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0 pointsmaxerickson12y ago0 comments

If you are servicing very many people it seems like the necessary operating float is going to look a lot like a heaping wad of cash.

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4 comments · 1 top-level

JulianMorrison12y ago· 3 in thread

No, it means that you divide transactions into "can be served from petty cash" and "requires a wait while we get some bitcoins out of the vault".

Then implement the vault as offline storage (encrypted files burned onto DVDs and physically stored in a vault for example).

maxericksonOP12y ago

Yeah, I get the principle. But a busy cash register at a store services dozens of people an hour. A mildly successful exchange will be servicing hundreds or thousands each hour.

You wave your hands in the air and say 'they wait', but there goes all your speed and cost advantages.

danielweber12y ago

Just like people who use UDP because it's more efficient, and then have to re-add all the stuff TCP has. It looks like Bitcoin has to re-add all the protections that the old money system has.

A cash register has things incoming and outgoing. It's not constantly draining all day. You might need someone to run to the bank to get a bunch of pennies or a bunch of singles to make change.

(And with the "cold storage" concept, it's free and instantaneous to move money into your own cold storage whenever your till gets over a certain amount.)

JulianMorrison12y ago

A float only has to cover volatility in the rate of deposits and withdrawals, because if ins == outs you can simply turn around the BTC from Peter to pay Paul. So the amount needed may be smaller than you think.

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