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For those of you experiencing cryptocurrency FOMO or regret, some perspective: every single day, there are stocks which see increases in value of over 50%[0]. D

For those of you experiencing cryptocurrency FOMO or regret, some perspective: every single day, there are stocks which see increases in value of over 50%[0]. Don't kick yourself just because this opportunity was more visible to you than the others. [0] https://finance.yahoo.com/gainers https://finance.yahoo.com/gainers

askafriend 9y ago
Honestly, I don't have confidence in Bitcoin as a viable tangible asset to the world. So even if it goes up 100x tomorrow, I'm still content with not having invested any of my energies or resources into it. It's too heavily speculative to be useful in the way proponents purport it's usefulness. The blockchain as a protocol and concept I think is very interesting and potentially extremely valuable, but the specific coin and technology called Bitcoin - I really don't care for. It's just more fun and rewarding to make money by investing in things where I have a strong conviction about their usefulness. The moment you add layers on top of Bitcoin to make it usable to a broad audience you destroy the initial value proposition of anonymity and vague notions of "democratizing finance" (see: Coinbase).
- xkxx 9y ago
  Bitcoin never promised anonymity. Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous and never were.
  - Artemis2 9y ago
    https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-for-individuals#anonymous https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-for-individuals#anonymous
    - cashmonkey85 9y ago
      Bitcoin is not anonymous your link doesn't say it is. It's easier to hide your identity than a credit card but it's more) not anonymous and there is a big focus on fixing this.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- tlrobinson 9y ago
  What is it about "blockchain" technology that you like? I hear "I don't like Bitcoin but I like blockchain technology" a lot, but I suspect most people don't understand a blockchain without a cryptocurrency doesn't solve anything new.
r0fl 9y ago
I have a ton of Bitcoin FOMO. I have two friends who are holding ~5000 coins each. They bought in the $15 range. I can't think of anything that's gone up 125x
- pfortuny 9y ago
  Can they turn it into cash as of right now? If they can, OK. Otherwise, it is just wishful thinking.
  - roflchoppa 9y ago
    yeah you probably could, but you would have the price slide on you if you liquidate that much, most people get off the train at price stops, let other people on.
    - cjbprime 9y ago
      I haven't looked it up, but I think you're underestimating Bitcoin's volume and market cap if you think selling $5M will shift the global price.
  - iak8god 9y ago
    Unless that ~$10M bitcoin is a pretty small fraction of the individual's net worth, it sure seems like a good idea to at least sell half and put it somewhere less risky...
- miguelrochefort 9y ago
  Bought my first Bitcoin at $15. My second at $30. 20 more at $100. Through a series of bad trades, I barely made a profit once it reached $250. I sold all of them, got some more at $750, then sold them at a loss at $250. I'm an horrible trader...
  - programmarchy 9y ago
    Key with most investments is not to panic sell when the price starts dropping. Diversify then just accept that some investments will go to zero, some will 2X, and maybe a couple will >10X, which is where you'll make your money in the long term.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
erlehmann_ 9y ago
It seems to me that getting rich by investing a little money in the right thing at the right time has its emotional appeal for many. There is a thing I do not understand about cryptocurrencies, though: Why should a private person hold any amount of a cryptocurrency for any other reason than speculation? If people use Bitcoin to pay online, it does not matter if 10$ buys 0.02BTC or 0.002BTC, as price tags show dollar amounts. Many other commodities have at least some practical value even if their price tanks. But at a low price, a cryptocurrency makes online payment as easy as it would make it at a high price – as long as there exists a small enough currency unit. One thing that would make payment with cryptocurrencies problematic would be short-term price volatiity – but long-term shifts in value do not seem to matter for that purpose. Does anyone privately hold an amount of cryptocurrency long-term for any other purpose than speculation? If so, what is their movivation?
- dando 9y ago
  Siacoin actually has a use.
- dr_win 9y ago
  ability to do censorship-proof eternal proof of existence and/or proof of publication.
- mrb 9y ago
  One main appeal of Bitcoin is that it always works if you have coins on hand at this moment. You can use it for time-sensitive transactions without wasting time to purchase some coins beforehand. Want to send $50 or $50 million to someone or some company in another country? Bitcoin does that in 10-60 minutes (1 to 6 confirmations). No PayPal blocking the transaction. No unexplainably declined CC authorization. No bank account suddenly seized by your totalitarian government. Being able to pay your B2B Chinese supplier for an urgent order on a Friday evening without having to wait for banks to process wires on Monday. The list of scenarios where Bitcoin is useful goes on and on.
Johnny_Brahms 9y ago
I sold a ukulele to a friend of mine for ~10btc back in 2010. I have sold most of it probably getting awarded "worst citizen" by the Swedish IRS. Best affair I ever done was to lose those coins until I stumbled upon them in 2015.

