http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04...es-chain-letter.html

Anyone remember these? People who think bitcoin is legit likely weren’t old enough to remember these games. They were open Ponzi schemes in effect, but it was a game.

I remember them running through the country club like wild fire. I was too young to participate, but I k ow my dad did.

They’d laugh when someone got screwed. Then the game would come around again. Bitcoin is essentially a massive game of Airplane. The .gov stopped it once, and I expect they’ll eventually stop it again.

These ico’s are simply new flights that people are pumping to try and fill will passengers. Back in the day, everyone knew it was a game. Today, there is a lot of dead money at the table who is being unwittingly sold a seat on the plane. Those in the know are essentially recruiters for the flight. That’s why this internet hype is pushing it so strong. They know the more folks on the plane, the more money they make.

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
So the question is, when does it topple? Like the dot com bubble. A lot of people rode that wave for a long time and made a lot of money.

Personally it's the same people chasing the next bubble.

The few Bitcoin enthusiasts I know are the same people who were involved with the dot.com bubble. Then they worked the mortgage broker bubble/angle until 2008. Then moved on to medical marijuana and now Bitcoin.....

And they are as enthusiastic for each new bubble as they were for the last one that fizzled.


Wasn't it initially created so you could buy illegal things anonymously on Silk Road?

Sure sounds like a pyramid scheme scam.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
So the question is, when does it topple? Like the dot com bubble. A lot of people rode that wave for a long time and made a lot of money.

Personally it's the same people chasing the next bubble.

The few Bitcoin enthusiasts I know are the same people who were involved with the dot.com bubble. Then they worked the mortgage broker bubble/angle until 2008. Then moved on to medical marijuana and now Bitcoin.....

And they are as enthusiastic for each new bubble as they were for the last one that fizzled.


Wasn't it initially created so you could buy illegal things anonymously on Silk Road?

No. It was made to be a new kind of currency. Like anything else in a free society it can be abused.

I don't believe it's a scam. We are seeing history being made.

It's as transparent as a trading system can be.

Let me gently suggest that some of you invest some of your stash in a book, “Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds,” by Charles Mackay.

I’ve had this book for years, and read it quite a few times. Mackay details several of the most notable bubbles, the South Sea swindle, the Mississippi Project in France, the tulip mania in Holland, and other delusions.

Among the similarities these and similar ones have is that even very smart people can be swept along in “the madness of crowds.” Sir Isaac Newton was an early investor in South Sea Company, then sold out at a terrific profit. He later bought shares again only to be wiped out, about $3 million in today's currency. He forbade any mention or reference to South Sea in his presence for the rest of his life. He is quoted as saying, “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”

Can Bitcoin function without the Internet? Who controls the Internet?

We probably would not be discussing Bitcoin now if governments and economists were not trying to convert the world into a "cashless society." I've already posted an article about India, but just search for "cashless society" to see that was not an isolated incident. In addition, certain countries are trying to impose capital controls to keep their fiat currencies from being converted into something else and / or leaving the country.

There are barriers to smuggling physical gold into / out of a country, but not so much with cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin existed, and it took off as a way of globally transferring money. Financial speculation entered cryptocurrencies, and they have now gone parabolic.

Whatever you think of Bitcoin, it is not going away anytime soon. There is already a tradeable Bitcoin Investment Trust ($GBTC), and Bitcoin futures will soon be trading on CME : CME Group Announces Launch of Bitcoin Futures With futures available to trade, volatility should decrease in Bitcoin.

My personal idea is to continue to be a customer and shareholder of https://www.goldmoney.com/ which has long been able to facilitate "electronic" transfers of gold and other precious metals. Then they added FX, and now cryptocurrencies. (My first retail purchase using gold with my Goldmoney Mastercard was a bottle of 18 year Lahphroaig whisky.)

Is there a way to short bitcoms on an medium term basis say like 2 years?

With reliable payoff in standard currencies?

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Let me gently suggest that some of you invest some of your stash in a book, “Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds,” by Charles Mackay.

That is one of the most influential books that I have read.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
Can Bitcoin function without the Internet? Who controls the Internet?

