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    Bitcoin Daily Discussion, May 10, 2018

    May 10, 2018

    Bitcoin Daily Discussion, May 10, 2018

    Daily Discussion, May 10, 2018

    Posted: 10 May 2018 03:48 AM PDT

    Please utilize this sticky thread for all general Bitcoin discussions! If you see posts on the front page or /r/Bitcoin/new which are better suited for this daily discussion thread, please help out by directing the OP to this thread instead. Thank you!

    Daily threads are fast paced! If you don't get an answer to your question, you can try phrasing it differently or commenting again tomorrow.

    Suggested Topics

    • Screenshots
      • of article headlines without the article
      • of your favorite price ticker
      • of your exchange website
      • of your private chats
    • Wallet/Exchange/Network
      • recommendations
      • complaints
      • service outages
      • troubleshooting
      • fee estimation
      • unconfirmed transactions
    • All things price
      • hodling
      • the dip
      • the moon
      • price going up
      • price going down
      • technical analysis
      • price on your smart phone
      • price on your smart watch
    • Stuff you bought with Bitcoin
      • Hardware wallets
      • Lambos
      • Teslas
      • Pizza
    • Questions
      • Receiving Bitcoin
      • Sending Bitcoin
      • Earning Bitcoin
      • Storing Bitcoin
      • Buying Bitcoin
      • Selling Bitcoin
    • That thing your coworker said
    • Bitcoin Showerthoughts
    • Random music videos
    • Bitcoin license plates
    • Interesting threads
    • Future speculation
    • News of the day
    • Memes, GIFs
    • Twitter links

    Your price screenshots and repetitive submissions are being removed, so please stop submitting them!

    Please check the previous discussion thread for unanswered questions.

    submitted by /u/rBitcoinMod
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    I see it every day.

    Posted: 09 May 2018 06:01 AM PDT

    Make money by moving Bitcoin forward, not trying to get money from people trying to make money from Bitcoin

    Posted: 09 May 2018 08:23 PM PDT

    There is this stain on Bitcoin of all of these people and companies coming out with their ways to make money on Bitcoin, mainly by targeting those people that want to get rich from Bitcoin. I had two fake "cloud mining" people contact me in the past week. I've had Bitcoin pyramid scheme people contacting me saying if I send .2 BTC today I'll get .4 BTC in 4 days.

    Come on people. Get a life. Invest in growing the Bitcoin ecosystem. Make it better, there are so many areas that need productive people to make it grow.

    We need plug and play Point of Sale systems, we need amazing user interfaces for our wallets, we need Lightning Network in our browsers so server admins can use micropayments for things like captcha, login security (pay 1 bit when you log into a website so that a hacker attacking your login will have to come out of pocket to try to guess your password), we need wifi software so anyone can share their wifi at home, airports, public spaces and charge micropayments for use.

    Go business to business, set them up with bitcoin...take a commission to make money. Go on localbitcoins and buy/sell bitcoins to make it easier for people to get into Bitcoin.

    Take whatever your talents are in the real world and translate them into something useful for Bitcoin. Even if it's flipping burgers, sell the best burgers you can make on the weekend and only accept Bitcoin. Call them Bitcoin burgers.

    If you're trying to scam people out of money because they don't fully understand the bitcoin ecosystem yet, re-evaluate your life choices and decide today to not be such an asshole. Actually do something with your future and be a decent human being already.

    submitted by /u/Elwar
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    Satoshi's REAL vision...pizza

    Posted: 09 May 2018 11:48 PM PDT

    Adam Smith shilling Bitcoin in 1776

    Posted: 09 May 2018 10:49 PM PDT

    Silicon Valley (HBO) is killing it with parody accounts

    Posted: 09 May 2018 03:19 PM PDT

    Get ready for a bull run lads

    Posted: 09 May 2018 06:15 PM PDT

    What would it be like to own one Bitcoin: Parody Video

    Posted: 09 May 2018 03:55 PM PDT

    Iran Sanctions: People Are Turning To Bitcoin To Get Money Out

    Posted: 10 May 2018 12:35 AM PDT

    The Wealthy Are Hoarding $10 Billion of Bitcoin in Bunkers - Bloomberg

    Posted: 09 May 2018 09:52 PM PDT

    A big scientific Swedish news paper just published a big number on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies! Felt this was pretty big as its in most big stores now :)

    Posted: 10 May 2018 12:58 AM PDT

    Goldman Sachs makes first hire in cryptocurrency markets unit

    Posted: 10 May 2018 01:44 AM PDT

    One of many to deploy..

