Is it possible to short BitCoin?  If so, how would you go about it?

 

I believe you can short GBTC - Bitcoin Investment Trust.  There may be other funds out there.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-27/calling-a-bitcoin-top-here-s-how-you-can-short-the-digital-coin

 

https://www.investopedia.com/news/short-bitcoin/

 

So you could short-sell GBTC (or other Bitcoin funds, if they exist - and I'm sure they do) or any of the other things outlined in the Investopedia article.

Is it possible to short BitCoin?  If so, how would you go about it?

 

I believe you can short GBTC - Bitcoin Investment Trust.  There may be other funds out there.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-27/calling-a-bitcoin-top-here-s-how-you-can-short-the-digital-coin

 

https://www.investopedia.com/news/short-bitcoin/

 

So you could short-sell GBTC (or other Bitcoin funds, if they exist - and I'm sure they do) or any of the other things outlined in the Investopedia article.

 

Thank you for that. I think I might a very small play for fun.

I sold my bitcoin at $18,000.  I bought last year at $670.  A single bitcoin, not many, unfortunately.

Is it possible to short BitCoin?  If so, how would you go about it?

 

I believe you can short GBTC - Bitcoin Investment Trust.  There may be other funds out there.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-27/calling-a-bitcoin-top-here-s-how-you-can-short-the-digital-coin

 

https://www.investopedia.com/news/short-bitcoin/

 

So you could short-sell GBTC (or other Bitcoin funds, if they exist - and I'm sure they do) or any of the other things outlined in the Investopedia article.

 

So, I tried.

 

 

The fees on any worthwhile short play are 20% of the principal per month. So........ Bleh

I sold my bitcoin at $18,000.  I bought last year at $670.  A single bitcoin, not many, unfortunately.

 

Congratulations.  It's amazing how the first six month of 2017 were defined by Ethereum's meteoric rise but then the second half has been all about Bitcoin.  Ethereum has barely budged upwards since June.  I  have no crystal ball predictions for 2018. 

 

 

^Litecoin to $400 by February imo.

I sold my bitcoin at $18,000.  I bought last year at $670.  A single bitcoin, not many, unfortunately.

 

nice rate of return.  you invested enough to buy a bike and ended up with enough to buy a car.

Litecoin has more than doubled in the past week.  From $100 to a high of $215 today. 

So if one of these crashed in the morning and investors lost hundreds of millions of dolllars, who would they sue?

So if one of these crashed in the morning and investors lost hundreds of millions of dolllars, who would they sue?

 

No one.  The buyer takes on all the risk when they purchase any investment.  No one sued when the price of gold dropped in the '80s.  This would be the exact same thing.

 

I've done minimal research on bitcoin - what makes them valuable?  I get there are going to be a limited number - probably done in 2040, right?  Other than avoiding currency translation, why should I care about bitcoins?

Litecoin has more than doubled in the past week.  From $100 to a high of $215 today. 

 

Um, up to to $370 just 8 hours later.  This is totally crazy, people. 

Etherium and Litecoin trading has been suspended on Coinbase

Etherium and Litecoin trading has been suspended on Coinbase

 

That place gets overwhelmed easily.  Also, their prices often do not correlate with everything else.  I remember when I bought that the actual price was like $20 higher when it settled. 

I bought 6 litecoin at $96 last week, and love that its taken off.. but the service usage outages on coinbase really worry me

So if one of these crashed in the morning and investors lost hundreds of millions of dolllars, who would they sue?

 

No one.  The buyer takes on all the risk when they purchase any investment.  No one sued when the price of gold dropped in the '80s.  This would be the exact same thing.

 

I've done minimal research on bitcoin - what makes them valuable?  I get there are going to be a limited number - probably done in 2040, right?  Other than avoiding currency translation, why should I care about bitcoins?

 

But arent there people or countries "starting" these currencies?  Like Venezuela? 

 

 

I bought 6 litecoin at $96 last week, and love that its taken off.. but the service usage outages on coinbase really worry me

 

Actually I believe that it was shut down today because litecoin was trading for much higher on Coinbase than anywhere else.  If people click on this within the next few minutes you'll see that the Coinbase price is $305: https://www.coinbase.com/charts?locale=en-US

 

Whereas the price listed at Litecoin.com is $264: https://litecoin.com/

 

 

So if one of these crashed in the morning and investors lost hundreds of millions of dolllars, who would they sue?

 

No one.  The buyer takes on all the risk when they purchase any investment.  No one sued when the price of gold dropped in the '80s.  This would be the exact same thing.

