Cryptocurrencies

[BigRedBuster]

Honestly, I just don't understand the draw to these.

 

Former Bitcoin Exchange CEO No Longer Believes In Bitcoin

 

Can anyone on here articulate what the draw is to these?
 

To me, it seems like something that grew out of the hysteria about the dollar being off the gold standard.  But, this is just idiotic to me to dump a ton of money into something like this.  I've been reading a lot of articles and headlines about major issues around this.

[Nebfanatic]

8 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Honestly, I just don't understand the draw to these.

 

Former Bitcoin Exchange CEO No Longer Believes In Bitcoin

 

Can anyone on here articulate what the draw is to these?
 

To me, it seems like something that grew out of the hysteria about the dollar being off the gold standard.  But, this is just idiotic to me to dump a ton of money into something like this.  I've been reading a lot of articles and headlines about major issues around this.

The draw is the money can be anonomys and can be transferred anywhere around the world for a fraction of the cost of any other method. Its very useful in alot of applications and made many a people millions of dollars for those who got in at the ground floor mining bitcoin or investing when prices were a dollar per bitcoin. 

 

Edit: the recent intrigue really involves the volitile prices and people viewing bitcoin as an exciting investment opportunity, though that time has really long passed. 

Edited April 6, 2018 by Nebfanatic

[BigRedBuster]

2 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

The draw is the money can be anonomys and can be transferred anywhere around the world for a fraction of the cost of any other method. Its very useful in alot of applications and made many a people millions of dollars for those who got in at the ground floor mining bitcoin or investing when prices were a dollar per bitcoin. 

But, I've also read where some people are being hit with major taxes on this that they can't pay.

 

Tax Trouble For Certain Bitcoin Traders

[BigRedBuster]

And...I guess I don't understand it.

But, as far as paying electronically, I can pretty much do anything on line as far as paying bills and transferring money to people anywhere pretty dang easy and securely.  

 

I don't need some mythical currency to do that.

[sho]

12 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

And...I guess I don't understand it.

But, as far as paying electronically, I can pretty much do anything on line as far as paying bills and transferring money to people anywhere pretty dang easy and securely.  

 

I don't need some mythical currency to do that.

 

It's more so you can be anonymous while doing on-line transactions.  While you can pay most everything on-line, cryptocurrency, allows you to remain "off the grid" while doing it.

[Nebfanatic]

31 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

But, I've also read where some people are being hit with major taxes on this that they can't pay.

 

Tax Trouble For Certain Bitcoin Traders

Like I said, the hype around bitcoin being an exciting investment opportunity is too late. If you were getting in it last year, yea its not really worth it. But for people who invested say $10,000 before bitcoin hit a dollar, those people are doing just fine. 

[deedsker]

The excitement with bitcoin is a decentralized place to hold money, no need for a bank, make transactions across the globe, no need to exchange different currencies or be tied to the market of a particular currency, and do so anonymously.

 

The reason you keep hearing about it is that people made a whole bunch of money getting in a the ground level and the value skyrocketed. It has become mainstream to look into investing into the multitude of different players in the game since bitcoin and a few others hit some form of legitimacy.

[Huskerzoo]

1 hour ago, deedsker said:

The excitement with bitcoin is a decentralized place to hold money, no need for a bank, make transactions across the globe, no need to exchange different currencies or be tied to the market of a particular currency, and do so anonymously.

 

The reason you keep hearing about it is that people made a whole bunch of money getting in a the ground level and the value skyrocketed. It has become mainstream to look into investing into the multitude of different players in the game since bitcoin and a few others hit some form of legitimacy.

 

I'll second this. The decentralized idea is a huge draw for people. Right now when you spend money people start tracking you. Visa charges you fees, your bank charges you fees, you give data out. Things like that. Decentralization removes the power of banks and government. Right now, the dollar only works because we all say it works. What happens if the dollar fails due to a trade war or something like that? 

 

Here's a very basic primer. https://ripple.com/insights/the-case-for-more-decentralization/

[BigRedBuster]

I personally feel much more comfortable with the US government backing the currency I use than some mythical random internet market.

But, that's just me.

[Landlord]

3 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

I personally feel much more comfortable with the US government backing the currency I use than some mythical random internet market.

But, that's just me.

 

 

The government backing money doesn't really mean anything, though. Money is a faith-based system. It's only worth something because we all collectively believe that it is. Cryptocurrencies are volatile because they aren't established as legitimate means of payment, but the tech behind the decentralization of the blockchain will pave the future.

 

The hype is two different things. It's the future of blockchain tech, specialized/decentralized currencies (woudln't it be nice not to have to rely on a bank, deal with the bank's fees, be 'off the grid' in certain respects?), and then also people treating it like a quasi-stock market.

[Making Chimichangas]

These cryptocurrencies are a joke that got way out of hand.  I understand the concept behind this, but think it is a terrible idea.  What do you do spending wise online that you want no one to know about it?  What happens when terrorists use these cryptocurrencies and stage another large scale 9/11 style attack?  The internet is already a filthy cesspool of mindless stupidity, we don't need dark money further tainting it--if that's even possible.

[BigRedBuster]

Don’t see it. 

 

We we will look back on this as a big bad joke people lost a lot of money with. 

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

6 hours ago, Landlord said:

 

The government backing money doesn't really mean anything, though.

Welcome to one of the biggest myths promoted by the pre-Tea Party crowd. 

 

OMG...we’re not on the gold standard anymore. 

Edited April 7, 2018 by BigRedBuster

[Nebfanatic]

Cryptocurrencies are not a joke and they are the future to some extent so its likely people will have to get comfortable with it. There are many reasons to spend anonymously, the main being to keep your spending habits out of the hands of corperations who are looking for more and more ways to target you specifically with advertising. Some people don't really like that at all. 

[Making Chimichangas]

17 hours ago, Nebfanatic said:

Cryptocurrencies are not a joke and they are the future to some extent so its likely people will have to get comfortable with it. There are many reasons to spend anonymously, the main being to keep your spending habits out of the hands of corperations who are looking for more and more ways to target you specifically with advertising. Some people don't really like that at all. 

 

I get what you're saying, and sometimes I agree.  However, other times I might be on-line and looking for a new pair of thigh high leather boots.  Then an advertisement pops up where I see exactly the style of boots I want..then that is a good thing.