Crypto, love it or hate it

[KateR]

As BITCOIN is approaching the $100,000 a coin barrier, are any of the previous doubters changing their minds???

OR, is it still a bubble/Ponzi scheme for you??

Just curious

[Plissken]

Yes.

[Bosscat]

Not for me ....

[RVclaret]

Bitcoin has obviously proven an investable asset with potentially lucrative but highly volatile returns, that can have a small allocation in some institutional portfolios. Would I put all my pension’s risk into BTC/crypto? No. Bits and pieces of savings, yeah. I’m also far from convinced it will ever have a real use in society and only see it as ‘another asset’. Obviously the pro-crypto crowd will feel vindicated as BTC approaches 100k, they seem to have a certain Donald Trump to thank for that…

As for the wider crypto space, there’s still naturally concerns given the wide amount of scams and fraud. The FTX collapse, as the 2nd largest crypto exchange, only adds to the concern. It won’t be the last…

[Plissken]

If you want to keep track of the $76bn worth (so far) of cryptocurrency scams, grifts and other things, this is a great site.

https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/

[NewClaret]

Absolutely never ever for me.

I dare say some people will get very rich from it and good luck to them but still not for me.

[Falcon]

I've just sold most of my Bitcoin in anticipation of a big dip once it hits the $100k milestone.

A nice 50% profit on what I had invested in 2021.

[Hipper]

A fellow bought a banana for $6.2 million using some crypto currency apparently:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy87202v43no

And then there's this man desperately trying to find his digital key for an estimated £500 million of Bitcoin:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgr0dyy152jo

[JR1882]

People will always need a place to store money with few questions asked, in that sense it’s a safe (if volatile) bet.

As the digital world grows and tangible resources dwindle, it definitely has its place.

Wouldn’t be putting any money in it however!

[dushanbe]

A lad at work is sat on 8 that he mined way back at the start. His personal wealth has been going up by about $10,000 a day for the last couple of weeks.

[Plissken]

Yet he is still at work.

[hoosier-daddy]

As BITCOIN is approaching the $100,000 a coin barrier, are any of the previous doubters changing their minds???

OR, is it still a bubble/Ponzi scheme for you??

Just curious

Reckon it'll be much higher by next summer.

[dushanbe]

Yet he is still at work.

Indeed he is, partly because the tax implications are largely unfathomable

[JohnMac]

Surely it is only of value if you sell it for a profit and with prices so high, who is going to buy it? As raised by Dushanbe above someone called Racheal is going to want a big slice of that too.

[hoosier-daddy]

ETH had a really nice run recently. A solid coin. Will be back in the wave soon I reckon. And think BTC will just keep rising, overall.

[bfcjg]

I don't understand them TBH. I might get interested if the BofE or ECB backed them.

[SirBob]

It’s the very definition of a Ponzi scheme.

Sure some people will get lucky and make money on it but most will lose everything. Until it actually has some real world use you’ll always be gambling and at risking it all.

Friend of mine invested heavily up to 30k and got it up to 300k a few years ago. He could have paid off his mortgage. Instead he got greedy and the market crashed, it’s only worth 20k now but he still refuses to sell.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Made a great return already this bull run.

Probably gonna cash it out soon and jump back in after Christmas.

Expecting at least 10-15x from here

[dushanbe]

It’s the very definition of a Ponzi scheme.

Sure some people will get lucky and make money on it but most will lose everything. Until it actually has some real world use you’ll always be gambling and at risking it all.

Friend of mine invested heavily up to 30k and got it up to 300k a few years ago. He could have paid off his mortgage. Instead he got greedy and the market crashed, it’s only worth 20k now but he still refuses to sell.

I don’t see how that’s possible. If he bought 30k a few years ago and it went to 300k but then crashed I can’t see how it can br only worth 20k now when it’s at an all time high.

