The Revolution Has Begun
At almost no cost, crypto-currencies, such as Bitcoin, put you in control of your money and take it away from the banks and banksters, politicians and tyrants of the world - the ramifications are revolutionary.
Can you visualize no more credit card or ATM or checking account or bank wire or currency exchange or balance inquiry or cash deposit or credit card or PayPal fees? How about no longer having to provide a Social Security Number, 3 forms of identification, and/or give a DNA sample just to open a bank account or cash a check?
One place a bitcoin account can be opened is here. Some studying is required, but once accomplished, you can then download the software that will enable you to actually store your money on your computer. Then you can continue
to progress with your knowledge on the finer points - new tools and resources are emerging continuously that will help make this transition
easier.
One location where bitcoin money can be acquired is here.
Crypto-Currency News
A BitCoin debit card could be in your very near future thanks to the efforts of trader-backed BitInstant. That fund transfer outfit, dedicated solely to the digital currency, has partnered with an undisclosed international bank to launch a branded debit card within six to eight weeks. News of the development first surfaced yesterday during an online chat with company co-founder, Charlie Shrem, in which he confirmed the cards would cost users $10 apiece to purchase and carry a 1% bitcoin transfer fee, as well as $1.50 ATM withdrawal fee. To further streamline the exchange process, users will be able to make quick transfers under $1000 by scanning a QR code overlay on front or by accessing the personal BitCoin address listed on back -- all possible with a single confirmation. Initially, the cards will be denominated solely for USD, GBP and EUR, but more foreign currencies could soon be added in the lead up to its official debut. For now, those are the only bits Shrem was willing to share, as further details on this plastic alternative will be forthcoming prior to official launch. Until then, there's always AMEX.
BitInstant founder says BitCoin debit card to launch within next two months, 8/20/12
There has been much talk about Bitcoin within libertarian and economic circles. It's becoming a buzzword, but like all new systems that break onto the public stage quickly, Bitcoin brings with it excitement, speculation, rumor, and downright confusion. To be sure, Bitcoin is complicated. After all, it's an entirely new global monetary system - both a currency and a payment network for that currency.
Bitcoin - Libertarian Introduction, 4/17/12
Bitcoins aren't just an abstract financial instrument living somewhere in the digital ether anymore. They're now a physical currency capable of taking a ride in your pocket or scratching off your lottery tickets.
The physical Bitcoins, called Casascius Bitcoins and created by a guy in Utah named Mike Caldwell, are made of brass, with gold electroplating on the 25 Bitcoin denomination. And, of course, they're tied to the peer-to-peer, open-source digital currency that's been exchanged on the Internet for a while now.
Are physical Bitcoins legal?, 10/25/11
So just now the bitcoin boom of the past year looks not so much like the birth of a new currency as like a classic bubble. And this has created a real paradox for bitcoin enthusiasts. The best thing for bitcoins would be for people to stop thinking of them as an investment and start thinking of them as a currency. That probably requires the bubble to burst, as it may be doing right now. But if the bubble bursts, it's possible that people's interest in Bitcoin will just fade away. After all, would you accept bitcoins in exchange for your work or products if you knew their value had fallen 50 percent in a matter of days? The challenge for Bitcoin now is whether, having become popular because of the cycle of hype, it can somehow avoid being devoured by it. Only then might we be able to say, Good-bye, asset; hello, currency.
Bitcoin could be a real alternative to government-issued money — but only if it survives hoarding by speculators, 9/11/11
First Bitcoin ATM debuted in San Diego, 8/16/11
Doug Casey of Casey Research recently conducted an interview where he spoke about Bitcoins to Louis James, Editor of the International Speculator. In the interview, Casey makes a few claims that had me yelling at my computer screen. It is important to remember that Casey has a vested interest in promoting a gold standard. His company, Casey Research, specializes in precious metals. So his analysis of any currency system that is not predicated on metals is obviously going to be somewhat biased.
