Bitcoins, anyone?

[Johan]

(Replying here instead of TSLA short term thread)

China is one of the reason. There's also Venezuela and Russia. On top of that, halvening and some other development in the space.

But yeah, bitcoin is the choice for a play on capital flight. Poorman's Cayman island trust fund as I would like to call it. Or the 0 day Swiss fortress account for those who are caught with their pants down and couldn't take the proper amount of time to set one up.

Do you know if BTC is getting anywhere when it comes to being accepted as an actual usable currency in China? I.e. not just as an investment vehicle but as an actual mode of payment for goods and services?

 

[Causalien]

Nope. Adoption is slow. There's a huge technical hurdle to jump through that allows faster transaction time for retail (and to be able to handle larger amount of transactions. The network got saturated a lot faster than originally expected) and is the main reason why the price has languished for the past 2 years. I'd give it about 3~4 years for new technology in development and consensus to be reached in the network to solve this.

Currently a few test experiments have been implemented but all bombed.

The current rise, has to do with the fact that there are actually business in the space that you can trust now and people trust this more than whatever it is that they are fleeing from. The biggest hurdle for investors of the space remains the same. Who can you trust to exchange your bitcoin to fiat when banks, boycott transactions to bitcoin in the dark. So new business has to be created to do the fiat conversion and it's hard to trust new business to handle your money.

 

[Johan]

Nope. Adoption is slow. There's a huge technical hurdle to jump through that allows faster transaction time for retail (and to be able to handle larger amount of transactions. The network got saturated a lot faster than originally expected) and is the main reason why the price has languished for the past 2 years. I'd give it about 3~4 years for new technology in development and consensus to be reached in the network to solve this.

Currently a few test experiments have been implemented but all bombed.

The current rise, has to do with the fact that there are actually business in the space that you can trust now and people trust this more than whatever it is that they are fleeing from. The biggest hurdle for investors of the space remains the same. Who can you trust to exchange your bitcoin to fiat when banks, boycott transactions to bitcoin in the dark. So new business has to be created to do the fiat conversion and it's hard to trust new business to handle your money.

Agreed on all points. I'm holding a non-significant position in BTC from 2012. But even for an above-average tech savvy individual such as yours truly I sometimes worry about losing then coins somehow, being ripped off, I keep looking for the safest method of holding the funds. What do you do for holding?

 

[Causalien]

Agreed on all points. I'm holding a non-significant position in BTC from 2012. But even for an above-average tech savvy individual such as yours truly I sometimes worry about losing then coins somehow, being ripped off, I keep looking for the safest method of holding the funds. What do you do for holding?

I use more secure methods as prices go up. But the safest bet is a paper wallet made of iron or titanium. Probably won't be bothered to get this done until prices reach $700. There are some products out there for this, but shipping is slow. Lookup cold wallet. This firld is still in transition, but bear in mind that you cannot trust any electronic storage after 7 years. Part of the reason why securing bitcoin is a PITA.

It really gives you an appreciation if what banks have to do for you to secure cash.

 

[Robbit]

Probably won't be bothered to get this done until prices reach $700.

Better get to it @Causalien!

 

[Causalien]

Better get to it @Causalien!

Yeah... sh**

I hate it whenever an exponential jump happens. It means I now have to upgrade all securities.

 

[WhiteCap]

I know a guy who got into mining back when BTC was about $10USD each (I think it was ~2010). When the bubble hit he cashed out at ~$1100 per Coin. I asked him why he didn't upscale, he said the low-hanging fruit days were over and for him it was just a game, but he made about $70K from his playing. The interest part of that is he owns a solar-farm so his mining rigs were all powered by unmetered energy.

 

[deonb]

I know a guy who got into mining back when BTC was about $10USD each (I think it was ~2010). When the bubble hit he cashed out at ~$1100 per Coin. I asked him why he didn't upscale, he said the low-hanging fruit days were over and for him it was just a game, but he made about $70K from his playing. The interest part of that is he owns a solar-farm so his mining rigs were all powered by unmetered energy.

That sounds like someone who used to hang out on this forum...

 

[WhiteCap]

That sounds like someone who used to hang out on this forum...

Possible I suppose, he was a techie type character.

 

[Causalien]

Possible I suppose, he was a techie type character.

Protip, if he mined in 2010. He made more than 70k if he cashed out at $1100.

 

[deonb]

Protip, if he mined in 2010. He made more than 70k if he cashed out at $1100.

If he didn't sell anything in between. Remember there were a lot of $10'000 pizzas on the original bitcoins.

 

[Lloyd]

Bitcoin calculator and exchange.

Bitcoin, bitcoin price, bitcoin news, bitcoin converter | Kitco Finance

 

[Causalien]

If he didn't sell anything in between. Remember there were a lot of $10'000 pizzas on the original bitcoins.

Yeah. I am assuming he cashed all out at $1100. But any miner from 2010 will obfuscate the real fact about how long he mined, when and how he cashed out. The reality is that if you tried to cash out during the $1100 mania, there's a very high chance that you lost your funds when one of the exchanges failed. Because all exchanges that appeared before Coinbase were scams and ponzi schemes.

 

[deonb]

Yeah. I am assuming he cashed all out at $1100. But any miner from 2010 will obfuscate the real fact about how long he mined, when and how he cashed out. The reality is that if you tried to cash out during the $1100 mania, there's a very high chance that you lost your funds when one of the exchanges failed. Because all exchanges that appeared before Coinbase were scams and ponzi schemes.

True. I never really saw the appeal of mtgox over Coinbase - even while it was up and running. Timing I suppose.

 

[Robbit]

If you need a safe storage solution pick up a Trezor - TREZOR: The Bitcoin Safe. You can also backup the seed on one of these - cryptosteel (@cryptosteel) | Twitter

 

[Davp99]

For an investment, there are many other better risks for your Money, Something always didn't pass the smell test with me..Go in if a really big better, and start Lowwwww

 

[bkp_duke]

For an investment, there are many other better risks for your Money, Something always didn't pass the smell test with me..Go in if a really big better, and start Lowwwww

Each to their own. I just bought two Model S's (used) off the profit I made "playing the bitcoin game" in the past 3 years.

 

[Davp99]

Each to their own. I just bought two Model S's (used) off the profit I made "playing the bitcoin game" in the past 3 years.

Wow, I'm impressed, Like to hear more stories like yours...Maybe I'll think about them in a more positive Light, Thanks Duke

 

[CME]

wow. Good for you.

Each to their own. I just bought two Model S's (used) off the profit I made "playing the bitcoin game" in the past 3 years.

 

[cpa]

From my perspective, how many American bitcoin investors/players are claiming the income or loss on their tax returns when the gains or losses are recognized. And how are they reported, on Schedule D, Form 4797, Schedule C, or their business returns like 1065 or 1120(S).

Are bitcoins a capital asset? Or are bitcoins a cash equivalent used in a trade or business? Both? How do those who use this means determine where they fall?

We had a CPE class a couple of years ago, and the consensus among us was that our clients were not reporting any gains, but were trying to backdoor losses to their best income tax advantage if possible.