Buy sell or hold?

"A fool and his money are soon parted." -- Benjamin Franklin

RoastCoin

- BUmma

{ sipping coffee }

Raphaela Lucsok put up with her husband investing about $100 in bitcoin that the couple couldn't afford. She didn't argue when he quit his stable job for a bitcoin startup and even went along with his insistence to eat only at the (very few) restaurants that accept the digital currency.

She took a stand recently when he started bringing his phone to bed to monitor bitcoin's price.
"A strong restriction on cellphone use in our bedroom had to be imposed," says Ms. Lucsok, 29, who lives in Berlin.

Bitcoin has spawned a base of obsessive, fevered investors. Behind them are loved ones who are really, really tired of hearing about it.

In Berlin, Ms. Lucsok says she was able to stop her husband from constantly checking bitcoin's price by "strongly encouraging" him to use a phone-based tracker that alerts him when there are big changes. That strategy backfired in early December when bitcoin hit five $1,000-barriers in just 40 hours, pushing past $16,000 a share. Even Ms. Lucsok was checking the price then, her husband says.

Unabashed, Phil Lucsok admits to talking about bitcoin incessantly, cornering people over dinner, at family gatherings and really, anywhere.

"If anyone gives me an intro into it, I take a mile," the 30-year-old says. If someone asks, "I say, 'This is going to change the world! This is insane!' "

Blockchain = revolutionary

Bitcoin = too soon to know; too many entities will fight it and attempt to regulate it which may kill it before it hits critical mass to overcome those barriers. I wish I had bought when introduced to it in 2013 but since I didnt, I am not now.

Judge said:

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Raphaela Lucsok put up with her husband investing about $100 in bitcoin that the couple couldn't afford. She didn't argue when he quit his stable job for a bitcoin startup and even went along with his insistence to eat only at the (very few) restaurants that accept the digital currency.

She took a stand recently when he started bringing his phone to bed to monitor bitcoin's price.
"A strong restriction on cellphone use in our bedroom had to be imposed," says Ms. Lucsok, 29, who lives in Berlin.

Bitcoin has spawned a base of obsessive, fevered investors. Behind them are loved ones who are really, really tired of hearing about it.

In Berlin, Ms. Lucsok says she was able to stop her husband from constantly checking bitcoin's price by "strongly encouraging" him to use a phone-based tracker that alerts him when there are big changes. That strategy backfired in early December when bitcoin hit five $1,000-barriers in just 40 hours, pushing past $16,000 a share. Even Ms. Lucsok was checking the price then, her husband says.

Unabashed, Phil Lucsok admits to talking about bitcoin incessantly, cornering people over dinner, at family gatherings and really, anywhere.

"If anyone gives me an intro into it, I take a mile," the 30-year-old says. If someone asks, "I say, 'This is going to change the world! This is insane!' "

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Not being able to monitor Bitcoin's price in bed shall be known as Coinus Interruptus in future discussions.

BaylorGuy314 said:

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Blockchain = revolutionary

Bitcoin = too soon to know; too many entities will fight it and attempt to regulate it which may kill it before it hits critical mass to overcome those barriers. I wish I had bought when introduced to it in 2013 but since I didnt, I am not now.

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Recommendations for Blockchain?

Yeah, I'm gonna wait until one of you actually explains "blockchain" before breaking out the checkbook.

I understand the concept of "I don't care what the frenzy is! Buy low, sell high, profit!", and that of course works. A lot of folks who had no idea what "dot.com" was are millionaires now. However, if you're interested in fundamentals, this ain't it.

Mr Tulip said:

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Yeah, I'm gonna wait until one of you actually explains "blockchain" before breaking out the checkbook.

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Blockchain or bitcoin?


Think of blockchain like this-

Let's say we both want to work together on a powerpoint presentation and we a distance apart. 10 years ago, here's how it would've worked:

I start the presentation then I send it to you.
You make revisions and send it back to me.
Once I receive, I make additional changes, and send it back to you.
You work on it again, etc, etc.

Blockchain is a tech that allows you all to work on the powerpoint presentation and make changes together in real time. With Google Docs, for example, both parties have access to the same document at the same time, and the single version of that document is always visible to both of them. It is like a shared ledger, but it is a shared document.

