Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse

The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread

The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion
440 Posts 22 Posters 27.8k Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad

    I have thought about going in with Luke to set up some mining from his dorm… Free electricity…

    KlausK Offline
    KlausK Offline
    Klaus
    wrote on last edited by Klaus
    #7

    @lufins-dad said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

    I have thought about going in with Luke to set up some mining from his dorm… Free electricity…

    Forget about it. These days, you need special very sophisticated hardware ("Bitcoin ASIC", something like this) for mining. Even a $5K GPU doesn't cut it anymore these days. And even then you need to participate in "mining pools" to ever mine anything.

    JoeBJ 1 Reply Last reply
    • KlausK Offline
      KlausK Offline
      Klaus
      wrote on last edited by
      #8

      One thing I don't quite understand:

      There are numerous companies that offer cloud mining in places where energy is cheap, such as this one in Norway. If it is profitable to mine bitcoin in that location, why the hell would a company rent the equipment to someone else instead of making the profit itself?

      1 Reply Last reply
      • taiwan_girlT Offline
        taiwan_girlT Offline
        taiwan_girl
        wrote on last edited by
        #9

        I just dont understand the value of bitcoin and other crypto money.

        If that was all that I had, I think it would be pretty difficult to survive on a day to day basis.

        fill the car with petrol? hmmmm
        go to a restaurant or grocery to eat? hmmmmm
        Pay my insurance? hmmmm
        Go visit a doctor or dentist? hmmmm
        etc

        To my uneducated mind in this, it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

        Educate me!!!

        George KG 1 Reply Last reply
        • taiwan_girlT taiwan_girl

          I just dont understand the value of bitcoin and other crypto money.

          If that was all that I had, I think it would be pretty difficult to survive on a day to day basis.

          fill the car with petrol? hmmmm
          go to a restaurant or grocery to eat? hmmmmm
          Pay my insurance? hmmmm
          Go visit a doctor or dentist? hmmmm
          etc

          To my uneducated mind in this, it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

          Educate me!!!

          George KG Offline
          George KG Offline
          George K
          wrote on last edited by
          #10

          @taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

          it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

          That's my understanding as well.

          "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

          The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

          KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
          • AxtremusA Offline
            AxtremusA Offline
            Axtremus
            wrote on last edited by
            #11

            @Klaus, you sure you want to get into Bitcoin now?
            Elon Musk just got out of accepting Bitcoin as payment for Tesla vehicles.
            Maybe try Dogecoin?

            1 Reply Last reply
            • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad

              What’s the lowest you can invest into Bitcoin? I know it doesn’t take much for some of the smaller coins…

              89th8 Offline
              89th8 Offline
              89th
              wrote on last edited by
              #12

              @lufins-dad said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

              What’s the lowest you can invest into Bitcoin? I know it doesn’t take much for some of the smaller coins…

              Sign up on Coinbase.com and you get free $5 in Bitcoin.

              markM 1 Reply Last reply
              • 89th8 Offline
                89th8 Offline
                89th
                wrote on last edited by 89th
                #13

                I have some cash invested in a few coins. I wanted to get some exposure without risking too much. My main coin is Ethereum (used as a platform for many other coins, also is the core for NFTs which I see as a legit digital solution), although Bitcoin is obviously the main coin out there. I have a little stake in about 5 other coins, in case any of them take off. My real retirement plan though is the SHIB coin (aka a doge wannabe). I bought 4 million of those coins (for like $180) so if it can just get to a dollar, I’ll be rich.

                1 Reply Last reply
                • George KG George K

                  @taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                  it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

                  That's my understanding as well.

                  KlausK Offline
                  KlausK Offline
                  Klaus
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #14

                  @george-k said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                  @taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                  it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

                  That's my understanding as well.

                  But US dollar and other fiat currencies have no value behind it either.

                  taiwan_girlT 1 Reply Last reply
                  • 89th8 89th

                    @lufins-dad said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                    What’s the lowest you can invest into Bitcoin? I know it doesn’t take much for some of the smaller coins…

                    Sign up on Coinbase.com and you get free $5 in Bitcoin.

                    markM Offline
                    markM Offline
                    mark
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #15

                    @89th said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                    @lufins-dad said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                    What’s the lowest you can invest into Bitcoin? I know it doesn’t take much for some of the smaller coins…

                    Sign up on Coinbase.com and you get free $5 in Bitcoin.

