A break from wrestling...have you seen Bitcoin this morning???

[82bordeaux]

TESLA announced in an SEC filing that it has purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and will start accepting Bitcoin as payment. Bitcoin up $4,000 this morning.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming..

 

[nerfstate]

That’s only a factor of 100 over what it was in 2016. I’m holding out for 1000.

 

[82bordeaux]

That’s only a factor of 100 over what it was in 2016. I’m HODLING for 1000.

FIFY (I've been taking lessons from @STAND with PRIDE

 

[STAND with PRIDE]

FIFY (I've been taking lessons from @STAND with PRIDE

LOL I dont want blamed for ANYTHING

 

[Chickenman Testa]

TESLA announced in an SEC filing that it has purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and will start accepting Bitcoin as payment. Bitcoin up $4,000 this morning.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming..

I’m dollar cost averaging my crypto buys and I wasn’t due to buy BTC again until next week. Even so, I was close on Saturday to breaking my discipline, but held off. D’oh!

 

[GogglesPaizano]

There are tears at the end of this journey.

 

[7brwnpsu]

TESLA announced in an SEC filing that it has purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and will start accepting Bitcoin as payment. Bitcoin up $4,000 this morning.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming..

Please don't bother me with such trivia, I'm too busy mining coin with my Altair 8800 and Commodore 64.

 

[82bordeaux]

Please don't bother me with such trivia, I'm too busy mining coin with my Altair 8800 and Commodore 64.

 

[82bordeaux]

There are tears at the end of this journey.

There is little doubt about this. The only question remaining is, from whom?

 

[liex26]

At one point I had $3000 in DOGE but after being stagnant for a year I moved it to ETH. I bought $500 more DOGE again at $.0337 so I can't complain but I wish I would have stayed strong with three grand at less than a penny.

 

[7brwnpsu]

Bordeaux, I have one of the nicest tulip bulb collections in the eastern United States or is it the midwestern United States.

I was going to bring it to your Olympic Trials get together at the Hyatt but I think I could solve 100 blockchains quicker than how to figure out the governor's system for getting the shots.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

At one point I had $3000 in DOGE but after being stagnant for a year I moved it to ETH. I bought $500 more DOGE again at $.0337 so I can't complain but I wish I would have stayed strong with three grand at less than a penny.

I have 4 solid coins and a fair amount of RAE tokens - I’m dying to find a real cheap one so I can buy a large amount. I hate owning like .08 of something

 

[82bordeaux]

I have 4 solid coins and a fair amount of RAE tokens - I’m dying to find a real cheap one so I can buy a large amount. I hate owning like .08 of something

$ and % gain/loss is all that matters. Fractions are just a mental roadblock. Per the post above about the tears, I think that BTC, ETH, LTC, and a few other utility tokens will survive. DOGE will not. Many of the "forks" off the other tokens will go down in flames as well. Even ETH has no mechanism to limit the creation of more tokens. BTC and LTC are capped. That said, I fully expect some of these "altcoins" to do very well the next time BTC corrects after this current run up, just as they did in the weeks following January 9th. But tread with caution. This is like ice fishing in April.

 

[82bordeaux]

At one point I had $3000 in DOGE but after being stagnant for a year I moved it to ETH. I bought $500 more DOGE again at $.0337 so I can't complain but I wish I would have stayed strong with three grand at less than a penny.

 

[82bordeaux]

Bordeaux, I have one of the nicest tulip bulb collections in the eastern United States or is it the midwestern United States.

I was going to bring it to your Olympic Trials get together at the Hyatt but I think I could solve 100 blockchains quicker than how to figure out the governor's system for getting the shots.

No luck in getting your shot scheduled? I get mine next Tuesday.

 

[7brwnpsu]

Nope, but happy the wife received her second shot last week with no side effects. She works for a Doctor within a hospital. I'm 1A group but no luck. So I stay a recluse. But it gives me time to mine crypto in my basement with the other 7 dwarfs.

 

[psumacw]

TESLA announced in an SEC filing that it has purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and will start accepting Bitcoin as payment. Bitcoin up $4,000 this morning.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming..

aren't 10% swings fairly normal for bitcoin? i'm not sure why an individual would chose to do business in such a volatile currency. though, if a company could announce that it purchased $1.5 billion of something and sheep automatically make that worth $1.65 billion within 24 hours, i could see why billionaires would be in favor of that.

 

[82bordeaux]

aren't 10% swings fairly normal for bitcoin? i'm not sure why an individual would chose to do business in such a volatile currency. though, if a company could announce that it purchased $1.5 billion of something and sheep automatically make that worth $1.65 billion within 24 hours, i could see why billionaires would be in favor of that.

