crypto

[pathslides]

What do you people think about cryptocurrency? Any of you add it or thinking of adding it to your portfolio? Any of you have advisors recommending it?

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[jupiterianvibe]

cryptococcus was my first assumption when i clicked on this thread.

the train left the station on bitcoin. buying into it heavily at this point is merely gambling.

i know little about other crypto options. maybe those? not sure.

 

[LADoc00]

you have to know what you are doing prior to launch on this one. it is not even remotely as easy as say buying shares of google back in 2005.

But if you take the time to dive into the field, my thoughts are that will be far more lucrative than anything we have seen in American history.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

Don't waste your time. Another trick to make people think they have lots of assets. We have to keep people plugged into the Matrix after all.

Buy land, buy rental properties. Nuff said.

 

[coroner]

Any type of investment has risks. Cryptos are especially volatile and everyone should do their research before investing. If you were holding BTC bought before 2017 there's no shame in taking profits and playing with house money.

Unless you have a large amount of capital with which to purchase BTC with, the average person is probably better off buying something else at this point to get more profits. BTC's market cap is already so high, and while you could probably still double your money with BTC in the next few years, no one knows and you could have much quicker gains looking at coins with smaller market caps and then reinvesting your profits in BTC. So if you only got a couple grand, it doesn't really make much sense IMO to buy a small position in Bitcoin and pray for the moon.

Shorting BTC would be delusional, there's no way to tell the price direction with certainty, but if past trends are indicative of the future, shorting is a horrible idea. Plus your upside on a short is limited to 100%, as opposed to unlimited upside on a long position, so if you're going to use it as a gambling vehicle, going long is the way to go.

Also, if a group of nerds and Libertarians brought bitcoin to close to 20k, can you imagine where it will go once the popular kids get on board, once it gets its first celebrity endorsements?

If was a gambler (which I am), which is the one of BTC's uses, and is also a very common use for many people buying bitcoin right now, I would be doing everything I can to get celebrity endorsements. Even just getting hot girls on Instagram to say a few words would work. Let's say you have $100,000 in bitcoin or whatnot, it wouldn't be a bad idea to give a tiny amount of bitcoin to some mega-influencer young women on instagram or other social apps. Every person that buys has a vested interest in getting more people to buy in, so if you can get social media influencers (as in, hot girls) to buy in, this thing could go all the way to $1,000,000 a coin or more.

Think of a campaign hashtag like #raiseAwarenessBTC or something more catchy, I'm sure some of the forum members with a stronger marketing background could come up with something that works. Give bitcoins, even if only a small amount, whatever, to social media influencers, imagine what happens to the price if someone like The Rock mentions he's bought in? The Rock would be hard to get because he's already rich, so he doesn't need your bitcoin, but look for people with not too much money, but lots of followers to bring onboard, they'll be more likely to jump on for a smaller amount. If you have a larger amount to give, then by all means, sign up a whale.

You could even give it a cute Christmas theme, disguise the self-interest in the spirit of Christmas, say, #ChristmasBTC or whatnot, with Santa Claus images attached and cute reindeer.

Nonstop mentions, nonstop articles, take over everyone's mindspace until you get as many people onboard as possible.

At times it feels like there is nothing driving these markets that makes any rational sense. Like everyone is just buying and the coins hold value because of the greater fool theory. And while this whole sphere is just built on speculation, at least we know it isn't tulips or beanie babies like some fearmongers with no skin in the game would have you believe. Out of all the people I've encountered who either bash Bitcoin or bring up "bubble" or "tulips" 100% of them do not own Bitcoin...which does not surprise me one bit

 

[bauber]

Bought BTC in 2012/2013. I'll be paying off my med school loans with the profits. Cryptocurrency isn't going anywhere.

 

[Adrian Cocot]

You don't invest in cryptos, you speculate. To that end, don't allocate any money to them that you aren't willing to lose ENTIRELY. Remember: this asset class (don't @ me) is the wild west, and for every success story like BTC/LTC/Ethereum there's a bust like Tezos (the Theranos of crypto).

