Digital currency Bitcoin hits new high before losing S$200 in value in one day

[specuvestor]

Munger calls this Hubris. This is what I mean when I say over the years I have learnt and disciplined myself not to participate in things that I don't understand or make no sense, even if the siren tempts me with 10 bagger or what

----
Gartman said he broke his Rule No. 1 of investing via his newsletter: never buy a stock that’s in decline.

“More importantly we are smarting from having broken our own primary rule of trading to never, ever add to a losing position,” Gartman said Wednesday.

The investment in crypto-related assets is odd for Gartman, an investment traditionalists who tends to espouse the benefits of owning tangible assets. Although he has said blockchain, the distributed-ledger technology that underpins most digital assets, has merit, he has been mostly skeptical of the virtualcurrency sector, which he suggested was benefiting from speculative hype.

In December, Gartman described bitcoin as a “classic bubble,” in a CNBC interview, saying it had gone beyond the “absurdity” of Holland’s tulip bulb mania in the 17th century.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/one-pr...2018-02-21

[cyclone]

A decade from now, bitcoin is more likely to be $100 than $100,000, Harvard economist says

By Cheang Ming
Published March 6, 2018

Bitcoin is 'a lot more likely' to be $100 than $100,000 in ten years Bitcoin is 'a lot more likely' to be $100 than $100,000 in ten years  

The likelihood of bitcoin prices falling to $100 is greater than that of the digital currency trading at $100,000 a decade from now, Harvard University professor and economist Kenneth Rogoff said on Tuesday.

"I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we're headed out 10 years from now ... I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now," Rogoff told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"Basically, if you take away the possibility of money laundering and tax evasion, its actual uses as a transaction vehicle are very small," the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/05/bitcoin-...ogoff.html

[weijian]

A decade from now, bitcoin is more likely to be $100 than $100,000, Harvard economist says

By Cheang Ming
Published March 6, 2018

Bitcoin is 'a lot more likely' to be $100 than $100,000 in ten years Bitcoin is 'a lot more likely' to be $100 than $100,000 in ten years  

The likelihood of bitcoin prices falling to $100 is greater than that of the digital currency trading at $100,000 a decade from now, Harvard University professor and economist Kenneth Rogoff said on Tuesday.

"I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we're headed out 10 years from now ... I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now," Rogoff told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"Basically, if you take away the possibility of money laundering and tax evasion, its actual uses as a transaction vehicle are very small," the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/05/bitcoin-...ogoff.html

Actually, the irony is if bitcoin (or "insert any other crypto") becomes mainstream, then the possibilities of money laundering and tax evasion becomes much lower. The blockchain methodology records all historical transactions and so if it becomes mainstream, trace ability becomes so much easier and that discourages illicit uses. In order to continue to be a form of currency for money laundering and tax evasion, it has to stay off the radar!

[BlueKelah]

A decade from now, bitcoin is more likely to be $100 than $100,000, Harvard economist says

By Cheang Ming
Published March 6, 2018

Bitcoin is 'a lot more likely' to be $100 than $100,000 in ten years Bitcoin is 'a lot more likely' to be $100 than $100,000 in ten years  

The likelihood of bitcoin prices falling to $100 is greater than that of the digital currency trading at $100,000 a decade from now, Harvard University professor and economist Kenneth Rogoff said on Tuesday.

"I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we're headed out 10 years from now ... I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now," Rogoff told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"Basically, if you take away the possibility of money laundering and tax evasion, its actual uses as a transaction vehicle are very small," the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/05/bitcoin-...ogoff.html

Actually, the irony is if bitcoin (or "insert any other crypto") becomes mainstream, then the possibilities of money laundering and tax evasion becomes much lower. The blockchain methodology records all historical transactions and so if it becomes mainstream, trace ability becomes so much easier and that discourages illicit uses. In order to continue to be a form of currency for money laundering and tax evasion, it has to stay off the radar!

This harvard economist actually mirrors my thoughts on the subject.

The problem is without the money laundering and tax evasion component, cryptocurrency would not be as popular as it has become. 

Yes all transactions are recorded and can be traced, but a money launderer can set up bitcoin accounts linked to offshore bank accounts and move funds around and do their laundering. If you follow the money trail, you will just end up with a bunch of anonymous accounts. Why would governments want to make something like that mainstream? 

And if you regulate it too much, requiring ID to sign up and use, then suddenly it becomes pretty much the same as normal fiat currency. People would then just go back to using fiat currency and the crypto would be pretty much useless again.

Its a bit of a chicken an egg thing.

[Wildreamz]

In the die-hard Libertarian point of view: no, they are not interested in money laundering per se, they are interested in an asset that is completely free of government / central bank influence. 

To them only cryptocurrencies (and maybe commodities like gold) are "true currencies". All fiat currencies are by definition "fake" with no intrinsic value since central banks can print as much of it as they want. And they only measure their own net worth in Bitcoin / other cryptoassets / Gold, and nothing more.

Even under strict government regulation, there is always a way to by-pass them if you try hard enough (eg. vpn, dark web). And it is almost impossible to shut it down because it is decentralized.

I think there is considerable government will and effort to try to control the systemic risk associated with cryptocurrencies (although some governments, including ours, still take a more liberal attitude). 

For now, the crypto-craze is here to stay.

[FinaceG]

My friends call me the "Merchant of Venice" not because I defaulted a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, but because I quit my security job to entertain a habit that is so addictive..the banks won't let me to stop it!

I never took any interest into investing on CryptoCurrencies not until I noticed something peculiar when I was busy trying to understand Bitcoin. I was busy researching on all popular bitcoin exchanges and peer -to- peer trading platforms trying to review them while i compared their transaction speed and fee charges altogether.

