"So you have a increasingly massive global interest in it (demand) set against a small and not growing supply" - From what I understand, this isn't quite true. There is a cap on the total number of Bitcoins that can exist (Think it might be 21 Million though could be wrong) but they have not all been mined yet.

Borussia wrote: "So you have a increasingly massive global interest in it (demand) set against a small and not growing supply" - From what I understand, this isn't quite true. There is a cap on the total number of Bitcoins that can exist (Think it might be 21 Million though could be wrong) but they have not all been mined yet.

Yes that's what I read.  Does this sound like Pokemon Go for investors?

You can still mine bitcoin but the computing power needed to do so it crazy. People buy specialist mining rigs. The idea was it was easy to do in the beginning and the complexity and resource needed would grow and grow. I think at current rate the last one will be mined in 2147 or something.

MC Hammered wrote: Trap junior wrote: I read up a little on it over the last day or so.  The founder(s) of it are anonymous. Just a tad shady.  Why is that I wonder?  How does one cash in their bitcoin for proper money like Euro?  From what Iread you have to find some other lad online to buy them off you. Is it just me or is it like buying thin air that someone says has a value and that value is going up? Also what the f**k is ''mining bitcoin''? There are other cryptocurrencies like TJ Coins to invest in now too. Bitcoin found a niche for allowing people to make transactions online which were difficult to trace. So if you wanted to buy/sell drugs, guns, whatever on the internet then you could do so relatively anonymously. There are ethical issues at play and I'd imagine that's why the founders are happy enough to fly under the radar.  The thing that would concern me is that they are purposely not producing more Bitcoin. So you have a increasingly massive global interest in it (demand) set against a small and not growing supply. Obviously prices skyrocket under those conditions. And that leads to further demand but still no more supply.  That's a bubble.

any currency by its nature has to be scarce and of finite supply.

Interesting thread on Reddit about this from september. This lad in the UK cashed out his 4 million in bitcoin all at once without getting any advice.Seems like it was a big mistake.He now has to pay 15% tax (£600,000) to the UK government.If he'd moved to other EU countries like the Netherlands or Germany for a while it would have only been 61,000 tax there.

Edited by TonyNotJack - 14 Dec 2017 at 12:04am

deise316 wrote: Trap junior wrote: How is it a currency. There is nothing to back it up.  Real currencies have gold etc to back it up.  Sounds like a total make believe story unlike my currency which has gone up in value again. There is nothing to back up any currency, only the belief we put in a piece of paper which is intrinsically worthless in itself. If that belief switches to bitcoin, or if enough people believe in the value of it, it's as good a currency as any of the rest of them.  Gold as currency has always confused the fcuk out of me, that too, as a metal, while not completely useless (it's anti corrosive properties are useful in the electrical industry) is only worth anything because of a historical value ascribed to it by important people of the time, Kings and the like, who admired shiny stuff and it's relative rarity. As a metal, there are far more practical ones, so essentially, it has its value because we aren't all that far up the evolutionary chain from magpies, who also like shiny stuff.  Back to barter after the revolution I suppose.

My understanding is that real currencies have Gold in the country's vaults to back up a certain amount of money.  Banks can then 'create' money on the basis that not all the money in the bank will be withdrawn at an one time and they can play around with that leeway.   But in a crisis they have a certain percentage of gold to fall back on which will always hold value like land.   Printing money doesn't work as far as I know to create wealth. 

Bitcoin has no physical essence at all.  Somebody made up something one day like TJ Coin and said these are valuable and people started buying them.   You can't even withdraw your money is that right?  You have to find someone to buy it off you.  There doesn't seem to be an institution.

It's like buying fairy dust.  I just don't get it at all.


P.S. I don't know why gold is precious either tbh.  But its at least something you can hold in your hand and barter with. 

Still one of the best conpiracy theories 

deise316 wrote: Trap junior wrote: How is it a currency. There is nothing to back it up.  Real currencies have gold etc to back it up.  Sounds like a total make believe story unlike my currency which has gone up in value again. There is nothing to back up any currency, only the belief we put in a piece of paper which is intrinsically worthless in itself. If that belief switches to bitcoin, or if enough people believe in the value of it, it's as good a currency as any of the rest of them.  Gold as currency has always confused the fcuk out of me, that too, as a metal, while not completely useless (it's anti corrosive properties are useful in the electrical industry) is only worth anything because of a historical value ascribed to it by important people of the time, Kings and the like, who admired shiny stuff and it's relative rarity. As a metal, there are far more practical ones, so essentially, it has its value because we aren't all that far up the evolutionary chain from magpies, who also like shiny stuff.  Back to barter after the revolution I suppose.

Was some bloke on Prime Time talking about Bitcoin there. Missed nearly all of it so didn't hear what he said