Bitcoin...surprised there isn’t more uk discussion/press coverage?

[Dancinggertrude]

Bitcoin has had an interesting few months, steadily rising.
Twitter feeds are full of American discussion about it, US press coverage etc.
Yet here it is still not v mainstream..
Aibu to be surprised ?
I’m neither a convert to bitcoin or an investor btw, I like to dabble and watching the charts /world press coverage really interests me.
Most (Uk)people I mention it to aren’t even aware you can purchase fractional bitcoin.

Hmmm...never mind Bitcoin I'm falling down a rabbit hole of Austrian economic theory now...

I'm trying to read up on it a little to see if I can find the answer to my own question. Current article I'm reading says the following as part of its explanation of how production drives the economy:

"We need to encourage entrepreneurship, we need to increase the profitability of firms, because if companies become more profitable they pay their workers more, produce more products and a greater variety of quality and quantity"

I find this contrary to my personal experience. I think it's far from proven that the more profitable a company, the more they pay their workers.

I don’t know much about it. But I found out a couple of months ago my husband invested most of his savings into a few different ones. Muppet!

So a thread on mumsnet and suddenly thousands of women buy some with their revolut app and the price goes up.

Ha @mrswombat but seriously I think it will be good if more women are inspired to research around bitcoin...
We need to be at the table in all big issues.
And crypto is a big issue right now

This entire thread is like an advert for the ponzie scheme. It’s just £20. Put it in a see what happens. Bitcoin was meant to be a liberal revolution but the world wasn’t ready for it so it’s failed sadly. Anyone putting money into it now stands to be at the bottom of the pyramid when it collapses.

I have done very well out of bitcoin.
But if you don't understand crypto and blockchain technology you need to be very wary.
Anything you read in the press is likely to be out of date and not accurate.
Not many financial bods know or understand it, so there are very few people to ask.
The people who got into it 8 to 10 years ago are the ones who understand it and are always ahead of the game.
Like any investment there are risks.
There are so many scams around that everyone needs to be very careful. Look at the number of pension scams, MLM scams, its awful.

I will use a cryptocurrency as an actual currency when actual regulated banks support current accounts, savings accounts and make loans denominated in said cryptocurrency. I mean, if it's a valid currency that works as well (or better) than pounds, euros and dollars, why wouldn't they? Bank accounts are far safer from fraud and hacking than raw crypto, and transactions can sometimes be reversed where you've been parted from your money by a criminal. So overall this would be the best way to access crypto, you get the advantage of the alleged freedom from inflation without all the disadvantages.

If you know the history of money, and the role gold played, you will understand that the banks will be able to support account balances of many, many times the actual amount of cryptocurrency in their possesion. Commercial banks will be able to add additional current account crypto into circulation in exactly the same way they currently create pounds/euros/dollars "out of thin air." (Long story short: 97% of British pounds in circulation are the creation of commercial banks, money is created when they make a loan and destroyed when the loan is repaid. Interest rates and customer demand determine aggregate level of loans outstanding, hence amount of money in circulation.)

Once everyone has confidence in the new deposit account crypto, we can quietly drop the requirement for banks to actually own any, just as we previously dropped the requirement to hold gold, and just control the rate of money creation using central bank interest rates...

No, wait, that means we're back where we started!?

Whoever invent Bitcoin did not really understand money, there's a reason we went off the gold-standard. It's not a good thing for the money supply to be fixed, money supply actually should expand and contract with the economy. (That in addition to the faults listed at the start of this post.)

Bitcoin isn't mainstream yet. But I emphasise yet. Yes many people are sceptical, but it's more that people are scared of change and brainwashed it's bad and for illegal purposes. The banks are the bad ones here.... they have screwed people for years and continue to do so. Anyone spotted the billion pound lawsuit against the banks, including RBS, for rigging ?? I digress. The Bitcoin and crypto revolution is coming and the banks and those with vested interest in banks don't like it. Gone will be the days that they can take money off you when they balls up .... like 2007/ 2008. Who has the god damn right to stop you getting access to your money.... certainly no dumbass bank.... but they do presently. On what planet is it right that banks look at my credit score to determine whether they want to lend me money or have an account.... how arrogant !!!! It should be other way round..... I earn money and you should bend over backwards to provide ME a god damned service. The balance of power is wrong !!!!

They are not safer !!!!!!