 

I've done minimal research on bitcoin - what makes them valuable?  I get there are going to be a limited number - probably done in 2040, right?  Other than avoiding currency translation, why should I care about bitcoins?

 

It's no different than what makes gold valuable: the fact that other people find it valuable.

Gold at least has an intrinsic value in the use of it in industrial/product uses.  Bitcoin has zero intrinsic value.

Gold at least has an intrinsic value in the use of it in industrial/product uses.  Bitcoin has zero intrinsic value.

 

Its intrinsic value is that it isn't regulated and tracked like fiat currency (yet.) It'll all come crashing down, eventually.

Gold at least has an intrinsic value in the use of it in industrial/product uses.  Bitcoin has zero intrinsic value.

 

Its intrinsic value is that it isn't regulated and tracked like fiat currency (yet.) It'll all come crashing down, eventually.

 

So, the fact that it isn't regulated and tracked makes it have intrinsic value?  I guess you have a point as criminal groups and rogue states would like that.  However, for that reason I would think the value would be very volatile and subject to reputable countries treating it as "dirty" cash.

It doesn't have 'intrinsic' value like Gold, I guess I just placed intrinsic value on it for the reason I stated above. It doesn't seem to be 'volatile' since its done nothing but go up but as I stated, those days are numbered. As an investor, I'd be monitoring the AP wire and selling the minute that there's a serious talk about regulating cryptocurrencies.

It doesn't have 'intrinsic' value like Gold, I guess I just placed intrinsic value on it for the reason I stated above. It doesn't seem to be 'volatile' since its done nothing but go up but as I stated, those days are numbered. As an investor, I'd be monitoring the AP wire and selling the minute that there's a serious talk about regulating cryptocurrencies.

 

Look up the 2013 Bitcoin crash. 

At least when the Beanie Baby market crashed you had a stuffed animal to cuddle.

Too scared to hold onto Litecoin lol

I dabbled in Litecoin last week and was rewarded handsomely this week. Although I haven't sold anything yet -- in fact I've added to my position and intend to add a lot more. Problem is there are limits on Coinbase as to how much you buy each week. You can add more if you've verified your identity by uploading your drivers license/photo ID but it doesn't appear to be more than $5,000 or $10,000.

 

I'm also a bit worried that you can't sell more than $10,000 per week of Litecoin at Coinbase. If I buy a large position, I won't be able to get out fast enough if Litecoin crashes. But of all the cryptocurrencies, Litecoin appears to have the most room to grow. Here's an interesting article....

 

https://www.wealthdaily.com/resources/3-reasons-to-buy-litecoin/93

 

Until a new cryptocurrency comes along, Litecoin may be the best yet. It's selling in the $300 range now. But what if it eventually eclipses Bitcoin in value?? What's stopping that happening?

^Availability. There are significantly more litecoin available for purchase. Nonetheless, solid reasoning KJP[/member], I like it

You won't be able to get out because Coinbase crashes all the time.  Like several times per month. 

 

There are 4X as many Litecoin as Bitcoin, so if it were to reach the same overall value, it would be 1/4 per coin. 

You won't be able to get out because Coinbase crashes all the time.  Like several times per month. 

 

There are 4X as many Litecoin as Bitcoin, so if it were to reach the same overall value, it would be 1/4 per coin. 

 

Litecoin appears to be an easier to use cryptocurrency since it requires less computing power. While there are more Litecoins, they will probably get used more often.

 

I probably won't get into Bitcoin unless it crashes.

 

As for the website crashing, I've not experienced that yet. Although its taken me several days to upload my ID to increase my weekly buying limit.

^KJP[/member] I have been buying and selling daily from Coinbase.

 

A) I've been practicing cyber law recently, notably data breach cases. As such, I've become increasingly paranoid about what I put online as I learn more. I use Google Authenticate for each and every time I sign onto my account and I rest easy because of it.

 

B) On days when there are 30%+ fluctuations, expect the site to crash for 10-12 minutes at a time. This is wildly frustrating if you like to buy the dips or sell the spikes.

 

C) I'm holding onto my litecoin at least for another couple weeks, I try to buy about another $100 every time there is a quick, organized sell-off. I would set my price target by the New Year at $525.

The exchanges AND your banks often charge a fee for each transaction.  It's unlikely that you're going to come out ahead getting in and out, just like with stocks.  Coinbase has some sort of code that they want you to write down and keep in a safety deposit box.  I would highly recommend doing that.  There are now many cases where people have had their cryptocurrency holdings stolen from digital wallets. 

