It's pretty cool to have your birthday on the same day as the holiday! Happy birthday! This is actually my third halving since my involvement with Bitcoin, but the first one where I'm actually present moments before it occurs, and I'm excited. I was a total noob when the previous halvings took place, and I wasn't exactly present the moment they occurred. They were the sparks that reignited my interest in Bitcoin because I had some long inactivity periods, and I restarted somewhere before or a little after the two halving periods occurred in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Anyway, two more hours until we leave this place, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for us.

If I were to look up every old transaction on my old wallets that I still have access to, I'd go insane. There was an era when so-called "mining" games were popular, similar to Ponzi schemes; I remember quite a few that required money to rank up and earn higher rewards. Perhaps it was a similar scam, a "cloud mining" platform, or a fake exchange that was short-lived. I had also signed up for one, but fortunately I didn't become one of their victims.

If I were you, as others have already suggested, don't start looking up old transactions. I had blown away over 0.40 BTC in 2015 in random crap such as Minecraft and online accounts; each of those transactions is now worth over $2,000 each.

Well, it'd be a nice gesture to at least send a notification email, but if it's written in their terms of service then they're covered against any legal action. I'm guessing the majority of inactive accounts have petty balances and no one bothers in case it's confiscated. As I've said earlier, I never experienced anything from a casino, but had lost money on a Xapo wallet. According to other reviews, I wasn't the first one either, but who would bother with approximately $100-$200 worth of Bitcoin.

I'm hoping it's going to assist because it's practically backed by gold, and it's setting solid foundations for a stronger currency, so theoretically, you cannot simply start adding zeros and printing a ton of worthless bills. We'll see to what degree, though. This situation is extremely similar to Venezuela's, in which hyperinflation has also skyrocketed over the past few years. It's saddening for the citizens of these countries to not be given a practical solution.
I'm unaware of the whole picture regarding the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe. Certainly, their government is incompetent in providing an actual solution for the country's hyperinflation issues while taking advantage of the country's natural resources, such as gold and diamonds, for their own profit. I haven't found much regarding the current political party, but the source you quoted provides some serious allegations against the current government.

Also, Bitcoin is not a panacea that works with everything, especially in this case, where the government is trying to control everything that's possible.

As others have already mentioned, it really depends on the management of the casino. I've personally can't recall ever having an account closed for inactivity, while my account on Bustabit, in which I registered in 2014 or 2015, had a small balance that was left untouched until I signed in again somewhere in 2021. Unfortunately, it's quite usual for any kind of online service to close inactive accounts and confiscate any outstanding balances left there. I've had it happen with an online wallet and a few services I used in the early days.

With that being said, I don't find it strange for casinos to do the same after 6 to 12 months of inactivity. It goes without saying that you shouldn't leave any balance on any kind of online service. It has happened to me and it's still unknown how much I've lost.

That's true; AEK won against Aris the previous weekend, so I'm quite confident they'll win this match as well. The odds are quite decent as well. Lamia also lost to Panathinaikos with a score of 3-1 the previous Sunday. It's a secure bet with reasonable odds—nothing special, but not too low either. I'm also considering OFI's match; what do you think? Is it worth the risk? I've had my fair share of luck with them in the past few games, so I remain positive for the time being.

I agree that the sudden change in currency isn't going to solve the hyperinflation Zimbabwe is facing. The issue lies in their economy; it's hardly the currency itself. This is the result of poor financial handling by the government; adding a few zeros in the back and printing new bills isn't magically saving anyone. This simply renders their currency useless and incompetent to be used for daily transactions. Even a complete switch to the US dollar wouldn't save a broken economy, as this doesn't reverse the fact that their citizens are struggling to get by due to excessive costs of living.

Fiat currencies are controlled by the government and aren't actually backed by commodities; only a few of them, such as the Norwegian Krone or the New Zealand dollar, are backed by commodities.

It's been a while; how did the previous matches go? I haven't heard from you since. Here are the upcoming matches for the weekend.



