Originally posted by @Karen Margrave:
There's a lot of people investing in Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Few people have no clue what is or how it works, I was just reading today that the cannabis growers that will be trading BILLIONS of dollars in CA, cannot deposit those funds in traditional banks, therefore; many will be using Bitcoins and other digital currency.
There's always going to be pros and cons of everything. What if you have a bunch of money in Bitcoins and North Korea sets off a nuclear bomb that takes out satellites and shuts down all communication, computers, etc. then Bitcoins aren't going to be too accessible will they?
I don't know much about digital currency, but will watch this thread to hear thoughts from those in IT.
Karen is right. One power outage at the wrong time and you and the "investment" are toast. See the article on the "missing" $4,000,000 in Bitcoins. I was in High Tech BTW. And just what about 145,000,000 accounts were hacked at Equifax don't you get? Bank of America "lost" a $1,000,000 payroll deposit one weekend. We finally located it. the guy who's account it got dropped into was quite surprised. Things happen. I'd love to believe that we have an alternative to the paper we pass around, but we don't yet.
In addition, did you know that your bank account can disappear or your electronic refund from the IRS can be hacked, and there is NO recourse?The IRS will NOT replace the lost funds.
ANY electronic "money" (wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, bank accounts, 401k's) are at risk. But obviously it can't happen to you reading this, eh? In fact, a bunch of people are complaining that the company they electronically had their renters send the rent to, has gone bankrupt and now they are stuck. They can't retrieve the money, At least with a check you have proof the payment was sent and can present that to the bank for "cash".
For protection, keep a bunch of currency on hand, don't use a bank's "safe deposit box" (they won't let you in when there is a crisis), keep plenty of food at home. I asked the check out guy at Safeway if they had a way to sell food if the power went out or if the cash register lost connection to the satellite and he said "they shut down the store and send us home". Welcome to the REAL world.
No, electronic currency isn't "safe" yet.
Oh, I got "off topic". Sorry. But with a little planning you might still eat in a power outage. See, Hurricane Kartina, Maria, etc, etc,
