I think it’s time to move into crypto

[ppnewbie]

I have been doing a deep dive lately and the next 15 or 20 years could be a massive shock to old institutions. I am going to start getting me feet wet and continue to research.

[whatchamacallit]

I am also contemplating putting no more than 1% net worth into bitcoin if it gets another 50% drop.

Not because I think it has any kind of functional future in and of itself but because I want to get in on the apparently legal pyramid scheme.

I have started looking at best way to hold them and they all feel a little yucky.

Just leaving them in complete control of something like Robinhood feels like the least risky even though you have the counter party risk.

They are at least insured:

https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/art ... -security/

[whatchamacallit]

I was just looking through all the Cryptos and found something called "bitcoin gold".

I was feeling pretty good about getting a little bit but found out the two big exchanges don't even sell it.

No wonder it looked like a better value to me. The masses can't buy it easily.

[l82start]

has anyone researched the new pay pall to bit coin service yet? how does it stack up compared to the others others?

[bitcoininthevp]

I was just looking through all the Cryptos and found something called "bitcoin gold".

I was feeling pretty good about getting a little bit but found out the two big exchanges don't even sell it.

No wonder it looked like a better value to me. The masses can't buy it easily.

I would really recommend you do more research on this topic. Its like saying I saw some penny stock called "Apple Prime" and it seemed good compared to that expensive "Apple" stock.

Is Bitcoin not volatile enough for you?

[dualstow]

I am also contemplating putting ... into bitcoin if it gets another 50% drop.

Not because I think it has any kind of functional future in and of itself but because I want to get in on the apparently legal pyramid scheme.

I have started looking at best way to hold them and they all feel a little yucky.
..

I don’t have enough to really worry about, or I suppose I don’t worry because I didn’t buy it in the first place. If I lost a gold coin, I’d feel terrible, and that is worth less.

Having a tiny amount is educational. You learn by doing. As with having a brokerage account, buying bonds at auction, learning to buy physical gold from a dealer (“not from the mint???”) etc.

My main concern is fees. While there are a dozen or more ways to quickly move cash digitally with zero fees, there are fees for moving bitcoin. At least, for what I’ve been doing: getting a new digital wallet, and using BitPay to buy something.

My main incentive: I do like the idea that i could access the little stash from anywhere in the world, even if i lost all my other possessions. That alone is worth trying it out.

[pp4me]

I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Bitcoin springing up (I think I read about China starting a crypto currency), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now.

At least with gold you know there is only one source for it - that which already exists or can be mined from the earth's scarce natural resources (until they figure out how to mine it in outer space or make it in a lab, of course).

[yankees60]

How does this fit into the discussion in this Topic?

Vinny

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[dualstow]

I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Bitcoin springing up (I think I read about China starting a crypto currency), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now.

At least with gold you know there is only one source for it - that which already exists or can be mined from the earth's scarce natural resources (until they figure out how to mine it in outer space or make it in a lab, of course).

That is a very interesting problem. There is a finite number of Bitcoins that can be mined....and an infinite variety of other digital coins which can be created.

I don’t know how they work. But I know how people work. And in this decade I think we’ll see celebrities hawking their own coins. Maybe Bitcoin will remain strong amidst the noise. But Marc de Mesel, bitcoin giveaway guy, is online saying “$BTC is not bitcoin.” I need to research what he means.

[pp4me]

I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Bitcoin springing up (I think I read about China starting a crypto currency), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now.

At least with gold you know there is only one source for it - that which already exists or can be mined from the earth's scarce natural resources (until they figure out how to mine it in outer space or make it in a lab, of course).

That is a very interesting problem. There is a finite number of Bitcoins that can be mined....and an infinite variety of other digital coins which can be created.

I don’t know how they work. But I know how people work. And in this decade I think we’ll see celebrities hawking their own coins. Maybe Bitcoin will remain strong amidst the noise. But Marc de Mesel, bitcoin giveaway guy, is online saying “$BTC is not bitcoin.” I need to research what he means.

How are Bitcoins mined? I saw an article today about most of the Bitcoin mining is occurring China but I read it and it didn't compute.

If a scarcity restraint is involved then obviously I don't understand it.

[Don]

I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Bitcoin springing up (I think I read about China starting a crypto currency), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now.

At least with gold you know there is only one source for it - that which already exists or can be mined from the earth's scarce natural resources (until they figure out how to mine it in outer space or make it in a lab, of course).

That is a very interesting problem. There is a finite number of Bitcoins that can be mined....and an infinite variety of other digital coins which can be created.

I don’t know how they work. But I know how people work. And in this decade I think we’ll see celebrities hawking their own coins. Maybe Bitcoin will remain strong amidst the noise. But Marc de Mesel, bitcoin giveaway guy, is online saying “$BTC is not bitcoin.” I need to research what he means.

Marc is still online? I need to thank him for putting me through 8 years of bitcoin hell. Lol.

[Don]

FWIW, bitcoin fell $6500 today.

[whatchamacallit]

Quick search on btc is not bitcoin went to a new coin:

"Bitcoin sv"

It is a fork of a fork of bitcoin.

It is much cheaper below $200 still. Might be worth a gamble.

[bitcoininthevp]

I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Bitcoin springing up (I think I read about China starting a crypto currency), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now.

At least with gold you know there is only one source for it - that which already exists or can be mined from the earth's scarce natural resources (until they figure out how to mine it in outer space or make it in a lab, of course).

"I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Gold springing up (I think I read about China synthesizing some metals), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now."

