BITCOIN

TimSynths

thompson_2009 said:

Hi have been looking into btc and it looks very dodgy, even those sites that say they are genuine have multiple websites. And scammers are always putting scam adverts on Facebook. Nothing about it is trustworthy. 

Its not hard!

https://www.coinbase.com

Even has how too guides. If you can order your dinner from Just Eat you can buy yourself some Bitcoin.

tranquility1

Although I'm not convinced crypto won't be regulated out of existence in the future, I am convinced that genuine diversification is needed.

And genuine diversification doesn't mean simply a global tracker and bonds.  That's not diversification in my opinion.

Diversification in my view is:  owning property, global tracker, bonds if you must, gold, silver and crypto.

There are probably more asset classes people can use.


But having everything in your tracker/bonds, and thinking it's "diversified" is short sighted.  Sure you're diversified compared to a guy who only has shares in Tesco.  But you are 100% exposed to the stock market.  And even bonds largely mirror what is happening in equities.

tebbins

tranquility1 said:

Although I'm not convinced crypto won't be regulated out of existence in the future, I am convinced that genuine diversification is needed.

And genuine diversification doesn't mean simply a global tracker and bonds.  That's not diversification in my opinion.

Diversification in my view is:  owning property, global tracker, bonds if you must, gold, silver and crypto.

There are probably more asset classes people can use.


But having everything in your tracker/bonds, and thinking it's "diversified" is short sighted.  Sure you're diversified compared to a guy who only has shares in Tesco.  But you are 100% exposed to the stock market.  And even bonds largely mirror what is happening in equities.

That's not nearly far enough, personally I also hoard wool, cotton, coal, floppy disks and Guinness at home. I'm also looking at adding some Japanese whisky, some local art and toasted coffee beans to make sure I'm fully diversified. Don't forget Jelly Babies, roundabout adverts, Molybdenum.
What do you think of investing in manure?

[Deleted User]

eskbanker said:

tebbins said:

eskbanker said:

thompson_2009 said:

Hi have been looking into btc and it looks very dodgy, even those sites that say they are genuine have multiple websites. And scammers are always putting scam adverts on Facebook. Nothing about it is trustworthy. 

If that's the extent and rigour of your due diligence and analytical capabilities then it would certainly appear that crypto isn't for you!

We all start somewhere, it's comforting to see someone (apologies if I assume wrong) newish to the investing game be able to work out Bitcoin isn't for them on their own initiative.

I'm sure it's the right decision, but my point was that it's for the wrong reasons - it's one thing to choose not to buy into it on an informed basis but foolish to dismiss it out of hand because of misconceptions and misunderstandings....

Really the purpose of your comment was to question someone else's intelligence and make a snarky comment, but taking it at face value, I think being overly sceptical about Bitcoin when you don't fully understand it is quite sensible. The consequences of not investing in something for the wrong reasons are fairly minimal.

It's far more dangerous to think you're investing for the right reasons but have a massive blind spot that you haven't properly considered. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, as they say.

tranquility1

tebbins said:

tranquility1 said:

Although I'm not convinced crypto won't be regulated out of existence in the future, I am convinced that genuine diversification is needed.

And genuine diversification doesn't mean simply a global tracker and bonds.  That's not diversification in my opinion.

Diversification in my view is:  owning property, global tracker, bonds if you must, gold, silver and crypto.

There are probably more asset classes people can use.


But having everything in your tracker/bonds, and thinking it's "diversified" is short sighted.  Sure you're diversified compared to a guy who only has shares in Tesco.  But you are 100% exposed to the stock market.  And even bonds largely mirror what is happening in equities.

That's not nearly far enough, personally I also hoard wool, cotton, coal, floppy disks and Guinness at home. I'm also looking at adding some Japanese whisky, some local art and toasted coffee beans to make sure I'm fully diversified. Don't forget Jelly Babies, roundabout adverts, Molybdenum.
What do you think of investing in manure?

You've got the right idea!

tranquility1

I've just tried to transfer £2K to Coinbase from my Tesco current account.  

Tesco blocked and withheld my money (without telling me, so I thought for a day that it was lost).

They then call me and tell me that they don't recommend crypto and they will withhold my money for another day to give me time to "think and research".

Malthusian

tranquility1 said:

But having everything in your tracker/bonds, and thinking it's "diversified" is short sighted.  Sure you're diversified compared to a guy who only has shares in Tesco.  But you are 100% exposed to the stock market.  And even bonds largely mirror what is happening in equities.

The point of diversifying investments is not to own a wider variety of stuff. The point of diversification is to reduce systemic risk without materially reducing expected return.

If having 100% of my investments in assets with a positive expectation of return isn't diversification (even if I have effectively eliminated the non-systemic risk of individual sectors and shares), and I need to buy into some zero-sum money games to call myself diversified, then I'm happy to be concentrated.

Tesco blocked and withheld my money (without telling me, so I thought for a day that it was lost).

They then call me and tell me that they don't recommend crypto and they will withhold my money for another day to give me time to "think and research".

...and reduce the risk that they are liable for any losses.

Look on the bright side, once Tesco have released the block and you convert your money into digital tokens, you won't have to bother with that kind of hoop-jumping anymore, while the rest of us won't be exposed to the risk of having to bail you out if you fall victim to fraud. Everybody wins.

tebbins

tranquility1 said:

I've just tried to transfer £2K to Coinbase from my Tesco current account.  

Tesco blocked and withheld my money (without telling me, so I thought for a day that it was lost).

They then call me and tell me that they don't recommend crypto and they will withhold my money for another day to give me time to "think and research".

A bank genuinely looking out for the interests of its customers? What planet are you on!

tranquility1

tebbins said:

tranquility1 said:

I've just tried to transfer £2K to Coinbase from my Tesco current account.  

Tesco blocked and withheld my money (without telling me, so I thought for a day that it was lost).

They then call me and tell me that they don't recommend crypto and they will withhold my money for another day to give me time to "think and research".

A bank genuinely looking out for the interests of its customers? What planet are you on!

What do you mean by what planet I'm on?

I simply stated what had just happened. I didn't even pass judgement on it in that post. 

tranquility1

Malthusian said:

tranquility1 said:

But having everything in your tracker/bonds, and thinking it's "diversified" is short sighted.  Sure you're diversified compared to a guy who only has shares in Tesco.  But you are 100% exposed to the stock market.  And even bonds largely mirror what is happening in equities.

The point of diversifying investments is not to own a wider variety of stuff. The point of diversification is to reduce systemic risk without materially reducing expected return.

If having 100% of my investments in assets with a positive expectation of return isn't diversification (even if I have effectively eliminated the non-systemic risk of individual sectors and shares), and I need to buy into some zero-sum money games to call myself diversified, then I'm happy to be concentrated.

Tesco blocked and withheld my money (without telling me, so I thought for a day that it was lost).

They then call me and tell me that they don't recommend crypto and they will withhold my money for another day to give me time to "think and research".

...and reduce the risk that they are liable for any losses.

Look on the bright side, once Tesco have released the block and you convert your money into digital tokens, you won't have to bother with that kind of hoop-jumping anymore, while the rest of us won't be exposed to the risk of having to bail you out if you fall victim to fraud. Everybody wins.

Tesco are not liable for any losses regarding crypto. And neither are you. I've no idea why you think you are?