None. But I'm very conservative.
I always tell financially conservative people they can buy US$1 worth of Bitcoins just so they can learn how it works. I think many newcomers believe Bitcoins are indivisible.
Re:Bitcoin rises
by zacksjoden on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @02:28PM
(#5402689)
I've been reading off and on about Bitcoins on HN for a while and had no idea that they could be broken down into smaller units. From Wikipedia:
"In trade, one bitcoin is subdivided into 100-million smaller units called satoshis, defined by eight decimal places.[4]"
I think this partly stems from the term "Bitcoin" itself, since coins are not divisible (having moved beyond pieces of eight long ago). But there are no coins in Bitcoin! It's all just txouts and txins.
You can think of it as a magically valuable liquid flowing down a system of ever-growing pipes representing the blockchain where the transactions are linking points and txins and txouts are pipes with their cross-section areas corresponding to their respective values. Once you think about it, the analogy fits perfectly.
"Coin" in the Bitcoin system is a nickname for a transaction output. The value of a coin can be anything, 1 BTC, 0.000345 BTC, 500,000 BTC...
oke, sounds like a plan. What's the easiest place to buy 1/50th bitcoin? I created a Coinbase account, but that seems US only :(
Re:Bitcoin rises
by tlrobinson on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @03:08PM
(#5402913)
Send me a message with your email address on http://howdoyoubuybitcoins.com/contact/ and I'll send you a small amount for free.
I just figured out I have this adres at coinbase: 1AL1NkXgkoCHA4VCFwyn4E12orw4cSbWhQ
Re:Bitcoin rises
by jacoblyles on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @03:36PM
(#5403075)
Post your BTC address and I'm sure someone will throw a bitcent or two your way.
edit: mine is 1BFzpDHT69SrwLXndVogGgoSf5W4A8TMVS if you want to share the love :)
Anyone got any bit-pennies for a newb? 16524z1k5Xk8BsEVcSo1ZXLvank4ukUVdE
I think Bitcoin or currencies like it will be important in the future so I'm trying to figure it out.
Re:Bitcoin rises
by jacoblyles on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @04:37PM
(#5403454)
2 internets for you sir (0.02 BTC)
Re:Bitcoin rises
by loginatnine on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @07:50PM
(#5404495)
Any internet left? :)
1LPjVfUFtwqy1DToVogtT2Fob3du4qXSa5
Re:Bitcoin rises
by jacoblyles on Wednesday March 20, 2013 @03:52AM
(#5406067)
I apologize, it looks like coinbase servers hit a snag today and they aren't generating transactions in a timely manner. Hopefully they will fix this soon! They are a good service, but haven't figured out the load problems yet.
Re:Bitcoin rises
by jacoblyles on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @08:15PM
(#5404638)
1.1 internets for you sir! Don't spend it all on Satoshi Dice :)
Re:Bitcoin rises
by loginatnine on Wednesday March 20, 2013 @10:43AM
(#5407525)
Hahaha the more I learn from BTC, the more I like it! Thanks a bunch!
sweet! hook a brother up
13d1B83HJZqgwwDUmVDB8dTtmgkp7BK62Q
Re:Bitcoin rises
by jacoblyles on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @04:55PM
(#5403581)
an internet for you sir! (0.01BTC)
gracias amigo
Do you want some? I could give you one.
You are a venture capitalist, yes? ;^)
Thanks for sharing!
Wouldn't a conservative hedge?
Hedge vs. what? The collapse of the entire world financial system and its replacement by .... bitcoin?
To be serious: obviously bitcoin can be used as in any investment strategy, including "conservative" ones. You seem to be arguing that a bitcoin position must be part of one, which is kinda insane.
Hedge vs. loss of value in major world fiat currencies. I think this is actually an important problem, and Bitcoin is a nice alternative to gold.
I think you're being rude.
I am referring to the collapse of financial systems, but not necessarily the replacement by bitcoin. Maybe precious metals, heirloom seeds, or guns?
Why buy chips when you can own the Casino (Coinbase)?
Re:Bitcoin rises
by tlrobinson on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @02:59PM
(#5402866)
I see it the other way around. For Coinbase to succeed, Bitcoin necessarily needs to succeed. If Bitcoin succeeds the price of Bitcoin will increase by many orders of magnitude.
Right now I'd put Bitcoin's odds of success on par with an early stage startup.
The analogy was in reference to pg's investment in Coinbase while holding no Bitcoins themselves.
If Bitcoin succeeds, would you rather have owned the coins... or the banks and exchanges that constantly take a percentage of the flow?
Re:Bitcoin rises
by tlrobinson on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @04:55PM
(#5403576)
I'm saying it's quite possible the coins themselves would be a better investment at this point.
Casino chips aren't going to significantly increase in value. If Bitcoin succeeds then Bitcoins will. If Bitcoin doesn't succeed, then neither will the "banks".
But building a decent and trusted infrastructure of "banks" will improve Bitcoin's chances of success. Just holding a given quantity of coins on your laptop will not.
Re:Bitcoin rises
by tlrobinson on Wednesday March 20, 2013 @04:35PM
(#5410077)
Oh I agree completely. If you have a significant amount of Bitcoin you should do everything you can to make Bitcoin a sucess.
http://howdoyoubuybitcoins.com/from/coinbase/
I would love to know how many bitcoins PG personally holds:
http://www.quora.com/Paul-Graham/How-many-bitcoins-does-PG-o...