Anyone here use Bitcoin?

[Cricketismylife]

Anyone here use bitcoin?

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ

Bitcoin is the first digital currency that is completely distributed. The network is made up of users like yourself so no bank or payment processor is required between you and whoever you're trading with. This decentralization is the basis for Bitcoin's security and freedom.

First US,now europe....once the current climate is over it might be the only "currency" surviving lol.


seriously though- anyone use it and care to explain wat they think of it....

[f.b.m]

In principle it is absolutely amazing. It has massive potential but there is this reputation/problem of bitcoins being a currency by tech-nerds for tech-nerds or for drug dealers. My main skepticism comes from the fact that big brother is after it ( Link ) so the currency might take hits when bureaucrats crack down on it. Dont be fooled by the moral high horse of the politicians though: The monopoly over currencies is essential for a government (you can avoid taxes by paying your employees in bitcoins).

Edit: + I would wait until the state of bitcoin 'wallets' (to avoid theft) are a bit better. If you do have a substantial amount of money in bitcoin, its worth spending some for a good wallet.

[Crazy_K]

In principle it is absolutely amazing. It has massive potential but there is this reputation/problem of bitcoins being a currency by tech-nerds for tech-nerds or for drug dealers. My main skepticism comes from the fact that big brother is after it ( Link ) so the currency might take hits when bureaucrats crack down on it. Dont be fooled by the moral high horse of the politicians though: The monopoly over currencies is essential for a government (you can avoid taxes by paying your employees in bitcoins).

Edit: + I would wait until the state of bitcoin 'wallets' (to avoid theft) are a bit better. If you do have a substantial amount of money in bitcoin, its worth spending some for a good wallet.

+1
Good points raised.
Personally I don't know of any places I shop online which accept bit coins, so don't know how useful they would be

[Poison]

Aren't bitcoins a real form of currency only in hackers circles (i.e. the Tor network etc)?

[ElRaja]

i read about them, and the potential to introduce competition to the money markets sounds great, would make governments think twice before constantly devaluing currencies, altho i cant help but feel it will be illegalised eventually by the powers that be.

[shakil]

I am a big supporter but have no money

[endymion248]

Chinese are starting to adopt them and they would make a killing in Pak with the constant devaluation of the rupee and the 10 millions foreign pakistanis (instant transfer). Also, they are a fiat currency like gold in that their value is determined only by mining and selling, not by any government body (or IMF) selling or buying bonds. And they are almost unfakable since every bitcoin can be tracked by number.

They have gained more than 1000% in value since 2010 but, of course, it is not advisable to have one's entire economies in the currency, both because of opposition from the government and because it seems to have the behaviour of a bubble.

[the Great Khan]

soon, soon. This is just the beginning of whats coming.

[ElRaja]

i read about them, and the potential to introduce competition to the money markets sounds great, would make governments think twice before constantly devaluing currencies, altho i cant help but feel it will be illegalised eventually by the powers that be.

still hold the same view, the cynic inside me never takes anything the american political class says on face value, the latest musings coming out of the us about bitcoin being a legitimate currency are for me better understood in the context of wanting to create a bubble to burst later down the line.

i still think its an excellent concept but as is i think bitcoin will evolve considerably before being taken up more widely. i think its a matter of great faith to assume bitcoin will stand up to greater computing power and more sophisticated hacking as technology develops, unless corporate institutions are willing to be liable for security analogous to deposit banks for regular currencies.

i am not expert on the technicalities of bitcoin but considering the measures government take to maintain the integrity and security of its fiat money, i would be very surprised is a considerably less centralised setup such as bitcoin can be as effective.

from a purely ideological point of view increased competition in financial currencies is welcome development.

[endymion248]

I think you should dwell into the concept because bitcoins are probably the most secure currency out there currently. It can neither be counterfeited and hacking into someone else's portfolio is almost impossible.

When computing power develops, more bitcoins will be mined and the value of the bitcoin will decrease. However, as more bitcoins are mined, mining becomes harder (because the operations the system must do become harder) so it will never have abrupt deflation due to mining only. When mining first started, a computer was enough to mine some coins (that would probably be worth 100 000$ today).