Now, expand that out to banking as an example. Instead of having an electronic ledger at the beginning of the day, making electronic debits and credits throughout the day, then closing it out, you have a living ledger, so to speak. Now, two completely seperate banks can share that information quickly.

No longer does one bank have to say to the other one, "Hey, Johnny wants to move X dollars from my bank to your bank so here's an electronic file to process from our ledger to yours to reflect that." Then, other bank has to make that adjustment. These banks could simply update Johnny's account immediately because it's a shared system, in effect. With the blockchain, a single ledger of transaction entries that both parties have access to can simplify the coordination and validation efforts, because there is always a single version of records, and not two disparate databases.

Blockchain isn't required to share documents like a powerpoint anymore (thanks to Google Docs, for example) but the ability to perform millions of quick transactions and changes to a shared file in a highly secured/encrypted environment is unique.

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Bitcoin is nothing more than an electronic currency that uses blockchain technology. It's anonymous and instantaneous, so it bypasses many of the hurdles of current currency systems. That said, I find it faulty because the goverment *WILL* find a way to regulate it. Whether they should or can is no matter. They will find a way to regulate and track it. Between banks beginning to use blockchain to speed up transactions and the regulation of Bitcoin, the perks of it will be mostly diluted.

I don't understand it.

The most interesting thing about blockchain to me is the security issue. Instead of all your data, say at a bank in one big database, it is distributed among many users. Theoretically that makes it almost impossible to hack. It would take massive amounts of computer power to assemble all of that data. It is sort of like torrenting files. You download parts of your file from thousands of users. It's not perfect example but only one I can think of.

Saying that, I have heard of so many revolutionary computer ideas coming out that didn't pan out the way they were supposed to either. But if they can make it work fast, and it is truly secure it would be a huge boon to the internet and commerce.

BaylorGuy314 said:

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Mr Tulip said:

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Yeah, I'm gonna wait until one of you actually explains "blockchain" before breaking out the checkbook.

---

Blockchain or bitcoin?


Think of blockchain like this-

Let's say we both want to work together on a powerpoint presentation and we a distance apart. 10 years ago, here's how it would've worked:

I start the presentation then I send it to you.
You make revisions and send it back to me.
Once I receive, I make additional changes, and send it back to you.
You work on it again, etc, etc.

Blockchain is a tech that allows you all to work on the powerpoint presentation and make changes together in real time. With Google Docs, for example, both parties have access to the same document at the same time, and the single version of that document is always visible to both of them. It is like a shared ledger, but it is a shared document.

Now, expand that out to banking as an example. Instead of having an electronic ledger at the beginning of the day, making electronic debits and credits throughout the day, then closing it out, you have a living ledger, so to speak. Now, two completely seperate banks can share that information quickly.

No longer does one bank have to say to the other one, "Hey, Johnny wants to move X dollars from my bank to your bank so here's an electronic file to process from our ledger to yours to reflect that." Then, other bank has to make that adjustment. These banks could simply update Johnny's account immediately because it's a shared system, in effect. With the blockchain, a single ledger of transaction entries that both parties have access to can simplify the coordination and validation efforts, because there is always a single version of records, and not two disparate databases.

Blockchain isn't required to share documents like a powerpoint anymore (thanks to Google Docs, for example) but the ability to perform millions of quick transactions and changes to a shared file in a highly secured/encrypted environment is unique.

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Bitcoin is nothing more than an electronic currency that uses blockchain technology. It's anonymous and instantaneous, so it bypasses many of the hurdles of current currency systems. That said, I find it faulty because the goverment *WILL* find a way to regulate it. Whether they should or can is no matter. They will find a way to regulate and track it. Between banks beginning to use blockchain to speed up transactions and the regulation of Bitcoin, the perks of it will be mostly diluted.

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Out of curiosity, how could they do that? To my understanding, it would seem incredibly difficult for any entity (government, bank, etc.) to control it simply because it's not centralized in any way.

ColomboLQ said:

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BaylorGuy314 said:

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Mr Tulip said:

---

Yeah, I'm gonna wait until one of you actually explains "blockchain" before breaking out the checkbook.

---

Blockchain or bitcoin?


Think of blockchain like this-

Let's say we both want to work together on a powerpoint presentation and we a distance apart. 10 years ago, here's how it would've worked:

I start the presentation then I send it to you.
You make revisions and send it back to me.
Once I receive, I make additional changes, and send it back to you.
You work on it again, etc, etc.

