Bitcoins?

[ExcuseMyIgnorance]

Is such a thing still viable?

[markminsky]

thanks

[anjfire]

Yes, 1BTC = $450 now

[nichemark]

try different mining techniques

[webjohn]

I was just about to buy some...

[james.hendrickson]

yes - bitcoin is still around, but the price has declined a lot. For example it was trading over 1,100 around January of 2014, but not the price has declined to 377 today.

So the reason its not in the media news so much is because the price has gone down.

[GrowingTheGreen]

Is this really a viable way to make money or are people just buying in speculation?

[ZachRosh23]

I've always wondered what a bitcoin actually was.

[Spiffster]

Bitcoin can be still be "mined" but not at a profit. It takes far more time and even cost in electricity to calculate the current blockchain... even on hardware designed to do this. The price has been fluctuating from time to time, but its all based on speculation. The concept is brilliant though and bitcoins can be used to transfer "real" money across the world and between currencies at almost no cost. More legitimate business are accepting bitcoin for payment, but its still mostly used for illegal transactions and online gambling.

[Sam1000]

I don't get it.

Bitcoins are extremely driven by emotions whereas in a stock exchange, the financials dictate a company's value (emotions, not for long).

Over 90% percent day traders lose their wealth within a year, and day traders rely entirely on the market's mood, emotions. Bubbles too are formed out of emotions, when everyone is too optimistic about a stock.

Emotions make us irrational. And something that is highly driven by emotion is basically speculation, and not an investment.

[Tabs]

Part of the reason why stocks in reputable exchanges such as the NYSE and Nasdaq are considered relatively safe for investing purposes are a sense of reliability, consistency, and efficiency in both the securities offered, as well as the exchanges they are traded over.

I would argue that none of these qualities exist for cryptocurrencies; certainly not at the level of legitimacy that these major exchanges enjoy.

Also, keep in mind that the main reason why bitcoins became popular to begin with is niche void they filled as the dark net currency of choice.

However, with the inception of blockchain, word is that many have already moved on to other currencies that have little oversight via blockchain or no blockchains at all.

Take that for what you will, but my friends, please make no mistake: Cryptocurrencies might rule the world some day, but as a short term speculation, it is highly speculative indeed. I would take care how much you appropriate your hard earned real money into this speculation.

[Cristen Wyght]

Part of the reason why stocks in reputable exchanges such as the NYSE and Nasdaq are considered relatively safe for investing purposes are a sense of reliability, consistency, and efficiency in both the securities offered, as well as the exchanges they are traded over.

I would argue that none of these qualities exist for cryptocurrencies; certainly not at the level of legitimacy that these major exchanges enjoy.

Also, keep in mind that the main reason why bitcoins became popular to begin with is niche void they filled as the dark net currency of choice.

However, with the inception of blockchain, word is that many have already moved on to other currencies that have little oversight via blockchain or no blockchains at all.

Take that for what you will, but my friends, please make no mistake: Cryptocurrencies might rule the world some day, but as a short term speculation, it is highly speculative indeed. I would take care how much you appropriate your hard earned real money into this speculation.

Thank you for this reply. I am contemplating of joining the bandwagon myself because my brother's friend just bought a car from bitcoins. Is this possible?

[Tabs]

Wait. You did read what I just wrote right? I thought it was pretty clear? If not, well, I'll try to spell it out: The gold rush heydays of Bitcoin is over. It is at this point that any upward trajectories are strictly artificial, based on mainstreet speculators coming in late to the party. Why do I think this?

While nobody really knows how the future will pan out, here is what we do know about Bitcoin: Blockchain exists now and is a necessary mechanism for managing Bitcoins. Law enforcement has successfully used blockchain to follow the paper trail on the dark net. Consequently, dark net denizens have come straight out and told us they are moving away from Bitcoin to something less traceable. Let me repeat that again, and I don't even have to bang two rocks together to try to figure this one out. Members from Anonymous have literally come out and said they are moving away from Bitcoin. I don't know how far along they are on their transition, but this is already happening.

To me, this is as clear a signal as any that Bitcoin-- especially given its artificially-inflated prices right now-- is radioactive. RADIO-ACTIVE! GET AWAY FROM IT! DO NOT BUY! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

And just so we are also clear why the dark net matters, it is because that's where Bitcoin got popular in the first place, and up until recently, was also Bitcoin's biggest user base. Basically, online drug dealers wanted a way to make transactions without any way for Uncle Sam to trace their financial activities. Yes, this is how Bitcoin came to be in the first place, but now, with blockchain tracing their activities, it literally makes no sense why anyone on the dark net would stay with it. And like I said earlier, they've literally come out and said they're not.

