Anyone Invested in crypto?

[HKUSP]

The things we didn't know at the time...

Four years ago a friend sent me .1 Bitcoin for a food drive that was also taking cash donations. I was actually aggrivated I had to set up a wallet and wait for it to be transferred to my bank account as cash. There was a tiny amount left over after the transfer that was less than a rounding error. That fragment is worth about $5 right now.

I went back to check on it last week after a helper at work was talking about Bitcoin and said he had one. He showed me his wallet on his phone and I was floored that one was trading at over eight thousand. I have since become REALLY interested in what's going on with crypto currencies and have bought in with Litecoin for now and are looking at others. I plan on keeping that .0005 Bitcoin as a reminder to not be quite so short sighted.

I have been watching the exchanges run up and down for over a week and it certainly seems like a volatile market right now but it's sure fun to watch.

 

[Kutnupe14]

The things we didn't know at the time...

Four years ago a friend sent me .1 Bitcoin for a food drive that was also taking cash donations. I was actually aggrivated I had to set up a wallet and wait for it to be transferred to my bank account as cash. There was a tiny amount left over after the transfer that was less than a rounding error. That fragment is worth about $5 right now.

I went back to check on it last week after a helper at work was talking about Bitcoin and said he had one. He showed me his wallet on his phone and I was floored that one was trading at over eight thousand. I have since become REALLY interested in what's going on with crypto currencies and have bought in with Litecoin for now and are looking at others. I plan on keeping that .0005 Bitcoin as a reminder to not be quite so short sighted.

I have been watching the exchanges run up and down for over a week and it certainly seems like a volatile market right now but it's sure fun to watch.

Litecoin is, technologically, superior to BTC and IMO severely undervalued, and probably the most stable. LTC should be about 1/4 the price of 1 BTC. The Korean exchanges love it. If you want to know whats going on with Litecoin, follow (or just check) the creator Charlie Lee on twitter. He's hilarious.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

What kind of wallet do you use?

 

[Kutnupe14]

What kind of wallet do you use?

Ledger Nano S. Cold storage. Looks like a flash drive. I'm not gonna be one of those guys that wake up one day with lighter pockets. Though I used to keep them stored on Coinbase, which isn't really bad if you do dual verification, but as I read more and more (specifically the Mt Fox fiasco), and the price rose, I got scared and looked into other ways to keep my stuff safe.

 

[Phase2]

Along for the ride at $100. See what happens i guess.

You are doing it right. Only invest as much as you are comfortable with. BTC has been exceptionally volatile recently. That amount won't break you or make you rich, but will keep you interested and learning. The technology will become more user-friendly over time.

 

[Phase2]

Litecoin is, technologically, superior to BTC and IMO severely undervalued, and probably the most stable.

The space is evolving. That is where alt-coins shine. They have more flexibility to try new features and prove their worth. If they make a mistake (and there have been many), there is only a comparatively small impact on crypto adoption. Bitcoin can be thought of as "the establishment" (comparatively speaking). Any change that they make has an out-sized risk of harming mainstream crypto adoption, so they are very slow to change. There is a definite role for a very stable coin as well as for those who are more willing to innovate and try new things. That said, I think Bitcoin has been too conservative in stopping/delaying Segwit2X. There is a real need to improve transaction processing times/fees.

Ledger Nano S. Cold storage. Looks like a flash drive. I'm not gonna be one of those guys that wake up one day with lighter pockets. Though I used to keep them stored on Coinbase, which isn't really bad if you do dual verification, but as I read more and more (specifically the Mt Fox fiasco), and the price rose, I got scared and looked into other ways to keep my stuff safe.

It's Mt. Gox for any that might want to look up what happened. It was the first online Bitcoin exchange. Very popular at the time as it allowed you to buy/sell Bitcoins more easily, but had a very poor security setup and was hacked, costing many their stored Bitcoins. It was not a flaw in Bitcoin (the money), but in the exchange (the online "bank"). Newer exchanges are definitely improving in many ways (poster child: Coinbase), but that doesn't mean that they will never have problems.

I'm hesitant to use any hardware wallet. I understand their value and benefits, but in the end they are USB sticks, which are easy to lose. Personally, for long-term storage, I prefer paper wallets which I can print multiple copies to be stored offline in different locations. The downside is that they are very inconvenient. Is there any form of backup system for the Nano? If there was, I'd consider it over paper.