    Posted: 09 May 2018 03:12 PM PDT

    Bitmain’s Biggest Bitcoin Mining Rival Plots $1 Billion Hong Kong IPO

    Posted: 10 May 2018 01:07 AM PDT

    You want to help Bitcoin but can't code? Do a simple thing then, call out all the scammers and call out everyone who supports these scammers. Make Crypto free from these scums. Simple.

    Posted: 10 May 2018 02:16 AM PDT

    Reddit co-founder defends cryptocurrencies on The Late Show

    Posted: 09 May 2018 06:32 PM PDT

    Cryptocurrency the ‘Right Next Step in the Space of Currency’: Nasdaq CEO

    Posted: 09 May 2018 07:32 PM PDT

    1 For whoever questions the utility of Bitcoin, here's banking summarized accurately

    Posted: 10 May 2018 01:23 AM PDT

    Switzerland is about to vote on whether to send its financial system back to the Dark Ages in a referendum to ban banks from creating money

    Posted: 09 May 2018 02:27 PM PDT

    Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya: I'm a Warren Buffett 'disciple' but he's wrong about bitcoin

    Posted: 09 May 2018 05:37 AM PDT

    For whoever questions the utility of Bitcoin, here's banking summarized accurately

    Posted: 09 May 2018 08:16 AM PDT

    Bitcoin’s Recent Institutional Demand Is Unprecedented, Says Futures Market CEO

    Posted: 09 May 2018 11:22 PM PDT

    'Bitcoin Day' Proves Crypto Is Thriving in Argentina

    Posted: 09 May 2018 05:16 PM PDT

    Bitcoin in Iran

    Posted: 09 May 2018 08:27 PM PDT

    Hi guys.

    My dad is looking to send me money through bitcoin from Iran. i've been told that he should buy the bitcoin on localbitcoin, and send it to my wallet address. My questions are, how do I cash out? Coinbase won't let me cash out since i'm in Canada, and my other question is how long will it take? Since cryptos, especially bitcoin is so volatile, will the money he sends me be worth a different amount by the time it gets to me? Thanks.

    submitted by /u/shenanigans38
    [link] [comments]

    A Beginners Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

    Posted: 09 May 2018 08:50 AM PDT

    As cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology become more abundant throughout our society, it's important to understand the inner workings of this technology, especially if you plan to use cryptocurrency as an investment vehicle. If you're new to the crypto-sphere, learning about Bitcoin makes it much easier to understand other cryptocurrencies as many other altcoins' technologies are borrowed directly from Bitcoin.

    Bitcoin is one of those things that you look into only to discover you have more questions than answers, and right as you're starting to wrap your head around the technology; you discover the fact that Bitcoin has six other variants (forks), the amount of politics at hand, or that there are over a thousand different cryptocurrencies just as complex if not even more complex than Bitcoin.

    We are currently in the infancy of blockchain technology and the effects of this technology will be as profound as the internet. This isn't something that's just going to fade away into history as you may have been led to believe. I believe this is something that will become an integral part of our society, eventually embedded within our technology. If you're a crypto-newbie, be glad that you're relatively early to the industry. I hope this post will put you on the fast-track to understanding Bitcoin, blockchain, and how a large percentage of cryptocurrencies work.

    Community Terminology

    Altcoin: Short for alternative coin. There are over 1,000 different cryptocurrencies. You're probably most familiar with Bitcoin. Anything that isn't Bitcoin is generally referred to as an altcoin.

    HODL: Misspelling of hold. Dank meme accidentally started by this dude. Hodlers are much more interested in long term gains rather than playing the risky game of trying timing the market.

    TO THE MOON: When a cryptocurrency's price rapidly increases. A major price spike of over 1,000% can look like it's blasting off to the moon. Just be sure you're wearing your seatbelt when it comes crashing down.

    FUD: Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.

    FOMO: Fear of missing out.

    Bull Run: Financial term used to describe a rising market.

    Bear Run: Financial term used to describe a falling market.

    What Is Bitcoin?

    Bitcoin (BTC) is a decentralized digital currency that uses cryptography to secure and ensure validity of transactions within the network. Hence the name crypto-currency. Decentralization is a key aspect of Bitcoin. There is no CEO of Bitcoin or central authoritative government in control of the currency. The currency is ran and operated by the people, for the people.