                    I signed up and got my $5.00 in Bitcoin.

                    It immediately fell to $4.92. lol

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • CopperC Offline
                      CopperC Offline
                      Copper
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #16

                      I just tried to sign up.

                      I got through most of it, but they didn't like my paypal. No reason, they just said it doesn't work - try again.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • KlausK Offline
                        KlausK Offline
                        Klaus
                        wrote on last edited by Klaus
                        #17

                        I found this article, which explains what it would take a central authority to take over Bitcoin, interesting.

                        https://braiins.com/blog/how-much-would-it-cost-to-51-attack-bitcoin

                        I wondered if Jeff Bezos could take over Bitcoin if he'd use the whole Amazon cloud computing stuff exclusively for that purpose. From what I understand, it wouldn't work since normal computers, even many of them, and even millions of modern graphics cards, are too slow to compete with the special mining hardware.

                        Also, even if a central authority would control Bitcoin for a while with a 51% attack, the damage would be somewhat limited:

                        An attacker that controls more than 50% of the network's computing power can, for the time that he is in control, exclude and modify the ordering of transactions. This allows him to:

                        Reverse transactions that he sends while he's in control. This has the potential to double-spend transactions that previously had already been seen in the block chain, affecting all coins that share a history with the reversed transaction
                        Reverse confirmations for any transaction that had previously been seen in the block chain while he’s in control.
                        Prevent some or all transactions from gaining any confirmations
                        Prevent some or all other miners from mining any valid blocks
                        The attacker can't:

                        Reverse other people's transactions without their cooperation (unless their coin history has been affected by a double-spend)
                        Prevent transactions from being sent at all (they'll show as 0/unconfirmed)
                        Change the number of coins generated per block
                        Create coins out of thin air
                        Send coins that never belonged to him

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • KlausK Offline
                          KlausK Offline
                          Klaus
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #18

                          Also, you'd need to command a lot of energy, in addition to somehow getting hold of enough hardware:

                          that would put the electricity capacity needed to power all those ASICs at ~4.4 GW of power.

                          4.4 Jigawatts! Great Scott!

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • KlausK Offline
                            KlausK Offline
                            Klaus
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #19

                            After looking into it a bit more, I must say that I'm quite impressed how sophisticated the idea of Bitcoin is. The way the mining/proof of work idea interacts with the distributed blockchain trust idea is genius.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • KlausK Klaus

                              @george-k said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                              @taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                              it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

                              That's my understanding as well.

                              But US dollar and other fiat currencies have no value behind it either.

                              taiwan_girlT Offline
                              taiwan_girlT Offline
                              taiwan_girl
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #20

                              @klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                              @george-k said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                              @taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                              it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

                              That's my understanding as well.

                              But US dollar and other fiat currencies have no value behind it either.

                              I think yes and no.

                              There is pretty much zero chance that the US government will say that US dollars are not acceptable. To me, that means that it has some value and will continue to have some value. I know that next week, next year, next century, I can go into a store and buy something with US dollars.

                              But look at China, they recently pretty much said the opposite about crypto currency. Maybe I had the equivalent of $1 MM USD in crypto and live in China. All of sudden, I cannot use it. To me, that means that it has no real value.

                              KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
                              • taiwan_girlT taiwan_girl

                                @klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                                @george-k said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                                @taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                                it seems like the Holland tulip craze. People bidding up the price on something that does not have a real value behind it.

                                That's my understanding as well.

                                But US dollar and other fiat currencies have no value behind it either.

                                I think yes and no.

                                There is pretty much zero chance that the US government will say that US dollars are not acceptable. To me, that means that it has some value and will continue to have some value. I know that next week, next year, next century, I can go into a store and buy something with US dollars.

                                But look at China, they recently pretty much said the opposite about crypto currency. Maybe I had the equivalent of $1 MM USD in crypto and live in China. All of sudden, I cannot use it. To me, that means that it has no real value.

