Forex Latest On Crypto

After giving us a major scare especially BTC, the cryptocurrency market is looking to stabilize after another heavy sell-off over the weekend with Bitcoin changing hands around $21.2k, while Ethereum trades back above $1.15k. The two largest cryptos by market cap have been stuck in a bear spiral for the last few months with prior bounces quickly sold into.

 

I said it again and I'll say it before, all form of the fiat money, including the cryptos are inherently, essentially, intrinsically worths-less, hey hey.

 

Right from the very start I've said that invented money never works. Now you can say all money is invented but it's usually a long process that takes years and years and years before it's gradually accepted. Trying to invent money just so you can make yourself rich has never worked. Bitcoin is just another collectible like Beanie Babies were.

 

∞ / 21,000,000

 

These are strong assertions, can you guys give more points to buttress your logic?

 

Forget about crypto, focus on Bitcoin only. 10 years from now many will have wished they had bought Bitcoin in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. It is on sale right now.

Think of it this way. There are over 20,000,000 millionaires in the United States alone. There are only 19,000,000 or so Bitcoin in circulation right now (21,000,000 is the hard limit). If all the millionaires just in the US wanted to own just one Bitcoin, it would not be possible. There are not 20,000,000 Bitcoin. Now add in all the other users/investors in the world. There is a scarcity factor which will drive up pricing when compared to fiat currency like the US Dollar or Euro.

More and more institutions are adding Bitcoin to their investment portfolio. It really is still early days so the sky is the limit, given a bit of patience. This is looking at Bitcoin as an investment.

Bitcoin also has a lot of decentralized utility as a medium of exchange which I find attractive, separate from its investment potential. I can hold Bitcoin in a personal wallet, controlled by me. I can send funds to anyone in the world quickly and at low cost and it cannot be stopped by any institution or government.

 

This is so logical and makes a lot of sense. And on a side note, BTC is rallying back up, currently trading at $23,300 from 21k plus from just yesterday as at when typing this reply.

 

Hit $24,000 for a bit overnight. I was hoping that Bitcoin would drop to the $10,000 to $14,000 range so I could really load up but I may not get the chance. We will see ... currently buying small amounts every day. I will try to remember to post in this topic again when Bitcoin hits new highs somewhere in the future. It may take a few years.

 

I think I has beaten the resistance and might likely continue to go up, though it has become a bit slow today fluctuating. But hopefully it will continue to rise, especially as so many other coins depend on it to rise too.

 

This is true, I was just on Binance a while ago and BTC is going all the way up even though it dropped some days ago. I am even more happy because I trade I loosing on is going back up because of the rise of BTC.

 

Time for an update. The current Bitcoin price is $43,658. Not a new high yet but the currency has enjoyed a nice uptrend in the year and a half since. I have already doubled my money.

Blackrock, Fidelity and others are starting Bitcoin ETFs soon so the investment is becoming more mainstream. If you have a 5 to 10 year time frame Bitcoin continues to be a great investment. I feel the eventual price will be much higher than anyone can comprehend at this early stage.

 

Time for another update. As I write this the Bitcoin price in US dollars is $72,151 ... a new all time high. I have already more than tripled my money.

Blackrock, Fidelity and others have gotten their Bitcoin ETF's approved by the SEC. Bitcoin is becoming more and more mainstream as an investment vehicle. The mining reward will halve again soon (the next couple of months), which in past has provided bullish conditions in the 18 months post-halving.

When I bought my Bitcoin during the pullback of mid to late 2022, my plan was to hold for 10 years and then gradually start selling off monthly for the next 10 years after that (a passive income stream). In my mind, I had a price target in the range of $100,000 to $250,000 in US dollars by 2032.

It has been not quite 2 years yet and we are already at $72,000 so I may have underestimated the price appreciation that my holdings will enjoy. I hope that I have the courage to hang on until my 2032 goal.

 

It seems to me that, as long as people have faith in Bitcoin it will continue to go up. And the more it's used the more faith people will have.

But it's still a speculative investment without underlying value. Flat currency is backed by economic strength. Everyone is invested whether they like it or not. And the value is regulated.

Will bitcoin get regulated?

