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Old 13-12-2017, 16:04   #1
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Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

A programmer friend of mine discovered that he had bought $100 in bitcoins for a project he was working on in 2010. Discovered the wallet on a laptop he was cleaning off to dispose of. He's shopping for a new boat now, lol.

Pretty much like winning the lottery. I thought of buying some back then, on a lark but never got around to it. Oh well!
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Old 13-12-2017, 16:07   #2
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Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

Nice. Bought some myself. Not in 2010 though.

Did he get them at .08? Or .01 ?
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Old 13-12-2017, 18:57   #3
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

I don't think it was that low, but it was certainly under a dollar. He's banking the whole lot which I think is pretty wise given the ridiculous price right now. But watch it go to $32000 a share after I've said that.
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Old 13-12-2017, 20:59   #4
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

Does he live in Nigeria?
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Old 13-12-2017, 23:49   #5
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

Quote:
Originally Posted by Suijin View Post
A programmer friend of mine discovered that he had bought $100 in bitcoins for a project he was working on in 2010. Discovered the wallet on a laptop he was cleaning off to dispose of. He's shopping for a new boat now, lol.

Pretty much like winning the lottery. I thought of buying some back then, on a lark but never got around to it. Oh well!
that amounts to about 75 million today.
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Old 14-12-2017, 02:00   #6
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

It's amazing. I don't own any. I've been reading a couple of books on blockchain and Bitcoin. A Bitcoin is basically a digital mark on a digital ledger (blockchain a new transparent way to store data) , the mark is a record of ownership of a Bitcoin, except the mark is the Bitcoin because there is no Bitcoin!

Bitcoin could be compared to the Model T ford, automobile technology (blockchain) has changed our lives and still is, BUT the Model T ford has gone!

I can't see anyway of determining a cryptocurrencies value, no reference points, no history, no inherent value. No other asset class would be taken seriously if it displayed the same volatility as Bitcoin.

But here's the reality, people are getting rich through Cryptos and I'm not.. Lol. So what do I know? If I woke up tommorow and it was 100k I wouldn't be surprised, if I woke up tommorow and it was zero, I wouldn't be surprised..... such is "the madness of crowds".

Wish I had of bought some.. Lol.
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Old 14-12-2017, 03:00   #7
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

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I can't see anyway of determining a cryptocurrencies value, no reference points, no history, no inherent value. No other asset class would be taken seriously if it displayed the same volatility as Bitcoin.
Well.. how about the U.S. Dollar? or the Euro.. modern day currencies (a.k.a. Fiat money) lack any inherent value actually. Its value is just gained thru its wide acceptance really. The only difference with Bitcoin is that they can be controlled by a single entity (a private Bank in the U.S. for example, the so called "Fed").

Actually bitcoins make a lot more sense as currency than fiat money cause they _are_ scarce. You can't just "print" or "issue" them at will, like you can with fiat currencies. You have to "find" them.. and this costs money (in terms of computer power and electricity) .

The achilles heel of bitcoin is its acceptance.. which can go either way. Either it starts _really_ being accepted as tender for things like your groceries or buying an auto in which case it will only keep going up.. or if acceptance doesn't really take off at some point somebody with lots of them will just cash out and the whole thing will just collapse. I guess we just have to wait and see.. Either way.. damn!.. woulda coulda shoulda bought some back then and I did have the chance...
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Old 14-12-2017, 03:30   #8
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

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Well.. how about the U.S. Dollar? or the Euro.. modern day currencies (a.k.a. Fiat money) lack any inherent value actually. Its value is just gained thru its wide acceptance really. The only difference with Bitcoin is that they can be controlled by a single entity (a private Bank in the U.S. for example, the so called "Fed").

Actually bitcoins make a lot more sense as currency than fiat money cause they _are_ scarce. You can't just "print" or "issue" them at will, like you can with fiat currencies. You have to "find" them.. and this costs money (in terms of computer power and electricity) .

