This might make you SERIOUSLY RECONSIDER 'BITCOINS'

[IdahoCopper]

It looks like the top this time was yesterday at $900 on Mt. Gox. I sold jerky around $410 - $450 to 13 BTC customers. This morning it is still more than that, so far. I cashed out about 65% of the BTC almost immediately after the sales to pay for postage and jerky, but let my net gain on the sales ride at risk. That seems the most prudent way to deal with the volatility when selling products.

[johnbrickner]

That being said, I now put bitcoins in the same category I did "Magic the Gathering". They will flourish because I don't see a future in them.

Validation: http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/18/investi ... ?iid=HP_LN

[Hawkeye]

It looks like the top this time was yesterday at $900 on Mt. Gox. I sold jerky around $410 - $450 to 13 BTC customers. This morning it is still more than that, so far. I cashed out about 65% of the BTC almost immediately after the sales to pay for postage and jerky, but let my net gain on the sales ride at risk. That seems the most prudent way to deal with the volatility when selling products.

That sounds like a smart approach.

[Hawkeye]

I've been looking at bitcoins and thinking about them for a while and I just absolutely can not decide what I think about them. Alternative currency? I like. Internet based currency? Not sure about that. Government doesn't like it? I like it. Doesn't seem backed by anything and has no intrinsic value? Don't like it.

It's an interesting concept and a potentially great investment. But I can't help but feel like (as with most things), I missed my opportunity to get in on the ground floor (or any of the first 5 floors) and make money. I'm sure there is money to be made here, but I don't think I'm going to be the guy who makes it.

[JobIII]

I see a lot of issues with Bitcoin. For starters it explodes to 900 and then loses nearly 50% in under 24 hours. Now it's up around $600. That alone is enough to make me not want to dive in.
Next MTGOX has been hacked. And other sites have just disappeared. I still don't really trust the security yet.
Lastly buying and selling. I'm not sure exactly how easy it is to buy or sell, but it does take a long time to get the money back once you sell out.

There's way too many variables out there on this right now.

[barrytrot]

I see a lot of issues with Bitcoin. For starters it explodes to 900 and then loses nearly 50% in under 24 hours. Now it's up around $600. That alone is enough to make me not want to dive in.
Next MTGOX has been hacked. And other sites have just disappeared. I still don't really trust the security yet.
Lastly buying and selling. I'm not sure exactly how easy it is to buy or sell, but it does take a long time to get the money back once you sell out.

There's way too many variables out there on this right now.

Look at companies like:

Google, Apple, several others

Silver? Anyone remember hitting $49.50 a couple years back?

Similar trading patterns when "huge events" happen.

So dropping a ton quickly after a lava spike happens.

[coppernicus]

Bitcoin value exceeds $1000 today. Bubble getting more air? Or is it the new internet?

[InfleXion]

Bitcoin value exceeds $1000 today. Bubble getting more air? Or is it the new internet?

First came the QQ Coin (and likely others before that), then BitCoin, then LiteCoin, and then what? Digital currency has proven itself a viable alternative to the failing fiat system (so far), and as such more competition is inevitable. BitCoin has the lion's share currently, but as soon as a better alternative comes along all the speculators will dash into the next big profit seeking venture. There is a middle ground to be had somewhere, and we have a long way to go. I don't think digital currency in general is in a bubble, but I do consider the current iterations of it to be, with the pool of money allocated facing dispersion among an increasing number of competing currencies. That's not to say there isn't a lot of labor free money to be made (the parasitic nature of our financial system propagated to a method the masses can take advantage of will only make things worse), but my gut says this is a frothy brew.

[blackrabbit]

Bitcoin value exceeds $1000 today. Bubble getting more air? Or is it the new internet?

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/11/27/bitcoin-passes-1000-mark-first-time/

[hobo finds]

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013 ... tune?lite=

[Hawkeye]

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/28/21654552-it-worker-throws-out-hard-drive-loses-75-million-bitcoin-fortune?lite=

Ouch. I'm kicking myself a little for not picking up a few of these back when i first thought about it, but I'm definitely not kicking myself as much as that guy.

[fansubs_ca]

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/28/21654552-it-worker-throws-out-hard-drive-loses-75-million-bitcoin-fortune?lite=

People throw old electronics away? ?_?

Excluding the one computer that got stolen I still have every computer (and part
thereof) that I've ever bought or been given going right back to my first VIC-20!
(Never know when you'll want to get something off of a datasette tape. ^_-)

Of course that would explain why I'm running out of space in my house... :0

[blackrabbit]

Bitcoin worth more than gold!!! At least for a short while.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-29/bitcoin-now-worth-more-gold

[CardsNCoins]

I did very well on litecoins.

[tedandcam]

I did very well on litecoins.

Good for you Nick!! I was going to buy some a week or so ago, then they took off too much and decided against it. They went from $7 to $45 while I was debating. But, should they go back to $7 (or lower) anytime in the future, I am sure I will step in. They are currently at $32.35

[hobo finds]

Look at this one... http://now.msn.com/kid-holding-send-bit ... -donations

[tedandcam]

Look at this one... http://now.msn.com/kid-holding-send-bit ... -donations

Gotta hand it to this young man. Very creative!

[mrrosado]

Well bitcoins don't really work like real currency yet but it's been the easiest fastest fundraiser my parish has had.

[aloneibreak]

mtgox out

http://www.businessinsider.com/reports- ... ing-2014-2

[barrytrot]

Astonishing how little this has caused the price to be reduced at other exchanges. I would be short-term very bearish.

[dannan14]

Astonishing how little this has caused the price to be reduced at other exchanges. I would be short-term very bearish.

People trading at other exchanges have considered Gox to be done for weeks...i think we've already seen nearly all of that price reduction.

[68Camaro]

Imagine creation of a so-called electronic currency that was designed by its creators with a hidden backdoor that would allow them to insert a later virus with which they could skim off a percentage for years before they were found out.

Wait - maybe it's already been done!

[theo]

Astonishing how little this has caused the price to be reduced at other exchanges. I would be short-term very bearish.

Perhaps Mt Gox was a one-time occurance, but until traders at others exchanges are convinced of that, Bitcoin will be under pressure.

Imagine creation of a so-called electronic currency that was designed by its creators with a hidden backdoor that would allow them to insert a later virus with which they could skim off a percentage for years before they were found out.

Wait - maybe it's already been done!

Yes, they have. Its called the U.S. Dollar. The back door is inflation and the virus is fractional reserve banking.

In all seriousness. I see your point.

[dannan14]

Imagine creation of a so-called electronic currency that was designed by its creators with a hidden backdoor that would allow them to insert a later virus with which they could skim off a percentage for years before they were found out.

Wait - maybe it's already been done!

Except it's an open source code so the chances of any backdoor remaining hidden is fairly slim...my guess is the backdoor or virus was solely in Gox's system. But seriously...3/4 of a million BTC? How could they not notice that? Makes me very suspicious of McCaleb and/or Karpeles...they obviously wouldn't even need a Swiss or Cayman bank account to hide it all!

[hobo finds]

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/busines ... ore-n45101