HYPE #bitcoin #blockchain

There have been a few articles lately talking about how bitcoins hype might be diminishing. How could this be? I did some investigation and found that the opposite is true. Also somewhat unfortunately, ISIL is getting more attention than Jesus at the moment. What is bitcoins hype like? and how does that compare with the blockchain which we have been reading about so much lately? Some people have been saying that the sway of the blockchain, with its almost infinite uses, may be out weighing bitcoin in itself.  Worthy of investigation I found that for this purpose I think Google trends is a reasonable authority. #bitcoin on Facebook simply resulted in a mile long role of coinable visa card shares and comments and one ridiculous video. Lined up on this chart are the first few things that came to mind.



Notice that at its peak bitcoin had hit residual coca-cola level. Something that is a good achievement, but then Why anyone would want to google Coca-cola? You can see that ISIL has by far out paced any other grab for attention. Unfortunately reckless violence does that, Getting people to search positive things is a more honourable chore.

The list of cities where bitcoin is searched most frequently looks like the making of hypsteropolis.



Bitcoin now, has a residual level of interest about equal to that of an olive. This is up significantly on last year and the years before. The blockchain is sitting at about one tenth of that, but on a steady rise.



I also wanted to compare bitcoin interest with gold. silver and veganism to see if there were any correlations. No hype connections here.



In conclusion bitcoin hype is alive and kicking. Previous spikes have been pretty significant, nearly hitting a curiosity level equal to that of coca colas background noise. There is definitely no down trend, however there is still a long way to go, with vegans and olives more inquirious.  The hype cycle is clearly in its early stages, who knows where new surges will hit. These charts are a live feed.

#bitcoin #blockchain @googletrends

Bitcoin Booms and the Money Supply

Inflation and deflation are gathering an increasing part of our consciousness recently with the US Feds continual hype and delay of raising there interest rates from "near zero". Next month it is fabled that they may move it up after 7 years of at zero and fiat credit creation for longer still. It is interesting to consider what happens to the fiat (normal) money supply in the midst of a bitcoin boom?

When the bitcoin price goes up, people are buying it generally with fiat money, they are putting an increasing spend into bitcoin and in that sense the supply of fiat money is stretched (proportionally reduced) and there are deflationary forces on that fiat currency. In the first instance if most bitcoins are bought and then simply held by Americans then the USD will experience deflation. Ie: the value of the USD is forced up locally to some degree because there are not as many around to use.

This assumes that the exchanges or traders do not spend or exchange their fiat immediately. It also assumes that bitcoin are not spend as much at this time. Something that is fair in a way, considering the speed at which a boom can happen. Buyers and sellers are likely not to spend bitcoin, to hold reserves or reinvest funds in other traded things.

The current measure of inflation "the basket of goods" also does not include the bitcoin. This point however may not hold in the future. We know that bitcoin is quite different to other consumer investments. Many bitcoins are simply held and not speculated with. It also has a practical everyday use and that is spending. Bitcoins don't need to be exchanged for fiat in order to make purchases. In this way when the price goes up for holders, money or value is literally created out of thin air. The effective money supply in the bitcoin economy is increased. People selling things for bitcoin are likely to experience more sales in the period after the boom with this new money, which could lead to increased prices. In reality however the price in bitcoin of most items is pegged on the USD price and this updates in real time. So whilst prices in bitcoin experience inflationary pressure, they do not change relative to this, rather the inflationary pressure are transferred to the fiat currencies that the products are pegged or to the fiat items that are further up the supply chain. As a transaction enabler the effective fiat money supply is increased in this way.

Can these two things happen at once? It is difficult to comprehend the dynamics here but unlocking this certainly be important for the modern crypto economy or simply for making millions out of bitcoin trading. It seems we may initially we get a deflationary impact during the boom followed by inflationary once the bitcoin price has levelled out.

At the moment with a market capitalisation of $5 billion the bitcoin price has only a marginal impact on the global economy, if that. An increase in the value by a factor of 10 could potentially result in and increase in the money supply of $50 billion when people start spending their bitcoins. This is still not huge when compared with the $3.2 trillion M1 money supply in the USA. Considering booms like this have happened multiple times in the past, we may well see a global impact here in the future. In a world flush with crypto currency a complete rethink may be required. Increasing bitcoin value could boost global spending.

Crypto Scratchies Anyone?

Now we can run a lottery without a collection office. These scratches by Prypto are pretty cool, but what about the more youthful gambling type. I have fond memories of getting these for birthdays as a child. These days it feels a little irresponsible giving a kid petrol fiat scratches, but what about earth or lego coin versions? No need to cue up at the Lotto counter to have your ticket scanned. I think its a great idea. Instant gratification anyone?

http://cryptoscratchcards.com/

Essential Road Trip Gear

http://midwaycrypto.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-great-bitcoin-road-trip.html

Bitcoin and The Hunger Games

My sister, an LA stylist, writes off The Hunger Games as hollywood junk. She might be right, the last movie felt like a bit of filler and did have a distinct lack of face burn. Still I'm looking forward to the final, Mockingjay Part 2.

It is the social concept in the story which I think is inspired. I wonder what Suzanne Collins, author of the original books would think of bitcoin and the prospect of some kind of crypto hyper-community culture in the future. She might find it quite scary.

Mokingjay portrays a world 'Pan America' where districts are enslaved in a communistic way by 'The Capital', a large flamboyant but morally ambivalent city of the future. Though the people of The Capital are rich, money and transactions never seem to feature in their daily lives. Something I think most of us would appreciate.