For anyone else that is considering buying and needs a form of wallet to keep your coins in, think about how people typically keep/use dollars now. You keep a relatively small amount in your pocket wallet, likely store a larger amount in your bank for safekeeping and maybe take some that you want to invest for longer term storage (and hopefully appreciation) in stocks/bonds/real estate/etc. Computers/cell phones can be hacked or fail in many ways. Don't keep larger investments on your cell phone. Do backup software wallets periodically. Do encrypt your wallets to make them harder (but not impossible) to hack. You can keep spendable/smaller amounts there, but don't keep longer-term/larger investments. Move the extra to a hardware or paper wallet (long-term, safe storage) or you can keep them in an exchange for trading. Realize that there is no crypto-FDIC to insure your money, so the risk is entirely on you.

 

[Phase2]

FYI- For anyone who feels rather lost about what cryptocurrencies are, how they work, why they might be worth holding and using as a form of money, etc., here is a very good YouTube series explaining blockchain technology. The first three episodes are generic and apply to the vast majority (but not all) cryptocurrencies. The latter three are about how Dash (a Bitcoin competitor) specifically works.

[video=youtube;e7UwwcCKj4Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7UwwcCKj4Y&list=PLiFMZOlhgsYKKOUOVjQjESCXfR1cCYCod&index=1[/video]

 

[Kutnupe14]

The space is evolving. That is where alt-coins shine. They have more flexibility to try new features and prove their worth. If they make a mistake (and there have been many), there is only a comparatively small impact on crypto adoption. Bitcoin can be thought of as "the establishment" (comparatively speaking). Any change that they make has an out-sized risk of harming mainstream crypto adoption, so they are very slow to change. There is a definite role for a very stable coin as well as for those who are more willing to innovate and try new things. That said, I think Bitcoin has been too conservative in stopping/delaying Segwit2X. There is a real need to improve transaction processing times/fees.



It's Mt. Gox for any that might want to look up what happened. It was the first online Bitcoin exchange. Very popular at the time as it allowed you to buy/sell Bitcoins more easily, but had a very poor security setup and was hacked, costing many their stored Bitcoins. It was not a flaw in Bitcoin (the money), but in the exchange (the online "bank"). Newer exchanges are definitely improving in many ways (poster child: Coinbase), but that doesn't mean that they will never have problems.

I'm hesitant to use any hardware wallet. I understand their value and benefits, but in the end they are USB sticks, which are easy to lose. Personally, for long-term storage, I prefer paper wallets which I can print multiple copies to be stored offline in different locations. The downside is that they are very inconvenient. Is there any form of backup system for the Nano? If there was, I'd consider it over paper.

For anyone else that is considering buying and needs a form of wallet to keep your coins in, think about how people typically keep/use dollars now. You keep a relatively small amount in your pocket wallet, likely store a larger amount in your bank for safekeeping and maybe take some that you want to invest for longer term storage (and hopefully appreciation) in stocks/bonds/real estate/etc. Computers/cell phones can be hacked or fail in many ways. Don't keep larger investments on your cell phone. Do backup software wallets periodically. Do encrypt your wallets to make them harder (but not impossible) to hack. You can keep spendable/smaller amounts there, but don't keep longer-term/larger investments. Move the extra to a hardware or paper wallet (long-term, safe storage) or you can keep them in an exchange for trading. Realize that there is no crypto-FDIC to insure your money, so the risk is entirely on you.

Look into the Nano. You are given an exhaustive 24 word code to write down. THAT is far more important than your actual device. If you do lose your device, or it's damaged. You can simply get another comparable hardware wallet, put in your code, and you're back in business. If some stole your wallet, it's impossible for them to get your funds.

 

[Phase2]

And back over 11K. Ridiculous volatility.

 

[Kutnupe14]

And back over 11K. Ridiculous volatility.

I was watching the buy and sell orders on GDAX, it's crazy.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I have no idea when this train is going to stop, but I'm on for the ride. Choo, Choo!

BTC price at time of posting: $13,100.00

Playing with house money now.

 

[Clay]

So is Coinbase about the best place to buy?

 

[Phase2]

That's where I point any beginner. They are the easiest to work with. Be aware, it takes a couple of days to get the account setup and ready to go.

Full warning: If you are buying as a speculative investment rather than to use the technology for actual purchases or education, then be aware that things are very volatile in cryptocurrencies right now. You are buying into new technology that is rapidly evolving. Do not put in any more money than you can afford to lose.

Also, be aware that you can buy small fractions of a Bitcoin and most any other crypto. You don't have to come up with $13,000. They are nearly infinitely divisible. So, if you want to buy $100 of Bitcoin, you will just get an appropriate fraction of one. That fraction will still appreciate/depreciate at the same rate as the rest of that crypto.

