How the Internet Archive is having a great time with Bitcoin

http://blog.archive.org/2013/04/03/how-the-internet-archive-is-having-great-time-with-bitcoin/

by rtra • 13 years ago

120 54 13 years ago

blog.archive.org

jtchang• 13 years ago

I have so much respect for the internet archive. To me the internet archive represents an entity that really understands the "Internet" and aligns closely with a lot of the ideals of free speech and information access.

Plus the wayback machine is super cool!

vidyesh4• 13 years ago

Wayback machine has to be the best thing created online. Its not just about the nostalgia it about the growth and keeping all necessary information always available.

I really like how they quickly and smoothly accepted bitcoins. They truly listen and understand the Internet.

manish_gill• 13 years ago

I'm more interested in mining them. Is it too late to start jumping on the BTC train ? Do you need special processors? Last I remember, you could still mine Bitcoins using GPUs.

warfangle• 13 years ago

You can use GPUs, but you will have much better luck using an ASIC.

dmm3• 13 years ago

You can still mine with AMD GPUs but the difficulty has been rising fast due to the release of ASICs.

For example, right now a Radeon HD 7970 will earn you about 1.4 BTC per month.

ASICs are not for sale anywhere. You can preorder from butterfly labs but there is no indication when they will ship.

vidyesh4• 13 years ago

CPU Mining is possible but not profitable.

GPU mining is the traditional and the best way.

The thing is, if you have a very bad GPU you might not make any profit. The electrial costs are going to be a pain in that case.

If you have a fairly decent GPU, you can still mine and shine but expect a really low profit. If you aren't worried about the electrial costs ( as GPU is running 100% 24/7 ) then you could mine very well.

If you really want to know how much exactly you could mine

Use a manual calucaltor - https://tpbitcalc.appspot.com/

Run a Miner http://bitminter.com/ ( Run the pool's miner for few minutes, it would calcuate an estimate for you )

deepblueocean• 13 years ago

I wonder how much pressure IA feels to convert its donated bitcoin holdings to cash, given the run-up in exchange rates that has happened recently. Does IA prefer to support Bitcoin as if it were, as its proponents suggest, a real currency with sticking power for the long-term future? Or is there more real and permanent good to be had from converting that money to dollars to support the Archive's excellent programs today?

Clearly the latter must trump the former at some price. I think that price may be well below the $/BTC exchange rate today.

waterlesscloud• 13 years ago

IA is using bitcoin to support its programs, by paying its staff (in part) in bitcoin. In other words, the institution is getting the services it needs in return for bitcoin.

MacsHeadroom2• 13 years ago

The recent run-up is nothing.

The price will be $300/BTC by next week and $3000/BTC by next year.

unimpressive3• 13 years ago

I need to start recording bold predictions like this in some sort of journal.

EDIT: I meant in general, not just for bitcoin.

brewsterkahle3• 13 years ago

The Internet Archive is holding on to the bitcoins to keep the currency experiment going. I bought $1,000 worth of coins so I could make the bitcoin converter box at the Internet Archive and be able to give my friends 0.10 BTC when they got an address so they would ahve something to play with. the sushi place might cash in their BTC's into our converter box (honor based ATM), but maybe not. For me, the key to make a currency is to have it trade around before getting redeemed. We are in this for real.

blhack2• 13 years ago

Okay, fine. How do I buy some bitcoin?

Is bitinstant still cool?

edit1: Okay, MT Gox seems to be having some server problems, but things are going...slowly.

edit2: Mt Gox really wants my driver's license? This seems...not to be something that is a good idea. Should I really give them my driver's license?

impostervt• 13 years ago

If you're just getting started, I wrote a book for you. You can buy it and get some bitcoins back, too.

http://www.bitcoinbeginner.com

If you (or anyone else) would like a free copy of the book, email me: john@bitcoinbeginner.com

rheide2• 13 years ago

MtGox requires a fair bit of verification, but they've also been around pretty much the longest, and have already had to deal with all the security issues that other bitcoin sites are only beginning to discover. I trust them.

(That is to say, I trust them long enough to do the exchange, and then I transfer the bitcoins to my private offline wallet as soon as possible. And you should too.)

blhack2• 13 years ago

Did you give them your license, though? That seems to trip every single "identity theft" alarm I have.

mtgx• 13 years ago

If you're in US try Coinbase.com. If in Europe, you could try Bitstamp.net, but you need to set-up a SEPA account at your local bank. Then use that to buy from Bitstamp.

agilebyte• 13 years ago

In UK without using your bank account details:

1. Go to Co-op and buy some UCash for cash 2. Exchange UCash to Bitcoins at https://btc-e.com/

dmm3• 13 years ago

#bitcoin-otc on freenode. You can buy BTC with cash deposits at banks or with dwolla.

MtGox will take weeks to actually get working.

brewsterkahle3• 13 years ago

If you want some bitcoins to play with and you are in San Francisco, then just come by the Internet Archive and use our bitcoin converter box (honor based ATM). If you are not in SF, then please set these up in hacker spaces. It is fun, and currently it is going up so it is even profitable.

drivebyacct22• 13 years ago

Uh, who cares?

brown9-2• 13 years ago

Are the employees being paid in fixed Bitcoin amounts, or amounts relative to a USD-based (or other local currency) salary?

lwat3• 13 years ago

Nobody would be brave enough to pay (or work for) fixed bitcoin amounts right now.

eru• 13 years ago

My guess, is that they just split the donations.

vidyesh4• 13 years ago

I don't think they are paying the complete salary in BTCs. A part of their salary is paid in BTCs ( from the donations they received ).

That value definitely would be calculated based on the present value.

brewsterkahle3• 13 years ago

we paid in $-equiv: the Internet Archive calculated the price of bitcoins on April 1 and use that (rounded down to $100/btc). seemed fair.

How the Internet Archive is having a great time with Bitcoin

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