Anyone know much about Bitcoin?

[Southpaw]

I need an even lower level.

Seriously, I know this stuff is out there but is it only real because people do mathematical equations to verify it. Sounds like astronomy.

Maybe bitcoin is in it's infancy but I prefer something that is based upon something tangible.

"We know exactly how many bitcoins there are in existence today (12,446,725) and how many there will eventually be in total: when the 21 millionth bitcoin is minted, the plates automatically self-destruct. (This is a metaphor, of course."

Imagine that the creators of bitcoin ( digital currency ) were a printing press like the Treasury Department. Originally (supposedly) U S currency was backed by gold. That finite quantity ceased long ago when we went off the Gold Standard. Now Congress authorizes debt and Federal Reserve Notes are printed ( ad infinatum ).

Bitcoins are crypto currency. I would imagine that once the 21 millionth bitcoin is mined they will split, just like "stock".

 

[puckhead]

Bitcoin has just as much relevance as Federal Reserve notes.

As long as someone takes your dollar or bitcoin as exchange it is relevant.

Neither one is backed up by anything except good faith.

I think it would be interesting for someone to research and write a detailed paper or book about the origin, evolution, and current status of bitcoin. Then I'd like to see the exact same analysis of the dollar. I wonder how they would compare?

 

[Southpaw]

Thinking in the abstract
Abstract thinking is the ability to think about objects, principles, and ideas that are not physically present. It is related to symbolic thinking, which uses the substitution of a symbol for an object or idea. A variety of everyday behaviors constitute abstract thinking.

The mysterious inventor of Bitcoin planted the seed and mining is similar to an IPO available to those who had the ability to solve the mining puzzle.

 

[Mainstreet]

"We know exactly how many bitcoins there are in existence today (12,446,725) and how many there will eventually be in total: when the 21 millionth bitcoin is minted, the plates automatically self-destruct. (This is a metaphor, of course."

Imagine that the creators of bitcoin ( digital currency ) were a printing press like the Treasury Department. Originally (supposedly) U S currency was backed by gold. That finite quantity ceased long ago when we went off the Gold Standard. Now Congress authorizes debt and Federal Reserve Notes are printed ( ad infinatum ).

Bitcoins are crypto currency. I would imagine that once the 21 millionth bitcoin is mined they will split, just like "stock".

I understand the idea but I would have more confidence in bitcoin if a company, country or some financial institution stood behind it.

Instead we have a bunch of miners using up electricity.

 

[BillsCarnage]

All this surge in price will be its own worst enemy.

http://gametyrant.com/news/bitcoin-is-no-longer-supported-in-steam

In terms of Bitcoin's high fees, Valve revealed that when they started accepting the currency, the transaction fee that was charged to the customer is only 20 cents. However, that fee rose rapidly and now charges $20 per transaction today. Valve is not happy with the situation the Bitcoin puts its users in and the fact that they cannot control this fee is what eventually led them to decide to shut down the payment method.

 

[Shaggy]

All this surge in price will be its own worst enemy.

http://gametyrant.com/news/bitcoin-is-no-longer-supported-in-steam

I understand why Valve pulled out. They loved the ability to accept Bitcoin, but with the movement the price the last few weeks, it would be tough to accept Bitcoin, as in one second its worth $16,500 then the next second, it jumped up $500 bucks.

 

[Shaggy]

I understand the idea but I would have more confidence in bitcoin if a company, country or some financial institution stood behind it.

Instead we have a bunch of miners using up electricity.

That's what makes it interesting for users/people, as Bitcoin has no country behind it.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Reached above 17K last night, and then this morning it was below !5.5. Extremely volatile. Once this is open to future exchanges...this is going to be the Short of the century.

 

[Mainstreet]

That's what makes it interesting for users/people, as Bitcoin has no country behind it.

I guess.

 

[Shaggy]

Reached above 17K last night, and then this morning it was below !5.5. Extremely volatile. Once this is open to future exchanges...this is going to be the Short of the century.

What does the mean exactly?

 

[Southpaw]

No, Bitcoin Won't Boil the Oceans
Concerns about the cryptocurrency's energy use are overblown.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-07/bitcoin-is-greener-than-its-critics-think

Critics say;

Digital currency is wasteful by design. Bitcoin “miners,” who process transactions in return for new currency, must race to solve extremely difficult cryptographic puzzles. This computational burden helps keep the transaction record secure -- by raising the bar for anyone who would want to tamper with it –- but also requires miners to build giant farms of servers that consume vast amounts of energy. The more valuable bitcoin becomes, the more miners are willing to spend on equipment and electricity.

