OT: Crypto, Stocks, Bonds, Real Estate, Investments, IRAs & Finances, etc.

[CharlesOakley]

There are two properties of bitcoin that few people understand well:

1. scarcity - this is the only financial instrument to ever exist with a fixed supply. It can not be inflated. This property alone makes it a perfect store of value over time.

2. no counterparty risk - Your bank might fail, your government might collapse, your house might flood, but your bitcoin is immutable.

[Capn'O]

There are two properties of bitcoin that few people understand well:

1. scarcity - this is the only financial instrument to ever exist with a fixed supply. It can not be inflated. This property alone makes it a perfect store of value over time.

2. no counterparty risk - Your bank might fail, your government might collapse, your house might flood, but your bitcoin is immutable.

I think the fact that it's explicitly not a thing unnerves many people. But that's fundamentally true about any currency since we went off gold standard and exponentially moreso since most transactions are no longer based in actual currency. It's all conceptual. Which is unnerving but not unique to crypto.

[NYKinMIA]

I first heard about bitcoin at $600ish and couldn't figure out how to safely buy it.

I'm damn sure bitter. But it does seem to be gaining legitimacy, not losing it. I'm not sure that I believe in the story but enough people do now.

you think you're bitter now?

imagine how you'll feel in 10 years after realizing "it seems to be gaining legitimacy" and still didn't act.

That's my general view of currency. That it's as valuable as people believe it is. I knew BC was going to get big but not the extent or if it would be the end game in this trend, which it seems to be, or an early adopter. But no, I won't feel worse than that. That sucked. It wasn't like "oh, maybe I should buy this but I want to wait." The transaction was up on my screen but I couldn't figure out if the site was legit and Ameritrade didn't have a way in. I'll likely take a small holding in the near future. I tried to buy coinbase (which I'm aware isn't the coins themselves) yesterday and my screen froze at the bell. Deja vu.

if I was going to advise a family member, and a few have asked already.
I would recommend Kraken as the fees are more reasonable than Coinbase.
I would then recommend learning about self custody using a hardware wallet (ledger or trezor) and all that entails.
I'm not going to tell you there's not a learning curve, that's another reason people hesitate to jump in.
but in a nutsehll, buy on Kraken and look to transfer to your hardware wallet late in the evening or early morning when transaction/network fess are generally lowest.
ALWAYS send a small amount first to confirm you're doing it correctly before moving larger amounts.
but don't half-ass learning. invest the time into knowing what you're doing.

[RHODEY]

you think you're bitter now?

imagine how you'll feel in 10 years after realizing "it seems to be gaining legitimacy" and still didn't act.

That's my general view of currency. That it's as valuable as people believe it is. I knew BC was going to get big but not the extent or if it would be the end game in this trend, which it seems to be, or an early adopter. But no, I won't feel worse than that. That sucked. It wasn't like "oh, maybe I should buy this but I want to wait." The transaction was up on my screen but I couldn't figure out if the site was legit and Ameritrade didn't have a way in. I'll likely take a small holding in the near future. I tried to buy coinbase (which I'm aware isn't the coins themselves) yesterday and my screen froze at the bell. Deja vu.

if I was going to advise a family member, and a few have asked already.
I would recommend Kraken as the fees are more reasonable than Coinbase.
I would then recommend learning about self custody using a hardware wallet (ledger or trezor) and all that entails.
I'm not going to tell you there's not a learning curve, that's another reason people hesitate to jump in.
but in a nutsehll, buy on Kraken and look to transfer to your hardware wallet late in the evening or early morning when transaction/network fess are generally lowest.
ALWAYS send a small amount first to confirm you're doing it correctly before moving larger amounts.
but don't half-ass learning. invest the time into knowing what you're doing.

Thanks, I've been considering using Kraken as a backup for Coin base. Ive heard too many horror stories about Coin base locking users out due to "Security" concerns.

[NYKinMIA]

That's my general view of currency. That it's as valuable as people believe it is. I knew BC was going to get big but not the extent or if it would be the end game in this trend, which it seems to be, or an early adopter. But no, I won't feel worse than that. That sucked. It wasn't like "oh, maybe I should buy this but I want to wait." The transaction was up on my screen but I couldn't figure out if the site was legit and Ameritrade didn't have a way in. I'll likely take a small holding in the near future. I tried to buy coinbase (which I'm aware isn't the coins themselves) yesterday and my screen froze at the bell. Deja vu.

if I was going to advise a family member, and a few have asked already.
I would recommend Kraken as the fees are more reasonable than Coinbase.
I would then recommend learning about self custody using a hardware wallet (ledger or trezor) and all that entails.
I'm not going to tell you there's not a learning curve, that's another reason people hesitate to jump in.
but in a nutsehll, buy on Kraken and look to transfer to your hardware wallet late in the evening or early morning when transaction/network fess are generally lowest.
ALWAYS send a small amount first to confirm you're doing it correctly before moving larger amounts.
but don't half-ass learning. invest the time into knowing what you're doing.

Thanks, I've been considering using Kraken as a backup for Coin base. Ive heard too many horror stories about Coin base locking users out due to "Security" concerns.

you should definitely have more than one option available to you.

