Cryptocurrencies - Your Key to Financial Freedom AMA

I've been tracking the crypto space since Bitcoin was invented and bought my first Bitcoin in 2013 and has been using every cent of my savings to buy cryptocurrencies ever since.

I can now comfortably retire. Which other investment allows you to do that in less than 10 years.

Ask me anything about the cryptocurrency space, there's no such thing as a "silly" question. I think this goes without being said, but I'm going to say it anyway. None of what I say here is financial advice, I do not hold an AFS license, you should seek advice from a licensed professional before making any investment decisions. If you are making investment decisions from some random guy on the internet without doing your own research and due diligence, you should stop immediately!

There's all these controversy about property prices "surging" or becoming unaffordable, not for me, if you invest in the right asset, property is actually getting cheaper and cheaper. Property prices in Bitcoin terms has been decreasing and will continue to as Bitcoin increases in price at a faster pace. So to me, property is progressively getting cheaper and cheaper.

Update:

For those who would like to find out more about cryptocurrencies and why I think Bitcoin is here to stay and will be more valuable in the future, head over to hope.com and watch some of the videos. This site was set up by the CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor who's company bought an aggregate of approximately 90,531 bitcoins, which were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $USD2.171 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $USD23,985 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses as of 24th Feb 2021.

To those who think that I "got lucky" and was "fortunate", that's very far from the truth. I saw this coming, I knew that with rampant money printing by central banks, fiat currency is going to zero and it has been doing so for centuries. All fiat currencies have gone to the zero, in history, there has not been any fiat currency that didn't go to zero. So Bitcoin's rise is inevitable to me, hence I bought it. I didn't go as far as that family who sold everything to buy Bitcoin, but I did use nearly all of my savings to buy cryptos.

Common criticisms of Bitcoin

  • Its just like Tulip mania
    Bitcoin is nothing like Tulips, Bitcoin is a decentalised and censorship resistant network which enables values to be transferred across the internet at very low cost. The value of Bitcoin is the strength of its network and the fact that it has never been breach or hacked, which means unless someone steals your private key, your coins are safe.
    Tulips has none of these qualities. The only thing which Bitcoin and Tulips have in common is the fact they both went up in value very quickly. Even then there are differences, Tulips went up and crashed all within 3 years. Bitcoin has gone through at least 3 cycles where it has smashed its previous all time highs and never dipped below the starting point of the cycle.
    Bitcoin has recorded a higher year on year low every single year since its existence except for 2015.

  • The Bitcoin network uses too much energy
    This is just market supply and demand. People mine Bitcoin because it is profitable to do so. The Bitcoin network do not require so many miners, in fact it started with just one miner. The network can continue with just one miner, it adjusts as more miners enter and leave, this is built into the network. The high energy used by Bitcoin is a sign that it is valuable and people are willing to make the effort in participating in the effort in securing the network and be rewarded for it.
    Due to the profit motive, the energy sources used by Bitcoin miner are increasingly from green energy sources reducing its impact on the environment.

  • It is used for criminal activity
    Fiat currencies are used on a much much larger scale by criminals. Banks launder money for criminal, there's been so many scandals, and those are just the ones which make it to the media, I'm sure a lot goes undetected.
    Bitcoin is actually very bad for criminal activity, this is why they quickly moved onto privacy coins like Monero and Zcash. The Bitcoin blockchain is public and all transactions remain there forever. If a drug deal is done with cash, unless there's a recording device there at the time of the transaction, that drug transaction is untraceable. If you do a drug transaction with Bitcoin, that transaction will always be on the blockchain, all it takes is for law enforcement to tie one address to a real person, and the entire web unravels, so its not very smart using Bitcoin for criminal activity.