[shakil]

Bitcoin is not the only digital currency out there. Two other important names are LiteCoin (developed by a former Google employee back in 2010) and PeerCoin with theoretically unlimited mining overall and fixed inflation rate.

[Cracket]

Litecoin is just a pump and dump scam..if you look at the wealthiest litecoin owners, its the founder and his friends. They are just waiting for the price to go up so they can dump their coins in the market.

Lets see how bitcoin does, its gaining more and more acceptance everyday.

[Pak_Jazba]

^ Any potential downside to this bitcoin? I'm thinking of going for it but just not sure how secure this is?

[endymion248]

Downside is that, like gold, it is a deflatory currency. It's great to resist inflation but people tend to hoard it and not use it. You can see that in BT currently, there are not a lot of markets or websites using them. Another downside is that it is used to launder money and to sell child pornography, due to the fact that it is completely anonymous, so it may lead to restriction. Some people say that it will massively lose money in the coming year but there is no reason for it to happen as long as it continues its progression towards being used as a normal currency. I guess the fear comes from the fact that the value sprung from 0.1$/coin to 1000$/coin in 4 years.

[Yossarian]

I read an article a while ago (I'll see if I can search for it again) which basically argued that there is a finite limit to the number of bitcoins possible.

EDIT: According to wiki the limit is 21 million bitcoins.

Bitcoin Blunder Man Throws Away '£4m Laptop'

An IT worker comes to terms with throwing away an old laptop containing millions of pounds' worth of the virtual currency.

A man who threw away a computer hard drive containing more than £4m of the digital currency Bitcoin has told Sky News he is devastated.

James Howells, 28, binned the hard drive in the summer, but only realised his mistake last Friday.

The IT worker threw away his Dell laptop after it started to overheat, forgetting that it contained a digital wallet containing 7,500 units of the virtual currency.

Staff at the Docksway landfill site in Newport, South Wales, where the hard drive was taken, have told Mr Howells that by now it will be buried under at least three feet of waste in an area the size of a football pitch

http://news.sky.com/story/1175103/bi...away-4m-laptop

[RWAC]

I've set up a miner which mines Bitcoins. The difficulty keeps getting harder as time passes, which means you mine/mint less Bitcoins over time. But now I think is still a good time to enter the bubble. I've recovered 75% of the investment in the bitcoin miner in a month (and that too when I sold my bitcoins at $525 apiece a few weeks ago, the current price is ~$1000). If the price keeps steady, it'll be a good side-income at least for the next few months.

[RWAC]

I read an article a while ago (I'll see if I can search for it again) which basically argued that there is a finite limit to the number of bitcoins possible.

That's correct. The production of bitcoins is based on a mathematical algorithm, where the # of bitcoins generated over a 4 year period is halved every 4 years. According to that, bitcoins are postulated to run out by around 2140 at 21 million bitcoins.

[Tiger T]

I've set up a miner which mines Bitcoins. The difficulty keeps getting harder as time passes, which means you mine/mint less Bitcoins over time. But now I think is still a good time to enter the bubble. I've recovered 75% of the investment in the bitcoin miner in a month (and that too when I sold my bitcoins at $525 apiece a few weeks ago, the current price is ~$1000). If the price keeps steady, it'll be a good side-income at least for the next few months.

How did you set up the miner? I heard you have to buy a super powerful computer?

[RWAC]

How did you set up the miner? I heard you have to buy a super powerful computer?

Yep had to order a 60 GH miner for around $1600. And had to wait for almost a year to get it because the supply was tight.

Machine's a beast. Needs 3 fans to keep it cool.

I just got lucky that all this while the price of bitcoins was in the 100-200 range, but just when I started mining last month, it has jumped to 1000.

[Tiger T]

Yep had to order a 60 GH miner for around $1600. And had to wait for almost a year to get it because the supply was tight.

Machine's a beast. Needs 3 fans to keep it cool.

I just got lucky that all this while the price of bitcoins was in the 100-200 range, but just when I started mining last month, it has jumped to 1000.

Woah, a year's wait!

3 fans....that must use up a lot of electricity!

[Tiger T]

Btw, how long does it take to mine one coin?

[Ims1]

I think bits at some stage will tank majorly .

[Pak_Jazba]

I doubt bitcoin is going to go even higher than this. There must be a correction coming up at some point.