The achilles heel of bitcoin is its acceptance.. which can go either way. Either it starts _really_ being accepted as tender for things like your groceries or buying an auto in which case it will only keep going up.. or if acceptance doesn't really take off at some point somebody with lots of them will just cash out and the whole thing will just collapse. I guess we just have to wait and see.. Either way.. damn!.. woulda coulda shoulda bought some back then and I did have the chance...
Lol... Knew I'd get a bite.. Lol. I agree with you 100%regarding our paper money, didn't argue anything different. Happy to go head to head discussing Fiat currencies and the history of money and related topics if you chose? BTW is Bitcoin money or a currency?

Your right Bitcoin has a "" mining cost" currently approx $1000 usd, therefore if we use that metric one could argue Bitcoin is extremely overvalued right now. BTW it's the only metric thus my how do you value it statement?

The scarcity factor, it's laughable, how many cryptocurrencies are there right now? Is it 1600 or over 2000? Sorry lost count. How many times has Bitcoin had a hard fork so far, three times? How many in the future?

So let's assume Bitcoin is a currency, how many transactions a day can Bitcoin manage? for a reference point Visa can handle over 15 million transactions per day! How long does a Bitcoin transaction take to go through? Can your grandmother easily understand it? It's a long way from being a currency at this stage! who would even use it as a currency, buy a TV today and buy the morning it cost you 20%more?

The future is definitely unknown, my thoughts are Blockchain technology is here to stay and will improve our lives. I also believe cryptocurrencies in some form will be a major part of that future,will Bitcoin be that currency? Not sure, in fact most likely not, as I said think model T, we are so early in this new paradigm.

Most aren't buying Bitcoin because of their dislike of FIAT currencies, they are purchasing from a" don't want to miss out perspective ", most that are purchasing have very little knowledge of money, the history of money or a understanding of Cryptos, this isn't a rational buy its an emotional buy and this also dosent mean Bitcoin won't go to a million bucks, it really could!! Once again the madness of crowds is very real thing.

You obviously own some Bitcoin, well done, I'm genuinely happy for you, I'm jealous, wish I could buy some, but unfortunately at this stage I can not find any logical backed argument that can convince me the fundamentals are sound, in fact what are those fundamentals? Believe me when I say I have searched and researched looking for the justification to jump on in, but just run into a dead-end everytime. Bitcoin is becoming almost religious.

Your making money I'm not, well done you currently are being proven right and I hope this continues for you, I mean that genuinely. And yes I wish I had of bought in 2011 BUT the same reasons I didn't then are the same reasons I can't now, I'm very happy for you to convince me with real data and reasoning why I should, not the Fiat currency angle, we are on the same page there.
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Old 14-12-2017, 03:42   #9
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

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The scarcity factor, it's laughable, how many cryptocurrencies are there right now? Is it 1600 or over 2000? Sorry lost count. How many times has Bitcoin had a hard fork so far, three times? How many in the future?
Well.. no I meant within a given "system" .. "mining" new bitcoins gets harder and harder until the point it becomes basically unfeasible.. therein lies their scarcity. There is a finite (practical) number of bitcoins that can be found..

Quote:
Originally Posted by daletournier View Post
So let's assume Bitcoin is a currency, how many transactions a day can Bitcoin manage? for a reference point Visa can handle over 15 million transactions per day! How long does a Bitcoin transaction take to go through? Can your grandmother easily understand it? It's a long way from being a currency at this stage! who would even use it as a currency, buy a TV today and buy the morning it cost you 20%more?
Yes.. very true.. this is what I also keep wondering. I mean how could it become widespread if it can't support the scale of transactions at a global scale? then it is doomed to collapse. But if we are wrong (and I was already back then when I thought it would have been a waste of money to put $20 on my bitcoin wallet playing around with it back then ) .. well..

Quote:
Originally Posted by daletournier View Post
Most aren't buying Bitcoin because of their dislike of FIAT currencies, they are purchasing from a" don't want to miss out perspective ", most that are purchasing have very little knowledge of money, the history of money or a understanding of Cryptos, this isn't a rational buy its an emotional buy and this also dosent mean Bitcoin won't go to a million bucks, it really could!! Once again the madness of crowds is very real thing.
Very true.. that ship has sailed and at this point is only "entertaining" to see the whole thing play out from the sidelines.. unless you are the betting type and feel like putting 10000 down on a bet .. hey, it might become 1Mio!! :-)

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You obviously own some Bitcoin, well done, I'm genuinely happy for you, I'm jealous, wish I could buy some...
LOL!!.. where do you get that from??!.. oh man I wish!!! if I had bought those 20 bucks back then when I had the chance like I said.. I wouldn't be hanging around sailing forums trying to find a 30 year old boat in good shape to go cruising!!.. LOL!!

