There is no necessary relationship between the number of people using the currency and the number of units available, given that units are divisible. But if it makes you happy, define one "New Bitcoin" as 1/1000th of an original Bitcoin. Now there's enough to go around, and you can get 20 for free from the faucet!
> TSA, airports, laptops and latex gloves. Where do Bitcoins go in this scene?
That's a huge win for Bitcoins. Store yours in the cloud and you can transfer arbitrary amounts of cash across national boundaries without paying tax, filing paperwork or risking seizure. Try transferring the same amount by carrying out bills or coins and you'll see your stuff silently stolen from your checked luggage or noisily seized either by TSA or customs agents.
> How do you bury Bitcoins in your backyard or out in the bush somewhere?
Back 'em up in the cloud somewhere instead.
> When the police, BATF and FBI break down your door without a warrant, trash your place and take your computer, do your Bitcoins go with it?
If you don't use passwords and don't keep offsite backups, yes. How is this worse than if the authorities steal your cash or silver and freeze your bank account?
Yeah, I've since found out about the 'divisible' aspect. Don't understand it yet. In particular, how different people can own fragments of one cryptographic unit, without there being any central coordination point.
As for storing in the cloud, uh, no thanks. Recent cloud upset providing an entirely expected illustration of the 'nothing can possiblie go wrong!' principle. Not to mention the mooted Internet Kill Switch being also a Cloud Switch.
Power failures, major disasters... involving the Cloud is just making Bitcoin even more fragile.
I'm glad you mentioned backups. Because I forgot that. The issue being how many people actually do have adequate backup. I know mine is far too weak, and I wouldn't like to have my financial assets depend on it.
There is no necessary relationship between the number of people using the currency and the number of units available, given that units are divisible. But if it makes you happy, define one "New Bitcoin" as 1/1000th of an original Bitcoin. Now there's enough to go around, and you can get 20 for free from the faucet!
See also: Rai stones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones
> TSA, airports, laptops and latex gloves. Where do Bitcoins go in this scene?
That's a huge win for Bitcoins. Store yours in the cloud and you can transfer arbitrary amounts of cash across national boundaries without paying tax, filing paperwork or risking seizure. Try transferring the same amount by carrying out bills or coins and you'll see your stuff silently stolen from your checked luggage or noisily seized either by TSA or customs agents.
> How do you bury Bitcoins in your backyard or out in the bush somewhere?
Back 'em up in the cloud somewhere instead.
> When the police, BATF and FBI break down your door without a warrant, trash your place and take your computer, do your Bitcoins go with it?
If you don't use passwords and don't keep offsite backups, yes. How is this worse than if the authorities steal your cash or silver and freeze your bank account?