[Mornto]

I’ve noticed more people starting to take Bitcoin seriously as the price goes up, but there are still a lot of folks who aren't fully convinced. Personally, I’m more interested in the tech behind it, like blockchain, than just the price itself. I’ve been watching it for a while now, and while there’s definitely risk involved, it’s hard to deny how much it’s stuck around and evolved. It’s definitely not a guaranteed thing, but it’s not just a bubble either.

[Claretforever]

It’s the very definition of a Ponzi scheme.

Sure some people will get lucky and make money on it but most will lose everything. Until it actually has some real world use you’ll always be gambling and at risking it all.

Friend of mine invested heavily up to 30k and got it up to 300k a few years ago. He could have paid off his mortgage. Instead he got greedy and the market crashed, it’s only worth 20k now but he still refuses to sell.

He must have bought alt coins rather than Bitcoin. They’ll get their time to shine soon when BTC’s dominance falls, hopefully after a price pull back, and his 20K, depending which coins he bought, might be back up towards his 300K. His mistake means he has had to be very patient.

[MG70]

I've doubled my investments in the last 2 weeks. I don't have a lot, about £2000 now and am itching to sell. I don't have any Bitcoin anymore , mainly alt coins.

[SirBob]

He must have bought alt coins rather than Bitcoin. They’ll get their time to shine soon when BTC’s dominance falls, hopefully after a price pull back, and his 20K, depending which coins he bought, might be back up towards his 300K. His mistake means he has had to be very patient.

Sorry I wasn’t very clear. He didn’t buy Bitcoin he invested in several other crypto currencies.

[Claretforever]

Sorry I wasn’t very clear. He didn’t buy Bitcoin he invested in several other crypto currencies.

Yes, I thought so. He’s doing the right thing and being patient. The alt coin market will take off shortly and, when it does, he’ll make a lot of money. I would imagine he’s learned a lot about selling in the past few years.

[fatboy47]

Baffling to see the levels of risk the proles will take with the ten bob they used to keep in the post office.

Plenty of better options around than this glorified pyramaid selling if you can be arsed to do the homework.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Crypto is one of them things that those who tell people how well they do from it do really well until they are asked to show the profits they have made.

[taio]

Not for me. I'll stick to investing in well diversified funds via a stocks and shares ISA.

[Bosscat]

Not for me. I'll stick to investing in well diversified funds via a stocks and shares ISA.

Me too

[Newcastleclaret93]

Crypto is one of them things that those who tell people how well they do from it do really well until they are asked to show the profits they have made.

Not sure what circles your in claret but most people that I have met in the crypto sphere can’t wait to show you how well they done haha.

One of my mates on the last bull run was throwing cash around like a playboy for months (until he blew it all).

Crypto isn’t for everyone but there’s certainly a load of cash to be made. Similar to stocks I think with decent coins it’s more about time in the market than timing the market. Most coins have increased by at least 3 fold in the last year (a few have done ten times that)

[claretonthecoast1882]

Not sure what circles your in claret but most people that I have met in the crypto sphere can’t wait to show you how well they done haha.

One of my mates on the last bull run was throwing cash around like a playboy for months (until he blew it all).

Crypto isn’t for everyone but there’s certainly a load of cash to be made. Similar to stocks I think with decent coins it’s more about time in the market than timing the market. Most coins have increased by at least 3 fold in the last year (a few have done ten times that)

Clearly not the playboy circles

[ArmchairDetective]

About 10 years ago I got a tip off by someone I worked with to buy bitcoin. Sure it was about £100 per coin at that point. Barely had any money but thought about buying a couple. Problem was I barely knew the guy and didn't trust him one jot. I did not buy it and probably spent the equivalent on beer instead

[hoosier-daddy]

About 10 years ago I got a tip off by someone I worked with to buy bitcoin. Sure it was about £100 per coin at that point. Barely had any money but thought about buying a couple. Problem was I barely knew the guy and didn't trust him one jot. I did not buy it and probably spent the equivalent on beer instead

Similar. I frequent marketing / finance forums and it feels like around 2010-12 where discussions about BTC was taking place and some people were jumping all over it - ah well!

