Can you live on it? Secret CIA mole Betsy Woodruff gives it a whirl. Unfortunately, it won’t help her avoid the IRS, at least until we rein it in.
8 thoughts on “Bitcoin”
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Can you live on it? Secret CIA mole Betsy Woodruff gives it a whirl. Unfortunately, it won’t help her avoid the IRS, at least until we rein it in.
Comments are closed.
It’s a double-edged sword: if you manage to keep your Bitcoin addresses anonymous, then there’s nothing the tax man can do. But if they manage to connect your real world identity to one of the addresses you’ve used, then they’ll likely tax you for any Bitcoin you’ve received and can’t prove you’ve spent. Bitcoin clients tend to generate a new address for each transaction to make this tracking more difficult, but the ledger is (and must be) totally public, so once they’ve found you, you can’t stop them from finding past transactions. There are Bitcoin laundering sites of course, which confuse the trail by exchanging and / or mixing your coins with those of others. It’s a bit risky, but if you consider the Tor-based Silk Road which has remained out of the hands of the authorities even while openly facilitating the sale of drugs, it’s something that can work.
dollars are created by printing presses
I would think that most are not considering the $100 is the largest in circulation these days (and some want to take that away.) So in that respect, dollars and bitcoins are not that far apart.
From the story it sounds like a Bitcoin broker could make some usury with a kiosk in some shopping malls except this was an artificial situation where she had money but wasn’t going to spend it.
Also it reminds me of a story I read about some anonymous assassins bidding site. Bitcoins might also work well with that.
So in that respect, dollars and bitcoins are not that far apart.
The USD too is mostly electronic, that’s true. But there’s no hard cap on the number of USD in existence, while there is for Bitcoin. Or at least there currently is a cap, only time will tell how it will evolve, because if the software is changed (or forked) and enough people go along with it, the rules will change.
My Bitcoin-happy friends tell me that she could have just bought a dozen Visa prepaid cards with coins. You can even get refillable ones if you prefer, but most people prefer the disposable type.
And I still don’t understand bitcoin.
But, since I don’t intend to buy illegal drugs, on the internet or otherwise, I don’t guess I really care.
If I can’t use a “currency” for my daily needs (such as food, drink, transportation, or the occasional umbrella), I see no point in it.
And if you use the regular money from your bank account that you’ve converted to bitcoins to buy Visa prepaid credit cards, which work just like regular money, what have you gained? (You’ve lost the time and effort required to convert your regular money into another form of regular money. What’s the point if you’re not planning on buying illegal drugs?)
Yep. Basically, it’s something you do if you’re paranoid.. or you actually have something to hide – oh wait, that’s everyone isn’t it? 🙂
Suppose you do regular work for someone on the other side of the planet. How are you going to get paid? Wire transfer? Okay, the IRS could see that. You’re okay with that, right? No? Okay, how about Paypal? Not much better anymore, I hear. So.. get the person you’re doing work for to send you some prepaid Visa cards? Sure, that could work, and I expect it might even be easier than getting them to use Bitcoin.
For now.
Never used bitcoin so I am guessing but I am sure that bitcoins are for the sender and receiver both easier to send and receive and are more anonymous. Also you can send almost any amounts
If you are already a Bitcoin enthusiast, you can already use Bitcoin to buy electronic gift cards on your smartphone through Gyft. Not enough reason to start using it if you don’t have other reasons already, but it does reduce the obstacles if you do.
Until it sees much wider adoption, Bitoin is mainly useful for a few niches:
– drugs
– online gambling
– porn (more privacy for the buyer, no chargebacks for the seller)
– amateur strippers
– VPNs and seedboxes to download music / movies without being tracked by the RIAA / MPIAA
– remittance
– cheaper, more convenient and more anonymous donations
– crowdfunding
– transactions with countries where PayPayl doesn’t operate
– transactions with companies or individuals blacklisted by PayPal
– transactions in third world countries without a proper electronic banking infrastructures like Kenya
– tip jars for blogs
– more anonymous donations than through PayPal
For anyone who has a WordPress blog, I recommend the Bitcoin tip jar:
http://terk.co/
You could also simply list a Bitcoin address, or download a customised donate button from blockchain.info, but this plug-in tracks which articles get you the most tips. It costs you nothing, gives you useful information and may attract tips from people who wouldn’t otherwise tip, like yours truly.
If you’re a merchant, you may want to use bitpay. It automatically converts USD prices to BTC prices, and converts back to USD, so you get fast USD payments without chargebacks.
But another good reason to use Bitcoin is simply wanting to stick it to the man. If something like Bitcoin succeeds, it will get governments out of the money business, and to a degree out of our wallets and out of our lives. Governments cannot print Bitcoin and while the exchange rate is still volatile, eventually Bitcoin could help us escape the inflation stealth tax.
It also helps you avoid shenanigans by banks. You don’t have to worry about fractional reserve banking and bankruptcies if you hold your money in Bitcoin, though you do have other things to worry about, like the exchange rate and safe storage of your private keys.
If you have libertarian sympathies, this article may show you why you want to use Bitcoin:
Bitcoin – The Libertarian Introduction