Bitcoin kicking ass

[BuckToothMoron]

Yup, it just cleared what was the laughable prediction of 10,000 USD by 2018. I originally bought half a coin a few years ago, sold before a trip to Vegas, with the intentions of buying back in...but stupidly did not. Got lazy since my exchange updated their security and wanted my drivers license and I thought it was too much of a hassle, and I forgot about it....that half a coin (I bought 150 worth) would be worth over 5,000 now. Bought back in a couple months ago (again later than I was meaning too, since I wanted to buy back in early in the summer, but never got around to it). Anyway in about a month I’ve made an 80% return on investment....I DONT THINK ITS GOING TO STOP.

These guys say it’ll go up to a million by 2020...and it sounds crazy, even to me but there are a few factors that are going to contribute to the continual rise. Even if it’s half or even a quarter of that...that’s still phenomenally outstanding.

As of now only 2% of the world use bitcoin, but all it takes to buy it is a smartphone...which’s everyone has nowadays, even in third world countries with how cheap androids are. Coinbase (a BTC exchange) is adding 100,000 new users a day. If you think of it like a stock, there’s really only a small group that stays roughly the same size buying into the stock market. And in that market they’re splitting that money into thousands of thousands of different companies. A very large majority of people in India, China, Europe, etc, and even here in the western world aren’t buying into the stock market...but they are starting to buy into bitcoin, because it’s easy, and un-hackable, they’re making money, and have 100% control of that money vs a bank. Now the more people who buy into, the more it keeps rising and rising. If the user-ship jumps up to a measly 4%....that alone will double the price. Like those guys said, this is just the first inning.

Secondly, bitcoin is forcing Wall Street to take a look, and they are all scrambling to figure out a way to start trading it on their exchanges. The CME is saying it will be exchanging it by the 2nd week in December! That’s gonna be a HUGE jump. As of now a very small percentage of BTC holders own over 100 USD worth in BTC. Not only will opening up BTC to Wall Street add even more users, it will add a lot more big players, as well as lend more validity to it.

Thirdly, economic crisis. People run to things like precious metals during economic crisis. But how many people have the know how and the funds to buy precious metals? Bitcoin is much easier and offers you full control of your money. Don’t get me wrong it’s very wise to own precious metals, but bitcoin could explode. There are plenty of countries on the verge of collapse, like Venezuela, Argentina, and once the happens, a good amount of people in that country will run to bitcoin. There’s even speculation that these countries might even just switch their currency over into cryptocurrency. On top of that, we’re due for at least an economic correction, and could very well be looking at economic crisis. Europe and China are in worse shape than us, and if we falter, that’s going to be a global crisis. On top of that, what’s gonna further drive people to bitcoin is the fact that all of our banks are ready to do a bail in (banks just take a percentage from everyone, 5% haircut across the board). Plenty of people are gonna day fuck that, I’m moving to bitcoin. Also these same banks are talking about doing negative interest rates on savings accounts, forcing people to spend instead of save. Again people will say fuck that, I’m gonna put my savings in bitcoin.

What makes me worry about bitcoin? Well governments could try to crack down on it. I don’t think they can fully eliminate it with their citizens, but they could make it difficult to use and exchange. On top of that the energy consumption of miners. They are using a lot of energy. But the beautiful thing about bitcoin is that it can fork, and change it’s form to something more workable, in a free market setting. It forks, people who have owns BTC before the fork own the same amount of the new fork, as well as classic BTC, then the two compete to see what’s better. I could see a fork into something using less power coming in few years. Or having cell phones, tablets, etc, join into the mining to take the load off computing, Or alternative energy sources to take the load off of energy.

If it does hit a million by 2020...I’m looking at 500,000 Dollars. I’d be perfectly happy if it only goes to 50,000 by 2020. That’s still a great freaking investment. I’m thinking about just putting in like 50 bucks every paycheck in, using it as a savings account on steroids. Anyway, buy in now. Put in money your willing to loose (I doubt you’ll ever loose it all, or even a portion), and just watch it go.

Bitcoin is a classic bubble. It is not a Stock. It is not a currency. It is a Dutch tulip bulb. If you don’t know that reference then I suggest you research it. The problem with investing in a bubble is you never know when it is going to burst.

Bitcoin is like any other investment. Its not a magic bullet or get rich quick scheme unless you want to use it like some day traders. The short and long term ROI with Bitcoin is unlike anything else I have ever seen and I love me some real estate. My guess is it will crash again. When it does I will be there to buy more of it because its not going anywhere.

Interesting post- your first sentence you proclaim bitcoin is like any other investment. Then in your third sentence you proclaim bitcoin is unlike anything else.... You make your self very clear, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

 

[Asclepias]

Yup, it just cleared what was the laughable prediction of 10,000 USD by 2018. I originally bought half a coin a few years ago, sold before a trip to Vegas, with the intentions of buying back in...but stupidly did not. Got lazy since my exchange updated their security and wanted my drivers license and I thought it was too much of a hassle, and I forgot about it....that half a coin (I bought 150 worth) would be worth over 5,000 now. Bought back in a couple months ago (again later than I was meaning too, since I wanted to buy back in early in the summer, but never got around to it). Anyway in about a month I’ve made an 80% return on investment....I DONT THINK ITS GOING TO STOP.

These guys say it’ll go up to a million by 2020...and it sounds crazy, even to me but there are a few factors that are going to contribute to the continual rise. Even if it’s half or even a quarter of that...that’s still phenomenally outstanding.