                                KlausK Offline
                                KlausK Offline
                                Klaus
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #21

                                @taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                                There is pretty much zero chance that the US government will say that US dollars are not acceptable. To me, that means that it has some value and will continue to have some value. I know that next week, next year, next century, I can go into a store and buy something with US dollars.

                                I don't disagree with what you wrote, but there's a non-zero risk of hyperinflation and a non-zero risk of countries/systems disappearing.

                                I agree that it may very well be the case that Bitcoin ceases to exist, but one can be certain that there can be no inflation - except for the completely predictable mining until 2140 or so -, that it will survive the downfall of countries, and that there is no (known) way of manipulation.

                                I've only invested an amount of money where I won't cry when it's gone. It's certainly a quite risky endeavour at this point. But I do also see a lot of opportunity in the idea. When you look at the more advanced crypto currency concepts such as "smart contracts", then it gets really interesting (Ethereum is a first step in that direction). It certainly has the potential to transform the way we do business.

                                jon-nycJ 1 Reply Last reply
                                • KlausK Offline
                                  KlausK Offline
                                  Klaus
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #22

                                  Meanwhile, my Bitcoin investment is 200 Euros down 😥

                                  But I guess I need to adopt a new point of view: I still have just as much because I still have the same amount of Bitcoin. It just happens that the (mostly irrelevant) exchange rate to the Euro fluctuates a little 😉

                                  AxtremusA 1 Reply Last reply
                                  • KlausK Klaus

                                    Meanwhile, my Bitcoin investment is 200 Euros down 😥

                                    But I guess I need to adopt a new point of view: I still have just as much because I still have the same amount of Bitcoin. It just happens that the (mostly irrelevant) exchange rate to the Euro fluctuates a little 😉

                                    AxtremusA Offline
                                    AxtremusA Offline
                                    Axtremus
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #23

                                    @klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                                    Meanwhile, my Bitcoin investment is 200 Euros down 😥

                                    Congratulations, your Euros are up X Bitcoins! 🍾

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • LuFins DadL Offline
                                      LuFins DadL Offline
                                      LuFins Dad
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #24

                                      Which exchange do you all use? And how do you decide on which Cryptos to put some money into? It seems to me that while you would want to put half or most of your investments into Bitcoin, Etherium, and the other top 4-5, would it also make sense to invest small amounts into a lot of the smaller coins and see what happens?

                                      The Brad

                                      89th8 1 Reply Last reply
                                      • KlausK Offline
                                        KlausK Offline
                                        Klaus
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #25

                                        I'm diving a little deeper into the technology.

                                        I've read and watched a lot of material, and most of it, especially all the videos and tutorials that claim to explain it in "simple words" or something, are a complete waste of time.

                                        If you are willing to invest 90 minutes of your time to understand Blockchain stuff, I can highly recommend this video. You won't see any code or any other "techy" stuff in the first 90 minutes. This lecturer is excellent.

                                        Link to video

                                        LuFins DadL 1 Reply Last reply
                                        • KlausK Klaus

                                          I'm diving a little deeper into the technology.

                                          I've read and watched a lot of material, and most of it, especially all the videos and tutorials that claim to explain it in "simple words" or something, are a complete waste of time.

                                          If you are willing to invest 90 minutes of your time to understand Blockchain stuff, I can highly recommend this video. You won't see any code or any other "techy" stuff in the first 90 minutes. This lecturer is excellent.

                                          Link to video

                                          LuFins DadL Offline
                                          LuFins DadL Offline
                                          LuFins Dad
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #26

                                          @klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

                                          I'm diving a little deeper into the technology.

                                          I've read and watched a lot of material, and most of it, especially all the videos and tutorials that claim to explain it in "simple words" or something, are a complete waste of time.

                                          If you are willing to invest 90 minutes of your time to understand Blockchain stuff, I can highly recommend this video. You won't see any code or any other "techy" stuff in the first 90 minutes. This lecturer is excellent.

                                          Link to video

                                          Thanks! I actually opened a Coinbase account today. I’m not going to invest much money, but will play with it a little.

                                          The Brad

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups