. for a longest time they stayed away from small stores and restaurants. thank goodness competition forced them to address it

I agree that when credit card companies pull back from independent providers it makes it harder for them to emerge as more legitimate business entities, a shame
 
Ashley Madison
Vancouver Escorts