As of now only 2% of the world use bitcoin, but all it takes to buy it is a smartphone...which’s everyone has nowadays, even in third world countries with how cheap androids are. Coinbase (a BTC exchange) is adding 100,000 new users a day. If you think of it like a stock, there’s really only a small group that stays roughly the same size buying into the stock market. And in that market they’re splitting that money into thousands of thousands of different companies. A very large majority of people in India, China, Europe, etc, and even here in the western world aren’t buying into the stock market...but they are starting to buy into bitcoin, because it’s easy, and un-hackable, they’re making money, and have 100% control of that money vs a bank. Now the more people who buy into, the more it keeps rising and rising. If the user-ship jumps up to a measly 4%....that alone will double the price. Like those guys said, this is just the first inning.

Secondly, bitcoin is forcing Wall Street to take a look, and they are all scrambling to figure out a way to start trading it on their exchanges. The CME is saying it will be exchanging it by the 2nd week in December! That’s gonna be a HUGE jump. As of now a very small percentage of BTC holders own over 100 USD worth in BTC. Not only will opening up BTC to Wall Street add even more users, it will add a lot more big players, as well as lend more validity to it.

Thirdly, economic crisis. People run to things like precious metals during economic crisis. But how many people have the know how and the funds to buy precious metals? Bitcoin is much easier and offers you full control of your money. Don’t get me wrong it’s very wise to own precious metals, but bitcoin could explode. There are plenty of countries on the verge of collapse, like Venezuela, Argentina, and once the happens, a good amount of people in that country will run to bitcoin. There’s even speculation that these countries might even just switch their currency over into cryptocurrency. On top of that, we’re due for at least an economic correction, and could very well be looking at economic crisis. Europe and China are in worse shape than us, and if we falter, that’s going to be a global crisis. On top of that, what’s gonna further drive people to bitcoin is the fact that all of our banks are ready to do a bail in (banks just take a percentage from everyone, 5% haircut across the board). Plenty of people are gonna day fuck that, I’m moving to bitcoin. Also these same banks are talking about doing negative interest rates on savings accounts, forcing people to spend instead of save. Again people will say fuck that, I’m gonna put my savings in bitcoin.

What makes me worry about bitcoin? Well governments could try to crack down on it. I don’t think they can fully eliminate it with their citizens, but they could make it difficult to use and exchange. On top of that the energy consumption of miners. They are using a lot of energy. But the beautiful thing about bitcoin is that it can fork, and change it’s form to something more workable, in a free market setting. It forks, people who have owns BTC before the fork own the same amount of the new fork, as well as classic BTC, then the two compete to see what’s better. I could see a fork into something using less power coming in few years. Or having cell phones, tablets, etc, join into the mining to take the load off computing, Or alternative energy sources to take the load off of energy.

If it does hit a million by 2020...I’m looking at 500,000 Dollars. I’d be perfectly happy if it only goes to 50,000 by 2020. That’s still a great freaking investment. I’m thinking about just putting in like 50 bucks every paycheck in, using it as a savings account on steroids. Anyway, buy in now. Put in money your willing to loose (I doubt you’ll ever loose it all, or even a portion), and just watch it go.

Bitcoin is a classic bubble. It is not a Stock. It is not a currency. It is a Dutch tulip bulb. If you don’t know that reference then I suggest you research it. The problem with investing in a bubble is you never know when it is going to burst.

Bitcoin is like any other investment. Its not a magic bullet or get rich quick scheme unless you want to use it like some day traders. The short and long term ROI with Bitcoin is unlike anything else I have ever seen and I love me some real estate. My guess is it will crash again. When it does I will be there to buy more of it because its not going anywhere.

Interesting post- your first sentence you proclaim bitcoin is like any other investment. Then in your third sentence you proclaim bitcoin is unlike anything else.... You make your self very clear, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth
View attachment 164315

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

Lots of investments are speculation bubbles. Most stock in alot of companies is held by the company. I dont get your point and what it had to do with my point regarding ROI?

Stability comes with time and adoption. As more entities accept it as currency you will see more growth and stability. I heard through the techie grapevine some larger companies like Amazon are considering accepting it as currency.

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@steemi...nies-that-accept-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies

 

[MikeK]

[...]

I’m a big poker player . . .

[...]

And therein lies the tale.

(I sincerely wish you luck.)

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Bitcoin is a classic bubble. It is not a Stock. It is not a currency. It is a Dutch tulip bulb. If you don’t know that reference then I suggest you research it. The problem with investing in a bubble is you never know when it is going to burst.

Bitcoin is like any other investment. Its not a magic bullet or get rich quick scheme unless you want to use it like some day traders. The short and long term ROI with Bitcoin is unlike anything else I have ever seen and I love me some real estate. My guess is it will crash again. When it does I will be there to buy more of it because its not going anywhere.

Interesting post- your first sentence you proclaim bitcoin is like any other investment. Then in your third sentence you proclaim bitcoin is unlike anything else.... You make your self very clear, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth
View attachment 164315

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

Lots of investments are speculation bubbles. Most stock in a company is held by the company. I dont get your point and what it had to do with my point regarding ROI?

You can’t have a return on investment until you sell the investment. The majority of bitcoins have never been sold or exchanged. They are just sitting in the owners’ wallets. Their investment is up, but they have not realized the return. And I suspect they never will, because as they make more bitcoins available for sale, the price will drop, simple supply and demand.

 

[Asclepias]

Bitcoin is like any other investment. Its not a magic bullet or get rich quick scheme unless you want to use it like some day traders. The short and long term ROI with Bitcoin is unlike anything else I have ever seen and I love me some real estate. My guess is it will crash again. When it does I will be there to buy more of it because its not going anywhere.

Interesting post- your first sentence you proclaim bitcoin is like any other investment. Then in your third sentence you proclaim bitcoin is unlike anything else.... You make your self very clear, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth
View attachment 164315

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

Lots of investments are speculation bubbles. Most stock in a company is held by the company. I dont get your point and what it had to do with my point regarding ROI?

