Bitcoin anyone?

[wagoneer]

Been watching the bitcoin getting accepted more and more. Still a bit dodgy for me.

 

[Ballenxj]

Been watching the bitcoin getting accepted more and more. Still a bit dodgy for me.

Let's see, at first our currency "Was" Gold, Silver, or tangible services.
Next, our currency was coined from Gold and Silver. Tangible services still viable.
Then currency became paper, (linen actually) and backed by Gold and Silver.
Now, our currency is still paper, but backed by nothing more than our governments word. Remember the phrase, We're from the government, and we're here to help you?
Now, somebody has come up with a totally electronic currency? Anybody know what backs it? Anybody heard of a hard drive crash?
How about hackers? Maybe a pissed off employee? The list of fears, at least to me are infinite.
Forgive me if I seem a wee bit skeptical too.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah I like something that I can actually hold in my hand. highdesertranger

 

[Wabbit]

...yeah I like something that I can actually hold in my hand...

Archer is hilarious. If you're not familiar with the show, check it out.

As to BitCoin...bah. That ship sailed awhile ago. It was a gamble that paid off huge for people in the beginning, but its my opinion that the powers that be aren't happy when they feel they are being "cut out". I might be wrong, but they will find a way to get their cut and if they can't, they(whose they?!? THEM!!!) will find a way to short circuit it, regulate it, or just ruin it if they can't find a way to exploit it. Just my crappy opinion to try and not be OT...

 

[Scott7022]

I researched Bitcoin back in back in 2009 for my book Grey Redemption. It was very new then and the only things you could buy were illegal things...But for authenticity I converted 100 bucks from my PayPal to Coinbank or some such mining company and got my bitcoins. I had a little USB drive bank unit. Figured out how the exchange worked, time it took, conversion costs. Used it to purchase a few grey items on silk road, knock off bag and some other stuff, just to see how the exchange was handled. Tossed the flash drive in my watch box and finished the book. Forgot about the flash drive.

When I started the sequel, I remembered my little flash drive. I was once again going to use the crypto currency and figured I'd check out what had changed. Boy was I happily surprised at the changes. Wish I had have left the whole 100 bucks on it! LOL!!!

Tons of security and it is used now, because of new laws, more than it was then. All sorts of alternatives are out there too. But you only hear of Bitcoin and Ethereum. If you're interested, here is a link. https://bitinfocharts.com/new-cryptocurrencies-2017.html

I would put forward that taking a grand and putting 5 bucks into all the new ones performing well, would be a better bet than Vegas. My 12.73 bitcoins sure made me a happy camper.

The super rich and those that need to live alternative lifestyles will always need a CC that's got no (in or out) limit. The world banking practices have changed post 911 and many of those types now use this brave new currency. But it is volatile in the extreme. For people that wear 1000 dollar ties, this is not a concern. For us normal people... No one has made a currency that replaces friends, experiences, and real life. So I am all good!

 

[Zil]

Is it better to trust some programmer with no known location, or someone such as USA or other country with rule of law? Boxes of gold and silver are difficult to carry.

 

[lenny flank]

Meh, can't even buy a Big Mac with it.

Seems suitable mostly for drug deals and illegal arms transactions.

 

[mco65]

I bought and sold some bitcoins back before it hit $100... the one thing that scared me off a bit was a crash from 100 to 20 and the fact that new digital coins seemed to be popping up every other week...

 

[wagoneer]

My older son was mining bitcoin at about 2010 told me about it I just replied WHAT?

 

[Scott7022]

Actually, in Europe it is accepted in a bunch of places. Georgia uses it. Loads of bars accept it the Netherlands. Canada has bank machines that convert it out to Canuck bucks. You can pay for real estate with it in BC.

Wagoneer bet you wished you'd paid attention to that comment. a grand of bitcoins in 2010 would be worth around 34,587 657.00 US bucks today!

Ahhh yes the armory on the darkweb before it got shut down....mmmmm. I was there for research purposes, but was tempted by a pair of Heckler and Koch VP70M's. Modified with a longer threaded barrel, vertical compensator, and eight inch can on the front. The compensator was tube vented into the can. Not sure how that would have worked but it looked very steampunk cool. The very first polymer pistol, sorry Glock, and three round burst and no hearing protection required. But alas, I valued my freedom, and job more than history.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Bitcoin now seems to be the currency of choice for paying when ransomware strikes.

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/16/528570753/cyberattack-culprits-demand-ransom-be-paid-in-bitcoins

Which means I wouldn't be at all surprised if governments become serious about shutting it down . . .

 

[slynne]

Around 2010, I got into an argument with an ex who I ran across online. It was about the possibility of a bitcoin bubble. I felt a bit coin investment was too risky. He told me that he had just bought $10k in bit coin. 