Yep @stanley71
I have personal experience of what the banks did to people in 2008.
I just do not see them as transparent, reliable, safe or trustworthy.

On what planet is it right that banks look at my credit score to determine whether they want to lend me money or have an account.... how arrogant !!!! It should be other way round..... I earn money and you should bend over backwards to provide ME a god damned service. The balance of power is wrong !!!!

You think banks should lend you money without being allowed to consider the likelihood that you are able to repay them?

I'm intrigued that you think its failed @BogglesGoggles and what your metric is for success. Coinbase is well-trusted. Keeping your coins in there is as safe (and as risky) as keeping money in a bank. But the whole point about bitcoin is that you dont need a bank, you can be your own bank and hold your own bitcoin

@pettycontractor The world came off the Gold Standard in 1973, things were objectively better in 1973, less pollution, less inequality, less madcap financial scams. The abandoning of the gold standard has been a disaster for all but the very richest.

Bitcoin isnt really about money, but you dont really grok that at the start. Its about power, freedom; truth and governance. In fact, bitcoin isnt really money at all, but money is the closest approximation that we had to bitcoin pre-2009.

The rabbit hole goes deep.

@bogglesgoggles I also don’t really get your point. If you’d have bought twelve weeks ago and done absolutely nothing, you would have nearly doubled your money by now?
Even if as you say, it fails itself, in that period it didn’t fail me?!

I can repay them. I earn a damned good salary and I don't have my knickers in a twist with debt..... which is precisely what goes against me. I bought crypto with a Barclays credit card.... paid it off and had my limit reduced because they didn't "like my cash advances". How dare they. What they failed to say and will never admit to, was the real reason.... the purchasing of crypto. They don't encourage or endorse it in a nutshell.

I agree there needs to be a mechanism for affordability of debt...... the final answer I don't know. But pegging me with a stupid score that goes against me because im not in debt is laughable.

Yes Barclays do not like crypto transactions.
At all!

I don't think going into debt to invest in something like bitcoin is a particularly sound strategy personally.

Most credit cards treat currency purchases as cash advances. Cash advances damage your credit rating because banks assume it's your only method of obtaining cash. I don't think Barclays are engaged in a conspiracy of discrimination against bitcoin investors.

I agree with @cohle that purchasing cryptocurrency on a credit card isn’t the best strategy, but I disagree about Barclays .
I’ve heard of people having their current accounts frozen after purchasing crypto with Barclays accounts, and not just credit accounts.

This thread has been remarkably balanced compared to previous ones here.

I have BTC, ETH, LTC and my beloved Doge as from my user name. I bought most of my BTC back in 2012, I think. I’m not allowed to talk crypto as DH somehow still thinks I’m utterly mad to own it!

It’s been a good , informative , balanced thread !

We made our wills a while back and if anything happens to DH and me, everything goes into trust for the children- except the crypto. DS gets control of the crypto because I don’t trust anyone else with it.

I paid it off.... so was not in debt. How does this work abroad when you take cash out, in advance, for holidays or work??? How I use the card is up to me. I have not bought drugs, nor have I bought guns, nor done anything illegal. I paid the card off in full, so no interest. My only means of cash..... so does the credit score method include an assessment of my savings? Nope. Savings it not how the banks make their money..... it's everyone being in debt.

Barclays c.c at the time was the only thing that could be paired. It's changed now and I've binned the cheeky devils. Sorry but Barclays and other banks have definatley been deliberately stopping purchases or association with crypto. Let's face it some countries ban crypto altogether....

There are some great people on this thread, I;m so glad you put it up, @Dancinggertrude.

I always feel slightly embarrassed about my crypto obsession, and I'm sick of crypto lambo moon boys on reddit wittering on about charts and technical analysis. I really need to talk bitcoin with some sisters.

Where do other women go to talk about crypto?

I follow quite a few crypto women on twitter. It is a very annoying macho community overall, though.

When you know where to go for the non lambo obsession threads let me know!!! The amount of stupid articles and price predictions on the tinterweb is just plain silly.

I do like crypto lark on YouTube. He actually talks like a normal everyday person .... with wild shirts lol..... but does make sense.

How does this work abroad when you take cash out, in advance, for holidays or work???

Exactly the same way - using credit cards to obtain cash appears on your credit record and makes it seem to the bank that you can't cover your day to day living costs.

It also obviously effects your credit utilisation ratio.