Bitcoin

barnstar2077

The thread that would not die!

EdGasketTheSecond

In a few years we might have gov. digital currency and all other banned; end of story.

BearWhite

EdGasketTheSecond said:

Can someone explain in simple terms what 'value' bitcoin has apart from being one of an elaborate set of unique numbers?

It's scarcity, see https://www.investopedia.com/news/should-you-buy-gold-or-bitcoin/ 
I've got circa 2% of my assets in it, which is enough for me. If it shoots up again then great, if not then never mind. I also get paid 6% interest on it which is nice. Clearly it's anything but risk free but I don't try and pick stocks so I guess this is my gambling money.

Username999

BearWhite said:
I also get paid 6% interest on it which is nice.

Where does the 6% interest come from.
Is this from the Forks?

wellyftw

coyrls said:

The protocol on which Bitcoin has been built is the blockchain protocol.  Other applications can be built using the blockchain protocol but they are not built on Bitcoin, they are built on the blockchain protocol.

Blockchain isn't a protocol. It's an algorithm at best. There is no single blockchain implementation or "protocol". Blockchain doesn't even have to refer to finance, currency or money whatsoever, it can be implemented as something entirely different.

BearWhite

Username999 said:

BearWhite said:
I also get paid 6% interest on it which is nice.

Where does the 6% interest come from.
Is this from the Forks?

Nope, Blockfi (https://blockfi.com/crypto-interest-account/) pay interest on Bitcoin, currently at 6%. There are several other companies doing similar things, some seeming more reputable than others. Clearly there is no safety net with these platforms though.

Michael121

BearWhite said:

Username999 said:

BearWhite said:
I also get paid 6% interest on it which is nice.

Where does the 6% interest come from.
Is this from the Forks?

Nope, Blockfi (https://blockfi.com/crypto-interest-account/) pay interest on Bitcoin, currently at 6%. There are several other companies doing similar things, some seeming more reputable than others. Clearly there is no safety net with these platforms though.

Sound to good to be true. 

Notepad_Phil

Michael121 said:

BearWhite said:

Username999 said:

BearWhite said:
I also get paid 6% interest on it which is nice.

Where does the 6% interest come from.
Is this from the Forks?

Nope, Blockfi (https://blockfi.com/crypto-interest-account/) pay interest on Bitcoin, currently at 6%. There are several other companies doing similar things, some seeming more reputable than others. Clearly there is no safety net with these platforms though.

Sound to good to be true. 

I'm afraid that is exactly what it's likely to be - too good to be true. Hopefully it won't be for BearWhite.

BearWhite

Michael121 said:

BearWhite said:

Username999 said:

BearWhite said:
I also get paid 6% interest on it which is nice.

Where does the 6% interest come from.
Is this from the Forks?

Nope, Blockfi (https://blockfi.com/crypto-interest-account/) pay interest on Bitcoin, currently at 6%. There are several other companies doing similar things, some seeming more reputable than others. Clearly there is no safety net with these platforms though.

Sound to good to be true. 

Possibly. They're backed by some big players (e.g Fidelity) and are regulated in the US,which is stringent on Crypto firms, so hopefully not. 🤞

bowlhead99

BearWhite said:

Michael121 said:

BearWhite said:

Username999 said:

BearWhite said:
I also get paid 6% interest on it which is nice.

Where does the 6% interest come from.
Is this from the Forks?

Nope, Blockfi (https://blockfi.com/crypto-interest-account/) pay interest on Bitcoin, currently at 6%. There are several other companies doing similar things, some seeming more reputable than others. Clearly there is no safety net with these platforms though.

Sound to good to be true. 

Possibly. They're backed by some big players (e.g Fidelity) and are regulated in the US,which is stringent on Crypto firms, so hopefully not. 🤞

Well, their warning: "Please also note that digital currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and BIA accounts are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections. This is not a risk free product." certainly means that you can lose all the value of the crypto you deposit with them, in pursuit of the return they hope to get by lending it out to a reliable borrower. Their business can also fail if for example the value of crypto falls significantly and the USD loans they made to individuals secured on crypto collateral can't be recovered in cash.

The fact that Fidelity and Morgan Creek et al have put a small amount of their investible capital into the platform -making an equity or debt investment into the platform as a fledgling fintech business which might become more valuable over time - doesn't mean they are going to 'back' you getting your deposit back if the business goes under. They would just write it off as a bad investment and be grateful that they had also made other speculative investments which might do better.