The Bitcoin phenomenon-On the Edge with Max Keiser-08-05-2011

[mrmojoman4]

this guy is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo high

love bitcoins though

[Free3dTitles]

Bitcoin has Great potential, I've bought a few.

[powpanda]

@amg90069 you cannot hack the bitcoins. if you could, then you could similarly hack all the electronic money transfers in the world. look up public-key cryptography in wiki for an overview.

[powpanda]

@amg90069 if someone steals your cash, what is the government gonna do for you? nothin

[mphello]

I think Rick Falkvinge prepares for his interviews by drinking a quart of vodka right before. (jk)

( I know he's not drunk or dumb. Everything he says is intelligent and important. But, I can't help being amused by his way of talking.)

[mphello]

5m0s Uh-oh! I don't trust mathematics!

(just kidding)

[choobie12]

The bitcoin communication protocol has to be randomized such that the information content cannot be intercepted and dumped, this includes statistical internet analytical methods.

[Miskodxx]

You have bitcoins, you want bitcoins, you want fun.

Check here: minethings. com/miners/index/+48061

[skilo1983]

God damn! what an annoying ass intro...

[anonanonanon12]

why does max keiser love bit coin so much , it is the mother of all fiats ffs

[neuronstorm]

@amg90069 "Why can't some hacker print and spend a bunch of bit coins?"

If you're going to worry about the crypto behind bitcoin - then you may as well worry about the crypto that secures all your online banking, or even the crypto the military uses to keep secrets.

It would take some pretty amazing discoveries in computer science and maths to put these at risk. They're likely safe for decades at least. Time enough to modify algorithms if theoretical attacks look more likely.

[westwaytv]

@amg90069 lol you could see Max smirking when he said it

[westwaytv]

This guy's distinctions between Gold & Silver vs BC are fatuous at best. I saw nothing in what he described that couldn't be done with an electronic digital metal currency with the added bonus of transacting with something of value. I really don't understand why MK is pushing this.

[powpanda]

@westwaytv The technical achievement of bitcoin is that it solves the problem of wiki/Double-spending without resorting to a centralized control. Also, gold and silver are inherently valueless - their value is derived from the community that accepts them as a store of value.

[jakesteel1]

@powpanda

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How are gold and silver "inherently valueless"? Thats a near insane comment.

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As far as gold, no other metal has the ductility, reflectivity, resistance to corrosion, and the ability to be used as a thermal and electrical conductor. Its used in everything from electronics to nanotechnology.

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Silver's industrial applications require 487 million ounces a year and climbing, demand to outpace production by 2015.

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People are delusional.

[powpanda]

@jakesteel1 the price of high-quality steel is 10c/kg. Even the price of carbon fibre is only $10/kg. Those materials have vastly more useful properties and uses in industry than gold and silver.

If you actually read in wiki the industrial uses of gold, most of them are to do with making gold jewellery or being added to very expensive electronics to create snob appeal. I don't deny that they can be very useful, but their 'industrial price' is no more than $5/kg.

[jakesteel1]

@powpanda

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The fact is that the technology industry has continued to use gold regardless of price. They would love to use something cheaper but they haven't because no other metal exhibits its properties.

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I see that you completely glossed over the industrial importance of silver.

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As far as "raising the level of debate", how about limiting the lies and disinformation which are clearly meant to serve your own self interest.

[powpanda]

@jakesteel1 OK Instead of more rhetoric why don't you just read wiki/Gold#Industry.

The useful properties of gold are that it is corrosion resistant, and that it dissipates heat well. Do you realise how many other elements have these properties?

This wiki page shoes gold use in industry:

* gold solder for making gold jewellery

* gold thread embroidery

* gold coloring and plating

These things are either decorative or use minute amounts of gold plating. Please read more details.

[powpanda]

@jakesteel1 I am telling you this as a scientist who worked with many engineers in the past. Gold does have useful propeties like many other elements. But in industry it is used as plating or for decorative purposes. McLaren formula 1 team uses it as a heatsink because they have unlimited budget. My point is if the world were run by engineers, gold would cost at MOST $5/kg.

Silver is the mostly the same. Take a look at wiki/Silver#Applications

[powpanda]

@jakesteel1 Also what self interest are you talking about? I myself am buying gold and silver, but only to use it as a store of value. I am not going to pretend to build anything out of it. So what lies and disinformation are you talking about?

[powpanda]

@jakesteel1 Also try to have some respect for people even if you disagree with them. Let's raise the level of debate from what you are probably used to.

