Recently, my editor at this intrepid publication told me he was going to start paying me in bitcoins.Like any logical person, I responded by punching him in the face."Buthe cried -- literally."Bitcoin is a virtual currency, Bob.That's way better than the plain old U.S.dollar," he whined, holding his bleeding nose.I should've known the blubberer and the bubbler would be one and the same.[For a humorous take on the tech industry's shenanigans, subscribe to Robert X. Cringely's Notes from the Underground newsletter and follow Cringely on Twitter.| Check out InfoWorld TechBrief, your source for quick, smart views on the news you'll be talking about -- subscribe today.]If you ask me -- by default, you are, simply because you're reading now -- bitcoin is an overrated techno-bubble.Bitcoin works fine for now (sort of), but if you're thinking about retiring on a big bag of bitcoins, you can look forward to living out your golden years in a sparsely furnished refrigerator box on the corner of Broke and Why Me.Those just returning from seven years of silence in a Tibetan monastery may not be familiar with the financial fad that is bitcoin.

I'll let its Wikipedia entry sum it up:Bitcoin is an open source peer-to-peer payment network and digital currency introduced in 2009 by pseudonymous developer "Satoshi Nakamoto".Bitcoin has been called a cryptocurrency because it uses public-key cryptography to secure funds.Users send payments by broadcasting digitally signed messages that transfer ownership of bitcoins, the unit of currency.A decentralized global network of specialized computers verifies and timestamps all transactions using a proof-of-work system.The operators of these computers, known as "miners", are rewarded with transaction fees and newly minted bitcoins.Bitcoin has gained a lot of credence since its inception in 2009, especially among techno-hipsters and people who've been burned, scorched, or veritably incinerated in recent years by Wall St. Ponzi artists, hyper-greedy investment banks, lend-crazy mortgage companies, gigantic bailouts based on money our kids haven't even earned yet, and similar hiccups in our meatspace economy.

To them, a virtual currency that works without the need to trust greedy middlemen; isn't subject to government regulation or taxation; is totally secure and anonymous; and seems to be growing exponentially in value -- well, what could be better?That last bit about exponential growth is probably bitcoin's main attraction.To put it in the coma-inducing vernacular of economists and mathematicians, the original value of a bitcoin is to the current value of a bitcoin as a chocolate chip cookie is to the state of Montana.(Substitute your smaller object in comparison to vastly larger object of your choice for similar effect.)Reason 1: What goes up must come downBut this remarkable rise in Bitcoin value is actually the first of three reasons that doom it in the long run.According to NewsBTC, a news site that knows all about the bitcoin market but nothing about humor, the value of a bitcoin was $500 at the beginning of this week and could be $1,000 today or more (in fact, bitcoins were valued at $911.77 at the time of this writing late Thursday evening).

This is why my editor thought I'd be thrilled with a bitcoin salary.He'd pay me for a column today and I could buy a space vacation from that annoying blond British guy with the same money tomorrow.But he's dead wrong.Nothing that fluctuates in value with such volatility (bitcoins have plunged in value in the past, too) can be considered a currency.Rather, it's a commodity, like pork bellies, orange juice, or moments of lucidity on Fox News.bitcoin gratis bekommenHow can I sell a product for the price of a candy bar today and the price of a Volvo next week?bitcoin full tiltThis is great for speculators, but not for folks looking to manage their money over the long term and requiring a currency they can reliably turn liquid to afford goods, services, or the greens fees you so desperately need once you retire.foro bolsa bitcoin

No bank or trader is currently willing to bet against bitcoin value growth, so you can't count on there being a buyer for your coins when you're finally ready to sell them.According to Atlanta’s Police Detective Scott Bowers, the thieves got away with Bitcoin ATM (also called BTM) filled with about US$2,000 as it was recently emptied.What’s more is that one of the perpetrators fired a gun shot, though luckily no one was injured.bitcoin boring reportIt seems that the thieves wanted to get their hands on this machine in particular.bitcoin bot telegramAmanda McCollum, an employee in Midtown's Village Smoke Shop, witnessed the crime.bitcoin rhode islandShe saw that the suspects “walked in, went straight to [the Bitcoin ATM], took it and only it, and walked out.” However, stealing a Bitcoin ATM is not a good idea.bitcoin cebra

While a Lamassu Bitcoin ATM itself is valued at US$7,000, the criminals would not be able to re-sell it because it is registered to the buyer with serial numbers linking them to the original owners.Moreover, no one except the owner will be able to get any bitcoins from the machines while most BTMs don’t hold a lot of cash inside as a rule.Nevertheless, one must be cautious when installing a small BTM in the shop and security measures must be taken to prevent theft.alan sugar bitcoinCo-Founder of CoinOutlet Bitcoin ATM, Eric Grill, told CoinTelegraph: “Thieves see these as machines that have a lot of cash in them just like a traditional ATM machine which obviously they are not.bitcoin ebay ceoYou need to make the machines very difficult to steal.This is exactly why having a small lightweight machine that is a vault for cash is a bad idea.

One of the reasons CoinOutlet went with a large heavy model is based on years of experience with traditional ATMs where people would snatch and grab them making the almost impossible for anyone to steal.This incident is less about Bitcoin ATM.They are steel enclosures so they also aren't easy to get into and we also have a vault inside to protect the cash.” While this is the first case of a BTM robbery in the US, it is not the first.In the beginning of year, CoinTelegraph reported how two BTMs were stolen in Amsterdam in one swoop.One of these machines was a two-way BitAccess BTM from Thai restaurant and the second was a one-way General Bytes BATMtwo from a local cafe, which also served a dual role as the Bitcoin Embassy Amsterdam.“We will just need to be a bit more selective on where exactly to place them,” said the owner of the General Bytes BTM, Martin Wismeijer, who’s also known as Mr.Bitcoin.“On top of that, newly placed BTM's will all be insured against theft.” Username * First Name Last Name Email * Password * Repeat Password * You registration completed successfully.