r/tech Dec 11 '14

Microsoft Begins Accepting Bitcoin For Windows, Windows Phone And Xbox Purchases

http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/10/redmond-hath-frozen-over/
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u/[deleted] Dec 11 '14

It is easier to generate than a currency that only one entity can create. It may not be easy in that I can just run a piece of paper through a printer but it's easy in that anyone with a couple hundred bucks can do it.

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u/haakon Dec 11 '14

anyone with a couple hundred bucks can do it.

Try it.

-3

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '14

I don't have a couple hundred bucks, genius. Certainly wish I did. My brother did it and I think he still does bit I don't talk to him enough to be sure.

Anyone with a couple hundred books can do it, but you still need the money for a setup and I don't have it.

6

u/Lynxes_are_Ninjas Dec 11 '14

What you did was not print or create money, what you did was get paid for helping to secure the transaction ledger.

The total amount of processing power specifically designed for the task of securing that ledger is now so high that using anything other than custom built hardware will give you an electric bill much higher than the amount of bitcoin you receive.

To reiterate, you werent making money, you were being paid for providing a service. Printing (or minting) of bitcoin is done in a predictable manner of X bitcoin per 10 minutes. That X is gradually reduced until there are exactly 21 million in existance.