[SpinifexPeople]

How many years will it take before online shops accept bitcoins?

[stellaconcepts]

the dudes lost at least 1/2 of his money with bitcoins trading at $8 now.

[egokick]

@stellaconcepts It's going to take a while for bitcoin to recover, but I'm in it for the long term. 

[stellaconcepts]

@egokick why bother with it? seriously? use it when you need to use it - but apart from that - why bother? any use above required use is speculation.

[egokick]

@stellaconcepts because it's not just about making money for me, it's the ideals I hold and the huge potential I see in this currency.

[hawks5999]

@stellaconcepts I think he's been in since before the last time we were at $7-$8.

It was 5/29 that he released an article talking about going all in. We were right around $8 then. So he's likely down a little (or none).

[RodCornholio]

@amg90069 I NEVER wrote that they are safe. I simply answered the question as to why some hacker can't print and spend a bunch of bitcoins. I'm sure they've tried. Bitcoins are not printed (like the U.S. government does) they are mined/minted in a way which makes counterfeiting them so difficult that resources would be better spent MINING them...or counterfeiting paper (i.e. U.S. dollar) currency.

[ahtremblay]

The swiss guy speaks like agent smith in the matrix. I kid you not.

[Jzarecta]

Great talk about bitcoin and other of the things that have been generated around it such as the mtgrox issue. I really want to get some bitcoins even if its only memorabilia. :D

[RodCornholio]

@amg90069 Because no one has figured out how to hack the extremely challenging math it requires to "mint" the bitcoins.

[maracanazo50]

Golds Up mother Fuckers ...and Bitcoin owners can lick my Balls. You fuckers been had lika mother fucken Baby....Rick Falkvinge Lick my asshole you DUMBass....Little btich and his electrons....Fucken Baby youve been had....I see you like getting fucked.....There is nothing here No physical goods at all...Lol what a stupid interview...Keep up the Good work Max and keep exposing these jokers

[xdrew70]

This Falkvinge is so boring that my eyes fell asleep. I spent only so much time listening to him .. before i decided that i have a life to live and this monotone doesnt do it for me.

[WUW2no]

Well Max now I think you shit your leg, the only thing you can do with Bitcoin is to send it to other whom use Bitcoin, you can not remelt it like gold and silver, it is just another currency backed up by ear!

[WUW2no]

@WUW2no *Air not ear

[ddnguyen278]

The main factors for a currency valuation i feel are supply, perceptive worth and liquidity. That's pretty much what is driving bitcoin valuation. Initially only a few bitions were available because it was such a niche, as more people became aware of bitcons they started to "mine" and trade it pumping up valuation.

I believe bitcon hit a high of 31 dollars per coin at its high, this was mostly due to speculation. Now it's trading at a more stable rate as the market matures. That's my opinion.

[metagordian]

sooooo dour dapper grrr good idea bad speaker

[mrdoonbeg]

Very interesting! However I think this guy should go into hypnotism or something similar.

[stoneskunky]

@mrdoonbeg Maybe he is hypnotizing us! :)

[dataphreak]

This guy is a wet blanket. Also, bitcoin is crashing. Hope this saves it. Maybe it's supposed to be crashing right now? Still Every time there is a media report on it, the price jumps up. Also, the reason the gox hack didn't end BTC is because they froze bitcoins on their exchange at 14$. Because they are the primary exchange, (Handling 90% of all market exchanges) this held the illusion of the market not crashing until the prices normalized. But if you watch, since then, BTC has slowly declined

[dataphreak]

This guy is a wet blanket. Also, bitcoin is crashing. Hope this saves it. Maybe it's supposed to be crashing right now? Still Every time there is a media report on it, the price jumps up. Also, the reason the gox hack didn't end BTC is because they froze bitcoins on their exchange at 14$. Because they are the primary exchange, (Handling 90% of all market exchanges) this held the illusion of the market not crashing until the prices normalized. But if you watch, since then, btc has slowly declined

[dataphreak]

This guy is a wet blanket. Also, bitcoin is crashing. Hope this saves it. Maybe it's supposed to be crashing right now? Still Every time there is a media report on it, the price jumps up.

[dataphreak]

This guy is a wet blanket. Also, bitcoin is crashing. Hope this saves it. Maybe it's supposed to be crashing right now?

[westwaytv]

@dataphreak Is this guy a wet blanket?