[shakil]

Downside is that, like gold, it is a deflatory currency. It's great to resist inflation but people tend to hoard it and not use it. You can see that in BT currently, there are not a lot of markets or websites using them. Another downside is that it is used to launder money and to sell child pornography, due to the fact that it is completely anonymous, so it may lead to restriction. Some people say that it will massively lose money in the coming year but there is no reason for it to happen as long as it continues its progression towards being used as a normal currency. I guess the fear comes from the fact that the value sprung from 0.1$/coin to 1000$/coin in 4 years.

It is not completely anonymous - on the contrary if you can link an address to a person, you can find his/her complete transaction history. Perhaps part of the reason why it was granted legal currency status by a court in San Francisco.

[lahori]

mining it is useless. You need special miner hardware (ASIC).. Cannot mine it just by using even the most powerful PC. And even then you will need a lot of time to break-even on investment and gain steady income. You're basically earning against power consumption that's what it boils down to.

Better to just outright buy bitcoins as investment. I've heard there may even be an ETF starting up very soon that tracks bitcoin price.

[lahori]

It is not completely anonymous - on the contrary if you can link an address to a person, you can find his/her complete transaction history. Perhaps part of the reason why it was granted legal currency status by a court in San Francisco.

You can implement anonymity through the TOR network though.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/introdu...s-tor-network/

[Convict]

bitcoin is not a currency.

Anything with that degree or arbitrage and fluctuations in price is not a currency. It is entirely speculation and has nothing backing up any value it has.

It's a massive bubble pushed by a few major influential investors and everyone else is being taken for a ride.

[zimmz]

Can any one provide religious perspective of earning money based on speculation and no hard work involved?

This bitcoin stuff seems worse case of making money out of shares.

[Convict]

Can any one provide religious perspective of earning money based on speculation and no hard work involved?

This bitcoin stuff seems worse case of making money out of shares.

I can't tell you the religous perspective but I can tell you that shares involves being a part owner of a business/company by providing capital.

With bitcoins you're just gambling on the price.

[shakil]

bitcoin is not a currency.

Anything with that degree or arbitrage and fluctuations in price is not a currency. It is entirely speculation and has nothing backing up any value it has.

It's a massive bubble pushed by a few major influential investors and everyone else is being taken for a ride.

Does this means that even Gold cannot be considered a currency as we have seen it go down so much after year of price increase?

Bitcoin is is increasing in value b/c of Bitcoin mining which has reached a point where the difficulty makes it go deflationary (together with a lot of media hype of course)

Bubble - yes but difficult to estimate its inherent value

[Convict]

Does this means that even Gold cannot be considered a currency as we have seen it go down so much after year of price increase?

Bitcoin is is increasing in value b/c of Bitcoin mining which has reached a point where the difficulty makes it go deflationary (together with a lot of media hype of course)

I'd argue that gold is not a currency. It is a commodity. Yes it is a commodity that holds inherent value in itself but it is still not useful as a currency.

Also there is no real arbitrage on gold values. Yes the value does fluctuate but it least it doesn't wildly fluctuate and there is some consitency in value from one day to the next or one week to the next.

http://bitcoinity.org/markets
For bitcoins there is a difference between the highest and lowest values over over $100 dollars (nearly 10%)- just in the last twenty four hours.
What type of currency is worth 10% less in evening as compared to the morning?

Over the past week it has a high $1242 and a low of $745. That's an absolutely massive difference over just a week.

Over the past month the high is $1242 and the low is $208. That is not a currency. That is not value because of bitcoin mining.
This is a bubble and it's going to go boom and those people who are caught unaware are going to lose everything they invest.

It is quite obviously driven by a cabal of powerful investors who know what they are doing.

[Pak_Jazba]

Its just about investing whatever you are prepared to lose in such cases. You shouldn't go all out on Bitcoin or any virtual currency for that matter.

[Convict]

Its just about investing whatever you are prepared to lose in such cases. You shouldn't go all out on Bitcoin or any virtual currency for that matter.

Yep. It's important to realise that this is more of a gamble than an invetsment and that losing most of what you put in is very much a possibility.

Whereas with a currency or even gold there would always be some value.

