Donations in bitcoins?

[uyjulian]

Just a suggestion...

donations in bitcoins?

[AdrenalinDragon]

Bitcoins? What's that?

[uyjulian]

http://bitcoin.org/

[M11k4]

Despite reading the link and FAQ, it still is a bit unclear. A quick explanation in plain language? Like what's a Bitcoin worth and the easiest way to get some and change them back to real currency?

[AdrenalinDragon]

So it's basically the same as PayPal?

[M11k4]

So it's basically the same as PayPal?

Doesn't look like it. I mean sure it's a way to pay online, but it's a made up currency that's hard to acquire. It looks like it could take off eventually though. Would be interested in more experiences from people.

[uyjulian]

I have .0000162 BTC right now (some from donation for my minecraft mod)

[tensorpudding]

I don't fully understand bitcoin, but I've read a good bit about it so I'll explain a bit...

Bitcoin is a alternative digital currency backed not by a central bank, or an intermediary like PayPal. A bitcoin is merely a digital abstraction that is verified by distributed computer processing power. In essence, computers with Bitcoin programs running are simulating a currency market where currency is being traded by different people. When someone "gives" someone a bitcoin, it's verified by this computer network that runs on all the Bitcoin users' computers.

The fact that this transaction is verified by the network allows transactions between two parties to be an actual exchange of currency, where the party that is paying no longer has the bitcoin, and the party that is receiving is recognized as owning the bitcoin (otherwise it'd be trivially easy for one person to give a bitcoin but then try to use it again) It's verified using cryptography techniques which are infeasible to break for regular people; the only way to defraud the system is to provide more CPU power than the combined total of people who are running Bitcoin.

Since it is independent of countries and such, it's sometimes used as an alternative currency that has no paper trail (a few people use it for illegal things for this reason, but the major use of it so far has just been for things like this donation thing, where someone wants to accept money without having to worry about exchange rates or PayPal).

It has no set "value" in terms of other currencies (just like a real currency), its exchange rate varies depending on how much people want to pay for a bitcoin...you can buy bitcoins from a site like Mt. Gox, and then spend them at places that accept bitcoins.

I don't think it's worthwhile for Tom to accept bitcoins as donation unless he actually uses bitcoins for something though.

[uyjulian]

I don't fully understand bitcoin, but I've read a good bit about it so I'll explain a bit...

Bitcoin is a alternative digital currency backed not by a central bank, or an intermediary like PayPal. A bitcoin is merely a digital abstraction that is verified by distributed computer processing power. In essence, computers with Bitcoin programs running are simulating a currency market where currency is being traded by different people. When someone "gives" someone a bitcoin, it's verified by this computer network that runs on all the Bitcoin users' computers.

The fact that this transaction is verified by the network allows transactions between two parties to be an actual exchange of currency, where the party that is paying no longer has the bitcoin, and the party that is receiving is recognized as owning the bitcoin (otherwise it'd be trivially easy for one person to give a bitcoin but then try to use it again) It's verified using cryptography techniques which are infeasible to break for regular people; the only way to defraud the system is to provide more CPU power than the combined total of people who are running Bitcoin.

Since it is independent of countries and such, it's sometimes used as an alternative currency that has no paper trail (a few people use it for illegal things for this reason, but the major use of it so far has just been for things like this donation thing, where someone wants to accept money without having to worry about exchange rates or PayPal).

It has no set "value" in terms of other currencies (just like a real currency), its exchange rate varies depending on how much people want to pay for a bitcoin...you can buy bitcoins from a site like Mt. Gox, and then spend them at places that accept bitcoins.

I don't think it's worthwhile for Tom to accept bitcoins as donation unless he actually uses bitcoins for something though.

Bitpay: bitcoins > $ and back

many more does that

I use bitcoins for donation of my minecraft mod.

[James]

I have .0000162 BTC right now (some from donation for my minecraft mod)

At $73/bitcoin, you have around one-tenth of one cent USD. Assuming $10/hr for a standard entry-level job, earning 0.0000162 BTC is the equivalent of working for approximately four-tenths of a second. Seems hardly worth the time to set up and manage your bitcoins if people aren't willing to donate more than that...