    Bitcoin is a product of blockchain technology. Blockchain is what allows for the security and decentralization of Bitcoin. To understand Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, you must understand to some degree, blockchain. This can get extremely technical the further down the rabbit hole you go, and because this is technically a beginners guide, I'm going to try and simplify to the best of my ability and provide resources for further technical reading.

    A Brief History

    Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto. The identity of Nakamoto is unknown. The idea of Bitcoin was first introduced in 2008 when Nakamoto released the Bitcoin white paper - Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Later, in January 2009, Nakamoto announced the Bitcoin software and Bitcoin network officially began.

    I should also mention that the smallest unit of a Bitcoin is called a Satoshi. 1 BTC = 100,000,000 Satoshis. When purchasing Bitcoin, you don't actually need to purchase an entire coin. Bitcoin is divisible, so you can purchase any amount greater than 1 Satoshi (0.00000001 BTC).

    What Is Blockchain?

    Blockchain is a distributed ledger, a distributed collection of accounts. What is being accounted for depends on the use-case of the cryptocurrency itself. In the case of Bitcoin, what is being accounted for is financial transactions.

    The first block in a blockchain is referred to as the genesis block. A block is an aggregate of data. Blocks are also discovered through a process known as mining (more on this later). Each block is cryptographically signed by the previous block in the chain and visualizing this would look something akin to a chain of blocks, hence the term, blockchain.

    For more information regarding blockchain I've provided more resouces below:

    What is Bitcoin Mining

    Bitcoin mining is one solution to the double spend problem. Bitcoin mining is how transactions are placed into blocks and added onto the blockchain. This is done to ensure proof of work, where computational power is staked in order to solve what is essentially a puzzle. If you solve the puzzle correctly, you are rewarded Bitcoin in the form of transaction fees, and the predetermined block reward. The Bitcoin given during a block reward is also the only way new Bitcoin can be introduced into the economy. With a halving event occurring roughly every 4 years, it is estimated that the last Bitcoin block will be mined in the year 2,140. (See What is Block Reward below for more info).

    Mining is one of those aspects of Bitcoin that can get extremely technical and more complicated the further down the rabbit hole you go. An entire website could be created (and many have) dedicated solely to information regarding Bitcoin mining. The small paragraph above is meant to briefly expose you to the function of mining and the role it plays within the ecosystem. It doesn't even scratch the surface regarding the topic.

    How do you Purchase Bitcoin?

    The most popular way to purchase Bitcoin through is through an online exchange where you trade fiat (your national currency) for Bitcoin.

    Popular exchanges include:

    • Coinbase
    • Kraken
    • Cex
    • Gemini

    There's tons of different exchanges. Just make sure you find one that supports your national currency.

    Volatility

    Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are EXTREMELY volatile. Swings of 30% or more within a few days is not unheard of. Understand that there is always inherent risks with any investment. Cryptocurrencies especially. Only invest what you're willing to lose.

    Transaction & Network Fees

    Transacting on the Bitcoin network is not free. Every purchase or transfer of Bitcoin will cost X amount of BTC depending on how congested the network is. These fees are given to miners as apart of the block reward.

    Late 2017 when Bitcoin got up to $20,000USD, the average network fee was ~$50. Currently, at the time of writing this, the average network fee is $1.46. This data is available in real-time on BitInfoCharts.

    Security

    In this new era of money, there is no central bank or government you can go to in need of assistance. This means the responsibility of your money falls 100% into your hands. That being said, the security regarding your cryptocurrency should be impeccable. The anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies alone makes you a valuable target to hackers and scammers. Below I've detailed out best practices regarding securing your cryptocurrency.

    Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

    Two-factor authentication is a second way of authenticating your identity upon signing in to an account. Most cryptocurrency related software/websites will offer or require some form of 2FA. Upon creation of any crypto-related account find the Security section and enable 2FA.

    SMS Authentication

    The most basic form of 2FA which you are probably most familiar with. This form of authentication sends a text message to your smartphone with a special code that will allow access to your account upon entry. Note that this is not the safest form of 2FA as you may still be vulnerable to what is known as a SIM swap attack. SIM swapping is a social engineering method in which an attacker will call up your phone carrier, impersonating you, in attempt to re-activate your SIM card on his/her device. Once the attacker has access to your SIM card he/she now has access to your text messages which can then be used to access your online accounts. You can prevent this by using an authenticator such as Google Authenticator.

