So what?

Let's be honest , most people in this thread have no desire of spending their hard earned coins anytime soon. BTC is more like an electronic improved version of gold. And it's not like I can go to a shop with half an ounce of gold in my hand and buy me a smartphone... at least not for the moment. And I don't care... gold is a commonly accepted store of value nevertheless. Enough for me to hold it and change it back into fiat at need.

If anyone quotes this please save me the lecture about BTC having no intrinsic value as opposed to gold. Perception is value.

Rogoff? Is that the "Excel Error that changed the world" guy? Who singlehandedly influenced much of the Western world's current fiscal policy based on an errant spreadsheet calculation in a 2010 research paper? And of course after the error was discovered, the policies were not revisited? 

If Rogoff says this time is not different, I'm not sure that I should believe him 

+1

Bitcoin is a great transaction currency. That will never go away. Whether BTC is $200 or $2, people somewhere on the internet will use it to transfer value anonymously across the globe.

But it also works as a digital container to hold value, securely, that is impossible to track. In theory it might end up being the ultimate off shore/tax haven/swiss bank account, ever. It can hold millions, it's easy to secure, and no one can ever prove how much of it you own of it or even that you own it at all.

Obviously it's a lot better at the first option, but the 2nd option is coming. The rally to $266 happened because people started hoarding Bitcoins. There will be a point in time where that happens again. The next extended rally, people will simply refuse to sell. There will be no supply. Which is why the price skyrockets. SR peeps start holding instead of selling. Businesses start holding instead of selling. Miners hold a little longer before selling. The price goes up every day people keep hoarding  until it's too tempting not to sell (turns out that was $240-$260 ish). An extended rally turns everyone into a bullish speculative investor.

Turns out, same thing happens to gold. It will just take time for BTC to mature, but that time is coming no question. It is the new digital gold.

What kind of variation? "Order queue filled with 75 minutes worth of market buys?" ;-)

I know, right?

Listen to these guys (especially maloney) struggling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRpwRpLdLDc

The mental anguish is palpable.

+1. Bitcoin is sound money you can actually transact. That's a novel combination.

The problem with this discussion is that there's no one on the Bitcoin side.

Gold bug 1: "I think gold is good."
Gold bug 2: "I also think gold is good."
Gold bug 1: "Ah, question answered then!"

Please bring Jon Matonis to the discussion next time!

I think the government, or at least those that are directing them, have already shown their hand. The FinCen "guidance" was like getting let into a club because you know the bouncers. They want Bitcoin and going forward it is not a question of if BTC survives or not, it is rather who gets control over it, whether they can co-opt it. It is just too close to a digital currency that could be used to track people and it is also close to one (with plug-ins) that can keep people anonymous.

I am pretty sure though that they are underestimating all that it is going to be. It is a Black Swan and Anti-Fragile (See my sig.)

If BTC (and it's technology) has not profoundly SHOCKED you yet, then you don't understand it. 

I don't think many people honestly get what BTC can be. It is like back in the early days of the internet, but now it is ^2 . There is just too much infrastructure, ideas, technology, brilliant experienced people, etc. behind it.

The sort of ironic thing is that the valuation of BTC slips people for a loop and then they really miss the bigger picture.