The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread
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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.
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@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.
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@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.
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@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.
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@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?
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@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
-RemittancesIt 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.
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@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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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…
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I stopped off at the gas station and bought a scratch and sniff lottery card earlier today.
It smelled of lost dreams.
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@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.
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Bad day for Crypto, lol. I may need to switch my purchasing from Monday to Tuesday…
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I've opened an additional ccount at an US exchange, Kraken.
I wonder how safe the deposit there is. Over here, there's a kind of insurance that protects me from insolvency risk of the exchange or bank.
Any particular keywords I need to look out for in their terms of service to gauge how safe my money is?
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Proud supporter of Plan 2525. Everything you think, do and say will be in the pill you took today.
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@doctor-phibes said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:
@klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:
Kraken
Oh no.
It's no good?
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Might I interest @Jolly @Improviso and @Larry in the Let’s Go Brandon currency?
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@klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:
@doctor-phibes said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:
@klaus said in The Bitcoin/Crypto Thread:
Kraken
Oh no.
It's no good?
Dude, you've released the Kraken!
