Cryptocurrency

[MsStillwell]

I've always presumed this is unethical and even if legal, it doesn't really contribute to human happiness. Am I wrong?

How is it unethical? It is no more unethical than a fiat currency issued by central banks, and given that there is a finite number of for example Bitcoins, then it is arguably more ethical as new ones can't be created, as happens with both central and clearing banks

It's an absolute scam. Like charging folk for bags of air.

Definitely a scam. I knew of friends who invested loads in one tipped to be the next bitcoin and they lost tens of thousands.

And that Tether has made things worse. It was supposed to be backed by dollars 1 tether is worth one dollar. Now they've admitted it isn't backed. Using tether to buy Bitcoin and vice versa. It's a scandal.

Too many scams and investors thinking they know what they are doing.

The trouble with bitcoin is its volatility. It was intended as a medium of exchange, not as a speculative way to make money. This has meant others have jumped on the bandwagon, the worst being Onecoin, which is a pure pyramid scam.

@jackfruitz

Definitely a scam. I knew of friends who invested loads in one tipped to be the next bitcoin and they lost tens of thousands.

I dont understand how people can consider it to be unethical or a scam. It is so much more ethical than sterling. You cant just print a few billion and give it away to your mates in tax havens like Johnson is doing.

There is no "next bitcoin". Bitcoin is the next bitcoin - the longest chain, the most secure, the highest hashrate. For something to be superior to bitcoin it would have to go back in time and start mining before 2009. That said, there are a lots of interesting things happening in the crypto space, especially on ethereum. But bitcoin is still bitcoin.

I rarely agree with @Viviennemary on anything crypto related, but here she is spot on. Stay away from tether. If you need a dollar stablecoin use DAI or even USDC.

It's not necessarily a scam. But in terms of investment, it is hugely risky and not to be advised.

And if you're thinking about investing in OneCoin... just don't. Or at least listen to ALL of this podcast first.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07nkd84/episodes/downloads

Everything apart from bitcoin is a scam, or massively overvalued.

Take ripple for example, it might actually be adopted by banks in the future as a secure means of money transfer (certainly being tested several central banks), however the price of a ripple coin makes this cost prohibitive.

Bitcoin could be viewed as a possible medium of exchange (i.e. An alternative to gold or fiat), but the market is too skewed at the money as a few people hold too many bitcoins (i.e. Winklevoss twins), which allows easy market manipulation.

Is it possible to make money of crypto, sure, it's pretty easy in fact, but you've just got to maintain a calm head. Example, if I buy bitcoin at £10k today, it almost guaranteed to be at a higher price (£12-15k) in the future. It's also almost guaranteed to be at a lower price. So the trick is to buy, hold (even if price plummets), and sell at higher price (but be careful not to get too greedy).

It's easier to do this with other crypto coins, as there is more volatility, however can be nerve racking watching the value of your holding plummet from £1k to £400, without any signs of recovery.

Like.it any asset class..just be careful.

If anyone has seen the announcement from Paypal about integrating support for cryptocurrencies please take not of their terms and conditions before you use this service.

You will not hold the private key to any crypto you have on paypal, nor can you transfer it off paypal to a wallet that you do control the private key for.

In crypto if you do not own the private keys you do not own the crypto.

Bitcoin started out as an experiment. Is it possible to create a digital currency that doesn't rely on a central bank? And yes, using maths the Bitcoin developers did.

Other reputable cryptocurrencies mostly started out by seeing the flaws or limitations in Bitcoin and trying to do things better.

There are a lot of scams around cryptocurrency. Both scams involving reputable currencies, and outright fradulent coins. It's become a speculative bubble with extreme volatility, which has undermined the viability of actually paying for stuff with cryptocurrency. But such a bubble was not the Bitcoin team's goal. (It's doubtless the goal of some copycats.)

As for ethics. Well, you might think it's unethical that someone can transfer money online without needing to give any personal details. Certainly Bitcoin is used by criminals because of this. But someone else might think it's unethical that governments get to snoop on every online payment! Bitcoin can help avoid such snooping.

I have such problems understanding this currency is it a good investment ? What are private keys ?

"What are private keys ?"

Short answer

• the password to your crypto

Longer answer

• Crypto depends on public-private keypair cryptography. Where you have a public key that you can share with anyone, and a private key, that you keep secret that are linked. Anyone who knows the private key can transfer the bitcoin in your public address.

Long answer

Crypto will increasingly become mainstream, well bitcoin anyway. But remember to not invest more than 1% of your assets in crypto.

Crypto is great. But you have to learn about it and be sensible. Don't borrow a load of money then give it to someone you don't know to invest for you. ( I recently read about somebody who did this. It was dreadful for that person, but not a sensible thing to do).
People do daft things sometimes.

Use ledger nano, or trezor, both reputable companies. Do a Google search.

Before you get into, decide your investment strategy.

@Zize55

I thought for a long time about starting a bitcoin wallet, but I did not know which one to use, I consulted with friends who also do this and have already experience, they advised me bitcoin wallet and I was more than satisfied that I chose this particular wallet. I would like to develop further in this direction and make money.

I took a look at that link. Its not a wallet that I would trust or advise anyone to use. Web wallets are in general not advisable (trust me on this, I learned the hard way).

There is a good interactive tool to find a trusted bitcoin wallet here.
bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

As @doubleaces89 says, a hardware wallet (like Nano or Trezor) is a sensible choice if you have any significant bitcoin holdings.

It might be OK for people who really know what they're doing, but it's a goldmine for scammers.

I wouldn't touch it.

It’s unethical in that it uses vast amounts of computing power, which a centralised ledger wouldn’t. And you need to think about your stance on the pros and cons of privacy - a lot of unethical and illegal takes place on a private ledger that no-one can monitor.

@WitchesSpelleas

It might be OK for people who really know what they're doing, but it's a goldmine for scammers.

I wouldn't touch it.

It is indeed a goldmine for scammers.

But @WitchesSpelleas does it not appeal to you to have the ability to take out the black mirror that you keep in your pocket, ritually invoke the means of manifestation, enter the spell words and from the ether and watch as untold riches appear in the palm of your hand?

Bitcoin is magick.

But like all magick, it requires diligent study and prudent use.

But @WitchesSpelleas does it not appeal to you to have the ability to take out the black mirror that you keep in your pocket, ritually invoke the means of manifestation, enter the spell words and from the ether and watch as untold riches appear in the palm of your hand?

I really do need to get around to changing back my Hallowe'en name change !

This thread has aged well I see

Buy and hodl

Its another wave. It will come crashing down just like the previous one did. You can make a lot of money with good timing but lose a lot with bad timing.

30k a coin currently...