Any BitCoin users?

[jjirons69]

I'm thinking about chucking my cigars and starting an unpasteurized cheese hobby! Couldn't be much worse for me.

[cmitch]

Originally Posted by Apoco

No one is backing it. It is worth X amount because people have agreed that is what it is worth (this is what is known as an "exchange valued currency").

It may sound odd - but it is the truth. Keep in mind that the US hasn't been on the gold standard since Nixon put a stop to it in 1971. There's really nothing behind the US dollar either - aside from the fact that people agree that it has value. This holds true for the US Dollar, the British Pound, the Euro, etc.

At this point, gold is used as a safe haven from fear of currency problems. When the US (and really the entire world) was crashing in 2008, everyone was fleeing from currency and into gold. The mindset being that if SHTF in a big way, gold might become the currency/bartering tool of choice going forward.

That's how I understand money/currency today, at least.



I'd expand that to say that it is used for anything you don't want tracked (usually for legal reasons, admittedly). Online gambling is another big market. Along with items that are embargoed for political or health reasons (cuban cigars, unpasteurized cheeses, etc).

Although right now a lot of people are using it as an investment vehicle. Just holding onto their bitcoins as the value continues to inflate.

It is interesting because bitcoins aren't just created whenever there is a need. Bitcoins are only created/released at very scheduled times, and it is clearly relayed when those times are. So what we see is the true effect of demand and demand alone. The value isn't affected by bankruptcy concerns, it isn't affected by additional money being printed, it isn't affected by an earnings release or by unemployment numbers. It moves almost at random. It is really quite interesting from an economics perspective.

That being said - I don't want any part of it. I believe that I am relatively well informed on bitcoins, but I'm just not willing to gamble on them. It is too random for me at this point.
Posted via Mobile Device

This is basically what I tried to say but more abbreviated and, albeit, poorly. Bit coin isn't backed by anybody. U.S. currency is backed by the good faith and trust in the U.S. Government which is pretty much worthless as well.

[AdamJoshua]

Originally Posted by jjirons69

I'm thinking about chucking my cigars and starting an unpasteurized cheese hobby! Couldn't be much worse for me.

Don't chuck em, tell you what I'm an authorized dog rocket disposal professional, I give you one dowah for them and will be responsible for the incredibly high fees for disposal. I'll also throw in some liquid vegetable rennet to get your cheese operation off the ground!

Back on track, the more I read about bitcoin the less interested in it I am, I read the FA's paper on the way it works and security and I don't buy it, where there are large sums of money there are very organized individuals and for that matter entire governments looking for a piece of the action, in this case non-friendly governments that I'm sure have no problem with screwing a lot of people out of a lot of cash.

[themoneycollector]

Can't really add much more than what has been said.

I've looked into bitcoins, even tried mining a little bit. Now that it has blown up over the last 2 weeks after Cyprus banking issues, I tried to explain it to a few people.

Usually I get a long pause and then get asked "so it's a virtual currency that has no backing, why would anyone want it" LOL. It's complicated, but definitely still has potential for making money off the recent growth. The bubble has to pop soon though.

[Apoco]

So Bitcoin lost ~50% of it's value.

Today.

In 8 hours.

Source

[themoneycollector]

Originally Posted by themoneycollector

The bubble has to pop soon though.

Originally Posted by Apoco

So Bitcoin lost ~50% of it's value.

Today.

In 8 hours.

Source

Although it rebounded to nearly all of its value. Dunno if that's a good sign or bad.

[emopunker2004]

Hey you guys. This is news! Bitcoin crackdown by the .gov

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-va...tcoin-exchange

[AUguy]

So I've been playing around with a couple of crypto currencies lately. Not as an investment though. Just using them because I think it is an interesting concept even if they all end up being worthless in the end.

I have a few bucks worth of bitcoin and I am looking to get a little more but I don't 100% trust the sites that sell them for USD. If anyone on here has some pm me if you would be willing to trade some BTC for a few cigars. Not looking to sell a bunch of stuff. Just 20 or 30 bucks worth.