No modern financial markets can function without the Internet. (The New York Stock Exchange is mostly just a rack of computers in New Jersey.)

quote:

Originally posted by rh:

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
Can Bitcoin function without the Internet? Who controls the Internet?

No modern financial markets can function without the Internet. (The New York Stock Exchange is mostly just a rack of computers in New Jersey.)

So bitcoin cannot exist without using a government controlled medium? See who wins that argument.

Carry on it's always fun to watch the bubbles come and go.

I was on the Bitcoin ride. I got in at about $1200 and sold at about $5500. It was by far and away the best "investment" I ever made. Actually it was a $10,000 gamble that I could afford to lose. IMHO I think Bitcoin is on a bubble but, just like real estate, it isn't going to go away.

quote:

IMHO I think Bitcoin is on a bubble but, just like real estate, it isn't going to go away.

I think that's right. Timing is everything. It seems to now be in a speculative bubble.... but will continue to exist, just not likely at these prices.
Of course I wish I had bought Bitcoin years ago when I first heard about it. But I didn't..., and I'm not buying it now.

Bitcoin is an alternative medium of exchange, and alternatives to fiat currency will always exist. Gold is one.

Any medium that increases an individual's ability to safely store and move their wealth, and to conduct a variety of transactions, especially across borders, without government oversight or intervention, is a good thing and critical for true individual liberty.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:

So bitcoin cannot exist without using a government controlled medium? See who wins that argument.

Carry on it's always fun to watch the bubbles come and go.

Since FDR confiscated U.S. citizens' gold and gold was illegal to own for 40 years, I know who would win if Bitcoin were deemed to be a threat to the U.S.

I've just been trying to roughly explain Bitcoin and its popularity.

I don't have an idea of what will ultimately happen to Bitcoin, but blockchain technology is going mainstream.

quote:

Originally posted by rh:

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:

So bitcoin cannot exist without using a government controlled medium? See who wins that argument.

Carry on it's always fun to watch the bubbles come and go.

Since FDR confiscated U.S. citizens' gold and gold was illegal to own for 40 years, I know who would win if Bitcoin were deemed to be a threat to the U.S.

I've just been trying to roughly explain Bitcoin and its popularity.

I don't have an idea of what will ultimately happen to Bitcoin, but blockchain technology is going mainstream.

“Confiscated” seems to be a rather harsh characterization. Citizens were required to turn in certain items of gold or gold certificates to the Treasury or Fed, for $20.67 per oz. Some failed to do so, and some prosecutions ensued.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:

quote:

Originally posted by rh:

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:

So bitcoin cannot exist without using a government controlled medium? See who wins that argument.

Carry on it's always fun to watch the bubbles come and go.

Since FDR confiscated U.S. citizens' gold and gold was illegal to own for 40 years, I know who would win if Bitcoin were deemed to be a threat to the U.S.

I've just been trying to roughly explain Bitcoin and its popularity.

I don't have an idea of what will ultimately happen to Bitcoin, but blockchain technology is going mainstream.

“Confiscated” seems to be a rather harsh characterization. Citizens were required to turn in certain items of gold or gold certificates to the Treasury or Fed, for $20.67 per oz. Some failed to do so, and some prosecutions ensued.

What was it really worth at the time?

What about the value they lost versus having kept it longer / until today?

In any case, the requirement should have never been allowed nor ever repeated.

The bitcoin "bubble" is inflating, because people are betting on it's increased acceptance. If they're right, they win, if not,....

Again, a lot will depend on what governments chose to do about bitcoin. A non governmental, worldwide currency is a direct threat to their sovereignty. I may not be big enough now for them to drop the hammer on it. I'd bet at some point, they will

quote:

Originally posted by Dead_Eye:
How many times can I tell you that you're right esdunbar? I'm a idiot who's made over $30,000 today and I still have 3 more hours to go before I take a nap then catch the evening dump in Asia.

{snip}

I guess a lot has happened since you posted this just over a month ago.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...080092134#7080092134

quote:

It's worth nothing. I sold it all off a few years later because of some life circumstances. Would have been sweet if I could have let some of it ride!

So, you got back in recently, and made over $30,000 in one day

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
Can Bitcoin function without the Internet? Who controls the Internet?

This.