Crypto Currency Thread

[Behemoth]

Joey Deacon said:

And BTC needs a minimum of six confirmed blocks to be considered a secure transaction, so you are looking at an hour minimum before a transaction is complete. Not sure many retailers are going to be happy to wait an hour to receive payment before allowing you to take your goods. So we both agree that due to time and transaction costs it is useless as a currency.

Layers, Joey. Do you understand what protocol layers are? How many layers do you think exist for the dollar or sterling? Bitcoin is the base layer. Small transactions don't need to be recorded on the blockchain and don't need the security and finality it offers

[Mr Whippy]

I’m confused why BTC anonymity is bad.

If you do business legitimately and utilise BTC then you just exchange for whatever fiat currency you like.

All the KYC is a layer users can add if it’s required.

Ie, exchanges want ID info to let you trade.
Bittylicious and the like want ID info to buy/sell.

If you’re doing large volumes of dodgy stuff between people then laundering into fiat is the challenge, and even that is ultimately a legitimised process (bank accounts, businesses, etc)

People the UK over work in anonymous cash all day, and declare it and legitimise it.

I think BTC features are good if you want anonymity, which should be a thing if you want it.
But then large/suspect transactions can be traced (btc is not private), and de-anonymised... or just large legit transactions can require registering with real ID (just like lots of cash etc at bank)


BTC can also fork to evolve.


I’ve found it useful at times.

Services like Stripe and wallets, somehow, can allow transactions to be confirmed quickly,

The biggest single issue imo is fees.

If LTC is the ‘everyday’ currency then why not make small transactions on the same network cheaper, and save on network overheads?

That side of it all seems like bks.


But for now I’m about 7000% up so I’m happy enough.

I’m about to take some profits. If it then goes tits up or to the moon I’m happy enough x 2.

[anonymous-user]

x70 gains, kudos, those days seem gone though now. unfortunately.

[Behemoth]

Mr Whippy said:

The biggest single issue imo is fees.

If LTC is the ‘everyday’ currency then why not make small transactions on the same network cheaper, and save on network overheads?

Your small transactions on the same network already exist. It's called Lightning.

Fees relate to value & in BTC terms fees are actually very stable. If BTC went to $100k then fees in $ terms would follow the increase.

However, secondary layers like Lightning operate with substantially lower fees. Forget LTC. Thinking that this is a day to day currency option is misleading. If it ever took off (tip: it won't) then it'd suffer exactly the same scalability issues.

The solution to scalability is to build infrastructure layers over the base protocol. That's happening on BTC on a scale you don't see in any other crypto asset. It is leagues ahead.

[Petrolsmasher]

Can anyone remember the last bull run for alts, did bitcoin keep going up like it is now and then flow into the alts once it hit 20k.

Or did the alts start to go up before bitcoin hit 20k.

[whatxd]

Petrolsmasher said:

Can anyone remember the last bull run for alts, did bitcoin keep going up like it is now and then flow into the alts once it hit 20k.

Or did the alts start to go up before bitcoin hit 20k.

Alts outperformed Bitcoin once it achieved new all time highs which was around $1200+. Bitcoin then made up ground in the latter half of 2017.

That was then though, this is now. I believe that last time, people saw their friends getting "rich" off of Bitcoin but thought it was too much, so they bought the cheaper alternatives, hence the stcoin pump. What's going to pump them this time? The people who got burned last time? A whole new wave of people seeing their friends making money with Bitcoin?

I'm just a random guy on the Internet so take my opinion with a pinch of salt, but I would not count on stcoins going up any time soon, or at all for that matter. Most stcoins need Bitcoin to thrive to have any hope of increasing in price. Bitcoin doesn't need stcoins, as you've seen almost all year.

[Petrolsmasher]

whatxd said:

Petrolsmasher said:

Can anyone remember the last bull run for alts, did bitcoin keep going up like it is now and then flow into the alts once it hit 20k.

Or did the alts start to go up before bitcoin hit 20k.

Alts outperformed Bitcoin once it achieved new all time highs which was around $1200+. Bitcoin then made up ground in the latter half of 2017.

That was then though, this is now. I believe that last time, people saw their friends getting "rich" off of Bitcoin but thought it was too much, so they bought the cheaper alternatives, hence the stcoin pump. What's going to pump them this time? The people who got burned last time? A whole new wave of people seeing their friends making money with Bitcoin?

I'm just a random guy on the Internet so take my opinion with a pinch of salt, but I would not count on stcoins going up any time soon, or at all for that matter. Most stcoins need Bitcoin to thrive to have any hope of increasing in price. Bitcoin doesn't need stcoins, as you've seen almost all year.

You say when bitcoin hit 1200, alts had a bull run.

But then there was the time i got invested when btc hit 20k, what happened that time i cant remember?

I just want my fckin money back

[whatxd]

Petrolsmasher said:

You say when bitcoin hit 1200, alts had a bull run.

But then there was the time i got invested when btc hit 20k, what happened that time i cant remember?

I just want my fckin money back

My memory is a little hazy to within a few weeks but Bitcoin dropped quickly when it hit 20K, alts a few weeks after that. Taking away a few weeks leeway either way, the 20k top for Bitcoin was the top for everything else. The difference is that Alts have been dropping compared to Bitcoin for well over a year now. There's no reason to think the trend will change anytime soon.

Here's a screenshot from a year ago today:

https://coinmarketcap.com/historical/20180805/

Bitcoin is considerably higher, most others are lower then they were then.

