All Questions
29,641
questions
203
votes
8
answers
116k
views
What exactly is Mining?
I have heard that mining is for people with ready hardware and blah blah blah... But what exactly is it? Does it operate like real mining? I mean, people talk about it like you are physically mining.
- 2,141
59
votes
2
answers
46k
views
What are bitcoin "confirmations"?
When I receive bitcoins I see a certain number of "confirmations" in the client. What do these mean? Why do most sites make me wait for 6 "confirmations" before a purchase will go through?
- 5,392
4
votes
6
answers
21k
views
Where can I find a graph of Bitcoin value vs USD for over 60 days?
Bitcoin Charts seems to only offer graphs of up to 60 days.
- 26.4k
25
votes
6
answers
4k
views
What is the current legal status of Bitcoin around the world?
Has there been any concrete information about the legality of Bitcoin in any country?
Since any information can be injected into the blockchain, then if child porn / copyrighted material is injected ...
- 26.4k
3
votes
0
answers
411
views
How much business has Bitcoin brought Meze Grill up to now? [closed]
(Up and including August 2011)
Meze Grill was the first restaurant to accept Bitcoin. Has this option generated revenue for them?
- 26.4k
10
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Where can I find graphs the values of alternative crypto currencies?
Hashrates and value in BTC. Is there one site that can show them all, perhaps even on the same chart?
- 26.4k
10
votes
1
answer
808
views
When did merged Namecoin-Bitcoin mining start?
(This question was originally asked before merged mining began)
When exactly did merged mining of Bitcoin and Namecoin chains start?
- 26.4k
16
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is a Mining Pool, what is it good for?
What advantages / disadvantages does it offer over solo mining?
- 26.4k
79
votes
6
answers
19k
views
How can I accept bitcoins on my website?
I have an online store and would like to begin accepting bitcoins. How can I go about doing this?
- 14.4k
24
votes
1
answer
31k
views
How to mine in Ubuntu?
How do you mine in Ubuntu 11.04? Are there any GUI miners like poclbm-gui for Ubuntu?
- 960
22
votes
8
answers
10k
views
Will we ever need smaller amounts of Bitcoin than a Satoshi?
Will there ever be a need to create a unit of Bitcoin smaller than a Satoshi?
See also: What is a 'Satoshi'?
- 26.4k
12
votes
4
answers
31k
views
Is there an efficient way to exploit arbitrages between the different exchanges?
The Bitcoin ratio vs other currencies is not the same among exchanges. Is there currently a way to exploit this arbitrage and profit?
- 26.4k
116
votes
9
answers
335k
views
How much Bitcoin will I mine right now with hardware X?
Say I have a given piece of hardware (CPU/GPU). Where can I find out how much Bitcoin will I mine per day?
- 26.4k
26
votes
5
answers
23k
views
What happens to my bitcoins if lose my wallet file e.g. I suffer data loss and my computer is unrecoverable?
You run bitcoin as a service on your local computer. What happens if this computer is compromised? A corrupt/failed hard drive or theft leads to the machine being lost and unrecoverable, and my ...
- 381
7
votes
2
answers
474
views
Is there an easy way to diversify your Bitcoin holding among the other popular forks?
Recently there has been a spread of Bitcoin clones, starting with Namecoin and following with other newer clones. There is a chance these coins will appreciate relative to Bitcoin.
Is there an easy ...
- 26.4k
158
votes
5
answers
253k
views
What is a 'Satoshi'?
I am aware that Satoshi Nakamoto is the author of the paper that originated Bitcoin and the creator of the original bitcoin client. However, I often hear the term Satoshi as if it was a monetary unit.
...
- 11.5k
28
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Will all 21 million units be completely mined one day?
It is written that the supply of Bitcoin units is limited to 21 million and that this limit will approximately have been reached around the year 2030.
But is there an actual "last Bitcoin" (or "last ...
- 3,497
20
votes
2
answers
14k
views
What's the difference between an ASIC and an FPGA? Which is better for mining?
I'm a software guy with only the most basic of hardware training/knowledge so while I understand the basic concepts of ASICs and FPGAs the details are beyond me. What are the primary differences and, ...
- 14.3k
18
votes
6
answers
789
views
Will forks and alternative block chains cause hyper-inflation of decentralized digital money?
Great effort has been put into Bitcoin's concept of money supply and that there will never be more than 21 million units.
However, it's relatively easy to fork it and create alternate block chains. ...
- 3,497
128
votes
7
answers
51k
views
How do you obtain bitcoins?
This is a question many people ask when they're introduced to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin sounds interesting, but if I want to use this system I will need to get some coins, otherwise, there's no way I can ...
- 1,600
18
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Is Bitcoin future-proof?
