“The First Rays of Sunlight” – Summer 2013 – Frick Park – Pittsburgh, PA
So I have been receiving a few emails with questions regarding my acceptance of bitcoin… I have decided to just write about the subject as I have sent the same reply email ten times now… This post is different from anything I have ever written… But I think it will explain why I believe bitcoin is a good thing… And why I think we should all adopt it…
Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that only exists in the digital realm… Meaning… There is nothing physical about it… It is a line of code… I often compare it to gold in that it has a value because supplies are limited… It is difficult to acquire… And increasingly in demand… It is also similar to gold in that its value is universal… When a bitcoin is worth a thousand dollars in the United States… It is worth the equivalent of that anywhere in the world…
Across the bottom of many of my posts you will find my bitcoin wallet address… Just in case – 1JsKwa3vYgy4LZjNk4YmPEHFJNjPt2wDJj – is what it looks like… I can receive bitcoins with this address… If you had one… I could send bitcoin to you… It is safe to post it anywhere… This number only receives… In order to send you actually have to log into your wallet… This is not possible with this address…
If you want a digital wallet… I recommend CoinBase… It is free to sign up… You can receive coins with it… But much more importantly… You can buy bitcoins using this service… Safely… They are based in the United States… And are not linked to the Silk Road or any other drug related dealings… They are a legitimate investments service… Operated by real people… Who actually return emails promptly…
I also like the fact that I can send money anywhere in the world without any kind of charge… I can send twenty dollars to an artist in Africa instantly… I can donate to a cause in Brazil… Hell… I can accept donations or tips from anyone in the world… No matter how large or small… This is why I believe bitcoin could revolutionize blogging… It would allow us to tip each other with actual money… And because bitcoin is digital… Sending small amounts is possible without a transaction fee (There is a transaction fee – But it is so small you will never even notice it)… Basically… If I read your post and like it… I could “tip” you with anything from a fraction of a cent all the way up to millions of dollars… If we all had bitcoin addresses… Making a small amount of money could be possible…
I personally believe bitcoin is here to stay… Though I do not believe it will replace fiat currency… I do believe it will become a commodity like gold or silver… It just makes sense that the concept of “value” would stray away from physical materials into the digital realm… As we as a culture spend more time in cyberspace… We will find ourselves looking for objects of equal value… In a world of computer codes… It just makes sense that we would find certain codes to put value on… The gems of the computer world… Like gold locked away in digital codes…
I recommend anyone who actively blogs at least looks into the world of bitcoins… Check out my link above and sign up for a wallet… After you have a wallet… You will be given a receive address… Anyone in the world with a bitcoin wallet can now send you money… If they like your post… They could send you a few pennies… Or a few million dollars… It just depends on how good of a writer you are…
Since the wallet is free… And costs nothing to maintain… I feel there is no reason all of our blogs don’t list bitcoin addresses… As far as I am concerned… To not have one is to miss out on possible earnings… However small a piece of the pie… But pie none the less…
Just in case you would like to open a wallet – CoinBase is what I use… If you want to purchase coins you have to let them link to your bank account… And the entire transaction takes 4 days for security purposes… I HAVE PERSONALLY DONE THIS… I have bought coins through their service… My only complaint would be they were a little too careful… But that’s not a real complaint…
If you would like anymore information about bitcoins… Please don’t hesitate to ask – c.condello@hotmail.com
plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello
Donations and Tips – 1JsKwa3vYgy4LZjNk4YmPEHFJNjPt2wDJj
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
chriscondello 
Love this idea. And you should get something from CoinBase for your recommendation. You just did some great advertising! I will definitely check them out.
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Definitely check them out… My links provided are affiliate links… If someone signs up using it I will get credited… If they buy $100 or more in coins… We both get $5…
There is a surprising amount of Bitcoin related websites that offer this… When I first started playing with the coins… I found these websites that pay out small amounts of bitcoins for doing simple tasks or watching videos… I got my first bitcoins like this… But quickly realized clicking ads for pennies was stupid… I figured out the affiliate links and created a website…
http://www.mrbitcoins.wordpress.com
Basically all it is a website full of links… Each link has a way to earn Bitcoin… When someone goes to the websites using my links… I receive a percentage of what they earn… And I do…
Now… I’ll never get rich… But the pennies from those websites add up fast… Especially since the value of what I earn is always going up… In the end… All I hope is to put a little extra towards equipment and the gardens I make… And so far… It is working… Regardless of how small it is…
Actually… As time goes by… Some of those websites actually pay alright… Especially the ones that sell gold… I get a percentage of what people spend on them through my link… Apparently… A lot of people are buying gold with their bitcoins…
Again… Not a lot of money… But it is basically passive money…
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Have you actually received a bit of money like this?
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I have… Most have been very small amounts… .5 .10 and occasionally .25 American… Though when you see them in Bitcoin format they look more like this 0.00005 btc…
The largest I have gotten was just under $5… Interestingly… Because of the anonymity of the currency… I have no way of telling who gave what and for what post…
Also interesting is the fact that like gold or silver the price fluctuates… So my original buy in has grown quickly… Basically… Every dollar I started out with… Is now worth around 1.50…
And climbing every day… At the moment a Bitcoin is worth around $800 US… I have seen it as high as $1200…
I don’t exactly think this will replace currency… But I do believe it will be the computer equivalent of gold… Because of this I think other forms of internet currency and payment methods will be backed or insured using Bitcoin… In the same way American currency was once backed by gold…
Though… You probably shouldn’t take financial advice from me… After all… I regularly passed out in the basements of abandoned houses just a few short years ago… Money is not really my thing…
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But you don’t pass out in basements of abandoned houses any longer. And neither do I. Some of us are just not good with money. It’s been years since I’ve been a dopehead and still can’t get my head around this money business. Just doesn’t seem important. Basically, if my tummy is full now and I know there’s more in the cupboard, have art materials I’m basically happy and feel the job is done. What’s going to happen to me when I’m 80 – 90 yrs old I simply do not know and somehow can’t be too worried.
With this bitcoin business, is it redeemable in actual hard cash? Could you draw it and buy a bread with it?
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It is… But like gold… It has to be sold or exchanged… Bitcoin ATMs have started popping up in some countries… With those you can both buy and withdraw using local currency… In my case… I buy through an exchange… Similar to a broker… I get cash in the bank account… Which I can then use freely… But my interest really lies in what I can buy in cyberspace with the coin… All sorts of retailers are starting to accept bitcoin as payment… The largest being Overstock.com… I believe Amazon will be next… My point is that I can buy electronics like cameras and computers with it…
I guess in a nutshell… It wont replace cash in my life… Just like you wouldn’t put every penny you have into gold… Think of it as buying stock… Or accepting stock for payment… You would still accept good old money… Bitcoin would just be an alternative payment option… A largely anonymous one… And currently… A tax free one…
Some retail stores do now accept it… There are places in the world where you can walk into a convenience store with your cell phone… Make a purchase… And while at the counter you scan the QR code of the store and simply send them your total… The transaction is instantaneous… Charge free… No matter how small… And you would be on your way…
There are still bugs… After all It is a new technology… But an interesting technology…
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Very, very interesting. I shall explore this. Thanks or the information.
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If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask.
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I shall – let me look into it first. Not very IT-savvy. Busy dealing with a bout of flue that keeps resurfacing, will work up the courage later.
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Also getting over artworks that didn’t get delivered in time for an exhibition in Johannesburg due to a postal strike that started on the day I sent it. Trying not to take things personally but you know … ? 🙂
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http://www.mrbitcoins.wordpress.com
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