I love how they start the article....
To libertarians wondering whether they can use bitcoins to avoid taxes, the IRS has a short, sweet answer for you: We're not sure.
:D
How is the value of the bitcoin determined and by what? Is there a place where one could read about that? I searched for "how is the bitcoin price determined" but came up empty. Is it purely a case of supply and demand? If so where is that stated?
edit- I found this... but it seems rather vague... Where does the value of Bitcoin stem from? What backs up Bitcoin?
Bitcoins have value because they are useful and because they are scarce. As they are accepted by more merchants, their value will stabilize. See the list of Bitcoin-accepting sites.
When we say that a currency is backed up by gold, we mean that there's a promise in place that you can exchange the currency for gold. Bitcoins, like dollars and euros, are not backed up by anything except the variety of merchants that accept them.
It's a common misconception that Bitcoins gain their value from the cost of electricity required to generate them. Cost doesn't equal value � hiring 1,000 men to shovel a big hole in the ground may be costly, but not valuable. Also, even though scarcity is a critical requirement for a useful currency, it alone doesn't make anything valuable. For example, your fingerprints are scarce, but that doesn't mean they have any exchange value.
Alternatively it needs to be added that while the law of supply and demand applies it does not guarantee value of Bitcoins in the future. If confidence in Bitcoins is lost then it will not matter that the supply can no longer be increased, the demand will fall off with all holders trying to get rid of their coins. An example of this can be seen in cases of state currencies, in cases when the state in question dissolves and so no new supply of the currency is available (the central authority managing the supply is gone), however the demand for the currency falls sharply because confidence in its purchasing power disappears. Of-course Bitcoins do not have such central authority managing the supply of the coins, but it does not prevent confidence from eroding due to other situations that are not necessarily predictable.
I'm not pooping on the bitcoin here I love the idea that it is a decentralized unit of exchange, I just want to have a more complete understanding of it, so when people ask me about it I can give them a good answer...
Your torrent of that pirated "screener" doesn't vanish from bittorrent when your computer crashes, and neither will your wallet. as long as a seed is out there, your wallet is accessible.
Joel, you need to stop and ACTUALLY learn what money is. Seriously. Your question about how BitCoin's "value" is determined, reveals that you have NO clue what money is. Stop pretending and FIND OUT. Watch this NOW:
http://youtu.be/f6uuAupT4AQ
Don't ASSUME you know. take the time, or you will NEVER fully grasp what I am saying.
virtual bitcoins are stored in a private virtual wallet with a 34 character identifier who's 'value' can be written on a piece of paper, or stored in a file, accessable online by a passcode.
David thinks BIT technology "runs on servers"...
WHICH SERVERS ARE THOSE AGAIN?
Because this dipshit is muzzled/banned he can't reply, so I will do it for him:
David Barklay: Duh.
Scott Duncan: Do you know what peer-to-peer means?
David Barklay: Duh.
Scott Duncan: Ok, you're a clueless retard, I get that. Do you know what DECENTRALIZED means?
David Barklay: Duh. I can typing!
Scott Duncan: Can you shut your fucking pie-hole and never bother us with your asinine, unresearched, context/content-free questions ever again?
David Barklay: Duh. Ok. I can... BANNED!
This shit practically writes itself! :D
Here is my understanding of money and bitcoin. I have put the bit about income tax in there because I have been reading a bit about it lately and it seemed like a good starting point...
THE INCOME TAX ACT is not proper legislation ( not available in the form of a certified copy from Queen's Printer)
Our current "money" is legal tender - by using the legal tender it is seen as acceptance to be taxed for using it and
the reason that income tax is only going to pay(or go back to) the central bank that created it.
Privately owned banks have not got OUR best interests in mind, but seem to have the exact opposite in mind.
The income tax act can't come from the "government" because they are not the ones creating our "money"
REAL MONEY is the VALUE WE CREATE that enables US to exchange for things of VALUE created by other equal "beings"
So by using and/or buying bitcoins we are taking the VALUE in the form given to us by the central bank ("money") and taking that "power" away from them.
By trading VALUE(product or a service) created by us DIRECTLY for bitcoin is how we can eventually eliminate the need for the central banks.
bitcoin is as private as you can keep a public secret. ask yourself if you bought an ounce of gold when it was say $200/TOz. and you sold one last month for a 1400$ increase would you tell the government so they would then know to expect you to pay capitol gains taxes?
..|., is the copywritten work of & registered trademark of GO FUCK YOURSELF INC. bitcoin MF! and last time I looked at the trust the GOVERNMENT is NOT A PARTY TO IT!