asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
Are you in?
Bitcoins
- Thread starter asterix
- Start date
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Puddles
Do I need to get the spray plaster out?
- Location
- Hamble, Southampton
No.
D
Deleted member 23692
Guest
I've not encountered the 'need' for them yet
Puddles
Do I need to get the spray plaster out?
- Location
- Hamble, Southampton
Mr Haematocrit
msg me on kik for android
- Location
- Out of the saddle
Bitcoin is an interesting concept. The problem with Bitcoin is that unlike the dollar, unlike gold, unlike even land there is nothing actually backing it up other than the inherent trust in transactions between its users. Currencies are backed up by governments, they are backed up by gold, silver, other infrastructures. The problem with Bitcoin is that nothing is backing it up.
has any real currency ever experienced the wild swings that have buffeted Bitcoins in their brief existance?
The value of a Bitcoin has jumped from less than $1 in 2011 to somewhere between $168 and $192, depending on the market, .Just as troubling, the rise was anything but smooth. The price spiked as high as $266 in the Spring, before falling back below $100 in the Summer.
Going forward, Lots of things are likely to affect the value of Bitcoins. It could benefit from real-world economic turmoil or be largely shut down by government regulators. We don't know which way the price will swing, but it is going to move
Its awe-inspiring volatility makes Bitcoins an enticing speculative investment, but not a viable currency. Real currencies are all about stability and consistency. You don't put your paycheck in a currency that could lose (or gain) huge amounts of value in the time between sitting down to dinner and paying for your meal. And that's why investing in Bitcoins is one thing, but trying to make them into a viable alternative currency is another.
has any real currency ever experienced the wild swings that have buffeted Bitcoins in their brief existance?
The value of a Bitcoin has jumped from less than $1 in 2011 to somewhere between $168 and $192, depending on the market, .Just as troubling, the rise was anything but smooth. The price spiked as high as $266 in the Spring, before falling back below $100 in the Summer.
Going forward, Lots of things are likely to affect the value of Bitcoins. It could benefit from real-world economic turmoil or be largely shut down by government regulators. We don't know which way the price will swing, but it is going to move
Its awe-inspiring volatility makes Bitcoins an enticing speculative investment, but not a viable currency. Real currencies are all about stability and consistency. You don't put your paycheck in a currency that could lose (or gain) huge amounts of value in the time between sitting down to dinner and paying for your meal. And that's why investing in Bitcoins is one thing, but trying to make them into a viable alternative currency is another.
Jefferson Meriwether
Veteran
- Location
- Worthing
A big fat stinking NO from me, I'm not in 
I know what I like and I like cold hard cash.
I know what I like and I like cold hard cash.
vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
machew
Veteran
One of the reasons that there was a spike in the price of BitCoins was that after the government of Cyrus wanted 60% of any bank accounts of over €100,000.to prop up their own accounts, a lot of people wanted to move there cash into
a) something portable (a bit coin wallet can be a usb stick or a file on a cloud server)
b) something outside the control of any government
All paper currencies are backed by trust, trust in the government. BitCoins are backed by trust in mathematics
a) something portable (a bit coin wallet can be a usb stick or a file on a cloud server)
b) something outside the control of any government
All paper currencies are backed by trust, trust in the government. BitCoins are backed by trust in mathematics
vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
FTFY
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
Plenty. The German Reichmark tanked by a factor of several million just after the war. The Zimbabwe currency depreciated by a huge amount a few years ago. Spot the connection... It took the intervention of government to stabilise first the economy and then the currency.
That's why the Bitcoin's a fantasy.
You can see the attraction of Bitcoins, though. Politicians over the centuries have stolen from their citizens by debauching their currencies - they do it more slowly, but just as surely. The present spat between the US and Germany is effectively about which can trade with the most undervalued currency.
Mr Haematocrit
msg me on kik for android
- Location
- Out of the saddle
Although the Cyprus situation is often stated as a reason for fluctuation, its worth noting that BitCoin was fluctuating massively prior to the events in Cyprus, in fact it has been fluctuating massively since the start.
Many things impact the value of BitCoin such as DDoS attacks on the exchanges network.... In effect the ability of a hosting provider to have sufficient bandwidth to absorb an attack on the network can impact the value of the BitCoin currency, which is nothing short of a joke imho
http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/10/4209800/bitcoin-price-fluctuates-wildly-after-massive-run-up
I have trust in Mathematics but I fail to see why so many people have faith in the work of the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto who has since disappeared or the fact that the BitCoin foundation state that it is nothing more than an "experimental digital currency,"
I believe BitCoin is anonymous so that when it comes crashing down as all investment frauds do, the people with all the money will be hard to locate and the fact its described in their documentation as being experimental gives them a get out clause if they do get caught, "its not stable currency, its not ready for production, its still in experimental status"
OP
OP
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
At the moment my ignorance about the concept makes it seem very high risk. However when you consider that banks can fail and do fail leaving their depositors with little or nothing, the risk seems no worse. The biggest uncertainty over bitcoin is their legal status.
TBH I have a mind to acquire a few expendable 'Satoshi' just to play around and see how it works. You never know, we might all be doing it one day..
TBH I have a mind to acquire a few expendable 'Satoshi' just to play around and see how it works. You never know, we might all be doing it one day..
Fnaar
Smutmaster General
- Location
- Thumberland
I'll just have a look down the back of my virtual sofa