gregpj Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 Bitcoin has the collective users of the internet using/backing it. The people run bitcoin, no banks, and especially no major corporations. We give bitcoin value, and agree to exchange it among ourselves in trade. Bitcoin is also an open distributed ledger, meaning that Bitcoin can be used for much more than money. For Ripple, Google Ventures support is solid, but ultimately it is just another centralized money-transmitter service like PayPal. And they print the money as they see fit. It's an interesting idea, but I've zero interest in digital currency until it's an equal playing field. And to the question of who does Bitcoin have... If I'm not mistaken, Microsoft and Dell have some bitcoins in their portfolio of assets. Quote
Sauromosis Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 And they print the money as they see fit. It's an interesting idea, but I've zero interest in digital currency until it's an equal playing field. And to the question of who does Bitcoin have... If I'm not mistaken, Microsoft and Dell have some bitcoins in their portfolio of assets. There is a finite number of XRP ever created, they can't print more. Yes, they still hold more than half of it as part of their business plan but that's a different discussion. It motivates them to do a good job with Ripple. Quote
Sauromosis Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 And also each transaction destroys a fraction of an XRP...so the total number only decreases over time. Quote
gregpj Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 There is a finite number of XRP ever created, they can't print more. Yes, they still hold more than half of it as part of their business plan but that's a different discussion. It motivates them to do a good job with Ripple. Yes 100 billion... but there is nobody forcing them to print all of it. They get to distribute it in a 'fair' manner as defined by them. Have they truly shared what that plan is? Can this unknown entity be trusted to be benevolent? And also each transaction destroys a fraction of an XRP...so the total number only decreases over time. Are you sure about that, I thought it rippled back to the original issuer (them)? Which always led me to wonder what they would do with it once it was returned to them. Would they keep it or would they redistribute it. Again, what's the master plan and will they follow it? Bitcoin's advantage was that the guy who invented it literally gave it away for free to anyone who wanted to "invest" in it. These guys are not giving it away for free. Quote
Sauromosis Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 As far as benevolent? It's true that this is a for-profit company, but any threat to the entire system is a threat to them so they want to preserve it. XRP does not go back to them in any way, I hold it in my Ripple Trade account and I can do whatever I want with it, in my case hold it long term. The plan is for banks and other companies to use it as a back end to replace ACH On Demand and such. The transfers are nearly instant and like I said the tiny network fee destroys ripples permanently. Quote
jdmpartz Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 The plan is for banks and other companies to use it as a back end to replace ACH On Demand and such. The transfers are nearly instant and like I said the tiny network fee destroys ripples permanently. This will be the MAIN use in years to come. Buy a house, escrow, doc fees, all in the same day. The technology behind bitcoin is what is valuable, not the fiat-trade value people base it on. Quote
sikkun Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 Bitcoin is a currency not back by any government heavily used to launder money, smuggle drugs, human trafficking, and other fun things on the black market. Not exactly were I want to invest my time. Sure some people might make some money. Lots of people make money selling drugs also, doesn't mean I would want to join them. You also have 0 protection. I steal your wallet you call the credit companies, cancel your cards. Some annoyances 0 losses. What are you going to do if I steal your digital wallet? Call the police? FBI? No one recognizes your digital money as being worth anything, because it isn't worth anything. Quote
