OK, I'm in. What is the safest site to buy Bitcoins from?

The safest site is probably Coinbase.com. They are a venture capital backed company based out of San Francisco.

You set up a link to your bank account and they perform an ACH debit when you make a purchase. It can take up to 5 days to get your bitcoins after the purchase, however, your purchase price is locked in.

If you are uncomfortable with Coinbase, then you can always use localbitcoins.com and just use cash to purchase face to face.



I would not suggest using any of the popular exchanges unless you are planning on becoming a day trader.



If you do decide to make a purchase, please research proper ways to secure and store your bitcoins. I'm available to answer any questions if you have them.

Just FYI, bitcoin's been percolating lately and we're likely at the beginning of another bubble. so be smart about your purchases.

The last bubble went from $12 to $266. This current bubble started at about $120 and is currently at about $217.




Also FYI, the MtGox price is not accurate. The USD price on MtGox reflect a premium due to delays and issues with getting dollars out of MtGox. A more accurate BTC price right now is the Bitstamp price.

Wiki,
If I wanted to make a wallet for myself, what program do you recommend? I found MultiBit online. Are there better wallet programs?

who did you use to create your wallet?

Do you keep your Bitcoins on your computer or store them exclusively with external memory devices?

nb4wiki




frick

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Do you keep your Bitcoins on your computer or store them exclusively with external memory devices?

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I keep the bulk in cold storage (i.e. external storage - both digital and printed)

I keep a "spending" wallet on my computer. Encrypted, of course. With backups.

Wiki,

Do you mine?

To avoid starting a new thread:
LINK

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But solutions don't have to be publicized. If you solve a puzzle and keep it secret, you can start working on the next one and let everyone else keep mining in the wrong spot.

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Would this create a branch in the chain? When would you find out that your working on the wrong chain? I thought the majority ruled so any private solution not publicized would just be ignored by the collective?


ETA: just read the abstract. I understand now that they are trust trying to create a short time advantage that creates a popularity within a user group to eventually give it a majority.

quote:

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To avoid starting a new thread:
LINK

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here's a good thread on this topic. it's highly technical though. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this issue, but it seems like it's not as big of a deal as the CNN article makes it out to be. I'm not trying to dismiss it or anything, but the markets certainly don't perceive it as negative.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=324413.0

I'd like to do some investing, but I'm so far behind on understanding what they are, I would probably make a major investing mistake.