As I understand things, the security and integrity of Bitcoin rely on the assumption that its hashing is "hard" in some sense. However, in the past, processing power has increased exponentially. ...
- 3,354
13
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is it possible to estimate the Gini coefficient for Bitcoins and if the trend is increasing or decreasing?
The Gini coefficient is a measure of the inequality of something's distribution, where a value of 0 represents total equality and a value of 1 maximal inequality.
Is it possible to perform this type ...
- 3,279
15
votes
5
answers
8k
views
What are the differences between Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies?
What is it that makes Bitcoin unique amongst crypto-currencies? Is it just the most popular one or does it have better design aspects too?
- 941
37
votes
10
answers
29k
views
How is it possible to launder bitcoins?
Some services, such as bitcoinlaundry.com, claim that they can launder your bitcoins.
Since all bitcoin transactions are publicly logged, how is this done? Wouldn't it be possible to trace back the ...
- 11.5k
53
votes
14
answers
10k
views
Will deflation destroy Bitcoin?
With the limited total quantity of bitcoins, and people losing their wallets constantly decreasing that number, won't rampant deflation destroy Bitcoin?
- 14.4k
3
votes
4
answers
515
views
Can the price of Bitcoin ever be stable to the USD?
It seems like the only way to sell BTC for products/services is to have the BTC reflect how other currencies are doing. I'm not great in economics but can it ever be stable?
- 155
43
votes
8
answers
38k
views
Is CPU mining even worth it? [duplicate]
I would like to start mining, but my GPU isn't the greatest and I don't really want to spend the money on a dedicated rig. Is mining from my CPU (in a Linux environment) still worth it? Or will I not ...
- 533
10
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Is there a way to use the block chain as entropy in random number generator? [closed]
I want to create a transparent gambling/lotto site and use the block chain as entropy for lotto numbers, dice rolls, that kind of thing. Would the transaction hash of the latest transaction be the ...
- 654
65
votes
9
answers
35k
views
How anonymous are Bitcoin transactions?
I read some sources that say Bitcoin transactions are anonymous, some that say they are semi-anonymous, and some that say they are not anonymous at all. In what ways are the transactions anonymous ...
- 3,354
11
votes
5
answers
779
views
Can bitcoin transaction data be used to study markets?
The nice thing about bitcoin is that it generates partially anonymous data about every single transaction. Can this data be used to gain insight about real-world markets? Or are there some fundamental ...
- 2,016
24
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Is Bitcoin a scam?
Adam Cohen of SeatGeek called Bitcoin a "scam". Other people have compared Bitcoin to a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. Can Bitcoin be considered a scheme to defraud people?
- 14.4k
44
votes
10
answers
12k
views
How can I keep my wallet secure?
The standard Bitcoin client does not encrypt wallet files, so any malicious user that gains access to this file will be able to transfer all the coins to their own wallet. Furthermore, if I lose the ...
- 3,354
140
votes
11
answers
80k
views
Is it possible to brute force bitcoin address creation in order to steal money?
Bitcoin users frequently generate new addresses for each transaction they make, which greatly increases the number of bitcoin addresses being used to receive money.
Would it be possible (and ...
- 11.5k
20
votes
4
answers
8k
views
How can one embed custom data in block headers?
Some mining pool admins put custom data in block headers, like prayers. How do they do that? Where can I see that data for myself?
- 3,497
27
votes
13
answers
2k
views
What are some good resources for understanding Bitcoin?
I've tried to read about what a Bitcoin is, how to mine, etc. I find them to be confusing in that I don't understand the underlying factors driving Bitcoin. Everything I've read seems to assume the ...
- 613
19
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Effect on economy if Bitcoin was widely adopted
What would the effects be on the world economy if several million people around the world would utilize the Bitcoin currency for their daily transactions? Would you expect the GDP to grow faster or ...
- 3,434
23
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What happens when someone sends bitcoin to my wallet?
I didn't get it. Should my wallet be online? What if it becomes corrupted before I make a backup? Can I use my backup wallet that was backed up few days ago?
- 621
14
votes
4
answers
621
views
How do I develop mobile applications for Bitcoin?
I would like to develop a mobile Bitcoin application for the Android and iPhone platforms. What libraries and resources can I use?
- 143
7
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Is mining still profitable? [closed]
We all know that mining is supposed to keep the Bitcoin system secure. However, difficulty has risen so much that costs for power currently outstrip possible revenue for mining for a large portion of ...
- 527
9
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Best GPUs for Mining [closed]
GPU mining is the way to go, as at August 2011, until something better arrives on the market. There are plenty of GPUs out there, but only a handful offer the best performance when comparing total ...
- 2,162
29
votes
10
answers
39k
views
What open source miner applications are there?
What open source miner applications are there? Especially to see how the mining process works.
- 621