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You can't really use transaction volume as any real measure of the bitcoin economy. It's quite normal (and recommended) for owners to transfer their coins betwe

by lukev 14y ago

You can't really use transaction volume as any real measure of the bitcoin economy. It's quite normal (and recommended) for owners to transfer their coins between multiple wallets for a variety of reasons. There's no way to tell from looking at the transaction history whether transactions represent actual exchanges or just a holder moving coins around internally.

tokenadult 14y ago
It's quite normal (and recommended) for owners to transfer their coins between multiple wallets for a variety of reasons. I've been trying to follow most of the Bitcoin stories submitted here on Hacker News, but I have somehow missed that advice. What are some of the links to user tips for using Bitcoins? What are some of the reasons for transferring Bitcoins between multiple wallets owned by the same owner?
- aristidb 14y ago
  Presumably to make it harder to track down transactions to individuals?
  - briandear 14y ago
    Money laundering, buying illegal stuff, you know pretty much the only reasons for real people (other than hacker enthusists) for using BCs. The high volatility mixed with low trade volumes make the currency's value as a hedge against the dollar painfully useless. If people wanted a 'safe' currency, BC is the wrong answer, CHF is a far better choice. But, my hypothesis is that Bit Coiners want untraceable transactions for nefarious reasons. I'm not against bitcoin, but let's not be delusional and pretend that it's main benefit is stability. It seems that many bitcoin users are under the delusion that their $100 purchases at Amazon are of interest to the authorities. The people that most need financial anonymity are the ones that should least likely get it. The last thing I want is for North Korea to start settling transactions with Syria using bitcoin, but that's exactly what bitcoin will be used for if it isn't already. Bitcoiners are the hacker equivalent of the Glen Beck types that hoard gold for the coming apocalypse.
    - krasin 14y ago
      You certainly know that North Korea leaders keep money in Swiss banks? see, for example, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7442188/Kim-Jong-il-keeps-4bn-emergency-fund-in-European-banks.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/74... Bitcoin is not good for dictator states, because it allows people to fund initiatives like wikileaks w/o a risk to be punished.
    - rishonik 14y ago
      > Money laundering, buying illegal stuff, you know pretty much the only reasons for real people (other than hacker enthusists) for using BCs. My reason for using them and wanting them to see wider adoption is because PayPal sucks. YCombinator is somewhat invested in Bitcoin because they know a good possibility when they see one. The rest of your arguments can also be made about cash, with the added exception that my bitcoins, bought at about $4, have outperformed gold, the dollar, the Dow and NYSE even with the price crash last year. I held my btc and have gathered more since. Even with price averaging, I'm doing better than my friends in the stock market.
    - steve19 14y ago
      PGP is only useful for criminals, spies and other unsavory elements of society. Just because I don't wish to share my electronic transactions with Visa, it does mean I am doing anything illegal.
- lukev 14y ago
  Security, from both hacking and tracing.
- ojiikun 14y ago
  The primary reason is that you want keep two wallets. One you treat like a safe-deposit box, keeping the secret keys strongly encrypted or on removable storage and only loading them onto very trusted computers to make transactions and then wiping them. The second you treat more like the eponymous 'wallet' and use for day-to-day stuff where the constant security measures would be impractical. Thus, you occasionally need to transfer money to/from your two accounts. There is, of course, the additional measure of creating yet additional accounts to which funds are transfered for the sake of making payments that you want more anonymized (read: not traceable back to an account you use more commonly for possible more legit stuff).
lwat 14y ago
There is another, better way of measuring bitcoin velocity in a more meaningful way - Bitcoin Days. It gives more weight to transactions for coins that's not been spent in a while. http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/845/what-are-bitcoin-days-destroyed http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/845/what-are-bitc...

by lukev 14y ago

tokenadult 14y ago

It's quite normal (and recommended) for owners to transfer their coins between multiple wallets for a variety of reasons. I've been trying to follow most of the Bitcoin stories submitted here on Hacker News, but I have somehow missed that advice. What are some of the links to user tips for using Bitcoins? What are some of the reasons for transferring Bitcoins between multiple wallets owned by the same owner?

aristidb 14y ago
Presumably to make it harder to track down transactions to individuals?
- briandear 14y ago
  Money laundering, buying illegal stuff, you know pretty much the only reasons for real people (other than hacker enthusists) for using BCs. The high volatility mixed with low trade volumes make the currency's value as a hedge against the dollar painfully useless. If people wanted a 'safe' currency, BC is the wrong answer, CHF is a far better choice. But, my hypothesis is that Bit Coiners want untraceable transactions for nefarious reasons. I'm not against bitcoin, but let's not be delusional and pretend that it's main benefit is stability. It seems that many bitcoin users are under the delusion that their $100 purchases at Amazon are of interest to the authorities. The people that most need financial anonymity are the ones that should least likely get it. The last thing I want is for North Korea to start settling transactions with Syria using bitcoin, but that's exactly what bitcoin will be used for if it isn't already. Bitcoiners are the hacker equivalent of the Glen Beck types that hoard gold for the coming apocalypse.
  - krasin 14y ago
    You certainly know that North Korea leaders keep money in Swiss banks? see, for example, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7442188/Kim-Jong-il-keeps-4bn-emergency-fund-in-European-banks.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/74... Bitcoin is not good for dictator states, because it allows people to fund initiatives like wikileaks w/o a risk to be punished.
  - rishonik 14y ago
    > Money laundering, buying illegal stuff, you know pretty much the only reasons for real people (other than hacker enthusists) for using BCs. My reason for using them and wanting them to see wider adoption is because PayPal sucks. YCombinator is somewhat invested in Bitcoin because they know a good possibility when they see one. The rest of your arguments can also be made about cash, with the added exception that my bitcoins, bought at about $4, have outperformed gold, the dollar, the Dow and NYSE even with the price crash last year. I held my btc and have gathered more since. Even with price averaging, I'm doing better than my friends in the stock market.
  - steve19 14y ago
    PGP is only useful for criminals, spies and other unsavory elements of society. Just because I don't wish to share my electronic transactions with Visa, it does mean I am doing anything illegal.
lukev 14y ago
Security, from both hacking and tracing.
ojiikun 14y ago
The primary reason is that you want keep two wallets. One you treat like a safe-deposit box, keeping the secret keys strongly encrypted or on removable storage and only loading them onto very trusted computers to make transactions and then wiping them. The second you treat more like the eponymous 'wallet' and use for day-to-day stuff where the constant security measures would be impractical. Thus, you occasionally need to transfer money to/from your two accounts. There is, of course, the additional measure of creating yet additional accounts to which funds are transfered for the sake of making payments that you want more anonymized (read: not traceable back to an account you use more commonly for possible more legit stuff).

lwat 14y ago

There is another, better way of measuring bitcoin velocity in a more meaningful way - Bitcoin Days. It gives more weight to transactions for coins that's not been spent in a while. http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/845/what-are-bitcoin-days-destroyed http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/845/what-are-bitc...