 

The afore-mentioned 2013~ bitcoin crash was caused by the Mt. Gox hack.  That's when some ungodly number of bitcoins were stolen off that now-defunct exchange.  I don't believe that anyone has successfully stolen anything off of Coinbase, but I don't doubt that some of the trading freezes have been emergency security shut-downs.

 

Also, the weekly limit on Coinbase is designed to keep people who hold a lot of money on there from getting wiped out.  If you want to get in and out with 5-digit sums you should look for another exchange and brace for getting wiped out. 

I intend to hold on to my crypto positions for at least several months, if not longer. I'm not worried about daily spikes or declines.

I'm seeing more rumblings around Ripple.  Anyone know what that is?

I'm seeing more rumblings around Ripple.  Anyone know what that is?

 

It's seem like it's more transparent than Bitcoin, in that they describe who runs Ripple. They also offer multiple exchanges for trades. Anyone have any experience with these or know their reliability?

 

https://ripple.com/xrp/buy-xrp/

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/south-korea-pushes-ripple-price-71-japanese-banks-conduct-payment-trials/

Reading about the Lightning Network (which is being alpha-tested with Litecoin) and how it could transform the blockchain world.  The analysts who projected the Bitcoin boom, are now projecting that Bitcoin could eclipse $100,000 or even go several times higher with the Lightning Network. Litecoin, which appears to be growing as a hedge to Bitcoin, may also rise. Consider...

 

Peak capacity in transactions per second:

Visa: 56,000 tps

PayPal: 120 tps

Bcash: 56 tps

Bitcoin: 7tps

Bitcoin + LN: millions to billions tps

 

If true, Bitcoin, Litecoin and other popular cryptocurrencies haven't even begun to bubble. Stop trading and start investing. Keep watching LN development into beta testing and preliminary public release in 2018, follow-on debugging, etc. Cryptos  Also are the hedge to geopolitical tension and inflationary pressures (like from the USA's "lovely" proposed tax policies). In a year or two, it's going to be a very different world for cryptocurrencies.

Delete

we should arrest you for spreading silly trump style fake news:

 

https://gizmodo.com/no-a-guy-didnt-scam-1-million-by-selling-chuck-e-che-1821382567

I would caution cryptocurrencies as a long-term investment, for the moment at least. There is certainly tremendous growth potential, but they're not yet FDIC insured.

How is it possible to make money then? I can't spend every day or two making trades. And even if I could, it's like driving in heavy traffic -- you pick the faster lane at the moment and it always ends up going slower than if you had just stayed put. Same thing with investing -- making the trade of the moment almost always ends up being an opportunity cost. I've lost too many opportunities at earning more money by my impatience.

Everything crashing right now.  Bitcoin dropped from a high of almost $20,000 last week to as low as $12,700 within the hour.  Predictably, Coinbase is offline so no way to trade. 

You didn't miss anything. It's down even further this morning. Everything. Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and even Ripple is off its historic high from yesterday. Looks like everyone is taking their profits and running before the holidays. So I'm buying. :)

Most of this stuff is traded in Asia, which doesn't celebrate Christmas. 

 

Most of this stuff is traded in Asia, which doesn't celebrate Christmas. 

 

 

Most of the trading platforms are based there, but where are the traders? BTW, I didn't say Christmas. New Year's is a big holiday in most nations, including Japan's Ganjitsu and Korea's Seollal which is celebrated for three days.

 

It's possible the crash occurred in the Far East considering the timing. Most of it crashed last evening. 5-8 p.m. in the USA is 10 a.m. the next day in Seoul and Tokyo and 9 a.m. in Shanghai.

Most of this stuff is traded in Asia, which doesn't celebrate Christmas. 

 

 

By the way, there are 80-100 million Christians in China / 15 million in South Korea / 2 million in Japan.

 

That's still fairly significant.

 

Most of this stuff is traded in Asia, which doesn't celebrate Christmas. 

 

 

all they do is eat a cake

Now the crypto markets are rebounding strong. Looks like a market correction. Ripple lost half its value last night. It recovered it and then some this evening. It's the wild wild west.

I'm dying.

 

Hopefully this will calm the market's volatility....

 

Bitcoin price tumbles after South Korea joins cryptocurrency crackdown

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/12/28/bitcoin-price-tumbles-south-korea-joins-cryptocurrency-crackdown/

Ripple is making a huge move forward while other currencies are stagnant. I've been trying to get verified on a certain exchange for more than a week, back when Ripple was selling for 60 cents, so that I could buy a huge position in it. Now it's selling for $2.20+ and I'm still no closer to getting verified. This makes me sick. I should be counting my riches, not banging my head against the friggin' wall.

nevermind