Author Topic: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?  (Read 74549 times)

Ipodius

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #100 on: December 19, 2013, 04:36:47 AM »
So, I joined a mining pool that mines the currently most profitable alt-coin that's based on scrypt (an alternative cryptographic scheme that is harder to build ASICs to perform, so it's still dominated by GPUs) and then converts it to BitCoins and pays you out - www.middlecoin.com

So far it's pulled in $30 worth of Bitcoin (0.049 BTC) over the last three days, at the cost of about $5 worth of electricity. Now because I had the hardware lying around, so far it hasn't cost me anything beyond the time and electricity, and the wear and tear on the hardware. Overall, I'm viewing it as I would overclocking - I'm enjoying tinkering, playing with the hardware and trying to get the most out of it, but I'm working on the assumption that it won't make any money.

But, for people who already have gaming systems, it's a good way to gamble a bit on Bitcoin :)

Khan

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #101 on: December 19, 2013, 04:59:12 AM »
I looked into doing mining for shits and giggles, but my rig's running a 560ti and I'm not due for an upgrade until probably next Nvidia generation comes out, since the R9's are sold out/overpriced/not enough of an upgrade over my card and not in the sweet spot on price.

Also, trying to figure out the mining/wallets stuff made me realize it's never going to catch on.

Rich M

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #102 on: December 21, 2013, 08:17:51 PM »
Two things on mining.

1.  The news has recently covering the mining side of things a bit.  Pictures of huge arrays of mining hardware.  It's staggering the computational power being devoted to this task.  Sounds even like something the NSA could use to fund themselves--wouldn't that be subversive?  I'm at odds of why we need to burn so many resources on this stuff.  It reinforces the greed component to me.  I feel like it's a Dungeons and Dragons game where I have to go find an Ogre, roll some dice a while, risk my virtual character's life so I can potentially get 20 gold pieces.   Maybe bitcoin should be mined by D&D players.

2.  Historically, the people getting rich on "mining" are those supplying the shovels and picks and not the actual miners.  Not sure this is any different.  But when A company like Butterfly labs sells ASIC hardware, when they could just use it, makes me wonder.  They have such long lead times, the conspiracy skeptic in me thinks part of this could be  them "testing" the hardware extensively on borrowed money from the buyers before they ship it out.  By the time it's shipped, the difficulty might require the next generation of hardware. 

That said, there is the possibility of mining other coins that are currently easier on the hardware but not in favor right now in the bet that they might catch on. 


Khan

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #103 on: December 22, 2013, 05:08:06 AM »
The people selling the picks and shovels, running the exchange sites, yeah, they're making bank.

The problem with the other coins, is that they are all vaporware.

Will Doge coin ever catch on like BTC? **** no.
Litecoin? Can't mine it with BTC hardware(ASIC's and FPGA's), this is why AMD is making bank on the Radeon graphics cards(especially the latest R9 290/280's.
Fedoracoin(yes, that's a thing now), Quark, Stablecoin(this was a... scam?), **** it: http://altcoins.com/

If any of these coins, especially BTC stabilize, then they have a use(a Paypal free of restrictions, a decent online currency, likely low transactions costs[here's .0001 BTC to validate this transaction]). But right now all that's happening is a lot of speculation, a lot of people getting sucked into it(and not to use it -as- a currency, but as speculation for speculation's sake).

And on top of that, there's the wallet issue. Downloading the entire ledger/history of bitcoin transactions, though I understand it may be impossible to not have that, is a ridiculous burden on every system.

Like I said, I actually thought about ****ing around with it for a little while, but A: my cost to hash would be exceedingly expensive, and B: **** it, this is way too complicated to actually become a mainstream thing.

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #104 on: January 23, 2014, 10:43:15 AM »
Overstock and TigerDirect are both now accepting Bitcoin, I suspect it's only a matter of time before the big guns at amazon join in.  I only have started paying attention to bitcoin in the past few weeks, but the more i read about it the more excited I am.

Cool stuff.

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #105 on: January 23, 2014, 09:04:53 PM »
Lay it on me shadow?

I'm storing my tiny Stach in my coin base wallet.  1%+.15 per deposit

Spork

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #106 on: January 23, 2014, 09:19:32 PM »

If you're into gambling and market timing, a point to remember:  The feds currently have about $28M worth of bitcoin they're likely to try to dump here very soon.  There is still a bit of legal back-n-forth going on as to whether they can keep all or part of it, but I'm guessing they'll keep it and dump it.

