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Do you own any Bitcoin?

Do you own any Bitcoin?

  • Yes

    Votes: 13 19.4%
  • No

    Votes: 53 79.1%
  • Other, please explain

    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Total voters
    67
  • This poll will close: .

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,199
Do you own any Bitcoin?
 

Snowdrop13

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
2,955
I wish! I don’t really understand it so would be afraid to invest, also, is it not really, really bad from an energy consumption/planetary point of view?
 

chemgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
2,345
An ex boyfriend used to mine it back when we were in University. He used my computer for some of it so I had a bunch on my old Dell.

Unfortunately I didn’t really foresee it gaining any traction so I used most of it to buy video games.

I did keep one on a USB key as a sort of momento.

A few years ago when crypto started taking off DH and I agreed that he could spend $100 per month on crypto for entertainment purposes. He doesn’t gamble, he’s never bought a lottery ticket, so it didn’t seem like a crazy thing to do. Not all of his purchases have taken off, but overall he’s up.
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,199
I don't understand it.
In spite of reading various explanations, and still don't get it.
It all strikes me as unreal as a video game.

IMO every other investment is investing in a thing.
An ounce of gold.
Real estate.
Stock in a company.

Those are all Things.
I consider bitcoin to be an esoteric idea based on blah blah blah, hubinf bubinf mubinf, and zamabamba mamabamba pamabamba.

The only thing it resembles, to me, is a chain letter pyramid scheme.
Everyone makes money as long as they can keep the faux hype going.
However, because it is not based on anything real, it all eventually comes crashing down and the last suckers to hang on to it lose everything.

But, again, I don't understand it so I'm probably full of hot air.
 
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OreoRosies86

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 25, 2012
Messages
3,463
I was on board with crypto currency as a concept (take banks out of the equation! No government representation! Freedom!) until I asked a tax pro about it and they were like “Oh yeah, you still have to pay taxes on it bla bla bla.” No thanks I guess.
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,814
Maybe my mind is too simplistic for the current age, I don’t own bitcoin because to me it’s imaginary money. Feel the same way about downloading music or video games vs having the physical CD. If I buy something with real money I want to be able to hold it in my hand.
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,199
No. Mining bitcoin is so bad for the environment. I had no idea until I started researching.

If this is not humor please explain.
 

HS4S_2

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
1,839
If this is not humor please explain.

Mining for Bitcoin causes a huge carbon footprint because the mining recquires very complicated computers systems. Mining bitcoins is basically solving equations. The more people that mine the more complicated the equations become. There are huge warehouses housing these complicated computer systems. Bitcoin mining in China could soon generate as much carbon emissions as some European countries.

"In China alone, bitcoin is projected to generate more than 130 million metric tons of carbon emissions by the time the technology's energy consumption peaks in 2024, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

That amount of greenhouse gases would have surpassed the total annual emissions output from the Czech Republic and Qatar in 2016. The bitcoin blockchain could consume as much energy per year as small to medium-sized countries such as Denmark, Ireland or Bangladesh, according to research from Sinan Kufeogl, civil engineering research associate at the University of Cambridge."
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,199
Wow!
Thanks.
So, when computers process data it's called mining?

Obviously computers use electricity.
Is the generation of electricity the source of the carbon emissions you speak of?
Or is it something else?
 

Gussie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
3,700
I honestly don't understand it all. My husband tried to explain it to me but I think my eyes just glazed over. I can't get past the fact that it is so often used for illicit payments on the dark web (drugs, child ****, etc.) I want no part of that.
 

HS4S_2

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
1,839
Wow!
Thanks.
So, when computers process data it's called mining?

Obviously computers use electricity.
Is the generation of electricity the source of the carbon emissions you speak of?
Or is it something else?

