this just proves that even bitcoin is not immune to speculation and volatility even when no central authority controls it
This. Don't think bitcoin will ever be a mainstream currency as long as so many people use it purely for speculation. Right now it's a pure investment and speculation toy.
Actually, we used to base all of our currency on Gold. It's the current Fiat system that has usually been susceptible to hyperinflation and worthlessness.
Yes, and then we realized how terrible a system it was to try tying a currency to a commodity and the whole world quickly abandoned the stupid idea after about 50 years.
The Gold Standard in various interpretations, had been around 150 years. True Fiat currency has only been around since Nixon. Time will tell which is better, but our current debt is rising at roughly twice the rate that the previous debt under the gold standard. Our GDP better rise significantly, or we need drastic cuts in US spending, or this bubble will inevitably burst.
Bitcoin is at 1228. Will it crash again just like the last time it reached 1000 or will it raise to 2000? Buy now or wait for the crash?
I voted that bitcoin was a passing fad, but it has continually continued to rise (except for that big crash). If it become mainstream currency it should start to stagnate and be a good investment I'd say, but it's so volatile at the moment. It might be worth the risk if you have the money to lose. Feels like a bit of a gamble at this point. Last year it was floating around 450 USD if I believe at one point. If it doesn't become mainstream and another cryptocurrency supplants it (Kind of like when FB eventually took over the giant Myspace (not an entirely great comparision), but just used to demonstrate the quick trends in "first movers" vs eventually mainstayers), it'll be a terrible investment. Hard to say. It's super bullish at the moment.
Ethereum has shot the hell up. Shouldve got some while they were dirt cheap, or maybe they still are dirt cheap.
winkevoss twins (the dudes that mark zuckerberg screwed over) were trying to get the SEC to approve a bitcoin etf. it was in limbo for 3 years and the decision deadline was 3/11. speculation of approval drove price up to 1300, they said no, it immediately dropped to 1000 but has been up and back down to around 1100 since then. conflicts within bitcoin community are getting more serious. ethereum is built on key improvements to bitcoin technology, in particular smart contracts. the differences between ethereum and bitcoin are pretty technical, you should look up a couple articles, but i'm pretty sold on the idea that ethereum is fundamentally superior. ether is the fuel that the ethereum network runs on. eventually, almost all transactions could be executed on the ethereum network. i follow r/ethtraders and there is very strong consensus eth will hit 100+ soon, as there are also major improvements to the tech set to be released. it's at 43 right now. last week ethereum market cap was 2bn, it pushed past 4.5bn today. bitcoin still sitting around 20bn but at an all time low 71% share of cryptocurrency market
How widespread are these currencies actually used for real transactions? Seems to me like it's 99% about stock speculation and investment right now, which is why I don't see these crypto currencies as a real currency in the future.
The rapid advancements being made in quantum computing will almost certainly make cryptocurrency a necessity in the very near future.
it is totally speculation at this point. however, ethereum truly is in a different class as it could become the underlying platform for a majority of digital transactions which are only getting more widespread by the day bitcoin is being used very widely. # of monthly transactions using bitcoin on a logarithmic scale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin#/media/File:BTC_number_of_transactions_per_month.png the idea is that ethereum is a superior technology and has better efficiency and security, therefore will replace bitcoin plus much more