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #107 on: January 24, 2014, 05:51:52 PM »
Shameless referal

https://coinbase.com/?r=52d9769d4ad53e3cef000031&utm_campaign=user-referral&src=referral-link

We both get $5 if you deposit $100.  A fairly interesting thing to watch.  Here in spokane a co-worker and I are considering how to start a small fee business to get local companies to start accepting BTC.  There are lots of opportunity, and the more people like us in "non-tech" towns start hoopin' and hollerin' the more likely this puppy could take off.

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #108 on: January 25, 2014, 06:46:23 AM »
Seems easy enough, i'll run this by my coworker who is getting pretty excited about the whole thing.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #109 on: January 25, 2014, 02:30:42 PM »
...truecrypt and copy it to three usb drives. Don't use these drives for anything else other than to store your bitcoin offline (cold storage). Be wary of plugging them into unknown devices.

Very good guide overall. I would suggest using SD cards or other storage medium with TrueCrypt and CD/DVDs with encrypted files as these can be more resilient and durable than USB drives in some cases. I would also suggest storing some copies of the encrypted media outside of your home- in the office, safe deposit box, with friends/family. This means you'll have access to your bitcoins in the event of burglary or a natural disaster at your home. If properly encrypted, there shouldn't be too much of a concern in terms of trust with whoever you store it with.

This may be a bit of overkill for some folks depending on the size of their wallets. But if you have any significant amount of bitcoins, treat them like an equivalent amount of cash laying around your house and think about what you'd do to secure it.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #110 on: January 25, 2014, 03:03:31 PM »
I'm at odds of why we need to burn so many resources on this stuff.

Are you also upset about the thousands of gigawatt hours and billions of man hours that go into pushing around 0s and 1s in our current financial system? Every single atm, bank branch, credit card terminal and thousands of servers and backup servers are sucking down energy 24/7, not to mention all of our computers that are pointed at financial sites to retrieve information. Think about the millions of TV viewers that are tuned in to CNBC just where to put their 0s and 1s as well. Bitcoin is just a teeny-tiny blip compared to all of that and I don't see it as much more resource-intensive than our current infrastructure.

Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #111 on: January 26, 2014, 06:17:05 PM »
So far after a year we are making $ with Bitcoin however, only invested the amount that we are willing to lose.

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #112 on: January 27, 2014, 07:50:43 AM »
If you bought a year ago Cassie you would be doing quite well...

MustachianAccountant

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #113 on: January 27, 2014, 11:52:41 AM »
Seems easy enough, i'll run this by my coworker who is getting pretty excited about the whole thing.

The admission that the general public is "getting pretty excited about the whole thing" in a thread that asks the question "Bitcoin: A classic bubble?" is kind of ironic. I'm seeing the enthusiasm of real estate investors circa 2007 all over again...

GuitarStv

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #114 on: January 27, 2014, 12:09:20 PM »
Seems easy enough, i'll run this by my coworker who is getting pretty excited about the whole thing.

The admission that the general public is "getting pretty excited about the whole thing" in a thread that asks the question "Bitcoin: A classic bubble?" is kind of ironic. I'm seeing the enthusiasm of real estate investors circa 2007 all over again...

Looks more like tulip mania to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #115 on: January 27, 2014, 12:52:15 PM »
I would suspect the fall could end as low as  $120 (10% of the high of $1200), but in the end the more BTC grows legs the more legitimate it becomes, and in some ways the "price" is nearly irrelevant.

Won't be long before Amazon will take it, there is lots of money out there waiting to be spent.

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #116 on: January 27, 2014, 03:20:02 PM »
Double post for the chartist in me, I would start buying regularly if the price hit $400 and ramping up all the way to my assumed potential "farthest" bottom of $120.

I threw something silly like $25 at it to go try and buy a beer at the local pub, but would plan on doing a monthly buy @$400

Spork

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Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #118 on: February 03, 2014, 10:44:28 PM »
WE are doing well but have decided not to cash out and be in it for the long haul. Only time will tell if this is a good decision or not.  One thing is that electricity costs are not cheap to mine but the newer machines coming out will greatly reduce the cost but of course they are expensive.  I will let everyone know how it works out. More businesses are accepting Bitcoin-the latest one is overstock.com.

PeachFuzzInVA

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #119 on: February 04, 2014, 07:18:54 AM »
A buddy of mine tried to pitch bitcoin to me 2-3 years ago. I quickly dismissed it as another one of his hair-brained get rich quick schemes. Boy am I kicking myself today. When it was around $70, I looked into purchasing a few coins with some extra cash I had, but the process seemed entirely too complicated for my technologically challenged mind, so I again dismissed it as too volatile to play. Now that it's stabilized in the mid $900's per coin, I'm once again kicking myself.