It is through my analysis that I landed upon two Peer -to- Peer Bitcoin trading platforms that captured my attention at most. 


Today when it comes to buying Bitcoins you usually go to a Bitcoin broker (e.g. Coinbase and Coinmama) or a Bitcoin trading platform (e.g. Bitstamp and Kraken). However some of these exchanges just don’t cut it – either due to their accepted payment methods or their geo restrictions (for example Coinabse doesn’t accept people from many countries around the world). In this case you can always use something that can be best described as “the eBay of buying Bitcoin”. Networks of Bitcoin sellers from around the world that allow almost anyone to buy Bitcoins. Today there are two platforms that supply this kind of service – LocalBitcoins and Paxful. 


LocalBitcoins
LocalBitcoins is a P2P Bitcoin exchange. Buyers and Sellers agree on trade terms, and LocalBitcoins is used as escrow.

Supported countries
LocalBitcoins is available in nearly every country. Liquidity will depend on the amount of buyers and sellers in your area. LocalBitcoins is not available in Germany or the state of New York. It left New York due to the BitLicense.

LocalBitcoins Fees

1. Registering, buying, and selling Bitcoin is completely free. 
   
2. LocalBitcoins users who create advertisements are charged a 1% fee for every completed trade.
   
3. Transactions to wallets of other LocalBitcoins users are free.
   
4. Transactions to other Bitcoin wallets are subject to Bitcoin network transaction fee.
   
5. The transaction fee is paid from your LocalBitcoins wallet when you send a transaction.
   
6. When sending to LocalBitcoins wallet, a bitcoin network fee is deducted from the deposit. The fee varies on how congested the Bitcoin Network is. If your deposit amount is smaller than the bitcoin deposit fee, the deposit will not be processed.
   

Paxful
Paxful is an online bitcoin marketplace that connects buyers and sellers in one convenient location. It is also used as escrow.

Supported Countries
All countries are supported except the following:

• Balkans
  
  
• Belarus
  
  
• Burma (Myanmar)
  
  
• Cote d’Ivoire
  
  
• Cuba
  
  
• Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo)
  
  
• Iran
  
  
• Iraq
  
  
• Lebanon
  
  
• Liberia
  
  
• Libya
  
  
• North Korea
  
  
• Somalia
  
  
• Sudan
  
  
• Syria
  
  
• Zimbabwe
  

Paxful Fees

1. If you are a buyer you do not pay Paxful anything. Paxful takes no fee from the buyer at all. The buyer does, however, pay a fee to the seller for converting their Cash, gift card or PayPal money etc… into bitcoin. Each seller has a different price so it is up to you to select the best one. For example, most vendors may charge a 30% fee to convert your Amazon Gift Card to bitcoin. This means you give them a $100 Amazon gift card and get back 70% of bitcoin to your Paxful bitcoin wallet.
   
2. On Paxful the Seller of bitcoins pays a 1% fee. The buyer of bitcoins does not pay Paxful any fee at all.
   
3. Only the sender pays bitcoin network miner fees. The bitcoin miners fee goes to the bitcoin network, not Paxful.
   

The Whole Idea, Strategy or Whatever you may Call it!

I'll first try to find the best and most reasonable seller offer between the two platforms

LocalBitcoins
So Let's say I choose Guy No. 2 (Enzo12) He's online and he has completed 500+ transactions with a 97% feedback Score which makes him a genuine trader.




Enzo12 Terms Of Trade



So clearly i Cannot Buy any amount of bitcoin that is not within the range of 50 - 621.63 BTC which are my seller's trade limits.




But if I Buy Bitcoin worth &500 which is within the indicated limits I'll get  0.040510 BTC




Paxful
Now in this market let's Choose Guy No.1 (asadawan88) he has a reputation of 67 completed transactions with zero defaults..Also makes him a Genuine trader.




If I buy $500 worth of bitcoins from him I'll get 0.05154783 BTC exactly the right candidate I'm after!






Now I want to Sell the bitcoin I bought from my Paxful Candidate ASADAWA88

I'll go back to LocalBitcoins and search for the right buyer. in this case Guy No.1 (Benja6699) will be my candidate

NOTE: There are quite a number of payment you can choose from both platforms, but as a "Merchant of Venice" I go for any that has a sweet offer!

In my buyers case i'll have to register a Venmo account





So if I sell my 0.05154783 BTC which i bought from Asadawa88 I'll earn back $578.27

$578.27 - $500 = $78.27 which is my profit in a short span of less than 1 hour!




A few hours later I get a sweeter offer from a moneygram Seller I'm forced to go for it!







Once I buy the 0.05293089 BTC and sell it again to my LocalBitcoins candidate I earn $596.53




So now I have a total of $174.8 in profits gannerd within the day!



I quit my Job with total savings of about $11,000 which I began to hustle with between the two trading platforms.. from the above calculations I would close my day with Approximately $1070

[HitandRun]

Wow, this sounds so legit and profitable that I'm gonna sell my house, my car, my children, my wife, my mom and even my maid to speculate in this!

No wait, I will even apply for a FMC license from MAS such that all valuebuddies can benefit from the wonderful idea! 

[Max12345678]

What is the reason of sharing such a profitable way of making money?
The market will be saturated if more people doing that

[Lochness]

sounds too good to be true

[specuvestor]

MAS speaks:

"Where the crypto tokens represent ownership or a security interest over an issuer’s assets or any property, or a debt owed by the issuer, they may be regarded as securities under the Securities and Futures Act."

http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publicati...-Ugly.aspx