Off Topic Does anybody understand bitcoin?

Mining is essentially lending your computing power to the blockchain to record and verify transactions keeping the whole thing secure and traceable. In simple terms the miners get to decide what to ratify and what to reject, so anything dodgy looking trying to cheat the system obviously gets told to **** off, this is what gives it security. It does also mean if someone/some group were to gain control of 51% of all mining activity they could manipulate the entire thing and do whatever they want with it, although the chances of that happening are slim to none.

It uses so much electricity because you have to put in so much computing power in order to stand half a chance of getting anything out of it. The rigs the people use for mining are quite literally insane and cost well into the thousands to set up. There are other coins which use other methods to validate the chain, some use a proof of stake model whereby you stake coins in order to vote on what to accept/reject, instead of 'mining'.



IMO I personally would stay away from bitcoin, of the crypto currencies available, if any were to become a widely accepted currency I doubt it would be bitcoin as it's very slow and expensive to move around. Others such as Litecoin and XRP for example are miles ahead in both regards. And as has already been stated it's been piggy backed by investors and chancers so probably inflated presently and unlikely to grow a significant amount again, although that's obviously impossible to tell and it could quite easily be worth £100k a coin by tomorrow.

I'm not a bitcoin nerd, I got a tip off from a bitcoin nerd well over a year ago to buy in and ignored it (more fool me) but sat up and took notice when it started rising rapidly last year so got into some of the other promising coins. Nothing big but if any of the coins I've dropped cash into ever manage to rise to the extent bitcoin already has I'll never have to work again.

 

All this electricity use bothers me...it’s not very environmentally friendly
Couldn’t the people who set this up have hidden the bitcoins in jungles instead of mines and then people could have driven there in big diesel 4x4s and just chopped down enough trees to find them instead?

 

Bastard......i thought I had a bitcoin in my drawer.
But it was an old fruit machine token.

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Hide it down a mine...it’ll be worth a fortune by tomorrow dinner

 

That would be more carbon neutral than using 10 TJ of electricity, Den.

 

Perfect DBT

 

I think you really really didn't like the groundsmen thread and tried shutting it down quite a few times.
While the Allams are ****s they were bang on with those two dodgy ****ers.

 

Me neither. Staying well clear. A few mates clubbed together to buy ‘one’. They actually havent the faintest idea what ‘it’ is. Like all ‘bubbles’ they’re banking on someone willing to pay more on the assumption someone else will pay more down the line.

 

I started a job nearly three years ago and made friends with a kid. He told me to invest in Bitcoin and I never did.

I also watch a show on called the Kaiser Report on RT presented by a guy called Max Kaiser. He has been talking about for about 4 years.

 

I'm pretty sure I accepted that. Whatever...

I lay down my arms.

 

Don’t lay down your arms Kemps

Put your foot down with a firm hand instead

 

I thought by page 4 we'd be onto talking about curry sauce and its multitude of applications.

Back on topic, I've just written a 'fairly' technical email to a client on one aspect of this very subject (Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, not curry sauce) and I'll be ****ed if I fully understand it.

 

The fact that most 'winners' in Bitcoin speculation sell up and convert into Central bank controlled currencies proves it's a just a gambling tool.

 

Agreed. It's a bit of a flawed logic, buy something basically imaginary that has very little capability to actually use with the hope to just sell it to someone else for a lot more.

The coins I put money into are not currency based, but rather aimed at things such as data pools/transfers etc. which will have real world use. The technology behind it all once developed and refined will be revolutionary, no two ways about that, but I can never see anyone popping down to the shop and buying groceries with bitcoin or any other crypto coin.

 

So tell me again, what's Bitcoin?

 

This Bitcoin matter is like trying to visualise the thought of the universe carrying on into infinity and having no end, it is totally beyond my comprehension.

 

If you were sat on a large Bitcoin profit and the bubble starts to burst how do you sell and how quick can you bail?

 

When it has no intrinsic value other than close control of monetary inflation (unlike fiat currencies which can just be printed in Weimar quantities should the central banks wish) and is now able to be shorted/spread bet, then yes, it's a gambling tool rather than an investment tool.

Now is far too late to invest in it unless you are excellent at pass the parcel (not mentioning transaction and conversion costs).

Edit: IMO you'd be better off visiting the landfill site in Wales where some bloke put his old PC (including his bitcoin wallet). I think its value is now something like £100m if you can find it.

I see they updated his story last month.

https://www.google.cz/amp/www.teleg...lly-threw-away-bitcoin-worth-100-million/amp/

 

Probably not very quickly or easily. In order to sell someone needs to buy, and if the bubble goes pop who's going to be wanting to buy at a big price?

 

Aha, a bit like Schrödinger’s dead cat bounce paradox thought experiment. Impossible to fathom out.