Cryptocurrencies

[Jurgis]

22 year olds who live with their parents are the backbone of our society. 

[Spekulatius]

Aren't these cryptocurrencies inflationary? As I understand that it, mining these cryptocurrencies does not create any real value, so basically, a fan cryptocurrency  has a value, this means that the value of the currency we currently own is devalued. Right now, the total value of the crypto currency creates an s probably still too small to matter, but if it becomes significant, there should be an inflationary impact on the economies.

I also think that the government eventually will crack down on this for above reason and the ease to use it for money laundry. Sure, the government mayn't be able to control who owns it or who uses it, but if they make the use of he cryptocurrency unlawful, then the cryptocurrency would become a Mafia currency of some sort and be worth far less for most of us.

I think it is just a matter of time when this get regulated to some extend. This is now like the "Wild West", but eventually, the Wild West was ruled by law as well.

[SnarkyPuppy]

Aren't these cryptocurrencies inflationary? As I understand that it, mining these cryptocurrencies does not create any real value, so basically, a fan cryptocurrency  has a value, this means that the value of the currency we currently own is devalued. Right now, the total value of the crypto currency creates an s probably still too small to matter, but if it becomes significant, there should be an inflationary impact on the economies.

I also think that the government eventually will crack down on this for above reason and the ease to use it for money laundry. Sure, the government mayn't be able to control who owns it or who uses it, but if they make the use of he cryptocurrency unlawful, then the cryptocurrency would become a Mafia currency of some sort and be worth far less for most of us.

I think it is just a matter of time when this get regulated to some extend. This is now like the "Wild West", but eventually, the Wild West was ruled by law as well.

You could argue that governments providing some layer of regulation could be a catalyst for increase in layman use.   

[SharperDingaan]

Aren't these cryptocurrencies inflationary? As I understand that it, mining these cryptocurrencies does not create any real value, so basically, a fan cryptocurrency  has a value, this means that the value of the currency we currently own is devalued. Right now, the total value of the crypto currency creates an s probably still too small to matter, but if it becomes significant, there should be an inflationary impact on the economies.

I also think that the government eventually will crack down on this for above reason and the ease to use it for money laundry. Sure, the government mayn't be able to control who owns it or who uses it, but if they make the use of he cryptocurrency unlawful, then the cryptocurrency would become a Mafia currency of some sort and be worth far less for most of us.

I think it is just a matter of time when this get regulated to some extend. This is now like the "Wild West", but eventually, the Wild West was ruled by law as well.

The experience to date suggests that cryptocurrency is not inflationary. Given that very little cryptocurrency is actually accepted for payment purposes, & those that are (ie: Bitcoin) don’t transact very much – that’s not unreasonable.

The broader problem is the inflation metric itself – quantity of money/goods available, usually measured as an ‘M’ number, divided by GDP. Where’s everything (flight, hotel, meals, etc.) you bought using loyalty points?  (ie Visa, Aeroplan, Airmiles, Car Rentals, Travelocity, Uber, airBnB, etc.) – all of which is just another type of cryptocurrency. If the ‘M’ isn’t capturing it, the official inflation rate may well be understating by a good 25-35bp. 

Central banks are heavily involved in cryptocurrency, and it will ultimately be regulated by central banks – with everything linked to the internet of things (IoT). Anything not on the IoT essentially being unusable for most purposes - because it doesn’t have a blockchain history.

SD

[Desert_Rat]

"If you bought $100 of bitcoin 7 years ago, you'd be sitting on $72.9 million now after new record high"
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bought-100-bitcoin-7-years-081422112.html

I found this particularly depressing because I sought to do that but had such a hard time acquiring them I passed. But if I had bought my target amount ($1000) I may still be holding them as I do krugerrands bought 20~ years ago.

$729,000,000!

[rkbabang]

"If you bought $100 of bitcoin 7 years ago, you'd be sitting on $72.9 million now after new record high"
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bought-100-bitcoin-7-years-081422112.html

I found this particularly depressing because I sought to do that but had such a hard time acquiring them I passed. But if I had bought my target amount ($1000) I may still be holding them as I do krugerrands bought 20~ years ago.

$729,000,000!

Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day.

That is pretty depressing.  I was following bitcoin since it was far less than $1.  I remember the excitement on the discussion boards when it achieved "dollar parity". 

The only way to aquire it was either through mining (which I never looked very closely into) or MtGox which was difficult to setup an account, they only took wire transfers or something, so I too never bought any.  I watched it soar to over $1K and then back down.  I finally started acquiring some at around $200-$300 per bitcoin.  I also choose not to participate in the ETH ICO and didn't start acquiring it until it was between $4-$8.

Oh well, such is life.  At least I didn't acquire 10K bitcoins (~$22M today) and trade them for a pizza.

[Desert_Rat]

Yep, I now recall that it was the wire transfer that had me pass. It had me question the legitimacy of it all.

[Jurgis]

Didn't MtGox go under and everyone who held bitcoin in it get shafted? (Yeah, I know you coulda moved bitcoin out of its wallets, but still).

[rkbabang]

Didn't MtGox go under and everyone who held bitcoin in it get shafted? (Yeah, I know you coulda moved bitcoin out of its wallets, but still).

Yes.  They were hacked (some people think it was an inside job).   Holding a balance on an exchange for longer than it takes to make your trades is a bad idea even today.  Transfer in, make your trade, and transfer back out. Today this can be done in minutes.  Back then with the wire transfers to get $US in/out it was a longer process, but your bitcoin could still be transferred in or out quickly.

[Mark Jr.]

Didn't MtGox go under and everyone who held bitcoin in it get shafted? (Yeah, I know you coulda moved bitcoin out of its wallets, but still).

MtGox was flashing bright red warning lights for months before it went bust, anybody who was paying attention had their BTC out before it happened. In this respect it is very similar to any other failure, i.e. the people in Greece or Cyprus lining up at ATMs and banks when they were far too late to get their money out.