My Crypto mistakes and other pitfalls

I want to go over some of the ways I lost money in crypto over the years so maybe you can learn from my mistake

  • Scam websites
    In 2014, there was a website called Bitcoin savings bank, which promises 9%pa interest if I transferred my Bitcoin there. Very similar to what Crypto.com, Blockfi etc offer today, except they are scammers. Unfortunately, I didn't do my research and I believed them. I transferred 2BTC to their "savings account". Never saw it again.
    Nowadays, these sites are very obvious, they promise hourly returns, like 10% every 2 hours. This is impossible to consistently do, they are all scams, don't fall for them.

  • Double your coins scam
    This is quite famous, there are many variants, but essential it just entails you sending your coins and double or some very good return percentage will return. Its a scam, you will get nothing. Fortunately, I have never fallen for these.

  • Pump and dump groups
    These are almost always scams, there are more losers than winners. Yes you may win one time, take it and walk away, but most likely you will lose. I lost more than 1BTC in this. I'm still part of the groups to monitor, but I never participate anymore. Neither should you. They also have these VIP or "inner circle" groups, where they promise you early notification of the coin to pump for a fee. Don't fall for this. They might also have an inner inner circle group or VIP+, where they promise to take your Bitcoin and buy the coins for you, to maximize your returns. These are definitely scams, they will take your Bitcoin and then block you on telegram.

  • Fake wallet apps
    These apps emulate popular wallet apps and asks you for your seed phrases and private keys so they can steal your crypto. Treat your seed phrases and private keys as private. NO ONE should know, not even staff members of the hardware wallet company. Its like your online banking password, no bank employee should ask for that. If any app do, delete it IMMEDIATELY.

  • Leveraged trading
    I lost around 1 BTC (worth around $5-6k USD at the time). I tried to pick the bottom during the 2018 bear market, the Bitcoin price was quite stable and stagnant around the $5500-$6000k mark, so around Nov 2018, I thought that was the bottom and went in with a leverage long. The market went off a cliff dropping down to $3500. I got liquidated, lost the 1 BTC I deposited. I never touched leverage trading again. Its very hard to pick tops and bottoms, so now I just dollar cost average and periodically buy and hold. You don't need to worry about being liquidated if you do this, it will help you sleep better at night haha.


Mod Note: The user is not associated with TechLead YouTube channel.

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Comments

        • Let's see how that goes, the price is not affect by this because we know how incompetent the Indian government in enforcing anything.

          They once tried to ban 800 porn sites, haha. Good luck to them. They gave up because its futile and now people have a list of 800 porn site haha.

      • Let's say I take out a 25% LVR loan on 10BTC. Assuming BTC is at $75k AUD. I sent them my 10BTC to hold as collateral and they give me $187,500. Let's say Bitcoin went to zero. They take my 10BTC, I keep the $187,500 sent to me. That's all. I lose my Bitcoin as collateral, but I get to keep the funds I received from the loan.

        So if your collateral drops to zero they just let you walk away with the $187,500 they loaned you? Are you sure you still don't owe them $187,500?

        • +4

          They walk away with my 10BTC, I walk away with $187,500. Essentially, I sold my 10BTC for $187,500. Its a non-recourse loan, they can only take my collateral, they don't have any charge over any of my other assets. I've read the terms.

          In the event of a margin call, how the ATO view this is up in the air. So will the ATO consider this as a sale? Not sure.

        • These margin lenders are lending at 1% (Comsec is lending at 5%) and you get to walk away, they must be stupid.

        • they will sell the 10 btc when the 10 btc worth $187,500, they won't keep it until 0.

          • @Tony Strong: I think the idea is that they will start to sell it as it drops to keep the 25% ratio (unless you put up more coins to back the loan)

            But if it drops very quickly (or instantly to zero in the case of a major flaw) they will be left with nothing.

    • +3

      Keeping greed under check is hard especially when you are 100% sure about the future. I do not have the ability to predict the future and all I can do is manage my risks well, may be OP is different. Emotional attachment may also be a factor.

  • +2

    Wish I could turn back time..

    • +1

      that's what Cher said…

    • +2

      This is till the beginning. You can get on it now.

