[PaulJoslin]

This is why I was unable to buy bitcoins when I first read about them on HN in 2010 and similar in 2011 when the price had gone over $1 and actually showed promise. (I have some emails to colleagues / friends showing my frustration at the time of wanting to get some)

I always wanted just 1 (still do), but back in 2010 I was just going to spend £100 and see what happens. It seems in the US the people who did similar to what I wanted to do in varying forms made good profits (and had an interesting ride).

This is different from 'speculating' (e.g. 'oh I wish I had actually bought some') - I had full intent and wanted to buy them, but just the barrier to entry due to UK regulations were very high. I even tried to arrange peer to peer transactions through reddit or in person but they also seemed difficult. Most people I ever met in person who had any didn't want to sell due to the belief of the ever increasing price.

[leoedin]

I had luck buying bitcoins a few times about a year ago through MtGox. Their method of getting money in (UK bank transfer) was shut down about October last year, and since then I've not figured out how to buy more. I have to wonder where the money stoking these recent price rises is coming from.

Of course I managed to be highly ineffective at making the most of the bitcoins I had. I think I probably had about 10 bitcoins in my posession at one point, and I probably realised about £150 of real gain out of them. Hindsight is wonderful!

Edit: I should add that I opened my MtGox account a few years ago, before there was any requirement for ID or verification. I think the whole process has become a lot harder since.

[PaulJoslin]

It's coming from China[1]. A LOT OF MONEY from China. Like $millions. That's how all these early adopters in the USA are being able to cash out millions and the price is not crashing.

They seem to like the fact it separates them from the US dollar, as well as allowing Chinese residents more control over their money and a potential store of wealth comparable to gold (although far more volatile).

Of course I still believe this is unsustainable, but in a strange form this is a wealth rebalancing act on a global scale... the rich Chinese giving money to the US citizens.

As long as the rest of the world doesn't go bitcoin mad and let the Chinese cash out again, then if it ever pops there will be a lot of wealth lost in China.

[1]http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-27/bitcoin-surges-to-1...

[Aqueous]

I'm more worried what the effect of the Chinese government potentially outlawing BitCoin would have.

Both China and the US government have given BitCoin a tacit (and not-so-tacit) endorsement, China with a pro-BitCoin documentary on state television, and the US with Senate hearings that appeared to suggest the US is not going to move to outlaw it but rather regulate it. I do not see the US government giving its citizens the impression that using BitCoin would be legitimate and then going back on that suggestion - there would be too many vested interests, with a lot to lose, and they would not be cool with that.

The Chinese government is more powerful than the US government, however. There is a chance that they could see their citizens pour their savings into BitCoin and still move for a regulatory crackdown. I'm still concerned that they will believe BitCoin is getting out of control and their ability to control the funds exiting and entering the country through BitCoin is diminished.

The bottom line: the more countries that start using BitCoin, that more stable it will become, the less a single country's regulatory action will impact the price.

[ksrm]

I found BitBargain quite pleasant to use. You buy directly from sellers via bank transfer (if your bank supports Faster Payments, which it almost certainly does).

https://bitbargain.co.uk/

edit: prices don't seem as good as they used to be though.

[Aqueous]

It's coming from China. BTC China has a much lower hurdle and the volume is going up daily in the most populous country in the world. It is a huge potential market for virtual currencies.

[regularfry]

The UK is problematic. What's now Intersango - britcoin - used to be a pretty good way of buying them, and that's how I got mine. Just a bank transfer to get the GBP in, then a moderately active exchange. I presume someone's whacked them round the head with some banking regulations, because they don't accept GBP transfers at all any more.

[summerdown2]

Me too. I tried several times, but was always stymied by living in the UK away from London and not wanting to give my personal/financial details to a site I didn't trust on the internet.

If there was a way to pay cash and get bitcoins, I'd have done it years ago.

[user24]

I had a good experience buying via: http://bitbargain.co.uk

[fiatjaf]

Don't lament on your foregone profits. You would probably have selled them with 200 or 300% up.