Edit: There is a lot of arbitrage that one could easily profit from between the different exchanges if they knew what they were doing. Bitcoin is still very far from an efficient market.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2014, 07:20:41 AM by Nic »

arebelspy

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #120 on: February 04, 2014, 08:25:11 AM »
A buddy of mine tried to pitch bitcoin to me 2-3 years ago. I quickly dismissed it as another one of his hair-brained get rich quick schemes. Boy am I kicking myself today. When it was around $70, I looked into purchasing a few coins with some extra cash I had, but the process seemed entirely too complicated for my technologically challenged mind, so I again dismissed it as too volatile to play. Now that it's stabilized in the mid $900's per coin, I'm once again kicking myself.

Why?

You made the right decision for you based on your reasoning, that doesn't change just because the result turned out to be wrong.

If you're passing by a roulette wheel in a casino and think "the next one will be black" (but decide not to bet it for various reasons, including but not limited to not wanting to gamble your investment money) and it comes up black, do you kick yourself for not betting it?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #121 on: February 04, 2014, 10:03:22 AM »
It is not just buying Bitcoin & other coins & holding but mining where there is $ to be made. However, you have to know what you are doing. My son manages it all and spends much time each day keeping track of prices and deciding which coins to mine and which to sell. Things change daily so you really have to dedicate time & $ to actually make $. Some very wealthy people expect this to go up to between 20,000/40,000 per coin and have bought a lot and are holding.  We are in it for the long haul to see if some real $ can be made. 

Spork

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #122 on: February 04, 2014, 10:16:32 AM »

I'm curious:  For those speculating and/or mining...  How does this work with your taxes?  Do the exchanges send you end-of-year statements for trades/mining?

PeachFuzzInVA

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #123 on: February 04, 2014, 06:37:15 PM »
A buddy of mine tried to pitch bitcoin to me 2-3 years ago. I quickly dismissed it as another one of his hair-brained get rich quick schemes. Boy am I kicking myself today. When it was around $70, I looked into purchasing a few coins with some extra cash I had, but the process seemed entirely too complicated for my technologically challenged mind, so I again dismissed it as too volatile to play. Now that it's stabilized in the mid $900's per coin, I'm once again kicking myself.

Why?

You made the right decision for you based on your reasoning, that doesn't change just because the result turned out to be wrong.

If you're passing by a roulette wheel in a casino and think "the next one will be black" (but decide not to bet it for various reasons, including but not limited to not wanting to gamble your investment money) and it comes up black, do you kick yourself for not betting it?

That's a great way to look at it!

seattlecyclone

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #124 on: February 05, 2014, 05:20:46 PM »
The answer about taxation is that the IRS hasn't decided yet. If you're just buying and selling bitcoins, I imagine you'll be pretty safe treating them as a capital asset and paying the appropriate short/long-term capital gains tax in the year of sale.

What happens if you're a miner, though? Does a bitcoin you mined have a cost basis of zero (since you didn't exchange any money for it), or is the cost basis the value of that bitcoin on the day you mined it, with that value counting as ordinary income in the year of mining? Does the cost of the electricity and hardware you used to mine the bitcoin factor into the calculations at all? Does the tax treatment change if you use the bitcoin as money (i.e. buying goods and services with it) rather than selling it for USD? Nobody has a definite answer at this point. I imagine it will be resolved over the next few years as early adopters file tax returns, get audited, and the IRS sets some precedent. Until then, it's anybody's guess.

Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #125 on: February 05, 2014, 05:24:36 PM »
It is interesting that the IRS has not decided yet. However, your electricity costs and hardware, etc are the cost of doing business just like any other business so these would be deductible expenses. 

tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #126 on: February 06, 2014, 09:51:12 AM »

Edit: There is a lot of arbitrage that one could easily profit from between the different exchanges if they knew what they were doing. Bitcoin is still very far from an efficient market.

That is true when you look at the exchange charts found at http://thegenesisblock.com/markets/
People look at BTC-E and Mt. Gox, but MT. Gox was recently raided and isn't actually paying anything out in any sort of reasonable time...thus leaving the other 3 exchanges outstanding, there really isn't as many arbitrage opportunities as it appears.

$800 is really where things have stabilized, if everyone ignored Mt. Gox in their perusing of Bitcoin, things would look a lot more stable than they did even 3 months ago.

Daley

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #127 on: February 08, 2014, 08:10:52 PM »
The insanity is reaching new highs, and this really deserves to go into the Wall of Shame...

Apple Blocks Bitcoin Wallets: Users Destroy iPhones

I'm not sure what's more insane, idiot consumers getting so angry at a company known for totalitarian control over an expensive piece of consumer tech that idiot consumer voluntarily purchased when said company exercises that obvious control that they're incited to destroying said device, or the fact that they're doing so because of BITCOIN! BITCOIN! ARGLEBARGLEGRARRR!!!