      • +4

        Exactly, you are still very early if you buy now. Bitcoin is going to exceed $100k USD this year for sure and it will keep going up into the future because of all the money printing.

  • I recently got into Crypto trading while not knowing anything about (and still don't), so as a wannabe day trader. What would a good profit % per day be for a day trader? Would 1% be good? 10%? 0.5?

    • I'm not a day trader. I'm a hodler, so no idea.

    • I trade on Bybit and Binance/Uniswap/Pancakeswap for shitcoins. Probably averaging about 0.2% - 0.3% a day after fees in profits. Sometimes will get stuck in a trade for a bit. I think i'm doing ok since i'm just doing it for fun. But everyone's a genius in a bull market right?

      Careful of the funding rate though. Can rip you a new one.

      Enough to eat.

      • Be careful with leverage. I lost $5000USD on Bybit, closed my account and never looked back. I'm a hodler, not a trader.

        • No leverage for me. Only playing with 1-2% of my portfolio. Rest are for hodling. Good fun!

      • Lol! username hodler … trading away.

  • I have a question on tax actually. I currently mine ETH at a rate of around $8-9USD per day and I'm actively buying / selling coins to maximise profit, but I'm not converting anything to fiat currency. The ATO isn't all that clear on what I actually need to declare at EOFY. As I undestand it, I'll need to declare all of my mined coins (value @ time of mining) and any gains I make along the way, is that correct? or do you only need to declare when you convert it into fiat currency?

    • In theory, you need to declare everything.

      Under $10k, no issues, more than that and you need to keep good records to avoid being taxed through the roof.

      Source: myself. My income from mining is approx $6000/mo.

    • +2

      Seek your own professional advice. These are my opinions.

      The ATO will not accept the cash in cash out method because it views cryptocurrencies, not as a currency but as an asset. I agree with that. They misnamed it, its supposed to be cryptoassets, not cryptocurrency. Hence, when you buy Bitcoin with fiat, then use that Bitcoin to change to an alt. That transaction where you change Bitcoin into an Alt triggers a CGT event. So you must determine the AUD value of both assets at the time of the trade and work out profit and loss then.

      Make sure you have clear records. You can claim gas and transaction fees as expenses to reduce your profits. I have a spreadsheet which tracks all of these transactions. ETH gas prices has been through the roof, this month, I have spent over $1000 in ETH gas fees!

      • +1

        That transaction where you change Bitcoin into an Alt triggers a CGT event. So you must determine the AUD value..

        How does the ATO know what trading events occur on foreign exchanges? Some don't event require KYC.

  • Are you techlead from youtube?

    • No, that guys in the US lol, why would he be on OzB?

  • +3

    Found the crypto bag holder

  • +2

    Thanks cryptocurrencies, the gpu's price going to the moon

    • Tell me about it. I was umming and arhhing about getting the 3090 at MSRP, nek minut its $3500. T_T

      • +4

        The dude with $35m in USD is hesitant to buy 3090 and crying about its price rise…🤷🏻‍♂️

        • +1

          45m this whole thread is cooked LMAOOOOO

  • +7

    Anyone that has been watching the space closely saw the writing on the wall ages ago. $billions of BTC taken into cold storage weekly, every major payments provider is now involved or in the process of getting involved, crypto fintech services are rocketing, crypto ETF's already launched, major banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs and other sceptics doing a total 180 towards crypto. If anyone still mentions tulips and bubbles I just feel pity for them at this point.

    • +1

      Exactly, its not a fluke or luck. I saw this coming in 2013. It took me nearly 4 years of tracking Bitcoin before I took the plunge.

    • Payment providers and banks are involved because there is fees. Even crypto etfs are retail investor money. There is hardly any institutions holding it. Elon is buying it with Tesla with shareholder money, he isn't going to sell his Tesla shares to buy bitcoin, billionaires ain't that stupid. Billionaires win even when shareholders go broke.

