Crypto currency mining

[Regulus]

Must be great for all of you that bitcoin and other crypto currencies are making new record highs

I just want to add that prices will probably become a lot more volatile because of the hedge funds that entered the market. Hedge funds never hold investment positions for very long. So this is probably a new market dynamic.
Like Gregory Mannarino says, "It's never wrong to take profit" Even if he says it will go multiples higher. Nothing goes up in a straight line.

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by Regulus

Nothing goes up in a straight line.

Indeed. There will be 'corrections'; there always is, but that only really matters if you're 'shorting'. If you're 'long' Bitcoin, just "hodl" on and enjoy the ride. I've been a long investor since the days when a whole Bitcoin cost just a few hundred Dollars.

I'm hopeful of a big price correction, because I want to buy more, but unfortunately I suspect we might revisit $17K at best. A lot has changed since the near-$20K rally 3 years ago. Back then the bull-run was driven almost entirely by speculation and FOMO -- it simply wasn't sustainable. This time around there are a lot of factors driving the price and a lot more investors, not just hedge fund investors but banks and other institutional investors, along with millions more private investors.

The price has been due an upward breakout for some time, with milestone prices being the main psychological barrier holding it back. Given Bitcoin's scarcity, the cost to mine and the increase in demand, I think $20K is cheap. And when you factor in the pandemic, the state of the world economy and the huge amounts of money the banks have been printing lately, I think we can expect a 10 or 20-fold increase in BTC's price in the not-too-distant future.

With negative interest rates looming and the inevitable crash of fiat currencies brought on by hyperinflation, this is only the beginning. I mean, sure there's gold (and other shiny metals), but you can't (easily) carry gold around with you, or use it to make payments globally and instantly. The internet needs Bitcoin and the internet always wins. It has disrupted, devoured and, in some cases, devastated, every industry it has touched (music, movies, telecoms, retail, etc). Now it's coming after the banks, with a product they simply can't compete with.

Edited to add:
Guggenheim Partners CIO Says Bitcoin May Go To $400,000
https://www.investopedia.com/guggenh...400000-5092899

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by moltuae

I mean, sure there's gold (and other shiny metals), but you can't (easily) carry gold around with you, or use it to make payments globally and instantly.

You are spot on with this. Because there is a very high risk of the gold being confiscated at the border when one is travelling. As with "large" amounts of cash.

(pun intended)

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by Regulus

You are spot on with this. Because there is a very high risk of the gold being confiscated at the border when one is travelling. As with "large" amounts of cash.

(pun intended)

Spot. Good one!

That (border-crossing) is one of the interesting things about cryptocurrencies. There's a common misconception that they are something you can actually hold and carry around with you (inc. through borders), especially if you use a mobile 'wallet'. Which is understandable, given that we use such terms as 'wallets' and 'holding'.

Of course you never actually 'hold' cryptocurrencies at all, you merely hold the keys that enable you to claim and move the funds on the blockchain database, which is a distributed ledger controlled by nobody and held by everybody. So, even if you were to cross a border 'carrying' your Bitcoin in mobile wallet, technically you wouldn't be carrying the funds across the border at all. You'd actually just be carrying the keys to the funds, which is akin to carrying the login details to your bank account. The funds are already across the border and accessible from anywhere that has an internet connection.

[tonupkid]

Its good if you can detach from previous value of whatever your investing in and make decisions based on where you think it will be going. This is easier said than done.

I attempted buying quite a few Bitcoin several years ago. It was not a lot of money but Bitcoin were only about £300 each. My transaction didn't go through for some reason and by the time I came back to sort it out the price had increased significantly to about $400, so I backed off. LOL can you imagine turning down Bitcoins for $400 each, and that's my point. Don't worry to much about what's gone, concentrate instead on where you think its going.

Last thing, and I promise to shut up. Be cautious. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency differs from other investments in that it has a history of the trading platforms going up in smoke along with whatever your were holding.

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Its good if you can detach from previous value of whatever your investing in and make decisions based on where you think it will be going. This is easier said than done.

I attempted buying quite a few Bitcoin several years ago. It was not a lot of money but Bitcoin were only about £300 each. My transaction didn't go through for some reason and by the time I came back to sort it out the price had increased significantly to about $400, so I backed off. LOL can you imagine turning down Bitcoins for $400 each, and that's my point. Don't worry to much about what's gone, concentrate instead on where you think its going.

That's a very good point. And I think that's one of the main barriers for investing, and not just for Bitcoin. If you plan to invest long-term I think, to some extent, you just need to forget the price and jump in. And if the price plummets just after you buy (as it seems to do every time I buy some more BTC!) you just have to hold and wait. I suspect anyone who bought at the top in 2017 and subsequently panicked, selling at a loss as the price plummeted, are really kicking themselves now.

I paid around £25 for the first whole BTC I bought. I bought it to gain access to a file-sharing site, which I think cost something like £15. At the time I knew little about Bitcoin and figured it was just some kind of token for gamers or whatever, so even £25 seemed like a lot to pay for 'funny money'. Luckily I kept my £10-ish change (which is now worth around £7000), but it wasn't until a year or two later, when 1 BTC was worth a couple of hundred pounds that it piqued my interest. That's when I began studying what it was and how it worked and started mining and investing more. Every single time I've bought more Bitcoin over the years though, even in the last few months, I've held back then wished I'd bought more later. With hindsight it's frustrating but it is better to be cautious.

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Last thing, and I promise to shut up. Be cautious. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency differs from other investments in that it has a history of the trading platforms going up in smoke along with whatever your were holding.

The old saying "never invest more than you can afford to lose" definitely still applies. However, while investing your life's savings in Bitcoin would be crazy, given Bitcoin's potential and the state of the economy, I think it's even crazier to invest nothing at all. I believe that everyone should add at least a small amount of Bitcoin to their investment portfolio.

[sarg]

Originally Posted by moltuae

I believe that everyone should add at least a small amount of Bitcoin to their investment portfolio.

How?

I doubt I'm the only one here who wouldn't even know how or where to start