Have You Invested In Bitcoin Yet?

6 years ago

January 17, 2018 at 11:45 am

Investing in bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, has taken off rapidly over the last year. But one of the earliest groups to get on board the technology was gamers, partially because they had all the tech and know-how to mine bitcoin in the first place.

So: have you invested in bitcoin yet?

I haven’t jumped on board, but Mark did. He’s written about some of the lessons he’s learned so far, and some of the fears and hurdles he talked about are some of the exact things that have stopped me from investing.

Also, my living situation is vastly different. So there’s that, but the inherent volatility in bitcoin has played a part too. I’m also not keen on having any run-ins with the ATO, which has some vague language around the purchase of bitcoin (and whether it’s intended for personal use or investment).

But what about yourselves? Have you jumped on board yet?

Comments

27 responses to “Have You Invested In Bitcoin Yet?”

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shadowlee

January 17, 2018 at 12:05 pm

Noooooooope. I figure it’s probably not much different from playing the pokies, and I have no intention of wasting my money.

Reply
1. whitepointer
  
  January 17, 2018 at 12:07 pm
  
  To be fair that’s the stock market in general. You’re always taking a gamble when purchasing stocks.
  
  Reply
  1. shadowlee
    
    January 17, 2018 at 12:10 pm
    
    That is true, but cryptocurrencies are significantly more volatile than the stock market in general.
    
    Reply
  2. zambayoshi
    
    January 17, 2018 at 12:17 pm
    
    Yeah, but at least you can buy shares in companies that have a track record of producing and selling products, making money and paying dividends.
    
    Bitcoin is like a fiat currency but instead of a (more or less) publicly accountable government backing it up, you’ve only got the premise that it can’t be easily hacked or manipulated…
    
    Reply
  3. darren
    
    January 17, 2018 at 2:08 pm
    
    Only if you sell them immediately which is stupid.
    
    Reply
  4. The But Bandit
    
    January 17, 2018 at 2:18 pm
    
    Not really. Equities can be valued using time-tested models. If you’ve done your research and you’ve determined your risk then it’s not gambling, it’s investing.
    
    Bitcoin on the other hand? Pure speculation.
    
    Reply
badger

January 17, 2018 at 12:05 pm

I think Bitcoin is the sort of thing that you should definitely consider acquiring through mining etc., but I wouldn’t necessarily be converting my real-world money just yet. Not unless I was OK with cashing in as the value fluctuates and accepting that sometimes I could have held it longer and made more.

I think there are too many currencies out there at the moment, and no real certainty over which one will become the standard. Like any boom there will be some massive winners and some massive losers. So get involved, but like all investing (and gambling) don’t put more on the line than you’re OK with losing.

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1. zambayoshi
  
  January 17, 2018 at 12:19 pm
  
  When you hear stoned teenagers discussing how to get into bitcoin, you know it has jumped the shark. The smart people already got out, having made squillions. For those getting in now, it will be a rollercoaster.
  
  Reply
zambayoshi

January 17, 2018 at 12:12 pm

LOL NO.

It’s gambling, pure and simple. There’s no inherent value and no physical product.

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1. stargrinder
  
  January 17, 2018 at 1:04 pm
  
  It is being used as a speculative investment vehicle. The volatility (as this layman sees it) comes from the fact that, although it DOES have a purpose and a use, it is not being used for that in anywhere near the same capacity as it is being used for speculation.
  
  The rises are largely coming from people jumping on the bandwagon (to speculate). The dips are coming from mass exoduses of speculators from the vehicle.
  
  To be overly simplistic, you can think of it (a bit) like houses. If there are more investment properties than homes, then the market will be driven more by investors rather than by home buyers.
  
  Reply
  1. zambayoshi
    
    January 17, 2018 at 2:34 pm
    
    I just see a scenario where bitcoin can no longer be traded or used as a currency. What if it comes out that it has been or can be hacked? It would die overnight. No-one would want to be caught holding the baby.
    
    Reply
    1. Spin
      
      January 17, 2018 at 6:24 pm
      
      Actually, blockchain is easily hackable… all you need is control of over 50% of the PCs in the chain. Fun fact: Over 50% of bitcoin mining takes place in China. The Chinese govt could compromise bitcoin tomorrow if it so chose.
      
      You make a good point about bitcoin being speculative and having to inherent value. The value only goes up while there are more suckers (sorry, investors) throwing their money in… kind of like (exactly like) a Ponzi scheme. Once crypto becomes regulated or banned (an inevitable outcome and already happening in various jurisdictions) we will see speculators rushing to recover their money… but this causes its’ own problems: Anti-Money Laundering legislation in Australia has already led to a number of crypto traders having their bank accounts shut down. Put simply, if you try to trade in over a certain amount in one transaction ($5k?), the bank is forced to report you and (as crypto’s are untraceable) will almost certainly close your account(s).
      
