Bitcoins

I remember this article from 2013.

Wonder if it's worth buying a metal detector and heading for a rubbish dump in wales.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/27/hard-drive-bitcoin-landfill-site

 

'Bit' of a tool then .

 

There's no intrinsic value to them, they are not backed up by a state bank issuer, its going to collapse amongst accusations of massive fraud at some point. Just another pyramid scheme.

 

Whilst in some ways I'd agree with you, the value is in the decentralised system, which is priceless. Bitcoin as a currency is still quite cumbersome and of course it's too volatile to be practical, but it's still in its infancy. And there are now other alt coins which are actually more efficient than Bitcoin for making transactions. Is it in a speculative bubble? Very possibly, but I can't see it bursting until it reaches $60,000 at least. The fact that Bitcoin futures were launched the other day and nobody has tried to short it speaks volumes. Is it a pyramid scheme? It doesn't look like it to me, it's just people piling money into an asset for storing wealth. Some of the online trading platforms which promise returns of more than 1% a day most definitely do look like ponzi schemes, but I can't see how Bitcoin itself is. And as for fraud? No chance. Not one person is forced to invest in Bitcoin or any other crypto currencies.

 

Its not fraud, but there have been instances of exchanges being hijacked with considerable loss of wealth. IIRC Bitcoin is banned in China after an exchange went down with millions lost.

 

It's a very risky investment without a doubt. The lack of regulation which attracts people also means there's a lack of protection if things go tits up. Buyer beware, only invest what you can afford to lose.

 

Seems to me like the emperor’s new clothes.

 

Can someone explain in layman terms what it is and how it works . As far as I understand it's a virtual account that can be spent but is unprotected . So, if I fill my car up with fuel , or go for a McDonald's can I pay for it with my bit coin?

 

https://www.lifewire.com/what-are-bitcoins-2483146

 

Depends where you store them. Some online wallets do have a card connected to them, meaning you can draw out of cash machines in the currency of the country where you happen to be, make card transactions etc. But at the minute it's relatively expensive to make small transactions, plus with the current rate of growth you'd be a bit of a loon to pay for your ten quid McDonald's order in Bitcoin which could conceivably be worth £30 next month. As I mentioned in another post, it's not really practical as a currency while ever it's so volatile, but that will change in the future once it finds equilibrium.

 

Got any views on any other alt currency John? I've got a little bit in Ethereum, which has been great but lagged miles behind bitcoin thus far in terms of growth even though to me it looks like a superior concept...

 

The interest in bitcoin at this point isn't people backing the concept, it's people investing in it as a get rich quick scheme. I read that coinbase was the most downloaded app on the app store last weekend, and I doubt that many people who downloaded it could even begin to explain what a bitcoin is. It may continue to grow long term but there are still big hurdles to be crossed before it becomes anything approaching a viable currency. If it isn't a bubble then there are still likely to be some hefty downswings and large fluctuations at points in the future.

 

I'm no expert at all, but I would be looking at opening a Cryptopia account and buying up Electroneum tomorrow. They had an ICO a couple of months ago where it was sold for 1 cent a coin. It was launched on the exchange a month ago, but due to a security issue all the wallets were locked while testing was carried out. Meanwhile the price has shot up to 11 cents as people traded the coins which were mined in the meantime. Tomorrow at midday when the wallets will be made accessible, a glut of coins will hit the market as people dump having made 10x their initial outlay. I reckon the price will momentarily crash back to a cent or two, but will quickly climb as the coins get bought up. The concept behind the coin is excellent, far more practical than Bitcoin. The denomination is much smaller, and it's intended for use in online gaming and gambling. Obviously if it gets adopted on a widespread basis it's likely to climb to a dollar or more, so even a small investment could be very worthwhile. It's been developed by a reputable British team, and has generated a lot of interest.

Of the other coins, Litecoin has obviously done very well recently. I bought two of them of couple of months ago for a very small amount and wish I'd put in a lot more. It's also far more practical than Bitcoin, as is Ethereum.

Another new one to watch could be Tokenpay, which is conceptually similar to Electroneum. They're doing an ICO at the minute with the minimum investment being 0.01btc. That's around £120 so probably worth a bash, but like any of these things I wouldn't want to stick in much more. It's all a complete casino at the end of the day!

 

I think that's all fair comment, but it doesn't change the fact that the underlying concept of crypto currencies, Bitcoin or otherwise, is pretty robust.

 

I bought one bitcoin for $700 about 18 months ago. I sold it for $690.

My trading history is as good as Nigel Spackman's transfer dealings.

 

Looks like you've read it well so far mate, some dumping going on at the moment. It looks like it will play out over a couple of hours to me though as it's not instant for people to be able to get the mobile app and trade etc. Not sure it will drop as low as 2 cents - just a question of getting the timing right...

 

I had better not eat this year's chocolate coins .
Just in case .

 

My brother in law managed to catch it at the trough before it started going back up, but due to the initial slowness of the wallets, it's been more of a gentle drip as you said, which probably prevented a full scale crash. It certainly didn't get anywhere near two cents.

 

History suggests its highly volatile, if you have money divested in stock, bonds,property etc and have spare money you don't mind losing I guess it might be worth few quid. What worries me is that, like all investments made on sentiment of the market rather than,say, the value of something real like a company or land, once it goes it goes very quickly and I doubt your phone app is going to keep up with the big institutions who'll trouser the cash and leave you with your pants down when the tide goes out.

 

It's highly volatile, which is why when I had s a bit of spare cash to invest earlier this year I stuck 80% into traditional stocks and shares and 20% into the crypto casino. No prizes for guessing where 95% of my returns have come from though.

As for the big institutions running off with your cash however, I have to disagree. That's one of the reasons why people have dived so readily into crypto currencies. Complete lack of trust and transparency in the established financial system, in particular the big banks. I presume you've seen The Big Short? If not, you really should watch it.