Okay SigForum,

Is this a bullshit scam? I bought some cigars online the other day (from an out of country website) and they took bitcoin as payment.

Scam, you mean unlike Social Security, deficit spending, etc.?
Did you get the cigars?

I have a client that made a FORTUNE with bitcoin. I think it's a little late in the game to get into it now and make a lot of money.

quote:

Did you get the cigars?

Yes. But I did not pay with Bitcoin.

I'm curious about Bitcoin too. I wonder if there's a book, "The Idiot's Guide to Bitcoin". I'd like to read it.

https://bitcoin.org/en/faq

https://www.bitcoin.com/getting-started

https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinBeginners/

http://money.cnn.com/infograph...ogy/what-is-bitcoin/

And so on.

It is a rather volatile digital encryption based currency, currently undergoing a dramatic decline in trading vs the US $. It's easier to own / transport / store 'on the down - low' than most other currency.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
https://bitcoin.org/en/faq

https://www.bitcoin.com/getting-started

https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinBeginners/

http://money.cnn.com/infograph...ogy/what-is-bitcoin/

And so on.

Ummm yeah, I'm a blackbelt in Google-Fu. The purpose of this thread (as are most threads on this forum) is to see if any of the members here have personal experience with the topic at hand.

So you've read those sources and others, and still think it's a scam? Really?

What about the dozen or so threads we've had here on it over the years?

Your post and questions read like someone who has never googled it nor read a thing.

Regardless, the links I posted were actually in response to Pipe Smoker's comment about books, and were nothing more than an attempt at an informed starting point for some.

Use them or don't, suit yourself. But these basic questions have been asked countless times in a myriad of sources for about a decade now.

Might want to get a refund for that "blackbelt".

I think Skins2881 builds dedicated machines for mining purposes. My limited study suggests two methods of mining: go it alone, or joint venture. Mining could be profitable, but you have to consider machine energy costs.

As for bitcoin, sure seems like it's a legit currency. Many retailers are accepting of bitcoin payment.

You can just buy some bitcoin if you wanted. Just like any other "investment", time will tell if you're the next Buffett.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
https://bitcoin.org/en/faq

https://www.bitcoin.com/getting-started

https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinBeginners/

http://money.cnn.com/infograph...ogy/what-is-bitcoin/

And so on.

Thanks for these links.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
I bought some cigars online the other day (from an out of country website)

Ooh what'd ya get? Mind sharing the site?

quote:

Originally posted by dlayne:

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
I bought some cigars online the other day (from an out of country website)

Ooh what'd ya get? Mind sharing the site?

Send me an email and I'll respond with a few trust-worthy sites. They are hard to come by, and no good comes from publicizing them in an open forum.

Come join us in the cigar thread!

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935&m=5890052153

Bitcoins are legit. Many real companies accept them as a form of payment.

As far as real world experience, a close friend of mine made about $20k after having bought 20 bitcoins and forgetting about them for a handful of years.

There are two categories of issues here:

- Bitcoin as a transactional medium of exchange

- Bitcoin as an investment

Starting with the second, how do you feel about gambling? Because that's basically what it is. Of course people have gambled on this and won big. So how lucky do you feel.

As far as the first. For a libertarian, government-skeptical type person, a non-governmental, anonymous cyber-currency could have a lot of appeal. The big question is liquidity/convertibility into "real" money, and will your normal transaction partners take it. Both of these are in flux.

I really feel silly for not buying a bunch when it was under a dollar per coin now that it's over 1k per coin.

quote:

Originally posted by Jester814:
I really feel silly for not buying a bunch when it was under a dollar per coin now that it's over 1k per coin.

How do you feel knowing it's over $2500 per coin?
$2639 usd to 1 bitcoin. Crazy.

The algorithms used to generate bitcoins essentially prevent unpredictably large amounts of them from being created. Basically an preventative against inflation. The Fed can whip up however many new dollars as it wants.

Hmmmm.......??????

I think this graph speaks volumes:



The last time I was looking into it, it was at about $1,300. I thought I'd wait and see if it dropped, surely it was just hyped up in value. Surely the FEDs would kill it somehow and everyone would lose everything. It seemed too risky of a gamble to me at that time.

I don't really gamble much, quit playing the markets, pulled even my mutual funds.

My FFL takes bitcoin. Netflix takes bitcoin. There's apps to easily and cheaply exchange bitcoins from person to person now in exchange for goods and services.

It's starting to get more tempting.

I just found an "Idiot's Guide to Bitcoin", a 105 page PDF file. Haven't read it yet, though.

http://idiotsguidetobitcoin.co..._to_Bitcoin_v1.0.pdf