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> Of course it does. Bitcoin used to be at $1, now it's at $1,xxx. And you can bet those who bought at $1 sold all they had at $10 ("wow, it's like 10 times wh
by oelmekki 9y ago
> Of course it does. Bitcoin used to be at $1, now it's at $1,xxx.
And you can bet those who bought at $1 sold all they had at $10 ("wow, it's like 10 times what I invested, this is insane, this probably won't go any further!"), those who bought at $10 sold everything at best at $100, those who bought at $100 sold at $1000, etc. Actually, I'm not sure the people bitcoin made rich are that many. I have yet to see an article explaining how someone got millionaire by getting early into bitcoin.
As for fundamentals, the underlying value of cryptocurrencies is to be a store of value that is not as easily stolen than cash, while still not sitting in at a bank. You can see it as cash that can be transmitted over the network, in small or big amount (and quite fast in that case, comparatively to a wire transfer). Of course, whether this tech will become mainstream is yet to be seen, it can still fail. On the other hand, the company you bought stocks from can also bankrupt and close.
- bonzini 9y agoIf someone got millionaire on Bitcoins, spending it would not be easy; the IRS might want to know how you are living beyond what your paycheck allows...
- oelmekki 9y agoOr they may declare their gains to IRS. Bitcoin is not just a tax evasion thing :) (and it's actually quite dumb to use it for tax evasion, given how the ledger is public and will always be there)
- bonzini 9y agoThat's not that easy. It assumes you have tracked your cost basis, for example.
- nerfhammer 9y agoAFAIK it's not illegal to make money off of bitcoin speculation. It's just like selling any other form of property.
- solotronics 9y agothere are lots of people operating entirely on cryptos around the world right now.
- fivestar 9y agoThat doesn't mean it isn't a scam. Bernie Madoff's customers were all quite happy for many years.
- someSven 9y agoIn Germany it's tax free if you where holding them for more than one year. A person can also move to another country where they don't care so much.