    Authenticator

    The use of an authenticator is the safest form of 2FA. An authenticator is installed on a seperate device and enabling it requires you input an ever changing six digit code in order to access your account. I recommend using Google Authenticator.

    If a website has the option to enable an authenticator, it will give you a QR code and secret key. Use Google Authenticator to scan the QR code. The secret key consists of a random string of numbers and letters. Write this down on a seperate sheet of paper and do not store it on a digital device.

    Once Google Authenticator has been enabled, every time you sign into your account, you will have to input a six-digit code that looks similar to this. If you happen to lose or damage the device you have Google Authenticator installed on, you will be locked out of your account UNLESS you have access to the secret key (which you should have written down).

    Hardware Wallets

    A wallet is what you store Bitcoin and cryptocurrency on. I'll provide resources on the different type of wallets later but I want to emphasize the use of a hardware wallet (aka cold storage).

    Hardware wallets are the safest way of storing cryptocurrency because it allows for your crypto to be kept offline in a physical device. After purchasing crypto via an exchange, I recommend transferring it to cold storage. The most popular hardware wallets include the Ledger Nano S, and Trezor.

    Hardware wallets come with a special key so that if it gets lost or damaged, you can recover your crypto. I recommend keeping your recovery key as well as any other sensitive information in a safety deposit box.

    I know this all may seem a bit manic, but it is important you take the necessary security precautions in order to ensure the safety & longevity of your cryptocurrency.

    Technical Aspects of Bitcoin

    TL;DR

    • Address: What you send Bitcoin to.
    • Wallet: Where you store your Bitcoin
    • Max Supply: 21 million
    • Block Time: ~10 minutes
    • Block Size: 1-2MB
    • Block Reward: BTC reward received from mining.

    What is a Bitcoin Address?

    A Bitcoin address is what you send Bitcoin to. If you want to receive Bitcoin you'd give someone your Bitcoin address. Think of a Bitcoin address as an email address for money.

    What is a Bitcoin Wallet?

    As the title implies, a Bitcoin wallet is anything that can store Bitcoin. There are many different types of wallets including paper wallets, software wallets and hardware wallets. It is generally advised NOT to keep cryptocurrency on an exchange, as exchanges are prone to hacks (see Mt. Gox hack).

    My preferred method of storing cryptocurrency is using a hardware wallet such as the Ledger Nano S or Trezor. These allow you to keep your crypto offline in physical form and as a result, much more safe from hacks. Paper wallets also allow for this but have less functionality in my opinion.

    After I make crypto purchases, I transfer it to my Ledger Nano S and keep that in a safe at home. Hardware wallets also come with a special key so that if it gets lost or damaged, you can recover your crypto. I recommend keeping your recovery key in a safety deposit box.

    What is Bitcoins Max Supply?

    The max supply of Bitcoin is 21 million. The only way new Bitcoins can be introduced into the economy are through block rewards which are given after successfully mining a block (more on this later).

    What is Bitcoins Block Time?

    The average time in which blocks are created is called block time. For Bitcoin, the block time is ~10 minutes, meaning, 10 minutes is the minimum amount of time it will take for a Bitcoin transaction to be processed. Note that transactions on the Bitcoin network can take much longer depending on how congested the network is. Having to wait a few hours or even a few days in some instances for a transaction to clear is not unheard of.

    Other cryptocurrencies will have different block times. For example, Ethereum has a block time of ~15 seconds.

    For more information on how block time works, Prabath Siriwardena has a good block post on this subject which can be found here.

    What is Bitcoins Block Size?

    There is a limit to how large blocks can be. In the early days of Bitcoin, the block size was 36MB, but in 2010 this was reduced to 1MB in order to prevent distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), spam, and other malicious use on the blockchain. Nowadays, blocks are routinely in excess of 1MB, with the largest to date being somewhere around 2.1MB.

    There is much debate amongst the community on whether or not to increase Bitcoin's block size limit to account for ever-increasing network demand. A larger block size would allow for more transactions to be processed. The con argument to this is that decentralization would be at risk as mining would become more centralized. As a result of this debate, on August 1, 2017, Bitcoin underwent a hard-fork and Bitcoin Cash was created which has a block size limit of 8MB. Note that these are two completely different blockchains and sending Bitcoin to a Bitcoin Cash wallet (or vice versa) will result in a failed transaction.

