Bitcoin goes down, down, down

[The Adversary]

He then told me I'd have to buy bitcoin first and he'd show me. I said no thanks.

What is the difference between this and the old Nigeria -scams?

[Vigilant]

He then said (not making this up): "You do not have a choice to see the truth differently, it just is the way it is; thats the nature of truth." He then went on to explain that I was an irrational and dogmatic thinker.

Sadly, I believe this. Difference: the Jehovah's Witnesses have had a century to refine their proselytizing methods in the face of endless hostile responses, especially to their door-to-door campaign. The Bitcoin nerds, like the open-source software and crowdsourcing fanatics, haven't been at it very long. So they merely look like arrogant fools.

(Mormon proselytizing has also been going on for more than a century, but it doesn't seem to be quite as well-organized. More like a "hazing ritual" for young males in the church. The Bitcoiner tried to "haze" you, Dan, you should feel "grateful" that he cared enough. )

I dunno about you, but any sane and careful investor who saw the "official Bitcoin price index" would say it was a scam. After peaking at more than $1000 late in 2013, it's been slowly trending downward. And the value crashed from $269 to $173 this week and is slowly recovering. A 35% loss in three days. If that were the Dow Jones, Wall Street people would be jumping out of their office windows right now.

Add into this all of the scams, thefts, the incompetence in running BitCoin 'banks' and the added NSA attention and nobody with two functioning brain cells would go near it.

[Johnny Au]

Even the Russian ruble is more stable than the Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin is considered rational (since it is promoted on RationalWiki), then I don't know what an irrational currency is (perhaps Monopoly money?).

[greyed.out.fields]

Even the Russian ruble is more stable than the Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin is considered rational (since it is promoted on RationalWiki), then I don't know what an irrational currency is (perhaps Monopoly money?).

Some folk consider fiat money to be irrational currency. They also tend to believe that statute law and taxation and the 14th Amendment are unconstitutional, and so on.

[Cedric]

Even the Russian ruble is more stable than the Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin is considered rational (since it is promoted on RationalWiki), then I don't know what an irrational currency is (perhaps Monopoly money?).

Some folk consider fiat money to be irrational currency. They also tend to believe that statute law and taxation and the 14th Amendment are unconstitutional, and so on.

Ah yes, the "fringe on the flag" people, or "fringies." They and the Bitcoin kooks have a lot in common.

[Notvelty]

Even the Russian ruble is more stable than the Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin is considered rational (since it is promoted on RationalWiki), then I don't know what an irrational currency is (perhaps Monopoly money?).

Some folk consider fiat money to be irrational currency. They also tend to believe that statute law and taxation and the 14th Amendment are unconstitutional, and so on.

Ah yes, the "fringe on the flag" people, or "fringies." They and the Bitcoin kooks have a lot in common.

You've got some high quality loonies in the US. Do they all (fringies) believe all of it, or do different fringies believe different things?

If the second, what happens if two different fringie camps meet?

[Johnny Au]

Even the Russian ruble is more stable than the Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin is considered rational (since it is promoted on RationalWiki), then I don't know what an irrational currency is (perhaps Monopoly money?).

Some folk consider fiat money to be irrational currency. They also tend to believe that statute law and taxation and the 14th Amendment are unconstitutional, and so on.

Ah yes, the "fringe on the flag" people, or "fringies." They and the Bitcoin kooks have a lot in common.

You've got some high quality loonies in the US. Do they all (fringies) believe all of it, or do different fringies believe different things?

If the second, what happens if two different fringie camps meet?

The United States's Sacagawea dollars are high quality, as they are partially inspired by the loonie (as in the Canadian dollar coin, not the lunatic).

[Cedric]

Even the Russian ruble is more stable than the Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin is considered rational (since it is promoted on RationalWiki), then I don't know what an irrational currency is (perhaps Monopoly money?).

Some folk consider fiat money to be irrational currency. They also tend to believe that statute law and taxation and the 14th Amendment are unconstitutional, and so on.

Ah yes, the "fringe on the flag" people, or "fringies." They and the Bitcoin kooks have a lot in common.

You've got some high quality loonies in the US. Do they all (fringies) believe all of it, or do different fringies believe different things?

If the second, what happens if two different fringie camps meet?

It's been many years now since I have come across any fringies, either directly or indirectly, but I believe they generally share all the particular beliefs you mention, plus they believe that there is no legitimately constituted government above the county level in the United States. Sometimes they are called "The Sovereigns," in that they like to refer to themselves as "sovereign citizens." Not all fringies have the exact same bundle of weird beliefs, but I am not aware of any significant divisions amongst them. They are probably far better known to the legal community in the US than to anyone else, due to their penchant for filing bizarre pro se lawsuits, usually against public officeholders. The US media rarely, if ever, takes any notice of them. They are more numerous than the parishioners of the Westboro Baptist Church, but far less entertaining and media-savvy.