Economics Of Bitcoin – Doug Casey Gets It Wrong, 6/23/11
Lots of people are actively looking for an alternative to the dollar. I think Bitcoin is a very good thing, in principle. But after the recent disastrous hack, it’s probably a dead duck, at least in version 1.0.
It’s appropriate, however, that we’re talking about Bitcoin – an Internet-driven phenomenon – while you are in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and I’m in Beirut, Lebanon, and we’re speaking essentially for free over the Internet. Money is increasingly going to be Internet-related. But first we should explain what Bitcoin is.
Doug Casey on Bitcoin and Currencies, 6/23/11
Recently, there has been a surge of media attention on the Silk Road market, which connects sellers and buyers of illegal drugs and uses Bitcoin as a means of payment. Naturally, part of this attention is attention from government, and the government has every incentive to try as hard as possible to bring Silk Road down. "Never before has a website so brazenly peddled illegal drugs online," a senator intent on cracking down on Silk Road said, and it is true. Silk Road's website looks like a legitimate, professionally done E-bay like service, and represents a move away from black markets in the shadows to blatant agorism - acting as if the government itself is illegitimate. Why is Silk Road so much more brazen than before? The simple reason is - because it can. Before, the weakest link in a drug transaction was payment - either a physical meeting (risky), a credit card or Paypal transfer (easily traced to physical identity) or a mail cash transfer (requires too much trust) was necessary, so participants in the drug economy had to rely on security through obscurity, keeping their websites and forums known to few, to avoid detection. Now, however, physical delivery is the only weak link, so although the security is not perfect the internet side of the transaction is, in theory, almost completely anonymous.
Battle Is On - Silk Road vs Government, and Bitcoin Anonymity, 6/14/11
The masses are beginning to understand that the greatest threat to human freedom is the international banking cartel and their debt-based monetary system. Together with governments, they squash any manifestation of a free marketplace and personal freedom. Between runaway money printing, corporate cartel control, subsidies and taxes, and regulations and fees; the free market is nothing more than an ideology — for now.
As the “Too Big to Fail” private banks consolidate even further with the help of their central baking partners and government puppets, it would seem that they form an all-powerful cartel. They force us to use their monopoly money to pay for all necessary goods and services. They track every economic transaction to plunder as much manufactured taxes and fees as possible. Income taxes are extracted to prop up the debt-based system, the Wall Street casino, the domestic surveillance prison, and endless wars. And on top of that, the consumer is ravaged by increasing inflation. Indeed, the system smashes personal and economic freedom.
Incidentally, it seems the precise remedy to such a system would be decentralization of currency and banking, or functioning in an underground economy outside the system. There may be hope for accomplishing both with the new crypto-currency that is beginning to gain recognition, the Bitcoin. Can this decentralized barter currency free humanity from the grip of the slave masters and provide for a truly free-market economy?
New Decentralized Currency Stimulating Underground Barter Economy, 6/13/11
Three weeks ago I discovered bitcoin. It sounded interesting enough that I decided to devote an entire Saturday to it—that was my “day of bitcoin.” My day of bitcoin evolved into my three weeks of bitcoin. In that time, I have been obsessively reading about it, writing about it, buying it, and creating businesses for it. As far as I can recall, I have never been so obsessed about anything. But the reason I am obsessed with bitcoin is simple: it is the most incredible thing to ever happen in the world. I am not exaggerating. We are presently witnessing the most disruptive change to ever happen to collective human behavior. Although there have been other disruptive changes to human behavior in the past, bitcoin is happening much faster than those. Consider, for instance, computing. Charles Babbage invented the mechanical Analytical Engine in the 1830s. It took on the order of a century or more before those seeds of an idea blossomed into something that actually started being used on a large scale. Or consider, say, the internet, which was invented in the 1960s, but took on the order of decades before it saturated the world. That was faster than computing, but still long compared to bitcoin. Bitcoin was only invented about 2.5 years ago. And already, I have been able to ask random people about it, and they know what I’m talking about. If the growth of bitcoin continues exponentially like most widely useful technologies, it will only be on the order of years—not centuries, not even decades, but individual years—before virtually everyone is using it.
