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?

You might as well invest in Vodafone shares, because at some point the value of this currency will collapse. There is nothing fundament to value them by. Demand is simply fuelled by naive investors looking for a quick win. Eventually, the supply of new investors will run out. It is not like a regular currency, which is reflective of the economy of whatever the country is and the political decisions the government makes (like printing new money). At least with Vodafone shares you will get a dividend and also your principle investment may go up. Do it inside a share trading ISA and you can do it tax efficiently. Don't forget, you will have to pay Capital Gains Tax on bit coin gains.

Look up the wikipedia article on "Tulip Mania' to understand more on how speculative bubbles form on items of little intrinsic value. Today, we find it mad that people spent fortunes on tulip bulbs - it is no different to Bit Coin algorithms.

...just to add to that, if you do want to buy some, only spend what you can afford to lose. Treat it like you are betting on a horse race (if you know absolutely nothing about horses, then this is a perfect analogy). Have an idea of how much you are happy to 'win' and do not get greedy. The daily swings in price are a warning, but may be an opportunity for short term gain.

This type of currency has it's place in future.

And that's the problem. Most people can't separate the cyptocurrency mania, from the blockchain powering it.

The blockchains the thing.

Here's a link to a lecture on the blockchain governance paradox. An academic is arguing that blockchain itself may not be a useful technology. I think I can summarise the argument as: blockchain can enforce a set of rules, but you have to trust (on an ongoing basis) the people who set the rules that are being enforced, for a particular blockchain, and once there is a set of people you trust, you may as well let them use (more efficient) conventional ledger technology to manage the ledger.

www.oii.ox.ac.uk/blog/the-blockchain-paradox-why-distributed-ledger-technologies-may-do-little-to-transform-the-economy/

(I think it is easier/quicker to read the transcript than watch the video.)

I think he has a point that there is a problem, but I'm not yet convinced that it is a complete showstopper for all applications.

An academic is arguing that blockchain itself may not be a useful technology.

Hullygully had it spot on.

Henry Ford once commented that if he had listened to his customers they would have all told him they wanted faster horses ...

Blockchain is the motorcar, compared to the horse drawn non-distributed non-open traditional database. And, like a car compared to a horse, there are points of similarity. However like a car, compared to a horse, there is a world of difference.

but you have to trust (on an ongoing basis)

This isn't correct ....

"Blockchain is the motorcar, compared to the horse drawn non-distributed non-open traditional database. And, like a car compared to a horse, there are points of similarity. However like a car, compared to a horse, there is a world of difference."

this is a ridiculous analogy. databases run on computers they are continually improved and made more powerful. there is no comparison

a blockchain is slower than a database, and in most cases a single trusted authority would be preferable anyway.

another bitcoin site joins the incredibly long list of bitcoin sites which have ripped off their users.

techcrunch.com/2018/01/16/bitconnect-which-has-been-accused-of-running-a-ponzi-scheme-shuts-down/

just an absolute paradise for criminals.

So why are people being paid to program blockchain ? Including myself ?

Well I have been trying ti get my money back since beginning January, the other bank has taken verification but I have not not yet received my funds.

It all seemed so easy.

Can you afford to lose it, Say - if needs be?

pisacake - if they're not already, people are going to be wishing that Bitcoin was based on a single trusted authority. Will everyone get their money out, given the fraud that is going on? Will they be hoping that the regulators step in, despite "investing" in something that was meant to nullify regulation?

I don't see any advantage to Blockchain over a database. Perhaps in an Anarchists fantasy world, but that's about it.

I mean the bitcoin database/blockchain works, in the way that, say MySql worked about 15 years ago (well, maybe not that well).

But a lot of the fraud is off bitcoin in the exchanges. The exchange have pretty much all turned out to be scams, as is the price discovery mechanism.

I mean the bitcoin database/blockchain works, in the way that, say MySql worked about 15 years ago (well, maybe not that well)

As a database, blockchain is - being charitable - pants. But that's not what makes it interesting, or novel.

I was talking about how well it functions, rather than its utility as a database.

Yes but I'm not going to. I will pursue this until I get my money back.
It's great few hundred and I do need it.

Well that's something. I've lost money before. Lost. Gawn for ever. And you feel slightly sick. I just had to put it behind me and start again. Not as easy as it sounds but do-able.

DG - people ain't getting that there demn blockchain.

I once woke up to an 85% drop on one of my AIM holdings. That was painful. I don’t think we’re anywhere near the bottom of this correction yet. If it hits £1000 I’ll probably buy more, DH be damned.

Hullygully

I know. I felt the same when I told my DF I wanted to design computers in 1972 ... he really couldn't understand why anyone would want a computer.

The old tropes about there being a need for maybe five computers in the world (from the former head of IBM) and no one needing more than 640K of memory (Bill Gates) seem apposite.

That said, the internet-connected toaster flopped .

Back to Remix, Solidity, and speculative caching.

So is it hodling all round...?

I rather like some of the notions about Blockchain. My brain is fighting against it but I suspect that that's a lack of understanding.

So is it hodling all round...?

PMSL

I have to say I spend a fascinating and inordinate amount of time on reddit lately. And that's not something I ever imagined saying.

I finally found a purpose for Twitter. There’s hours of endless crypto entertainment there.