If you're old enough to remember the 2000 .com boom -- very few of the dominant players are still around. Netscape Navigator? Lycos? Altavista? Google/Apple weren't the first to market in their respective categories, so it's quite possible that the current big names will be replaced by newer altcoins in the coming months or years.

If you got lucky with timing this year and made some money, remember that 1) if you want to divest, you are at the mercy of the exchange, which can impose selling limits -- or just plain crash -- when you want to cash out, and 2) the IRS will treat profits as capital gains. So if you're a hodler, consider moving into the smaller altcoins, maybe something that lets you run a masternode or that uses proof of stake.

 

[LADoc00]

ETH to 2000USD this month. Prepare for a moonshot!

 

[cmz]

I shouldn't have sold my Eth @ 500. I got in relatively "early" and felt good about cashing out when I did. I did the same with XRP and got out when it hit a ridiculously high number of $3.50, except I converted that back to BTC. Right now, about the only thing I am holding is BTC. I should have kept my Eth, though.

I am not too sure where this will all play out in terms of who will stick around and who won't. There's over 1100 cryptocurrencies right now and more and more are being added. I think BTC is the most stable one right now since it's the first and has weathered A LOT of negative press in the past as well as attacks (re: see Bitcoin Cash). Ethereum will continue to grow and I wouldn't be surprised to see it hit over $2000 this year. I was pretty sure we'd see $1500. However, ETH still has to deal with the same issues as BTC.

I would recommend following Andrea Antonopoulos (twitter, youtube, etc) to get a sense of what BTC is and what it can do.

 

[LADoc00]

?, serious ?: Are we buying BTC@10,000USD or passing?

Also: Ripple vs. Stellar Lumens?

 

[cmz]

I think BTC is going to hit $20K+ this year. If you can get it for $10K, I'd still get it. I've been selling at the highs and buying the dips when I can. Each transaction is taxable, but I've been able to multiply my holdings substantially that way.

XRP still wouldn't be a bad investment/speculation, too. I got in at $0.20. My only wish would have been if I invested 100X more. XRP is partnering up with a lot of big names in the financial world. Do the research and see if the coin makes sense for you and what your goals are.

Right now, I'm looking at BTC dropping over the last couple of weeks thinking that all the noobs who bought in at $17K+ are freaking out and selling like crazy because they probably have never dealt with this level of volatility before. Those same people will be kicking themselves in the butt in a few months and wish that they didn't sell. Lump me in that category partially because I sold my ETH holdings at a ridiculous $500. At the same time, I did make a 500% ROI. It will be interesting to see if ETH can break away from BTC. Most alt-coins are in some way tied to BTC. You have to own BTC in order to purchase an alt-coin. Perhaps some exchanges allow you to exchange USD for whatever it is you wish to purchase. GDAX will allow you to purchase BTC, BCash, ETH and LTC for USD. I also use Bittrex, but they are more restrictive. If BTC flounders, the entire house of cards will also take a hit.

 

[Jojos]

the technology behind them is so interesting and so possibly paradigm changing that i am investing out of sheer ideology. That means i have money that i can burn incase it tanks, but i truly believe some of them will amount to something. When i say some of them I am talking about the coins whose technology i investigated and thought that they offered a real solution to a problem in an innovating way.

 

[LADoc00]

BTC will hit 100,000USD or more once interest rates hit a 10%+ combined with a second wave RE crash with the corresponding wave of homeowners underwater.

 

[cmz]

the technology behind them is so interesting and so possibly paradigm changing that i am investing out of sheer ideology. That means i have money that i can burn incase it tanks, but i truly believe some of them will amount to something. When i say some of them I am talking about the coins whose technology i investigated and thought that they offered a real solution to a problem in an innovating way.

And that's how you should invest. I am willing to invest what I am willing to lose. I wish I got in on GTBC when it was in the 200-300 range. My 401K would look a hell of a lot better...

 

[Adrian Cocot]

*trollface gif*

 

[pstrick]

*trollface gif*

It's just a market correction, you weak-handed statist.

