Is investing in Bitcoin is safe ?

[Pat494]

I see the really big companies like Amazon, Apple etc. have signed up to crypto but if one coin is worth thousands of dollars then how does one use it to buy one pint of milk for instance ?

 

[Pat494]

Talking of safety, some query WHY can't the public verify the contents of Fort Knox for instance ? The last audit was in the 1950s apparently. Pretty fishy if you ask me or should we just take the Fed's word on it ?

 

[MasterOfCoin]

I see the really big companies like Amazon, Apple etc. have signed up to crypto but if one coin is worth thousands of dollars then how does one use it to buy one pint of milk for instance ?

Well, that's easy enough to answer.

Unlike conventional currency, which is generally issued in units of 2 decimal places, most crypto currencies are usually divisible to 8 decimal places, which allows much smaller transactions.

In your example, say;

1 C/Coin = $2,000

Pint of milk = 44pence x 1.295 = $0.57

/ 0.00002 (smallest unit of C/Coin).

= 28,500‬ units or

0.00028500 C/Coins. + cheapest possible (slowest) transaction fee* = 0.00000001

Total = 0.00028501 C/Coins.

{= 57.002 cents}

* if you paid by conventional debit/credit card, the fee would be around 3% [30 cent minimum] making your milk 50% more expensive to buy at 87 cents !!

 

[MasterOfCoin]

Talking of safety, some query WHY can't the public verify the contents of Fort Knox for instance ? The last audit was in the 1950s apparently. Pretty fishy if you ask me or should we just take the Fed's word on it ?

Well, as The Fed is a privately owned bank, the short answer is you don't have any right to know, so yes, you have to take their word for it !

 

[MasterOfCoin]

Oh, and since the dollar isn't linked to Gold or Silver or anything else of any value at all, the Fed doesn't need to keep any reserves whatsoever.

If you should turn up with your dollar bill and demand the promised payment ...

... they will happily exchange it for. . . . .

Another dollar bill !

 

[Bubba27]

I think the banks and big corporations will eventually outsmart bitcoins design. The banks will continue to outsmart most people.

Most people want and they need that personalized security in place with banks. Most people are uneasy about being their own decentralize banker. With bitcoin if you lose your keys your coin is gone. With banks if you lose your debit card the bank can replace that.

Banks still offer good services and they can protect your funds.

There is also the hacker factor with bitcoin. The majority of people will be outsmarted and robbed by a bitcoin hacker. It is not that hard to fool most common computer users. They would do not know a blockchain from a phishing email.

I still believe bitcoin and the technologies following it are more than just a ledger. It is not just a ledger or just a new payment system. The whole blockchain and cryptocurrency combonation is a platform for bring humans closer to outer space and closer to virtual reality. Like a different realm of digital space and virtual real estate.

 

[ChrisDouthit]

I think the banks and big corporations will eventually outsmart bitcoins design. The banks will continue to outsmart most people.

Most people want and they need that personalized security in place with banks. Most people are uneasy about being their own decentralize banker. With bitcoin if you lose your keys your coin is gone. With banks if you lose your debit card the bank can replace that.

Banks still offer good services and they can protect your funds.

There is also the hacker factor with bitcoin. The majority of people will be outsmarted and robbed by a bitcoin hacker. It is not that hard to fool most common computer users. They would do not know a blockchain from a phishing email.

I still believe bitcoin and the technologies following it are more than just a ledger. It is not just a ledger or just a new payment system. The whole blockchain and cryptocurrency combonation is a platform for bring humans closer to outer space and closer to virtual reality. Like a different realm of digital space and virtual real estate.

Hi Bubba,

When you say you think the big corporations will outsmart bitcoin, you may know come up with another cryptocurrency, or do you think will come up with another system altogether that puts bit going out of business?

 

[MasterOfCoin]

I don't buy the 'hacker' argument mentioned by Bubba27.

Not because it isn't valid, but because it's hardly unique to bitcoin.

Hackers and scammers are in fact far more likely to target conventional systems than cryptocurrency.

Cloning a bank card is child's play and with 'contactless' they don't even need to get your pin code !

Suggesting or implying crypto is vulnerable to con scammers and hacking without acknowledging that conventional banking is far more vulnerable to such attacks is just plain wrong.

Cryptocurrency is as secure as the wallet holder makes it, no more, no less.

But for those who cannot trust themselves and need a third party to babysit their money, then by all means, they should stick to conventional banking where you can argue that the bank should have protected you from your own foolishness, gullibility or downright stupidity.

Personally, I'd rather I'd rather it was up to me to decide how I look after my money, when, where and how I spend or invest it, and how securely or not I choose to store it.

I suspect most readers of T2W will heartily with that last sentiment.

 

[Pat494]

Bankers might have to up their game a bit to keep up.

Might even provide a cuppa with their advice on all money matters.

