Bitcoin Tops $60,000, Rising 50% in 24 Days (cnn.com) 103
Less than a month ago Bitcoin's price was $40,683. Last night it reached $61,369 — a gain of more than 50% in just 24 days.
CNN attributes the October surge to "hopes that the Securities and Exchange Commission will soon approve a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund." Bitcoin prices, which rose to nearly $62,000 Friday, are now only about 5% below their all-time high of just under $65,000 that they hit earlier this year. Investors are hoping that, in addition to approving a bitcoin ETF, U.S. financial agencies will continue to take a more measured approach to regulating cryptocurrencies. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and SEC chief Gary Gensler have suggested that the US won't crack down on crypto as severely as China has done. "With recent confirmation from both the Fed's Powell and SEC's Gensler that although regulations are coming, there is no China style clampdown envisioned, this will provide comfort to the broader institutional market that [bitcoin] is here to stay," said Seamus Donoghue, vice president of strategic alliances at METACO, a digital asset infrastructure provider.
CNN attributes the October surge to "hopes that the Securities and Exchange Commission will soon approve a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund." Bitcoin prices, which rose to nearly $62,000 Friday, are now only about 5% below their all-time high of just under $65,000 that they hit earlier this year. Investors are hoping that, in addition to approving a bitcoin ETF, U.S. financial agencies will continue to take a more measured approach to regulating cryptocurrencies. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and SEC chief Gary Gensler have suggested that the US won't crack down on crypto as severely as China has done. "With recent confirmation from both the Fed's Powell and SEC's Gensler that although regulations are coming, there is no China style clampdown envisioned, this will provide comfort to the broader institutional market that [bitcoin] is here to stay," said Seamus Donoghue, vice president of strategic alliances at METACO, a digital asset infrastructure provider.
Who cares (Score:4, Insightful)
Who cares, every time bitcoin /. has to do a crap post
Re:Who cares (Score:5, Insightful)
FOMO (Score:4, Insightful)
The question isn't if a crash is coming it's when. China banning Bitcoin spooked the markets and a mild spook like that was enough to cut the value in half. It recovered because the volumes of illegal transactions didn't decrease just because China stopped Bitcoin mining and trading in their country. When the United States finally gets around the cracking down Europe will follow like it always does and party's over. When that happens it's just a question of who gets caught holding the bag.
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Mod parent up on Insightful and Informative dimensions.
However it missed the "fake scarcity" part of it. Or maybe not. Hard to argue that human stupidity is a scarce resource. (Consider the Slashdot moderators as examples?)
(But is FOMO much better as a new Subject? Yeah, the FP Subject was vacuous, but Fear Of Missing Out is kind of weak and the body of the parent doesn't really focus there.)
Really? That bit of drivel needs to be requoted? Oh well. If it wastes the wasted moderators' wasted mod points, then so be it. Not worth wondering what upsets them these years. Whenever Bitcoin is involved, it's pretty safe to guess they're scared about losing more REAL money to their Bitcoin speculations.
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Keep telling yourself that.
Re:FOMO (Score:4, Insightful)
There's no business and there's no commodity. What backs Bitcoin are the illegal transactions used to buy drugs, prostitutes, pay for ransomware and launder money.
So what you’re saying is it will have value forever because people believe in the value of these transactions which it enables. News flash, gold having value is a belief, value in fiat is a belief that the government will back that value, and the belief that bitcoin enables these transactions is arguably just as real.
No, the opposite actually (Score:2)
Eventually the major gov'ts will get around to regulating that illegal activity, and trading will stop. This will tank the value, and it won't recover because, well, no trading. People holding it will sell to get out and the value will collapse. It'll become an oddball footnote in history books.
For the last time, fiat currencies have value because they're back
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Eventually the major gov'ts will get around to regulating that illegal activity, and trading will stop
You have lots more faith than I do that governments can agree on anything. China only sorta cracked down a bit and the price didn’t drop, El Salvador adopted it poorly as fiat and it didn’t drop or rise. Not many use it there because the front end is a scammy mess as bitcoin isn’t suited to small fast transactions and needs an exchange. Who knows if bitcoin is going to last long term, no one knows the future but digital currency is here to stay and decentralized crypto tokens will be th
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It's basically like cold coins in John Wick's underworld assasin organization, only they are not gold.... they are not even minted fertilizer...
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No. Gold has an economy tired to its use as a product. Bitcoin on the other hand is purely speculation propped up by people who are ready to dump it at a moment.
Both have the ability to drop in value, but both are neither equally likely or expected to be as severe if a crash happens.
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If you exclude gold from jewelry the price would drop as there isn’t the volume nor would there be widespread adoption.
Correct, but why would you do that? Two scenarios:
a) Investors who are speculating large amounts of money see a slight fall and pull out before their losses stack up causing a crash (like any other crash that is caused by a speculative investment scheme coming down)
b) Someone suddenly convinced the women and rappers of the world that gold bling is no longer cool.
Are both scenarios equally likely? Absolutely not.