[Hex]

I like THAT graph the best, it's like bitcoin is irresistibly attracted to do exactly what I said it would do.

hey, is it USA money that is green, or is that ENVY ?

Welp.

Bitcoin value March 2015.png

[DanMurphy]

hey, is it USA money that is green, or is that ENVY ?

Welp.

Bitcoin value March 2015.png

And, again. Everything new is old again.

[Jim]

And, again. Everything new is old again.

Just "despair" and "return to the mean" left to go, then...

[Vigilant]

I'm pretty sure BitCoin is dead like disco.

Nobody who's watched it has any trust in any of the players.
It's scam after collapse after theft after incompetence.

[tarantino]

I'm pretty sure BitCoin is dead like disco.

Nobody who's watched it has any trust in any of the players.
It's scam after collapse after theft after incompetence.

Patrick Byrne wants to start a bitcoin stock exchange.

The Winklevoss twins want to start a bitcoin ETF.

[TungstenCarbide]

The Winklevoss twins want to start a bitcoin ETF.

there're a couple of idea men

[Hex]

The Winklevoss twins want to start a bitcoin ETF.

there're a couple of idea men

They would, wouldn't they?

"The Winklevoss twins own an estimated 1% of all bitcoin"

[DanMurphy]

Just had a look at the "Bitcoin" article. North of 182,000 bytes, beyond unreadable/incomprehensible. It dwarfs every mainstream financial article that came to mind (I looked at ten - Bank, Credit card, US dollar, Bond market, Money supply, Currency, Finance, Wire transfer, Black-Scholes option pricing model, etc...) That's, of course, because the Wikipedia kiddies are interested in Bitcoin and not in the basics of markets and finance.

All of these articles on financial matters are dangerously wrong (some more than others) in part or in whole. The bits that aren't wrong , or confused, or fringe, are often just plain incomprehensible. I'm judging this on the standard of what, say, a 101 survey course would cover.

But it's an interesting example of the Wiki way. On the one hand, we have an article of intense interest and involvement (its last 50 edits date back to March 26) that is atrocious. On the other, we have the unloved and boring financial articles from the old world (the article on "Bank" has been edited 50 times since Dec. 9 and has had a "needs references" tag on it since 2009) that are also terrible. But, on balance, if the tender ministrations of the "Bitcoin" Wiki mob were turned to these basic financial topics of far greater importance and real world impact I'm convinced they'd be even worse.

Unsurprisingly, the second largest article I looked at was the one on Black-Scholes. It was half the length of the Bitcoin article.

Pray for the little girl in Africa. Someone is going to take her shirt if she relies on this stuff.

[Johnny Au]

Hyperinflation (T-H-L) is around 101kB.

[DanMurphy]

Hyperinflation (T-H-L) is around 101kB.

Won't Argentina feel special.

[Notvelty]

I'm pretty sure BitCoin is dead like disco.

Nobody who's watched it has any trust in any of the players.
It's scam after collapse after theft after incompetence.

Patrick Byrne wants to start a bitcoin stock exchange.

Well, if anyone can.. he has built a business on selling stuff no one wanted.

[EricBarbour]

Just had a look at the "Bitcoin" article. North of 182,000 bytes, beyond unreadable/incomprehensible. It dwarfs every mainstream financial article that came to mind (I looked at ten - Bank, Credit card, US dollar, Bond market, Money supply, Currency, Finance, Wire transfer, Black-Scholes option pricing model, etc...) That's, of course, because the Wikipedia kiddies are interested in Bitcoin and not in the basics of markets and finance.

All of these articles on financial matters are dangerously wrong (some more than others) in part or in whole. The bits that aren't wrong , or confused, or fringe, are often just plain incomprehensible. I'm judging this on the standard of what, say, a 101 survey course would cover.

But it's an interesting example of the Wiki way. On the one hand, we have an article of intense interest and involvement (its last 50 edits date back to March 26) that is atrocious. On the other, we have the unloved and boring financial articles from the old world (the article on "Bank" has been edited 50 times since Dec. 9 and has had a "needs references" tag on it since 2009) that are also terrible. But, on balance, if the tender ministrations of the "Bitcoin" Wiki mob were turned to these basic financial topics of far greater importance and real world impact I'm convinced they'd be even worse.

Unsurprisingly, the second largest article I looked at was the one on Black-Scholes. It was half the length of the Bitcoin article.

Pray for the little girl in Africa. Someone is going to take her shirt if she relies on this stuff.

May I quote you, sir? 'Cos you're quotable.

[Poetlister]

Hyperinflation (T-H-L) is around 101kB.

And (surprise) has several serious errors!