      Reply
vanit

January 17, 2018 at 12:20 pm

Sigh, still crying over my lost wallet with 15 bitcoins in it. Mined them myself in the early days to buy a videogame (was worth ~$1/each at the time). I got bored of having it occupy my CPU so I didn’t even get to the 30 I needed. Left my wallet to rot and eventually I lost it (probably didn’t think to transfer it when I upgraded an HDD).

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transientmind

January 17, 2018 at 12:20 pm

I have relegated the word Bitcoin to the same lexical shitbucket as: twitch, streaming, liver cleanse/juice cleanse, MOBA, paleo diet, crossfit, yoloswag, Chapelle Corby, tinder, MRA/SJW, PUBG.

By which I mean I’ve either set up filters to block anything that mentions it, or I’m on the verge of doing so.

Reply
1. stargrinder
  
  January 17, 2018 at 1:07 pm
  
  Is it bad that I always read SJW as Sacagawea?
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacagawea
  
  Reply
2. doktor_molotov
  
  January 17, 2018 at 3:04 pm
  
  My man!
  
  Reply
gnawnborg

January 17, 2018 at 12:21 pm

I first got a little in 2015 to pay for an NFL streaming service that straddles a grey area, legally speaking. Forgot about the tiny amount left in my wallet till the following year when I renewed and the price had double to around $750 USD. That got me interested in learning about it more and started to throw some of my own cash at it later in 2016.
I still hold, along with half a dozen other alt-coins.

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cctrbo

January 17, 2018 at 12:37 pm

Bought 2 when they were $900 AUD each in Nov 2016. Sold the majority of it when they were around $23k AUD in Dec last year and now hold a small amount of BTC & several alt coins. Can’t complain.

Reply
1. jiggle_counter
  
  January 17, 2018 at 12:49 pm
  
  I’m kicking myself for not buying bitcoins when they were worth jack-squat, seeing as of now they’re worth *checks boards* … $14,949.64 AUD
  
  Reply
  1. scuz
    
    January 17, 2018 at 2:10 pm
    
    Man you could do a lot with the price currently at $15,530.21 – just think of it! You buy coins now worth $13,987.45 and by holding onto them their value could increase from $14,387.45 to who knows what!
    
    Reply
  2. zambayoshi
    
    January 17, 2018 at 2:37 pm
    
    LOL, you mean $13642.23 AUD
    
    Reply
    1. doktor_molotov
      
      January 17, 2018 at 3:28 pm
      
      A joke I saw on Imgur:
      
      A boy asked his bitcoin-investing dad for 1 bitcoin for his birthday.
      
      Dad: What? $15,554??? $14,354 is a lot of money! What do you need $16,782 for anyway?
      
      Reply
kelsier

January 17, 2018 at 3:17 pm

The golden rule for any cryptocurrency or buying stocks is that only use money that you can afford to lose. Alot of people throw money into it that’s beyond their own means ( setting up loans) all for it to fail.

The biggest suggestion from alot of people is to find cryptocurrency that’s worth minimal, that way it’s not going to burn a hole in your wallet.

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feral

January 17, 2018 at 6:38 pm

I hold a few different cryptos, no BTC though. Bought early enough to be in the green. I know people who are down though.

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ody

January 17, 2018 at 6:50 pm

Husband bought a few when they were still $300, says he’s holding forever lol.

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Stache

January 17, 2018 at 10:30 pm

I bought in on Ripple (xrp) mid to late last year when it was just under 30c, I’ve seen it blow upwards of $4 and held, to now see it drop back to $1.40. I’m still substantially up, and don’t plan on selling any time soon. Invest what you’re happy to lose and see how it goes.

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jamesh

January 18, 2018 at 3:04 pm

Bitcoin always looked a bit suss to me, being inherently deflationary. While new Bitcoin are currently being created by the mining process, that is eventually going to stop. At that point, if the market of people wanting to buy things with Bitcoins doubles, then on average each person will have half as many coins. So the price of goods will need to come down to account for that.

And if prices are always falling, then it is best not to spend because you’ll be able to purchase more goods for the same price tomorrow. Now you’ve caused problems for the sellers, and the economy collapses.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure a lot of people will make money out of Bitcoin in the short term, but it doesn’t look like it will ever replace existing currencies in its current form.

Reply

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Have You Invested In Bitcoin Yet?

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27 responses to “Have You Invested In Bitcoin Yet?”

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