You can’t have a return on investment until you sell the investment. The majority of bitcoins have never been sold or exchanged. They are just sitting in the owners’ wallets. Their investment is up, but they have not realized the return. And I suspect they never will, because as they make more bitcoins available for sale, the price will drop, simple supply and demand.

Thats BS. The guy that got me in buys and sales daily. If I were to cash out right now I will have more than doubled my original investment. The reason I am not cashing out now is because of the technology behind Bitcoin and the growth that is going to follow. Also the supply of Bitcoin is finite. I forgot when but the last Bitcoin will be mined somewhere in the not to distant future. FYI. Bit coin is just one of the crypto currencies I invest in. It just happens to be the most lucrative and stable. In the near future you will see companies issuing IPOs based on this stuff.

 

[sakinago]

Bitcoin is a classic bubble. It is not a Stock. It is not a currency. It is a Dutch tulip bulb. If you don’t know that reference then I suggest you research it. The problem with investing in a bubble is you never know when it is going to burst.

See I don’t think so. A. It’s been around for 8 years, steadily climbing, and what let to initial jump what’s China ok’ing it. On top of that, too many people have been trading it, so when it drops, they buy it right back up. And the people in it right now are those who believe in the tech. “Well so did the Dutch with their tulips.” But BTC is certainly more secure than a tulip. People keep trying to compare it to this or that, truth is we haven’t seen anything like this.

If this were a stock, I agree, it’s definitely in a bubble. Nope I think this is just the usership rising, and people are in it for the long haul. I could see it being more compared to a pyramid scheme more, but it’s been around for coming up on 10 years, it’s been steadily climbing, and a lot of people have made a lot of money, and a lot of people are just buying and holding for the long run.

Usership is not rising in conjunction with the price. People buying bitcoin now are not using it in commerce. They are buying it to sell it later at a higher price. They are speculators. So why don’t you tell us why you bought it, tell us at what price do you plan to sell it, tell us what you would do if the price goes up 5 times from where you bought it, tell us how far the price would have to drop for you to sell.

I bought .2 BTC, around the dip after the fork (wish I bought before the fork), at around 6200. I have since almost doubled, and have insulated myself by pocketing my original investment (almost, if it goes to zero, I’m out only 100). If it dips around 5000 again, I’ll probably pull out, and still have made 400. As far as when to sell, I’m going to ride it out, keep watching, I’m looking to see what it does mid 2018, and will re-evaluate, and go from there. 25,000 by the end 2018 is a modest bull projection...and I will be perfectly happy with that. Some go as high as 40,000, which also wouldn’t surprise me. But like I said, I’m gonna keep an eye on it and evaluate as I go.

So you invested roughly $1200, have sold 0.1 bitcoin, still own 0.1 bitcoin. Are my numbers accurate?

He's probably shopping for a second home......

Jesus listen to yourself so much animosity towards something not even involving you. Clearly you’re either jealous and just want this to fail, or you’re just afraid of change, and also want this to fail. Go ahead and jump in line, it’s a long one, but y’all have been saying that all these milestones that big coin have been blowing away were never going to be possible. Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate, that doesn’t mean you have to love it. But you seem to have a lot more hate than normal for an open source, unhackable, free, revolutionary new technology, that by the way has also made a lot of people, a lot of money.

Again I’m only playing around with money that I’m comfortable loosing, and have already insulated myself from loss. And a grand in a month and a half isn’t chump change. That’s a very nice return. I have only ever recommended people only putting in money they don’t mind losing. Am I bullish about this yes, I have also recommended people do their own research, and not just from the pro crypto people. My stance has always been, it’s wise to throw money you don’t mind loosing into it, just in case all the bears are wrong about it (like they have been, over and over and over). Even if 5% of the world starts using bitcoin...that would be massive.

 

[MikeK]

I am shamefully ignorant about Bitcoin (and all other financial matters). Someone here said only a limited number of Bitcoins have been produced. If this is true, how difficult would it be to counterfeit them?

 

[Asclepias]

I am shamefully ignorant about Bitcoin (and all other financial matters). Someone here said only a limited number of Bitcoins have been produced. If this is true, how difficult would it be to counterfeit them?

Read up on blockchain technology. Its pretty difficult if you dont have a background in crypto or technologies that use crypto to understand just how secure this is.

 

[sakinago]

Yup, it just cleared what was the laughable prediction of 10,000 USD by 2018. I originally bought half a coin a few years ago, sold before a trip to Vegas, with the intentions of buying back in...but stupidly did not. Got lazy since my exchange updated their security and wanted my drivers license and I thought it was too much of a hassle, and I forgot about it....that half a coin (I bought 150 worth) would be worth over 5,000 now. Bought back in a couple months ago (again later than I was meaning too, since I wanted to buy back in early in the summer, but never got around to it). Anyway in about a month I’ve made an 80% return on investment....I DONT THINK ITS GOING TO STOP.

These guys say it’ll go up to a million by 2020...and it sounds crazy, even to me but there are a few factors that are going to contribute to the continual rise. Even if it’s half or even a quarter of that...that’s still phenomenally outstanding.

As of now only 2% of the world use bitcoin, but all it takes to buy it is a smartphone...which’s everyone has nowadays, even in third world countries with how cheap androids are. Coinbase (a BTC exchange) is adding 100,000 new users a day. If you think of it like a stock, there’s really only a small group that stays roughly the same size buying into the stock market. And in that market they’re splitting that money into thousands of thousands of different companies. A very large majority of people in India, China, Europe, etc, and even here in the western world aren’t buying into the stock market...but they are starting to buy into bitcoin, because it’s easy, and un-hackable, they’re making money, and have 100% control of that money vs a bank. Now the more people who buy into, the more it keeps rising and rising. If the user-ship jumps up to a measly 4%....that alone will double the price. Like those guys said, this is just the first inning.