I guess he was right! I am glad I was wrong though : I dont know if he held onto those bitcoins or not but probably some of them. I know another guy who was also a bit coin early adopter. He has renounced his US citizenship and is living stateless in S. America. I imagine bitcoin has done him well too. 

[I would feel bad about it but back then, I didn't have $10 to invest, much less $10k. $10k otoh was nothing to him or at least an amount he could afford to lose so it isnt like he was taking all that big of a risk ]

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Can anyone explain to me what gives a bitcoin value?

And how does something go from $10K to $34.5M in 7 years?
That suggests that way more people want bitcoins than there are bitcoins (if I understand supply and demand correctly).
Or is the value set another way?
Or is this another bubble?

 -- Spiff

 

[John61CT]

Just like any fiat currency, it is worth exactly what people believe it is worth.

Until it isn't anymore, nothing lasts forever.

When the world stops believing USD is best international trading medium and safe store of value, boy will come a day of reckoning and hell to pay.

Looks like sooner rather than later

 

[ZoNiE]

-SNIP-

My 12.73 bitcoins sure made me a happy camper.

Thats $52 Grand.

To understand bitcoin, you need to understand how the blockchain works.

I almost invested $500 in it at the beginning. Wish I did. Whodathunkit?

Read about it here.

 

[Scott7022]

Zonie.
Yeah, that was around the number. Better investment than my Apple shares in 1992..LOL! Totally fluke, I liked apple knew nothing, got a work bonus bought shares and "forgot about it". An uncle who was an investor type said buy what you like and believe in and then look at it in ten years.

Funny when I was researching the book the big push was for block chain miners. Bandwidth, cheap labor, and cheap space were the requirements. Hence why so much of the mining happened in China. As a mine, you earned a piece of every bit coined mined. Hence why Vancouver has some of the highest property values in North America. Or HongCouver as it is called, tough in cheek. The five million dollar apartments are only really 2000 bucks.

The take away for me is the idea of money and value? To steal from the great writer Douglas Adams "Chasing paper with fancy pictures on it." Way back in the day I thought why trade our lives for this? I had a career and I did it because I liked it at times and would have died if I stopped at other times. But, in the end, when it became about the money I remembered that line...Retired very early, not yet 49. I was far from "set" or "ready" but I invested in what I liked and believed in. Travel, Love, Freedom. I will look at this decision in 10 years and see if it was Apple or MCI/Worldcom...LOL!

 

[debit.servus]

I knew bitcoin since it was $15 a coin in February 2013. Mined and earned a total of about .001 BTC then, wished I had bought below $20 as the price blew up past $1000 in late 2013. Things not working in hindsight, I realized there are always new opportunities and you don't have to get in at the very bottom and get out at the tippy top to make a profit. Now is a great time to get into crypto, wager what you can afford to lose but realize its limited downside (the cryptos you bought go practically worthless), and unlimited potential upside (the crypto(s) you bought rockets like bitcoin).

For dwellers, this is another way to make some money on the Internet by trading and investing in cryptocurrency. There are even profitable trading bots that trade on volatility & crypto mutual funds. If you have unlimited power and a decent internet connection you can install automated mining software NiceHash and put your computer to work, profits depending on your CPU/GPU speed. For more DIY, there are cloud mining contracts you can buy that can be profitable.

 

[lenny flank]

Bitcoin now seems to be the currency of choice for paying when ransomware strikes.

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/16/528570753/cyberattack-culprits-demand-ransom-be-paid-in-bitcoins

Which means I wouldn't be at all surprised if governments become serious about shutting it down . . .

So now "governments" are part of the "ransomware conspiracy".....?

(sigh)

This place gets sillier all the time. 

No wonder the constant political crapola gets tedious and tiresome.

 

[frater secessus]

Now, somebody has come up with a totally electronic currency? Anybody know what backs it? Anybody heard of a hard drive crash?
How about hackers? Maybe a pissed off employee? The list of fears, at least to me are infinite.

Math backs it.  

There are no employees/employers to be pissed off.  There is no company; it is a distributed system.   You don't have to store wallets on a hard drive.   You can put them on paper, or engraved on a piece of steel locked in a safe deposit box, or just memorize a 12-word series.  As long as you remember the passphrase you are fine.

I respect your skepticism;  it is a weird idea and can be difficult to visualize.   Plus the existing power and financial structures have every incentive to encourage Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt about blockchain technology.  

If you (Ballenxj) decide to give it a try the bitcoin wallet apps are free.  You can safely publish a receiving address and I'll send you $1 worth to play with.  It is exceptionally divisible so $1 works as well as $1billion in terms of the math.   <-- this is what scares the Western Union and IRS types pantsless

 

[frater secessus]

Bitcoin now seems to be the currency of choice for paying when ransomware strikes.
...
Which means I wouldn't be at all surprised if governments become serious about shutting it down . . .

Govts don't care about ransomware proper;  they care about financial tracking regulations and getting a cut of the action in taxes.