Bitcoin

Malthusian · 11 December 2020 at 9:51AM

EdGasketTheSecond said:

BearWhite said:
I have 2.5% of my total wealth in it, so not a lot but enough skin in the game that if it does go up I'll make some serious money. In the meantime I have a debit card which gives me 2% back on most of my purchases in Crypto, which I convert to Bitcoin, as well as getting 5-6% in interest on my Bitcoin in savings accounts. So you can accumulate it fairly quickly without actually buying it.

Can you please explain how you get 5-6% inerest on your Bitcoin in savings accounts when most cash savings are paying only 0.5%?

1) They aren't really savings accounts, they're corporate loans, as there's no protection if the person you lend your Bitcoins to defaults. Cash savings pay the going rate for a store of wealth which is 100% insured against loss by the finance industry and ultimately the taxpayer.

2) 6% interest is neither here nor there when it's denominated in a commodity that could go up by 50% or down by 50% or more by the time you come to spend your "savings". Bitcoin "savings accounts" are cargo cult products - they're an imitation of insured savings accounts denominated in a fiat currency that don't fulfil any of the functions of such an account. Like the tribesmen who built airfields out of boxes, imitation wooden planes and radios made of coconuts, and then waited and waited for planes to land bearing goods.

Nobody who holds Bitcoin is interested in earning a lousy 6% per year, but putting money in savings accounts is something that people with actual cash do, therefore if you offer savings accounts in Bitcoin, people will magically start to use Bitcoin as cash, which means lots more people will buy Bitcoin, which means the price will pump and you'll be rich.

EdGasketTheSecond · 11 December 2020 at 11:19AM

Yes but if you are investing in Bitcoin, then you are holding it anyway so the potential to earn interest is a bonus. However it sounds as though the risks are high to earn that 6%. Am I right?

planteria · 13 December 2020 at 8:58PM

the choice to fail to understand continues haha..
i'd say no, not 'high risk', accepting that i'm only trusting one provider with my precious bitcoin.
i'm positioned to benefit from the bitcoin price continuing to rise during 2021: irresponsibly long 29% of my direct holdings.

Malthusian · 14 December 2020 at 10:27AM

Yes but if you are investing in Bitcoin, then you are holding it anyway so the potential to earn interest is a bonus.

Not much of one. Imagine if you had 10 Bitcoins and the price underwent another 2017-style pump, multiplying your money by 20x. Woohoo! Now imagine you don't actually have any Bitcoins anymore because you loaned them out to some dude so that they could speculate on other crypto with it (which is mostly all anyone does with borrowed Bitcoins) for 6% per year, and they don't have your Bitcoins anymore - and can't afford to buy them back with the price having gone up by 20x. Oops.

Not your keys not your coins brah.

Another_Saver said:

Being arrogant, condescending, patronising, rude and resorting to childish mockery of everyone who does not understand bitcoin is not an effective means to encourage others to one's way or thinking.

It is if you're an arrogant, condescending, patronising, rude and childish person, and there are a lot of them about. And a lot of them buy Bitcoins because arrogant and childish people are inherently more likely to think they deserve to get rich quick. It might not persuade you to buy Bitcoin but you aren't going to buy Bitcoin anyway, so trying to use polite and reasoned argument on you is a waste of time.

EdGasketTheSecond · 14 December 2020 at 10:53AM

planteria said:

the choice to fail to understand continues haha..
i'd say no, not 'high risk', accepting that i'm only trusting one provider with my precious bitcoin.
i'm positioned to benefit from the bitcoin price continuing to rise during 2021: irresponsibly long 29% of my direct holdings.

So is your understanding of bitcoin better than previous investor's understanding of tulip bulbs and South-Sea assets?

coyrls · 14 December 2020 at 12:19PM

Another_Saver said:

Malthusian said:

Yes but if you are investing in Bitcoin, then you are holding it anyway so the potential to earn interest is a bonus.
Not much of one. Imagine if you had 10 Bitcoins and the price underwent another 2017-style pump, multiplying your money by 20x. Woohoo! Now imagine you don't actually have any Bitcoins anymore because you loaned them out to some dude so that they could speculate on other crypto with it (which is mostly all anyone does with borrowed Bitcoins) for 6% per year, and they don't have your Bitcoins anymore - and can't afford to buy them back with the price having gone up by 20x. Oops.
Not your keys not your coins brah.

Another_Saver said:

Being arrogant, condescending, patronising, rude and resorting to childish mockery of everyone who does not understand bitcoin is not an effective means to encourage others to one's way or thinking.

It is if you're an arrogant, condescending, patronising, rude and childish person, and there are a lot of them about. And a lot of them buy Bitcoins because arrogant and childish people are inherently more likely to think they deserve to get rich quick. It might not persuade you to buy Bitcoin but you aren't going to buy Bitcoin anyway, so trying to use polite and reasoned argument on you is a waste of time.

So you're one of the cultists too who sees this thread as a means to persuade others to join the cult rather than the discuss bitcoin on merit.
None of the "arguments" that have been given by anyone in support of bitcoin as an investment, rather than from the minority who hold it as a side speculative punt, have contained any politeness or reason. My first post on the last few threads about bitcoin has been comprehensively reasoned out and I didn't see any complaints about its politeness, clearly wasted on you.

You're so keen on a fight that you don't bother to read what is said, do you think

It is if you're an arrogant, condescending, patronising, rude and childish person, and there are a lot of them about. And a lot of them buy Bitcoins because arrogant and childish people are inherently more likely to think they deserve to get rich quick.

Is an argument in favour of buying bitcoin? The post has clearly been wasted on you.

coyrls · 14 December 2020 at 1:50PM

My original point was that you were looking for a fight with somebody who actually agrees with you about bitcoin but you didn't seem to notice. I haven't expressed any opinion on bitcoin.