 

[Bubba27]

Hi Bubba,

When you say you think the big corporations will outsmart bitcoin, you may know come up with another cryptocurrency, or do you think will come up with another system altogether that puts bit going out of business?

Bitcoin is still very new. Compare when people started buying Bitcoin seven years ago when it was under $100USD when very few people had even heard of it yet, compare that to today (it is at $10,000 and everybody and their grandma has heard of bitcoin now, around the entire world now, with thousands of successful crypto businesses today and with every giant banking system in the world has all eyes on bitcoin today). There is a big big difference in a short period of time.

When Bitcoin first came out there was really only Coinbase to buy and blockchain.info to see transactions posted. There were deepweb website marketplaces blatantly and anonymously selling large quantities drugs and guns. It was completely nuts. Not only that but the entire concept of buying bitcoin was entirely more risky feeling. It was very very risky feeling back then but today the bitcoin world is enormous and there is plenty of security today.

It helps to realize that buying bitcoin when it was new was an extremely risky emotion back then. It was very shady but today it is not shady at all.

Today it is all corporate. It's big finance. It is still in an infant stage where nobody knows what it will develop into.

I think bitcoin is as safe as any other stock out there. Bitcoin is still the leader but it is probably only a matter of time before other coin projects grow up alongside the bitcoin ecosystem. I think bitcoin was just the beginning and it was never meant to dominate or to be greedy. Bitcoin was not designed to compete or be king or the ruler, it was meant to just be the first coin.

I believe Bitcoin was developed by something or someone unique. It's strength is that it was not built to dominate. It was not built for satifying greed. Bitcoin is mechanical and mathmatical only. Bitcoins intentions are entirely pure.

There is a big difference between Bitcoin and Libra. Libra was designed to take over and fueled by greed and power hunger. Libra can not contend with Bitcoin.

There is something unique about who or what created bitcoin.

 

[ChrisDouthit]

Don't forget Mt. Gox...

 

[MasterOfCoin]

Yes, I remember it well.

Good ole Mt. G 'exchange' was everything that Cryptocurrency is designed to protect you from.

Just what exactly did people think would happen when they gave all their money and control over it to a site that started out as a fantasy-magic-based-card-game-trading-service. Doh.

Hmmm. I'll just take my new car down town and ask the teenagers hanging at the skate park to look after it for me.

I'm sure they will nuture and look after it with great care and attention and deliver it back to me in pristine condition all shiny and polished and at once as soon as I let them know I need to use it again.

NOT.

 

[Bubba27]

Use Coinbase

 

[ChrisDouthit]

Yes, I remember it well.

Good ole Mt. G 'exchange' was everything that Cryptocurrency is designed to protect you from.

Just what exactly did people think would happen when they gave all their money and control over it to a site that started out as a fantasy-magic-based-card-game-trading-service. Doh.

Hmmm. I'll just take my new car down town and ask the teenagers hanging at the skate park to look after it for me.

I'm sure they will nuture and look after it with great care and attention and deliver it back to me in pristine condition all shiny and polished and at once as soon as I let them know I need to use it again.

NOT.

I owned a web-based shopping cart in 2013 and was in talks with both Mt. Gox and Coinbase about integrating their platform into my checkout. Luckily I chose Coinbase!

 

[Pat494]

Maybe a good move by countries to set up their own integrated coin sites ?

 

[TFA]

cryptos are volatile , and super liquid

 

[Bubba27]

Maybe a good move by countries to set up their own integrated coin sites ?

Would that not defeat the purpose of "global" currency? Dividing internet ranges is a step back because there is no boundry with crypto. For the most part it is space money. . establishing seperate country websites for this is a step back into the inevitable endless digital red tape & over regulation that makes crypto so messy and prone to cyber security breaches.

Right now it is all about the exchanges security. The US based sites Coinbase and Binance, they have (possibly) better reputations to refund accounts in case they were at fault in a mass account security hacking/stealing scenario... so they say at least.

If I was going to trade those or park crypto at any exchange, I would stick with Coinbase for now. It is likely the closest thing crypto has to a bank.

 

[Bubba27]

As far as personal cold wallet security (where the owner is the only person who has control of the keys) I have never heard of a persons crypto being stolen that way. Unless they were unwise about how they protected themselves online.

I have never heard of a hacker breaking into a persons cold storage by brute force unless the owner themselves somehow compromised their own wallets security.

So it is an amazing way to store value but not everybody is a tech wizard. It requires learning of basic security measures.

Others have described how if a person told the wrong folks about their crypto holdings that they could be held for ransom and forced to reveal the keys. That may become more common in the future before people learn to further safeguard their keys and their accounts.

 

[fibo_trader]

Therefore on Bitcoin .................... 3463 is a likely train station after this current northbound rally terminates.

Bitcoin plunges 26%, its sharpest selloff in 7 years

we're getting close, now at 5300

 

[Tor_88]

Volatility in the crypto market can be a little harmful at times, just got to be careful. Otherwise, its a good field to earn.