  • What financial moves, in regards to crypto or conventional investments, did you make during the mid-2020 crash? Looking at the graphs, bitcoin dropped to ~$5000USD (sitting down 60% from it's peak 2 years earlier), and ethereum dropped to ~$100 (90% down from it's peak 2 years earlier)

    Did you have enough of a financial buffer to get through that period fine? Did you have any crypto-backed loans that were of concern?

    Did you move extra cash into crypto given the opportunity of a 'dip'? Did you move extra cash into any other conventional investments?

    • First of all, I don't trade with leverage. So if all cryptos went to zero temporarily, I would have lost nothing. I'm a hodler, which means I only lose if I sell. There's no margin call whatsoever.

      By "Mid 2020 crash", I presume you mean the March 2020 covid flash crash where it went from $7800USD to below $5000USD? I remember that night very well, when it started crashing, I was pulling every last cent from my bank accounts to send to the exchange to buy Bitcoin. Unfortunately I was held up by daily transfer limits, $20k T_T. I was buying as much as I can.

      • Did you have enough of a financial buffer to get through that period fine? Did you have any crypto-backed loans that were of concern?
        I don't need a buffer, I don't use leverage, no risk of margin calls. I don't have any crypto backed loans, I'm considering it.

      • Did you move extra cash into crypto given the opportunity of a 'dip'? Did you move extra cash into any other conventional investments?
        Yes, I did. Buy the dip, that's one of the rules of crypto. I sold all my conventional investments, shares and gold to buy crypto. All my investments, apart from the house I live in, are in crypto. (I consider buying to live as an investment, technically it is, you are tying up money in the house as equity, so its a form of investment)

      • "By "Mid 2020 crash", I presume you mean the March 2020 covid flash crash"

        Yeah, well the part of the year that caused havoc across all markets, stocks and otherwise. Looks to be about February-June 2020.

        I wasn't watching crypto at all since the 2017-18 hype. It's interesting to read back on how the markets handled liquidations with all the leverage that's now spread through the crypto space. The MakerDao lawsuit, etc.

        Well done for positioning yourself well

        • My theory is that these flash crashes are caused by the liquidation of long. So as the price dips, it causes an avalanche which feeds on itself as positions are liquidated.

          • @techlead: I think so as well. It makes for an even more volatile market.

            There is one exchange I use, which will let you run up to a 97% buffer at which point you will be sold out in a margin call. You can clearly see the sequence of liquidations, as the price drops hard and fast, dropping far below the typical world-wide spot price across all exchanges.

            I'm sure this plays well into the hands of those with a lot of capital, where the spot-price to them is inconsequential.

  • +1

    Theta vs TFuel?

    • +1

      Honest opinion is that its overhyped. I think they have potential, but the current product is not worthy of their price. They are both quite immature at the moment.

  • +1

    I can now comfortably retire. Which other investment allows you to do that in less than 10 years.

    What is the purpose of being able to "comfortable retire" and NOT doing it?

    Is it the potential of getting even more comfortable?
    How much more?

    Aren't you concerned that poor health or death may ruin any retirement?

    This is indeed something very personal but in my books being able to retire I will do it right now, yesterday if possible.
    Why not?
    There are or there should be better thing in life to do.

    Thank you

    • +3

      When you have a job which you enjoy, then you will know that feeling. I have the option to retire and the day I don't enjoy my job is the day I will quit.

      Back when I was at uni, which wasn't that far back lol, I used to really love the long end of the year breaks because I'd have time to game 24/7. However, in reality, after 3 days of gaming for 10 hours straight, I'd be bored and I'd find myself looking for other things to do, research crypto etc.

      I'm not at a stage where I need the extra time, so I can continue to work in a job I enjoy and excel at.

      If I think there are better things to do in life, I'd do it. That's the point. I'm working because I want, not because I have to.

      • same feeling here. work sometimes not for money.

      • Been there, done that.
        Dream job that is.