Yep. 10% swings are another day in the life of BTC. I don't understand why Elon Musk does what he does. In this case, the tweeting seems counterproductive. If Tesla was accumulating BTC, why hint at that and drive up the price. The SEC filing released today was going to (and did) have an effect on the trajectory of the price without tweeting anything.
But the Dogecoin tweeting is just messing with people. That token is a joke token. It was created as a joke, and Musk's tweets about it are jokes. But it is nothing more than a crypto version of a beanie baby.
But back to Bitcoin, Tesla is just the beginning. When others like VISA/MC/Apple make similar disclosures, this move will seem pretty benign.
Then again, the US Government could outlaw cryptocurrencies altogether and again, it would make today's move seem benign. But I think that ship has sailed. BTC is here to stay.

 

[okinburg1]

There is little doubt about this. The only question remaining is, from whom?

The suckers, of course...

 

[psumacw]

Yep. 10% swings are another day in the life of BTC. I don't understand why Elon Musk does what he does. In this case, the tweeting seems counterproductive. If Tesla was accumulating BTC, why hint at that and drive up the price. The SEC filing released today was going to (and did) have an effect on the trajectory of the price without tweeting anything.
But the Dogecoin tweeting is just messing with people. That token is a joke token. It was created as a joke, and Musk's tweets about it are jokes. But it is nothing more than a crypto version of a beanie baby.
But back to Bitcoin, Tesla is just the beginning. When others like VISA/MC/Apple make similar disclosures, this move will seem pretty benign.
Then again, the US Government could outlaw cryptocurrencies altogether and again, it would make today's move seem benign. But I think that ship has sailed. BTC is here to stay.

i'm not sure i'll ever understand the draw of bitcoin to the layperson. obviously it's an asset that people will pay for given the current trading prices, but it just seems like a vessel for corporations to exploit. i just can't imagine anyone paying for a good or service in a currency that could be 10% more or less valuable within hours. maybe i'm out of touch.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

i'm not sure i'll ever understand the draw of bitcoin to the layperson. obviously it's an asset that people will pay for given the current trading prices, but it just seems like a vessel for corporations to exploit. i just can't imagine anyone paying for a good or service in a currency that could be 10% more or less valuable within hours. maybe i'm out of touch.

Too many people look at it from the perspective of someone (like you or I) living in a stable country. BTC, protected by the blockchain, is very attractive to people who live in oppressive regimes or places subject to hyperinflation and/or currency instability - like Gold but way more portable and secure as the “keys” to get at your BTC can be in your own memory alone. No need for safe deposit boxes, burying it, trying to spirit it out of the country.

 

[dmm53]

This thread is sponsored and endorsed by Ben Askren, who is like a child on Christmas morning when "Bitcoin" is mentioned.

 

[psumacw]

Too many people look at it from the perspective of someone (like you or I) living in a stable country. BTC, protected by the blockchain, is very attractive to people who live in oppressive regimes or places subject to hyperinflation and/or currency instability - like Gold but way more portable and secure as the “keys” to get at your BTC can be in your own memory alone. No need for safe deposit boxes, burying it, trying to spirit it out of the country.

we don't think of 10% jumps as currency instability? and maybe i'm wrong but i don't really thing of people living in oppressive regimes as having a lot of discretionary capital

 

[Chickenman Testa]

we don't think of 10% jumps as currency instability? and maybe i'm wrong but i don't really thing of people living in oppressive regimes as having a lot of discretionary capital

Imagine you’re a Russian billionaire who gets on the wrong side of Putin. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some of that discretionary capital out of sight from the whims of Putin and his henchman? How about living in Hong Kong under the threat of greater and greater Chinese influence. Either regime can get oppressive in an instant. I’m not talking about goat herders in Upper Volta.

 

[GantryZ]

Burkina Faso my friend, Burkina Faso

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Burkina Faso my friend, Burkina Faso

Hah! I went all Monty Burns there - referencing my 1970 World Atlas I guess. I need to fly my Spruce Goose to Burma

 

[psumacw]

Imagine you’re a Russian billionaire who gets on the wrong side of Putin. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some of that discretionary capital out of sight from the whims of Putin and his henchman? How about living in Hong Kong under the threat of greater and greater Chinese influence. Either regime can get oppressive in an instant. I’m not talking about goat herders in Upper Volta.

oh i completely understand the money laundering benefits of bitcoin, people have been buying and selling drugs with it for years. i just can't fathom why the great majority of people would ever need or want something like this.

 

[GantryZ]

The overwhelming majority of people involved in Bitcoin are in it as an investment. There are other reasons for sure, including its original goal, but it got to this level because people want to make money off it.

 

[82bordeaux]

i'm not sure i'll ever understand the draw of bitcoin to the layperson. obviously it's an asset that people will pay for given the current trading prices, but it just seems like a vessel for corporations to exploit. i just can't imagine anyone paying for a good or service in a currency that could be 10% more or less valuable within hours. maybe i'm out of touch.

