General Bitcoin / Cryptocurrency

[Mr Frank White]

Heaps of examples in equities. Check out the Fortescue Metals share price (FMG.AX) back when they first found iron ore in about 2006 and compare it to now (taking share splits into consideration. 20x return within a pretty short period of time. In NZ one of Howard Paterson's listings Blis Technologies went from 10c to $2 on the first day of listing - I owned it however I can't even remember now if it was in the primary or secondary board. Turned out to be a complete dud however that didn't stop everyone making 2000% return in 24 hours. a2 Milk this year has done very well and is now one of the largest market cap stocks on the NZX.

Can the average person buy in with $100?

 

[Mr Brownstone]

Can the average person buy in with $100?

I'm guessing that someone could buy in with $10 if the brokerage fees aren't too prohibitive.

 

[gREVUS]

loving that you two are arguing about the differences in something that i see as fundamentally the same thing. Does it cost money? Yes. Can it make money? Yes. Can it lose money? Yes. Can you hold it in your hand and walk away with it? No. Do you have any say in what will happen with it? No. Is it a gamble? Yes.

I suspect its like horse racing, the best position to be in is either, know nothing and pick on the name or the colour, or do as much research as you can before you make your gamble. Both options give you a 1-5% better chance of beating the other fella, cause like they say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Therefore Mr White is gambling knowledgeably in Crypto and Mr Brownstone in shares. But your both still gambling.

The reality is simple, while people think that they can make money without effort, but by risking theirs, they will gamble. The share market and Crypto is just another form of gambling. And if the Banks who are shit scared of what a world endorsing crypto means for them would just stay out of the way, i dont think we would be seeing the current slump in crypto.

 

[Mr Brownstone]

loving that you two are arguing about the differences in something that i see as fundamentally the same thing. Does it cost money? Yes. Can it make money? Yes. Can it lose money? Yes. Can you hold it in your hand and walk away with it? No. Do you have any say in what will happen with it? No. Is it a gamble? Yes.

I suspect its like horse racing, the best position to be in is either, know nothing and pick on the name or the colour, or do as much research as you can before you make your gamble. Both options give you a 1-5% better chance of beating the other fella, cause like they say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Therefore Mr White is gambling knowledgeably in Crypto and Mr Brownstone in shares. But your both still gambling.

The reality is simple, while people think that they can make money without effort, but by risking theirs, they will gamble. The share market and Crypto is just another form of gambling. And if the Banks who are shit scared of what a world endorsing crypto means for them would just stay out of the way, i dont think we would be seeing the current slump in crypto.

I prefer the phrase 'investing on educated assumptions' to the word 'gambling' however that's mostly fair My main point however is that when people talk about investing they should do so in a balanced way - talk about the potential risks as well as the potential returns. Each is as important a discussion point as the other. Crypto is definitely not a no brainer 'can't possibly lose' investment and neither are equities.

 

[Mr Frank White]

Very true. However my point stems from the fact the any joe schmoe can buy a fraction of a bitcoin, or an alt for whatever price, say $100. Hold or trade, and take the profit (or loss). Blockchain is a public ledger, you can watch money movements, you have real-time 24hr access to the markets, you can "hold" your own positions, and exit when you chose (assuming a seller).
This is faar different to traditional markets, their barrier to entry (5k min for Commbank trading account, similar for ETF), and the lack of access, imbalance of information.

However, crypto is still largely unregulated, and is a massive speculation. Anytime there is massive money to make, there is massive money to lose. DYOR, dont invest what you cant afford to lose, diversify, manage risk, and most importantly TAKE PROFITS!

PS portfolio is up 9.33% since we started this back and forth.. Crypto not quite dead yet. (17 holdings)

 

[Miket12]

See a San Francisco base programmer Stefan Thomas - who won a stash of 7000 Bitcoins 10 years ago, when the virtual currency was worth around US$2 - has already used eight attempts to remember his password and only has two guesses left to figure out a password that, as of this week, will unlock an account now worth around US$220 million. If he fails, his account will be encrypted and inaccessible forever.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that around one in five Bitcoin wallets, holding some $240 billion in fiat currency, are now inaccessible, mostly due to lost passwords (unlike a traditional bank, a crypto exchange can't help you if you forget your logon).

 

[gREVUS]

See a San Francisco base programmer Stefan Thomas - who won a stash of 7000 Bitcoins 10 years ago, when the virtual currency was worth around US$2 - has already used eight attempts to remember his password and only has two guesses left to figure out a password that, as of this week, will unlock an account now worth around US$220 million. If he fails, his account will be encrypted and inaccessible forever.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that around one in five Bitcoin wallets, holding some $240 billion in fiat currency, are now inaccessible, mostly due to lost passwords (unlike a traditional bank, a crypto exchange can't help you if you forget your logon).

yea i saw that - guess thats why i printed my key out and put it in my filing cabinet. Not that i have anything like that. I may clear $5.00 if i get lucky

 

[wizards rage]

See a San Francisco base programmer Stefan Thomas - who won a stash of 7000 Bitcoins 10 years ago, when the virtual currency was worth around US$2 - has already used eight attempts to remember his password and only has two guesses left to figure out a password that, as of this week, will unlock an account now worth around US$220 million. If he fails, his account will be encrypted and inaccessible forever.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that around one in five Bitcoin wallets, holding some $240 billion in fiat currency, are now inaccessible, mostly due to lost passwords (unlike a traditional bank, a crypto exchange can't help you if you forget your logon).

Easy come, easy go...

 

[Hardyman's Yugo]

See a San Francisco base programmer Stefan Thomas - who won a stash of 7000 Bitcoins 10 years ago, when the virtual currency was worth around US$2 - has already used eight attempts to remember his password and only has two guesses left to figure out a password that, as of this week, will unlock an account now worth around US$220 million. If he fails, his account will be encrypted and inaccessible forever.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that around one in five Bitcoin wallets, holding some $240 billion in fiat currency, are now inaccessible, mostly due to lost passwords (unlike a traditional bank, a crypto exchange can't help you if you forget your logon).

I wonder how much of that $240b was earned through illegal activity. A bit like those heist films where the stolen dollar bills blow away and the criminals end up with nothing