Although we've seen some better weekends, there are a few possible earning opportunities. As always, I'll try my luck with OFI vs. Volos. Panathinaikos vs. Lamia is a secure bet as well, but I haven't gone ahead and checked what returns to expect from it. Just like the previous week, the odds were quite low. I'd also consider AEK vs. Aris, not a guaranteed bet by any means, but it has way better odds than the previous one, while Olympiakos vs. PAOK is going to be an interesting match to watch, not participate in.

Any thoughts? @alani123

Well, it's a common saying that it may happen when you least expect it. I'm personally not expecting to achieve anything through gambling; I don't fit the necessary requirements to do so anyway. Me betting a few dollars on some casino games or football matches every now and then isn't going to cut it, and that's something I acknowledge. I'm satisfied if I manage to earn some pocket money by the end of the month; anything from $50 to $200 would be great, and it's something that I'm usually achieving, provided that I score some of the matches I'm betting on. 

What we could have won is something that I'm avoiding thinking about. I know beforehand how much I want to risk and don't regret not betting more afterwards, which is a pitfall many gamblers fall into and start betting amounts that they aren't comfortable losing. Knowing that, my expectations are quite low.

Well, that's true; the majority of us wouldn't be involved in gambling if the money aspect wasn't present. I don't find it exactly an excuse; it is an entertaining activity after all, but it wouldn't be if it weren't for the thrill of money-making possibilities. Am I expecting to achieve anything spectacular from gambling? No, that would be absurd; I haven't achieved anything fancy except some winning bets on sports betting. Even though some may have managed to actually earn money through it, some are luckier than others. Thus, I prefer to stick to conservative bets with a budget each time that I'm trying to maintain, for the sake of my wallet and my well-being.

OMNI was listed today at 12:00 UTC; unfortunately, I was at work and missed the initial launch. Its price started at approximately $55 per coin and slowly crashed down to $30. To be honest, I'm quite disappointed, as I only acquired 0.75 OMNI, and at this price, my yield was approximately $20. Don't get me wrong, it's still not that bad for 4 days, but first, I'm used to higher gains from the launchpool, and secondly, I'm a bit regretful for not selling AEVO and SAGA a few days ago, and both have now lost more than 40% of their value.

No new projects have been announced yet.

Alright, thanks to @Jawhead999, I've updated the table through a transaction history report I exported from Binance. There are probably a few lesser projects missing of minor value, and I haven't gone through the trouble of finding them one by one. The result is over $660 in profit, without taking into account those that haven't been sold yet. Honestly, had I taken it a little more seriously, meaning not forgetting to start farming the moment it was open and missing more than 8 hours of staking, or not properly assessing the situation and selling too early, or not selling at all (see NTRN, ALT, or SAGA), or even not bothering to participate even though I had all the hints that it's going to be worth it (see ACE, which could have resulted in over $100 in profit).

We'll see how OMNI performs in a few days; its staking is quite slow; I've acquired less than 0.45 OMNI in 2.5 days of staking; its value is speculated to be high; but none of the predictions I've read sound plausible or anywhere accurate to be taken into account.

@dimonstration, I don't remember how much I started with, but I'm currently staking $3600 FDUSD and 0.855 BNB. If I remember correctly, I started with approximately $2900 FDUSD and 0.70 BNB, but I cannot guarantee that these are 100% accurate numbers.

Well, it's the logical and most sensible thing to do, someone who's addicted isn't in the right state of mind, nor are they in a position to judge what's the right move, but I honestly cannot understand their logic. You're on losing streak, why would you continue hoping to reverse the losses. Anyway, an outsider cannot possibly judge if he hasn't been in that position before, I haven't, so I don't know how I'd react if it were to happen to me.
Fix your quotes mate, your post isn't showing as it should.

Wow, that's a great table you've built there. I really appreciate you taking the time and effort to make this; it's awesome! I'll make sure to add a few more since the summer of 2023 and a few others that I happened to encounter before I was fully involved in Binance launchpool projects.

