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Updated 4 days ago, 12/09/2024

User Stats

72
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18
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Andrew McManamon
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Brighton, MI
18
Votes |
72
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Investing in Bitcoins

Andrew McManamon
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Brighton, MI
Posted
Hello BP, I’ve seen numerous investors preach to invest in bitcoin. I thought I’d ask the BP community on whether or not it would be a good idea to do so. Some people say it’ll be a “trend” that’ll end, others say they’re in it for the long haul. What do you think everyone?

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3,975
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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
2,728
Votes |
3,975
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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
Replied
Originally posted by @Logan Turner:
Originally posted by @Matt R.:
Originally posted by @Logan Turner:

I took the plunge and plopped 10k down. Bitcoin and litecoMy 10k, 4 days later is now valued at 15k.

Not bad for 4 days. I may sell a note I own and drop it in litecoin. My thought: 70k won’t change my life. I have a high w-2 income and I know how to make money in real estate. I buy 1-2 properties a month for long term hold. That is my hedge against inflation, and my slow term wealth build.

This is my gamble. Losing 70k, won’t change my life much. But losing out on the possibility of 10million would really hurt.

 That's sweet. There was one of the og bitcoiners I heard say a couple years ago, just get one bitcoin that is all you will need.

 I’ve been reading a lot of your comments Matt regarding crypto and tend to agree with your stance. 

Since I wrote that, litecoin has went from 220 up to 350. Could be a big bubble but, I think it’s a larger risk not to find out. 

Apparently there will only be like 0.03 bitcoin per person, once they are all mined and due to some being lost. 

It’s getting valued between 100k and 1million per coin. It could all go to nothing, but This also could be the internet of money and will forever change history. I’m willing to spend some money to “INSURE” I’m not left out.   

High priced insurance people. 

 Wow, that's insane. When the Rothchilds bought bitcoin in July you had to figure something is going on here.  I took out a couple domains surrounding litecoin last night, put up for sale, who knows if anything happens but godaddy said they were worth more than my regular business domains (15 + years old).

Good luck!

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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
2,728
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3,975
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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
Replied
Originally posted by @Logan Turner:
Originally posted by @Matt R.:
Originally posted by @Logan Turner:

I took the plunge and plopped 10k down. Bitcoin and litecoMy 10k, 4 days later is now valued at 15k.

Not bad for 4 days. I may sell a note I own and drop it in litecoin. My thought: 70k won’t change my life. I have a high w-2 income and I know how to make money in real estate. I buy 1-2 properties a month for long term hold. That is my hedge against inflation, and my slow term wealth build.

This is my gamble. Losing 70k, won’t change my life much. But losing out on the possibility of 10million would really hurt.

 That's sweet. There was one of the og bitcoiners I heard say a couple years ago, just get one bitcoin that is all you will need.

 I’ve been reading a lot of your comments Matt regarding crypto and tend to agree with your stance. 

Since I wrote that, litecoin has went from 220 up to 350. Could be a big bubble but, I think it’s a larger risk not to find out. 

Apparently there will only be like 0.03 bitcoin per person, once they are all mined and due to some being lost. 

It’s getting valued between 100k and 1million per coin. It could all go to nothing, but This also could be the internet of money and will forever change history. I’m willing to spend some money to “INSURE” I’m not left out.   

High priced insurance people. 

 It appears bitcoin is like the savings account and litecoin is like the checking account for crypto? 

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User Stats

283
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179
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Logan Turner
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Dallas, TX
179
Votes |
283
Posts
Logan Turner
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Dallas, TX
Replied
Originally posted by @Matt R.:
Originally posted by @Logan Turner:
Originally posted by @Matt R.:
Originally posted by @Logan Turner:

I took the plunge and plopped 10k down. Bitcoin and litecoMy 10k, 4 days later is now valued at 15k.

Not bad for 4 days. I may sell a note I own and drop it in litecoin. My thought: 70k won’t change my life. I have a high w-2 income and I know how to make money in real estate. I buy 1-2 properties a month for long term hold. That is my hedge against inflation, and my slow term wealth build.

This is my gamble. Losing 70k, won’t change my life much. But losing out on the possibility of 10million would really hurt.

 That's sweet. There was one of the og bitcoiners I heard say a couple years ago, just get one bitcoin that is all you will need.

 I’ve been reading a lot of your comments Matt regarding crypto and tend to agree with your stance. 

