Summary of "Is China Buying Bitcoins?..." (November 13, 2014)
This episode covers several key developments in the cryptocurrency space, focusing on global adoption, technological replication, and community engagement. The discussion highlights the flow of Bitcoin into China, the technical challenge of recreating Ethereum's core features, and the unexpected success of charitable tipping.
1) Main Topics Discussed
* Bitcoin Flow into China: Analysis of fiat leaks tracking small Bitcoin purchases into the People's Republic of China.
* Ethereum Replication: The Counter-party team recreating the Turing Complete Programming Language, the main feature of Ethereum.
* Tipping Tuesday: The viral nature of charitable Bitcoin donations, with significant contributions received by charities like the Royal Life Boat Society.
* Darknet Spending: A review of the "Random Darknet Shopper" bot, which spends $100 of Bitcoin weekly on random items.
* Market Update: Bitcoin prices saw an increase of almost 8%.
2) Key Quotes
* "Open source is open source, right?" (Referring to the Counter-party replication of Ethereum).
* "Small tips from broke people matter even more than large tips from the capricious rich." (Highlighting the value of community donations).
* "A paperweight, junk garage, wedding ring, a honey pot." (A closing, whimsical summary of Bitcoin's diverse uses).
3) People Mentioned
Brad (Patreon supporter), Vitalik Buteroom, Roberts and Roberts Brokridge, Russell Brand, Ellen DeGeneres, and William Gibson.
4) Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin was up almost 8%. Winkdex reported a range of a low of 398, a high of 458, and a last price of 433. Lightcoin was noted at $4.9 cents.