Bitcoins, anyone into this? (not MLP related)

[the4thImpulse]

I was first introduced to the idea a couple of months ago, didn't look into it much at all and brushed it off as something stupid.

But today a friend of mine was talking about it and I asked him some questions, he showed me some things and now I am very intrigued. I did a bunch of research and now I definitely want to get in on this and start trading some bitcoins. After seeing today's market crash I can tell its very unstable, but there is opportunity to make money.

Does anyone here trade, or even know about it?


If you don't know what I'm talking about check out this wiki. This has kept me entertained all day like nothing else.

[vladnuke]

Yeah, I love bitcoin. I also like the hidden web and the fact that you can actually order hits on people using bitcoins. The real value in bitcoins come from illegal activities.

[the4thImpulse]

I've had my eye on it, but I'm not willing to put any real money into it at this point. With my hardware I can mine the bitcoin at a rate of about 3-5 US dollars a day worth, which gives me a bit to play with.

What do you need to mine it? I understand kinda how it works, but how would one go about setting up their computer to mine the stuff. I know my computers specs won't be able to handle much but I'd like to try.

[vladnuke]

Honestly, mining is getting tough right now. You need a very fast, very stable, very dedicated rig, because this takes:
A. A lot of power.
B. A lot of cooling.

So basically, your outlook on making money on bit coins is the following:

A=how much you expect to mine
B=how much you spend in electricty for this rig
C=how much you expect bitcoins to be worth later
D. Initial cost (computers)

(A*C)-(B+D)

And so ultimately, your rig should be as efficent as possible.

Focus on buying graphics cards, as that's what the program uses. Look at other people's rigs. Also, note that as you go along, bitcoins will be harder to mine, and with each new bitcoin comes inflation.

[ghelded_kultz]

Bitcoin needs inflation right now, it's so deflated.

Anyway, I'm pissed at bitcoin because I was seriously considering investing a couple hundred bucks in Bitcoins about a year ago when they were around 5 dollars. I'd have made a couple thousand bucks off it, which would have been great. But at least once the bubble bursts and all those investors and people trying to hide their money from the gov (I don't really care about the more traditional criminals that use it) lose a whole bunch of money, I will be happier.

Long story short, DO NOT INVEST IN BITCOIN RIGHT NOW!! It's a bubble waiting to burst and right now the prices are too high. Go back in time and invest then. I suggest around the attack that flooded the market and dropped to price to about $.02 a coin. That was a good time to invest if you could manage to wait a couple of years.


Edit: Barely related, but ponies introduced me to bitcoin.

[Raddons]

Bitcoin sounds like nothing but trouble, considering the main thing people purchase with it are hard drugs and to hire hitman so uh no thanks.

[itroitnyah]

I would love to get put on the government watch list. Sign me up

[the4thImpulse]

I would love to get put on the government watch list. Sign me up

There ain't nothing illeagal about it. Its a currency just like any other, supply and demand dictates whats its worth. What you choose to spend it on is your choice, amazon/itunes accept bitcoins as well as a few other companies. Of course if you are hanging out in the black market then you may be on a government watch list.

[ghelded_kultz]

^^Bitcoins aren't going to get you on a watch list, even if you are using them for illegal activities, thanks to the way it works and how TOR (where you conduct most of these activities) works. It's not like the FBI doesn't know about all the crime payed for in bitcoins, they just can't do anything about it. But if you really want on, I know people who can help you. (And I as ninja's. Oh well)


(I am assuming you are being sarcastic, but I really do know people who could probably put you on a watch list, just in case you aren't)

[itroitnyah]

Haha, yeah, I was being sarcastic

[ghelded_kultz]

So you don't want to be on a watch list?

[itroitnyah]

haha, no thank you. But if I ever do, I can just download a bunch of CP. Oh wait, that's right, everybody down at the pentagon is into that stuff anyways, so nothing would happen. Lel, making political jokes.

[Captain Ironhelm]

I have a friend that's into bitcoins, so I've been able to keep my eye on it. I'm not quite convinced to put any of my own money into it yet. My hardware can mine a nice bit, which gives enough to play with.

[TranquilHooves]

Yeah, I love bitcoin. I also like the hidden web and the fact that you can actually order hits on people using bitcoins. The real value in bitcoins come from illegal activities.

Deep web*
FTFY

[ph00tbag]

I've had people offer to pay me in bitcoin.

I'd have accepted if I had an account, although in this market, I'd probably have immediately traded it in for dollars.

[itroitnyah]

What do people mean when they say

My hardware can mine a nice bit

I don't get it. What does that mean

[Alycs]

What they mean is that bitcoins are freaking hard to mine. To do so effectively, you need one hell of a setup. If I tried to do it on my laptop, I might make a few dollars a month. I might crack 20 dollars a year.

A good bitcoin setup usually has multiple independent hard drives, top end graphics cards (bitcoins work off graphical generation), and good processors. With all of those, I've heard of people that have made hundreds of dollars a month or more with it.

I personally don't do it, as I don't feel like putting that much money into something that would only be useful as a means to buy drugs, hired hitmen, or illegal ammunition and programs on the black market.

[ghelded_kultz]

And laundering money. Don't forget that. Or hiding your wealth from entities you don't want seeing it, like the gov.

[Captain Ironhelm]

I've had my eye on it, but I'm not willing to put any real money into it at this point. With my hardware I can mine the bitcoin at a rate of about 3-5 US dollars a day worth, which gives me a bit to play with.

What do you need to mine it? I understand kinda how it works, but how would one go about setting up their computer to mine the stuff. I know my computers specs won't be able to handle much but I'd like to try.

With mining, basically what happens is you allow your computer to compute bitcoin transactions that occur. After a certain amount, you may finish a "block", and if your computer provides the block first, you'll get rewarded 25 bitcoin. At the current rate of around $120 per bitcoin, that's worth a nice amount. Problem is most people do not have near the kind of power to do it all on their own, and therefore mining pools have been set up. Basically what a pool does is allow multiple users work on the same block, and then the pool owner dishes out the percentage of the 25 bitcoin to each user according to the percentage they completed. And it's pretty obvious you'll need a bitcoin wallet to move your earnings to.
I don't see investing in a computer solely for doing it, but I happen to have one that can do it already, so why not. I do it just for the fun of it. And you have to consider the cost for the electricity to run the computer as well.

What I use is GUI Miner.
http://bitclockers.com/forums/index.php?topic=8.0

Which then connect to Slush's pool
http://mining.bitcoin.cz/

The hardest part is the configuration. There should be enough info via the provided links to at least know where to get started. Then there's just a big "Start Mining!" button you click and it just goes.

For calculating what your computer can do, this can give you a general idea:
http://bitclockers.com/miningcalculator

[ghelded_kultz]

It's not a good time to invest in bitcoin for a while. The bubble burst.