Since I wrote that, litecoin has went from 220 up to 350. Could be a big bubble but, I think it’s a larger risk not to find out. 

Apparently there will only be like 0.03 bitcoin per person, once they are all mined and due to some being lost. 

It’s getting valued between 100k and 1million per coin. It could all go to nothing, but This also could be the internet of money and will forever change history. I’m willing to spend some money to “INSURE” I’m not left out.   

High priced insurance people. 

 It appears bitcoin is like the savings account and litecoin is like the checking account for crypto? 

 Yes. Apparently transaction fees are low and it is fast to use. (LTC). 

Bitcoin is a way to store wealth. Like gold. 

Account Closed
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Shelton, WA
639
Votes |
369
Posts
Account Closed
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Shelton, WA
Replied

..just gonna keep buying land, seeds, guns and ammo for when this whole thing comes crashing down, and I get to sit back and watch hipsters try and figure out what trees tacos grow on..

Account Closed
  • Earth
187
Votes |
297
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Account Closed
  • Earth
Replied
Originally posted by @Brent Coombs:
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

I was asking myself the same question.  Should I pick up a little bit of Bitcoin? 

Then I said to myself, maybe pick up a little bit after the price crash.  

Then I asked myself, how low and at what price am I willing to buy the Bitcoin at? 

I told myself, maybe when Bitcoin price drop to $1000.  

But then I told myself, if Bitcoin price really drop significantly to $1000 a piece, then the time to drop to zero won’t be far away...

Like Enron many years ago, when the stock price dropped to $1.00, it then filed bankruptcy and dropped to zero. 

So, nevermind, even Bitcoin drop significantly down to $1000 a piece, I’m not going to gamble on it.  (Although I like gambling in Las Vegas).  To gamble, I will go back to Venetian Casino, either “DOUBLE IT” or “LOSE IT ALL”. 

Good luck, you guys!

How come you don't see the excitement you could have, of asking yourself all those questions at your desktop, if only you had some skin in the game? This can beat wanting a trip to Las Vegas!

I don't see the excitement here because the same reason here: 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/12/what-i-learned-fro...

I imagined (at $16k a piece) that I owned it over the weedend, then it dropped to $13k.  

It is crazy volatile and crazy excited, and too excited and I felt very uncomfortable about it.  

I have my pop-corn ready sitting on the side, for the bitcoin show the coming months, years...

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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
2,728
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3,975
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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
Replied
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Originally posted by @Brent Coombs:
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

I was asking myself the same question.  Should I pick up a little bit of Bitcoin? 

Then I said to myself, maybe pick up a little bit after the price crash.  

Then I asked myself, how low and at what price am I willing to buy the Bitcoin at? 

I told myself, maybe when Bitcoin price drop to $1000.  

But then I told myself, if Bitcoin price really drop significantly to $1000 a piece, then the time to drop to zero won’t be far away...

Like Enron many years ago, when the stock price dropped to $1.00, it then filed bankruptcy and dropped to zero. 

So, nevermind, even Bitcoin drop significantly down to $1000 a piece, I’m not going to gamble on it.  (Although I like gambling in Las Vegas).  To gamble, I will go back to Venetian Casino, either “DOUBLE IT” or “LOSE IT ALL”. 

Good luck, you guys!

How come you don't see the excitement you could have, of asking yourself all those questions at your desktop, if only you had some skin in the game? This can beat wanting a trip to Las Vegas!

I don't see the excitement here because the same reason here: 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/12/what-i-learned-fro...

I imagined (at $16k a piece) that I owned it over the weedend, then it dropped to $13k.  

It is crazy volatile and crazy excited, and too excited and I felt very uncomfortable about it.  

I have my pop-corn ready sitting on the side, for the bitcoin show the coming months, year

Thanks for sharing, although I am not sure a person who invests $200 for a weekend would have any special insight regarding the bigger bitcoin picture being painted. It certainly is not stable and may not be for 10 to 20 years. The overall direction is maybe the more important story happening. Perhaps NBC knows someone who invested $200,000 for a longer period, and that person would be able to share a something worth pen to paper. Right now the press is pretty much just looking for clicks on the hot topic. 