[endymion248]

Can any one provide religious perspective of earning money based on speculation and no hard work involved?

This bitcoin stuff seems worse case of making money out of shares.

Religion forbids gambling (luck) and interests (fix amount of profit no matter what). Speculation is neither because value is based on offer and demand and it can go down up as welĺas down. Similarly, there is nothing wrong if you buy shares that don't make profit from interest and do not own any such investments in other companies (or bonds, mostly from US treasury). As far as I know, there is no such company in the west.

[endymion248]

I'd argue that gold is not a currency. It is a commodity. Yes it is a commodity that holds inherent value in itself but it is still not useful as a currency.

Also there is no real arbitrage on gold values. Yes the value does fluctuate but it least it doesn't wildly fluctuate and there is some consitency in value from one day to the next or one week to the next.

http://bitcoinity.org/markets
For bitcoins there is a difference between the highest and lowest values over over $100 dollars (nearly 10%)- just in the last twenty four hours.
What type of currency is worth 10% less in evening as compared to the morning?

Over the past week it has a high $1242 and a low of $745. That's an absolutely massive difference over just a week.

Over the past month the high is $1242 and the low is $208. That is not a currency. That is not value because of bitcoin mining.
This is a bubble and it's going to go boom and those people who are caught unaware are going to lose everything they invest.

It is quite obviously driven by a cabal of powerful investors who know what they are doing.

Bitcoins are a commodity too since nobody uses them as a currency (sadly). There is almost no difference between gold and bitcoins other than gold been deemed valuable for the last 10k years. It is also similar to dutch tulipes.

[shakil]

Currently, Bitcoins are a commodity but in future when more and more people accept Bitcoin payments and it becomes stable, it can act as a currency. (Technically though it is still a currency as you can buy stuff with it)

[Convict]

Bitcoins are a commodity too since nobody uses them as a currency (sadly). There is almost no difference between gold and bitcoins other than gold been deemed valuable for the last 10k years. It is also similar to dutch tulipes.

Exactly. Going to go bust

[endymion248]

Exactly. Going to go bust

Let's see.

[Convict]

Let's see.

Halved in value today didn't it?

[oyei]

and busted.

[Ims1]

I think bits at some stage will tank majorly .

bump

[chaiwala]

Bitcoin is highly volatile. I'd be wary of investing in it more than you can afford to lose.

[FreakCricket]

Hi guys, just curious how many guys from here are into mining and also in trading crypto-coins.
Im thinking to get a genesis mining contract, any experience with that so far?

[WebGuru]

Bitcoin mining is not profitable at a small scale unless you have access to free or really cheap electricity. There are so many people doing the mining thing these days that it's no more profitable like before. If you are planning to use 3rd party services like genesis mining to do the mining for you thn you need to keep in mind the profit isn't going to be that much because when the the bitcoin price go up the difficulty will go up too because more people will start mining like the recent trend after increase in bitcoin price.

[WhenSultansBowled]

It's peaking 1XBT : Last trade: $3,289.55USD

05/08/2017
https://www.quadrigacx.com/live

[MenInG]

Wonder if people who invested in this in early days are now millionaires?

[vagabond007ti]

I invested in ETH little over a month back and it has given return of 85%.

[WebGuru]

1 bitcoin was equal to $0.003 in 2009-2010 and now after 7 years 1 bitcoin is equal to around $4573 (current exchange rate). So if someone spent only $100 on bitcoins back in 2009-10 and didn't used those coins he is probably now rich enough to start a business with an investment of around $130-150 millions!

[Bewal Express]

For me its a ponzi scheme and we know how they all end.

[FreakCricket]

I regret selling my bitcoins

[notAgainPlease]

I invested in ETH little over a month back and it has given return of 85%.

How did you invest ?

[adwords]

Knew bitcoin since about 2010, and always thought its a ponzi scheme
Last month July 2017 i invested in Bitcoin at $2100 levels, today its around 4600 - not bad returns in 1month :-)
Holding off for atleast 2 years - potential is there to touch $10000 and beyond ...

[hadi123]

By many measures, digital currencies are as strong as ever. Bitcoin prices, up more than 400 percent this year, eclipsed $5,000 on Thursday. While Bitcoin is far and away the largest cryptocurrency, 11 other coins have a market cap in excess of $1 billion, reflecting increasingly diverse trading options. But Bitcoin's dominance is still felt across the market, as it's the main currency traded against other cryptocurrencies.

