I am curious?

MTboatguy

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And please don't take this to a political level.

But I keep hearing about the hype going on with crypto currency and was wonder, is anybody here playing with it, I am just trying to learn what the heck it is, I have been looking around and it seems like a volatile stock market type thing, school me if you happen to know anything about it.

Thanks.
 

dwco5051

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Bitcoin-Believer.jpgI follow the markets and watch financial news several hours a day. In the last months I have heard crypto-currencies explained by a dozen different economists and still don't really understand it completely. I do know that the IRS has ruled that bitcoins are property not currency and thus subject to capital gains taxes.
 

dwco5051

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I do not invest in anything I don?t understand and at this point in life I am probably the most conservative investor around. If my net worth doubled it would not affect my life style one bit and only benefit a bunch of ungrateful kids. If it was cut in half by bad decisions on my part I would be highly pi##ed off and it would affect my mental health.

A few years ago I was on the board of our local sewer authority when credit swaps were all the rage. Some thirty something kid in a $600 dollar suit presented us with a deal that was supposed to be money from heaven. I believe that everything in life is a zero sum game and when asked he could not explain how everyone could win and there would be no losers. I was the only board member to vote against it because I could not understand it fully. In the long run the authority did come out slightly ahead but our local school district got burned for about ten million bucks on a similar deal.

I did hear that bitcoin may be traded soon on the CMS but I have always avoided the futures market.

Gold, silver, corn, porkbellies, all have a limited amount available and thus have a value. The amount of paper money (from any country) is at the whim of central banks in how much is available and thus the value is set by the trust you will put into the governments that issue it.

Crypto currencies are like driverless cars, they are coming and there is no stopping them but hopefully not in my lifetime. I like being a simple man.
 

alldodge

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I look at bitcoin like stock but without any regulation. If one person thinks one bit is worth more/less then the value goes up/down. The value can also be inflated by others and since there is no tracking or regulations who knows what can happen. Just as China inflates there own currency to benefit themselves, bit can also be changed.

Warren Buffet stays clear of it and says one day he believes it will crash because there is nothing which creates its value other then individuals.
 

BWR1953

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I too, watch biz shows every weekday. A couple of things I found interesting this morning.

1 - when Bitcoin debuted in 2010, it was valued at 1/3 of 1 cent. It's now well over $16,000.
2 - a report this morning revealed that only about 1,000 people own the majority of the coins.

And I have a friend who has a family member who bought into Bitcoin several months ago for $800 and at the time we spoke some 6 or 8 weeks ago, that guy's Bitcoin value was over $50,000.

Would I buy in? No, because I have zero money that I can afford to lose! :lol:
 

dwco5051

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The success of crypto-currency depends on three things; Wide spread acceptance by providers of goods and services, a guarantee that only a finite and fixed amount will ever be issued, and a truly 100% secure computer system to monitor trades.

I am with Mr. Buffet on this. We ain?t there yet. Mr. Buffet made me a lot of money a few years ago when he bought Heinz in which I had a good share of my holdings.

Disclosure Warning ? Never take financial advice from me as these are only personal opinions. I keep remembering about 5 years ago when a good friend and I talked each other out of buying Facebook when I could have got it at less than 23 bucks a share.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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Bit Coins are the beanie babies of crypto currency..... they have value to those few that have it because those few want it to have value.
 

BWR1953

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Speaking of secure transactions, Bitcoin was hacked to the tune of $60 million as reported last week.
 

southkogs

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I can't really speak to Bitcoin in particular, as I don't fully understand it - and don't really have the money to dabble in it. But a decentralized, peer to peer monetary system is interesting to me. Over time, I can see something of this nature gaining substantial traction but I don't know what form it might take (if Bitcoin will survive or something else will take over).

It is interesting how many companies are now accepting Bitcoin transactions.
 

Brandon5778

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The only thing I've got to say about bitcoins is that I wish I had just bought one when I first heard of it as a kid. I've always been following it just never had any money to put out. They were $200 a piece back then....
 

rbh

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If a form of currency does not have a central bank/government (gold standard) behind it or it is made from a noble metal IE gold silver platinum I would not touch it
 
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