Secondly, bitcoin is forcing Wall Street to take a look, and they are all scrambling to figure out a way to start trading it on their exchanges. The CME is saying it will be exchanging it by the 2nd week in December! That’s gonna be a HUGE jump. As of now a very small percentage of BTC holders own over 100 USD worth in BTC. Not only will opening up BTC to Wall Street add even more users, it will add a lot more big players, as well as lend more validity to it.

Thirdly, economic crisis. People run to things like precious metals during economic crisis. But how many people have the know how and the funds to buy precious metals? Bitcoin is much easier and offers you full control of your money. Don’t get me wrong it’s very wise to own precious metals, but bitcoin could explode. There are plenty of countries on the verge of collapse, like Venezuela, Argentina, and once the happens, a good amount of people in that country will run to bitcoin. There’s even speculation that these countries might even just switch their currency over into cryptocurrency. On top of that, we’re due for at least an economic correction, and could very well be looking at economic crisis. Europe and China are in worse shape than us, and if we falter, that’s going to be a global crisis. On top of that, what’s gonna further drive people to bitcoin is the fact that all of our banks are ready to do a bail in (banks just take a percentage from everyone, 5% haircut across the board). Plenty of people are gonna day fuck that, I’m moving to bitcoin. Also these same banks are talking about doing negative interest rates on savings accounts, forcing people to spend instead of save. Again people will say fuck that, I’m gonna put my savings in bitcoin.

What makes me worry about bitcoin? Well governments could try to crack down on it. I don’t think they can fully eliminate it with their citizens, but they could make it difficult to use and exchange. On top of that the energy consumption of miners. They are using a lot of energy. But the beautiful thing about bitcoin is that it can fork, and change it’s form to something more workable, in a free market setting. It forks, people who have owns BTC before the fork own the same amount of the new fork, as well as classic BTC, then the two compete to see what’s better. I could see a fork into something using less power coming in few years. Or having cell phones, tablets, etc, join into the mining to take the load off computing, Or alternative energy sources to take the load off of energy.

If it does hit a million by 2020...I’m looking at 500,000 Dollars. I’d be perfectly happy if it only goes to 50,000 by 2020. That’s still a great freaking investment. I’m thinking about just putting in like 50 bucks every paycheck in, using it as a savings account on steroids. Anyway, buy in now. Put in money your willing to loose (I doubt you’ll ever loose it all, or even a portion), and just watch it go.

Bitcoin is a classic bubble. It is not a Stock. It is not a currency. It is a Dutch tulip bulb. If you don’t know that reference then I suggest you research it. The problem with investing in a bubble is you never know when it is going to burst.

Bitcoin is like any other investment. Its not a magic bullet or get rich quick scheme unless you want to use it like some day traders. The short and long term ROI with Bitcoin is unlike anything else I have ever seen and I love me some real estate. My guess is it will crash again. When it does I will be there to buy more of it because its not going anywhere.

Interesting post- your first sentence you proclaim bitcoin is like any other investment. Then in your third sentence you proclaim bitcoin is unlike anything else.... You make your self very clear, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth
View attachment 164315

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

Yes there are big holders in bitcoin. And it’s possible that if they sell, they could cause a crash. But I doubt they would just cash out in a instant for a few reasons.
A. Many/most of the big holders are the industrialized mining farms, their income is based on the price of bitcoin. If they were to do a huge sell that could cause a crash...well then they’d be shooting themselves in the foot, and be fucked at that moment going forward...because mining bitcoin when it’s 10 bucks a pop isn’t going to pay for their big ole energy bill. They do periodically sell, because they still are a for profit company, but it’s definitely in their intrest not to cause a crash.
B. The people who just bought in big and early, are also those who believe in the principles and the technology behind bitcoin, and have wanted to see it thrive since the beginning. Im sure they still cash out and enjoy that money, but it’s also reasonable to assume they are invested in bitcoins future.
C. There’s still a lot more money to be made. Many of the biggest supporters (who are also big buyers early on) believe that this is just the beginning, and they wanna be there went it takes over the world (at least in their mind)

It’s defintiely a possibility that they could just cash out and buy an island. But I think with the industrialized miners with a lot of stake in the game, they’re gonna be a very stable force. If it still scares you, ok. I still think it’s at the very least wise to dip your toes in.

But the fact that there is a finite amount of bitcoin is a plus. But at this point, I believe that only 70% have been distributed so far. And as it grows and grows the rate they are distributed at slows and slows.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

See I don’t think so. A. It’s been around for 8 years, steadily climbing, and what let to initial jump what’s China ok’ing it. On top of that, too many people have been trading it, so when it drops, they buy it right back up. And the people in it right now are those who believe in the tech. “Well so did the Dutch with their tulips.” But BTC is certainly more secure than a tulip. People keep trying to compare it to this or that, truth is we haven’t seen anything like this.

If this were a stock, I agree, it’s definitely in a bubble. Nope I think this is just the usership rising, and people are in it for the long haul. I could see it being more compared to a pyramid scheme more, but it’s been around for coming up on 10 years, it’s been steadily climbing, and a lot of people have made a lot of money, and a lot of people are just buying and holding for the long run.

Usership is not rising in conjunction with the price. People buying bitcoin now are not using it in commerce. They are buying it to sell it later at a higher price. They are speculators. So why don’t you tell us why you bought it, tell us at what price do you plan to sell it, tell us what you would do if the price goes up 5 times from where you bought it, tell us how far the price would have to drop for you to sell.