Changing economic and regulatory conditions have led to sudden shifts in trading volume against different currencies, reflecting how volatile these markets can be.

Bitcoin trading against the Chinese yuan used to account for most of the volume. That changed early this year when regulators started to clamp down on digital currency exchanges. Japan’s yen took over as the biggest trading pair as regulators there took the opposite approach, adopting digital-friendly rules.

In the case of Ethereum, the Korean won has become prevalent as rules that limit access to more traditional assets are driving Korean investors to mine and trade the second-biggest cryptocurrency.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-bitcoin-volume/

[Bewal Express]

My instinct tells me that its a Ponzi scheme that will leave devastion in its wake but on the other hand, it could be a new currency for the new age.

[Black Zero]

Investing in it and using it...two entirely different things.
At the moment, it's just a virtual product.

And far away from it's original vision

[Syed1]

I've steered from BitCoin and other such schemes since I feel like I'll eventually lose money in it, however, I know ppl who have made quite a bit of cash from it.

[Nostalgic]

I have a few Brit coins in my suitcase, from when I bought a latte at Manchester airport. I suspect they will go down in value after Brexit, so I'll exchange them for American currency soon.

[Asif khan]

I have made decent money over the last few years trading in crypto currencies. Even at it's all time high Bitcoin will surely grow some more BUT for now the rise in value is due to the upcoming hard fork which guarantees any holders of Bitcoin equivalent free BTG.

Nevertheless, after the first Hard fork there are a few altcoins that will be making major splashes and will have serious price surges. They are very volatile but if you do your research and secure your cryptos in hardware wallets you can make some serious money.

[irfan]

People who are calling it a ponzi are ignorant & don't understand the blockchain technology behind it, sure the price might collapse and Bitcoin, which does have characteristics of a bubble, may be replaced by a government controlled cryptocurrency which I'm sure they would love to do, but does not make it into a ponzi.

The real ponzis are the UK housing market & the UK state pension/national insurance scheme, both of which will collapse.

[irfan]

Hit an all time high today surpassing 6k. Will fall back and correct a bit and will be interesting to see what happens after 25 Oct and in Nov when the hard forks occur. Expect there to be a correction of at least 10% but who knows.

[Friend786]

How can you use bitcoins? Is it worth investing in it now?

[adwords]

Bitcoin crossed $6000. Wow
I invested at 2100 levels in July2017
I withdraw $10k worth of Bitcoin and invested in new ICO of Electroneum. Got 1.2 millions Electroneum coins each at $0.01. Electroneum is a UK based company getting listed on 1st November
I would not be surprised if Electroneum gives 50 times return within 2 years
Keep Calm and HODL Coins

[irfan]

How can you use bitcoins? Is it worth investing in it now?

you use it like any other currency, but many people are using it as a store of value like gold, so holding on to it. Depends on your risk appetite, you can buy with the understanding that you may lose your investment so do your research and only risk what you can afford to lose, you can buy fractions of a bitcoin so can spend a little.

I never expected the price to be this high relatively quickly, so I have no idea what will happen in the future, it may go to the moon as some analysts predict eg 100k, 500k has been bandied around but equally it could all crumble and become worthless. Personally I bought a few years ago, obviously now regret not buying more, and have just held as I was attracted to the concept of crypto as a decentralised private currency.

[irfan]

Bitcoin crossed $6000. Wow
I invested at 2100 levels in July2017
I withdraw $10k worth of Bitcoin and invested in new ICO of Electroneum. Got 1.2 millions Electroneum coins each at $0.01. Electroneum is a UK based company getting listed on 1st November
I would not be surprised if Electroneum gives 50 times return within 2 years
Keep Calm and HODL Coins

you are a brave guy, spending that much on Electroneum. I have only bought a little, most ICOs turn out to be scams, not saying this one is as it seems legit and has good marketing behind it but I can't see it doing that well as I can't see the USP in it. Also the fact that Harry Redknapp started tweeting about it just signalled bubble territory for me.

[Asif khan]

How can you use bitcoins? Is it worth investing in it now?

