Oso planning to go pro
Jiga-Isn't it possible that it's not this big populist backlash and is more just a way to pay for things (sometimes illegal activity) that is untraceable? That in itself would provide value
When bitcoin was created in the original (first) blockchain in 2009, it contained 21 million coins. How does one get a coin? Two ways. One can "mine" a coin. How? You download and run an algo on your computer and when it finishes, you get a coin. But the next coin requires a slightly longer and more complicated algo. Currently, 16.8 million of the 21 million coins have been mined. Now the algo is very long and overly complicated. You need serious hardware and a lot of power. Once the 21millionth coin is mined, that is all there is.Another way is to buy one on an exchange. Dozens of them exist and Gdax is the largest in the US (it's not even in the top 6 worldwide). 70% of the trading and all the big exchanges are in Asia.
When bitcoin was created in the original (first) blockchain in 2009, it contained 21 million coins. How does one get a coin? Two ways. One can "mine" a coin. How? You download and run an algo on your computer and when it finishes, you get a coin. But the next coin requires a slightly longer and more complicated algo. Currently, 16.8 million of the 21 million coins have been mined. Now the algo is very long and overly complicated. You need serious hardware and a lot of power. Once the 21millionth coin is mined, that is all there is.Another way is to buy one on an exchange. Dozens of them exist and Gdax is the largest in the US (it's not even in the top 6 worldwide). 70% of the trading and all the big exchanges are in Asia.Many thanks. What you are saying would imply that the "dire" articles I read are not nearly as "dire" as they tried to make them out to be. Out of curiosity, at what point does it become reasonable to use the computing power on some the world's supercomputers to just get coins?
Congrats, bitcoin!You know you've arrived as a currency when hackers are stealing $70 million worth of you!http://time.com/money/5053744/hackers-steal-bitcoin-nicehash/
Based in Slovenia, NiceHash matches people in need of computer-processing power to “mine” cryptocurrencies with people who have power to spare. Payment is made to miners in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as an incentive for their processing and verifying transactions through complex algorithms.This is a mining operation, as explained above. There are thousands of these types of operations (as noted above, collectively they consume more power than the country of Ireland). As note the country of origin, all the big ones are in far-flung places.(why is the country of origin import, because most of these hacks come from the old fashion way, finding an employee and either paying them, or threatening them, into giving you their log-in credentials. In the US try this and the FBI and Home Land Security jump in. But in a country like Slovenia and you have to pay the police to protect you, so it is easier to give them what they want or sell them your credentials ... paid in bitcoin!)-------------I point this out because bitcoin is not what you think it is, driven by a bunch of hipsters in a San Fran Starbucks. Sure they have some of that. But what really drives it is Asians (read Chinese) looking for ways to move their money without it being tracked by their repressive regimes and the miners are all in third-world, or near third-world countries taxing their power grids.This is important because if cryptos are going to be the world currency of choice, replacing the dollar, you would think getting a bunch of people in third world countries to accept it would be the hard part. Actually, it is not because in Bulgaria (story above), Slovenia, China, Kenya and even Miramar (the old Burma), they have better mobile phones and much better mobile phone networks in than the United States. They are all comfortable having their life savings on an electric wallet. Their very existence is on their phone, more so that Americans.The skeptics are ... well ... the demographic on this board. That would be Americans that graduated from (or are currently going to) a well a well respected American University that are successful enough to spend their time here.And that is the dilemma for Americans. Since the dollar is the reserve currency of the world, you are probably not used to the prices in your store, or products you buy, fluctuate day to day based on the dollar's exchange rate. You probably cannot even name the dollar's exchange rate. But, if cryptos are going to become the new world currency, the risk is your stock portfolio and life savings are going to get greatly devalued because they are in the wrong currency (dollars and not cryptos). Again, there is a non-trivial change this never happens and all this goes to zero.On the other hand, if you buy into this and it does fail, you lose everything. This is what makes this a hard choice.-----------PSThe second largest cryptocurrency is Ethereum. It is up almost 30% today (as I write) and has a market capitalization of more than $50 billion (versus $275 billion for bitcoin). Ether (as the coins or tokens are called) is what I have the majority of my cryptos in because its structure is much better suited to become a real currency (medium of exchange) whereas, as I noted above, bitcoin is better suited as a store of value, like gold. (own some bitcoin too)
Down 1 w 5 seconds left. Doable.
My own experience. I have mined bitcoins for a few years. It is expensive on electricity, but have it running in the background. I have also purchased some (less than $5k) and currently it looks very nice, but the bottom can drop out whenever. Has to be money you feel you can set on fire and not lose a bit of sleep.Some articles suggest it will go to $100K by 2020. Others believe it is a ponzi scheme. For me it is a hobby, though I find myself checking the price 20 times more often then I both with any of my traditional stocks or funds.
Can this be done with a typical laptop? Say, a high end gaming laptop that I no longer really game with? I realize that I would be unlikely to make much of a dent on my own, but could I get anything?
Any of you guys familiar with Ripple? If so, thoughts on it?
Is there a simple process to convert Bitcoin to USD? I don't personally own any, but curious to understand the mechanism if anyone has experience.
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.
No. Actually, there’s no simple process to convert Bitcoin to any fiat currency anywhere, which is the big reason the value is skyrocketing. But in the US, be forewarned that a Bitcoin sell order simply puts you into a queue and unlike stocks and most other securities which will execute almost instantaneously, and later settle, at a market price, Bitcoin can take up to 30 days (or more) to settle because of the nature of a blockchain transaction. Here’s the kicker... your sell order may execute at $16,000 today but the broker doesn’t settle for another week by which time the price has dropped to $15,000. Guess which amount the broker is going to deposit in your account. Oh yeah, did I mention the part about being flagged by the DOJ and IRS the moment you attempt to sell? You can buy and hold Bitcoin anonymously, but contrary to popular belief, you can’t sell anonymously.
The Force Behind Bitcoin’s Meteoric Rise: Millions of Asian InvestorsRetail investors, mostly in Asia, are pushing the price of bitcoin to new heightshttps://www.wsj.com/articles/the-force-behind-bitcoins-meteoric-rise-millions-of-asian-investors-1513074750Various forces have stoked Asia’s bitcoin fever. While individual wealth has been growing in recent years, particularly in China and South Korea, lucrative investment opportunities can be hard to find, with property markets expensive and stock markets fully valued.Anecdotal evidence suggests that Asians are more comfortable with the concept of virtual currencies such as bitcoin, particularly younger people who have grown up in a world of e-commerce and mobile payments.China last year made up the bulk of trading volume before regulators clamped down. But by the end of November, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam accounted for nearly 80% of bitcoin trading activity globally, according to research firm CryptoCompare, while U.S. trading was about one-fifth of the volume. In the past few weeks, the U.S. share of the overall total has increased.
https://twitter.com/joyce/status/940431742208376832
Keep an eye Ripple!!