        Problem is, dream jobs ties you down to a particular location. Where to live. How to go from A to B.
        Sydney in particular comes to mind. A dream job in the CBD will mean either commuting for hours and hours or being stuck "close-by", perhaps using public transport to avoid driving. Not a dream indeed.

        I see the point of "working because I love what I do" but unfortunately brings a lot of nasty collaterals.

        The dream job might not necessarily occur in a dream location nor a dream environment. Think expats. Think off-shore. Endless list.
        People retire as early as possible for a reason.

      • +1

        Would you do your job if you weren't getting paid?

  • +3

    Nice to see another Hodler here. I have over 40 currencies in my portfolio. Most of them spiked in the last 3 months, so much so that the value of my portfolio went up by some 40% in the last 3 months.

    • +1

      I have over 25 alts. I suggest you have an exist strategy to sell or convert all of them to Bitcoin. Some of the alts I had in the last cycle went to $0 because I held on too long.

      • Yeah, no exit strategy yet. I'm planning to convert some of them to BTC.

        What alts you lost on?

      • So sell in september before the next … Bull rush?

        How do you kow which ones to sell? keep an eye on them the coins that have gone up in this time period and then sell?

        I will probbaly hold on to any that havnt made any $ - and then put it all on bitcoin?

        Do you later sell bitcoin and then buy shitcoins again on the next cycle?

        WHas your thoughts on Ethereum?

  • Thoughts on Pundi X?

    • +1

      I don't know too much about PundiX apart from its trying to enable stores to accept crypto? I don't think crypto should be used that way, using a crypto to buy coffee is very inefficient.

      • +1

        Thats exactly the point. Bitcoin servers no purpose, solves no problem, highly inefficient from Tran per second and gas fee. I am not against the crypto and i have some investment.

  • Thoughts on defi & Bancor v2

    • Defi definitely has its place, but its a bit of a wild west at the moment. Too wild for me, its like I hear about a hack every second week. So I have stayed away from it.

      I don't know too much about Bancor V2.

      I have looked into provide liquidity on uniswap with a pairing, but impermanent loss is an issue, don't know how to manage that, so I might as well hodl and stake if its available.

  • +5

    Lol at the comment that you don't think you're lucky/"knew" bitcoin was the future and fist currency is doomed to fail. Also love the comments that you know it's a sure thing and your brilliant deductions in 2013 to 2016 that noone else could see even though it is obviously going to go up.

    It's the reason why I can't trust this crap, people think they're some sort of guru when they have just been the beneficiaries of a pyramid scheme that so far has worked out. Nothing is guaranteed and when people start saying garbage like the above it's obvious they don't actually know much about what they're talking about.

    • +1

      Confirmation bias

  • I sold 60 BTC at $900 each around Dec 2016, still waiting for a dip to buy back in. Other than being suicidal past 4 years, have to live on for the family. I may have destroyed 50 years of sleep doing that.

    • +3
    • I feel you mate, you're still here which is good, just enjoy your life,
      bitcoin is nothing, you cannot go to any restaurant and pay with bitcoin.
      there are people who don't give a beef if you have or don't have bitcoin

    • +1

      What about that guy who can't remember his password to his wallet worth US$200m+…

  • What are your thoughts on the current crypto darling Cardano ADA? Charles Hoskinson seems to be a pretty bright and genuine guy.

    Do you think that Ethereum’s first mover advantage and ecosystem is enough to thwart the nascent ADA?

    What are your thoughts about the control the CCP have over Bitcoin and Ethereum (and BNB), since the biggest miners of those major currencies are in China?