 

[Southpaw]

Reached above 17K last night, and then this morning it was below !5.5. Extremely volatile. Once this is open to future exchanges...this is going to be the Short of the century.

"Can't Rule Out $100,000" - Taleb Warns Futures Traders "No Way To 'Properly' Short Bitcoin Bubble"

Twitter Facebook Reddit
Following Mike Novogratz's earlier comments about the launch of Bitcoin futures,

“The market trades like it wants to go up, not down...



We are in a speculative mania and my sense is we are still fairly early.”

Infamous 'Black Swan' theorist and tail-risk-hedger, Nassim Nicholas Taleb has a warning for the 'no brainer' traders hoping to use Bitcoin futures to bet against the 'bubble'...

In his tweet, Taleb said,

“No, there is NO way to properly short the bitcoin “bubble”. Any strategy that doesn’t entail options is nonergodic (subjected to blow up). Just as one couldn’t rule out 5K, then 10K, one can’t rule out 100K.”

Taleb's view was reinforced by Cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee in a tweet earlier saying:

Related Video
Bitcoin (Briefly) Hit A Record High Of More Than $11,000

X


“Those of you in the old school who believe this is a bubble simply have not understood the new mathematics of the blockchain, or you did not care enough to try.



Bubbles are mathematically impossible in this new paradigm. So are corrections and all else.”

For now prices are holding gains...

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

"Can't Rule Out $100,000" - Taleb Warns Futures Traders "No Way To 'Properly' Short Bitcoin Bubble"

Twitter Facebook Reddit
Following Mike Novogratz's earlier comments about the launch of Bitcoin futures,

“The market trades like it wants to go up, not down...



We are in a speculative mania and my sense is we are still fairly early.”

Infamous 'Black Swan' theorist and tail-risk-hedger, Nassim Nicholas Taleb has a warning for the 'no brainer' traders hoping to use Bitcoin futures to bet against the 'bubble'...

In his tweet, Taleb said,

“No, there is NO way to properly short the bitcoin “bubble”. Any strategy that doesn’t entail options is nonergodic (subjected to blow up). Just as one couldn’t rule out 5K, then 10K, one can’t rule out 100K.”

Taleb's view was reinforced by Cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee in a tweet earlier saying:

Related Video
Bitcoin (Briefly) Hit A Record High Of More Than $11,000

X


“Those of you in the old school who believe this is a bubble simply have not understood the new mathematics of the blockchain, or you did not care enough to try.



Bubbles are mathematically impossible in this new paradigm. So are corrections and all else.”

For now prices are holding gains...

Tulip Mania is what I would compare Bitcoin to. It's running on excitement and popularity...and most definitely is a bubble. Hedgers are probably gobbling up short positions right now, and just waiting for a bad PR day to drop the price back down into the 13-14's...possibly lower depending on how bad people freak out. Entire crypto market is up right now, which was to be expected after the exchange was opened. Litecoin, for instance, has doubled its price in the past week alone. They're riding a wave that will surely come crashing down.

 

[Folster]

You can actually trade in Bitcoin without buying it, there's an ETF of sorts called GBTC that's publicly traded. It's incredibly volatile like Bitcoin, up over 9% yesterday, down 8% today. It trades at a premium to the underlying Bitcoin because of ease of trading it.

Even that said the volume is not very high on it which always makes me concerned what if you own it and want to sell how easy is it to sell?

In january it was 108.50, today it's at 1650.

Merrill Edge, where I work, has just restricted GBTC due to volatility/risk concerns. Investors are restricted from taking up new positions and can only hold or sell now.

 

[Folster]

Tulip Mania is what I would compare Bitcoin to. It's running on excitement and popularity...and most definitely is a bubble. Hedgers are probably gobbling up short positions right now, and just waiting for a bad PR day to drop the price back down into the 13-14's...possibly lower depending on how bad people freak out. Entire crypto market is up right now, which was to be expected after the exchange was opened. Litecoin, for instance, has doubled its price in the past week alone. They're riding a wave that will surely come crashing down.

Yeah but markets can stay irrational longer than those shorting can remain solvent. The prospect BTC climbing much higher has to be spooking would-be shorters.

I'm not intrigued by the cryptos using inefficient block chain. I'm more interested in IOTA as it uses a Tangle system as opposed to block chain. IOTA recently spiked in price after an announced collaboration with Microsoft and Samsung. It seems to have much more possible applications. It has no transaction fees and is supposed to get faster as more users come on board.