askafriend 9y ago

Honestly, I don't have confidence in Bitcoin as a viable tangible asset to the world. So even if it goes up 100x tomorrow, I'm still content with not having invested any of my energies or resources into it. It's too heavily speculative to be useful in the way proponents purport it's usefulness. The blockchain as a protocol and concept I think is very interesting and potentially extremely valuable, but the specific coin and technology called Bitcoin - I really don't care for. It's just more fun and rewarding to make money by investing in things where I have a strong conviction about their usefulness. The moment you add layers on top of Bitcoin to make it usable to a broad audience you destroy the initial value proposition of anonymity and vague notions of "democratizing finance" (see: Coinbase).

xkxx 9y ago
Bitcoin never promised anonymity. Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous and never were.
- Artemis2 9y ago
  https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-for-individuals#anonymous https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-for-individuals#anonymous
  - cashmonkey85 9y ago
    Bitcoin is not anonymous your link doesn't say it is. It's easier to hide your identity than a credit card but it's more) not anonymous and there is a big focus on fixing this.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
tlrobinson 9y ago
What is it about "blockchain" technology that you like? I hear "I don't like Bitcoin but I like blockchain technology" a lot, but I suspect most people don't understand a blockchain without a cryptocurrency doesn't solve anything new.

r0fl 9y ago

I have a ton of Bitcoin FOMO. I have two friends who are holding ~5000 coins each. They bought in the $15 range. I can't think of anything that's gone up 125x

pfortuny 9y ago
Can they turn it into cash as of right now? If they can, OK. Otherwise, it is just wishful thinking.
- roflchoppa 9y ago
  yeah you probably could, but you would have the price slide on you if you liquidate that much, most people get off the train at price stops, let other people on.
  - cjbprime 9y ago
    I haven't looked it up, but I think you're underestimating Bitcoin's volume and market cap if you think selling $5M will shift the global price.
- iak8god 9y ago
  Unless that ~$10M bitcoin is a pretty small fraction of the individual's net worth, it sure seems like a good idea to at least sell half and put it somewhere less risky...
miguelrochefort 9y ago
Bought my first Bitcoin at $15. My second at $30. 20 more at $100. Through a series of bad trades, I barely made a profit once it reached $250. I sold all of them, got some more at $750, then sold them at a loss at $250. I'm an horrible trader...
- programmarchy 9y ago
  Key with most investments is not to panic sell when the price starts dropping. Diversify then just accept that some investments will go to zero, some will 2X, and maybe a couple will >10X, which is where you'll make your money in the long term.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

erlehmann_ 9y ago

It seems to me that getting rich by investing a little money in the right thing at the right time has its emotional appeal for many. There is a thing I do not understand about cryptocurrencies, though: Why should a private person hold any amount of a cryptocurrency for any other reason than speculation? If people use Bitcoin to pay online, it does not matter if 10$ buys 0.02BTC or 0.002BTC, as price tags show dollar amounts. Many other commodities have at least some practical value even if their price tanks. But at a low price, a cryptocurrency makes online payment as easy as it would make it at a high price – as long as there exists a small enough currency unit. One thing that would make payment with cryptocurrencies problematic would be short-term price volatiity – but long-term shifts in value do not seem to matter for that purpose. Does anyone privately hold an amount of cryptocurrency long-term for any other purpose than speculation? If so, what is their movivation?

dando 9y ago
Siacoin actually has a use.
dr_win 9y ago
ability to do censorship-proof eternal proof of existence and/or proof of publication.
mrb 9y ago
One main appeal of Bitcoin is that it always works if you have coins on hand at this moment. You can use it for time-sensitive transactions without wasting time to purchase some coins beforehand. Want to send $50 or $50 million to someone or some company in another country? Bitcoin does that in 10-60 minutes (1 to 6 confirmations). No PayPal blocking the transaction. No unexplainably declined CC authorization. No bank account suddenly seized by your totalitarian government. Being able to pay your B2B Chinese supplier for an urgent order on a Friday evening without having to wait for banks to process wires on Monday. The list of scenarios where Bitcoin is useful goes on and on.

Johnny_Brahms 9y ago

I sold a ukulele to a friend of mine for ~10btc back in 2010. I have sold most of it probably getting awarded "worst citizen" by the Swedish IRS. Best affair I ever done was to lose those coins until I stumbled upon them in 2015.