I bought .2 BTC, around the dip after the fork (wish I bought before the fork), at around 6200. I have since almost doubled, and have insulated myself by pocketing my original investment (almost, if it goes to zero, I’m out only 100). If it dips around 5000 again, I’ll probably pull out, and still have made 400. As far as when to sell, I’m going to ride it out, keep watching, I’m looking to see what it does mid 2018, and will re-evaluate, and go from there. 25,000 by the end 2018 is a modest bull projection...and I will be perfectly happy with that. Some go as high as 40,000, which also wouldn’t surprise me. But like I said, I’m gonna keep an eye on it and evaluate as I go.

So you invested roughly $1200, have sold 0.1 bitcoin, still own 0.1 bitcoin. Are my numbers accurate?

He's probably shopping for a second home......

Jesus listen to yourself so much animosity towards something not even involving you. Clearly you’re either jealous and just want this to fail, or you’re just afraid of change, and also want this to fail. Go ahead and jump in line, it’s a long one, but y’all have been saying that all these milestones that big coin have been blowing away were never going to be possible. Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate, that doesn’t mean you have to love it. But you seem to have a lot more hate than normal for an open source, unhackable, free, revolutionary new technology, that by the way has also made a lot of people, a lot of money.

Again I’m only playing around with money that I’m comfortable loosing, and have already insulated myself from loss. And a grand in a month and a half isn’t chump change. That’s a very nice return. I have only ever recommended people only putting in money they don’t mind losing. Am I bullish about this yes, I have also recommended people do their own research, and not just from the pro crypto people. My stance has always been, it’s wise to throw money you don’t mind loosing into it, just in case all the bears are wrong about it (like they have been, over and over and over). Even if 5% of the world starts using bitcoin...that would be massive.

Jesus listen to yourself so much animosity towards something not even involving you.

No animosity here. Just stunned by your huge profits.

but y’all have been saying that all these milestones that big coin have been blowing away were never going to be possible.

I didn't say anything about bitcoin hitting or not hitting any price level. Ever.
When you've got a billion possible Chinese suckers...I mean "investors" in bitcoin, it could do anything.

But you seem to have a lot more hate than normal for an open source, unhackable, free, revolutionary new technology

Too bad all the exchanges didn't have unhackable technology, eh?

And a grand in a month and a half isn’t chump change.

You bet. Ride 'em cowboy!!!

 

[sakinago]

I am shamefully ignorant about Bitcoin (and all other financial matters). Someone here said only a limited number of Bitcoins have been produced. If this is true, how difficult would it be to counterfeit them?

Yes there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins ever. Currently only 70% have been “made”. To “make” a bitcoin, you “mine” for them. Mining consist of using your computer to solve and verify the blockchain transactions of people buying and selling bitcoin. Blockchain is the tech behind bitcoin, and basically what it is, is an open ledger verified by millions of independent computers around the world. So if I were trying to commit fraud and cook the books at a company, I could just go and mess with the numbers in the ledger. That can’t happen with Blockchain since it’s like having a million different accountants, all checking each other’s ledger to make sure it’s accurate. It’s called mining, because since there’s a limited number of bitcoins, think of bitcoins coming from one single mine, you find a vein, and it’s pretty easy mining early on, as you start to deplete the mine, it gets harder and harder to find and mine the resource, until eventually the mine is depleted. So now it’s getting harder and harder to mine, and going slower and slower. But don’t get that confused with you can only mine bitcoin to get it, no, you can just simply buy some. That’s bitcoin in a nutshell for you. Hope it helped.

(I’m not the most knowledgeable either, I have a basic understanding, so if somebody wants to correct me go for it.)

 

[MikeK]

Read up on blockchain technology. Its pretty difficult if you dont have a background in crypto or technologies that use crypto to understand just how secure this is.

Then presumably there is more to a Bitcoin transaction than there is with conventional legal tender. I belong to the technodummy generation and, accordingly, I know nothing about this stuff.

The impression I'm getting is Bitcoin does not involve actual coins, like quarters and dimes, but rather strings of computer code. Is that right? If so, would that be facilitated with something like a credit card?

I'll stop guessing there and wait for more info.

 

[MikeK]

See I don’t think so. A. It’s been around for 8 years, steadily climbing, and what let to initial jump what’s China ok’ing it. On top of that, too many people have been trading it, so when it drops, they buy it right back up. And the people in it right now are those who believe in the tech. “Well so did the Dutch with their tulips.” But BTC is certainly more secure than a tulip. People keep trying to compare it to this or that, truth is we haven’t seen anything like this.

If this were a stock, I agree, it’s definitely in a bubble. Nope I think this is just the usership rising, and people are in it for the long haul. I could see it being more compared to a pyramid scheme more, but it’s been around for coming up on 10 years, it’s been steadily climbing, and a lot of people have made a lot of money, and a lot of people are just buying and holding for the long run.

Usership is not rising in conjunction with the price. People buying bitcoin now are not using it in commerce. They are buying it to sell it later at a higher price. They are speculators. So why don’t you tell us why you bought it, tell us at what price do you plan to sell it, tell us what you would do if the price goes up 5 times from where you bought it, tell us how far the price would have to drop for you to sell.

I bought .2 BTC, around the dip after the fork (wish I bought before the fork), at around 6200. I have since almost doubled, and have insulated myself by pocketing my original investment (almost, if it goes to zero, I’m out only 100). If it dips around 5000 again, I’ll probably pull out, and still have made 400. As far as when to sell, I’m going to ride it out, keep watching, I’m looking to see what it does mid 2018, and will re-evaluate, and go from there. 25,000 by the end 2018 is a modest bull projection...and I will be perfectly happy with that. Some go as high as 40,000, which also wouldn’t surprise me. But like I said, I’m gonna keep an eye on it and evaluate as I go.

So you invested roughly $1200, have sold 0.1 bitcoin, still own 0.1 bitcoin. Are my numbers accurate?

He's probably shopping for a second home......