I have to agree. For a long time I was of the school that Bitcoin was another tulipmania. However, in business I've had to learn how to deal with the millennials and Gen-Zers, and more important understand how they think. They value different things than I do. They are fearful of things I never feared. They are fearless in certain arenas in which I am totally uncomfortable. They value time, they value savings, they value experiences, they value knowledge, and they value portability. They do not fear the digital world. For when the s#@t hit the fan in the past, I always wanted real assets (real estate, equipment, gold, fine art, fine wine) and low/no debt. The next generations don't want to be bogged down with possessions that they can't AirBnB. They don't trust government. They want to save. They love owning equities (although many have not lived through the other side of the last 10 months. And they will want some assets in digital currencies. BTC is not, nor will it ever be used as a traditional currency (although in many cases, you could purchase a house with it and transfer the funds to do it for less than $100USD.) It is a store of value as gold, diamonds, art, collectible wine and whiskey, and even property are. It is exponentially more volatile than any of those assets because of the uncertainty which surrounds it. It could be worth $500,000 in 5 years, or it could be worth $5.00 in 5 years. As the certainty increases, the value will move closer to one of those 2 points. It is the nature of speculative markets.
But in analyzing the equation, we have to think like the 21-40 year olds, or at the very least understand how they think. We logically think they are nuts. As our kids tell us all the time, they think we are nuts. We just value different things.
There is a great economist that I have followed for 20 years name Brian Beaulieu and he reminds me do not mistake the millennial's innovation for laziness. They are incredibly innovative and intelligent and underestimate them at your own expense. ( hopefully the kids don't read this)

 

[82bordeaux]

oh i completely understand the money laundering benefits of bitcoin, people have been buying and selling drugs with it for years. i just can't fathom why the great majority of people would ever need or want something like this.

Diamonds have been used as a currency for illicit actions/items for a long long time. But good luck using that argument to pry them off my wife's fingers!

 

[psumacw]

I have to agree. For a long time I was of the school that Bitcoin was another tulipmania. However, in business I've had to learn how to deal with the millennials and Gen-Zers, and more important understand how they think. They value different things than I do. They are fearful of things I never feared. They are fearless in certain arenas in which I am totally uncomfortable. They value time, they value savings, they value experiences, they value knowledge, and they value portability. They do not fear the digital world. For when the s#@t hit the fan in the past, I always wanted real assets (real estate, equipment, gold, fine art, fine wine) and low/no debt. The next generations don't want to be bogged down with possessions that they can't AirBnB. They don't trust government. They want to save. They love owning equities (although many have not lived through the other side of the last 10 months. And they will want some assets in digital currencies. BTC is not, nor will it ever be used as a traditional currency (although in many cases, you could purchase a house with it and transfer the funds to do it for less than $100USD.) It is a store of value as gold, diamonds, art, collectible wine and whiskey, and even property are. It is exponentially more volatile than any of those assets because of the uncertainty which surrounds it. It could be worth $500,000 in 5 years, or it could be worth $5.00 in 5 years. As the certainty increases, the value will move closer to one of those 2 points. It is the nature of speculative markets.
But in analyzing the equation, we have to think like the 21-40 year olds, or at the very least understand how they think. We logically think they are nuts. As our kids tell us all the time, they think we are nuts. We just value different things.
There is a great economist that I have followed for 20 years name Brian Beaulieu and he reminds me do not mistake the millennial's innovation for laziness. They are incredibly innovative and intelligent and underestimate them at your own expense. ( hopefully the kids don't read this)

i get why gold, diamonds, art, wine, and whiskey are expensive. it's because there's a fixed supply and a way for rich people to flaunt their wealth and say "i have this and you don't". i'm not getting the same feeling from bitcoin, there's no exclusivity to it, you can't display it, no one is ever going to say "check out my coinbase wallet". there's a fixed amount of bitcoin, sure, but you can buy a fraction of a fraction of a bitcoin and be a bitcoin owner. then once you have it there's nothing special you can do with it, you just turn it back into your chosen national currency for a different price and then use that to purchase your goods and services.

i'm a millennial myself and, in my admittedly limited personal experience, the people buying these cryptocurrencies are doing it because of both YOLO and FOMO. they realize they're in a worse financial position than the generation before them and are looking for a way to sort of luck into a comfortable life and the worst thing would be to miss out on the rocket ship to the moon. they're taking the couple hundred bucks a month that they would have put into their savings account or IRA and throwing that at cryptocurrency and crossing their fingers.

 

[NothingMeaningful]

Too many people look at it from the perspective of someone (like you or I) living in a stable country. BTC, protected by the blockchain, is very attractive to people who live in oppressive regimes or places subject to hyperinflation and/or currency instability - like Gold but way more portable and secure as the “keys” to get at your BTC can be in your own memory alone. No need for safe deposit boxes, burying it, trying to spirit it out of the country.