The defense of bitcoin when compared to anything else somehow always needs to start with "If you
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Correct, but why would you do that?
Because your premise is that gold has “utilitarian function” when it is obvious that jewelry is direct valuation devoid of utilitarian purpose and instead is valued as social capital outside of which the value would be far less due to actual utilitarian demand and this is directly analogous to bitcoin. All it takes is for enough diverse minds to give it valuation and it’s as real as any other. The gold standard being the liquidity of valuation is measures belief in that valuation and bi
Re: FOMO (Score:2)
Gold has value as a material used in engineering. Fiat is based on trust in the govrrnment (or in the case of the Euro, the stability of the Eurozone). Bitcoin is neither a material nor is there any trust in the stability of the currency. It's literally hot air, mined at huge cost to the environment.
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Bitcoin doesn't have an actual asset backing it.
Neither does the US dollar.
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The US Dollar is backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. And by force, if need be. Don't believe me, go look it up.
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Faith in the US government.. lol
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The US government IS the worlds wealthy corporations and individuals. If they want the $ then so does the US military - which is larger than the next 10 largest nations militaries combined. The $ is just fine.
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Bitcoin is backed by mathematics. Even the US government cannot debase mathematics.
Indiana gave it a go (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill), but failed.
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The US Dollar is backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.
The reason that sounds exactly like an IOU is because, well, it is.
Re:FOMO (Score:4, Insightful)
Bitcoin doesn't have an actual asset backing it.
Neither does the US dollar.
I presume the economy of the USA is still fairly reliable, and that is what backs the US dollar. If the US economy is fucked, so is all of your funny money.
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I presume the economy of the USA is still fairly reliable, and that is what backs the US dollar.
And again, that's not an asset. That's just a vague (though widely shared) belief. And shared belief is in fact the underlying mechanism of all fiat currencies.
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,,,shared belief is in fact the underlying mechanism of all fiat currencies.
You could say that precious metals such as gold only have value because of shared belief. Gold has intrinsic value as a material. It is aesthetically attractive, does not corrode, conducts electricity well, and so on. But that is not why it is valued as representing a store of wealth, which is due to a social contract -- that we agree that gold has a value in exchange for goods.
A currency has value because people trust that it can be exchanged for goods and services that have intrinsic value. In a healthy
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Whether you realize it or not, all of the above validates the argument for crypto. You almost certainly don't realize it, because you've just recited what everyone who has been exposed to crypto is already deeply aware of.
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Whether you realize it or not, all of the above validates the argument for crypto.
Perhaps you could be more specific, so I can learn something.
My position so far is that Bitcoin could be viewed as an asset, based on the historical fact that its value has generally increased, but it does not function particularly well as money. It is significant that Bitcoin and other crypto assets are valued in terms of dollars, or some other real currency. Gold has a price in dollars. Dollars do not have a price in gold.
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Yes, it does (Score:2)
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It's backed by the gov't's ability to levy taxes and it's military
That's not an asset.
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You should read Rothbard's (free, online) "What has government done to our money?" to better understand what defines money from a market perspective.
Bitcoin hits all the standards, while government currency doesn't.
Bitcoin is backed by scarcity. Government money is not.
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Re: FOMO (Score:2)
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Which, again, makes it completely unsuitable as currency.
What's the incentive to spend money if whatever you have on your wallet today is *guaranteed* to be worth more tomorrow?
Re: FOMO (Score:2)
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Bitcoin doesn't have an actual asset backing it. There's no business and there's no commodity. What backs Bitcoin are the illegal transactions used to buy drugs, prostitutes, pay for ransomware and launder money.
Yes, and don't forget that Bitcoin runs on the blood of newborn babies too.
You should know that, as the Bitcoin authority that you obviously are.
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I kicked myself when it hit $100 -- and then didn't buy in because I couldn't believe it could possibly go higher...
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Maybe because it's money based on pure computer science and math instead of politics.
If the 'greater fool theory' is correct, the last person to accept the new reality is the biggest fool of all.
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Maybe because it's money based on pure computer science and math instead of politics.
Politics among the miners is what determines the specifics of the computer science and math. The politics isn't gone. Its just unelected.
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It is where the rubber meets the road, and the "Bitcoin bros" drive better cars than you.
We are seeing hyperinflation, Zimbabwe style with the dollar and fiat currencies. Even if Bitcoin held steady, it still will increase in value because it is deflationary, 100% secure, and on the long haul, you get more than what you put in. With minimum wages increases spurring the fires of inflation in the US past the 20% mark, we will see crypto currencies only grow stronger, especially with Russia going all in, due
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*Yawn...* call me back when the world's reserve currency hyperinflates like Zimbabwe (who didn't have anything to back up their currency with). And then gets dumped by everyone else.
Re: Who cares (Score:2)
When that happens, you won't need a call, you'll be well aware. Now I am not saying this is gonna happen in our lifetimes, but, honestly, it sure could.
