Bitcoin

They are real.  I'd get at least 1.

Not the exact blueprint but a semblance of how common transactions will occur in the near future. 

G

Seems some guy threw a laptop away with 4M £s worth of bit coins on it, now part of a land fill.

I bet they had no trouble getting Council employees to "guard " the site.

That's karma.  What kind of person throws a laptop in the garbage?

If it is some kind of scam I'd like to meet the originator.  The overall design is nothing short of genius.

As for shchiesters , it would have to include a few hundred thousand otherwise unconnected individuals spread across the globe.  The concept is brilliant and has reached some sort of critical mass.  $1,088 for a bitcoin.  Sounds like a lot of money but if you want one you can't get one for less.  Remember there are only 12 million in the world now and only 21 million will ever be created.  if just Amazon.com were to start accepting bit coins as payment, the price would, I think, climb much much higher.

I'm not going to suggest everybody dump 100% into bitcoin but this is likely an exceedingly rare opportunity for massive appreciation.  So you buy one and it goes to 0 probably better than not buying one and having it go to 100,000.  

Well bitcoins aren't "on laptops" any more than this forum is on your laptop; But I guess if he had his access code stored there and nowhere else (and he's forgotten it" then the bitcoins themselves may as well have been. The 4 million quid isn't lost, just distributed among the other owners.

Well there is no way to accurately determine which coins have been forever lost.  The individual bitcoins only gain as there is a lessened supply.  So yeah the 4MM quid is lost.

No, I think it's lost, at least in much the same way that it was initially "gained". Like any currency, the bitcoin's value is only what the market thinks it is worth. Fewer bitcoins in circulation will (theoretically) result in higher prices for those remaining, but the total value is the same. It is all hypothetical as the markets aren't that perfect and the loss of these bitcoins will be lost in noise of an inefficient market oscillating around a supply and demand equilibrium. In the case of bitcoin, those oscillations are magnified by novelty, lack of understanding, risk and greed.

However, just as printing dollars or burning physical dollars doesn't change the fundamental value of an economy (within reason - hyper inflation like Zimbabwe severely discourages true, value creating investment and economic activity), creating or destroying bitcoins won't, by itself, alter the total value of "promises to be paid", held as bitcoins. The guy that lost his bitcoins did lose his money, though.

Well in any event that guy should be put on suicide watch.  He's never going to see that money.  I'm sure he bought them years ago for nothing and never thought about them.  Threw away the laptop and then saw in the news that "bitcoin hits 1,000$"

In the end it's only 5,500 bitcoins in a pool of 12mm.  I'm sure there are others that have lost at least that much or even much greater amounts.  I guess this sales potential marketing point for Apples Time Machine.

anyhoo... Bitcoins are the future get them while you can.

I'm seeing more news about orchestrated electronic thefts of bitcoins. Should this become even remotely common, the whole thing will collapse and all the "value" that the market has "created" will be lost. It will be remembered as a modern take on a pyramid scheme.

I picked up a Forty Pound note the other night much to the amusement of the rest of the pub!

Sounds like a Scottish Fifty from the future.

People need to take appropriate steps to ensure the security of their coins.  Criminals will try to steal anything of value if given an opportunity.  Encrypt your files and use a separate computer for only bitcoin transactions.  If you have a huge amount of coins relative to your net worth then divide them among several accounts.

Bitcoins reached $ price parity with Gold today.

My understanding is the SEC approved a Bitcoin ETF.  The only question heirs their real market value.  Maybe 100. Maybe 10000.  Who knows?  I wish I had that bit of info.

Good thing is that soon all the naysayers and Bubblsits will have the opportunity to re rich themselves through bitcoin options trading.

I imagine people that want bitcoins and/or think the $ price will increase in the future. 

Bitcoins have already been monetized and now securitized.  You can make money by shorting them if you believe they will go to 0.  Everybody with a strong belief in the future of bitcoins will now be able to back his words with his money.  Some will get richer and some poorer.  The market will decide soon I am sure.

OK.  1 btc = 1 oz Gold.

The investment of the future will be Nait 1s: limited in number like bit coins and ever-increasing price.