In other news, Mt.Gox suspends trade, value drops 8%, and more Bitcoin exchangers are found guilty of criminal activities. Sure am glad this is an anonymous cryptocurrency!

Anyone taking this stuff seriously and putting any real money into this sideshow are a few blockchains short of a Bitcoin.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2014, 08:12:28 PM by I.P. Daley »

arebelspy

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #128 on: February 08, 2014, 09:09:50 PM »
Hah! Thanks for the laugh I.P.

Yeah, it's weird how it got this reputation of being anonymous, when in actuality every transaction is recorded and stored.  People who understand it don't think it's anonymous, but plenty of dumb people sure are getting caught doing stuff they probably shouldn't.

I do hope, eventually, some form of digital currency takes hold.
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Daley

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #129 on: February 09, 2014, 11:06:34 AM »
If you are against bitcoin, what are you disagreeing with?

I thought the entire thread covered this question quite well.

warfreak2

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #130 on: February 09, 2014, 11:07:57 AM »
The bitcoin protocol is a terrible solution to the problem of maintaining a public record; maintaining a public record is also a terrible solution to the problem of making financial transactions.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #131 on: February 09, 2014, 05:04:23 PM »
The bitcoin protocol is a terrible solution to the problem of maintaining a public record; maintaining a public record is also a terrible solution to the problem of making financial transactions.

It's a pretty decent way to maintain a redundant, decentralized public record.

Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #132 on: February 09, 2014, 06:05:02 PM »
IP Daley, they are no more crazy then people in the stock market which also has highs and lows.  No, I don't have my life savings in Bitcoin but about $3000 and have been making great $. Even If I lost it all I would be fine with that. It is a calculated risk and I think at the least I won't lose $ but think I will gain plenty.  Only time will tell. Try to be more open minded.  It is a long term investment just like the stock market. 

arebelspy

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #133 on: February 09, 2014, 06:36:25 PM »
I'm fine with someone gambling on bitcoin, but I can't see how one can call it an investment.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #134 on: February 09, 2014, 06:47:01 PM »
I will honestly let you know how it works out. If I am wrong and lose my $ I will tell you.  Obviously I don't think I will or I wouldn't be doing it. However, we are not buying & holding -we are miners which is a very different thing.

arebelspy

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #135 on: February 09, 2014, 07:14:24 PM »
I will honestly let you know how it works out. If I am wrong and lose my $ I will tell you.  Obviously I don't think I will or I wouldn't be doing it. However, we are not buying & holding -we are miners which is a very different thing.

Why did you call it a "long term investment" two posts up, then say you aren't buying and holding in this post?

I'm confused how it can be a long term investment without buying and holding.  Do you mean the mining equipment is a long term investment?

How are you actually profitable nowadays on mining?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #136 on: February 09, 2014, 07:36:48 PM »
We are mining & then the $ we make we are holding. In less then a year we have tripled our investment. We could  take the profit but are choosing to hold it because we think it will be much more valuable in the future. Only time will tell.

Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #137 on: February 09, 2014, 08:09:01 PM »
I am probably doing a poor job of explaining but we have been very profitable with mining-especially the past 4 months.  My son does it all and spends a lot of time managing the mining & selling off a certain coin and buying another. He is doing very well for all of us but it is a huge time investment.  At any one time we may be mining many different coins. Then he sells the other coins for Bitcoin & that is what we are holding. 

warfreak2

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #138 on: February 10, 2014, 04:50:55 AM »
The bitcoin protocol is a terrible solution to the problem of maintaining a public record; maintaining a public record is also a terrible solution to the problem of making financial transactions.

It's a pretty decent way to maintain a redundant, decentralized public record.
For a new user to verify the current state, they have to download a copy of the whole thing. Also, the whole system takes unthinkable amounts of computing power/electricity to keep running. It may be clever, but that isn't the same as it being an efficient solution. (The claim that it's secure on the condition that 50% of the computing power belongs to honest users, turns out not to be true, by the way.)

Khan

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #139 on: February 10, 2014, 05:03:13 AM »
New issues with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin malleable withdraws:
https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20140210.html

Bitcoin is currently trading at ~630$ per bitcoin, which is a marked drop. -10%.
coinmarketcap.com

This may be an issue. On top of this, it seems regulators are speaking out of both sides of their mouths. Validating bitcoin from one side, whilst shutting down trading services from the other.

Really, Bitcoin is terrible, and worst are all the other ****ing altcoins(Ooh, I'll make a coin for Nimoy... NMY coin! Yeah!).

