An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
Alright. We have had all these threads around Bitcoin that have gone south. I really do think that cam girls should know about Bitcoin so they can make their own informed decision.
I am going to try to make this as objective as possible and insert my opinions at the end.
(most of this is paraphrased from Wikipedia and a few articles)
What is Bitcoin?
- a digital, decentralized, "crypto-currency" (meaning completely anonymous)
- each individual's Bitcoins are stored in their own electronic "wallet" (there are a few programs that do this)
- value fluctuates based on exchange rates, similar to how a stock would in the stock market
History/Various Facts
- started by Satoshi Nakamoto (pseudonym, his true identity is unknown)
- 21 million BC will be distributed in total and no more (currently there are almost 11 million in circulation)
- BC are generated about 1 every 10 minutes through a process called "mining"
- mining is complicated to explain, but essentially it is using high powered computers to solve puzzles
Security & Security Issues
The Ledger
- all BC transactions are public, everyone can see everyone else's BC at any given point (although their identity is anonymous)
Security Issues
- there have been multiple issues of BC theft, the largest being 35,000 BC which had a value of $4.6 million dollars at the time
Controversy
- BC is used on the dark web as a payment for illegal services, most infamous being the "Silk Road"
- Others have accused BC as being a Ponzi scheme
- Concerns also arise that people are using BC to avoid taxes
- BC can often have volatile exchange rates
As camgirls, how does Bitcoin effect us?
- A few cam sites take BC, including most recently MyGirlFund
- Some cam girls see BC as an alternative to other payments because of it's anonymity
If you accept Bitcoins, how do you get paid?
- There are quite a few exchange services that will wire the money to your bank account or PayPal, http://www.mtgox.com is one of the most popular
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My personal opinion:
I have no problem with Bitcoin itself. I have a problem with it's users. Most users of BC are using it because they have something to hide. As a cam girl the users of BC are scary to me because if they are using BC to pay for illegal activities anonymously, I would not be surprised if my content were leaked.
I also do not want to be associated with a payment system that is synonymous with illegal activities, including the distribution of child pornography. We as sex workers have it hard enough fighting against stereotypes & stigma as it is. I think having BC take a prominent role in the adult industry will push progress backwards for all of us.
Additionally, due to the rapidly changing exchange rates of BC, however much money I make may not be worth that much tomorrow. Theft is also a huge issue, it has been documented multiple times that people have had their BC stolen, and these were people that were very tech savvy with lots of security measures in place. I am not a computer expert, so I would feel especially vulnerable to attack.
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There is a lot of other information out there, but these are the basic facts. I hope this helps those that are confused about what Bitcoin is. Feel free to add your thoughts below, but I don't want this to turn into a train wreck. I was just sick of this idiots coming onto the forum and wanted to make my own thread so that we as cam girls can discuss it.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
Does anyone here mine for these things? Is it worth doing it if you have say an extra computer that can just use cpu power for that? "Worth doing" is probably a silly question, but I was curious to know if anyone had experience with mining in general.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BlueBunny
Does anyone here mine for these things? Is it worth doing it if you have say an extra computer that can just use cpu power for that? "Worth doing" is probably a silly question, but I was curious to know if anyone had experience with mining in general.
From what I've read it takes a lot of computer power and there are people who also pool their computers together as well as buying very expensive machines just to mine. It is very competitive so it would probably only be worth it if you wanted to do it more for fun than just for profit.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BlueBunny
Does anyone here mine for these things? Is it worth doing it if you have say an extra computer that can just use cpu power for that? "Worth doing" is probably a silly question, but I was curious to know if anyone had experience with mining in general.
It's really not worth doing unless you can afford buying more and more hardware. The GPUs needed to continue mining would cost you thousands of dollars in just your power bill. You mine BC by completing complex equations that only get harder and harder, requiring you to advance everything you're using.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
That's what I thought. :) Do it for fun if you have nothing else better to do. Just makes me wonder what sort of "puzzles" are really solved, and if your resources aren't instead used to support the network's anonymity, meaning basically you're contributing to some crimes taking place or something along those lines.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
Mining bitcoins isn't fun. You don't solve puzzles, your computer solves advanced cryptographic equations based on peer-to-peer transactions. Here is a good article on it: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise...n-mining-rigs/
I personally will never accept BC for my work. I do not want to be paid in what is essentially stocks. I have real bills that need to be paid in a timely manner and I need guarantees, not investments.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
I should really take back my "it isn't fun" statement. That's such a relative term because for all I know you're like a super computer wiz who DOES find it fun! lol
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
very much needed thread. :)
And as intriguing as I find the whole bitcoin business, being a camgirl is already unstable enough without having to deal with fluctuating values of how we're paid. I like knowing every token is 5 cents, and every minute in pvt is 35%. I will take a lower stable income anyday over a higher income that could dissapear overnight. Especially with the theft opportunity?? No thankyou.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
I mine TerraCoin the minning difficulty is relativity easy rite now. my low grade video card gives me 1.5 terracoin a day using coinotron pool mining.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
Maybe "puzzles" and "fun" weren't the best terms to use lol but it seems like for a lot of people that are into Bitcoin it's an entire counter-culture in itself and doing this kind of thing is fun. Luna explained it really well but yeah it's not something you can solve yourself you need to have the equipment as well as the skill set or willingness to learn in order to do it.
Btw if anyone is interested the main forum for BC is http://www.bitcointalk.org if you're curious it's pretty interesting to read.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
Looks like they're moving forward in making sure that Bitcoins are taxable. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/stor...tcoin-tax.html
This means that whenever you go to withdraw, or convert your coins to cash, you will be taxed.
Re: An informed, drama free discussion about Bitcoins
^^^ guaranteed that the Canadian Gov't isn't the ONLY gov't that is starting to pay close attention to BitCoin transactions, with strong suspicion that the people involved in the transactions have 'something to hide'.
Also, the tacit marketing of BitCoins as an alternative currency is bulls#!t. In point of fact, owning BitCoins is very similar to owning shares of stock in a ( small ) private company. There is no such thing as an exchange rate established between BitCoins and US dollar / Canadian dollars / UK pounds etc. What actually determines today's 'value' of BitCoins versus US dollars etc. are small, unregulated quasi-stock exchanges operated by a handful of private companies like mtgox .
I'll also add that the relative 'value' of BitCoins has recently been run up big time thanks to Greeks and Cypriots seeking a means of circumventing their gov't's newly enacted laws preventing them from moving their money outside the country via the international banking system. This has created an abnormal situation where the future 'value' of BitCoins is at risk of falling.
And it is the very nature of BitCoins being outside of the international banking system ( thus outside the automatic tracking mechanisms which are part of the international banking system ) that is now drawing huge amounts of attention from many countries' gov'ts.
In the way of personal opinion, like the OP I am more than a bit concerned that the automatic reporting of cross-border transactions between a BitCoin 'exchange' and an American citizen's bank account will be / are already being used to wave 'red flags' at the IRS, at DHS, at DOJ etc.