Bitcoins

sabretoothtigger

You would also need to be able to withdraw digital grams for real grams, or deposit them so that you can digitally pay for things online.

You realise this would be a repeat of what has already occurred. Swiss francs were most recently gold backed till May 2000 and you could 'digitally' send them to anyone.
It was backed 40% but I think thats enough to qualify.

Since then we've had 100% backed gold online traded and in some cases the assets have been seized. The crypto really changes all that much?

Any company with fixed assets can be raided, there was one type of coin called spots which linked metal to the coins. I believe they do not offer this any more - http://www.igotspots.com/

Problem is I cant really rely on that one company to back an entire currency, in this case they changed their mind. Bitcoin might be a house of cards builit in a castle in the sky ironically it seems to work better then this idea of fixed backing

csm888

You cant have a gold/silver backed crypto with all the advantages of BTC. A key feature of BTC is that it is decentralized, no one has control and no one can easily take control.
Your metal backed crypto would need a vault to store the metal, this vault would be open to abuse, legislation, attack, theft, fractional reserve, etc. by individuals, corporations and governments.
BTC is the peoples money, your metal backed currency is not.

planteria

i haven't considered getting involved with Bitcoins at all, but some of the people i have been with today have invested heavily and are sitting on good gains. :think:.

dryhat

This time last year, bitcoins were being traded at an exchange rate of £5.
Today they are trading at £500.

But, regardless of the price, the technology is here to stay and is where the fundamental value lies.
I predict another great year for Bitcoin in particular and cryptocurrencies in general. And they will once again beat all other investments hands down.

morfmedia

I think it's too volatile still, worth a gamble but only as much as you can afford to lose....

morfmedia

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

Saxo bank recently predicted the Euro will confiscate funds over 100k as part of a wider actions to stabilise economies

This already in Cyprus already, shut the banks over a weekend and drain the accounts....

HardCoreProgrammer

I heard in the news that authors of the cryptolocker malware are asking victims to pay in bitcoins to unlock their files, isn't it just a matter of time before authorities/governments get their acts together?

The nature of bitcoin makes transactions untraceable, criminals are only starting to discover it, and this may just ruin it for all those who want to keep their money safe from governments for legitimate reasons.

csm888

This is very good news for Bitcoin. Some serious money is taking interest.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/12/31/fortress-is-forming-a-bitcoin-fund/

mmedia

csm888 wrote: »

This is very good news for Bitcoin. Some serious money is taking interest.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/12/31/fortress-is-forming-a-bitcoin-fund/

Yes, Wall St are coming in big time. I bought the rest of my BTC yesterday. Paid £70 more than i wanted each, but i believe in BTC and im in for the long term.

2014 is going to be a good year for Bitcoin and related start ups. I have also bought shares in a few start ups.

Its all money i can lose, its worth a risk even though it is still volatile.

I now have 20% invested in BTC.

sabretoothtigger

20% is rather alot, thats the amount I hope to have in a house or similar.
I dont think its quite as good as gold in that respect but it all depends on circumstances and also age.
Whats the max amount of gold takable through customs without a fuss being made. I know in India its banned now

dryhat wrote: »

This time last year, bitcoins were being traded at an exchange rate of £5.
Today they are trading at £500.

Sterling went downhill fast :eek: