can a raspberry pi mine bitcoins???
Printable View
can a raspberry pi mine bitcoins???
why would it be slow where an ASIC is fast?
edit:
I`ll just get some sleep I think.... (read after posting and im like , oh I sound so stupid now)
apparently a pi gets about 156 k/hashes
type faster :P - already realised I had a brain fart :D
Just spotted this, it seems Bitcoin malware does already exist (makes sense), so something to keep an eye out for!
http://arstechnica.com/security/2013...lware-emerges/
There's an other malware using devices to actually mine bitcoins for the scammers.
I guess time will tell how secure the system end up being vs 'real' currency, as I expect most people will not go out of their way to implement decent security measures on their wallet (although they should be running some sort of antimalware, hopefully) and I doubt the police would be overly interested in a large bitcoin theft vs a mugging for example. Not to mention you could be virtu-mugged from another jurisdiction...
There are plenty of online thefts, bankrobberies, murders for fiat, etc.
If something has value it will attract bad guys, it's nothing extraordinary (try to get compensation if you get mugged on the streets, or after someone takes your money via your online banking access).
If you are using your pc/device sensibly then it's nothing to worry about.
bitcoin might succeed to teach people how to back up, which is very important anyways. Furthermore, there are "hardware wallets" in development, so that's a good direction too.
Other currencies generally come with some sort of insurance though; bank robberies generally don't affect customers, and fraud is often covered in some way too. Theft is met with severe penalties, and carries obvious risks to the perpetrator. With Bitcoin, a fairly simple program could irrevocably steal an entire 'account' and send it to some essentially untraceable remote location - there are no bank transfers to log etc. Besides interest, it's a large part of the reason people keep money in a bank rather than in cash form in a drawer at home.
Edit: Not to mention bank robberies are incredibly rare nowadays, they're far from the easiest way to steal cash.
I'm not trying to make out existing currencies are completely secure, but Bitcoin needs a new way of thinking about security. People might carry a few tenners in their wallet - AFAIK people generally keep everything in one store with bitcoin.
I would disagree about bank robberies not effecting customers - seems Cyprus just got away with the biggest heist ever....
Do you think banks / organizations provide insurance for the benefit of their customers? It is paid by the very customers / taxpayers and all is paid upfront.
I think this might interest you, the writing style of the author is weird, but it's none the less an interesting article.
But not using a bank doesn't exempt you from those charges. I think you're somewhat missing my point, I'm not trying to make out bitcoin is horrendously insecure or useless, just security needs to be re-thought vs existing currencies - it simply won't do to be careless about it.
Bitcoin is an incredibly unstable currency, there are few existing currencies where you can receive 100 units payment and it be worth 20 units an hour later. I don't expect many people will take it seriously for large sums of money unless/until it becomes significantly more stable, ATM it's a huge gamble (yes, before anyone says it I know things like stock markets can also be very unstable, but again, *most* people don't directly rely on them).
That article is quite interesting. :)
The thing about bitcoins and security is an oddity to me.
One of the guys I know who's the single biggest advocate of bitcoins as a de-centralising economic policy tool, also is ripping on the catholic church for been up to its neck in money laundering.
I'm not trying to say that the church isn't incredibly shameful, once again bringing up the rear of western morality, and people should jailed, but bitcoin also has no AML.
Anti-money laundering is really important, not just because of drug dealers and the like, but also because wars require financing, in today world economic sanctions if they were fully applied would be more efficient than a ground force. (DPRK isn't falling due to attacks, its falling because its economy is a house of cards and the free market is replacing the dear leader).
Bit coins as can be laundered far too simply, as everyone who's used the silkroad can tell you.
Actually, it is easy to mark bitcoin as a money launderers tool, but I wouldn't think that it is a correct assessment. I do pay taxes on the income I make in the bitcoin world, though I understand that not everyone will do it. It's the same with fiat really, the rules are quite easily played and there's an industry for "optimizing taxes"...
Anyway, there is an other perspective. I lived in many countries and when I was in britain, I was glad that I've felt that the payed tax pretty much nets a better environment/infrastructure. Sadly, it's not the case with most countries which have not robbed the planet in the past. ;-)
There are several countries in the EU where they literally steal everything which they can take their hands on (including EU money, which is funny). For this single fact, I would say that paying tax means funding criminals in these regions. I consider this as a main flaw of the EU - living standards in member countries are very far from each other.
On the volatility of bitcoin, considering the age of this protocol and the controversy it creates, I would be surprised if it wouldn't be volatile. The market cap is very low at the moment, compared to other markets and there's a huge room to grow (because it brings in so much "feature").
As it develops (think how important technologies matured over time) I expect the volatility to calm down. If you look at the previous days history, attacks were still ongoing , but it couldn't shake the market at all which is a great improvement in my opinion.
Having said that I wouldn't advise anyone to hop on the bitcoin train if they have no use for it other than speculation.