Bitcoin is Economic Singularity, 6/13/11
If you are like me, you are excited about the whole idea of using bitcoin as an alternative currency. You are motivated to take control of your money instead of leaving it in the hands of central bankers and politicians. The problem you’ve found is that it is hard to price your products and services in bitcoin when there can be dramatic price swings in a matter of days.
To deal with the problem I recommend that you use a price that is based upon the moving average of the last X number of days. Then simply update your prices once a week. I like to update my prices on Mondays and I currently use the 7-day simple moving average. This can smooth out your pricing and help you deal with these swings in a much more serene fashion.
How to deal with price volatility when pricing your goods and services in Bitcoin, 6/12/11
The Internet barter system known as "Bitcoin," which makes it difficult for law enforcement to monitor online transactions, has raised the ire of two U.S. Senators who learned recently about a new website that lets Bitcoin users buy and sell illegal drugs.
Senators call for crackdown on ‘Bitcoin’ as drug traffickers move in, 6/9/11
A joke for you, Fellow Reckoner: How many Senators does it take to change a light bulb? Oh, wait, we’ve got a better one: How many Senators does it take to dismantle a cryptographically secured, completely decentralized, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network of voluntary, free market traders exchanging goods and services across six continents using tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of individual computers and some of the most advanced cyber technology and software coding known to date?
War on Digital Currency, 6/9/11
Bitcoin is a new digital currency traded over p2p connections that is essentially untraceable and not connected to any bank. This has made it a favorite of the tech-literate crowd, but two US Senators are looking to crackdown on Bitcoin after reports that it is being used to buy illegal drugs online.
US Senators Seek to Crackdown on Bitcoin, 6/8/11
I’ve been scouring the internet for the last year and a half looking for a truly free banking system without any success. All of them either play ball with the feds in one way or another, or their entire economic model is flawed and doomed to fail as soon as the liberty community recognizes it for the waste of time that it is.
But I think I may have just found what I’ve been looking for. It is still in its infancy so I cannot vouch for the specific business in question. But if I understand him right then I believe he is marketing a free, decentralized, and anonymous banking system that allows the trading of real assets. This is something to be very excited about, for it is this alone that will end the fed.
Alex Wied is the brains behind Porcloom.net.
Free And Anonymous Banking, 6/5/11
...But not all Bitcoin enthusiasts embrace Silk Road. Some think the association with drugs will tarnish the young technology, or might draw the attention of federal authorities. “The real story with Silk Road is the quantity of people anxious to escape a centralized currency and trade,” a longtime bitcoin user named Maiya told us in a chat. “Some of us view Bitcoin as a real currency, not drug barter tokens.”
Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable, 6/1/11
Recent weeks have been exciting for a relatively new kind of currency speculator. In just three weeks, the total value of a unique new digital currency called Bitcoin has jumped four times, to over $40 million.
Bitcoin is underwritten not by a government, but by a clever cryptographic scheme.
For now, little can be bought with bitcoins, and the new currency is still a long way from competing with the dollar. But this explainer lays out what Bitcoin is, why it matters, and what needs to happen for it to succeed.
What Bitcoin Is, and Why It Matters, 5/25/11
The real battle for the Internet and the tremendous changes it brings hasn’t even started yet. What we are seeing right now are some precursor skirmishes where the cronies (the copyright industry) of those in power are complaining and getting some breadcrumb favors.
One general rule of technical advancement is that it’s not necessarily the most feature rich variant of a new technology that reaches the tipping point and critical mass, or even the cheapest or most available: rather, it tends to be the easiest to use.
With The Napster of Banking Round The Corner, Bring Out Your Popcorn, 5/11/11
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