Even without hyperinflation, just REGULAR inflation is way wilder than one would think. The exponential devaluing of currency in theory works forever, but in practice times without growth threaten it direly.
Our GDP grows exponentially. Our currency devalues exponentially. The second is happening faster than the first these days, but we should have a real
Re: Who cares (Score:2, Interesting)
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Try getting dollars out of an ATM when the power is out. If you succeed, take them to Walmart and see if you can buy anything.
Re: Who cares (Score:2)
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When you can figure out how to use cryptocurrency without electricity I am all for it.
So, then, all your life savings is in cash under a mattress right now? Seriously, how much physical cash can you lay your hands on?
I'll bet it's not even enough to buy a new phone.
Re: Who cares (Score:2)
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Ah. The common prepper. Bummer that you won't be able to watch Fox News when the grid goes down.
Re: Who cares (Score:2)
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Nope not a prepper
A prepper by any other name would smell as... oof. Nevermind. I don't really want to think about what you smell like.
Re: Who cares (Score:2)
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FallaciousÂad hominem! You realize your credibility just got even lower than your IQ.
Denying that you're a prepper while rattling off all the hallmarks of a prepper certainly didn't help your case, either. My "fallacious" ad hominem was my way of telling you that I've given up on having anything remotely resembling a rational discussion with you, because you're such a twat.
Re:Who cares (Score:4, Insightful)
No different than trading futures.
Re: Who cares (Score:2)
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Except that futures are tangible commodities. They actually exist IRL.
You know why they call them "futures"? Because it's stuff that doesn't exist yet. So, pretty much the exact opposite of what you just said.
Re: Who cares (Score:2)
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The conversation was about trading futures. By definition, that means trading things that don't exist.
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Maybe because it's money based on pure computer science and math instead of politics.
If the 'greater fool theory' is correct, the last person to accept the new reality is the biggest fool of all.
Then the bitcoin folks really are fools because money is a fundamentally political concept.
It's the same story as always, a bunch of libertarian leaning programmers decide that humans are error prone and corrupt, so they create some app-like solution that will perfectly... if only humans behave and stop being error prone and corrupt.
What's the problem that cryptocurrency is supposed to solve? That governments can screw up money management? Well so can the miners who control the cryptocurrency, and not only
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What's the problem that cryptocurrency is supposed to solve? That governments can screw up money management? Well so can the miners who control the cryptocurrency, and not only are they less accountable but their motivation is keeping the value high, not keeping the economy healthy.
It is that people don't want to trust banks? Well now you have to trust the crypto exchange and all the apps on your computer.
I think that, at its core, Bitcoin was intended as an experiment. I wasn't actually there, and I claim no firsthand knowledge, but it seems to me that the intent was to implement some interesting ideas that had never really been tried before, or had never been combined in that way before, to see if currency could be (a) virtual, and (b) decentralized. It was really far out in left field at the time, and it brought forth some ideas that were genuinely novel. It was almost certainly far more successful than i
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Evidently you care.
Meh (Score:2)
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There are so many duped articles on Slashdot it's easier just to consider them uncountable.
Don't Buy Bitcoin. It's Going To Crash!!! (Score:5, Funny)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Like I mentioned on another post (Score:3)
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There's nothing backing the U.S. dollar either. And don't reply something stupid like "The might of the American Army" or some other shit, because these millions of people are not slaves, they are paid just like everyone else and the gear they need is far from free too.
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As soon as the government cracks down on the exchanges and forces them to implement anti-money laundering laws Bitcoin will have its real crash.
People are free to gamble or speculate on whatever they want. Bitcoin is just one traded financial vehicle. I don't like this. I think these traders are parasites. They produce nothing useful. But I have a hard time deciding what crime is being committed, where government could crack down.
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As soon as the government cracks down on the exchanges and forces them to implement anti-money laundering laws Bitcoin will have its real crash.
Are you aware that the exchanges -- where you can trade crypto for US dollars -- already do implement extensive KYC and anti-money-laundering protocols? No. You're clearly not. And yet you speak as if you know what you're talking about.
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China does not want the power usage but the US ne (Score:1)
China does not want the power usage but the US needs banking / stock laws to cover crypto.
money laundering is an big issue with crypto.
Re: China does not want the power usage but the US (Score:4, Informative)
No the Too Big To Fail banks will happily launder your money. https://www.bbc.com/news/busin... [bbc.com]
Newton had problem with speculative bubbles too in (Score:5, Informative)
This means... (Score:1)
... more tons of CO2 will be generated to mine these coins. Sad.
Bitcoin isn't rising. The dollar is falling. (Score:4, Interesting)
All that bailout money has to go somewhere
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Instead of going into /null/ it's going into /btc/
Re: Bitcoin isn't rising. The dollar is falling. (Score:2)
Re: I love the smell of... (Score:2)
Personally, I have serious doubts about "proof of stake". Proof of work and proof of capacity both do one important thing; tie it to the real world. Proof of stake loses this completely. Maybe everyone will be ok with that, I have my doubts.
Did Ted Cruz have inside info? (Score:2)