So, Who Is Buying Into Crypto?

[Guile]

Bitcoin has had 2 major crashes in just the past 4 years.  From Jan 2018-Jan 2019 it went from $17k US down to 3.5K US.  Then just this summer it crashed 50% and then rebounded back up. 

Not many can stomach a loss of 50-80% and hold on.

I've bought Amazon, Tesla, Netflix, Facebook, Google, Apple and some financial stocks and made from 2x-6x profit on them.

I've held long term US index funds which pay a 2% dividend plus bond funds which pay higher.  Bitcoin doesn't pay a thing and any profits are taxed as income not capital gains which has a far lower rate.

Some billionaires like Elon are all in on BTC and some like Warren Buffett won't touch it.

[andrewfi]

Andrew, which exchange do you use to buy just out of interest?

I use Coinbase. Years ago I looked at some others but found the coinbase setup the easiest to use. There are other options out there if your needs are less mainstream.
I think that they are probably the most stable as well. But I couuld be wrong, however in 4 years I have had no issues or scares.

[andrewfi]

I have been having adventures in Shiba Inu the past few days.

That's a meme coin that is trying to go legit. It has gone up in price hugely recently and is now knocking on the door of being one of the top 10 cryptos by market capitalization.

A while ago I bought a very small amount and waited, and waited. It just bobbled along, going nowhere. Then it exploded. Because I was sure that it was not going to continue I swapped the increase over my purchase price (almost 100%) into BTC and left the residue and it kept on going. A few hours ago I whacked in quite a lot more, still only play money, but if it doubles again it would buy something nice.

In the past hour, my new money has just gone up another 20%. I don't know what is going on. I have seen that Robinhood has just announced they will be adding Shiba Inu to their list of supported crypto, but I think that something else is going on.

The other major coins have been having a bit of a sleep but billions are going into Shiba. For sure it ain't sustainable, but reports tell us that it is large buyers piling in and still doing so. They are not doing so to lose money!

[2tallbill]

The globalist banker types can't be excited to have competition.
How much of these reports are speculation? How much is conspiracy
theory?

Uncovering The CIA's Audacious Operation That Gave Them Access To State Secrets
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/05/812499752/uncovering-the-cias-audacious-operation-that-gave-them-access-to-state-secrets

The CIA Is Deep Into Cryptocurrency, Director Reveals
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dyp7vw/the-cia-is-deep-into-cryptocurrency-director-reveals

[andrewfi]

The first link is unrelated to crypto currencies and is old news. It was not 'conspiracy theory' as the article makes clear.

The second? It would be surprising if the CIA and other intelligence outfits around the globe did not have projects related to crypto currencies. That the CIA does 'fess up to being interested in the area is no more than a low entry point for competence in intelligence work.

[Dogsoldier]

Anyone have some insight into e-kroner?

[andrewfi]

Anyone have some insight into e-kroner?

https://www.riksbank.se/en-gb/payments--cash/e-krona/difference-between-e-krona-and-crypto-assets/

Central Bank Digital Coins (CDBC) are, IMHO a bad thing because it is a form of money over which you as the holder have no control.
A run on banks? Your money stops working.
The government thinks you owe some tax. Your money goes buh-bye.
If the government decides that you are a bad person? Your money stops working.
The national health service or similar body determines from your spending patterns that you eat too much sugar? Purchases of foods including sugar become impossible.

This is not the same as cryptocurrencies which are decentralised and essentially friction-free. This is your money taken away from you and given back to you completely under government control. Dystopia.

The linked article is, shall we say, a tad misleading and definitely washing everything in a rose tint. Look at the paragraph about inflation and think about the implications of these words when one understands that inflation is about money supply.

[andrewfi]

Well, it looks as though yesterday's decision to regularise cryptocurrencies in Russia was rather timely given the events of today.

I took a shufti at crypto prices. Coincidentally, very shortly after the Russian announcement recognising the LDPR as independent states the price of Bitcoin took a little shimmy upward. I am interested to see how the market moves on today's news.

[AvHdB]

[Texan77]

Uses of Crypto in Ukraine.

[andrewfi]

The Central African Republic has just made Bitcoin legal tender in the country.
The CAR has a GDP in dollars of about 10% of El Salvador and a much, much lower Internet penetration so is not as big a thing as EL Salvador's move, but it is nonetheless significant.

[Arsene]

The owner of the FTX exchange is planning a budget of 1 billion dollars to buy the members of the american congress...ooops, sorry
I meant to give in contribution and in donation to the American political parties 😅

https://cryptobriefing.com/sam-bankman-fried-budgets-1-billion-for-u-s-elections/

We'll see !

[AvHdB]

An overview of the NFT reality. The article will not remain forever, but an interesting read and how it relates to crypto.

To better understand this view go back to post #112 and my own a few earlier on this thread.

https://news.artnet.com/market/cryfest-nft-nyc-2022-2133878

[Arsene]

https://www.business2community.com/crypto-news/kraken-crypto-exchange-pushes-back-on-woke-cancel-culture-02506823 
 

[andrewfi]

https://www.business2community.com/crypto-news/kraken-crypto-exchange-pushes-back-on-woke-cancel-culture-02506823 
 

Wokeness is IMHO a policy designed for failure. Failure as a movement and a failure within the business.

A business that does anything other than seeking staff for any reason other than a good fit for the job and a good fit with the company culture will fail because those two factors are the only ones that matter to the profitability and growth of a business.

It matters not whether the business is related to crypto or any other field.