Bitcoin as an investment?

[Tom '74 911]

I don't know much about the dynamics behind Bitcoin. I think I read a headline in the news recently about it taking a bit of a dive? I received a small amount as a Christmas present and was wondering about holding on to it as an investment; maybe even adding to it... Looks like it started at about $13.50/ea., rose to over $1k/ea. and is now at around $650/ea.

Anyone know about this stuff?

Merry Christmas!!!

[masraum]

It's make believe money that changes in value based on popularity and fad. I wish someone had given me some last Christmas.

I wouldn't consider it an investment. It's a speculation, but for you it's essentially free. You could cash out now, or hold it and see what happens.
Are you a gambler?

[trekkor]

I heard a story on the radio the other day about this.
New form of currency.
Likely to be banned by various governments.


KT

[masraum]

And that's why it fell from over $1200 to around $600, because China said, no Bitcoin.

[GWN7]

Governments back their money and the value of that money is compared to other countries money and that is how it's value is determined. Bitcoin is valued how? Someones dream? Are they real? Backed by a gold standard?

I have land that I have not grown anything on for a couple of years. I can claim carbon tax credits for it and sell those to a company who use the credits to offset their global footprint. What a bunch of BS.

Bitcoin smells of a pyramid scheme with people giving away "Bitcoins" to engage people to develop them further and users of this network are awarded "with transaction fees and newly minted bitcoins"

How can you create something that doesn't exist? Maybe there is a guy in Nigeria that can explain it better to me.

[Tom '74 911]

Originally Posted by masraum

Are you a gambler?

Only when it's not my money!!! Which is kind of the case here...

[trekkor]

A government will lose control over a population that doesn't use their currency.

The IRS collects taxes based on our earnings in dollars.
What happens when you don't earn money in dollars?


KT

[Tom '74 911]

Originally Posted by GWN7

Bitcoin smells of a pyramid scheme with people giving away "Bitcoins" to engage people to develop them further and users of this network are awarded "with transaction fees and newly minted bitcoins"

This pretty much sums up my initial thought.

[trekkor]

There is way more US paper money in circulation than the gold in Ft. Knox.

Didn't Germany request their holdings back in gold recently and were denied?


KT

[GWN7]

Originally Posted by trekkor

There is way more US paper money in circulation than the gold in Ft. Knox.

Didn't Germany request their holdings back in gold recently and were denied?


KT

It's been that way since 76...... " In October 1976, the government officially changed the definition of the dollar; references to gold were removed from statutes. From this point, the international monetary system was made of pure fiat money."

Maybe it was the Italians not the Germans wanting their Fiat money.

[JJ 911SC]

The time to invest was when it was around $15. Now people will loose their saving when it will go then the tube.

Unfortunately, now Bitcoin ATMs start to pop up... $100K trade in in the first week.

$100K traded through Vancouver's Bitcoin ATM in one week (with video)

Then there is a guy in the UK that throw away, by accident, a computer with Millions worth of Bitcoin on it...

Video: Hard drive containing Ł4m in bitcoins trashed - Telegraph

[mreid]

This is sounding very similar to, "Come on try it, the first one is free."

I say run away!

[aigel]

A gamble maybe, but not an investment, IMHO.

G

[masraum]

As I've read several times wrt investment bubbles, by the time you hear everyone talking about the next hot thing, it's too late.

[Ayles]

If you have the computing power you can generate your own bitcoins.

[Schumi]

The fact that some of you are so underinformed on the thing that is Bitcoin, is a bit depressing.

This place clearly isn't where you want to learn about what it is.
Go read wikipedia for an hour and come back.

[Schumi]

That, and if you're asking these questions now, then yes, you're a bit late to this game.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by masraum

As I've read several times wrt investment bubbles, by the time you hear everyone talking about the next hot thing, it's too late.

And that's about it...

[kailahopkins]

It's worth a try Tom '74 911. As long as the BTC value continue to rise, investment will be safe. No chargeback and tax for now, but you have to take note of its volatility.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by trekkor

A government will lose control over a population that doesn't use their currency.

The IRS collects taxes based on our earnings in dollars.
What happens when you don't earn money in dollars?


KT

In theory you pay tax on it. I believe if you live abroad you're allowed the first $80k of foreign-earned income exempt but maybe that's been changed now under the confiscatory tax policies of the current regime, dunno.

I've read about bitcoins quite a bit on Wikipedia and on other sites and thought one of its best and most appealing aspects is that they're very hard to trace and probably hard to enforce taxes on (because of difficulty tracing and exchange rate volatility). I haven't bought any though for a number of reasons listed here already and the fact that despite reading about them they still strike me as very confusing and hard to understand how it all really works.

My understanding is that the total number if bitcoins that will be issued is fixed, which will help their value a lot (supply restriction). Only if this is actually done though - if they print more, I guess everyone - holders and speculators alike - would be screwed but probably less so than if they held ever-devaluing dollars... Dunno.