In order to achieve that, the alts must be able to exist independently from Bitcoin. That is not the case now. The altcoin exchange rates are directly linked to that of BTC. The alt-fiat trade is much lower in volume, when compared to the alt-BTC volumes. This itself reveals one of the major vulnerabilities of the altcoins.

I went with Ethereum, as it has established itself as a major competitor for Bitcoin. This is something which the other alts (such as Litecoin, Namecoin and Dogecoin) has failed to do. The Ether user-base is quite solid and loyal, and nowadays a lot of new websites and shops are coming up which accept ETH.

There is no doubt that Dogecoin is a major crypto-currency, as it is having a market cap of more than $400 million (the market cap increased by almost 2,000% during the last two months). I don't know how many crypto-exchanges list this coin, but I assume there are quite a few. 

The only difference between the Conservatives and the Labour party is that the former claims that they are against the European Union, while the latter is openly supportive of the EU. Other than this, there is hardly any divergence in their policies. Both of the parties support unlimited immigration from the Muslim nations, and both are in favor of increasing the welfare handouts.

I am feeling bad, as I had cashed out most of my coins a few months earlier, and that too at extremely low rates. I was disappointed with the stagnant exchange rates, and in the end lost my patience and dumped the coins. See how costly it turned out to be. Anyway, this particular incident taught me about the need to be patient.

In my opinion, Bitcoin is noway near the strongest currency in the world (the United States Dollar). Compare BTC with USD. The former is legal only in a handful of nations, while the latter is exclusively used for world trade and is considered as the reserve currency by most of the national treasuries. Also, in terms of market cap, BTC is much behind the USD.

When I first started collecting Bitcoins, I didn't expected that it would make me rich. I was collecting coins just for fun, and at that time the exchange rates were quite low and stable. I saw Bitcoin as a tool against the exploitation by the big bankers and the government. But after a few months, the exchange rates zoomed up and I cashed out a part of my stash.

Not only it is the first crypto-currency, it is also the popular crypto. None of the other altcoins can command an userbase which is more than 10% of that of Bitcoin. Also, tens of thousands of vendors accept Bitcoin, and there are hundreds of ATMs around which dispense BTCs. For any of the alts to reach this stage, it is going to take ages.

The rise of the other cryptos is like a bubble. Apart from one or two, all the others are going to become close to worthless in the near future. And their market caps are going to revert to Bitcoin. So by default, the exchange rate of Bitcoin may rise from the current $2,750 per coin to around $5,500 per coin very soon. And taking in to account the increase in demand, we can expect as much as $10,000 per coin by 2019 end.

The situation in the Philippines is much better than that in the European Union. In the EU, it is extremely difficult to prosecute the Islamist terrorists, due to the presence of the human rights lobby. Even suspected ISIS members were freed from jail, as the crimes were committed outside the EU. But in Philippines, they crack down upon the militants like anything.

Your post is quite confusing. Why should poor people buy things, which are not needed? They don't have enough money, and therefore they will be giving preference to basic necessities such as food and drinking water. How can you say that these things are not needed in everyday life? On the other hand, it is the rich who are more prone to purchase useless things.

Even with high fees, Bitcoin transactions usually takes 30 to 60 minutes depending on the new blocks being mined. And in this case, we should be talking about a scenario in which only the average transaction fee is paid. Because not everyone can afford to pay a very high tx fee. Also, if more users are willing to pay a higher fee, then the tx fee will increase even further.

He was probably referring to the banned drugs (narcotics), which are normally not available from the stores and pharmacies. And the main risk associated with purchasing illegal drugs from the deep web is that you need to provide your delivery address to the vendor. This puts you in risk from multiple sources. There is a chance that the vendor can blackmail you. Also, it is possible for the cops to trace you, using the address information.

The last time I purchased Bitcoins for fiat was way back in 2014. And if I remember correctly, the prices were like $600 per coin. After that, I had a quite frustrating time with BTC. At one point, the exchange rates came down all the way to $200 per coin. Now they are back to four-digits, but there is still a psychological barrier against buying Bitcoins using fiat.

2017 is a ground-breaking year for Bitcoin (and we still have 7 months to go). After 3 years of heartache and frustration, Bitcoin holders like me had a lot to cheer about, as the exchange rates zoomed by more than 1,000% during the past 12 months. I would be really happy if Bitcoin finishes above $3,000 per coin by the end of this year.

Apart from Bitcoin, I have a feeling that these huge market capitalizations are not sustainable. Look at the currencies such as Nemcoin and Stratis. They are having a market cap of $2 billion and $1 billion respectively. Does anyone really believes that these sort of market caps are justified? Even the market caps of Ether and Ripple seems quite inflated.

Agreed with that statement, but at the same time I have to chip in and say that the competition is getting more and more tough these days. Ether has managed to cross the $25 billion market cap. The market capitalization of Ripple now stands at $11 billion. Apart from Bitcoin, there are another 36 different crypto-currencies, which are having a market cap in excess of $100 million.

Well, you are free to decide upon a suitable gold:BTC ratio, as per your needs. If you can afford to take risk, then there is nothing wrong in giving a preference for Bitcoin. But from my experience, I would be more cautious. Earlier, I had invested in high risk investments, and in most of the cases I incurred very heavy losses. So I am a bit more careful this time.

Gold and Bitcoin makes a great combination. Gold is one of the least risky investments, and although the returns can be low, there is a good chance that you will never get a negative ROI. On the other hand, Bitcoin is an extremely risky investment, and no one can predict the future exchange rates. An ideal investment option would be 75% gold, and 25% BTC.

Set yourself a target, such as $2,975 or $2,995. Sell a part of your coin holdings once the target is achieved. Psychologically, it can be extremely difficult to sell the coins when the prices are on an upward trajectory. But remember the fact that the most intelligent investors are those who do profit booking at the right time.