[Lightrider4444]

Bitcoin can be an interesting transitional technology between our current monetary system and a resource based economy. The abusive, destructive and wasteful nature of our current monetary system and associated institutions are not conducive to sustaining humans and our environment. If we do not shift our values, we will not survive the coming collapse.

[lextalionis2001]

the main issue from where I sit is

Barrier to entry

which is low low low

the idea is great however

[PoboyMusic]

@mikailmari har har haven't heard that one yet.

[bgeron1]

Actually, there is *no encryption at all* in Bitcoin. Signing (cryptography) and hashing, but not encryption.

[DrunkenPhil0sopher]

@bgeron1 Actually, digital signing *is* encryption. A digital signature is created when you hash a document and then encrypt that hash with your private key. Anyone with your public key can create their own hash, decrypt your hash using your public key, and compare hashes. If they match, then the document *must* have come from you, and *must* have been unaltered. Bitcoin addresses are just public keys.

[bgeron1]

@DrunkenPhil0sopher This holds for elliptic curve crypto and RSA, but not in general. DSA cannot encrypt, but it is crypto. But I'm getting pedantic.

[mphello]

The dumbass hypocrite AGW-denier who blames BITCOINS for increasing AGW shows just how pathetic and stupid these AGW-denier/911-denier/HIV-AIDS­-deniers are. (Note how this proves that even these AGW-deniers really DO know that AGW is real and serious, but they gotta maintain their denial religion.)

How about attacking GLOBAL OVERPOPULATION, COAL-FIRED-POWERED PLANTS, OIL-POWERED CARS, and MEAT INDUSTRY FIRST?

[martinbelmont]

@mphello and which energy for should we use then.

[mphello]

Rick Falkvinge: elegant, funny, to-the-point, brilliant, genius!

[ifyouseakaimee]

Max didn't seem all that convinced given his smiling and almost apparent difficulty to keep from laughing.

[Gaudapada108]

Counter-Party Risk

The BitCoin has no intrinsic value, and more counter-party risk than the US Federal Reserve Note. In my opinion, the only advantage to having a currency which as no intrinsic value is in the case of a sovereign nation issuing a debt free currency, such as the red seal US Note.

[Gaudapada108]

Limited Quantity

There will only be a limited number of BitCoins, but there is no limit to the number of other virtual currencies that may be issued. What makes BitCoin superior to any other virtual currency that may be issued? What if another virtual currency has superior encryption or is accepted to pay taxes?

[Gaudapada108]

Encryption

This is a limitation, not an advantage. Excepting the proper use of OTP (One Time Pads), all encryption is breakable, it is simply a function of how much time is required, and the time required is always wildly overestimated.

[just1fix2004]

I don't know what to think,due to the fact that the value rises makes me wonder. I'd like to see a monetary system that stays fixed, so a guy knows what he has.

[Trancecend]

Funny, people who can't even spell properly somehow have the qualifications to spell doom for Bitcoin. Call it a ponzi scheme and whatever. They have not watched the video above, and they are here to serve their own interests.

Can we please have a global currency soon? Available to everyone, controlled by no one? We want to build a better tomorrow, not all this fucking bickering.

[1imtrying]

He's drunk!?

[blazingpenguin]

This guy really needs to speak faster so that people can actually stay interested

[jonalbanese]

how many bitcoins do i get for goats........what are they going to do with all the usd

burn it.........scam,,,,, even if the us dollar devalues by 50% you can still buy goats

So they will have the fiat currency and you will have a thumb drive with an your secret pass on it..... im selling tickets to mars.... buy them now before they go up

[cosy18]

sell sell bitcoins i want to buy them cheaply

[MrShittyFag]

Oh, he's swedish. I thought he was retarded for the entire interview.

[colinjockgraham]

MAX U are a hyrocrite, you pimp out global warming and bitcoins. to make bitcoins u have to burn coal to run the PC to create them. bitcoins = ponzzie scheme

[eafwification]

Excellent Interview. I am 20% in USD and 80% in Bitcoin. Great points. Kudos Max!

[jlbaptista]

Bitcoins is an excellent payment tool for anonymous assassinations. Of course there will be a criminal element. Criminals use bitcoins like they use money. Is that not the point. For more info on assassination politics goto my website - scroll down and click on assassination archives.

[homertalk]

You can transfer money with Paypal pretty fast.

[optionsupdate]

is there a simple way to understand bitcoin

[ddnguyen278]

@optionsupdate Bitcoins is virtual money, that's the gist of it. It has some good properties such as it can't be duplicated easily, can't be "made" easily and is hard to trace.