Jesus listen to yourself so much animosity towards something not even involving you. Clearly you’re either jealous and just want this to fail, or you’re just afraid of change, and also want this to fail. Go ahead and jump in line, it’s a long one, but y’all have been saying that all these milestones that big coin have been blowing away were never going to be possible. Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate, that doesn’t mean you have to love it. But you seem to have a lot more hate than normal for an open source, unhackable, free, revolutionary new technology, that by the way has also made a lot of people, a lot of money.

Again I’m only playing around with money that I’m comfortable loosing, and have already insulated myself from loss. And a grand in a month and a half isn’t chump change. That’s a very nice return. I have only ever recommended people only putting in money they don’t mind losing. Am I bullish about this yes, I have also recommended people do their own research, and not just from the pro crypto people. My stance has always been, it’s wise to throw money you don’t mind loosing into it, just in case all the bears are wrong about it (like they have been, over and over and over). Even if 5% of the world starts using bitcoin...that would be massive.

That's it. I'm done.

 

[sakinago]

Usership is not rising in conjunction with the price. People buying bitcoin now are not using it in commerce. They are buying it to sell it later at a higher price. They are speculators. So why don’t you tell us why you bought it, tell us at what price do you plan to sell it, tell us what you would do if the price goes up 5 times from where you bought it, tell us how far the price would have to drop for you to sell.

I bought .2 BTC, around the dip after the fork (wish I bought before the fork), at around 6200. I have since almost doubled, and have insulated myself by pocketing my original investment (almost, if it goes to zero, I’m out only 100). If it dips around 5000 again, I’ll probably pull out, and still have made 400. As far as when to sell, I’m going to ride it out, keep watching, I’m looking to see what it does mid 2018, and will re-evaluate, and go from there. 25,000 by the end 2018 is a modest bull projection...and I will be perfectly happy with that. Some go as high as 40,000, which also wouldn’t surprise me. But like I said, I’m gonna keep an eye on it and evaluate as I go.

So you invested roughly $1200, have sold 0.1 bitcoin, still own 0.1 bitcoin. Are my numbers accurate?

He's probably shopping for a second home......

Jesus listen to yourself so much animosity towards something not even involving you. Clearly you’re either jealous and just want this to fail, or you’re just afraid of change, and also want this to fail. Go ahead and jump in line, it’s a long one, but y’all have been saying that all these milestones that big coin have been blowing away were never going to be possible. Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate, that doesn’t mean you have to love it. But you seem to have a lot more hate than normal for an open source, unhackable, free, revolutionary new technology, that by the way has also made a lot of people, a lot of money.

Again I’m only playing around with money that I’m comfortable loosing, and have already insulated myself from loss. And a grand in a month and a half isn’t chump change. That’s a very nice return. I have only ever recommended people only putting in money they don’t mind losing. Am I bullish about this yes, I have also recommended people do their own research, and not just from the pro crypto people. My stance has always been, it’s wise to throw money you don’t mind loosing into it, just in case all the bears are wrong about it (like they have been, over and over and over). Even if 5% of the world starts using bitcoin...that would be massive.

Jesus listen to yourself so much animosity towards something not even involving you.

No animosity here. Just stunned by your huge profits.

but y’all have been saying that all these milestones that big coin have been blowing away were never going to be possible.

I didn't say anything about bitcoin hitting or not hitting any price level. Ever.
When you've got a billion possible Chinese suckers...I mean "investors" in bitcoin, it could do anything.

But you seem to have a lot more hate than normal for an open source, unhackable, free, revolutionary new technology

Too bad all the exchanges didn't have unhackable technology, eh?

And a grand in a month and a half isn’t chump change.

You bet. Ride 'em cowboy!!!

So, both my banks got hacked, as well as practically half the US entire credit system...as well as yahoo, target, Uber, should I go on. Yea some exchanges got hacked, but bitcoin is still unhackable. And if you’re that worried, make a Blockchain wallet.

And yea I’m pretty happy with 90% ROI in a month and a half, dang you really got me there. I guess all I could buy with that is a stick of gum right? Please now your just acting like a child. Go stomp your feet elsewhere.

 

[Asclepias]

Read up on blockchain technology. Its pretty difficult if you dont have a background in crypto or technologies that use crypto to understand just how secure this is.

Then presumably there is more to a Bitcoin transaction than there is with conventional legal tender. I belong to the technodummy generation and, accordingly, I know nothing about this stuff.

The impression I'm getting is Bitcoin does not involve actual coins, like quarters and dimes, but rather strings of computer code. Is that right? If so, would that be facilitated with something like a credit card?

I'll stop guessing there and wait for more info.

No actual coins. Just value or as you put it computer code. Its anti credit card. Exchanges are secure and dont involve a middle man.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Interesting post- your first sentence you proclaim bitcoin is like any other investment. Then in your third sentence you proclaim bitcoin is unlike anything else.... You make your self very clear, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth
View attachment 164315

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

Lots of investments are speculation bubbles. Most stock in a company is held by the company. I dont get your point and what it had to do with my point regarding ROI?

You can’t have a return on investment until you sell the investment. The majority of bitcoins have never been sold or exchanged. They are just sitting in the owners’ wallets. Their investment is up, but they have not realized the return. And I suspect they never will, because as they make more bitcoins available for sale, the price will drop, simple supply and demand.

Thats BS. The guy that got me in buys and sales daily. If I were to cash out right now I will have more than doubled my original investment. The reason I am not cashing out now is because of the technology behind Bitcoin and the growth that is going to follow. Also the supply of Bitcoin is finite. I forgot when but the last Bitcoin will be mined somewhere in the not to distant future. FYI. Bit coin is just one of the crypto currencies I invest in. It just happens to be the most lucrative and stable. In the near future you will see companies issuing IPOs based on this stuff.