Could these directors, fluffers and 'Game Makers' be collecting their credits via dogerain? Maybe, you never know what might happen looking at the news and the terrible events in Paris, there is some risk that the world could turn into a kind of Hunger Games like hell. There's got to be a way to make a better world than this. I'll be looking for ideas at the theatre. Hopefully it has a bit more fire than part one.

Digital Jeasus

Ten Comandments of the #DigitalJeasus to be reviewed and updated via democratic forum.

1. All preachers shall BOINC and read code

2. Respect the genisus block and rejoice in consensus

3. Be weary of centralisation

4. Hold faith in math (BEDMAS, SOHCAHTOA and Cryptographic splurg)

5. Let there be freedom and equality for all

6. Peace one Earth, Dual via Teken

7. Yoda speak we will

8. Relax, meditate and enjoy life and non-digital stuff especially

9. There is no one #DigitalJeasus

10. Everyone can be a dogeillionare

The Great Bitcoin Road Trip!

Today is the first day of my Great Bitcoin Road Trip. I've got a van, my girl friends agreed to sleep in it and we're on our way across europe for the next five weeks. Starting in Oxford ive got a few things planned, but alot more not. Maybe we'll end up in Nepal? Who knows what might happen, but I'm looking forward to spending some bits and spreading the word! This graphed up van makes it feel edgy. I'll be posting updates here.

...The van feels pretty out of place in old values Oxford. Unfortunately Wicked campers wouldnt accept bitcoin when i asked, somethjng that I think could be fixed with a little pear pressure. We did get takeaways and deliveries from almost every shop on Cowley Rd though using takeways.com, Milikas is especially good. We discovered the meaning of "spotting" in the uk and now we are off the the continent in search of warmer weather with our tails between our legs. SeeWeeYesYa next stop Fontainebleau forest.

...It turns out its pretty hard writing when you're on a bitcoin budget and living out of a van with only one power supply and no wifi.  I'm resorting to pen and paper from now on. Note to others make sure you have multiple charge points, ideally one of those solar chargers and a wifi dongle with a big charge block would be a bonus. Also moble internet contracts don't work in Germany, but you can get a new sim there for 10 euros. Fontainebleau was great, I love the square chestnut trees. I collected a box of chestnuts and the camp ground we stayed at, hardly had to move out of my tripod seat there were so many. Apparently the Brits eat them. You never know when you might go hungry in this situation.

...In Bordeaux, there are not many shops accepting bitcoin to be found though there is a funny internet cafe selling food. I find it's hard to communicate with someone about bitcoin when you can barely grasp a fraction of their language. Lots of cool graph and history. If the people can drop their home currencies and adopt the euro in such a short space of time then surely crypto-currency doesn't need to be to large of a step. It does seem like France could be a key area in adoption of crypto-currency. A a cultural hub and center of protest the public can really grasp complex social issues and it shows in their history. They really love to protest too. On the way through Paris (the best city in the world) the motor way was blocked by a motor cycle and scooter protest. Could this happen with bitcoin? Fashionable guys stand on the medians and smoke cigarettes as scooters pull wheelies.

Actual van in Barcelona

...We freedom camped at the beach on the French west coast last night. Now on to San Sebastian in "Espania". There is a really cool, but run down, theme park at the top of the hill here overlooking the bay and the city. Imagine the possibilities of a group funded Bitcoin theme park there, it might be a bargain.

Zaragoza, Barcelona, Nice, Monaco, Lake Garda to Verona we swam in the waters and guzzled the wine. We stayed in Lido in "Venicia" which I think is a good choice. Our friend hooked us up with some secure parking. He also provides a bed and breakfast service in genuine Italian style. I think bitcoin could be a very safe way for punters to accept digital payment on there boats. Then Austria to Lindau to "Koln" in "Deutchland" the leaves started falling off the trees. using our Airbitz wallets to locate vendors nearby. Saw some great churches and castles. What about bitcoin donations in Cathedrals? Comes in handy when patrons run out of change. I was totally impressed by my girlfriend who had no trouble sleeping in the van after it had been slept in for too many days in a row and finding innovative ways to make due without an ensuite.

Amsterdam is one of my favourite cities. I love the "let it be" attitude. We had a great night out on the town and stumbled upon there halloween parade, which unknowing of the date was especially freaky. i was to shy to ask the window girls if they would accept bitcoin. The next day we moved on to Brussels with its guided cafe square, and misty Luxemburge with its ancient viaduct. We finished our trip in beautiful Milly and Barbizon in the French countryside where a little hotel room at the quaint Budget Inn was thoroughly appreciated and the service was decidedly unbudget in Uk terms, you could say "bushay". The food at La Boheme didn't fail to impress as did the laughing and good times with my pigeon French.

It's such a great cultural experience of exploring the which us pioneers once lived. We used our euro denominated ANX card at the petrol stations and digital self service terminals in McDonalds when we just can't face our "sivous plays" and "danke shurns". Many transactions were done in plain old euros and we did drop a few old fashion coins into the toll road funnel. But who's a purest anyway. Watch out for the Apple GPS though as it is particularly keen on tolls and those roads do tend to be less of an adventure. Digital currency operation for gates and tole roads would be great. Big ticket items like accommodation and return airfares to New Zealand which we could purchase online using sites like cheapair.com.

By the end of the four weeks I'm all out of my budgeted bitcoins and the price is on the rise again. Go figure! Though I probably haven't preached bitcoin and crypto-currency as much as I originally intended I have seen so many new opportunities along the way. Europe is just so beautiful, how many newbies you recruit, I think is beside the point. It's been the best trip ever. I'm so stoked I got to represent the good life in an crazy van with a "B" on the bumper, leaving a trail of QR codes in our wake.