The nitty gritty is its created using computers and software which look for very big numbers and then encrypts them. When you encrypt anything u produce 2 "keys", the public and private keys. You give everyone the public key but the private you keep for yourself. The private key is the valuable part of Bitcoins.

[elboertjie]

@ddnguyen278 How does the exchange rate work for Bitcoins? I looked at an exchange (bitcoincharts) and the USD value is at 8 currently. Does this mean that it costs 8 US dollars to purchase 1 bitcoin? If that is the case, why have the value of Bitcoins fell in the last few days? The US dollar is getting weaker, especially after the lowering of the their credit ratings, so shouldn't the Bitcoin increase in value against the dollar? Any info appreciated. Thank you

[ddnguyen278]

@elboertjie Bitcoins being a currency can be traded for other currency, like how Euros can be converted to Dollars but you don't get 1 dollar for every 1 euro, that is done through a currency exchange like a bank or this case a currency market.

The currency exchange allows people on both side of the aisle to buy and sell bitcoins in their native currency and as a collective they determine what its worth. Many factors affect this exchange price, such as supply, demand and external factors..

[elboertjie]

@ddnguyen278 Thanks for the response. My question was more directed at the exchange rate for Bitcoins as opposed to what exchanges and exchange rates are. Why did it cost more US dollars in the past to purchase Bitcoins and why is it getting even cheaper now that the USA credit rating has been dropped? It is currently trading at 8 dollars per bitcoin, right?

[davidoski2]

@elboertjie

because Bitcoin exchange rate is defined by demant/supply factor, not some US dollar drop in value set by corrupt bankers.

[elboertjie]

@davidoski2 Thanks for the response again, but I seem to be not making my questions clear enough: Why is Bitcoin getting weaker when the US dollar is getting weaker? Are people panicking and thus selling their bitcoins for dollars again to get money back? My opinion is: if the US dollar is getting weaker, buy more Bitcoins, but the trends shows otherwise. This is my question: why?

[kaosstar]

@elboertjie I'd argue that's it's because bitcoins are strongly tied to the dollar. The vast majority of currency exchanges are done in USD, and bitcoins are pretty well worthless for anything else.

[RodCornholio]

@optionsupdate Sure. It is a genuine currency like the British Pound (or any other you are familiar with). 1 "coin" is "minted" by computers doing VERY difficult math (making each coin rare). They are limited to 21 million ever being minted. Each coin can be divided up like one dollar can equal 100 pennies (with MUCH smaller denominations available so you can spend it easily). They are sent and received as easily as texting.

[goldengyrl2010]

Remember "google" wasn't built in a day, and is still not perfect.

[greggh]

Max. Please. Enough with the bitcoins.

[slhines7]

@greggh I agree and am personally so sick of hearing about these ponzi scheme "bit" AIR !

[trademarc66]

BitCoin is increasing AGW? I hear it takes a lot of electricity to 'mine' them. That is if you believe in such ideas.

[goldengyrl2010]

@trademarc66 You believe in more ridiculous things like "god".  Do your own research, but don't hate on those intelligent enough to get BitCoins early in the game. BitcCoin is to maintain the value of the money you spend everyday without cashing in your physical gold and silver. Max would not recommend BitCoin if it was not legit.

[mphello]

@goldengyrl2010 GREAT comment! Keep up the good fight!

[trademarc66]

Looks like BitCoin has lost about half its value in the past couple weeks at least on the Mt. Gox Exchange.

[MyTube22T]

I don't get the portable part. It needs an electronic device like a computer to send money.

[RodCornholio]

@MyTube22T "Portable" means that it is handier/convenient than, say, a gold brick. Dollars are portable, debit/credit cards, etc.

[MyTube22T]

@RodCornholio Thanks but I know what the word "portable" means. What I meant in "I don't get the portable part" was that, how can bitcoins be portable when one needs a device to access the system. Can't carry them in your pocket like coins can you?

[camellia0x]

@MyTube22T Yes, you can carry them on a smartphone, which fits in your pocket.

[RodCornholio]

@MyTube22T True, they are not physical coinage (thankfully). The missing links (i.e. perhaps a loadable card & Coke machines that will read it) are wide open business opportunities in this pioneer-stage. It's a very exciting time to live (unless the violent hand of government steps in). Bitcoin brings with it a potential future of far less government influence on free choices.

[MyTube22T]

This guy's voice reminds me of Mr. Smith in the Matrix.