 

[d.kaufman]

That's where I point any beginner. They are the easiest to work with. Be aware, it takes a couple of days to get the account setup and ready to go.

Full warning: Things are very volatile in cryptocurrencies right now. You are buying into new technology that is rapidly evolving. Do not put in any more money than you can afford to lose.

I just started myself and use Coinbase. Only took about 15 minutes to get all set up and purchase. Figured id give it a shot and so far I'm ahead. Will see where it goes. Good advice on not to invest anymore than you can afford to lose!

 

[Phase2]

15 minutes? That's great. It has been a couple of years since I purchased there and it took a couple of days to setup and link to a bank account. Good to hear.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Valve Removes Bitcoin Payment Option From Steam - Niche Gamer

Back in April of last year, the mammoth digital gaming platform Steam began accepting Bitcoins as a form of payment. Now that the cryptocurrency has ballooned and plummeted in value, the digital distributor is removing the payment option from their platform.

Valve notes that the “transaction fees that are charged to the customer by the Bitcoin network have skyrocketed this year, topping out at close to $20 a transaction last week.” They also noted that this is a massive increase when compared to the rate when they initially accepted the currency, which was $.20 per transaction.

 

[Phase2]

Current transaction fees are a very, very well known problem in Bitcoin these days. Bitcoin currently has a bottleneck in the number of transactions that they can handle and right now, more people are trying to push through transactions than it can handle easily. Being a free market, they end up having to wait a while or raise their fee payment to get priority on their transactions. That is one of the biggest areas for technological innovation in the crypto space right now with solutions such as:

• increasing blocksize- ex: Bitcoin Cash
• Segregated Witness- ex: Litecoin
• Lightning Network- tested, but not "in production" yet
• tangles- ex: IOTA

and other solutions being tested in various alternate coins.

As I've noted, this is still a new and evolving technology. When I bought most of my Bitcoin, the fees were either $0 or a few cents. I'm hoping we can get back there. Other cryptos don't have nearly the transaction volume that BItcoin does and do not currently have the high fee problem.

That said, I don't understand why Valve would remove the Bitcoin option. The payment sender pays the fees, not the receiver. At most, they might want to put up a notice that their customers should be aware of currently high Bitcoin fees or possibly accept a couple of the major competitors with much lower fees.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I just started myself and use Coinbase. Only took about 15 minutes to get all set up and purchase. Figured id give it a shot and so far I'm ahead. Will see where it goes. Good advice on not to invest anymore than you can afford to lose!

Welcome to the early adopters club!

 

[Kutnupe14]

Current transaction fees are a very, very well known problem in Bitcoin these days. Bitcoin currently has a bottleneck in the number of transactions that they can handle and right now, more people are trying to push through transactions than it can handle easily. Being a free market, they end up having to wait a while or raise their fee payment to get priority on their transactions. That is one of the biggest areas for technological innovation in the crypto space right now with solutions such as:

• increasing blocksize- ex: Bitcoin Cash
• Segregated Witness- ex: Litecoin
• Lightning Network- tested, but not "in production" yet
• tangles- ex: IOTA

and other solutions being tested in various alternate coins.

As I've noted, this is still a new and evolving technology. When I bought most of my Bitcoin, the fees were either $0 or a few cents. I'm hoping we can get back there. Other cryptos don't have nearly the transaction volume that BItcoin does and do not currently have the high fee problem.

That said, I don't understand why Valve would remove the Bitcoin option. The payment sender pays the fees, not the receiver. At most, they might want to put up a notice that their customers should be aware of currently high Bitcoin fees or possibly accept a couple of the major competitors with much lower fees.

I'm starting to think that BTC and LTC programmers are working together. I think they're trying to perfect atomic swaps to solve those issues.

 

[Phase2]

They've already done it successfully in tests. Atomic swaps are going to be a huge, huge game changer. When that happens, it will be much easier for individuals to do direct, trusted exchanges of different coins and bypass exchanges altogether. Or a business can accept only crypto X, you can pay with crypto Y in a transaction that includes automatic conversion (with some fee) and they get the crypto X that they want. When the technology matures, any crypto that implements Atomic Swaps will be able to participate.

The equivalent would be going to Europe and not bothering to carry Euros, but to pay with your dollar-based credit card and they end up receiving Euros. Or trading X shares of Apple to someone for Y shares of GM without having to go through a stock broker or have a taxable event. Totally transparent to the user.