    • +2
      • What are your thoughts on the current crypto darling Cardano ADA? Charles Hoskinson seems to be a pretty bright and genuine guy.
        I'm very interested in ADA, I bought a small position when it was under $1. On paper, its very good. It has an advantage over Ethereum in the sense that it can see Ethereum's short comings and be able to make it better which makes it nimble, the downside to that however is that its useless at the moment apart from being able to send ADA on the blockchain, which 9000 other crypto is capable of doing.
        The recently implemented, Mary upgrade enabled tokens, similar to ERCXX tokens on the Ethereum network. I like the improved way these tokens are treated in the Cardano network, it is on the same level as ADA unlike ERCXX tokens and ETH which is on a separate level, which is why WETH exists, which makes it very inefficient.
        The issue comes back to, Cardano is not operational yet, we don't know whether it will be adopted. While Ethereum is widely use, albeit its very slow, ETH2.0 has been delayed constantly. It would be interesting to see when the Alonzo update goes in, which will enable smart contracts on the Cardano network, that's when we can start seeing some adopt.

      • Do you think that Ethereum’s first mover advantage and ecosystem is enough to thwart the nascent ADA?
        First mover advantage is not everything in the tech world, look at Google and Facebook, they were not the first search engine or social media site, yet they still won out. Let's see when Cardano is fully operational, then its game on. I think at the moment, ADA is not a big threat to Eth because its all talk, no substance. Let's see when they actually deliver on their promises.

      • What are your thoughts about the control the CCP have over Bitcoin and Ethereum (and BNB), since the biggest miners of those major currencies are in China?
        That is a risk, but so far the CCP has not made moves to try to use their power to influence the network. Its a risk though. BNB is essentially a centralized network, its only got 11 validator nodes. There's not many projects on BNB, compared to Ethereum, although I've seen projects starting to migrate over to BNB due to the high gas fees.

  • OP why do you think thousands of bot accounts are used to promote bitcoin in every crypto related video on youtube?

    Screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/uTwA5BO

    Do you think bitcoin is pump and dump and why?

    • BTC has so much market value now that pump and dump doesn't really work unless you have few billion lying around or are a whale already.

      • You only need to sell around 230 million USD worth of Bitcoin to drop the price right back down to 20k. Tether prints around one billion USD per week now.

    • +1

      During Bitcoin's early days, I agree with you, because the volume is so low, it is very easy to manipulate the market and pump and dump it.
      Today, Bitcoin's 24 hour global volume is at $57.8 billion USD. Its pretty hard to try to pump and dump that.

      So no, I don't think Bitcoin is a pump and dump scheme, I can't say the same for alot of the smaller coins. Also, please stay away from pump and dump groups, they are scams. I monitor those groups, this was a recent event:

      https://stockhead.com.au/cryptocurrency/users-lose-savings-i…

      During the early days, I lost around 1BTC participating in these pump and dump schemes, it doesn't work, in the end you will most likely lose.

      As for the bots, well, what can you do? You can't stop that unfortunately, I just think people need to be more skeptical, learn how to pick out fake news and learn how to verify information, journalism 101, go to the primary source, seek out multiple sources, don't limit yourself in an echo chamber.

  • What do you think of HBAR? It has backing by Google, IBM, eftpos, and a multitude of other large companies.

  • I have been on the crypto bandwagon since October last year and the gains have changed my life. However, I am wondering what to do about CGT, because it will essentially take half of my gains which could buy a small house. The peak of the bull cycle won't last more than a couple of days so any opinions on how I could "cash out" at the top?

    • First of all, if you sell now, you wouldn't get the 50% offset for long held investments, so keep that in mind. I'm grappling with the same problem as well, if I cash out, my CGT can buy multiple houses. I'm looking into the idea of crypto backed loans.

      No one can predict the top of the market. Don't even try. I know in 2017, I thought $10k USD was the peak, boy was that way off!

      • As you said, that last parabolic move is my signal to get out. I know there's only 1% chance I'll catch the very top - but if I can get out within 25% of the top, I'd say I've done pretty well. By no means will I be out forever, I'll be buying back in at the bear market low.

        • Alt market just went parabolic for most of them?

      • Have you considered BTC based credit cards? You use it/pay as normal CC, but at the end you clear your debt with coins.
        This is a good way to cover your monthly expenses using coins without taxes.

