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The New Coffee Room

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  3. The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread

The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread

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  • AxtremusA Axtremus

    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/teen-creates-memecoin-dumps-it-and-earns-50000/

    Teen creates memecoin, dumps it, earns $50,000

    This being a zero-sum game, the teen "earns" $50,000 means other people "lose" $50,000 elsewhere.

    After all these years, it seems cryptocurrencies still have only one application: speculation.

    MikM Away
    MikM Away
    Mik
    wrote on last edited by
    #428

    @Axtremus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/teen-creates-memecoin-dumps-it-and-earns-50000/

    Teen creates memecoin, dumps it, earns $50,000

    This being a zero-sum game, the teen "earns" $50,000 means other people "lose" $50,000 elsewhere.

    After all these years, it seems cryptocurrencies still have only one application: speculation.

    That is certainly how it seems to me.

    “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

    1 Reply Last reply
    • jon-nycJ Online
      jon-nycJ Online
      jon-nyc
      wrote on last edited by
      #429

      What ultimately gives fiat currencies value is that governments require you to use them to pay taxes. No such equivalent for crypto.

      "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
      -Cormac McCarthy

      HoraceH 1 Reply Last reply
      • AxtremusA Axtremus

        https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/teen-creates-memecoin-dumps-it-and-earns-50000/

        Teen creates memecoin, dumps it, earns $50,000

        This being a zero-sum game, the teen "earns" $50,000 means other people "lose" $50,000 elsewhere.

        After all these years, it seems cryptocurrencies still have only one application: speculation.

        jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nyc
        wrote on last edited by
        #430

        @Axtremus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

        https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/teen-creates-memecoin-dumps-it-and-earns-50000/

        Teen creates memecoin, dumps it, earns $50,000

        This being a zero-sum game, the teen "earns" $50,000 means other people "lose" $50,000 elsewhere.

        After all these years, it seems cryptocurrencies still have only one application: speculation.

        You forgot money laundering.

        "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
        -Cormac McCarthy

        1 Reply Last reply
        • LuFins DadL Offline
          LuFins DadL Offline
          LuFins Dad
          wrote on last edited by
          #431

          It is speculating, but it’s not blind speculation. Emerging blockchain technologies do look to have very promising applications in secure data transfer. Healthcare systems are looking at using it for faster and more secure methods of transferring patient data, banks and credit card processors are investing into it for better and more secure financial transactions. There are applications that could make blockchains one of the most critical technologies developed in first half of the century, which could have significant financial implications. Tossing a few bucks into the pot doesn’t necessarily hurt. Especially with a pro-crypto admin coming in.

          The Brad

          HoraceH 1 Reply Last reply
          • markM Offline
            markM Offline
            mark
            wrote on last edited by mark
            #432

            My "investment" or "wager" in Shiba Inu is currently almost twice what I have invested. I am waiting this cycle out, to see if it gets close to ATH. If it does I will cash out with 2 - 3 x the "lunch money investment" I made and still have 40 million of them
            for which I will have spent zero "real coins"

            I have already cashed in 50% of my original wager in fiat dollars issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

            1 Reply Last reply
            • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad

              It is speculating, but it’s not blind speculation. Emerging blockchain technologies do look to have very promising applications in secure data transfer. Healthcare systems are looking at using it for faster and more secure methods of transferring patient data, banks and credit card processors are investing into it for better and more secure financial transactions. There are applications that could make blockchains one of the most critical technologies developed in first half of the century, which could have significant financial implications. Tossing a few bucks into the pot doesn’t necessarily hurt. Especially with a pro-crypto admin coming in.

              HoraceH Offline
              HoraceH Offline
              Horace
              wrote on last edited by
              #433

              @LuFins-Dad said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

              It is speculating, but it’s not blind speculation. Emerging blockchain technologies do look to have very promising applications in secure data transfer. Healthcare systems are looking at using it for faster and more secure methods of transferring patient data, banks and credit card processors are investing into it for better and more secure financial transactions. There are applications that could make blockchains one of the most critical technologies developed in first half of the century, which could have significant financial implications. Tossing a few bucks into the pot doesn’t necessarily hurt. Especially with a pro-crypto admin coming in.

              I don’t see the connection between the general value of an algorithm and the value of an application of that algorithm into a gambling game. The gambling game might still be useless.

