Compare the OBV (orange) with candlewick bottoms (blue):


(Please alert me if the image is not visible)

There will be proper demand of Bitcoin regardless of it being legal or illegal in the US, I can guarantee you that.

I would call it a gamble more than an investment. There are so many things that can go south, and one of them is precisely the very real possibility of it being declared illegal by one or more Governments.

I agree that after we reached $20 at the end of January there was an explosion of speculative activity around Bitcoin, and that's why the price skyrocketed so fast. But real demand besides of speculation will grow steadily and quicker than before, now that Bitcoin has been exposed to the whole world.

Probably not in the short term, 100% sure in the long term.

And the value of the title depreciates.
_{To be clear, I don't even dislike you. But getting to Hero Member this fast should tell you something.}

Based on facts: the demand created by a single Darknet website (Silk Road) + a single gambling website (Satoshidice) is enough to take one BTC to be worth aprox. 14 of your beloved US dollars. Maybe you do not understand that 14 (fourteen) dollars for something like Bitcoin is not trivial (it was worth $0.079 in May 2010 - did you know?)

This is only the beginning. Bitcoin may be very complicated for you, I bet you are well over 30 yo - someone younger wouldn't feel it's so complicated. In fact, we will have a a new generation coming that will grow knowing that there is an "anonymous cash of the internet" in the wild, and they will understand it naturally, something you obviously do not do.

What I'm trying to explain you is that Bitcoin has a HUGE growth potential. It's price already went from $0.07 to $14 because of real but extremely reuced demand, that's a x200 increase in 1 year because of Satoshidice and Silk Road.

And then you have the bubbles, the one we are having now and the 2011 one, created by pure speculative mania - but we can leave those out and concetrate only on real economy demand.

Just wait for more people to slowly understand Bitcoin. For them to understand that they can use it to move freely their wealth - because you knew that there are a lot of countries where there are strict financial controls that restrict people's freedom, don't you? I can tell you a real story it happened to me in Argentina if you wish. And just wait for the "black market" to see how good can be BTC for them (Dread Pirate Roberts is a visionary, but give to his "folks" some years to understand BTC), and for more gambling sites to embrace it.

Sure, it will be a slow process. And that's why is retarded to believe that BTC is a get-rich-quick scheme, and that it will be at 6 figures next year. But there is a fact: BTC won't go away easily. It's here to stay. And solves a lot of real life, important problems related to monetary freedom, and that matter to millions of people in the world, regardless of what the US says.

And think about something, Coinseeker: there have been threats of Bitcoin being declared illegal since day 1. Just use the search of these forums and check the debates about Wikileaks accepting BTC, and how worried Satoshi was (in fact he asked Assange to please don't - read and learn, it's all on the forums). And what you call "a dream with zero basis on reality", is what happened. Real demand grew. And it's growing. And the core demand for BTC is at those who want monetary freedom, not a "quick minitransactions protocol". Because the core characterisitics of Bitcoin are a) decentralized and b) trust-free, and hence unseizable and uncontrollable by Governments. And that very characteristics will attract a very specific real and powerful demand, as they did with Satoshidice and Silk Road.

I wonder what would you have told me in 2010 when bitcoin was at 0.0x, if I told you that some day one BTC was going to be worth $14 on "real demand".

Coinseeker, if you want a fast transaction system for minipayments go and use Dwolla, or even better: Ripple. Bitcoin is not that.

Wow!  A whole $14?  So the plan is to spawn a new world currency off of black market sales and gambling, all while it's made illegal?  Good luck with that.


No, we'll have Ripple or something even better.  The first of anything is never the best.  Bitcoin is no exception.


It has a tremendous growth potential but not without mass adoption and you can't have mass adoption without conforming to the law.  


Sure could...once you submit to regulations.

 Again, you're basing the entire future of Bitcoin on illegal operations.  What legitimate business is going to want to deal with Bitcoin?  You're plan alienates the majority of businesses in the world.  


All very true, if done within the confines of the law.  Your black market, illegal strategy is a loser bro.  Just saying.  No chance.


It will attract the only people that care about such things...speculators and criminals.  Much like what we see now.  Liberty Reserve just got crushed.  I'm sure many of those folks are headed right to Bitcoin.  You probably think that's great.  Let's sign up the cartels and dictators of the world.  Bitcoin will survive but as nothing more than a tiny little black market payment option, that the masses would never deal with.


I absolutely plan to use Ripple.  The funny thing is, I believe Ripple is going to save Bitcoin from the thinking like yours.  It will drag Bitcoin, kicking and screaming, into compliance of regulations.  There's really no stopping it.  The big money investors and business owners will see to it.  One day soon, you're going to look at your Bitcoin holdings and look at the markets and say, "Thank [enter diety] for Ripple".  Ripple is going to legitimize Bitcoin and allow it to achieve mass adoption.  That's what I speculate and that's why I have a few BTC.

BTW-Thanks for the civilized discourse this time.  If you attack me, I'll attack you back but if you are civil, I'll be civil right back.