Your thoughts on Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies

Hi,

Just wondering what's your opinion on Bitcoin, or cryptocurrencies in general. I personnaly believe that in the middle/long run state issued currencies won't be able to compete against currencies protected against devaluation (I really hope that I'm right since I bought a little bit of Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash and invested in a fund that gives me 60% a year+Bitcoin variations). But I also know that lots of people don't see any advantage to them, a think it's a huge bubble. Sooooooo pick your side ;)

If I had bought a hundred coins years ago when they were cheap... I'd have hundreds of thousands of dollars RN...

I think it's just as good as any other currency, just online.

I've put $750 earlier this morning into XRB; I wish I had discovered this earlier, when blocks were worth less than a penny.

I haven't invested in cryptocurrencies myself because I feel that it's a little too insecure. Insecure in that you never know how they could go, or if they could possibly crash. I'm just as fine with using the United States Dollar online as I am in-person, so I don't really see the need to use a service like BitCoin right now.

From time to time I look up how I can get into these. I might just eventually end up buying a small amount and seeing what happens from there with what I get, because that seems like the easiest option.

Usually I don't use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, because I prefer more on physical currencies like Rupiah or Singaporean Dollars. Physical currencies can be seen and feel, and can be used in everywhere, after all.

My view is that bitcoin is an inevitable bubble and its value is derived from FOMO (fear of missing out).

The world is shifting away from physical currency and heading towards a cashless society. However, bitcoin is probably not the answer as it will lead to an inevitable crash sometime in the future. Bitcoin has no intrinsic value as an asset in and of itself, so its value is incredibly volatile. It's value is also entirely speculative, and what goes up quickly can come down just as quickly. So for potential investors, I'd recommend making small purchases and cashing out quickly after a certain profit margin to minimize risks.

I don't have much to contribute but a worry of mine that I don't think is discussed often is the electricity cost. Running these increasingly powerful and specialized machines to mine bitcoin takes a lot of power, and we all know that we're not in the best position when it comes to world power generation, with a lot of it still running on fossil fuels etc. Potential bitcoin explosions worry me because of how much of our energy supplies we could end up consuming to keep producing bitcoin as a global currency.

Bitcoins are so tendious just to mine them as they eat lot of your system resource and not reliable way because many shady business use cyprotcurrency as a payment (your data is ransomed, and must pay obscure amount of bitcoin to access locked data) and there's tons of Free Bitcoin[b/] app on google play, still tendious just to tap like crazy for satoshis, I feel actual money is safer and reliable.

I don't really understand much of this virtual currency stuff, but it sounds a lot like gambling, or playing the stock market (aka expensive gambling).

Also, "mining bitcoin"? That sounds like grinding for xp in a video game? How can that even work (outside of being a pyramid scheme) without devaluing bitcoin?

I'm beginning to see cryptocurrency news such as this one producing cult-like groups at the comments section where they praise cryptocurrency in general and shun physical currency. It's making me less lean towards cryptocurrency as the future.

It's a bit of shame that most ICOs aren't allowing US residents to purchase tokens...

^ tbh not sure if $30 is enough to see much of a return, at least if you put it in Bitcoin. Apparently smaller ones e.g. Ripl (dunno how to spell) are more worth the investment now.

The guy I sit next to at work always talks about Bitcoins - but to be fair he first got involved with them 5 years ago at the age of 14, invested a few hundred dollars into mining and now has ~$800k worth of crypto. I just don't understand how it works tbh but do partially agree with what a posted above said about it being driven up by fomo.

Hiroshi Sotomura said:

Given there's a risk I've been considering chucking $30 in and seeing how it grows/dies. Thoughts? :V

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I'd go for it. My recommendations are XRB and IOTA (more so latter).

Charlie Brown said:

The guy I sit next to at work always talks about Bitcoins - but to be fair he first got involved with them 5 years ago at the age of 14, invested a few hundred dollars into mining and now has ~$800k worth of crypto. I just don't understand how it works tbh but do partially agree with what a posted above said about it being driven up by fomo.

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Would you happen to know what kind of machine he was or is running?

I don't see how perceived features of cryptocurrencies match up with its goals, but imo regardless of whether I think it is good or bad, the more important aspect of me actually not getting it is this: It is not as widely available as you think it is.

If someone even wants to sell a not-so-good product, at least make it so that naive people could, you know, actually buy it?

Like any trend, by the time you hear about it it's over. Everybody buying does not help.

Personally I think it's like any industry where if you invest time and effort you can get some reward but to be the USD rules all.

Bitcoin is a cool way to purchase things you can't obtain legally in your country.

Not that I suggest that. It's just what I've only ever used it for.