 

You cannot really regulate Bitcoin effectively, it is decentralized with no governing body and resides on the blockchain, running on thousands of nodes all over the world. In the US the SEC has classified Bitcoin as a commodity, like Gold or Silver. Although you can use it as a currency (as Gold and Silver once was) Bitcoin is more and more becoming a store of value due to its built in scarcity. Did you know that the total market value of Bitcoin now exceeds that of all the Silver in the world? And it is still early days for Bitcoin. Gold is next.

Fiat currency is backed by the faith and credit of the country sponsoring it but is not a good store of value by design due to inflation targets and no limits on new supply. The longer you hold fiat currency the less it is worth. Bitcoin is the opposite with a hard 21,000,000 coin limit. Most of the Bitcoin has already been mined (I think we are above 19,000,000). Also, the mining rewards are automatically halved every few years (slowing new supply down) so it will probably be 2140 or so before we get to 21,000,000.

I suppose the government could try to make Bitcoin illegal to own like FDR did with Gold in 1933. There would be no way to enforce this that I can see, short of shutting down the internet. In any case, there does not seem to be any real push for this. The SEC just approved a group of Bitcoin ETF's recently. You can log in to firms like Fidelity and buy one of these for your retirement IRA right now. If anything Bitcoin's acceptance is expanding, not contracting.

 

Is mining becoming less and less profitable as it is halved? What about regulation through taxation? As a commodity Bitcoin conversion to $ could be considered a capital gain. And the problem I see is that it is not a stable coin. How many companies will risk accepting Bitcoin for material purchases?

 

Yes, eventually the miners will need to rely on transfer fees only. Each halving slows down new supply, adding to scarcity.

If you sell your Bitcoin on an exchange for fiat you are responsible for the capital gain like any other asset, true.

The Bitcoin maximalists would say Bitcoin will eventually replace fiat, becoming the world currency. Once you are at that point 1 BTC = 1 BTC so the fluctuations vs. fiat are no longer an issue. I personally would view Bitcoin as a commodity like Gold.

The transfer fees can be on the high side so Bitcoin is not really suited for smaller purchases anyway unless you use the Lightning network (another layer on top of the Bitcoin blockchain with very low fees).

 

What are some of the scenarios that would make Bitcoin crater or correct? Hacks? What about lost wallets? Are older present Bitcoins accounted for? How afraid are fiat currency of Bitcoin

 

In this country, maybe if the US government decided Bitcoin was now illegal to own. The exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken would de-list it within our borders. The ETF's would have to shut down in the US. I imagine that would affect the price in a very negative way.

Other than that, Bitcoin usually does well for 18 months after a halving (halving should hit next month), then may correct.

People who have lost the keys to their wallets add to the scarcity of Bitcoin. I don't think you could hack the blockchain. It has been up and running since 2009 without issue.

The blockchain is a public ledger but not linked to individuals. You can see all the wallets and and quantity held. There are some very large ones that have been dormant for years.

I don't think governments are afraid of Bitcoin, they just don't like the lack of control. Many still think that it has no value and will go to zero one day so they have no fear of it.

 

You've been right all along so far, fathead. Increased utility through exchanges like Lghtning and more ETF's should continue to increase value. But it's hard for me to fathom that countries already fighting over fiat currency are going to allow Bitcoin to thrive. Then there's this:

“If Bitcoin continues to be targeted by governments and its energy consumption is further politicized, then it could put pressure on Bitcoin’s long-term sustainability,” Sciberras says.

One of the significant long-term concerns for Bitcoin is its security in the face of a decreasing block reward.

“If there is lackluster adoption and demand for Bitcoin, or fee revenue is inadequate to incentivize miners to upgrade their hardware and mine new Bitcoins, security could decrease and threaten the network,” he says.

 

It will interesting to see how this plays out in the future. I bought in slightly above $21,000 US so it will be unlikely that I will lose money on my investment. I talk to people who expect Bitcoin to hit $500,000 by the fall of 2025 (18 months after the upcoming halving). I understand their theory and simple calculations but still this does not seem possible to me. I don't plan to start selling for another 8 years so hopefully I can just observe the price action until then.