It's currently trading in between $4-5 per coin. It has significantly more coins in circulation than BTC though. For example, to match BTC's current market cap, the price of an IOTA coin would have to increase to just $100, nowhere near the 16K of BTC. It would be a huge gain still but it's never going to get into the thousands like BTC due to the # of outstanding coins unless something crazy happended.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Yeah but markets can stay irrational longer than those shorting can remain solvent. The prospect BTC climbing much higher has to be spooking would-be shorters.

I'm not intrigued by the cryptos using inefficient block chain. I'm more interested in IOTA as it uses a Tangle system as opposed to block chain. IOTA recently spiked in price after an announced collaboration with Microsoft and Samsung. It seems to have much more possible applications. It has no transaction fees and is supposed to get faster as more users come on board.

It's currently trading in between $4-5 per coin. It has significantly more coins in circulation than BTC though. For example, to match BTC's current market cap, the price of an IOTA coin would have to increase to just $100, nowhere near the 16K of BTC. It would be a huge gain still but it's never going to get into the thousands like BTC due to the # of outstanding coins unless something crazy happended.

I'll have to look more into IOTA...sounds intriguing. Been looking at XRP, Litecoin, Ethereum and other cryptos since they're all riding that bubble right now. Worried about the volatility aspect, however, since news of a big hack, for instance, can send these futures into a major spiral.

 

[Russ Smith]

Merrill Edge, where I work, has just restricted GBTC due to volatility/risk concerns. Investors are restricted from taking up new positions and can only hold or sell now.

Yeah I was kicking myself I nearly bought it about $180 a share but I was concerned about how volatile it was. I could have in theory made 10X on it in about 9 months, but in reality I would have NEVER held it long enough it's just so volatile it scares the crap out of you.

I've seen days where it opens up 8% and closes down 12% for no apparent reason, it doesn't actually trade hand in hand with bitcoin. There are some guys on Reddit who assuming they made the actual trades they said they did, made a killing on it, but even they were openly admitting how scared they were of the volatility.

 

[Shaggy]

Yeah but markets can stay irrational longer than those shorting can remain solvent. The prospect BTC climbing much higher has to be spooking would-be shorters.

I'm not intrigued by the cryptos using inefficient block chain. I'm more interested in IOTA as it uses a Tangle system as opposed to block chain. IOTA recently spiked in price after an announced collaboration with Microsoft and Samsung. It seems to have much more possible applications. It has no transaction fees and is supposed to get faster as more users come on board.

It's currently trading in between $4-5 per coin. It has significantly more coins in circulation than BTC though. For example, to match BTC's current market cap, the price of an IOTA coin would have to increase to just $100, nowhere near the 16K of BTC. It would be a huge gain still but it's never going to get into the thousands like BTC due to the # of outstanding coins unless something crazy happended.

Where is the best place to buy it?

 

[Shaggy]

I'll have to look more into IOTA...sounds intriguing. Been looking at XRP, Litecoin, Ethereum and other cryptos since they're all riding that bubble right now. Worried about the volatility aspect, however, since news of a big hack, for instance, can send these futures into a major spiral.

I bought several Litecoins when it was at $98/coin. I did buy a small amount of Bitcoin to have some skin in the game. So if the bubble does pop(if this is a bubble), I won't be out much. The reward is much greater then the risk. Now risk it, no biscuit.

 

[Shaggy]

Litecoin is skyrocketing.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Litecoin is skyrocketing.

Up 80% today. Incredible. In a matter of 5 days it has tripled.

 

[Shaggy]

I just don't see how these coins are going up. All speculation but I'm having fun riding this wave!

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

I just don't see how these coins are going up. All speculation but I'm having fun riding this wave!

Knew I should've bought Litecoin when it hit $93 the other day. All these 'other' cryptos are riding off of BTC it seems like...so tough to project what's going to happen, since there's really nothing to go off of. I'll probably buy a ton of XRP...since that bubble has yet to explode like the rest of these other ones. That's up 17% today as well.

 

[Shaggy]

Knew I should've bought Litecoin when it hit $93 the other day. All these 'other' cryptos are riding off of BTC it seems like...so tough to project what's going to happen, since there's really nothing to go off of. I'll probably buy a ton of XRP...since that bubble has yet to explode like the rest of these other ones. That's up 17% today as well.

Monero. For me, it's a challenge to buy.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Monero. For me, it's a challenge to buy.

Some of the buying platforms are sketchy. Heard sometimes it can take 7-10 days to process a sell/buy. Don't like that aspect at all.