

Bitcoin: Alive and here to stay? Or slowly fading away? - tokenadult
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/09/02/bitcoin-alive-stay-or-slowly-fading-away/

======
lukev
You can't really use transaction volume as any real measure of the bitcoin
economy. It's quite normal (and recommended) for owners to transfer their
coins between multiple wallets for a variety of reasons.

There's no way to tell from looking at the transaction history whether
transactions represent actual exchanges or just a holder moving coins around
internally.

~~~
tokenadult
_It's quite normal (and recommended) for owners to transfer their coins
between multiple wallets for a variety of reasons._

I've been trying to follow most of the Bitcoin stories submitted here on
Hacker News, but I have somehow missed that advice. What are some of the links
to user tips for using Bitcoins? What are some of the reasons for transferring
Bitcoins between multiple wallets owned by the same owner?

~~~
aristidb
Presumably to make it harder to track down transactions to individuals?

~~~
briandear
Money laundering, buying illegal stuff, you know pretty much the only reasons
for real people (other than hacker enthusists) for using BCs. The high
volatility mixed with low trade volumes make the currency's value as a hedge
against the dollar painfully useless. If people wanted a 'safe' currency, BC
is the wrong answer, CHF is a far better choice. But, my hypothesis is that
Bit Coiners want untraceable transactions for nefarious reasons. I'm not
against bitcoin, but let's not be delusional and pretend that it's main
benefit is stability. It seems that many bitcoin users are under the delusion
that their $100 purchases at Amazon are of interest to the authorities. The
people that most need financial anonymity are the ones that should least
likely get it.

The last thing I want is for North Korea to start settling transactions with
Syria using bitcoin, but that's exactly what bitcoin will be used for if it
isn't already.

Bitcoiners are the hacker equivalent of the Glen Beck types that hoard gold
for the coming apocalypse.

~~~
krasin
You certainly know that North Korea leaders keep money in Swiss banks?

see, for example,
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/74...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7442188/Kim-
Jong-il-keeps-4bn-emergency-fund-in-European-banks.html)

Bitcoin is not good for dictator states, because it allows people to fund
initiatives like wikileaks w/o a risk to be punished.

------
pixie_
Bitcoin is off to a great start. I'm really interested in what direction it's
going to go when governements start to notice more. Will countries try to
outlaw it? Tax it? or leave it alone.. who knows.. What I do know is that it's
going to get a lot more interesting. I'd really like to know where it'll be in
10 years.. but I can wait.

------
jhuckestein
I stopped reading at

 _As these peaks eventually become norms, based on Bitcoin’s upward trend,
we’ll see $52.5 billion being moved per year._

