All Questions
30,470
questions
13
votes
5
answers
717
views
Does the bitcoin design make bitcoins suitable as a medium of exchange, a store of value, or both?
Money is often seen as having various functions, such as "medium of exchange" (something useful for conducting transactions, and "store of value" (something valuable as an investment).
Was bitcoin ...
- 1,858
18
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? I have heard about him and read his paper.
Why is he no-longer publicly involved in Bitcoin?
- 3,171
21
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How can I contribute to the open source Bitcoin project?
Generally speaking, how can:
A) A programmer contribute to Bitcoin?
B) A non-programmer contribute to Bitcoin?
Essentially; which areas are in most need of programming work / non-programming work?
- 3,171
24
votes
3
answers
5k
views
What factors affect the value of a Bitcoin?
Obviously the number of existing Bitcoins affects the value, but what else? What are some of the primary factors for a rise or fall in a Bitcoin's worth?
- 613
12
votes
3
answers
763
views
Are there alternatives to Bitcoin which take a different approach?
Are there any alternative approaches to decentralized, electronic currencies?
Bitcoin was built with certain technical characteristics in mind. I'm hoping to see if there are alternative approaches. ...
- 229
12
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Do wallet stealing viruses exist?
After I install the bitcoin client, what are the risks of browsing the Internet? Can my wallet be stolen?
Are there any known viruses/websites etc....?
8
votes
3
answers
160
views
Is there a list of news articles related to bitcoin?
What articles if any have been in the mainstream media about bitcoin?
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What is the "silk road" and what does it have to do with bitcoin? [closed]
I have read a lot about the silk road and I am still unsure what it is. I went to http://silkroadmarket.org but it just says that the site is down.
14
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Eligius pool and 'generated' bitcoins
I mine at Eligius pool and sometimes a new transaction appears in my bitcoin client labeled 'Generated'. Why does this happen? Do I also get these 'Generated' bitcoins if I use an e-wallet's address ...
- 11.5k
16
votes
7
answers
46k
views
Can a bitcoin transaction be reversed?
If I sent bitcoins to someone, but then want to cancel this transaction after it was already made (like a chargeback on a credit card), is this possible with Bitcoin?
- 14.4k
42
votes
7
answers
40k
views
What happens if I mistype the address when making a payment?
I sent bitcoins to an address, but I think I made a typo when I copied it. Where did these bitcoins go. Can I get them back?
- 5,412
45
votes
4
answers
85k
views
How do I see the IP address of a bitcoin transaction?
How do I see the IP address that someone used to send or receive bitcoins with? Is it stored in the blockchain?
- 5,412
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is there an easy way to search all the transactions?
Is than an easy way to search the list of all bitcoin transactions? For example to find all the bitcoins sent to or from an address?
- 5,412
23
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Can I send bitcoins with my mobile phone?
Is it possible to send and receive bitcoins with a mobile phone? If so, are there bitcoin clients for Android or iOS?
- 5,412
67
votes
9
answers
93k
views
Where do bitcoins come from and what gives them their value?
Where do bitcoins come from? From the WeUseCoins.com video it appears they are just being produced by "miners" and sold to people. So who backs Bitcoin or gives it its value?
- 14.4k
57
votes
7
answers
54k
views
Can bitcoins be counterfeited?
Traditional currencies have anti-counterfeiting features designed to make them hard to copy, but despite this attempt counterfeit money is a real threat. Since bitcoins are digital, it's trivial to ...
- 14.4k
18
votes
2
answers
753
views
Apart from the official bitcoin client what other clients are there?
Apart from the official client found at the bitcoin.org site what is the list of alternative bitcoin clients? And what OS do they work on?
- 3,279
7
votes
1
answer
333
views
How did transaction fees work in the version 0.3.24?
Is there a minimum transaction fee for every transaction? When do I pay a fee over the minimal fee?
- 26.5k
21
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Is there a list of core Bitcoin committers?
Where can I find a list of people that can commit directly to the github project?
- 26.5k
21
votes
8
answers
3k
views
What wallet / e-wallet is the most convenient for new casual Bitcoin users?
I'd like to make small payments for business purposes through Bitcoin, so would like to know what the easiest method of getting setup to accept a Bitcoin payment is for a regular person, so that I can ...
- 1,482
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why does poclbm acquire 100% CPU?
I recently switched from WinXP32bit to Windows7. While under XP poclbm took about 5% CPU Time of one core, now it uses one core with 100%. Is there a specific reason for that?
I now use AMD/ATI ...
- 627
11
votes
2
answers
793
views
Are the capabilities of Namecoin a strict superset of Bitcoin?
I have read that "while Bitcoin is a currency, Namecoin is not".
Isn't the capabilities offered by Namecoin a superset of Bitcoin's capabilities? If everyone in the world agreed to jointly migrate ...
- 26.5k
20
votes
3
answers
5k
views
What is the "blockchain"?
What is the blockchain? I keep hearing about other "blockchain technologies", does this mean other cryptocurrencies or what?
- 5,412
9
votes
2
answers
699
views
How to configure the official bitcoin client to conveniently use offline wallets?
This is a follow up question to "How can I keep my wallet secure?"
Is there a portable (at least Win32&64/Linux) to configure the official bitcoin client to use only offline wallets to be ...
- 627
13
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Were all funds stolen from Mt. Gox finally returned to all users?
Mt. Gox was hacked in June 2011, and some funds were stolen. There was a long winded account reclaim process.
At the end of this process, were all funds really returned to the satisfaction of all (...
- 26.5k
68
votes
7
answers
162k
views
How many bitcoins will there eventually be?
Since bitcoins are being regularly rewarded to miners, will the number of bitcoins continue to grow indefinitely, or will there be a maximum total number of bitcoins in existence? And if there is ...
- 14.4k
3
votes
0
answers
148
views
What are the perceived advantages that bitcoin has over other currencies or other ways of sending money? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are the perceived advantages of bitcoin as a means of exchange?
Suppose that the value of Bitcoin in USD magically remained constant from this day forward. What unique ...
- 26.5k
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is there a solid "Bitcoin Bank" yet?
Once MyBitcoin was thought to be a "solid bitcoin bank". Then it was hacked and a lot of people lost a lot of money there.
Is there another, secure alternative for storing Bitcoins except storing ...
- 26.5k
3
votes
0
answers
333
views
Are there really messages in the blockchain? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can one embed custom data in block headers?
Someone told me a hacker put messages in the blockchain. What does this mean?
Edit: related asked/answered question
How can ...
- 5,412
204
votes
9
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.
- 2,151
59
votes
3
answers
47k
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?
- 5,412
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.
- 26.5k
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 ...
- 26.5k
3
votes
0
answers
413
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?
- 26.5k
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?
- 26.5k
10
votes
1
answer
810
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?
- 26.5k
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?
- 26.5k
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
23
votes
9
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'?
- 26.5k
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?
- 26.5k
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?
- 26.5k
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
480
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 ...
- 26.5k
158
votes
6
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 ...
- 3,507
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
796
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. ...
- 3,507
130
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 ...
- 1,620
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. ...
- 3,374