BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

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dustin
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BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by dustin » Tue Dec 19, 2017 9:50 pm

It seems like the blockchain may be the next big innovation in technology. Enabling digital currencies, and who knows what else?

My research indicates that BitCoin is the 1st generation of the technology, with resulting problems, and probably not the best. But it's got brand recognition, baby!!!

Ethereum, LiteCoin, and Bitcoin Cash are the other current top cryptocoins. I've invested a little bit of money into these, and watching what's happening here... I think it's gonna be a big 2018 for cryptocurrencies (or maybe just 1 of them).

Are you in on the digital disruption of money?

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General K
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Re: BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by General K » Wed Dec 20, 2017 2:38 am

I read a lot that this might be the biggest ponzi scheme in finance.

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Re: BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by Stelee » Fri Dec 22, 2017 10:30 am

I have done amazingly well on BTC. There are new entrants worth investing in. Just stay diversified along your entire portfolio. Good luck.

Dustin, did you get in before the BTC Cash split?

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Re: BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by dustin » Fri Dec 22, 2017 5:35 pm

Nope, I'd been hearing about Bitcoin for some time, but didn't get in until recently, at just under $10,000.

Like I said above, after looking more into the tech, it seems like the Bitcoin tech community isn't very functional, and are heading towards slow transaction speeds and high transaction costs. So I believe Etherium or Bitcoin Cash or Litecoin or something else will probably be the long-term winner.

BitCoin might be ponzi, yep. But it does seem like there's a world-changing technology here too...

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Re: BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by mnemosyne » Thu Jan 04, 2018 7:49 pm

hi dustin and all :-)

i am more interested in the intellectual and social implications of the rise of digital currencies than how much money is being made amidst the most recent tulip mania. dustin, you raise some interesting points!

let's face it, the current world wide federal reserve/international banking system is inherently controlling/enslaving in many ways, but most significantly by creating money out of thin air that consequently creates crippling debt that is passed on to taxpayers/individuals. concurrently these governments force them/us to participate in this monetary system. it is the ultimate ponzi scheme, if we want to use that trope/metaphor. take u.s. currency, for example, that was once backed by gold, then by silver, then . . . by nada . . . all you get is a 'legal tender.' its a worthless piece of paper with fancy ink on it (and a little electronic marker/strip embedded in it! cough, cough). the only reason the dollar holds value is because people believe in it (well, you kind of have to, since you are forced to participate in the system and its the only game in town), and governments require it (b/c it is the de facto currency of exchange between nations, although that is being challenged in places like asia; that is interesting to watch!). the critics who say that cyrptocurrencies have no underlying value miss the point that the current world economy is built upon precisely the same thing, only worse!

so, cyrptocurrencies have tremendous (disruptive?) implications because they provide people/companies/banks an alternative to the 'officially sanctioned' monetary system, and, at least initially, seem to avoid the issue of debt that attends the current government system(s). what's not to like?! its because of their disruptive potential and perceived threat to the government sanctioned monetary system that i agree with a small handful of writers who seem to think that governments will get in the business of legislating against, cracking down, regulating, controlling, dare i say, assimilating (?) cyrptocurrencies. there are already a few, besides bitcoin, as you mention that are gaining more mainstream legitimacy from banks, e.g., not to mention the new trading in futures on the cboe that allegedly will find institutional money flowing into it. i love to see all these little companies who have nothing to do with cyrptocurrencies, technology, or even economics switching over to try and catch the wave, lol. its very dot com esque in many ways.

in any case, cyrptocurrencies are very interesting phenomena and it will be fascinating (and a little scary) to watch them evolve. you might remember a few years back, everyone was celebrating the roll out and revolutionary potential of the internet and cell phones, and, well, we all know how that turned out :( . digital currencies will eventually become another mechanism of control. indeed, i think the teleological movement of 'money' is toward the online (the logic of techné forces us there; see, e.g. jacques ellul) as we move headfirst to a cashless society . . . until, of course, we are eventually branded with the mark of the :smt077 :panic:

fortunately, we have a well trained cadre of luxers to deal with that when the time comes!


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Re: BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by General K » Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:19 am

Nice take on the matter menmo.

I would add that in the world of crime and terrorism, cryptocurrency seems like a heaven to avoid any sort of governmental control.
Money laundry was an important factor behind the quick rise of Bitcoin.
I am personally still very skeptical about any sort of dealing that is uncontrollable and invisible.
At this stage I would sit and watch before making any sort off investment in crypto. but that's me.... and I'm a Klown.

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Re: BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by dustin » Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:06 pm

There's definitely disruption and innovation in the air here.

Some good points mnemo. It's trust all the way down with dollars too, trust in the gov.

I've been continuing to research the space, and there seem to be some clear use-cases emerging, beyond just trust moneys tho.

VeChain is a promising one, to track legit good and shipping statuses in the crypto-trust-chain. This video explains some of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH2G_44x4vw

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Re: BitCoin, Ethereum, and the cryptocoins

Post by mnemosyne » Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:23 am

and so it begins . . .

"Bitcoin trading could soon be outlawed in one of the virtual currency's biggest markets.

The South Korean government is preparing a bill to ban trading in all cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Justice Minister Park Sang-ki said Thursday.

'There are great concerns regarding virtual money,' Park told reporters in Seoul. 'The government has repeatedly warned about the fact that it is a very dangerous transaction but the message has not properly been delivered.'"

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