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Original poster

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

266 replies

Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 11:55

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.

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Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 22:17

@larrygrylls that’s a really naive viewpoint.
Although artists may not create art with the purpose of financial gain and some collectors collect for love, the dealers and that sell it at the highest level are 100% about the money.
In fact you only have to look at the amount of contemporary art collections held as assets by some of the European banks to understand this is not a game of love and cultural preservation.

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Cailleachian · 03/08/2019 22:19

I've bought various things with it - airline tickets, computers, computer games, I even paid my gas bill in it once (although it took months and I had to get OfGen involved....long story).

I dont see it as an "investment" in the sense that I am hoping that it will be worth more pounds (although I know it will), but I do see it as an investment in an alternative economic and political system that I am trying to bring to fruition. I also see it as a temporary safety net for when the shit hits the Brexit fan.

Andysbestadventure · 03/08/2019 22:20

I have 1 bitcoin in a wallet somewhere from years ago, and I can't find the unlock code or chain code or whatever else it is, it was 15 words back then. But then my email address associated to it has also vanished and cannot be recovered for some reason so I believe it has been raided a long time ago 😭

Andysbestadventure · 03/08/2019 22:21

@larrygrylls something like 0.5% of the world's 'valuable' art is on display. The rest is and will remain in storage for generations.

Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 22:28

@larrygrylls just have a google about the Deutsche Bank collection...

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Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 22:31

A deviation
But food for thought re art held by institutions
Certainly not just for looking pretty
www.verdict.co.uk/private-banker-international/analysis-and-opinion/deutsche-bank-corporate-art/

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larrygrylls · 03/08/2019 22:37

Dancing,

I have read about Deutsche Bank before. It is a disgrace. I know art, for some, is an investment class, as are expensive wine, vintage cars and rare earth metals.

Personally, my art is on my walls and I buy what I want to look at.

The fact that there are other overvalued assets (and possible) bubbles around does not make bitcoin any better as an investment. It pays no dividend, has no uses and, thus, has zero intrinsic value.

Some people make a lot of money investing in bubbles. Fortunes were made in the tech bubble. But,it is plain gambling, not investment in any real meaning.

This thread, in itself, is a very negative signal. There is an old stock market saying that when the taxi driver taking you to a meeting is asking (and giving) stock tips, it is time to sell.

Caucho · 03/08/2019 22:42

Do you own a lot of bitcoin or have a short / long position and are trying to ramp the price or what not? It really isn’t relevant to the majority of the population or particularly newsworthy. I’m sure it’s mention in the FT and other financial press occasionally. Despite the hype it’s very niche and there is not a sufficient volume for it up cause an issue (boom or bust) apart from the speculators

Valkarie · 03/08/2019 22:47

I have found this thread fascinating, thank you. I have not invested in cryptocurrency, nor do I have the money to do so at the moment, but it's been informative in case I do have more in future .

I have believed for a while that crypto is the future, although I believe that the current creation process is too energy intensive to allow for mass market. I believe it will evolve just as credit and debit cards did from cash.

Caucho · 03/08/2019 22:48

I absolutely think it’s a con for what my opinion is worth and will go the way of the tulip bulb but that doesn’t mean there won’t be loads of people saying how great it is and they’ve double their money in a week. There will be a lot more ups and downs with some people making cash along the way but do think it will be eventually tank to zero. The question is when - some extremely savvy people will be exploit it and there’ll be more people who get fucked. Same as it ever was

Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 22:49

@caucho no
I’m surprised that globally there have been some pretty major crypto developments, yet I never hear anyone discuss it. If it does get a mention , it is dismissed with suspicion or as something only for the super wealthy. Whereas I find it quite a democratic currency.

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Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 22:52

@larrygrylls bitcoin has ever more uses, in fact just a couple of months ago several US retailers announced they would accept payment in bitcoin.
I think wholefoods was one? Correct me if I’m wrong...
That caused a huge peak in interest...

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Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 22:53

*pique

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Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 03/08/2019 23:09

@larrygrylls
Ha so I’m the taxi driver!
But the fact that so many people on this thread want to learn more... exciting times

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TheDarkPassenger · 04/08/2019 00:14

One of my partners mates sell it for a living and he makes a fuck ton of money. I cba with it personally but he does well off it. Mental conspiracy theorist yes, but does well!

BogglesGoggles · 04/08/2019 11:19

@caieachain @dancinggertrude you have completely missed the point haven’t you? Bitcoin was supposed to be a currency that was independent from government meddling and manipulation. Not a pyramid scheme to get rich quick but it failed because too few businesses would accept it for payments and any currency is only worth what people will give you for it. Most people don’t realise that a pound is worth nothing unless a shopkeeper will give you milk in return for that pound. So most business didn’t understand enough to male it happen. It failed. Now it’s being used for two purposes 1. As a pyramid scheme and 2. To launder money from dodgy transactions. I can see what you are doing (even if you haven’t realised it yourself). You are trying to entice mumsnet users into putting up demand to keep your bets afloat. You should be ashamed. This is so far away from what was intended. It’s a bastardisation.

Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 04/08/2019 11:26

Whoa there @bogglesgoggles
Firstly that wasn’t my intention at all.
I’m neither using at as a pyramid scheme nor to launder money from dodgy transactions.
It didn’t fail, and it isn’t failing.
I’m interested in why it hasn’t received more attention in the UK, given that it is a topic for intense debate in Europe, in the Middle East, in India , in the States, in Venezuela... etc right now.
It affects us all.

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Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 04/08/2019 11:30

What a world you want to inhabit @bogglesgoggles where we just pretend things don’t exist and then ban everyone from talking about them.

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Original poster
Dancinggertrude · 04/08/2019 11:35

Anyway if it’s failed already as you say, you don’t have to worry about reading the thread do you?
It’s failed in your opinion and I’m sure my one Mumsnet thread isn’t going to make a difference if that’s the case. Everyone can read the resources available to them and make their own calculated decision. There are zillions of matched betting threads on here and people rarely warn people of the dangers of getting in to the gambling system, even though it can be truly devastating to people of a certain persuasion.

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DGRossetti · 04/08/2019 12:07

If people want to dabble, I would suggest they are confident they know the intricacies of cryptocurrencies as opposed to BTC which is a subset of the former and really a proof-of-concept, rather than a paradigm of cryptocurrencies.

It's the dazzle of greed that has caused people to skim over the power of the blockchain - where is where my interest starts.

When large amounts of money - fiat or otherwise - are moving around the world on blockchains, all sorts of possibilities open up. And while a lot of the buzz at the moment is how to evade your national government, eventually national governments will catch up. At which point you have the vista of instantaneous tax rates, citizen driven hypothecation, a more immersive judicial restorative system.

The last could drive a step change in child support, as money is automatically moved from one account to another following a court order. After all, no reason why a court can't create a smart contract.

A properly constructed smart contract - unlike a paper one - needs no apparatus of law and baliffs to enforce. It "just happens".

In fact, the absence of blockchain betting is a clear signal we aren't quite there yet (wherever "there" may be Hmm). But bookmaking - like insurance and banking - is an inherently risk averse industry.

WickedGoodDoge · 04/08/2019 12:15

DS(17) just finished up a week at Ernst Young’s Business Academy. At the end of the week, he had to do a talk on what he thought was the most important technological development just now and how it could be used by the area he was working in at EY. (Or something along those lines). I tried to get him to do blockchain, but I think he’s bored senseless by my endless talking about it to him so he refused and did AI instead. Grin

DGRossetti · 04/08/2019 12:19

I tried to get him to do blockchain, but I think he’s bored senseless by my endless talking about it to him so he refused and did AI instead.

Oh dear.

Jillyhilly · 04/08/2019 12:35

Place-marking - with thanks to OP and knowledgeable contributors for a fascinating discussion

Cailleachian · 04/08/2019 13:42

@BogglesGoggles

Bitcoins was conceived as a "peer-to-peer electronic cash system". Its right there in the title of the white paper. Many governments have tried to ban bitcoin, they have failed. Others have tried to regulate bitcoin and they have largely failed. The only reason they have had partial successes is because most people exchange fiat currency for bitcoin rather than earning it and governments control fiat currency.

Bitcoin is a revolution disguised as a get rich quick scheme. People come to get rich, but stay because crypto is far far more powerful than any fiat currency.

I can purchase practically anything online with btc, either directly or through a payment processor. (On Amazon, I can even purchase things at a substantial discount if I use purse.io). Businesses themselves dont need to accept bitcoin, so long as there are payment processors or other individuals who will accept my bitcoin and pay the business in their preferred currency on my behalf. The number of physical businesses accepting crypto directly is rocketting. Starbucks and Wholefoods in the US are now accepting crypto and its acceptance is growing exponentially in the Global South

There are 6 billion people in the world, mumsnetters chucking their lottery money at bitcoin is hardly going to make a difference to the exchange rate. If you think I'm shilling it here as some kind of get-rich quick scam, persuading mumsnetters to put their lifesavings into btc so that I can cash out quick, you really dont understand how much I value bitcoin (or how little I value the pound).

Susiesoop · 04/08/2019 13:43

Great thread. Interesting that the price of BTC has trebled since Jan/Feb. IMO it's an investment rather than currency (too volatile for currency), as an investment it's similar to gold, fixed supply can't print more and be devalued. For anyone interested in investing there have been some great posts on here with links. Read Read Read. And then only put in what you can afford to lose.