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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
2,728
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Matt R.
  • Sherman Oaks, CA
Replied

Thanks for sharing,  although I am not sure a person who invests $200 for a weekend would have any special insight regarding the bigger bitcoin picture being painted. It certainly is not stable and may not be for 10 to 20 years. The overall direction is maybe the more important story happening. Perhaps NBC knows someone who invested $200,000 for a longer period, and that person would be able to share a something worth pen to paper. Right now the press is pretty much just looking for clicks on the hot topic

Account Closed
  • Earth
187
Votes |
297
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Account Closed
  • Earth
Replied

bitcoin historical data: 

Bitcoin last peaked at $1094.68 on 11/30/2013.

Bitcoin last bottomed at $191.90 on 1/14/2015. 

3 years and 3 months later from last peaked...

Bitcoin recovered last peaked at $1078.70 on 2/21/2017. 

Bitcoin today price is around $17,000.00 on 12/13/2017. 

If history does repeat its rhythm, after bitcoin next crash in this cycle, it may take another 3 years and 3 months to recover from the coming peak.  

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Brent Coombs
  • Investor
  • Cleveland, OH
2,654
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6,407
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Brent Coombs
  • Investor
  • Cleveland, OH
Replied
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

I was asking myself the same question.  Should I pick up a little bit of Bitcoin? 

Then I said to myself, maybe pick up a little bit after the price crash.  

Then I asked myself, how low and at what price am I willing to buy the Bitcoin at? 

I told myself, maybe when Bitcoin price drop to $1000.  

But then I told myself, if Bitcoin price really drop significantly to $1000 a piece, then the time to drop to zero won’t be far away...

Like Enron many years ago, when the stock price dropped to $1.00, it then filed bankruptcy and dropped to zero. 

So, nevermind, even Bitcoin drop significantly down to $1000 a piece, I’m not going to gamble on it.  (Although I like gambling in Las Vegas).  To gamble, I will go back to Venetian Casino, either “DOUBLE IT” or “LOSE IT ALL”. 

Good luck, you guys!

How come you don't see the excitement you could have, of asking yourself all those questions at your desktop, if only you had some skin in the game? This can beat wanting a trip to Las Vegas!

I don't see the excitement here because the same reason here: 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/12/what-i-learned-fro...

I imagined (at $16k a piece) that I owned it over the weedend, then it dropped to $13k.  

It is crazy volatile and crazy excited, and too excited and I felt very uncomfortable about it.  

I have my pop-corn ready sitting on the side, for the bitcoin show the coming months, years...

Rather than being a reason against having a go, that article made exactly the same point as I did! [Todd then made up his own reasons for why he doesn't want to continue speculating]...

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Roger S.
  • Investor
  • TX
290
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393
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Roger S.
  • Investor
  • TX
Replied

@Account Closed   I wouldn't put too much stock in a history with so few data points.

User Stats

10
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0
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Amy Nguyen
  • Linh Dam Peninsula, Hanoi
0
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10
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Amy Nguyen
  • Linh Dam Peninsula, Hanoi
Replied

Bitcoins to me seem very tricky

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2,518
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1,276
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Matt M.
  • Realtor
  • Denver, CO
1,276
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2,518
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Matt M.
  • Realtor
  • Denver, CO
Replied

Just spoke to a friend of mine who cashed out his 401k earlier this year and put it ALL in Bitcoin. I didn't ask figures, but he is in the HODL crowd. Another friend bought some with his TD Ameritrade account (some fund). This was last month. He cashed it out already at $13k and is kicking himself. 

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Account Closed
  • Earth
187
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297
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Account Closed
  • Earth
Replied

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/11/bitcoin-millionaire-grant-sabatier-dont-buy-bitcoin.html?recirc=taboolainternal

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111
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163
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Bill R.
  • Henderson, NV
163
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111
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Bill R.
  • Henderson, NV
Replied

I've been around the tech industry since the mid-1990's so when Bitcoin first started to gain a little traction I had a lot of tech friends who would try to evangelize to me about it.  Some of them have gone on to write books and are regular conference speakers on Bitcoin.  

In the early days all anyone ever talked about was that Bitcoin was going to replace fiat currency.  Central banks were evil.  JP Morgan was evil incarnate (Jamie Dimon was the devil himself).  Inflation!  Wheel barrows full of money to buy a loaf of bread.  Illuminati!  