Khan

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #140 on: February 10, 2014, 05:31:39 AM »
We are mining & then the $ we make we are holding. In less then a year we have tripled our investment. We could  take the profit but are choosing to hold it because we think it will be much more valuable in the future. Only time will tell.

Here's the thing: What is bitcoin?

If it's a currency, then you are using it for an antithetical purpose to that.
If it's an investment, then what is it's purpose besides rising in value? Bonds pay back money because you are loaning money. Stocks rise because of improving fundamentals, sentiment, and because of the risk premium. REITs pay back the profits of operation, vs. the risk of ownership.

What is Bitcoin?
The current mania is Tulips.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
The current mania is the gold rush
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush#Profits
Quote
Recent scholarship confirms that merchants made far more money than miners during the Gold Rush.
« Last Edit: February 10, 2014, 05:37:10 AM by Khanjar »

arebelspy

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #141 on: February 10, 2014, 07:18:30 AM »
See on issues like this, I'd consider gambling on BitCoin, thinking that it may have another good run in it, and try to hope to time it.

I very likely won't, for a few reasons, but if one likes to gamble, okay.  It's not an "investment" though, as Khanjar points out.  It's speculation.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Cassie

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #142 on: February 10, 2014, 11:54:28 AM »
I have also said over & over again that we realize we could lose our $-just like in the stock market.  But we are willing to take the risk.

Russ

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #143 on: February 10, 2014, 12:03:08 PM »
I have also said over & over again that we realize we could lose our $-just like in the stock market.  But we are willing to take the risk.

The contention is not whether or not you accept the risk. It's that gambling on a currency is not investing, it's gambling. And the possibility of gains or losses does not make it the same thing as investing in stocks or similar

Spork

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #144 on: February 10, 2014, 01:01:33 PM »
I have also said over & over again that we realize we could lose our $-just like in the stock market.  But we are willing to take the risk.

The contention is not whether or not you accept the risk. It's that gambling on a currency is not investing, it's gambling. And the possibility of gains or losses does not make it the same thing as investing in stocks or similar

If it is similar to something, it is similar not to stock markets but to currency speculation.  And (I think I said this upthread) it is not like speculating in a longstanding currencly like Chinese Yen or British Pounds... it's more like an emerging baby democracy. 

The question is: will the democracy stand?  Or will it fold?  It's kind of a fun bet.  I understand that.  And I wish you luck.   ...but I think lots of governments want it to fail.  Keep that in the back of your mind.

arebelspy

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #145 on: February 10, 2014, 01:07:00 PM »
I have also said over & over again that we realize we could lose our $-just like in the stock market.  But we are willing to take the risk.

There's a difference between saying you could lose money (risk) versus something being speculation or an investment.
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tomq04

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #146 on: February 11, 2014, 09:17:15 AM »
...but I think lots of governments want it to fail.  Keep that in the back of your mind.

I don't think that there is much any government can do to stop it.  Cryptocurrency is going to be here to stay, that being said I do believe there is a chance BTC could fail, but something will pickup where it left off.

I'm considering BTC cryptocurrency 1.0, it may evolve itself into "2.0" or else something better will.

Spork

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #147 on: February 11, 2014, 09:51:07 AM »
...but I think lots of governments want it to fail.  Keep that in the back of your mind.

I don't think that there is much any government can do to stop it.  Cryptocurrency is going to be here to stay, that being said I do believe there is a chance BTC could fail, but something will pickup where it left off.

I'm considering BTC cryptocurrency 1.0, it may evolve itself into "2.0" or else something better will.

Yes and no.  If it gets deemed "money laundering" or if "BTC triggers an audit" ... they can make it painful enough that no one wants to bother with it.  They can't stop it.  But they can keep it from being mainstream. 

Khan

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #148 on: February 12, 2014, 02:33:06 AM »
Bitcoin continues to stay in it's slump. Bitstamp, some other service has suspended it's withdrawals. DDOS attacks against the network, which it sounds like it's not resistant to. BTC-E exchange might also be having issues too.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-bitcoin-a-new-rip-20140211,0,1065852.story#axzz2t6A4SneK
https://www.bitstamp.net/article/bitcoin-withdraws-suspended/
https://bitcoinaverage.com/#USD

gotaholen1

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Re: Bitcoin: An Interesting Case of a Classic Bubble?
« Reply #149 on: February 12, 2014, 11:55:00 AM »
Anyone here have any good links or information relating to setting up a small mining rig for 800-1000 bucks?  Seems like a fun experiment while the weather is still awful in my neck of the woods. 

Is anyone here actually mining?