When will Bitcoin implode

BananaRepublic

jimjames wrote: »

MySpace & Friends Reunited show that the first mover isn't always the winner.

The dot com boom was littered with companies that failed, or which underachieved. I had a job interview with one that no longer exists despite having a massive market capitalisation for a few months.

BananaRepublic

planteria wrote: »

the question of implosion may not be quite right.

I have no idea if Bitcoin will disappear, but in my view the value will shrink massively, and for most investors it will be gameover, at least for a long while.

snowgo

Sorry if this is somewhat off topic, but I didn't want to start another thread. Please point me to another if appropriate.

I would like to give a small amount of bitcoin as a christmas present to a friend. My friend is someone whom it is always difficult to find an appropriate present - and I think she would appreciate bitcoin as 'something different'. I appreciate that a lot of people think that bitcoin is a bubble about to burst. That doesn't concern me as this would be a small amount of spending on a speculative gift. (Comparable, say, to giving a lottery ticket).

I am not seeking advice on whether or not it is a suitable gift, but would like some pointers on how to purchase it for another person. Is feasible to give bitcoin as a gift? Neither I nor my friend already have bitcoin.

rtho782

Aegis wrote: »

The problem is that the buying frenzy is more like the tulip mania or the dotcom bubble than anything else. Ultimately a single bitcoin doesn't do anything or change from month to month, therefore the price increase is purely driven by speculation that each asset is going to be worth more in future than it is now.

So, I see your logic, but in a world where most shares don't pay any dividends, how is it much different to me investing say, £10k in Apple?

They haven't paid a dividend in many years, I will get nothing for my investment other than the hope that they will be worth more in the future.

Given that investing in Apple seems to be considered a "safe" financial decision, it seems that maybe the "store of value" use is enough?

OldMusicGuy

JohnRo wrote: »

Interoperability is the future path imo. none of these various crypto universes will in and of themselves 'go away'.. their brighter future is dependent on what features and utility they offer, both now and future iterations, and how much adoption that captures.

It could be that the BTC blockchain becomes a spine or trunk for all manner of specialist and niche sidechain branches. Etherium and BTC interoperation through BTC relay for example helping to unburden the BTC transaction chain while being linked to it.

Interoperability is a great idea for users and consumers but doesn't work that well for vendors (once commercial interests get involved). Also, the latency issues with the permisionless platforms like Bitcoin and Ethereum mean that the specialist commercial applications may be more focused on permissioned platforms. I believe there are some of these emerging (I think IBM/Hyperledger works this way and there are things like Bankchain emerging in financial services).

The cynic in me (long time IT person) views it as more likely that the latecomers (very focused on commercial uses of the technology) are likely to win out over first movers like Bitcoin. I doubt that Satoshi Nakamoto (whoever he/she/they is/are) started out with the goal of creating a robust and scalable commerce platform.

Peter314

rtho782 wrote: »

So, I see your logic, but in a world where most shares don't pay any dividends, how is it much different to me investing say, £10k in Apple?

They haven't paid a dividend in many years, I will get nothing for my investment other than the hope that they will be worth more in the future.

Not the best example to pick
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/02/apple-now-pays-the-biggest-dividend-in-the-world-surpassing-exxon.html

sabretoothtigger

The man behind Litecoin just said not to celebrate and he thinks a reasonable target is a 90% drop from here. Its good of him to warn people but I dont think anyone knows exactly.

My personal take is to swap some over to some gold as thats a long term asset. The best appreciation is that which lasts over a long time, fast price moves is more exciting but the long term matters at least as much. If considering for a moment about security I reckon most will agree, old hands will recognise this market mood anyhow its not new

I've been involved in this for years, I thought in Feb it was bullish but not this.
I'd say nobody really knows, lots of conflicting views but eventually it will be determined by utility not speculation and maybe maybes
eg.
https://twitter.com/CNBCFastMoney/status/940361899648065537

dividendhero

rtho782 wrote: »

So, I see your logic, but in a world where most shares don't pay any dividends, how is it much different to me investing say, £10k in Apple?

Apple does in fact pay a dividend, main point is that when you own shares in a company - you own a small part of that company. If it's profitable and growing then you'll get a piece of the action. In this respect, unlike BTC shares aren't a zero sum game.

A guy at work was telling us how he'd made £500 trading bitcoins - he just could understand that some else must have lost £500