The original Bitcoin zealots I knew were banking (no pun intended) on a total collapse of society and banking systems as one of their selling points.  They sounded like the same people who for the last XXX years have been saying that you need to stockpile gold and firearms for the coming apocalypse.  In fact, many framed their "pitch" that they would be in gold but gold is too heavy to transport and too difficult to store so Bitcoin was really the only answer.  

But the thing that really made me skeptical was the fact that they couldn't (and still can't) address simple questions without becoming highly agitated.  

For instance, given the proof of work concept used to verify transactions, there was an inherent limit built into Bitcoin that would preclude it from ever becoming a high transaction currency.  How could it ever replace fiat currency if in an entire day it can't even handle the number of transactions Visa processes in an hour?  

And this is now becoming problematic as it takes a half hour or more for a transaction to clear.  How can you walk into a Starbucks and pay for a coffee when merchants have to wait for the money to clear?  Especially when the price of that coffee could fluctuate several dollars during that waiting period?  

Someone told me the other day that that is not a real worry because cryptos have a tendency to lose volatility the longer they have been around and the greater the acceptance.  Really?  Because Bitcoin is the grandaddy of cryptos (and most widely owned) and Bitcoin is anything but stable in price. 

And who would want paid in Bitcoin if they got their pay on Friday and it was worth 20% less on Monday because some Bitcoin miner in China had a security breach driving down the value of Bitcoin?  If my labor is worth $100 on Friday, I want it to buy the same amount of goods and services on Monday morning.  There simply won't be any widespread adoption of Bitcoin as a replacement for fiat currency until the volatility declines to that approaching fiat currencies.  

Nobody cares about libertarian political philosophies like decentralization and peer-to-peer payments when they can't afford to buy groceries this week because the value of Bitcoin is moved 20% in 2 days.  

But now when you bring up these points, the very same people who invested in Bitcoin back in the early days and are sitting on (in some cases) millions in profits claim that the chances of Bitcoin replacing fiat are pretty low.  Now they say Bitcoin is more of a store of value, not a currency.  They now freely admit the transaction throughput flaws I pointed out when Bitcoin was in its infancy.  Hmmmm . . . 

So if Bitcoin is not a currency and is now a store of value, what is backing the value of Bitcoin?  

"The blockchain!!!!!!!!!" they scream.

But the blockchain is open source and anyone can start a blockchain-based crypto currency.  What happens to Bitcoin if Visa adopts a blockchain based on Visa Bucks?  Since it would not be decentralized and would not necessarily need proof of work they could process high transaction volumes.  How does that make Bitcoin any more or less valuable (well, less valuable is easy to picture but it doesn't make it more valuable).  

Then they say, "Well, that's why I'm investing in other crypto currencies like ETH".  Ahhh, so you see the flaw in Bitcoin and you're jumping onto the newest fad?  

Don't get me wrong, I think there's a genius behind the blockchain.  I do think that it will find its way into our day to day lives at some point.  But Bitcoin is not the blockchain.  You're not investing in blockchain technologies buying Bitcoin.  

The thing that scares me the most about Bitcoin and other crypto currencies is that it's like debating a college student that's just finished reading Karl Marx.  Facts, real world results, and human nature can't sway them because their understanding doesn't go any deeper than buzzwords and a conviction that if the whole world just thought like them then all the world's problems would be easily solved.  

They jump around definitions back and forth like Bitcoin being a currency and a store of value based on which side of their statement has just been questioned.  All problems like transaction volume, or what incentives miners will have to keep validating transactions after all 21 million bitcoin are mined, will magically be solved in the future but the details on how are intentionally fuzzy because nobody actually knows and even a hypothetical answer relies on hypothetical future advancements in technology.    

In the end, their final rebuttal will always be, "You just don't get it."  

Also, some things to think about.  

According to AQR Capital Management, 1,000 people own 40% of all Bitcoins.  Seems you would only need to coordinate a relatively small number of people to drive up or down the price of Bitcoin.  So much for decentralization.  

I've seen similar analysis that indicates that Chinese own 10 million Bitcoins which represents about 2/3 of all Bitcoins currently in existence.  If China were to ban Bitcoin and-or Bitcoin mining, think about the impact.  

Currently, Bitcoin mining is estimated to consume more power than is used in the entire country of Ireland per year.  This is one of the reasons so much Bitcoin mining is concentrated in China.  The cost of energy is heavily subsidized.  It's also one of the reasons why China might have a problem with continuing to allow Bitcoin miners to operate from China. That's not even considering the environmental impact if Bitcoin ever became widespread.  