But like you said.. some people really struck gold with this one.. the trick is knowing when to get off the train!
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Old 14-12-2017, 03:51   #10
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

Yes when to get off the train, there lies the whole problem for me. It's a game of musical chairs and there's no way of determining when the music stops! But this applies to more than just Bitcoin right now. I'd rather be out of the market a year early than a day late! I'm out early, numbers just don't add up. I'm just not a gambler either BUT sometimes gambling pays off.

I must say I'm enjoying learning about the Crypto scene, it does draw attention to other issues as you mentioned the inheriant value of Fiat currencies.
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Old 14-12-2017, 05:36   #11
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

I bought two coins a year ago...I am liking the price hike, but I am not sure if I should get out now..honestly I was treating it a an experiment more than anything...huge rewards though.

I have heard that the FED might be getting into crypto, which would be a backed item, insured. That might kill some other crypto's, lets face it, a lot of illegal enterprise is run through Bitcoin, and relatively untracked.

If your friend bought in December of 2010, the value was around $.29, so he would have around $6.8 M. now. If he bought when the value was $.0008 like it was earlier that year in April...then he would be a VERY wealthy person...is your friend looking to adopt btw???
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Old 14-12-2017, 05:45   #12
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

I don't have any bit-coins but I do have a bag of Tulip Bulbs I inherited that I'm keeping safe until that market returns...
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Old 14-12-2017, 05:51   #13
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

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that amounts to about 75 million today.


No it’s more like 5-6 million, still a healthy haul for what was essentially an accidental investment.

As for when to bank your returns on a runaway market, the answer is “sooner than you think”. It’s like deciding when to reef. Because in a bubble-like market, if it collapses it goes quick and deciding when to get out is like catching a falling knife.

A sensible strategy is to bank half now and let the rest ride, then continue to bank increments depending on how the market evolves. You get a healthy profit locked in but are still in the game with reduced exposure.

There is absolutely no way of knowing where the bitcoin market is going, ergo it’s almost comical volatility. If you stay all in you need to be prepared to lose it all.
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Old 14-12-2017, 05:53   #14
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

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I bought two coins a year ago...I am liking the price hike, but I am not sure if I should get out now..honestly I was treating it a an experiment more than anything...huge rewards though.

I have heard that the FED might be getting into crypto, which would be a backed item, insured. That might kill some other crypto's, lets face it, a lot of illegal enterprise is run through Bitcoin, and relatively untracked.

If your friend bought in December of 2010, the value was around $.29, so he would have around $6.8 M. now. If he bought when the value was $.0008 like it was earlier that year in April...then he would be a VERY wealthy person...is your friend looking to adopt btw??? [emoji3]
No one knows where this is going and who ever tells you they do is making stuff up, uncharted territory.

Lots of governments are looking into creating their own cryptos as well as applying regulations to current cryptos. Venezuela is currently trying to launch an oil backed petro crypto, and Russia a ruble crypto (see attached).

Cryptos give governments like Russia a potential way of side stepping the Usd (reserve currency) in some circumstances. Think petrodollar. The dollar gets alot of its status from being the petrodollar, this gives America a huge economic advantage, and puts other nations at a disadvantage.

It's a huge subject that is bigger than just cryptocurrencies, there is great change happening. This all started when the Usd became a unbacked world reserve currency. A unbacked currency system allows countries to live beyond their means, we have been doing this along time. I believe we live in historical times.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatsp...ryptocurrency/
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Old 14-12-2017, 05:55   #15
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Re: Friend found some bitcoins he'd forgotten about lol

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I don't have any bit-coins but I do have a bag of Tulip Bulbs I inherited that I'm keeping safe until that market returns...
Tulips don't compete.
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