Blockchain is a tech that allows you all to work on the powerpoint presentation and make changes together in real time. With Google Docs, for example, both parties have access to the same document at the same time, and the single version of that document is always visible to both of them. It is like a shared ledger, but it is a shared document.

Now, expand that out to banking as an example. Instead of having an electronic ledger at the beginning of the day, making electronic debits and credits throughout the day, then closing it out, you have a living ledger, so to speak. Now, two completely seperate banks can share that information quickly.

No longer does one bank have to say to the other one, "Hey, Johnny wants to move X dollars from my bank to your bank so here's an electronic file to process from our ledger to yours to reflect that." Then, other bank has to make that adjustment. These banks could simply update Johnny's account immediately because it's a shared system, in effect. With the blockchain, a single ledger of transaction entries that both parties have access to can simplify the coordination and validation efforts, because there is always a single version of records, and not two disparate databases.

Blockchain isn't required to share documents like a powerpoint anymore (thanks to Google Docs, for example) but the ability to perform millions of quick transactions and changes to a shared file in a highly secured/encrypted environment is unique.

---

Bitcoin is nothing more than an electronic currency that uses blockchain technology. It's anonymous and instantaneous, so it bypasses many of the hurdles of current currency systems. That said, I find it faulty because the goverment *WILL* find a way to regulate it. Whether they should or can is no matter. They will find a way to regulate and track it. Between banks beginning to use blockchain to speed up transactions and the regulation of Bitcoin, the perks of it will be mostly diluted.

---

Out of curiosity, how could they do that? To my understanding, it would seem incredibly difficult for any entity (government, bank, etc.) to control it simply because it's not centralized in any way.

---

The Russians already have server farm dedicated to the creation of Bitcoin and plan to add another, even though are discovering the power necessary to run their operation costs more than the product they are producing. That's Russia, LOL.

From yahoo

Bitcoin and blockchain continues to dominate headlines across both Main Street and Wall Street with many companies changing their entire business structure to the growing industry.

At least four companies Monday announced a business update or partnership related to blockchain.
Pareteum Corp (NYSE: TEUM) moved higher after announcing the expansion of a technology partnership with AirFox, a financial services company that provides access to capital for the unbanked and under banked in emerging markets. The partnership will provide hundreds of companies in Pareteum's cloud computing platform with access to Airfox's AirToken mobile payments and microloan technology.

China Information Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNIT) gained nearly 6 percent after the company announced it was initiating in depth-research on the application of blockchain technology into the Taoping ecosystem to find out a more efficient and secure solution for payment transfer.

Longfin Corp (NASDAQ: LFIN) announced that its Ziddu Smart Contracts are commercially available on the ethereum blockchain. Ziddu.com is an ethereum blockchain empowered smart contract provider, and is the only marketplace for decentralized smart contracts. Longfin shares were up 8 percent.

Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ: RIOT) shares were down nearly 2 percent. There was some notable option activity in the February 2 $17 put options, implying the trader is betting on about 19.5 percent downside by the end of next week.

ABC BEAR said:

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The Russians already have server farm dedicated to the creation of Bitcoin and plan to add another, even though are discovering the power necessary to run their operation costs more than the product they are producing. That's Russia, LOL.

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LOL. What I'm learning since my grandson tried to convince me to give him $100 for Christmas in 2015 so he could buy bitcoin has been amazing. As part of the "loan" we would split the profit.

Did anyone see Jane Well's CNBC report on the power needs to run bitcoin servers? I was surprised to see the operation under the dam on the Columbia River in Oregon. Each server cost $10k. She said the Cascades energy is the cheapest in the world and that's the start of a collection of servers.

The above is a very decent high level view of "blockchain". It does, though, leave out its weaknesses.

The major drawback to usability is that it's Gawd-Awful slow. When I use my Visa card at a merchant, the computer checks Visa's clearinghouses to ensure that the card is good, and that at least the credit amount is respectable. It takes a couple of seconds to verify that information provided the merchant's machines are "always on".

Because blockchain carries an indelible record of every transaction that's ever been done, it can take several DAYS to verify that same information. If I were to pay in bitcoin, that same merchant would need to put out a request and have it essentially traverse every single entry in the bitcoin ledger to ensure the transaction was valid.