I think you may have missed the boat for now because there is a hard fork coming on the 25th October and people are buying like crazy to get their grubby hands on free BTG. After that, at some point, I think BTC will suffer a bit of a dip and then invest, you won't regret it, believe me.

In the meantime, it is wise to invest in altcoins such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Neo and Waves, all of which have serious potential to give you fantastic profit in a year or 2.

I will say though, because crypto is largely decentralised, never store any of your coins in an exchange or an online wallet. They are constantly targeted by highly sophisticated hackers who have stolen many walllets.

[irfan]

Anybody got pakcoins?
https://www.pakcoin.io/

Have no idea on the legitimacy of this project but countries like Pakistan are in a good position to develop mass adoption of cryptocurrency. They are conducting an airdrop ie free coins if you are a Pakistani citizen.

[adwords]

I did not spend any of my OWN $10K on Electroneum. I invested some of my Bitcoin profits into it.
I bought some at 20% bonus and some at 10% bonus levels

[irfan]

to the moon! bitcoin hits another all time high & surpasses $6.4k, there was a correction but it didn't last long. Have to say is looking very bubbly now.

[Syed1]

to the moon! bitcoin hits another all time high & surpasses $6.4k, there was a correction but it didn't last long. Have to say is looking very bubbly now.

Aray yaar khareednay hi pariengaye...

I've been holding off thinking it is all just a bubble, but the price just keeps going up and up.

[irfan]

There is another hard fork coming in November and it may cause serious issues, price may fall again giving buying opportunities. However, if you think this is the future of money & price will continue to rise as many analysts predict then the current price is still cheap. Obviously there are cheaper altcoins to buy as well.

[the Great Khan]

whats the best amount to invest as a starting point? My firend has just bought some litecoin and ethereum and I'm thinking of doing the same but I'm unsure how much to actually invest as a first off..especially as it could be a bubble.

Also is it halal?? I havent heard a proper answer to it yet..

[Marshland]

I strongly recommend not diving into this stuff until governments have had their say and the jurisdiction is in place.

For you might just have the carpet pulled from under your feet otherwise...

[humzy]

I use it to order illegal things

[Asif khan]

It's still on the rise and it won't surprise me if it gets to $8000 before the next fork. There's been a strong rumour rumour that China might resume trading which always causes it to rise exponentially but so far nothing has really changed yet it still continues to rise.

Also, we need to keep a close eye on BCH (Bitcoin Cash) which is being pumped aggressively over the last few days, again rumour China might be behind it but it's definitely mooning.

I would not recommend trading due to the volatility of the market but if you want to make a steady start with almost guaranteed profits in the long run look at Ethereum and Litecoin, you will have to HODL but when they break out of their resistence and with the exciting projects lined up, in particular with ETH they can really make investors rich.

[Billa86]

Has anyone heard of LEO Coin? Is it worth investing in this or best to stick with popular and renown bitcoin brands?

[adwords]

you are a brave guy, spending that much on Electroneum. I have only bought a little, most ICOs turn out to be scams, not saying this one is as it seems legit and has good marketing behind it but I can't see it doing that well as I can't see the USP in it. Also the fact that Harry Redknapp started tweeting about it just signalled bubble territory for me.

Electroneum opened at around $0.16 (thats 16 times the ICO offer of 0.01)
currently around $0.06 (it was expected when new miners dump their mined coins), would be interesting to see when the ICO coins are available in electroneum wallets
I still believe, this coin got potential to go 100 times ($1) within 2 years, hence the $10K buy

[MenInG]

Bitcoin all the way!

[Raja Sab]

is there anyway to use your mobile balance as bitcoins or convert my balance to bitcoins ?

[MenInG]

is there anyway to use your mobile balance as bitcoins or convert my balance to bitcoins ?

Dont think we should worry about doing anything useful with Bitcoins; main thing is to make use of the value for trading - make your bucks, move on!

[srh]

whats the best amount to invest as a starting point? My firend has just bought some litecoin and ethereum and I'm thinking of doing the same but I'm unsure how much to actually invest as a first off..especially as it could be a bubble.

Also is it halal?? I havent heard a proper answer to it yet..

any response to this post? especially the bolded part?