Bitcoin

hugglerbaby

I was thinking about investing £250
In bitcoin and was wondering if people think it's worth it
Many thanks 
Caroline 

Another_Saver

hugglerbaby said:

I was thinking about investing £250
In bitcoin and was wondering if people think it's worth it
Many thanks 
Caroline 

Firstly bitcoin is not an "investment" per se. It's a digital currency or commodity, completely unregulated, with no FSCS protection of any kind at all, which pays you no interest, rent or dividends like a savings account, bond, buy to let property or share in a company would. There is absolutely no certainty at at all that it will generate a positive return, in the same way a savings account or an investment into a good multi-asset fund or broad global index fund is almost guaranteed to over the long term, barring an apocalypse.
Secondly it is extremely volatile.
Thirdly, the only people who "invest" in it are bitcoin cultists and the people stupid enough to be duped by the bitcoin cultists.
Now, it you're willing to accept all that and think "ok, maybe I would still like just a little of my wealth in bitcoin, say 1% or so" you run into the next problem.
The "bitcoin investment industry" abounds with scams.
Bitcoin "brokers" come and go all the time and when not if the broker you choose goes under, you're unlikely to have any recourse to recover your bitcoins.
Finally, if you have to ask on this forum a bunch of strangers on the internet whether "investing" in bitcoin is a good idea, this demonstrates that you do not understand it nearly well enough and should stay away.
This comment was sponsored by common sense.
Bitcoin bros telling me I'm wrong in 3, 2, 1...

MarkCarnage

As Another Saver said.....
Bit coin and investment do not belong in the same sentence. If you want to punt it, with a fairly high chance you'll lose most or all  of it after costs and fees then feel free. I'd rather buy something nice. 

Notepad_Phil

Personally I'd rather put £250 onto a roulette number than put it into bitcoin - which will probaby give you a good idea of whether I think it's likely to be a suitable investment for you, unless of course you've got multiple thousands in other more suitable investments and savings and so this £250 is only a very small percentage of your total wealth.

pip895

Also if you care an iota about the environment then DON'T "invest"

bowlhead99

pip895 said:

Also if you care an iota about the environment then DON'T "invest"

The energy cost to replace the 1/40th of a bitcoin that the OP buys is not massive; OK, it's probably more than the energy cost of mining an equivalent value of gold or platinum or copper, but there's less geek points in having those. Flexing your 0.025 of a BTC is way better, no cap, yolo.

TBC15

Dear Caroline

If you are susceptible to online betting this is probably less destructive. It would be better to sober up and wise up.

Another_Saver

bowlhead99 said:

pip895 said:

Also if you care an iota about the environment then DON'T "invest"

The energy cost to replace the 1/40th of a bitcoin that the OP buys is not massive; OK, it's probably more than the energy cost of mining an equivalent value of gold or platinum or copper, but there's less geek points in having those. Flexing your 0.025 of a BTC is way better, no cap, yolo.

I'd rather have a nice gold coin on the mantelpiece.

EdGasketTheSecond

Bitcoin is highly speculative and much more volatile than gold. What happens once the last coin is mined and the servers are switched off? What happens if governments ban it? It could go back to 20K or down to nothing like tulip bulbs and other fads.

Another_Saver

EdGasketTheSecond said:

Bitcoin is highly speculative and much more volatile than gold. What happens once the last coin is mined and the servers are switched off? What happens if governments ban it? It could go back to 20K or down to nothing like tulip bulbs and other fads.

I think Ed wants to sell Caroline a Krugerrand for £250.

Deru

Bitcoin is just one of many Crypto currencies.  The value goes up and down like a yoyo.  I think it's had it's day already (wish I'd put money in it 10 years ago) but I know someone who's taking a punt with some other crypto currencies and it's doing okay. i.e. doubled his money.  £250 won't make much difference but fine if you're learning.  My colleague has Etherium and Bitcoin.  Another person I spoke said Tether is doing well so I'm going stick some money in that.  Only put in money you won't miss / can afford to lose but don't expect much returns but probably better than bank interest currently