Did you say bitcoin is the most stable? Perhaps you and I have a different opinion of what stability is. The chart of bitcoin is hyperbolic, that is not stable by definition. If it is the most stable, well that doesn’t say much for the other Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has been a great investment for people who have held it. But it is a classic bubble, and before it can be widely used as a currency it will have to have a consistent/stable exchange versus other currencies, and it will have to be widely held. Right now it is neither. The cost of bitcoin in dollars can swing 10-15% per day. Stable? Hey, if you make money holding, good for you. At what price will you sell? When will you realize the gain, when will you be willing to pay the taxes? Like all investments, bitcoin depends on not only a good entrance strategy, but also a good exit strategy. I was investing during the late 90’s. I saw the dotcom bubble. This looks very similar to me. Why anybody would ever use bitcoin today as a currency is beyond me. The bitcoin you spend today could be worth $1000 more tomorrow. The bitcoin a merchant accepts could be worth $1000 less tomorrow.

 

[sakinago]

Read up on blockchain technology. Its pretty difficult if you dont have a background in crypto or technologies that use crypto to understand just how secure this is.

Then presumably there is more to a Bitcoin transaction than there is with conventional legal tender. I belong to the technodummy generation and, accordingly, I know nothing about this stuff.

The impression I'm getting is Bitcoin does not involve actual coins, like quarters and dimes, but rather strings of computer code. Is that right? If so, would that be facilitated with something like a credit card?

I'll stop guessing there and wait for more info.

Pretty much, but the world banks are actively getting rid of cash, because they want to force you to go through them. They can’t do that if you have cash. When they do get rid of cash, they will control your money. If there’s a economic crash, they’ll stop a run on the banks, and give you a daily allowance to spend, so they’re aren’t mass withdrawals (they did this in Greece). They convinced government instead of a bail out, they just do a bail in, and already have the language written in law to do so. What that means is next time there’s an economic crises like 2008 (probably coming soon), instead of government just throwing trillions of cash at the very same people who screwed the pooch in the first place, the banks are just going to reach into your bank account and take a percentage, and they’ll tell you “we have too, the economy will crash if we don’t.” More of that too big to fail BS. Or/and they’re also gonna do negative interest rates on savings. So instead of your savings going up little by little, they’re gonna take and take, which will force people to spend instead of save.

Remember 91% of the worlds money is already digital. And they’re actively getting rid and forcing people out of cash as we speak. So they can control your money, and you can’t do anything about it. So when they fuck up again, they’ll just skip their middle man governments, and take directly from you. Bitcoin however, you have 100% control of, it is anonymous, as well as unhackable. That’s what makes people excited about bitcoin, it’s a counter to this BS.

 

[Asclepias]

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth
View attachment 164315

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

Lots of investments are speculation bubbles. Most stock in a company is held by the company. I dont get your point and what it had to do with my point regarding ROI?

You can’t have a return on investment until you sell the investment. The majority of bitcoins have never been sold or exchanged. They are just sitting in the owners’ wallets. Their investment is up, but they have not realized the return. And I suspect they never will, because as they make more bitcoins available for sale, the price will drop, simple supply and demand.

Thats BS. The guy that got me in buys and sales daily. If I were to cash out right now I will have more than doubled my original investment. The reason I am not cashing out now is because of the technology behind Bitcoin and the growth that is going to follow. Also the supply of Bitcoin is finite. I forgot when but the last Bitcoin will be mined somewhere in the not to distant future. FYI. Bit coin is just one of the crypto currencies I invest in. It just happens to be the most lucrative and stable. In the near future you will see companies issuing IPOs based on this stuff.

Did you say bitcoin is the most stable? Perhaps you and I have a different opinion of what stability is. The chart of bitcoin is hyperbolic, that is not stable by definition. If it is the most stable, well that doesn’t say much for the other Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has been a great investment for people who have held it. But it is a classic bubble, and before it can be widely used as a currency it will have to have a consistent/stable exchange versus other currencies, and it will have to be widely held. Right now it is neither. The cost of bitcoin in dollars can swing 10-15% per day. Stable? Hey, if you make money holding, good for you. At what price will you sell? When will you realize the gain, when will you be willing to pay the taxes? Like all investments, bitcoin depends on not only a good entrance strategy, but also a good exit strategy. I was investing during the late 90’s. I saw the dotcom bubble. This looks very similar to me. Why anybody would ever use bitcoin today as a currency is beyond me. The bitcoin you spend today could be worth $1000 more tomorrow. The bitcoin a merchant accepts could be worth $1000 less tomorrow.

Yes I said Bitcoin is the most stable cryptocurrency.

 

[sakinago]

Yup, it just cleared what was the laughable prediction of 10,000 USD by 2018. I originally bought half a coin a few years ago, sold before a trip to Vegas, with the intentions of buying back in...but stupidly did not. Got lazy since my exchange updated their security and wanted my drivers license and I thought it was too much of a hassle, and I forgot about it....that half a coin (I bought 150 worth) would be worth over 5,000 now. Bought back in a couple months ago (again later than I was meaning too, since I wanted to buy back in early in the summer, but never got around to it). Anyway in about a month I’ve made an 80% return on investment....I DONT THINK ITS GOING TO STOP.

These guys say it’ll go up to a million by 2020...and it sounds crazy, even to me but there are a few factors that are going to contribute to the continual rise. Even if it’s half or even a quarter of that...that’s still phenomenally outstanding.

As of now only 2% of the world use bitcoin, but all it takes to buy it is a smartphone...which’s everyone has nowadays, even in third world countries with how cheap androids are. Coinbase (a BTC exchange) is adding 100,000 new users a day. If you think of it like a stock, there’s really only a small group that stays roughly the same size buying into the stock market. And in that market they’re splitting that money into thousands of thousands of different companies. A very large majority of people in India, China, Europe, etc, and even here in the western world aren’t buying into the stock market...but they are starting to buy into bitcoin, because it’s easy, and un-hackable, they’re making money, and have 100% control of that money vs a bank. Now the more people who buy into, the more it keeps rising and rising. If the user-ship jumps up to a measly 4%....that alone will double the price. Like those guys said, this is just the first inning.

