Bitcoin - What exactly is the big deal?

[sojourner]

^ In what way?

In his characterization of it. You can say the exact same things about good old cash. The two links provided are from the silk road seizure which actually had no real impact on bit coin's value.

I think it's a bit of a gamble and I wouldn't bet my life savings on them, but I see enough upside to throw some money at it and let it ride. It's nearly doubled in value since I purchased around 10 days ago. Bubble? yeah, good possibility. the question is when the current bubble pops, how low will it drop and will it resume the steady climb in value it's had for the last 3 years?

 

[PurpleBuddha]

I got extremely lucky with this. Almost two months ago I purchased half a bit coin for 70 bucks mainly just to learn about bit coin. Well I kind of forgot about it until I saw recent headlines that it was skyrocketing. Today I checked and my half coin was worth 380.00. Sold it in a heart beat. I got more than a 500 percent return on investment in two months and never really intended it as an investment.

 

[sojourner]

Yeah, it's been fun to watch.

 

[Saturn0660]

So, after doing some recent research on where bitcoin is headed I decided to gamble $1000 last week and ride it out for a year or two and see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Must be nice to just throw a grand away and "hope" it pans out..

 

[Scout101]

well, yes. That's kinda how investment works, after all. It's a gamble. The higher the potential for growth, more potential for loss as well. You risk what you're comfortable with.

Hell, PurpleBuddha is probably kicking himself right now. His $70 investment was sold for $380 and he was happy, but if he had sold it today, a week later, he'd have had a little over $500 instead.

Market for this is kinda crazy right now. I was tempted to join in, but feel like I kind missed it. Maybe next time it takes a crazy 50% dip...

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Bitcoin, meh. The future lies in tulips.

 

[PurpleBuddha]

well, yes. That's kinda how investment works, after all. It's a gamble. The higher the potential for growth, more potential for loss as well. You risk what you're comfortable with.

Hell, PurpleBuddha is probably kicking himself right now. His $70 investment was sold for $380 and he was happy, but if he had sold it today, a week later, he'd have had a little over $500 instead.

Market for this is kinda crazy right now. I was tempted to join in, but feel like I kind missed it. Maybe next time it takes a crazy 50% dip...

I am not kicking myself at all. I made a 500 percent return in a month and a half. Even though I didn't originally consider it an investment (too small), anything I do invest I have personal lines where I will not gamble beyond. In the long run that servers me well. Sure in retrospect I could have made more, but I was happy enough with the return as it was to take it then rather continue the risk.

Maybe given the small amount involved I could have just sat back and watched what would happen, but I don't like to push that line too much.

 

[Metryq]

Man Throws Away 7,500 Bitcoins, Now Worth $7.5 Million

 

[sojourner]

So, after doing some recent research on where bitcoin is headed I decided to gamble $1000 last week and ride it out for a year or two and see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Must be nice to just throw a grand away and "hope" it pans out..

Meh, I've got better odds than buying lottery tickets. Besides $1000 isn't a life changing amount to lose as long as my bills are covered. It's been entertaining to watch at the very least. Currently that $1000 investment is worth roughly $4500 after only 3 weeks. If it goes the way of the tulips, well, that will delay the new computer I was going to build, but it won't kill me.

 

[Peak]

Bitcoin is crashing hard right now, it seems.

The bitcoin subreddit is panicking at the moment (with links to suicide hotlines and everything).

 

[Robert Maxwell]

The value is basically where it was back in late November.

This is why Bitcoin really sucks as a store of value, at least for now. Something so volatile is difficult to trust as being worth anything over the long term.

The US dollar doesn't double in value for a week then plummet by half the next, for instance.

This reinforces my belief that BTC prices are driven more by speculation than an actual perception of value or any measure of utility.

By the way, this is apparently why it's crashing.

 

[sojourner]

Lol, yep, I sold my 4 coins early this month. Made $2000 in the month I had them.

 

[publiusr]

Bitcoin is just a libertarian fantasy so as to avoid taxes. Who cares if infrastructure crumbles? It isn't "out-of-date" to suggest that this is just a tool of lawless ex-pats. If you were lucky to get in on the good side, good for you--ponzi schemes actually work--if you are at the top. Everyone else gets crushed.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It's not a Ponzi scheme, it's a speculative currency-like asset. At least use the right terminology.

 

[SeerSGB]

Wonder how much longer the gravy train will last when it comes to taxation on Bitcoins? According the WSJ it might not be much longer.

Mr. Marian says that he and many other specialists are "stumped" as to how the IRS will rule on bitcoin. He says his own sense is that it's a commodity similar to gold, because there's a finite supply and it's a store of value. He adds that some bitcoin transactions may be akin to barter—which has its own tricky tax rules.
In the absence of guidance, advisers are telling clients that bitcoin income, gains and losses should be declared to the IRS.



"If you take a reasonable position, they probably will accept it," says Jonathan Horn, a certified public accountant in New York. He plans to advise his clients to file foreign account disclosures if they meet certain thresholds and hold bitcoin through an entity that isn't located in the U.S.


Taxpayers who have bitcoin and flout the tax rules, Mr. Horn warns, "are opening themselves to penalties, interest and possible fraud prosecution."

 

[Guy Gardener]

I wonder if that's becuase it was mentioned on Almost Human 2 weeks ago?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

The government's been aware of bitcoin for a while now. Anyone who thinks they are a means to successfully avoid taxation is, of course, delusional. If you make money from it in any way, it's taxable.

 

[SeerSGB]

Welp, grabbed me a wallet and been screwing around with faucets that last few hours.

1st impressions:

• Would I put cash into it? Nah.
• Is it worth the time: Maybe. Takes a couple minutes every 1/2 hour or so, and more or less runs on a background tab.
• Am I thinking gold mine? Nope. But it's costing me nothing, so for me there's no difference than any other "click to earn" program.
• Long term: We'll see.

 

[sojourner]

Welp, grabbed me a wallet and been screwing around with faucets that last few hours.

1st impressions:

• Would I put cash into it? Nah.
• Is it worth the time: Maybe. Takes a couple minutes every 1/2 hour or so, and more or less runs on a background tab.
• Am I thinking gold mine? Nope. But it's costing me nothing, so for me there's no difference than any other "click to earn" program.
• Long term: We'll see.

Unless you invest in dedicated mining hardware your energy usage costs more than the bitcoins you generate just running a background app on your PC.

 

[SeerSGB]

Not mining, jsut doing stuff like online faucets: Daily BitCoin and the link. Type in a captcha every couple of hours and let it pool