Do you use crypto currency?

No. I wish we'd get there faster though. Current system of money is real dumb, but people are comfortable with it so there is no need for change. Until that need comes here and it becomes widely accepted, it's kind of pointless though.

@zevvion: Yeah I like the idea of a decentralized money system. I'm not sure the current crypto currencies have what it takes to ensure this however. When I see how big the influence of the Chinese miners, traders and even the PBOC is on the price of bitcoin for example I wonder how much is left of the utopian vision it promised when it started.

I've used bitcoins quite a bit for purchasing stuff. But unless it is necessary I tend not to. Buying bitcoins can be a bit of a hassle, depending on what site/method you're using the time it takes to make the transaction varies. The best/most reliable way I found is buying from private individuals in your vicinity, and there are marketplaces for that stuff.

Am I a Russian mobster? No? Then no, I use real money. Crypto-currency is a dumb term anyway. It sounds like something Bigfoot or Chupacabra would use.

I don't have any interest in purchasing anything that I can't with normal cash, so no. There's really no point in investing in largely useless currencies whose markets fluctuate so rapidly

While I like the idea my current lifestyle doesn't really work with it and its far too volatile for me.

Are you a cop?

I would much rather use it than dumb bits of metal and paper.

I remember years ago when Bitcoin was new, a friend at work and I joked about buying some bitcoins. They were like $20 a piece at the time. Then, it went beyond a joke and we thought about it, but never pulled the trigger.

I like to comfort myself by telling myself I would have spent it the moment that bitcoin value doubled.

Aren't those currencies just used to buy illegal shit on deep web?

I have a friend who made millions with bitcoin. I completely missed that boat though. Right now the other "altcoins" are riding on speculation that one of them will boom like bitcoin did back then. There are more crypto currencies (450+) then there are traditional currencies (180) so the chances of any one of those booming like bitcoin did is quite low. The last couple of days I saw two coins double and even triple in value and promptly loosing most of their value again. It's completely insane because it is just a kind if roulette. If one big buyer decides to buy into an unknown coin it spikes up and causes a rally that can last from a couple of hours to a couple of days. The initial big buyer then sells his coins for profit and the price plummets again leaving buyers who saw a peaking chart and wanted a piece of the pie with big losses. I wonder if at some point governments will step in to regulate this. China already banned margin trading on it's bitcoin exchanges (causing quite a panic and a crash of the bitcoin price).

The rise of bitcoin made me realise what it must have been like to be an old man when charge coins and credit cards started becoming mainstream.

Like ghosts and bigfoot?

No, but I probably should have opened a bitcoin account or whatever 6 or 7 years ago when a dude asked if he could send me some bitcoins.

I've still not had Bitcoin or their equivalent appear in any of the places I normally use money. Can someone explain what use/advantages it has?

@picky_bugger: Well there is a Ghostcoin.

@bdead: Shit son, I knew that those TAPS people were up to no good.

It's crypto currency until it's useful, at which point it's just a currency.

I think there is a lot of potential to make decent ROI on crypto currency. Forget the nay sayers that crypto currency is only for black market transactions. It is a different way to have commerce without having to rely on the value of a nation's currency to be effective at purchasing item. If you bought the highest volume traded currency, bitcoin, 1.5 years ago August 2015, at around ~280 USD per coin. Bitcoin currently sits at ~920 USD per coin. That is over a 300% return in 1.5 years. you are "beating" the market if you get over 7% return per year. Is it bubble? It all going to come crashing down? This is possible! Sadly all a crash is going to do is probably either drive down the price before it soars back up again, or at least gold investors are going to be really happy. So should you invest in a crypto currency? Should you differentiate that portfolio? Absolutely. The question is wether you want to go the Warren Buffet route, and just buy and hold forever or wait for the right "timing" to maximize return. Good Luck!

@paulmako: For an average consumer I don't think there are a great deal of advantages at this moment. If you are someone who often sends money to other countries or has a company that has employees in other countries the major advantage is that you don't have to deal with exchange rates when making international payments. Also the technology on which crypto currencies are based (blockchain) ensures that each transaction is verified and it keeps a ledger that is public so you don't have to count on banks to do this. In theory the bank system would become unnecessary when we all convert to this system. This would be a major step forward in my opinion but there is a lot of growing to do before it'll get there.

Tales from the crypto currencies.

EDIT: I don't know why the last post before mine is 9 months old as it showed up in the "recently posted" feed.

No but like others said I wish i had jumped on the bitcoin wagon when it was starting out. Its at a place now where its too confusing to even get involved with.

I mined for about four days over the summer; ended up telling myself that, maybe I should get a real job instead instead of killing my hardware for $2 a day.

Anyone convert all their money over to ecoin? Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto?

Wow I almost forgot I made this thread. A lot has changed in crypto land. Bitcoin was around 900$ back then, now it stands at 6000$. Ethereum went from around 10$ to around 300$. It's still a complete wild west though. China banned trading causing a major crash, ethereum swinged wildly for a time and the amount of new coins is just insane.

My advise for people who are thinking about mining is that you have to do the calculations first with the six month minimum price of the coin you are going to mine. For people who are thinking about investing the main advice is that you should never invest money that you can't afford to loose. It's a unregulated market and you stand to loose everything. The next couple of months will probably be very volatile so be carefull out there!

I picked up some XRP and LTC on the cheap. Waiting for it to go to the moon so I can swim in a pool full of Lambos. I don't use the currency, just have some LTC and XRP as a fun throw away investment.

@tanokosohana:

Be careful bro. A lot of those apps out there aint legit

No not really. Have no need for it. Just me I guess!