Is Bitcoin the Next Big Thing?

[Murray]

Oh and also.... he writes one page contracts to purchase multi-million pound companies!

Saved a cat from a tree too I hear

 

[Coolbreeze]

I did enjoy reading this post, but don't think that this is the only 'right' way.

Warren Buffet only plays things safe, wouldn't touch bitcoin with a bargepole, and invests in the boring stuff which gets ignored by the city boys... and is arguably the greatest investor in living history.

There is also the whole longevity thing.... Bitcoin has had huge returns in a short time frame, but that doesn't necessarily make it a better investment than one which could realistically increase in value 10% per year for 30 years. Any compound growth calculator will demonstrate.

You can also leverage some asset classes, and I can't think of a way you can currently do that with bitcoin.

An acre of UK agricultural land is currently about £10,000. That at least doubles every decade, because its limited in supply. Plus some people win the lottery when their plot is zoned for development, supply actually DECREASES and the population is growing faster than ever, so it is forever DECREASING in supply as more housing is required.

That's better than the 'Fixed' supply that Bitcoin will one day offer isn't it?

The Chinese have been buying up agricultural land in Bulgaria and Romania.... humans need food. That said, they have been buying up everything.

Thanks for the post, I see you bought bitcoin domains here, silent fan? Just joking

I am not in the same league as Warren Buffet he is a huge whale therefore I can’t think like he does.

The bigger the whale the difference in strategy, Smaller fishes find their own way I can’t eat where he does, look for meat where he turns to look and respectfully he was born with a silver you know what comes next.

The man can literally sleep all day, and still make millions. Me? Not so much, nothing is safe on my side of the fence but quite happy for people to stand and watch the rest of us with skin in the Game.

I do love Warren’s quotes except for when he contradicts himself.


Anyway, Thanks Buddy.

 

[ausername]

Well I don't actually qualify for this criteria:

"The Cautious "bystanders" always wish they had after the Fact"

I bought in at $900.

I bottled it at and sold at.... I think it was $350

Its actually by Litecoin exit that I regret the most, because I sold those at $4.

$4 to $300 would have made me more money than $350 to $20000 or $900 to $20000.

 

[ian]

Selling on fear is a wonderful thing, it allows the rest of us to keep topping up

 

[dee]

Selling on fear is a wonderful thing, it allows the rest of us to keep topping up

It's funny,,,, been thinking about this recently. I think its like anything. To get good takes time. Its the 10,000 hours thing. I've been trading forex badly for 4 or 5 years on and off, and im only just learning to control the emotional side of it. No matter how many times you say "obey this set of rules" theres always the urge to pre empt or take profit too early.

 

[ausername]

Selling on fear is a wonderful thing, it allows the rest of us to keep topping up

This is why I don't bother with it.... I'm more comfortable sticking with what I know and don't have the aptitude to trade.

Its not like its the only way to make money.

 

[Edwin]

If you’re young and you have the luxury of waiting to get well off, then investing in funds that track major stock markets should get you there.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4041868-really-long-term-return-stocks

Best way would be to invest consistently a bit every year regardless of what the markets are doing so that you “dollar cost average” (ie you get more for your money when the stockmarket has blipped down, less when it’s gone up, but you smooth out all the bad stuff because you persist with investing come what may)

For instance if you started with 1,000 pounds then invested an extra 100 pounds a month for 30 years, at 7% interest (much less than the long-term stock market trend) you would have saved £37,000 but it would be worth £125,218.74 because of the compounding effect.

Do the same for 35 years and you’d have put away £43,000 but ended up with £182,785.60. (Just £6,000 of added investment gets you over £50,000 more because of the extra 5 years!) And for 40 years, the numbers are £49,000 and £263,526.10.

(Remember: the effective gain at any particular “snapshot” moment will almost certainly not be 7% except by chance, but over the very long term the markets have always beaten that.)

The “trick” is to start as young as you possibly possibly can, invest consistently, and never ever panic and sell on a dip. Start young enough, follow the plan rigorously, and you WILL be comfortable before old age sets in.

