To ask if anyone dabbles with bitcoin?

[MollyWantsACracker]

Disclaimer: I am totally clueless

I bought a few euro worth today, just for fun really

Anyone else?

Meh. I sat through the £800 to £140 crash, I’ll sit through this one as well. No point in panic selling.

pisacake - yeah, it's not even any good for buying drugs now due to the high fees!

On the subject of manipulation - it's possible and does happen, but I think the reason for the drop now is fear and a total lack of buyers. Bubbles always fail because the general public get sucked in, and then with their funds now exhausted the price cannot do anything other than collapse. People are desperate to get their money out.

You're remarkably sanguine, Wicked.

the druggies are using monero.

cozie I paid £10 a coin. It can drop to £100 and will still have done better than any of my proper investments bar one.

£10? Pah, I paid £7.

I paid more than £10 (all hail WickedGoodDoge) but started in 2015 (and then bought incrementally in a very small way). At the very least, it's alerted me about the possibilities of blockchain and it's enabled me to drone on at/educate my friends and family. I like having esoteric interests. It's fun.

lol

twitter.com/AntPoolBITMAIN/status/953273283524227072

this is how you get support if you are a multi-billion dollar bitcoin mining pool.

It's not 'fun', Over, if you bought in at a high price having raised a (fiat currency) loan or used your only savings.

This is interesting cozietoesie. What makes you think I took out a loan? That's emphatically not the case. I merely diverted a (very small) amount of money I'd have otherwise spent on clothing or a (cheap) handbag. And I've had a lot more enjoyment from it than I would have from a Uniqlo cashmere jumper or two. I love Uniqlo btw and its stuff really lasts.

I live well within my means. If, since I can afford to, I want to dabble in cryptocurrencies and am willing to take on board its fluctuations, so be it. I can't recall one post in this thread that has been irresponsible in its advice over bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

You, perhaps. There are some people, though, who have seen this as a 'No Pain' way of actually having that new house, or that lush holiday or - at the least - that new car and have over-extended...........

I doubt that any of the overwhelming majority of investors give a toss about 'blockchain' in fact. They're just having a FOMO moment.

I agree cozietosie. It's really a scam in which people were sucked in by hype and a bit of I want to be a part of this too. People do make money of the back of other people's losses and misery. Loansharks for example. It's not really something I'd want to be part of.

I disapprove wholeheartedly of this whole cryptocurrency hype. All people are doing is buying fake money. Somebody might as well print money from their garden shed. Bitcoin has no value whatoever and not much use either as it is hardly accepted by anyone.

If I'm being honest, you're supposing a lot here. If individuals were on this thread, bemoaning how much they'd lost after having taken out loans etc, that's one thing, but all the indications are that the people on here are all fully aware of the risks involved and have done no such things. We are, however, genuinely interested in discussing the possibilities that blockchain technology can offer. I thought the article most interesting. What did you take away from it?

I was rather excepting most of the people on this thread.

The blockchain piece was fascinating. I thought that the writer might well have spent too long with blockchain enthusiasts (being aware of the realities of power) but I liked his basic premise(s).

I'm not in the least interested in blockchain. It sounds really boring to me. I am interested though in this myth of riches from bitcoin.

I don't think it's boring - just (initially) complex. You should read Over's linked piece.

But how do we get around this fundamental issue of it not being widely (or even narrowly) accepted as payment?

As a currency it has little currency. That is a massive problem.

There is a myth, though - and one which I can understand. (I'm not totally immune to the siren songs of FOMO.) Most people are deep down depressed about their 'awful' lives and futures. Suddenly making a whole scad of money without any apparent effort is their 'Lottery' moment. But achievable, they think.

If Bitcoin becomes established, most experts are of the opinion that it won't be as a currency but as a store of value, as gold is currently. People buy and sell gold - I have myself - but as part of a managed investment decision rather than an every day transaction.

Other altcoins, such as Litecoin or Dash (or one yet to be formulated), will be much better for festival tickets/sending money to family abroad etc etc that, currently, credit cards, Western Union and PayPal charge far too much for.

"Other altcoins, such as Litecoin or Dash (or one yet to be formulated), will be much better for festival tickets/sending money to family abroad etc etc that, currently, credit cards, Western Union and PayPal charge far too much for."

Yeah, um, no.

I send money abroad for

There really isn't much of a use case beyond illegal stuff.

That's really down to imagination ...

That facebook's rubbish too. And that google. What's wrong with encyclopedias and the printed page? Not some dodgy cloud based knowledge. Clouds? Everything would get damp and when it rained it would all disappear. And that email. What's wrong with writing letters? And quill pens? I hate anything new that I don't understand, it makes me want to pour scorn and vitriol on it cause that's well known for making the future go away. Hey, it worked fort the Luddites! Oh wait...

hullygully

This type of currency has it's place in future. But not this unregulated sham chaotic system that is the market at the moment. IMHO. It needs to be regulated. How can something be used as a currency when it is so unstable and unregulated.