    I'm not going to comment on which blockchain I believe to be better than the other. I'll let you do your own research and make that decision for yourself. It is good to know that this is a debated topic within the community and example of the politics that manifest within the space. Now if you see community members arguing about this topic, you'll at least have a bit of background to the issue.

    What is Block Reward?

    Block reward is the BTC you receive after discovering a block. Blocks are discovered through a process called mining. The only way new BTC can be added to the economy is through block rewards and the block reward is halved every 210,000 blocks (approximately every 4 years). Halving events are done to limit the supply of Bitcoin. At the inception of Bitcoin, the block reward was 50BTC. At the time of writing this, the block reward is 12.5BTC. Halving events will continue to occur until the amount of new Bitcoin introduced into the economy becomes less than 1 Satoshi. This is expected to happen around the year 2,140. All 21 million Bitcoins will have been mined. Once all Bitcoins have been mined, the block reward will only consist of transaction fees.

    Technical Aspects Continued

    Understanding Nodes

    Straight from the Bitcoin.it wiki

    Any computer that connects to the Bitcoin network is called a node. Nodes that fully verify all of the rules of Bitcoin are called full nodes.

    In other words, full nodes are what verify the Bitcoin blockchain and they play a crucial role in maintaining the decentralized network. Full nodes store the entirety of the blockchain and validate transactions. Anyone can participate in the Bitcoin network and run a full node. Bitcoin.org has information on how to set up a full node. Running a full node also gives you wallet capabilities and the ability to query the blockchain.

    For more information on Bitcoin nodes, see Andreas Antonopoulos's Q&A on the role of nodes.

    What is a Fork?

    A fork is a divergence in a blockchain. Since Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer network, there's an overall set of rules (protocol) in which participants within the network must abide by. These rules are put in place to form network consensus. Forks occur when implementations must be made to the blockchain or if there is disagreement amongst the network on how consensus should be achieved.

    Soft Fork vs Hard Fork

    The difference between soft and hard forks lies in compatibility. Soft forks are backwards compatible, hard forks are not. Think of soft forks as software upgrades to the blockchain, whereas hard forks are a software upgrade that warrant a completely new blockchain.

    During a soft fork, miners and nodes upgrade their software to support new consensus rules. Nodes that do not upgrade will still accept the new blockchain.

    Examples of Bitcoin soft forks include:

    A hard fork can be thought of as the creation of a new blockchain that X percentage of the community decides to migrate too. During a hard fork, miners and nodes upgrade their software to support new consensus rules, Nodes that do not upgrade are invalid and cannot accept the new blockchain.

    Examples of Bitcoin hard forks include:

    • Bitcoin Cash
    • Bitcoin Gold

    Note that these are completely different blockchains and independent from the Bitcoin blockchain. If you try to send Bitcoin to one of these blockchains, the transaction will fail.

    A Case For Bitcoin in a World of Centralization

    Our current financial system is centralized, which means the ledger(s) that operate within this centralized system are subjugated to control, manipulation, fraud, and many other negative aspects that come with this system. There are also pros that come with a centralized system, such as the ability to swiftly make decisions. However, at some point, the cons outweigh the pros, and change is needed. What makes Bitcoin so special as opposed to our current financial system is that Bitcoin allows for the decentralized transfer of money. Not one person owns the Bitcoin network, everybody does. Not one person controls Bitcoin, everybody does. A decentralized system in theory removes much of the baggage that comes with a centralized system. Not to say the Bitcoin network doesn't have its problems (wink wink it does), and there's much debate amongst the community as to how to go about solving these issues. But even tiny steps are significant steps in the world of blockchain, and I believe Bitcoin will ultimately help to democratize our financial system, whether or not you believe it is here to stay for good.

    Final Conclusions

    Well that was a lot of words… Anyways I hope this guide was beneficial, especially to you crypto newbies out there. You may have come into this realm not expecting there to be an abundance of information to learn about. I know I didn't. Bitcoin is only the tip of the iceberg, but now that you have a fundamental understanding of Bitcoin, learning about other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, and Ethereum will come more naturally.

    Feel free to ask questions below! I'm sure either the community or myself would be happy to answer your questions.

    Thanks for reading!

    submitted by /u/MrCryptoDude
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    Yahoo Japan Buys Stake in Cryptocurrency Exchange

    Posted: 10 May 2018 01:30 AM PDT
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