 

[icpshootyz]

It's just a market correction, you weak-handed statist.

Sure. In the same way 2008 was "just a market correction".

 

[pstrick]

Sure. In the same way 2008 was "just a market correction".

I was joking.

Bitcoin is stupid.

 

[gbwillner]

Bets on the floor to this sell-off?

9700 (today, bubble-burst is over and corrected)
8000
6000
5000
2000
1000????

 

[LADoc00]

Not sure the floor on this. It is no coincidence that on the same day Russia, China AND Korea crack down on crypto. Incredible buyin opportunity, Im kinda torn because my stocks are going absolutely gangbusters and I would hate to get off that train before the DOW hits 30K.

 

[cmz]

I've been selling high and buying the dips (aka gambling). BTC would have to hit sub $1K for me to lose money. I expect BTC to swing back with a vengeance -- who knows when or how. This is all pure speculation, of course. I just believe in what the technology has to offer and that's why I hold and why I continue to add more BTC to my accounts. What newbies to crypto fail to realize is that these 30% swings daily is the norm.

If you want to see a bubble burst, be prepared to hold on tight to your ankles when the Dow comes crashing. I am waiting for a good buy opportunity there, too.

 

[deleted314957]

As long as we’re on the topic of speculation (betting), I thought it was worth a look at the new ETF “ MJX”. I took a bite. This is NOT an endorsement, etc.

 

[yaah]

Kaboom!

 

[Adrian Cocot]

Lol, people getting wiped out left and right. Volatility markets with a black swan event tonight, too.

Hope Trump goes out there tomorrow and takes credit for the markets again.

 

[LADoc00]

There are zero market fundamentals driving this, it will stabilize and will march significantly higher. More people will jump in and more weak hands will shake out.

Yah this is the end if you are like 2 years old or something and have no memory before 2016...

 

[turtle1966]

There are zero market fundamentals driving this, it will stabilize and will march significantly higher. More people will jump in and more weak hands will shake out....

To make this discussion lively, I will take the opposite side. My reasons are:
1-
All currencies or currency-equivalents are backed by "something" or by faith of "some government."
Gold has (a) historic value deeply ingrained in human culture and (b) huge initial capital expenditure for mining and (c) high extraction cost.
Cryptocurrency has none of the above characteristics, its supply is theoretically unlimited, and its trading can be banned by governments.

2-"cui bono?"
Printing of paper currency, the costs and benefits, are born by People.
In cryptocurrency, all the benefits go to the select few, the so called "inventors", "speculators" and "hackers."

3-Safety:
Cryptocurrency is inherently unsafe. The math behind may be sound (for the time being), however, the trading exchanges are unsafe and open to hackers and it will always be so. There is no solution to the safety issue.

4-For a cryptocurrency to be useful to general public, it would have to be backed by cash or gold so that the value would remain stable. But then, any government or a consortium of large financial institutions could do the same job more transparently.

Time will tell who is right.

 

[deleted314957]

To make this discussion lively, I will take the opposite side. My reasons are:
1-
All currencies or currency-equivalents are backed by "something" or by faith of "some government."
Gold has (a) historic value deeply ingrained in human culture and (b) huge initial capital expenditure for mining and (c) high extraction cost.
Cryptocurrency has none of the above characteristics, its supply is theoretically unlimited, and its trading can be banned by governments.

2-"cui bono?"
Printing of paper currency, the costs and benefits, are born by People.
In cryptocurrency, all the benefits go to the select few, the so called "inventors", "speculators" and "hackers."

3-Safety:
Cryptocurrency is inherently unsafe. The math behind may be sound (for the time being), however, the trading exchanges are unsafe and open to hackers and it will always be so. There is no solution to the safety issue.

4-For a cryptocurrency to be useful to general public, it would have to be backed cash or gold so that the value would remain stable. But then, any government or a consortium of large financial institutions could do the same job more transparently.

Time will tell who is right.

Time’s up! You are right Turtle.