Honestly, it's been a great experience so far. I know that it sounds like I'm affiliated with them, but Binance has opened up a great earning opportunity. There was a time that launchpool projects were announced one after the other; before even one was finished, there was another one announced. I managed to make a decent yield that period, and now I'm seeing a pattern of having at least two projects per month, which is about $100 on average, sometimes even more if I'm lucky. Supposing I had held Ethena for longer, I would have made over $130, but the $80 to $85 I made were still quite decent for 3–4 days.

Thanks again; I'll put it to good use!

Trading as a full-time job? You need to have the stomach for it. It's an extremely stressful and anxious environment that makes gambling look like a piece of cake. I'm not at all bothered by gambling, yes, sometimes I may be a little frustrated or anxious when watching the match I bet on, but just that. I also spent a good time in front of the computer during the Covid-19 quarantine and can relate to what you were feeling. I couldn't stand being in front of the computer, I couldn't let go and do something else, the stress is unbearable, especially if you're an anxious person like myself and stopped shortly after.

I don't think gambling can relate to that feeling, because people usually compare the two, you have the ability to control a lot of what's happening in order to have some peace of mind, something that you cannot do at trading.

Unfortunately, a large number of gamblers fall for this. Recouping your losses isn't a valid option when you're on a losing streak. Your emotions will get the best of you, and you'll eventually start making more and more reckless bets. The chances are, 9 out of 10, you're going to lose all your money in the process. The OP's approach is the wisest decision at this point: take a break, calm down, and don't be involved in gambling for a few days. Not only will it prevent you from losing more money, but it will also save your mental state and well-being, which is of outmost importance.

Overconfidence is your keyword here. That's the issue with "secured" or "guaranteed" bets; there's no such thing, and I believe we've all encountered something similar that was completely unexpected. The truth is, there are no guarantees when you're betting. I've been burned in the past; it's reasonable to feel mad or frustrated, but how well you control your reaction is up to you. Going as far as breaking stuff is a problematic and abusive behavior, which may have a deeper meaning as well, perhaps meaning a violent person or one who's unable to manage their feelings and themselves. And now what? $1.000 lost, and who knows how much more to replace the TV—something completely unnecessary.

I was about to say this; I don't want to basically repeat what others have already mentioned, so I'll share my experience with Chromebooks. I had an Acer one for a while, several years ago, after my desktop computer broke down and needed a quick replacement. However, at least in my case, you couldn't simply wipe out the hard drive; you had to take a screw off from somewhere in the laptop that would unlock the BIOS. I'm not sure if that's the case with yours, but I'm giving you a hint in case it doesn't let you install another operating system. Mine was like the cheapest laptop you could get, but it ran decently okay with Linux. It had an EMMC drive; yours likely has an SSD, so I'm guessing it'll have somewhat decent performance.

I don't know how safe it is to run a wallet on a Chromebook, even though it's possible according to previous posters, something I wasn't aware of, as its OS is basically the Chrome browser, so I personally wouldn't risk it myself. Thus, I would also recommend installing Linux and a wallet such as Electrum, as it seems like a safer environment.

Damn right, are they a scam? I am not exactly sure, but the odds are certainly not in your favor. God, these are awful machines. They have a worse grip than a newborn baby, and 9 out of 10 times when you pick something up, it'll fall right next to the exit latch. I've remembered them since childhood, and I don't recall ever winning anything. Can they be considered gambling? Certainly yes. Not all claw machines have stuffed animals inside; there are others that feature expensive devices, watches, electronics, or even cash prizes. There are even found in casinos, while they're spreading like a virus at almost every location.

That's right, not too much going on this weekend, I haven't checked the odds for Panathinaikos vs. Lamia but it's considered a secure bet, not one that'll yield any significant returns. Perhaps I'd go for OFI vs. Panserraikos, doesn't seem to be the safest option, but I think I'm willing to take my chances once again. Anyway, we'll see how that weekend progresses and look forward for the next one, hopefully, it'll be more interesting.