[RHODEY]

if I was going to advise a family member, and a few have asked already.
I would recommend Kraken as the fees are more reasonable than Coinbase.
I would then recommend learning about self custody using a hardware wallet (ledger or trezor) and all that entails.
I'm not going to tell you there's not a learning curve, that's another reason people hesitate to jump in.
but in a nutsehll, buy on Kraken and look to transfer to your hardware wallet late in the evening or early morning when transaction/network fess are generally lowest.
ALWAYS send a small amount first to confirm you're doing it correctly before moving larger amounts.
but don't half-ass learning. invest the time into knowing what you're doing.

Thanks, I've been considering using Kraken as a backup for Coin base. Ive heard too many horror stories about Coin base locking users out due to "Security" concerns.

you should definitely have more than one option available to you.

I would also recommend binance.us as a third option.

Didnt now Binance.us allowed for off ramping to your bank account, will definitely look into that too. I've actually never cashed out to my bank. I've also heard some banks will balk at large crypto deposits.

[NYKinMIA]

Thanks, I've been considering using Kraken as a backup for Coin base. Ive heard too many horror stories about Coin base locking users out due to "Security" concerns.

you should definitely have more than one option available to you.

I would also recommend binance.us as a third option.

Didnt now Binance.us allowed for off ramping to your bank account, will definitely look into that too. I've actually never cashed out to my bank. I've also heard some banks will balk at large crypto deposits.

damn bro right! binance.us did suspend USD withdrawals. but if you need to dump your crypto when other exchanges are down, you can always then send the USDT to another exchange like Kraken, convert to USD and withdraw to your bank.

I'm going to edit that post now. that's my bad.

yes, some banks don't play nice with crypto exchanges and I need to do some research myself for other reliable on/off ramps. I'll report back on what I find.

[RHODEY]

you should definitely have more than one option available to you.

I would also recommend binance.us as a third option.

Didnt now Binance.us allowed for off ramping to your bank account, will definitely look into that too. I've actually never cashed out to my bank. I've also heard some banks will balk at large crypto deposits.

damn bro right! binance.us did suspend USD withdrawals. but if you need to dump your crypto when other exchanges are down, you can always then send the USDT to another exchange like Kraken, convert to USD and withdraw to your bank.

I'm going to edit that post now. that's my bad.

yes, some banks don't play nice with crypto exchanges and I need to do some research myself for other reliable on/off ramps. I'll report back on what I find.

Right ,Ive been researching and prepping just in case I get lucky this cycle. I heard Ally bank and revolut are crypto friendly

[Garbagelo]

Bitcoin always crashes and it keeps surviving even without bailouts

It's how the system is supposed to work

Instead the government decides to long term inflate the USD to save the system every time something bad happens and guess what benefits the most from this behavior? That's right Bitcoin

[RHODEY]

Bitcoin always crashes and it keeps surviving even without bailouts

It's how the system is supposed to work

Instead the government decides to long term inflate the USD to save the system every time something bad happens and guess what benefits the most from this behavior? That's right Bitcoin

kicking the can down the road just makes the situation worse while delaying the inevitable. For traditional fiat its not a matter of if, but when.

[Jstock12]

This is probably still the best video on Bitcoin I've watched.

Watch on YouTube

[CharlesOakley]

Enjoy.

Read on Twitter

[Capn'O]

Do any of you have any thoughts about the ETFs you can buy over traditional exchanges?

[aq_ua]

Do any of you have any thoughts about the ETFs you can buy over traditional exchanges?

The concept of ETFs has expanded and grown confusing over the past few years so it’s better to be precise. Do you mean ETFs in the traditional sense of index based passive broad market instruments, or generally any fund traded over an exchange that can include actively traded or even crypto funds?

[Capn'O]

Do any of you have any thoughts about the ETFs you can buy over traditional exchanges?

The concept of ETFs has expanded and grown confusing over the past few years so it’s better to be precise. Do you mean ETFs in the traditional sense of index based passive broad market instruments, or generally any fund traded over an exchange that can include actively traded or even crypto funds?

Sorry. The latter. Ones that give exposure to crypto.

[CharlesOakley]

Personally, I would trust an ETF over keeping my bitcoin on an exchange. If you aren't wanting to take the dive into self-custody, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the ETF. They do have different fees, so do a little homework.

[Garbagelo]

Personally, I would trust an ETF over keeping my bitcoin on an exchange. If you aren't wanting to take the dive into self-custody, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the ETF. They do have different fees, so do a little homework.

disagree

there will come a day where being able to have control over your coins will matter

[RHODEY]

Personally, I would trust an ETF over keeping my bitcoin on an exchange. If you aren't wanting to take the dive into self-custody, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the ETF. They do have different fees, so do a little homework.

disagree

there will come a day where being able to have control over your coins will matter

Self custody is one of the main tenets of crypto. The saying is "not your keys not your coins". I'd much prefer to have total control over my money.

[CharlesOakley]

I self-custody but I convinced my mom to buy the ETF. Side note: I really like the Blockstream Jade as a wallet if you are bitcoin only.
There are also financial vehicles that won't allow you to hold BTC where the ETFs might be your only option (HSA, IRA etc).

I really hope the day Garbagelo speaks of never comes but there is a good reason people call it freedom money.

[HarthorneWingo]

You all like Tether?