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Bitcoin hits $10,000

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Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#51

Post by acchow »

Shank wrote: post #42
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #30

The most remarkable aspect of bitcoin is that if Satoshi is a single person, it's the first time in history someone has become a billionaire by themselves. It's not quite that clear cut, but it's not too far off.

The only problem is that Satoshi's coins are watched like a hawk. Satoshi can't liquidate any of them, or even really move them without causing an immediate reaction in the community. Exchanges might halt trading, whilst it would immediately give away his or her identity. If the price of bitcoin doesn't crash following a coin movement, Satoshi's life is most certainly at risk. If it does, then the coins are worth not…

Why would Satoshi's life be at risk?

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#52

Post by nly »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #39
nly wrote: post #13

I don't follow it but I read somewhere the other day that it now costs tens of dollars worth to actually make a transaction on the blockchain. If this is true then it seems to me that it's effectively become an inter-bank settlement protocol (which may not be that surprising or bad of an outcome given its inherent latency)

One thing I learned since learning about cryptocurrencies: NEVER trust "something you read somewhere". A lot of them are propaganda or people who have no idea how it actually works scratching the surface. Do your own research if you're curious about it and don't want to feel left out. It's never too late to make an actual informed decision afterwards. I've seen so many otherwise intelligent people just keep dismissin…

Oh, I'm well aware of how Bitcoin works. All the way down to the cryptographic constructs.

I studied it for a while, and it lead me on to some more interesting topics, but the currency itself doesn't interest me.

Understanding Bitcoin to assess "whether it's a scam" makes about as much sense as learning about the mechanics of an electronic exchange to figure out whether it's a good idea to invest in Facebook.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#53

Post by bringtheaction »

narrator wrote: post #4

7 years ago: The first bitcoin article on HN with comments! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532670 One of the posters says the feds will shut it down. I also thought this too. This remains one of the most enduring mysteries of Bitcoin to me. Why has the government taken such a hands off approach?

I could imagine a number of reasons including

1. Crypto currency has potential that outweighs it's threat. Being able to transfer funds to people in other parts of the world is of interest to several government agencies. Perhaps crypto currency could help them do this better / more efficiently / whatever than today.

2. They will have to be extremely on top of the situation in order to be able to bring down a crypto currency.

3. Even if they kill one, three others will rise to take the place that it had.

That being said, I guess they could just ban crypto currency and perhaps most people would comply and the ones that were angered couldn't do much else than to watch it crumble.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#54

Post by rlayton2 »

pishpash wrote: post #8
zeep wrote: post #6

this time, it's for real... (the last time a 10k value was posted on HN, I could not find 1 bitcoin for 10k on my exchange ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15796503) )

"This time is different," amirite?

I think zeep actually just means "this time the price is actually $10k", not "now bitcoin is legitimate"

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#55

Post by wintom »

mtgx wrote: post #37
wintom wrote: post #17

“Rosenstreich at online trading firm Swissquote said bitcoin’s surge harks to the surprises of the U.K. referendum on European Union membership and President Trump’s election. “We have underestimated the populist movements,” he said. “There is growing unease on how central banks and governments are managing fiat currencies. Ordinary people globally understand why a decentralized asset is the ultimate safe haven.”” Th…

I've seen comments saying "unlike bitcoin, gold has intrinsic value!" on HN for years. It never made sense to me. Like Bitcoin, gold is only valuable because we think it is and we want it to be (and because it's relatively scarce, too, just like Bitcoin is). Same with diamonds. Their functional value is relatively small in comparison to their "beauty" and scarcity values.

I like your username, lol.

You are right though and I am being a little sarcastic on purpose. People have argued that Gold has real intrinsic value which it does have its uses but no more or no less than any other important precious metal we use.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#56

Post by Cookingboy »

Disclaimer: I do own BTC.

But I really can’t see how this is not just an instrument for some people to get very rich in a very short amount of time on the back of others.

Can it reach 100k? Absolutely. 1M? Who knows. 10M/BTC? Someone on Reddit said it will get close. But in the end I do think it will be remembered as a global mania instead of the creation of a new asset class.

I do believe in block chain and the value of crypto currency in general, but I just don’t see how BTC will be the winning asset in the end, if anything Etherum has a lot more solid foundation and is a lot more scalable technically.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#57

Post by modeless »

narrator wrote: post #4

7 years ago: The first bitcoin article on HN with comments! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532670 One of the posters says the feds will shut it down. I also thought this too. This remains one of the most enduring mysteries of Bitcoin to me. Why has the government taken such a hands off approach?

You hit the nail on the head. I think if Bitcoin had started out with the private and untraceable transactions from ZCash or Monero, governments would have banned it long ago. I still expect ZCash and Monero to be banned eventually. Bitcoin is actually much less private and more traceable than cash, and so governments seem willing to tolerate it. (Though China did ban it...)

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#58

Post by bobcallme »

pishpash wrote: post #21
wintom wrote: post #17

“Rosenstreich at online trading firm Swissquote said bitcoin’s surge harks to the surprises of the U.K. referendum on European Union membership and President Trump’s election. “We have underestimated the populist movements,” he said. “There is growing unease on how central banks and governments are managing fiat currencies. Ordinary people globally understand why a decentralized asset is the ultimate safe haven.”” Th…

Gold is used in electronics. It's actually a good conductor. Bitcoin is not even good for transactions, its supposed primary purpose, right now.

> Bitcoin is not even good for transactions, its supposed primary purpose, right now.

How so? I buy lunch with Bitcoin and a few weeks ago I paid for a car repair with it. If I need more, I just go to a bitcoin vending machine near by.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#59

Post by RexetBlell »

pishpash wrote: post #28
wintom wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of stuff is used in electronics but it is not worth as much as gold.

You wrote and I quote "other than looking good as jewelry it has no other real intrinsic value."

It's considered to be beautiful because it's expensive and valued. The causation is in the other direction than most people think when it comes to gold and beauty.

It's the same with expensive paintings. A painting is considered to be beautiful (some are actually ugly) and have some deep meaning only after it's sold for a lot of money.

Re: Bitcoin hits $10,000

#60

Post by bobbygoodlatte »

narrator wrote: post #4

7 years ago: The first bitcoin article on HN with comments! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1532670 One of the posters says the feds will shut it down. I also thought this too. This remains one of the most enduring mysteries of Bitcoin to me. Why has the government taken such a hands off approach?

I think one big reason is that regulators don't want the US to miss out on a large wave of value creation. If Bitcoin becomes a mainstream currency, it could be a very good thing for the US. If US citizens own a large amount of the BTC in circulation that could lead to more investment in the US economy and a larger tax base.

Beyond Bitcoin, if crypto tokens begin to supplant public stocks (which I'm not saying they will), it would be incredibly foolish to cut off US citizens from those markets

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