[owenmarshall]

>A transaction takes 2 willing participants.

That's what makes me the most nervous about Bitcoins -- for me to turn my paycheck into Bitcoins, or turn Bitcoins into something I can give to my mortgage holder, I've got to find a person to trade with. And you're right -- if the value of a Bitcoin is expected to keep trending up, that shouldn't be a problem. But what happens if (or, as I'm guessing, when) the market adjusts, or the bubble pops? That decentralized nature makes me worry that any investment in Bitcoins could turn very illiquid very fast, and given that the market right now seems to be driven almost completely by speculation, I worry about this happening sooner than later.

If, however, more people start accepting Bitcoins in exchange for goods & services, I think the currency might stabilize a bit more. But that's going to require much more widespread adoption. And how many merchants will shy away from a currency whose value can swing 10%-15% in the time it takes a customer to place an order?

The one and only thing I feel certain about re. Bitcoin: Somebody way smarter than me is going to make a ton of money with this.