[willsclarets]

For me it's part of a huge bubble across most assets, due to the ridiculous amount of liquidity pumped into the system by the federal govt in the US. I don't "hate" it, I just think it has no value except what the next person is willing to pay for it. I can't ever see it being a viable alternative to fiat currency, and governments will create their own digital currencies. They tend to like to monopolise money. It doesn't produce anything, but you'll have heard those arguments.

All in all, I'd say it was a volatile risk asset that's used by entities with huge amounts of spare capital, to make more money. When the money dries up and we have a market-wide downturn and global recession, which I believe will happen in the next 12-18 months, Bitcoin dies with equities. At that point we'll see if it recovers, my suspicion is it will not. When Nvidia's market cap is the equal to the GDP of a continent with little hope of ever achieving the growth it needs to meet it's expectations, you know things aren't right.

[FCBurnley]

Getting rid of the reptilian Gensler in January will be a wonderful thing for crypto and especially XRP. We saw a big bounce yesterday following his announcement. What a vile person

[KateR]

Reckon it'll be much higher by next summer.

For me personally, it's a 99%+ certainty, but it'll be getting much closer to when the drop occurs, the game is to get out as high as possib;e before that drop.

[KateR]

Baffling to see the levels of risk the proles will take with the ten bob they used to keep in the post office.

Plenty of better options around than this glorified pyramaid selling if you can be arsed to do the homework.

Your lack of knowledge, while pontificating like a crypto expert is totally baffling!!

[Hedontplayforyou]

Just how high do people think XRP will go? I haven’t researched anything for quite a while now but the bounce that seems to be happening in the last few weeks has obviously regained my attention.

[FCBurnley]

Just how high do people think XRP will go? I haven’t researched anything for quite a while now but the bounce that seems to be happening in the last few weeks has obviously regained my attention.

Who knows but with support from the new US gov I can’t see any reason for it to not reach a new ATH of $4 + But we have seen these climbs before only to be disappointed. Having said that I am holding tight to mine which I bought at an average of 36 cents. I held my nerve in the past so no reason to sell yet

[Hedontplayforyou]

Who knows but with support from the new US gov I can’t see any reason for it to not reach a new ATH of $4 + But we have seen these climbs before only to be disappointed. Having said that I am holding tight to mine which I bought at an average of 36 cents. I held my nerve in the past so no reason to sell yet

Wasn’t XRP tipped to go astronomical once upon a time ?

[hoosier-daddy]

Just how high do people think XRP will go? I haven’t researched anything for quite a while now but the bounce that seems to be happening in the last few weeks has obviously regained my attention.

Reckon if there's going to be a bull run, it'll be next year - just be ready to bank.
DOGE is a good option as you can still buy low.
All IMO of course. Who knows.

I'm spreading mine out a bit. As I sometimes get paid in Crypto, I never buy them so to speak, so it's all just a bit of fun.

[4:20]

I still have absolutely no idea about Bitcoin but in January 2011 my flatmates in New Zealand wanted me to invest 50NZD into it with them but I turned them both down.

[Bosscat]

I still have absolutely no idea about Bitcoin but in January 2011 my flatmates in New Zealand wanted me to invest 50NZD into it with them but I turned them both down.

How have they done ... do you regret it ...

[4:20]

How have they done ... do you regret it ...

I completely lost contact with them both around 2013 and have no idea how they're getting on. I've never been interested in investing, stocks etc, that world is like an alien language to me but apparently that 50 dollars could have made life eventful for me down the road.
I don't regret it, I've had the odd 'what if' thought or two over the years but these past 10 years for me have been great and I wouldn't swap what I have now for anything.

[CrosspoolClarets]

I don’t invest in what I don’t understand, where I cannot see the underlying value.