So if they're not going to use it, who else will? Mongolia? Venezuela? They're only using it because government-controlled fiat currency is failing miserably. The people are desperate and there are no better options. Otherwise, literally nowhere else would any government with any functioning paper currency endorse Bitcoin, because to do so means losing their power to implement monetary policies. Seriously. Trying to steer an economy is like trying to move a large boat with a small rudder. Why in the world would they give up the rudder?

And please don't listen to the kooky quants from Blackrock or Goldman, or anyone else with their finger in this pie. They already have positions or controlling interests in its related businesses, so of course they are going to sing its praises. I don't have anything against hedge fund managers actually, but DO know when you are likely being played for a chump in a pump and dump.

Or how about China or some other countries allowing it to be publically traded? You know what I think? I think they know that even if they ban it, it can not be controlled. That is the very nature of Bitcoin. So when faced with such a choice, they can either ban it and make no money except for those on the black market, or they can allow it and take a small slice of that pie in exchange fees. But make no mistake. China and many other countries do not actually LIKE Bitcoin. They're just being realistic about it.

Now, whether you agree with me or not is irrelevant. In the end, it's your money, so it's your decision. Plus, who knows, just because something is a radioactive bubble, that doesn't mean you can't still make some change before this bubble bursts. Unless something drastically changes that is... which it perfectly may.

Having said all that, please don't get me wrong. I actually do think cryptocurrency is the wave of the future. It has a surprising number of benefits, and it doesn't have to stay in the fringes of the dark net for everyone, governments included, to benefit from it. However, we are not at that point yet. Cryptocurrency in general are still in its infancy, and who knows what will happen next or which form of currency will eventually win mainstream support. Just keep in mind that even if cryptocurrency eventually does gain mainstream acceptance, it may not even be specifically Bitcoin that wins out. It could be something else entirely. Case in point:

My current opinion is that, if you really insist on buying cryptocurrency, give Ethereum a try. Why? For one, I think Ethereum is still reasonably mineable? If you do plan on mining it, better move fast though. More importantly, Ethereum has the backing of major international banks from HSBC to J.P. Morgan and more, as well as tech industry giants like Intel and Microsoft. To me, that makes me think that at least Ethereum has a shot to become the first real cryptocurrency to go mainstream. Maybe. Even if it gains critical mass, I still wonder if it's not a solution looking for a problem?

Despite all the rambling, I hope that helped. I am not trying to rain on anyone's parade. It's just that, to me, the danger signs are very clear here, and I am just trying to help other people see the danger.

[epixelmlm]

Bitcoin Viability

Is such a thing still viable?

Yes, Bitcoin has been through thick and thin in the past few months and your questions seem to be a bothering one that floats around every investor's mind. A part of the online world or enthusiasts says that Bitcoin is a bubble and the other as a viable option. So which one is it? The answer is quite difficult to comment on and it duly depends on various factors like present marketing cap or value, exchange rates, coin rotation or mobility, altcoin values etc. Well, Bitcoin is still used as a medium for the transaction, investment, exchange etc. in various web-based platforms like shopping websites (e-commerce), travel booking sites, funding websites, network marketing etc.

[Tabs]

BTC has been slumping down since the beginning of the year, and thank goodness for the rest of us, graphic cards are actually back to its original prices (though that's still far from normal). It's hilarious because anybody who has done even a modest amount of homework on mining know things have gotten to a point where even dedicated ASICs... on alt-coins even... are having a hard time keeping up. So, I'm bewildered as to why anybody would think running racks of consumer graphic cards is going to help at all. But hey, at least us regular people can purchase them again.

The fact that they are still in use, in this case, is irrelevant. The real question for bulls and bears alike is whether it will go up again. It may in the short term. It has already bounced back from below $7000 at one point, back to $9000+ right now. So, who knows?

My problem is the two main narratives the bulls are presenting. First, some are calling this more of a "dip" than an actual downward trend. Perhaps, depending on what your trade window looks like? I mean even the technicals suggests a downward trend right now. But even if we ignore that, when pressed, they don't give any solid reasons as to why, fundamentally, it's going to rebound again. Just a lot of fancy words and fairy tale promises that, hoping against all hope, it will.

The other is the classic apocalyptic scenario. "Buy bitcoin. It's the latest in high tech, secure value store in case of the apocalypse. We even have vaults and missile silos to store these." Here's what really perplexes me. Say you do have an apocalypse. Electricity goes out and internet access becomes unavailable to you. How will you access and use your bitcoins for transactions? Better yet, how is this better than carrying a small sack of gold coins? At least gold doesn't require electricity or internet access to conduct transactions. I don't get it. What are the vaults for then? To protect your flash drive with your coin data inside?

I can't stress enough how much I believe in the future promise of cryptocurrency and blockchain in general. However, there is just so much hype and snake oil being peddled right now about it.

You also don't have to take my word for it either. Neither Buffett nor Munger are a fan of it if that means anything.