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Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#91

Post by tbirdz »

sliverstorm wrote: post #51
rcthompson wrote: post #48

So, given that article about a guy that bought $17 in BTC in 2009 and found out recently that it was worth 5 figures, should I feel like an idiot for not getting in on this while BTC were cheap a few years ago? My logic at the time was "I don't really know that much about Bitcoin, so buying some would basically be speculating, which seems like a bad idea."

If you didn't bet on a roulette table and it came up black, would you say "God damnit I feel like an idiot, I should have bet on black"?

I don't feel bad about not having invested in it at the time. The only way I would feel bad now is if I had invested, and then sold it before it reached the height of today.

Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#92

Post by maaku »

felipelalli wrote: post #47
ruswick wrote: post #24

I own half of a Bitcoin. I purchased about two weeks ago. In the intervening time, the value of Bitcoin has gone up 40%. I can't complain, and I'll probably buy more in the near future. It is somewhat disappointing that they can't be used for anything, though. Without practical applications, Bitcoin is subject to massive volatility and doesn't have any sort of foundation to prevent against collapse of the market. Inc…

It is at least useful as savings. Isn't it a "practical application"? It's being very useful for me to store value in long term.

No. It's only useful as savings if it can be reasonably expected to hold long-term value. But with a valuation based almost entirely on speculation there isn't really a rational reason to assume that (unlike, say, gold or silver which still have commercial use providing a price floor).

Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#93

Post by maaku »

chm wrote: post #75

I bought 50$ of bitcoins a year ago. I have sold them this week for 100$. I'll buy back when it's low. At first I thought a deflationary currency was the future. The more I think about it, the more I think bitcoin is just the first step on a bumpy road. I don't see the point anymore in buying bitcoins to then buy goods/services. What always ends up happening is that someone somewhere hogs them and waits for the price…

You might be interested in Freicoin: http://freico.in/

Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#94

Post by maaku »

mcantelon wrote: post #79
sillysaurus2 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aw... Man. $8310. I sold 5 coins at the first peak of $31/BTC. Thought I was pretty damn sly for getting out ahead of the following crash ($8/BTC). Joke's on me! I've now lost out on $1230 and counting.

I was going to buy $300 worth when they were 30 cents each. I didn't, though, as it involved travel to a nearby town and I was working on a book and thought I should be practical and spend the weekend on that. Ah well, one less house.

I hope your book sold well.

Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#95

Post by igravious »

llimllib wrote: post #19

0 but I don't fit in any of the given 0 categories.

Didn't notice it as a phenomenon early enough to start mining with desktop and laptop CPUs and GPUs. Can't afford mining ASICs. Would not buy as, not only can I not afford it, I also don't speculate on foreign currency (though I realize that virtual currencies are a special case). So until Bitcoin gains ubiquity I ain’t likely to come into ownership of any. So 0 now and into the foreseeable future.

Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#96

Post by maaku »

jafaku wrote: post #67
throwaway0094 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Some of my co-workers do algorithmic trading as a hobby.

I've read that only works to a certain degree, not much more than 50%. Is that right?

If you average everyone, then yes but that's a tautology, isn't it? In reality there are winners and there are suckers.

Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#97

Post by maaku »

Buge wrote: post #15
sarreph wrote: post #9

What about negative amounts? It's possible... Sometimes. http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/14260/negative-ba...

Just a display bug. The actual balance is not negative.

It's not a display bug, it's a feature. It also has nothing to do with block chain accounting structures (which are never negative). It's the internal accounting system used by bitcoind/Bitcoin-Qt, exposed by a command line and JSON-RPC interface.

Re: Poll: How many Bitcoin do you own?

#98

Post by jackgolding »

rcthompson wrote: post #48

So, given that article about a guy that bought $17 in BTC in 2009 and found out recently that it was worth 5 figures, should I feel like an idiot for not getting in on this while BTC were cheap a few years ago? My logic at the time was "I don't really know that much about Bitcoin, so buying some would basically be speculating, which seems like a bad idea."

Such is life with most investing - I'm sure you could have said the same thing about all tech shares.
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