        • -1

          I don't want to convert my Bitcoins into fiat. Bitcoin should not be used as a currency.

          • @techlead: Then you have what? What retirement you are talking about :D

            • @localhost: Retirement is an option, not retiring yet haha. Unless a passion project comes along, then I'd quit and do that.

  • +5

    Cool story bro. Any proof? Screenshots?

    What about the issue where BTC is suppose to be used as a currency but cannot support large volumes of transactions fast enough. Its really slow compared to mastercard or visa.

    • +1

      I think you should do some research before anything to try and understand the market and the tech behind it.

      BTC has no use as a currency because it is very inefficient that way. For that, there are other, better suited, cryptos.

    • +1

      Don't need screenshots mate, you can see the chart of the Bitcoin price. Its up to you if you believe the story or not.

      Bitcoin started out trying to be a currency, but it has evolved, its now a store of value, digital gold. Nothing wrong with that. Its very true its slow compared to Mastercard or Visa and I would never buy anything with my valuable Bitcoins.

      Neither will Telsa or MicroStrategy, they bought Bitcoins as their reserve asset. The use of Bitcoin has changed, nothing wrong with that.

      The suspension of the gold standard was supposed to be "temporary", same goes for income tax. Nothing "temporary" about those two things.

      • +5

        If you'll never buy anything with your BTC and its too slow to be used as a currency of trade, then wtf is it used for? Store value? I might as well type some jargon on a .txt file and save it on my cloud account.

        • +2

          Yes, good luck with the value on that though.

          Like anything in life, something is worth what others are willing to pay. That value can be stored in your plastic money or digital money or labour or other goods or form of payment.

          If someone is willing to pay your .txt file then your .txt becomes valuable. If your .txt has the key for your BTC, then your .txt becomes very valuable.

          • -2

            @[Deactivated]: Like tulips back in the day…

            At least those could be used for decorations.

  • +2

    Thanks OP. This has been a very interesting read.

    I have a fair few properties, some shares and a booming business.

    I've been keen to learn about trading crypto but don't know enough about it and it has always felt too much like a ponzi scheme to me.

    I have some friends with big claims but haven't seen any real proof from any of them.

    Where would be a good place to do some research?

      • +2

        Nice link, very very good concepts. People should understand that. Fiat currency is a bigger ponzi, no joke.

    • There are so many good sources of information now. Youtube is one. A good starting point would be hope.com, watch some of the videos by the CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor.

  • +9

    If you're so rich you can retire why do you even contemplate repairing 5yr old TV

    on a more serious note, what good is a digital asset if all you do is buy it and stare at the figures on your screen. I mean, as you said, all you do is hold on to it, and do nothing with bitcoin. Every bitcoin bull ive heard does the same, isn't this supposed to displace currency. Why doesn't anyone actually use it, instead they borrow against it and use fiat anyway, lol.

    • +2

      I like fiddling with tech. I found out what was causing those bright spots, its actually quite interesting. Just because I have money, doesn't mean I can't enjoy repairing things. What kind of a logic is that? That's very snobby of you.

      As for Bitcoin not doing anything. Its giving me 4-6% pa interest returns. That's doing something. Bitcoin is acting like a reserve asset its supposed to be boring. What do people do with gold, silver and other commodities?

      • +1

        What do people do with gold, silver and other commodities?

        use it.

        • +2

          If you look at the whole gold market for example. The vast majority of people don't "use" it.

          By "use", I presume you mean to buy things? Exchange for goods and services? Most people holding gold don't do that with their gold.

          • +1

            @techlead: Most commodities are used for something productive, i can go on about copper pipes, lituim batteries silver is used in industries all the time.

            If you want to focus only on gold, this is a different beast. But even it has more use than a digit on a screen. A lot of gold is used to make jewelry no different to fine watches on elites wrist. It's a badge of wealth, attracts the ladies lets say.

            I've yet to see someone whip out their smart phone and impress the ladies with the .001352456131256 BTC. Even if its 12.23456616 BTC. It kinda just looks not much different really….lets say the chicks dont dig you for it.

            • @cloudy:

              focus only on gold

              Crypto crowd is blind to how gold came about. Because it was a very rare (mining) metal and very hard to fake in absence of any stable government / financial system it was a trusted source of value exchange. Instead of trying to figure out the 5 eggs you got from 1kg of wool whether you can barter for a loaf of bread it is easier to see 5 eggs is 1g of gold, 1kg of wool is 5g gold and loaf of bread might be 0.5g of gold.

              Then came stable government (backed by a tax base) and financial systems they could get off gold.

              If you think that running the world economy on 21m bitcoin is going to cut it, these people are just dreaming.

              • @netjock:

                Crypto crowd is blind

                End that with a period and move on.

                these people are just dreaming.

                They already are, and they are dreaming big at that

            • +1

              @cloudy: The use of gold in jewellery as a wealth signifier arises from its use as wealth store. Gold jewellery is more popular in cultures that still use or recently relied on gold as a wealth store. Lower gold content alloys (9 carat gold) and use gold plating techniques have reduced gold's value as a wealth signal of wealth. Excessive display is seen as tacky in some circles.

              Non-fungible tokens appear to be an attempt to use blockchain as a wealth signifier.

              • @trongy:

                Excessive display is seen as tacky in some circles.

                I did not for a second say it’s universal. Which is the reason why gold is also a crap investment and store of wealth. I’m not here saying it’s great, it’s just what bitcoin bulls like to compare it to. It’s actually a poor store of wealth for the reasons you stated, it’s tacky in some circles because it’s completely subjective in value. Same with bitcoin, it has no value, just subjective value.

      • +5

        I like fiddling with tech

        Umm, your first question in that thread was is the tv worth fixing. Not, I like to fiddle with tech how do I fix it.

        I’m not snobby, I commend you for trying to fix things. I’m just pointing out the BS you peddle.

    • +1

      Lmao

  • As you have been involved since 2013, who do you personally think Satoshi is?

    The next question can seem both related and unrelated, but what are your thoughts on Craig S Wright?

    Also just a tip, I know you have mentioned the potential loan but please cash out a few million at least as a precaution :)

    • +1

      That's a very interesting topic. First of all, I don't think it is Craig Wright, let's get that out of the way. He's faketoshi. He's behavior is not at all consistent with the Satoshi who was posting on Bitcointalk. Satoshi was reserved, didn't like the spotlight, while Craig is an attention seeker.

      I think Satoshi is either a person or a group of people. I think he/she is most likely dead. One thing is for sure, he would be very satisfied with where Bitcoin is at today.

      Once you understand the fiat system, you will understand why I, along with many others, say cash is trash. You should do some research into the Bretton woods financial system and what happened when the gold standard was "temporarily" suspended by Nixon.

      • Thanks for the response. I follow several people in the crypto twitter space and there have been alerts on early Satoshi coins moving after years, only BTC / BCH moved not BSV. I'm not 100% on him but going through the legal route gets many thinking.

        In terms of fiat, it's just as a precaution but as long as you have assessed that then I say good luck and hope there is no major crash.

        • I'm not going to hope that there's no major crash, I know there will be. Bitcoin is volatile. Just 2 hours ago, it went from $59800USD down to $56800, there will always be crashes, but don't have a short term view. Zoom out and you'd be fine.

          Don't use leverage, that's where people can lose alot of money. If you don't use leverage and just hodl, if it flash crashes, you are not at risk, just don't sell, you don't lose anything if you don't sell.

          • @techlead: Don't use leverage. Aren't you 25% LTV on your crypto?

      • +1

        Satoshi has to be a group of people. If you talk to anyone in IT dev, with so many lines of code and only half a dozen bugs…that's extremely unlikely for a solo coder.

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