Feels like classic “pump and dump”, the “in the knows” making a fortune then cashing out and the late entries / rookies lose their shirt. I feel even more like that with the smaller crypto currencies.

On the flip-side I do believe there is a concerted effort by some (including countries) to stop the dollar being the world’s main currency, so this could help crypto (and gold).

[KateR]

I don’t invest in what I don’t understand, where I cannot see the underlying value.

Feels like classic “pump and dump”, the “in the knows” making a fortune then cashing out and the late entries / rookies lose their shirt. I feel even more like that with the smaller crypto currencies.

On the flip-side I do believe there is a concerted effort by some (including countries) to stop the dollar being the world’s main currency, so this could help crypto (and gold).

It's like anything, if you don't understand it, then it's best not to invest, and same for anything regarding underlaying value, but I bet of people invest in numerous stocks, that simply have zero idea what its underlying value is. I'd say that Crypto is not for the masses, but it's easy to learn what has value, many are aligned to different industries, and have some value, but many are aiming to provide a value, yet as of now provide nothing more than a start up with aspirations. Many are merely memes and have no value, but many love them, you can include sports in this, plus many football clubs having their own coins, the choice is very large, but stocks and shares offers a much larger choice, so due diligence is important in my mind.

I don't think it's to stop the dollar being the world's main currency, more a place to store value, we all know every currency is going down every year, so like gold crypto can be a hedge against that.
I ignored it for a long time, circumstances with my eldest son, who presented me with a potential opportunity, meant I had to learn a little more, once I entered, I decided I needed to learn a lot more, for me I'm convinced. I will say there are a lot of scams and what they call rugpulls, that you can easily lose money in, and there are many rules about transferring, as not all coins work together, so it's easy to see coins go into a black hole never to reappear again. It's also mostly not a buy and forget in the majority of cases, but Bitcoin can be, I find I have to spend quite a bit of time managing my portfolio, plus still trying to understand many aspects of the crypto market in general, however I enjoy that side of it.

Yet, there are alternatives now, Bitcoin ETF's and companies like Microstrategy trying to become a Bitcoin bank, all on the normal stock market that many here use.

Just some musings, have read many on here that still think about it as magic internet money, including my husband.

[IanMcL]

It’s the very definition of a Ponzi scheme.

Sure some people will get lucky and make money on it but most will lose everything. Until it actually has some real world use you’ll always be gambling and at risking it all.

Friend of mine invested heavily up to 30k and got it up to 300k a few years ago. He could have paid off his mortgage. Instead he got greedy and the market crashed, it’s only worth 20k now but he still refuses to sell.

If it has reached this new peak, how can it only be worth 2/3 of his original stake?

No wonder I don't invest in crypto currency! Upside down maths!

[Claretforever]

If it has reached this new peak, how can it only be worth 2/3 of his original stake?

No wonder I don't invest in crypto currency! Upside down maths!

His friend didn’t buy Bitcoin, he bought alt coins. Most are still 50%-95% down from their all time highs, because BTC dominates the overall market. When money rotates into alts as dominance shifts then alts will get their turn, but whereas BTC does a 6-7x alts tend to do 10-100x, there’s just more risk.

[Casper2]

https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/11/15/e ... an-bukele/

[Plissken]

Getting rid of the reptilian Gensler in January will be a wonderful thing for crypto and especially XRP. We saw a big bounce yesterday following his announcement. What a vile person

Because he - in his position of protecting consumers - accurately described crypto as an industry " “rife with fraud and hucksters and grifters”? Never mind, I'm sure the convicted fraudster, huckster and grifter will appoint someone more amenable.

[ALP]

I recently had someone wanting to 'buy' some of my photos as NFT's. I really don't understand all this lot so politely declined the offer, whether this is a mistake or not I'm not sure, I just don't want to have my keks pulled down in a scam.

I don't think I'll ever grasp all this and paying some 'gas' fee, whatever that is!!