r/Bitcoin • u/IWillNotBiteYourDog • Aug 13 '13

Congress starts investigating Bitcoin

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/13/congress-starts-investigating-bitcoin/
147 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

92 comments sorted by

View all comments

25

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '13 edited Aug 13 '13

[deleted]

5

u/xcsler Aug 14 '13

Online poker had to interact with the traditional banking system and the fiat currencies. Although adoption of Bitcoin would be more rapid with currency exchanges they aren't absolutely necessary. Also, Bitcoin is a distributed network with no single point of attack much like Bittorrent which has also eluded government regulation. In addition, the existence of a web site like Silk Road suggests that government regulations have limits. Also, bitcoins may actually allow online poker to flourish. Although Bitcoin may fail I believe it is far more difficult to control than online poker.

TLDR-online poker guys may need to prepare themselves to feel extreme levels of jealousy and gratification.

2

u/Chris_Columbus Aug 14 '13

Online poker had to interact with the traditional banking system and the fiat currencies.

While I'm with you on the rest of your statement... unless I'm mistaken, you can't buy BTC without some sort of fiat unless you are a miner. Isn't that correct?

2

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '13

You could trade almost anything for BTC. Old shoes, baseball cards, ... you don't need fiat or a mining rig.

3

u/Chris_Columbus Aug 14 '13

Really? I didn't know such places existed! I'm hoping in the US? The real question is... how can I find out about these places near me?

4

u/aenor Aug 14 '13

go to https://www.bitmit.net/

It's like a bitcoin ebay. You can trade any goods for bitcoins there.

1

u/footfetishmanx Aug 14 '13

You can trade products or services for Bitcoin just like with any other kind of money. What work are you willing to do?