Stefan Thomas, a German-born programmer living in San Francisco, has two guesses left to figure out a password that is worth, as of this week, about $220 million.

Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes (Published 2021)

Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can’t tap that wealth because you forgot the password to your digital wallet?

www.nytimes.com

 

[82bordeaux]

i get why gold, diamonds, art, wine, and whiskey are expensive. it's because there's a fixed supply and a way for rich people to flaunt their wealth and say "i have this and you don't". i'm not getting the same feeling from bitcoin, there's no exclusivity to it, you can't display it, no one is ever going to say "check out my coinbase wallet". there's a fixed amount of bitcoin, sure, but you can buy a fraction of a fraction of a bitcoin and be a bitcoin owner. then once you have it there's nothing special you can do with it, you just turn it back into your chosen national currency for a different price and then use that to purchase your goods and services.

i'm a millennial myself and, in my admittedly limited personal experience, the people buying these cryptocurrencies are doing it because of both YOLO and FOMO. they realize they're in a worse financial position than the generation before them and are looking for a way to sort of luck into a comfortable life and the worst thing would be to miss out on the rocket ship to the moon. they're taking the couple hundred bucks a month that they would have put into their savings account or IRA and throwing that at cryptocurrency and crossing their fingers.

You are correct on many fronts. There is a ton of YOLO and FOMO going on. It exists in the stock market too.
But the market for collectibles is not moved by those flaunting wealth. The market moving money is usually more measured than that. I think the same % of those flaunting art, wine, and whiskey is the same for the Bitcoin millionaires/billionaires that are driving "Lambos" (the crypto nickname for Lamborghini AKA "Lambo Bro")with their new found wealth. They are out there. But they are the ones that usually part with their $ before they depart the world.

 

[Dogwelder]

i get why gold, diamonds, art, wine, and whiskey are expensive. it's because there's a fixed supply and a way for rich people to flaunt their wealth and say "i have this and you don't". i'm not getting the same feeling from bitcoin, there's no exclusivity to it, you can't display it, no one is ever going to say "check out my coinbase wallet". ...

A lot of things have high value without being flaunt-worthy. To say flaunt-worthiness is a requirement for high value is pretty random. It's like saying laying down ankle bands neatly is a requirement for winning wrestling matches.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes (Published 2021)

Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can’t tap that wealth because you forgot the password to your digital wallet?

www.nytimes.com

Yeah, that’s brutal. What a dope. I have encoded notes in 3 or 4 places - all of them will not burn up at the same time unless we get hit by a planet killer asteroid. And I have small potatoes invested

 

[psumacw]

You are correct on many fronts. There is a ton of YOLO and FOMO going on. It exists in the stock market too.
But the market for collectibles is not moved by those flaunting wealth. The market moving money is usually more measured than that. I think the same % of those flaunting art, wine, and whiskey is the same for the Bitcoin millionaires/billionaires that are driving "Lambos" (the crypto nickname for Lamborghini AKA "Lambo Bro")with their new found wealth. They are out there. But they are the ones that usually part with their $ before they depart the world.

i'm a recreational sports card collector and i can't tell you how crazy the card market is right now. there are boxes of soccer cards that i bought for under $50 on black friday in 2019 that have been selling for over $1,500 since last summer. i opened mine when i got them because i never imagined that those boxes would be investment vehicles, they were $80 per box just a couple months before i bought them.

i don't think i have a point relevant to the crypto conversation with this story, just lamenting that i can't do one of my hobbies for as cheap as i could before.

 

[82bordeaux]

Yeah, that’s brutal. What a dope. I have encoded notes in 3 or 4 places - all of them will not burn up at the same time unless we get hit by a planet killer asteroid. And I have small potatoes invested

But I only need to find one of them CT!

 

[psumacw]

A lot of things have high value without being flaunt-worthy. To say flaunt-worthiness is a requirement for high value is pretty random. It's like saying laying down the ankle bands neatly is a requirement for winning wrestling matches.

i don't think i said that was a requirement. i just said that those particular things were things that people flaunt.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

But I only need to find one of them CT!

They would still be gibberish to you - like Navaho Code-Talker shit

 

[82bordeaux]

i'm a recreational sports card collector and i can't tell you how crazy the card market is right now. there are boxes of soccer cards that i bought for under $50 on black friday in 2019 that have been selling for over $1,500 since last summer. i opened mine when i got them because i never imagined that those boxes would be investment vehicles, they were $80 per box just a couple months before i bought them.

i don't think i have a point relevant to the crypto conversation with this story, just lamenting that i can't do one of my hobbies for as cheap as i could before.

Somewhere around here I have some complete uncut sheets of baseball cards. We used to lease the second floor of our plant to Megacards. They printed, cut, and packaged baseball cards for Tops. That was 25 years ago. I wonder if they are worth anything.