It's estimated that 4.4 billion people (50 million in the US alone) don't have access to the internet.  Sort of hard for Bitcoin to replace fiat currency when over half the earth's population doesn't even have access to the internet.  

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352
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242
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Bob Langworthy
Pro Member
  • Accountant
  • Brunswick, ME
242
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352
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Bob Langworthy
Pro Member
  • Accountant
  • Brunswick, ME
Replied

My plan is simple: buy a DeLorean and install a flux capacitor.

  • Bob Langworthy
  • User Stats

    353
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    279
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    Ericka G.
    • Investor
    • Atlanta, GA
    279
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    353
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    Ericka G.
    • Investor
    • Atlanta, GA
    Replied

    Crypto currency fascinates me, but I still don’t 100% get all of its nuances. We’ve been lightly invested in it since about 2013 and have seen the ups and downs. My eyes used to glaze over when my hubby tried to explain it back then, but now he has my FULL attention on this topic.

    I definitely think it is a big risk BUT the potential rewards are so vast that I think it is crazy not to dip a toe in with whatever amount you are comfortable gambling with.
    We saw our light coin investment almost triple in about one week...nothing else I’ve been involved in gives those kinds of returns so quickly. Litecoin is a bit different than bitcoin in that it is relatively quick and easy to buy/sell, but newer on the scene.

    Download the free coinbase app and you can put whatever amount you are comfy with into one of three cryptos in a few minutes: Bitcoin $19k/coin, Ethereum $700/coin, Litecoin $300/coin...but I believe you can buy in increments as small as $50. You can monitor your investment in real time on the app and buy/sell at any time.

    If nothing else, put a few dollars in for giggles - most of us on here can afford to “play” with a little cash (whether that is $50 or $50k depends on you) Why on earth wouldn’t you play with something that can potentially triple your money in a week or two? Just don’t “play” with anything you aren’t prepared to lose and set guidelines for when you will fold/walk away...just like Vegas but digital, no plane ticket or hotel room required.

    User Stats

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    271
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    Tyler Mullen
    • Investor
    • Kirkland, WA
    271
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    Tyler Mullen
    • Investor
    • Kirkland, WA
    Replied

      bitcoin is a joke.

    The Blockchain, honestly... why does the whole world need to know that an anonymous person just bought a chicken burrito from some other anonymous person?

    Property values didn’t crash 41% since last Sunday, bitcoin isn’t an investment, wake up everyone.

    But no, because one of the characteristics of manias is that there are new people coming along all the time that have yet to learn the lessons of mania.  “No no, you don’t understand, this is a new thing, it changes everything!”

    There is no moat, there’s no value created.  And when something like this can enable the creation of things so obvious as bitconnect, its like in the 1950’s toy makers irradiated toys to make them glow in the dark and everyone was amazed... or asbestos, that was neat, huh?  Roundup, fen-fen, yup; everything new is just new, not revolutionarily beneficial for humanity.

    Account Closed
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Anaheim, CA
    37
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    138
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    Account Closed
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Anaheim, CA
    Replied

    It’s not for everybody 🙂. I am diversified with a few different alt coins. What a time to be alive. Happy Holidays

    Account Closed
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Anaheim, CA
    37
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    Account Closed
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Anaheim, CA
    Replied

    Kind of reminds me of a book I read by Steve Case (AOL CO-Founder) called The 3rd Wave. 

    Steve talks about the different phases for example the first phase, AOL days slow dial up. Chat rooms, inteoduction to email etc. . 2nd phase of the internet was the apps phase, think instagram, twitter, snapchat etc. 

    Could virtual currensy possibly be the 3rd wave?

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2017/12/20/aol-co-founder-steve-case-bitcoin-mania-reminds-me-of-dot-com-bubble.html

    I am open minded, and have been doing my own due dillegence. 

    I am using binnacle and my partner is using bittrex exchange. Bittrix is not accepting anymore registrations at this time.

    I recently received my ledger s crypto hardware wallet as well. Should have fun here over the next few days.....

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    Nick Danaluk
    • Investor
    • Port St. Lucie, FL
    22
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    56
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    Nick Danaluk
    • Investor
    • Port St. Lucie, FL
    Replied

    It's pure speculation and most people will get burned. If you want to be in the game, invest up to $100 and watch it.  The market is being manipulated and most suckers will lose their money.