              Education is extremely important.

              1 Reply Last reply
              • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

                What ultimately gives fiat currencies value is that governments require you to use them to pay taxes. No such equivalent for crypto.

                HoraceH Offline
                HoraceH Offline
                Horace
                wrote on last edited by
                #434

                @jon-nyc said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                What ultimately gives fiat currencies value is that governments require you to use them to pay taxes. No such equivalent for crypto.

                Slightly imprecise framing IMO. I would say that fiat currencies have value because they are defined as valuable by entities with authority to impose violence on you, if you do not provide them that value upon request.

                Education is extremely important.

                1 Reply Last reply
                • AxtremusA Offline
                  AxtremusA Offline
                  Axtremus
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #435

                  https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/01/30/errol-musk-memecoin-elon-tesla-donald-trump-crypto/

                  Elon Musk’s father Errol looks to monetize his famous name with ‘Musk It’ memecoin: ‘I’m the head of the family’

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • AxtremusA Offline
                    AxtremusA Offline
                    Axtremus
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #436

                    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/business/rainbowex-crypto-ponzi-scheme.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7k4.1E46.Om7LSXWGaMmo

                    A close look into a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that took a town in Argentina, one of hundreds such schemes around the world.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • taiwan_girlT Offline
                      taiwan_girlT Offline
                      taiwan_girl
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #437

                      https://www.pcworld.com/article/2767705/bitcoin-mining-is-no-longer-profitable.html

                      ... the basic equation is that it now costs more in electricity to “mine” a single Bitcoin than that Bitcoin is currently worth—by a significant margin. Due to the nature of the Bitcoin protocol, which started the better part of two decades ago, it was inevitable that we’d reach this point eventually. The pool of minable Bitcoins shrinks as more are mined, and as that happens, the cryptographic work needed to “find” new ones becomes increasingly harder.

                      Coinshares, via reporting from Overlclockers.ru and PCGamer, reports that we’re now past that point—well past it, in fact. The math says that mining a new Bitcoin in 2025 costs approximately $137,000 USD in electricity, even if you have the (very expensive) computer power to do it, while that Bitcoin is worth about $95,000 on the open market. Even at its all-time high of over $100,000 earlier this year, and assuming ideal conditions with access to cheap power and hardware, it’s a losing game.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • KlausK Offline
                        KlausK Offline
                        Klaus
                        wrote on last edited by Klaus
                        #438

                        That doesn't make sense to me. The difficulty of mining a Bitcoin is adjusted every two weeks to get a block time around every 10 mins. That should make that situation very unlikely and self-correct quickly. Also, I believe the miners get something extra from the transaction costs.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • jon-nycJ Online
                          jon-nycJ Online
                          jon-nyc
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #439

                          Yes there are transaction fees. They were always in the protocol but were never collected in the early days because mining was sufficiently profitable. They became meaningful around 10 years ago.

                          "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                          -Cormac McCarthy

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • KlausK Offline
                            KlausK Offline
                            Klaus
                            wrote on last edited by Klaus
                            #440

                            Yes, from what I understand, the transaction costs are going to become more and more important until they become the single source of income for miners (namely when the maximum number of bitcoins has been reached).

                            In any case, I believe the protocol is self-adjusting in the sense that the situation above - mining more expensive than reward - self-corrects quickly.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • taiwan_girlT Offline
                              taiwan_girlT Offline
                              taiwan_girl
                              wrote last edited by
                              #441

                              https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/06/22/doomsday-scenario-bitcoin-suddenly-drops-under-100000-as-crypto-price-crash-fears-hit-ethereum-and-xrp/

                              Bitcoin has plummeted sharply amid fears U.S involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict could escalate into a wider regional war (adding to volatility expected from an imminent Federal Reserve earthquake).

                              The bitcoin price, after shrugging off the initial exchange of fire between Israel and Iran, has crashed under $100,000 per bitcoin despite U.S. president Donald Trump confirming a "massive" game-changer this week. Ethereum, XRP and other major cryptocurrencies have also plummeted, wiping $250 billion from the combined market in just 24 hours.

                              My question - who cares? Unless you have a high amount invested in bitcoin, does it really matter? If it drops to lets say, USD $10000, will it have any effect on the world economy? For me, I dont think so.

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