LegoSteve Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 Bitcoin is a currency not back by any government heavily used to launder money, smuggle drugs, human trafficking, and other fun things on the black market. Not exactly were I want to invest my time. Sure some people might make some money. Lots of people make money selling drugs also, doesn't mean I would want to join them. You also have 0 protection. I steal your wallet you call the credit companies, cancel your cards. Some annoyances 0 losses. What are you going to do if I steal your digital wallet? Call the police? FBI? No one recognizes your digital money as being worth anything, because it isn't worth anything. Bitcoin isn't backed by a government which is why many people are attracted by it. What is the USD backed by? I'll give you a hint, it's a trick question. As for buying drugs, sex trafficing, etc., the one thing opponents to bitcoin are in denial about is that you can do the same thing with any currency and gold & silver too. And finally, the scare tactics of losing your bitcoin wallet and getting your wallet hacked, if you know what your doing you can prevent that. A bitcoin wallet is less likely to be hacked if it is attached to a email. It will NEVER be hacked if it is stored on a flash drive. Not to mention if one person gets robbed in 10k USD and one person gets robbed in 10k BTC, who is more likely to get their money back? I'll give you a hint, it's another trick question. So what other objections are there that can be overcome quite easily? I'll just sit here and wait. I've got all day. And by the way I'm on vacation in Vegas right now and there just happens to be a tech convention here. I've chatted with many of them attending the convention and they all seem to be pro bitcoin and guess what, none of them are selling drugs or appear to be sex traficers. 1 Quote
LegoSteve Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 The people that are against BTC are the ones that know the least about. When Cypress closed all their banks the ones that were holding BTC survived. Look at this video during the Cypress crash and ask yourself if these are drug dealers or sex traffickers. Quote
sikkun Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 Can call a digital currency safe all you want but it is not legal tender. I have TB's of bitcoin data sitting at work filled with fraudulent transactions. Silk road/TOR/and other black markets are real. With 100's of millions in bitcoin seized from them already. Pretty sure if you were laundering money you wouldn't be out during protest either. Plenty of techy people are pro bitcoin. Plenty are against it. Just like plenty are pro piracy or against it. All depends on what aspects of the technology you work with. Which yes, there are fraudulent activities with USD and other currencies. The biggest differnce being like I said before, if 10k gets charged on my credit card that I didn't do...I can fix it. 10k goes missing from my bank account there resources to fix it. You are right 10k CASH goes missing, your pretty screwed. It's mostly a personal thing for me. I will agree with you bitcoin is becoming more and more legit, but in the start having a non centralized currenty is a very attractive method for money laundering. The current yearly downward trend of Bitcoin and the numerous crypto currencies that will continue to join the bandwagon also make me weary of investing my money into it. Was there a time I had the computer, and could have mined the coins, Yes. Probably should have, I just don't see it as a trustworthy market currently. Maybe in another 10 years if you can realistically use it without transferring it to USD anyway. Quote
Sauromosis Posted December 28, 2015 Posted December 28, 2015 It is with much sadness that I report trading all of my XRP into BTC, sending to Bitstamp, and cashing out through bank transfer. About a week ago, Ripple Labs announced that they are dumping their "Ripple Trade" product. For me this is the end of that pathetic company. I did make a nice profit on my three years holding XRP but I apologize to anyone who was convinced by my XRP advocacy. Quote
Robb Posted December 28, 2015 Posted December 28, 2015 Huh? Are you saying crypto currency is dieing? Quote
stephen_rockefeller Posted December 28, 2015 Posted December 28, 2015 Don't worry BTC will follow suit. Quote
randrace Posted December 28, 2015 Posted December 28, 2015 I bought my first Bitcoin at $13 and did pretty good with it since then. As an investment, it's not for the faint at heart. As a payment method, I love it. It's great for micropayments and beats any alternative as far as cost per transaction. Some form of cryptocurrency will be how most people buy and sell things on the internet in our lifetime. Quote
tonysbricks Posted May 8, 2017 Posted May 8, 2017 On 12/10/2014 at 11:55 PM, tonysbricks said: Think of this scenario. You can sell an HH and drop your gross sale amount into XRP. Write it off as a total loss and forget about it. If it misses, you are out a few dinners eating out with family and friends. If it hits, well, you decide what that means to you. Do the math and see if the risk/reward makes sense for you. Curious if anyone did the HH swap? It would be worth over $3500 right now and is growing at a ridiculous clip. I still believe in this as a long term play and will continue to hold, even if it continues to spike or reverses. Quote
