Posted on 02/03/2017 10:35:09 AM PST by Vermont Lt
Every once in a while I like to take the temperature of different forums I visit. I am wondering what the general thoughts are on bitcoin.
Yes, I know all of the pros and cons. Yes I have a little stash. No, I am not going to try to "sell" anyone on the idea.
I am simply curious.
I trade in currencies on the forex market. So investment and currency are the same thing...well almost. Like in any trading there are always two commodities involved. For example one trades US dollars for Apple stock. Then one trades Apple stock for US dollars. The actual investment is on the relative difference in value between the two commodities: US dollars and Apple stock. In the forex market, both are currencies.
Not an investment. Not a currency.
Answer is C. Scam. or D. if you like. Ponzi Scheme.
Is there any “talk” of the blockchain technology in your forex world?
Proponents suggest in the third world this technology could make a huge difference to emerging markets who do not have access to banks.
If you look at it from the standpoint that everything has a value based upon what value you are able to get for that item of value.
As long as someone will accept your ‘stash’ for something you value more than the value of the ‘stash’, then you are fine.
But, having a ‘stash’ of bitcoins is not going to be worth much when, not if, the internet gets disrupted for whatever reason, be it war, terrorism, or just plain stupid hackers having a good time.
I prefer something physical, like cash, gold or silver, jewels or anything that can be traded in the street, hand to hand...................
Pyramid scheme.
As an aside, over the past couple of years whenever the price got ahead of itself, I would use it to by Gold or Silver. I have a lot more of tangible assets than I do bitcoin. I bought my “coin” early in the process so it is all “house” money by this time.
I dont disagree on the physical asset side.
I spend some time doing research on the crypto currency tech side, and you get a tunnel vision about the “value” of it. I am really just testing the waters to see how “known” it is.
Its a really cool idea - that governments have no input into what is considered currency, but simply an on-line community does. It has somewhat similar characteristics to gold and silver in terms of store of value, but I think its popularity is that it is not physical - its immediately transferable anywhere. I knew people in Argentina who used it regularly when that destructive socialist witch Kirchner was in power. It worked great for them.
Having said that, I still like holding real gold in my hands....
Personally, I see it as a huge house of cards. If hackers can get into otherwise very secure computers at the highest level government agencies, why would anyone expect they could not break into and steal from this system?
My personal thoughts are that “crooks” will break into the system, not in one big theft. but rather steal smaller but still very rewarding amounts on an ongoing basis so they are not noticed.... and probably already are!
Then you are doing it ‘right’, trading a non physical for the physical.
It’s a game that is not going to end well for those who have just the non-physical.................
I still can’t figger out what bitcoin is, or isn’t.
I wish I had bought it early. But having missed that, I’m not that attracted to it. I do not believe hyperinflation is a risk, and if it is, I have enough gold at 2% of my assets that it would multiply into a decent enough cushion if something horrible happens in 15 years or so regarding the unsustainable US debt load.
I keep my bitcoins in the same drawer as my tulip bulbs.
I would advice you to be very careful. Currency trading is essentially a way to transfer money from the bank accounts of people that do not know what they are doing to those who do know what they are doing. If you don't understand the market you are looking at better than the average schmuck, you are almost certain to get burned.
It’s an investment until it scales, after which time it becomes a currency.
The “value” of our currency is based on the full faith and credit of the United States (I know, it should be based on gold, silver, copper, lead or other hard assets).
Upon what is bitcoin value based? Can you buy it with paper on full faith and credit?
I have an acquaintance who insists he has investments in gold to weather the storm when the forthcoming economic apocalypse he’s always predicting finally comes. Always some scenario where the North Koreans or China or Iran will nuke the USA and we’ll all be blasted back to the Bronze Age.
I told him “You have paper gold. A piece of paper you bought that claims there’s someone holding gold for you somewhere. It’s not the same as big ass hunk of gold in your pocket. If American society ever devolves into scavengers ravaging the radioactive wastelands wearing hockey gear lined with rabbit fur and firing crossbow bolts at one another murdering their fellow man for the last slice of baloney, what good is a piece of paper tucked away in your breastplate that says some guy in the Cayman Islands owes you $5000 worth of gold? And even if it was a big hunk of gold in your hand, and I remind you it’s not, what value do you think actual gold will have in this social catastrophe you predict? Someone’s Pharoah’s going to want it to construct a pagan funeral mask for a beloved princess and he’s going to trade you 100 camels and a reed barge for it?”
He got very angry with me and went back to listening to Glenn Beck. Very sad to say he’s one of the more intelligent people I know.
So yeah, about your digital bitcoins. Who’s face is engraved on it?
Well said Andy.
I always laugh when people start worrying about the loss of value of the dollar - well don’t own dollars! Currencies are just another kind of assets,and like most assets they go up and down RELATIVE to each other.
In the case of bitcoins, since they have set a limit on how many can be “mined” their value will invariably trend on the upside. Because of that, I believe people will be more likely to hoard them then to use them.
There has been no better investment by far since it’s inception than bitcoins. When it came out you could buy 1000 bitcoins for one dollar. Today 1 bitcoin will fetch over 1000 dollars.
So if you had invested $1000 in bitcoins back in 2010 you would be worth a billion today! Truly unbelievable!
I am not buying into the collapse of the world economy. I keep telling those who beat their chests about silver and gold, “You are not thinking about what the rest of the world will look like if your silver is worth $100 an ounce!”
I am really more interested in the technology and how it impacts the banking networks or those in areas not serviced by banks.
Right now in the third world money transfers are not practical and very expensive. I am looking at it as there are perhaps a billion potential “little” customers.
Use the US Dollar.
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