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Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

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41–50 of 130 posts

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#41
Reading through the comments here, it seems that most people on HN vastly underestimate the significance of the "store of value" use case.

It is a core aspect of human life.

And there is no other asset that does that with as little inflation and risk as Bitcoin. That seems counterintuitive because Bitcoin is portrayed as a very risky asset. Which it is in the short term. But long term, fiat, gold, equity, and real estate all have an even worse inflation and risk profile.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#42

I sold 100 BTC back in 2015, which cleared all my debts and landed my first apartment. But obviously in hindsight, it was the most expensive mistake I've made in my life. I started following cryptocurrencies back in 2012. Still, for my life, I can't see the real value. Back then, when things were starting out, the idea was to bank the unbanked, make money transfer seamless, cheap, and fast, and basically break up act…

> "Fast and cheap payments" have been fixed using regular fiat and banking services. I daily transfer and pay for stuff without any charges. Could it be that bitcoin forced banks to compete?

No, because the systems pre-date bitcoin.

Chip & Pin launched in 2003

Contactless payments launched 2007. ( Yes, these pre-date Apple Pay, etc, by quite a long time )

Faster Payments System launched 2008 ( After a decade of planning )

Bitcoin launched 2009.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#43

I have reason to believe my country's fiat will be inflated in the coming 12 months. Not hyper inflation, but a 50% to 100% increase in consumer prices over the next 12 months. My country is small and not connected to anything American related. Still wondering if it is a good idea to buy more crypto now as a further hedge against my fears. The article makes me think it may be unwise to do so given the massive specula…

For the most part inflation threatens cash holdings and fixed-income instruments (such as bonds) which have not priced in inflation. Therefore in order to "hedge" against inflation you should reduce your exposure to such assets to the largest extent possible. But a crypto-currency is a high-risk investment, so using it as a "hedge" against inflation is unwise because you're swapping one risk for another (potentially) greater risk.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But obviously in hindsight, it was the most expensive mistake I've made in my life. It doesn't sound like a mistake to me at all. You paid off debts and invested in something that has delivered value to you for almost 15 years now. A mistake would have been to spend it on blow and hookers.

no a true mistake would have been to delete the hard drive that the wallet was stored on so you wouldn't even had the benefit of paying off anything or buying any hookers and blow.

no no no, that's the second most true mistake.

the truest of all true mistakes, was having never bought bitcoin in the first place.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#45

I sold 100 BTC back in 2015, which cleared all my debts and landed my first apartment. But obviously in hindsight, it was the most expensive mistake I've made in my life. I started following cryptocurrencies back in 2012. Still, for my life, I can't see the real value. Back then, when things were starting out, the idea was to bank the unbanked, make money transfer seamless, cheap, and fast, and basically break up act…

The security is the value. It's a truth engine. A 60 minute old block would be almost impossible to tamper with.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the algorithmically enforced scarcity coupled with “to the moon” culture. That’s all that’s going on. If it keeps going up I won’t be surprised. If it dumps down I won’t be surprised. No floor and no ceiling — only a gambler would keep his net worth tied up to crypto. You did the right thing once you crossed a threshold to significantly change your financial status. Any other decision would have put yourself in…

The valuation is predicated on a market existing to provide exit liquidity. But where is that going to come from?

From new gamblers. There is some truth when BTC maxis say they’re still early.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#47

I sold 100 BTC back in 2015, which cleared all my debts and landed my first apartment. But obviously in hindsight, it was the most expensive mistake I've made in my life. I started following cryptocurrencies back in 2012. Still, for my life, I can't see the real value. Back then, when things were starting out, the idea was to bank the unbanked, make money transfer seamless, cheap, and fast, and basically break up act…

I started looking into bitcoin when it was at around $3, but never made a move to buy any. I have some regrets, but when I stop to think about it, I would clearly have sold everything when it reached $10 or something. So I haven't passed up the opportunity to make millions, I only passed up the opportunity to make a couple hundred bucks.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#48

I sold 100 BTC back in 2015, which cleared all my debts and landed my first apartment. But obviously in hindsight, it was the most expensive mistake I've made in my life. I started following cryptocurrencies back in 2012. Still, for my life, I can't see the real value. Back then, when things were starting out, the idea was to bank the unbanked, make money transfer seamless, cheap, and fast, and basically break up act…

> And of course just a storage of value.

See also gold.

At some point it did make sense as a currency because of its hard-to-fake nature, but once governments became stronger and regulations and documentation became more strict, gold was not needed anymore. (And gold has all sorts of downsides [1] too.)

But there seems to be some 'nostalgic valuations' for it, and Bitcoin now has the same psychological appeal.

[1] https://archive.is/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/arch...

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#49
post #13

I sold 100 BTC back in 2015, which cleared all my debts and landed my first apartment. But obviously in hindsight, it was the most expensive mistake I've made in my life. I started following cryptocurrencies back in 2012. Still, for my life, I can't see the real value. Back then, when things were starting out, the idea was to bank the unbanked, make money transfer seamless, cheap, and fast, and basically break up act…

Thanks for sharing your story. I too frequently think back on "what could have been." Back in 2013, I bought and sold a bitcoin, and every time I see a crypto headline I remember my mistake of spending it. Maybe we should not be so hard on ourselves. Afterall, we still have a heartbeat. Did we truly make a mistake, or did we narrowly avoid getting consumed by avarice?

The best antidote to this kind of thinking is to realise you would have been tempted to sell so may times over the last decade, that there's close to zero chance that you'd still be holding it today.

To make a lot of money with bitcoin you either need to have been a true believer for a ridiculously long period of time, or find the password to an old wallet you'd forgotten about.

Re: Bitcoin passes $120k milestone as US Congress readies for 'crypto week'

#50
post #7

I sold 100 BTC back in 2015, which cleared all my debts and landed my first apartment. But obviously in hindsight, it was the most expensive mistake I've made in my life. I started following cryptocurrencies back in 2012. Still, for my life, I can't see the real value. Back then, when things were starting out, the idea was to bank the unbanked, make money transfer seamless, cheap, and fast, and basically break up act…

> Crypto in general, but stablecoins more so, just feels like another asset If it draws any interest away from residential real estate market its utility for reducing problems caused by wealth inequality is immense. Any tool that draws the capital of the rich away from the brick and mortar economy where the poor have to compete with them to survive is worth tons for society.

I fear the opposite is the case - many rich whales pump up prices in the real world, having sold their crypto to the masses coming in late.
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