exciter1 Posted May 8, 2017 Posted May 8, 2017 Curious if anyone did the HH swap? It would be worth over $3500 right now and is growing at a ridiculous clip. I still believe in this as a long term play and will continue to hold, even if it continues to spike or reverses.I'm still holding on to my Haunted Houses. 4 Quote
legopocalypse Posted May 23, 2017 Posted May 23, 2017 Bitcoin’s rise: $1,000 invested in 2010 would be worth $35 million today http://www.marketwatch.com/story/as-bitcoin-rockets-to-records-heres-how-much-skeptics-missed-out-on-says-one-money-manager-2017-05-22?mod=MW_story_top_stories 2 Quote
Guest TabbyBoy Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 Sorry to bump an old thread, but you lot need to wake up and smell this weeks coffee: Bitcoin (XBT) now at £2,227 (I bought at £120 each 2 years ago) Ethereum (ETH) now at £205 (I bought for £12 each last year) All my LEGO investment mistakes have been recovered in a matter of a couple of months and then some ;-) Analysts now believe that XBT will only keep going up and ETH now has the backing of several Fortune 500 companies, including the behemoths of Microsoft and BP. Oh, XBT is also now accepted as a legal form of payment in Japan. It seems like the Nikkei could be in for a rollercoaster ride soon. I'd get researching on new "altcoins" if I were you as you all know what could happen if you get in at the beginning. However, there are a lot of scams and worthless start-ups so tread very carefully and read as much as you can. It's one of those things where I can share information without fearing competition as the more it's traded and used, the more it's worth. LOL - Kerrmando would've made nearly 30x profit if XBT was purchased when this thread first started. Please tell me you did! ;-) Think of it this way... which option would you regret more... A. Losing £1,000 next week when ETH falls on its arse? B. Not punting £1,000 next week when a skyrocketing ETH would've turned it into £15,000 by next year? Option A would upset me the least. Is there a bubble? Perhaps! On 28/12/2015 at 9:02 PM, stephen_rockefeller said: Don't worry BTC will follow suit. LOL - It didn't, did it? Quote
donbee Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 Sorry to bump an old thread, but you lot need to wake up and smell this weeks coffee:Bitcoin (XBT) now at £2,227 (I bought at £120 each 2 years ago)Ethereum (ETH) now at £205 (I bought for £12 each last year) All my LEGO investment mistakes have been recovered in a matter of a couple of months and then some ;-) Analysts now believe that XBT will only keep going up and ETH now has the backing of several Fortune 500 companies, including the behemoths of Microsoft and BP. Oh, XBT is also now accepted as a legal form of payment in Japan. It seems like the Nikkei could be in for a rollercoaster ride soon. I'd get researching on new "altcoins" if I were you as you all know what could happen if you get in at the beginning. However, there are a lot of scams and worthless start-ups so tread very carefully and read as much as you can. It's one of those things where I can share information without fearing competition as the more it's traded and used, the more it's worth.LOL - Kerrmando would've made nearly 30x profit if XBT was purchased when this thread first started. Please tell me you did! ;-) Think of it this way... which option would you regret more... A. Losing £1,000 next week when ETH falls on its arse? B. Not punting £1,000 next week when a skyrocketing ETH would've turned it into £15,000 by next year? Option A would upset me the least. Is there a bubble? Perhaps! LOL - It didn't, did it?My concern has always been where to purchase and how to store bitcoin. Will you share who you use? Quote
nolanfan34 Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 I am trying to learn more about this, and am just about through with a podcast my buddy sent me that I started this morning. http://tim.blog/2017/06/04/nick-szabo/ Really good introduction, even if some of it is hard to follow at first listen. Helpful that I sat through a Blockchain presentation at work today to put the pieces together. Quote
HandyHand Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 I bought 0.05 BTC out of curiosity, back in November 2014. Paid €25 for it that time. It's worth around €123 now, according to the Bitonic.nl Bitcoin trading site. Between then and now, the value of my BTC dropped to around €14 though but I'm glad I just held on to it. It's interesting stuff! Quote
legopocalypse Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) 11 hours ago, donbee said: My concern has always been where to purchase and how to store bitcoin. Will you share who you use? www.coinbase.com Edited June 7, 2017 by legopocalypse 1 Quote
blue leader Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 It will take awhile to get on an exchange now. Coinbase alone had 40k people sign up in one day this week. FYI Quote
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