Edited to add: "the time" btc hit $1200 and $20,000 are one of the same: 2017

Bitcoin hitting $1200 in the early part of 2017 was what really kicked things off for stcoins, Bitcoin topping out at $20,000 and triggering a sell off at the end of 2017 is what ended it for them.

Edited by whatxd on Monday 5th August 13:39

[Petrolsmasher]

whatxd said:

Petrolsmasher said:

You say when bitcoin hit 1200, alts had a bull run.

But then there was the time i got invested when btc hit 20k, what happened that time i cant remember?

I just want my fckin money back

My memory is a little hazy to within a few weeks but Bitcoin dropped quickly when it hit 20K, alts a few weeks after that. Taking away a few weeks leeway either way, the 20k top for Bitcoin was the top for everything else. The difference is that Alts have been dropping compared to Bitcoin for well over a year now. There's no reason to think the trend will change anytime soon.

Here's a screenshot from a year ago today:

https://coinmarketcap.com/historical/20180805/

Bitcoin is considerably higher, most others are lower then they were then.

Edited to add: "the time" btc hit $1200 and $20,000 are one of the same: 2017

Bitcoin hitting $1200 in the early part of 2017 was what really kicked things off for stcoins, Bitcoin topping out at $20,000 and triggering a sell off at the end of 2017 is what ended it for them.

Edited by whatxd on Monday 5th August 13:39

I read somewhere recently that said the usual cycle goes.

BTC hits ATH, money then flows into alts, after a few weeks whales convert back to btc and end up with more BTC, then start to sell it causing the beginning of the bear market.

[bloomen]

whatxd said:

Bitcoin hitting $1200 in the early part of 2017 was what really kicked things off for stcoins, Bitcoin topping out at $20,000 and triggering a sell off at the end of 2017 is what ended it for them.

It was the first Winklevoss ETF rejection that set off the alt run. You can time it to the minute.

If it had passed alts would've shat the bed as it would've gained a level of legitimacy that they did not. Since it was rejected they set off for the stars in relief.

What we're seeing now is Bitcoin gaining in legitimacy in slow motion instead with all that entails for alts. There are a handful of funds for alts like the new Grayscale one but the overwhelming majority of serious money only has eyes for BTC.

[anonymous-user]

Petrolsmasher said:

I just want my fckin money back

Do you need the money right away. If it was me i would cash out in BTC and maybe ETH and leave it for a few months at the least.

[DanGPR]

Thesprucegoose said:

Do you need the money right away. If it was me i would cash out in BTC and maybe ETH and leave it for a few months at the least.

Same, but not ETH. 100% Bitcoin.
The money is flowing into BTC, 99% of other coins are vaporware and the rest are a moonshot at best, maybe put 1% in a couple of long shots.

[anonymous-user]

DanGPR said:

Same, but not ETH. 100% Bitcoin.
The money is flowing into BTC, 99% of other coins are vaporware and the rest are a moonshot at best, maybe put 1% in a couple of long shots.

always better to hedge, because what is happening now can quickly change.

[dimots]

Thesprucegoose said:

always better to hedge, because what is happening now can quickly change.

Are you really suggesting hedging bitcoin with ethereum?

Makes no sense to me.

Bitcoin is the one. It's a hedge against fiat. First sign of gains was G-20 tensions. Now China is firming up its commitment to trade war. Btc will rise as long as these trade tensions remain unsettled.

[p1stonhead]

dimots said:

Thesprucegoose said:

always better to hedge, because what is happening now can quickly change.

Are you really suggesting hedging bitcoin with ethereum?

Makes no sense to me.

Bitcoin is the one. It's a hedge against fiat. First sign of gains was G-20 tensions. Now China is firming up its commitment to trade war. Btc will rise as long as these trade tensions remain unsettled.

Bitcoin is a hedge against FIAT? you can’t spend them like actual money in any meaningful way.....

[dimots]

p1stonhead said:

Bitcoin is a hedge against FIAT? you can’t spend them like actual money in any meaningful way.....

"you can’t spend them like actual money in any meaningful way"

What does this mean? Break it down for me I must be stupid.

[anonymous-user]

dimots said:

Are you really suggesting hedging bitcoin with ethereum?

Makes no sense to me.

.

it wouldnt as you are BTC fanboy, but hedge your bets, as in gambling is the best practice, ETH was the suggestion but others available. Like i posted BTC is currently king, but this has changed in the past and anyone who is 100% sure is a idiot, no one knows.

Edited by Thesprucegoose on Tuesday 6th August 09:35

[dimots]

But surely the best hedge against bitcoin is something non-crypto...like dollars...or property?

I am thinking of selling some btc right now even though I think it will go up, simply because sterling is so low. I can get lots of pounds for not many btc, and equally I am currently getting lots of pounds for my dollar and euro earnings. I could buy lots of assets in pounds (property/cars/watches/etc...) which will remain highly valuable regardless of what happens in the other markets.

A better hedge than ethereum I think.

I don't even consider derivatives as a hedge for bitcoin...urgh, the thought makes me feel unclean.

[p1stonhead]

dimots said:

p1stonhead said:

Bitcoin is a hedge against FIAT? you can’t spend them like actual money in any meaningful way.....

"you can’t spend them like actual money in any meaningful way"

What does this mean? Break it down for me I must be stupid.

Where can you spend bitcoin like a replacement for traditional money?

[dimots]

p1stonhead said:

Where can you spend bitcoin like a replacement for traditional money?

I can spend it with anyone I like. I accept bitcoin and so can you.