It is a combination of electricity and also the parts needed to make these "super" computers. It is actually pretty interesting when you see what it involves. We are talking about very advanced technology that needs to always be able to process these super complicated equations that keep evolving. What was once possible to do with a standard system has evolved into huge warehouses full of computers.
 

lala646

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 4, 2018
Messages
1,710
My husband has a really powerful computer for sim racing and vr gaming. When he's not gaming, it runs bitcoin mining. @HS4S_2 is not wrong about the carbon footprint. It's not good. But it's his hobby. And the mining has paid for the $$$ computer, and is on the way to paying for the $$$ racing rig.
 

HS4S_2

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
1,839
My husband has a really powerful computer for sim racing and vr gaming. When he's not gaming, it runs bitcoin mining. @HS4S_2 is not wrong about the carbon footprint. It's not good. But it's his hobby. And the mining has paid for the $$$ computer, and is on the way to paying for the $$$ racing rig.

I agree that gaming computers can mine on smaller scale but for big operations it gets a lot more complicated. It isn't so much the smaller scale mining that causes a huge problem.
 

HS4S_2

Brilliant_Rock
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Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
1,839
Another interesting read is about NFTs which is part of a digital block chain that generates codes. So many computers are needed to make this work on a global level.

 

lala646

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 4, 2018
Messages
1,710
It's insane. And projected to continue to increase in value, though that's anyone's guess, of course.
 

klrrrr

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2019
Messages
417
I'm trying to wrap my head around crypto, and a friend recommended I check out this series of videos:

I have a few friends who are extremely bullish on BTC as the new gold standard - and it doesn't seem so crazy if you think we're heading in the direction of transhumanism.

The POV of most of these folks is that they're happy to invest 2-5% of their portfolio as a "hedge" against a world where the current state of the union collapses.
 

OreoRosies86

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 25, 2012
Messages
3,463
Ok this thread prompted me to look up the value of my Bitcoin.

Considering selling it to buy a boat.

Not joking.

That’s amazing!
 

GliderPoss

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
2,936
No but I know someone who does and he is now a millionaire. :eek-2:
 

Asscherhalo_lover

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
5,701
I have a friend who works in cryptocurrency. She has tried to explain it to me MANY times but I admittedly fail to grasp it.
 

jordyonbass

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 6, 2014
Messages
2,117
My father has put in $2k and is currently sitting at over $7k, he needs new parts for his boat and I told him to sell some of it to finance the parts he needs. His response?

"No it's an investment, would I be able to borrow some money off you if I am short for the new transducer?"

:roll:
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,199
My father has put in $2k and is currently sitting at over $7k, he needs new parts for his boat and I told him to sell some of it to finance the parts he needs. His response?

"No it's an investment, would I be able to borrow some money off you if I am short for the new transducer?"

:roll:

Hey Jordy, can I borrow a few million? =)
I'm short for a larger red diamond.
 

LilAlex

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 3, 2018
Messages
3,568
It has had an amazing run. That does not mean it is an investment, let alone a good one. I have a tiny amount just from poking around the Coinbase interface. It could continue to climb. There is a very real chance that it will go to zero -- and not a slim chance.

I think it is untenable as a currency except for black-market-type sales, money-laundering, and for exporting and concealing wealth in countries that do not permit the export of assets. Those countries are getting savvier about cracking down on this type of activity. And the US now asks every 1040 filer if they own crypto because capital gains are taxed, etc.

The non-fungibility, the mind-boggling energy cost, and the (so far) non-scalability of transactions would seem to make it nonviable for regular ol' buyin' stuff.
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,199
Sure I'll just go pick it off the money tree, it's in the field of dreams right next to the pit of despair :lol:

Thanks.
Oh, and send me some seeds from your money tree too. :mrgreen:
 

GoldenTouch

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 9, 2018
Messages
425
No.... but I get scam emails - I would say daily- saying how much I have :roll2:
 

bludiva

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
3,076
no - i thought about buying some when it was at $100 b/c i was hearing about it all the time...this is over a decade ago...and i didn't bc i thought no way a digital currency would last. i would have thought for sure the energy cost alone would make it untenable long term. joke is on me, i guess!
 
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