[Poetlister]

Bitcoin has been doing better lately. The European Union;s Court of Justice has ruled that it is for practical purposes a currency. This led to a favourable article in The Economist. Probably because of this, there has been a huge price rise; at one point it topped $500, and while it has fallen again, it is still much higher than it was earlier this year.

[Poetlister]

Is anyone still following bitcoin? It has just topped $11,000 for the first time in 18 months.

[Randy from Boise]

Is anyone still following bitcoin? It has just topped $11,000 for the first time in 18 months.

You had better buy some, it sounds like a super great investment opportunity!!!

RfB

[The Adversary]

Still in the news.....

I have been watching from the side-lines the ups and down of Bitcoin these last two years.

Frankly, I don' t understand one bit why it took off as to did.

Then, last week I was talking with a guy I know (=fully vaccinated, I am starting to move around again).

Now, this guy is quite conservative (fully supporting the 2003 Iraq invasion, donating to the IDF, etc), alas, he had become a total Bitcoin-believer. According to him, he had spent "ten thousands of hours" on Bitcoin. But, he added; he was quite irritated with himself, as he had only discovered Bitcoin....in 2020.

According to him: Bitcoin could take over the financial markets from Dollars, Euro, Pound etc. And how great wouldn't Bitcoin be for that Zimbabwean farmer, who, because of inflation would loose his money if he had it in the local currency? And for all the poor people who could not have a bank-account? (Yeah, right; somehow when openly conservative people argue how much poor people will profit from their schemes: alarm-clocks got off in my head)

Me: but every one of us can start a new Bitcoin; there are now around 10000 cryptocurrencies, what is the value of Bitcoin then?
Him: But Bitcoin will always be the safest, as that was started first!
Me:

I walked away with the impression that I had talked with a newly religious convert; discussing with him reminded me of discussing with Hare Krishna-people...when I was 18.

When this sect implodes, we will have a financial tsunami.

[rhindle]

Is anyone still following bitcoin? It has just topped $11,000 for the first time in 18 months.

You had better buy some, it sounds like a super great investment opportunity!!!

RfB

It got to at least $55K not too long ago but has crashed to around $33K. I put a tiny bit of money into it just because but not gonna invest my life savings. I do agree with Adversary's points though.

[el84]

[Poetlister]

There's a nice graph here. Yes, it was around $10,000 a few months ago, shot up to over $60,000 and is now down to $33,000. Certainly it's not a safe bet, and I shan't be touching it with a bargepole, but since it is the largest and best-known cryptocurrency, many others are even riskier.

[Bezdomni]

Surprisingly, Rockdale, Texas (T-H-L) bears no trace of the largest bitcoin mine in the US, which has taken over the premises of what was once the world's largest aluminium plant... (§)

[Bezdomni]

Well, bore no trace. Thanks to one of our diligent readers, there are now two *.wp documenting the dizzying spread of the modern tulip bulble.

[tarantino]

Crypto investors panic during market bloodbath

Crypto investors panicked on Thursday as bitcoin plummeted to its lowest price in more than a year and other cryptocurrencies endured even worse sell-offs.

Victims of the bloodbath — which comes amid a broader stock market rout — range from the billionaire crypto titans who run leading marketplaces such as Coinbase and Binance to lowly retail investors who have poured their life savings into cryptocurrencies.

“I lost over 450k usd, I cannot pay the bank,” reads one of the top posts on the Reddit forum for Terra Luna, a cryptocurrency that has lost more than 99% of its value over the past week. “I will lose my home soon. I’ll become homeless. suicide is the only way out for me.”

“My ex-colleague attempted suicide,” reads another top post on the forum. “He basically moved all of his savings to crypto in 2021 and LUNA was a massive player in his portfolio.”

While Luna’s collapse is the most spectacular, other cryptocurrencies are also in freefall. Bitcoin was trading around $28,300 Thursday afternoon, down 20% over the past week and nearly 60% lower than its all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021. Other major cryptocurrencies including ethereum and solana are now worth fractions of their all-time highs.

[rhindle]

Anyone still gonna "buy the dip?"

[LargelyRecyclable]

Anyone still gonna "buy the dip?"

Crypto, in its current state, isn't an investment vehicle, so there's just no underlying value to buy at a discount.

I know you're being sarcastic, but day/swing trading crypto over the past couple of years has been really nice for me. That said, anyone looking to do that right now is nuts. I've been out for the past three or four months just because there's nothing to tether trades to; no pun intended.

[Vigilant]

OFAC Around and Find Out

[eppur si muove]

OFAC Around and Find Out

There's a familiar name popped up in that article. And it appears to be the same DG.

[Vigilant]

OFAC Around and Find Out

There's a familiar name popped up in that article. And it appears to be the same DG.

He's always the turd in the punchbowl.