Secondly, bitcoin is forcing Wall Street to take a look, and they are all scrambling to figure out a way to start trading it on their exchanges. The CME is saying it will be exchanging it by the 2nd week in December! That’s gonna be a HUGE jump. As of now a very small percentage of BTC holders own over 100 USD worth in BTC. Not only will opening up BTC to Wall Street add even more users, it will add a lot more big players, as well as lend more validity to it.

Thirdly, economic crisis. People run to things like precious metals during economic crisis. But how many people have the know how and the funds to buy precious metals? Bitcoin is much easier and offers you full control of your money. Don’t get me wrong it’s very wise to own precious metals, but bitcoin could explode. There are plenty of countries on the verge of collapse, like Venezuela, Argentina, and once the happens, a good amount of people in that country will run to bitcoin. There’s even speculation that these countries might even just switch their currency over into cryptocurrency. On top of that, we’re due for at least an economic correction, and could very well be looking at economic crisis. Europe and China are in worse shape than us, and if we falter, that’s going to be a global crisis. On top of that, what’s gonna further drive people to bitcoin is the fact that all of our banks are ready to do a bail in (banks just take a percentage from everyone, 5% haircut across the board). Plenty of people are gonna day fuck that, I’m moving to bitcoin. Also these same banks are talking about doing negative interest rates on savings accounts, forcing people to spend instead of save. Again people will say fuck that, I’m gonna put my savings in bitcoin.

What makes me worry about bitcoin? Well governments could try to crack down on it. I don’t think they can fully eliminate it with their citizens, but they could make it difficult to use and exchange. On top of that the energy consumption of miners. They are using a lot of energy. But the beautiful thing about bitcoin is that it can fork, and change it’s form to something more workable, in a free market setting. It forks, people who have owns BTC before the fork own the same amount of the new fork, as well as classic BTC, then the two compete to see what’s better. I could see a fork into something using less power coming in few years. Or having cell phones, tablets, etc, join into the mining to take the load off computing, Or alternative energy sources to take the load off of energy.

If it does hit a million by 2020...I’m looking at 500,000 Dollars. I’d be perfectly happy if it only goes to 50,000 by 2020. That’s still a great freaking investment. I’m thinking about just putting in like 50 bucks every paycheck in, using it as a savings account on steroids. Anyway, buy in now. Put in money your willing to loose (I doubt you’ll ever loose it all, or even a portion), and just watch it go.

Bitcoin is a classic bubble. It is not a Stock. It is not a currency. It is a Dutch tulip bulb. If you don’t know that reference then I suggest you research it. The problem with investing in a bubble is you never know when it is going to burst.

Bitcoin is like any other investment. Its not a magic bullet or get rich quick scheme unless you want to use it like some day traders. The short and long term ROI with Bitcoin is unlike anything else I have ever seen and I love me some real estate. My guess is it will crash again. When it does I will be there to buy more of it because its not going anywhere.

Interesting post- your first sentence you proclaim bitcoin is like any other investment. Then in your third sentence you proclaim bitcoin is unlike anything else.... You make your self very clear, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I think you just proved you have no idea you know what you are talking about. ROI means return on investment. Bitcoin is an investment just like any other. The ROI is what is different.

It is a speculation bubble. The majority of bitcoins are owned by very few people. Take a look at this chart. It is a bit outdated (sept, 17), but the dynamics are even more true now. What you’ll see is there are over 25 million bitcoin owners, and the top 1% own over half of all bitcoins.
Are you in the Bitcoin 1% ? A New Model of the Distribution of Bitcoin Wealth
View attachment 164315

The guys who own 1000’s of bitcoins know that by hoarding them they are causing them to be rare. Rarity is a crucial factor in price. I suspect if half of the owners who own more than 100 bitcoins decided to cash in, the price would tumble. Bitcoin was allegedly designed to be a currency which could not be manipulated by central banks, but it is being manipulated by the early adapters. If it is ever going to become a currency, the conversion price will have to be stable, it will have to be widely held, and widely accepted. None of those things exist. Ergo, it is a entity that is bought and held for speculation.

Also I meant to mention but forgot to, but yes your right it’s going to be hard to use it as currency if it’s volatile (but it makes it great to trade). Even there are still big online companies accepting it as currency. But until it stabilizes (if it does) it probably won’t be widely adopted. But there are way around that. You can buy amazon gift cards, which pretty much eliminates the volatility factor. If the verifications get faster and companies/merchants can sell right away, the. Volitiltiy doesn’t really matter. On top of that people will prefer to purchase online with bitcoin vs a credit card, because of the unhackability and the anonymity. There are also other Cyptos designed to remain stable and be traded very very rapidly, to act as a medium.

If it keeps getting bigger, places like amazon will eventually start taking it. I don’t see that coming in the next year, but amazon did register some domain names in crypto recently, but that could mean a few different things.

Bitcoin is just kind of this multi edge sword, where it’s a currency kind of, asset kind of, bank kind of, all mashed into one. To call it strictly one or the other as of now wouldn’t be correct. But what it’s doing should definitely be watched.

 

[Ame®icano]

I do own couple of bitcoins, plus fraction. I know if I hadn't, I would be sorry down the road.

However, I am not relying on the sheer BTC price gains, rather I am investing it in some other crypto currencies that are paying me for it's use.

I also do some light mining to test the concept and I keep doing it only because I got some payouts, but I don't think I'll go heavy into it.