The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread

[89th]

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

I was planning on adding some of my weekly spending cash every week, just trying to figure out whether I want to keep putting it into SOL or diversify…

I would suggest throwing cash on the brand new coins and trying to catch one that does a massive spike. Otherwise SOL and ETH and most of the top-10 coins will give you modest % gains. But if you're looking for the rare 100x or even 10,000x return...

[Klaus]

@89th Why should the small values do well in the long term? I can see that possibility when they are technologically superior to ETH etc., but if it's just yet another coin, then the bigger ones will prevail.

[89th]

@klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

@89th Why should the small values do well in the long term? I can see that possibility when they are technologically superior to ETH etc., but if it's just yet another coin, then the bigger ones will prevail.

Oh just from a pure meme spike perspective. Folks want to replicate the DOGE scenario, so the question is which is the next smaller coin to launch into space?

[Doctor Phibes]

There's far too much FUD about the HODL. You need to consider your SATS, Pump and Dump the WHALE, and generally Moon your Bagholders until they can't take any more.

Clear?

[Klaus]

@doctor-phibes said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

There's far too much FUD about the HODL. You need to consider your SATS, Pump and Dump the WHALE, and generally Moon your Bagholders until they can't take any more.

Clear?

You are a clear case of FOMA.

[LuFins Dad]

I just put all my money on LGB

[xenon]

I can understand the appeal of crypto in general - I don’t get the value of Bitcoin, specifically.

Without being used for real transactions on any sort of scale, it already uses as much electricity as Argentina.

There’s no path to make it (Bitcoin) substantially more efficient.

I just don’t get it at all. I’m probably missing something.

[JoeB]

@klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

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.

I started mining almost 2 weeks ago using my AMD Radeon 5800 video card. I've gotten over $50 so far and paid less than $15 for electricity. It's winter now so dumping a couple hundred watts into the house helps keep it warm, so even the cost of power isn't a waste. I use nicehash.com to sell the hash power.

[Klaus]

@xenon said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

I can understand the appeal of crypto in general - I don’t get the value of Bitcoin, specifically.

Without being used for real transactions on any sort of scale, it already uses as much electricity as Argentina.

There’s no path to make it (Bitcoin) substantially more efficient.

I just don’t get it at all. I’m probably missing something.

There is a technical solution to the energy problem called "proof of stake". Some crypto coins use it already. The second largest one, Ethereum, plans to introduce it next year (although I understand that this date was delayed a few times already). I guess once that happens, Bitcoin is under so much pressure that the network will also agree to change to PoS.

You can trade all kinds of things, including US dollar (via so-called "stable coins") and probably soon stocks and securities.

The one thing I don't get at all is "crypto art" NFTs. This looks like a scam to me.

[Klaus]

@joeb said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

. I've gotten over $50 so far and paid less than $15 for electricity

Interesting. That's different from what I've read.

[xenon]

@klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

@xenon said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

I can understand the appeal of crypto in general - I don’t get the value of Bitcoin, specifically.

Without being used for real transactions on any sort of scale, it already uses as much electricity as Argentina.

There’s no path to make it (Bitcoin) substantially more efficient.

I just don’t get it at all. I’m probably missing something.

There is a technical solution to the energy problem called "proof of stake". Some crypto coins use it already. The second largest one, Ethereum, plans to introduce it next year (although I understand that this date was delayed a few times already). I guess once that happens, Bitcoin is under so much pressure that the network will also agree to change to PoS.

You can trade all kinds of things, including US dollar (via so-called "stable coins") and probably soon stocks and securities.

The one thing I don't get at all is "crypto art" NFTs. This looks like a scam to me.

Proof of stake seems like a ground up change to the Bitcoin algorithm. Some currencies already implemented it.

I don’t see how Bitcoin, very specifically, somehow cedes authority to a centralized proof of stake type architecture.

I don’t see the long term value of Bitcoin - outside of being a proof of concept for crypto or becoming a commodity off of which other derivative assets are built.

[taiwan_girl]

@xenon said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

I can understand the appeal of crypto in general

I dont see the appeal because I see it only being able to be used in very very very few areas.

What is the appeal to you?

[xenon]

@taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

@xenon said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

I can understand the appeal of crypto in general

I dont see the appeal because I see it only being able to be used in very very very few areas.

What is the appeal to you?

Next to none for me. I can see how some other people may value it:
-People in underbanked countries with volatile currencies, inflation or capital controls
-Remittances

It requires a currency to be stable and low transaction cost to really fit the bill (which a crypto could - be none are really there).

My issue is with Bitcoin, specifically. It’s built on obsolete tech right now. The way the power dynamics work, the 6 entities that control 95% of transactions right now would have to accede to a new technical model (e.g. proof of stake). Doesn’t seem like there’s any chance of that happening.

A couple of years ago it was the “lightning network” that was supposed to save Bitcoin.

[Larry]

This bitcoin shit sounds like some sort of video game.

[LuFins Dad]

@taiwan_girl said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

@xenon said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

I can understand the appeal of crypto in general

I dont see the appeal because I see it only being able to be used in very very very few areas.

What is the appeal to you?

1. MUCH better security on web transactions. I mean by a factor of 10. I am pretty sure that web transactions aren’t going anywhere. The chances of fraud are basically nil. These days we can’t even trust cashiers checks.

2. There are tiny little cash transactions in the movement of data across the web. A byte of information costs .000000000000000000018 cents to move. Crypto is a much better tool for monitoring and paying these micro transactions that ultimately add up to trillions of dollars.

3. Billions of dollars every day are being spent every day on those little video game purchases. Crypto is by far the best tool for handling those transactions.

[LuFins Dad]

I doubled up on Solana again. Still using my “poker money”… I don’t know that I will ever put serious money into crypto but Solana seems like a pretty safe bet over the next 24-36 months and I’m willing to forgo getting takeout for lunch for the time being to see where it goes…

[Klaus]

I think I'll also diversify and buy a little Solana and Cardano, and maybe some Polkadot. Each of them has something that none of the others have.

[Doctor Phibes]

I stopped off at the gas station and bought a scratch and sniff lottery card earlier today.

It smelled of lost dreams.

[LuFins Dad]

@klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:

I think I'll also diversify and buy a little Solana and Cardano, and maybe some Polkadot. Each of them has something that none of the others have.

Cardano is next week's lunch money. I've looked at Polkadot as well.

[LuFins Dad]

Bad day for Crypto, lol. I may need to switch my purchasing from Monday to Tuesday…