Here’s a compound interest calculator that supports regular investments
http://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/compoundinterestcalculator.php

 

[martin-s]

That's a solid recommendation.

And why not stick a few quid into Bitcoin at the same time?

http://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/x/xbt-provider-ab-bitcoin-tracker-eur

 

[ausername]

Preaching to the choir Edwin, learnt about compound growth in A level business studies and started a pension 4 days after my 18th birthday

Only 15 people on my course though and they should really be sticking this stuff on the curriculum and teaching it to all 15 year olds, should bring back 'Home Economics'.

 

[Edwin]

Preaching to the choir Edwin, learnt about compound growth in A level business studies and started a pension 4 days after my 18th birthday

Only 15 people on my course though and they should really be sticking this stuff on the curriculum and teaching it to all 15 year olds, should bring back 'Home Economics'.

Very smart move. Wish I'd thought to do the same. At 18, 28, or even 38...

One problem is, compound interest is the diametric opposite of instant gratification. As a culture, we're more and more used to getting what we want "immediately" (even if it's paid for on the never-never) and yet the one thing that can make the average person financially secure is about as counter to that trend as it's possible to be.

 

[martin-s]

I think I started my SIPP at 25/26. Managing it myself gives more instant gratification perhaps - but still wish I'd started it earlier.

 

[websaway]

I read there are now in the region of one thousand crypto currencies, one was apparently launched as a joke and now has a value of $1 Billion. How much liquidity will these vehicles suck out of economies and industries such as domaining before they collapse and what harm does it do when the losses end up in the hands of the few ?

 

[Systreg]

Which joke crypto is that with the $1 value?

 

[Murray]

Which joke crypto is that with the $1 value?

I guessed doge, google and it turns out I was right, so I'm quite pleased with myself lol

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/cry...as-a-market-value-of-more-than-1-billion.html

Doge is a meme

 

[dee]

I guessed doge, google and it turns out I was right, so I'm quite pleased with myself lol

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/cry...as-a-market-value-of-more-than-1-billion.html

Doge is a meme

Although whether by design or accident, 2018 is Chinese year of the dog. Lots of people seem to think it'll do very well this year

edit..... its not a dollar though. Currently at about 1 cent

 

[Systreg]

Thanks, that's bloody stupid, a $billion dollars worth of coins about a photo of a dog, mad lol

 

[websaway]

Which joke crypto is that with the $1 value?

A Billion

 

[Systreg]

Ah right, it was only the $1 bit that caught my eye, missed the "billion" bit

 

[ian]

Crypto as a whole is a place to store wealth away from conventional means; if it wasn't on a constant upward trajectory, would many still buy in for the principle point of it all, or the belief of an idea? I doubt it. They'd settle for what we have now.

There are significant benefits to it all though, blockchain etc. We are just at the start of a very long journey that will ultimately change the world and our future, but many of the coins we see today will be non-existent, replaced by something better, perhaps just with the wealth moved across.

These 'fake' coins, and those with million dollar caps because an individual could spin a few attractive sentences together and a catchy website, will certainly lose many a lot of money, and do nothing for the positive impact being made by crypto as a whole, but for now, they are novelty and as such, continue to increase in value, making tidy profits for those that invest (not carefully).

It is interesting that in a bunch of tech savvy individuals we have here, how divided we are on whether crypto is a good or bad thing. I'm new to the game, attracted initially by gains, retained by possibility, and that keeps me excited for the future, even if I lose my shirt!

 

[ausername]

Doge being worth $1 billion really does show how much crypto is in a bubble.

Because although it does actually have a purpose, it is used as a currency on Reddit and people tip each other with doge coin. E.g. a wallpaper artist shares a free wallpaper, people tip them with doge coins.

But Reddit had a funding round in 2017 at a valuation of $1.8bn for the whole business...... and yet a crypto coin created by the community as a joke and used to tip people on Reddit is valued at $1 billion?

Its the crazy world we are living in though and not exclusive to Reddit.... I learnt recently that the CS:Go gambling industry is worth $200k a day. That's people gambling for weapons to use in a computer game..... $73 million a year gambling market for that one game allegedly!