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Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

bloomberg.com

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Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#51

Post by derektank »

jqpabc123 wrote: post #47
derektank wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a crypto skeptic but the benefit of bitcoin over gold has never been ease of transaction. The benefit is that regulators and governments are generally unable to confiscate bitcoin. The same is not true of gold, particularly if you do not take final delivery.

The benefit is that regulators and governments are generally unable to confiscate bitcoin. The US government can and has seized a lot of bitcoin so this is another crypto myth that has died.

It requires keeping the keys secure, rather than entrusting them to a custodial service, yes.

Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#53

Post by jqpabc123 »

DennisP wrote: post #14
jqpabc123 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it has. But as they say, past history is no indication of future performance. Current economic conditions are anything but "normal" by recent historical standards. A good indication of this is the fact that "real gold" has risen just as dramatically and at the same time as "digital gold" has fallen.

Bitcoin has always traded more like tech stocks than gold.

The obvious difference being that tech stock value is based on some tangible product or service in a regulated marketplace.

Bitcoin value is based on --- pure speculation and manipulation in an unregulated marketplace

Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#54

Post by jqpabc123 »

derektank wrote: post #51
jqpabc123 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The benefit is that regulators and governments are generally unable to confiscate bitcoin. The US government can and has seized a lot of bitcoin so this is another crypto myth that has died.

It requires keeping the keys secure, rather than entrusting them to a custodial service, yes.

Keeping them secure from an untrustworthy government is no easy task.

Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#55

Post by bryanlarsen »

Remember that bitcoin miners have to pay for electricity with real currencies, so they have to sell bitcoin regularly.

Most other bitcoin uses are balanced -- ie user buys bitcoin gives to dealer who sells it. When the number of transactions per day is going up this is slight buy pressure because of the time lag between buy & sell, but in a steady state system this is neutral.

IOW, the natural direction of bitcoin prices during steady state is down.

Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#56

Post by simmerup »

reisse wrote: post #26
simmerup wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and such climbs coincide with Tether printing billions from unknown sources (most likely thin air) You can’t pump bitcoin with monopoly money forever, because the liquidity becomes too small

It's expected for Tether to print when the crypto market cap is growing, because most crypto trades in USDT. So you cannot reliably say what is the cause and what is the consequence here. Then, if the price was pumped and the liquidity didn't match it, it'd be a perfect target to squeeze (because the market is so highly leveraged), at least one trading firm should've attempted it.

But they rise by perfectly round numbers and mainly in response to falling prices

What do you get by squeezing bitcoin? Once the liquidity is exposed as non existent everyone loses their money. There’s no hedge

Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#57

Post by jqpabc123 »

chistev wrote: post #28
heresie-dabord wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here are estimates of the value of Bitcoin currently held (mostly via seizure) by the US government: https://www.theblock.co/post/374636/the-daily-us-government-... https://www.mexc.com/learn/article/how-much-bitcoin-does-the...

How can you seize it without the private keys? Do they force it out of the people involved?

Do they force it out of the people involved?

Yes, in a manner of speaking.

Government has lots of coercive tools at it's disposable. For example, search warrants and incarceration.

If you refuse to hand over your keys, government can easily nullify you or your relatives ability to make use of them and make your life really bad in the meantime.

Keepjng money from government is yet another crypto myth that doesn't hold up very well in many cases.

Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#58

Post by tomrod »

seydor wrote: post #11
jqpabc123 wrote: post #2

The myth that bitcoin is an effective store of value (aka "digital gold") has just died. The proof is available in your crypto wallet. Real gold bullion has now been fully "digitized". You can buy and hold real bullion without taking delivery, without transactions fees and without dealing with tbe schenanigans of unregulated markets and manipulators. Over the past year of unprecedented marketplace turmoil and upheava…

If gold rises (and therefore falls) as crazy as Bitcoin, then why is it better

You can use gold in tangible ways.

Re: Bitcoin tumbles below $70K, heavy losses in cryptocurrencies in last three weeks

#59

Post by iamnothere »

XMR has dropped about 50%, which means it’s back to November prices. (If you ignore the unusual January spike, it’s not even down that much, price is usually rising slowly over time.)

Since the maturation of XMR, I really don’t understand the popularity of Bitcoin except as a speculative asset. XMR is everything that BTC promised and failed to be, with real anonymity baked in. I’m not big on crypto, but it’s strange to see the continued focus on one of the least interesting technologies in the space.

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