Which brings us to our other major drawback. Security. Without reviewing the mathematics of public key cryptography, just know that it requires two really big numbers that are related in a special way. So special that I can freely tell everyone what one of those numbers is. By referencing that number, you can know that it's me. I keep my other number super secret. If I want to show everyone that it's really me, I use my super secret number as a key. By comparing that mishmash with the publicly available one, you'll know it's really me. That seems to form the basis for a pretty good banking system.

Except, there's no way to fix mistakes (or criminal acts). If I lose my super secret number, then anything I put on the blockchain is GONE FOREVER. If I locked away bitcoin, those bitcoin disappear. They can NEVER be used by ANYONE again. The same thing happens if my super secret number is stolen. The thieves can permanently use my number to transfer whatever I had, and I can NEVER GET IT BACK.

Finally, anonymity. Because bitcoin requires access to the blockchain, and only computers running verified transactional software can access the blockchain, it's really not that difficult to snoop the network near those computers. By doing so, I can find out who accessed that computer near the time that the blockchain entry was posted that completed any type of financial transaction. Just like most money laundering schemes, I'll be able to immediately trace any attempt to convert bitcoin into real funds.

Bitcoin was developed mostly as an intellectual exercise for CS nerds. While it shows promise, it was (is) an immature technology. There are others (ethereum, monero) that are attempting to address the shortcomings. They're not ready for prime time yet, either.

Blockchain has its uses, but right now is more of a buzzword. Most things calling themselves "blockchain" aren't, and really have no need to be. No one wants to wait 2 days to find out who last changed the Excel file - especially when Microsoft includes a perfectly good "file history" command right up front. Granted, it isn't un-crackable, but usually it isn't that concerning of an issue.

The ad at the bottom of this page says "Buy Bitcoin With Your IRA".

Ummmm...........NO!

I'm buying into a crypto currency here shortly but I am trying to find someone that has successfully bought and sold.

I can afford the risk because if I lose every dime, it has zero impact.

Anyone out there bought another currency other than BC and had success?

I'm more excited about CRISPR

Gust Avrakotos said:

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I'm buying into a crypto currency here shortly but I am trying to find someone that has successfully bought and sold.

I can afford the risk because if I lose every dime, it has zero impact.

Anyone out there bought another currency other than BC and had success?

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Dude, don't do it! You have missed the window. You might as well buy yourself a pair of emus.

Jim,

I really don't believe that the window is closed. I believe for the person with the right appetite for risk, there is money to be had.

The problem is, I just don't know anyone who has gotten in....and then sold successfully.

Need to understand more about how that works.

Gust

Gust Avrakotos said:

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Jim,

I really don't believe that the window is closed. I believe for the person with the right appetite for risk, there is money to be had.

The problem is, I just don't know anyone who has gotten in....and then sold successfully.

Need to understand more about how that works.

Gust

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The hype is definitely still there which could indeed make it run up a pretty good bit. Still some money to be made, I think, if you know when to cash out. I just don't see this as a long-term, viable investment. Of course I thought the same thing about Amazon.com when they were losing money and their stock was $9 per share.

At my age (54) with retirement within my grasp, I am not touching crypto-currency with a ten foot pole!

1. Find a broker
2. Give them some real American money
3. Have them tell you what you bought
4. Watch as they call a press conference and explain how some 13 year old kids in some previously unnamed Eastern European country now have your coins.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-28/massive-cryptocurrency-heist-puts-spotlight-on-exchange-security

In actuality, this process relieves you of the need to find a way to cash out. In that way, I guess, the system works.

Remember, the major draw of this "currency" is anonymity. It belongs to whomever can locate the entry in the blockchain ledger.

Ummm, I don't use brokers. They're worthless.

True.

What you'll need, in that instance, is a server farm. One with a couple million racks ought to do. Load them with video cards. Turns out GPU's are more able to do the fiendish math responsible for bitcoin mining better than CPU's.

Crank them up and wait. Eventually, their calculations will discover heretofore unknown bitcoin. They're all yours! Just configure your software correctly so you can store them in your digital wallet and place them into the blockchain.

Of course, you'll want to do the math. There's every reason to believe you'll spend more in the electricity needed to power the server farm than the bitcoin are actually worth. Once again, though, the odds are that kids with last names with no vowels will steal them from you before you realize you've found them, so it's not likely to be an actual problem.

You're obsessed with me