Apply your discrimination in metals to cryptocurrencies. Metals have different properties, so do cryptocurrencies.

[jatwell]

Interesting, noticed this whole doing my taxes this year:

https://www.cointracker.io/blog/irs-cla ... -form-1040

[bitcoininthevp]

I don’t know how they work. But I know how people work. And in this decade I think we’ll see celebrities hawking their own coins. Maybe Bitcoin will remain strong amidst the noise. But Marc de Mesel, bitcoin giveaway guy, is online saying “$BTC is not bitcoin.” I need to research what he means.

You and I can create a cryptocurrency today. But what properties and value would that have? Will it have censorship resistance? Who will be securing (mining) it?

There have been many celebrities shilling their own coins or ones they were paid to endorse in years past. Even some legal actions taken against them after the fact since the "coins" (not all cryptocurrencies are equal properties) were deemed securities.

Marc de Mesel (I was not familiar with him previously, but see his twitter feed) seems to have fallen on the "other" side of the 2017 "bitcoin" vs "bitcoin cash" drama/fork. Essentially "bitcoin cash" folks are payment network use case focused. They want cryptos to prioritize ease of payments and essentially act like credit card competitors. "bitcoin" folks are focused on a store of value, decentralization, digital gold use case. This battle played out by the "bitcoin cash" folks splitting off from bitcoin (a "fork") in 2017.

You can see from the chart below that the market has determined the victor from a price perspective. From 1 BCH = .3 BTC in 2017 to 1 BCH =0.01 BTC. It’s a huge loss if you decided to ride the BCH train and sell your BTC.

[bitcoininthevp]

Quick search on btc is not bitcoin went to a new coin:

"Bitcoin sv"

It is a fork of a fork of bitcoin.

It is much cheaper below $200 still. Might be worth a gamble.

Apply your normal thinking to other assets to the crypto space.

Gold is expensive, but this sand.... Might be worth a gamble.

Apple is expensive, but this penny stock... Might be worth a gamble.

[bitcoininthevp]

How are Bitcoins mined? I saw an article today about most of the Bitcoin mining is occurring China but I read it and it didn't compute.

If a scarcity restraint is involved then obviously I don't understand it.

Satoshi needed a way to translate physical world scarcity into the digital world. What he chose amounts to converting energy/electricity into bitcoin units. Bitcoin mining is the process of translating energy into bitcoins by "solving math problems" (a greatly oversimplified version that the media likes to say).

The mining process burns energy in proportion to how many other miners there are competing in Bitcoin. Mining/"math problem solving" also has a functional aspect of processing/approving the transactions on the Bitcoin network. Some Bitcoin miner will "win" bitcoins every 10 minutes or so when they solve the math problem, also known as mining a block (of transactions).

The math problem then resets and everyone builds on top of that previous block during the next 10 minutes trying to win the next reward of bitcoins by burning energy.

Clear as mud?

[dualstow]

I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Bitcoin springing up (I think I read about China starting a crypto currency), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now.

At least with gold you know there is only one source for it - that which already exists or can be mined from the earth's scarce natural resources (until they figure out how to mine it in outer space or make it in a lab, of course).

"I've been hearing a lot about competitors for Gold springing up (I think I read about China synthesizing some metals), so that's enough to make me avoid it for now."

Apply your discrimination in metals to cryptocurrencies. Metals have different properties, so do cryptocurrencies.

That’s all good info, b.i.t.vp — we really need a keyboard friendlier nickname for you! — and easier to understand.
Your point is valid about not throwing money into this coin and that, dogecoin, etc. I just don’t like that they exist, because they distract people (and their money). They can distract inflows in the way that bitcoin perhaps takes inflows that might have gone into gold.

Ethereum, well ether, is one that I am curious about. Kind of a next generation after bitcoin? I’m still reading up on the subject.
Do you have any opinion on it?

[flyingpylon]

I'm not sure why so many people think Bitcoin is expensive. It's not like you have to buy a full "coin", it's incredibly simple to buy fractions. My strategy is to throw some disposable income into BTC each month and see where it goes. It doesn't take a lot of deep thought and hand-wringing. Heck, some people routinely blow more than that in bars each weekend (pre-rona at least). I've found it entertaining and it alleviates some FOMO.

[yankees60]

More from Rickards...

Vinny

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[dualstow]

I'm not sure why so many people think Bitcoin is expensive. It's not like you have to buy a full "coin", it's incredibly simple to buy fractions.
...

That aspect is kind of like stocks- people who want to buy penny stocks versus GOOG at $2,000 a share, stock splits, etc.
Bitcoin is expensive if you buy in at $50,000 and have to sell at $25,000.

[doodle]

I'm not sure why so many people think Bitcoin is expensive. It's not like you have to buy a full "coin", it's incredibly simple to buy fractions.
...

That aspect is kind of like stocks- people who want to buy penny stocks versus GOOG at $2,000 a share, stock splits, etc.
Bitcoin is expensive if you buy in at $50,000 and have to sell at $25,000.

Bitcoin is just plain out expensive in terms of the energy required...

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[dualstow]

Yep, the energy comes up often and it is massive. i mentioned in the lengthy Giveaway thread that a friend wanted to go in on mining and I just didn’t want to deal with the utility bill.

[dualstow]

Square/SQ is buying a bunch of bitcoin today, so maybe that’s another way to play it. However, Square and Tesla and the NASDAQ are really falling.

Nvidia/NVDA has long been a good way to profit on all the mining going on.