Still and will always be profitable. Just depends on you whether if you will sell or patiently wait during this bearish days 'til the big spike comes. Remember that the value of your btc remains the same unless you convert it into fiat, that's the only time when you lose money. Just give btc more time to recover, maybe it will beat its ATH by the end of tbis year, who knows?

The bottomline, the profitability of your coin depends on your hands so always make the right choice. Good luck .

Google was always there buddy, you're just one click away from the answers of your question. Yeah! It's true that some articles found on the internet are hoax or have twisted infos but there are still sites that have a good credibility and you can rey on.
Here in our country, we are sure that using crypto don't lead us in any kind of trouble so researching regarding this issue is no longer needed (as of now). But when I want to get an update about the current status of crypto in our own community then I just visit this site: https://bitpinas.com/

No doubt that using famous celebrities is quite effective in advertising because of the charisma they possessed that's why other people tend to buy the product they advertised. But when it comes to crypto advertising, I think using Hollywood stars would not be totally effective. Instead, ICO developers should hire famous smart geeks in the industry to advertise their coin (for bitcoin as well) such as Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye. Another, they should prefer an informative TV commercial not a more persuasive one because I believe that if the audience was educated about the blockchain technology then their interest will suddenly grow from themselves naturally.

You're right but now let's talk related on crypto. Here are the usual things that I do to save btc as much as possible:
1. Buy on any dips and sell only when you meet your definition of "skyrocket". Sounds greedy yet effective for me.
2. Keep the "feeling contented" attitude. It's like that you should only use your crypto for providing your needs or for instance of emergency expenses only. Resist yourself to buy unnecessary wants.
Gambling works like a Wheel of Fortune which only depends on pure luck. This means that is not applicable for all particularly for those scared ones. Probably just risk-takers like can do this. Anyway, seems your own tip is working for you so congrats .

Hmm, if you really want to follow the forum's veterans then worry no more because you can easily distinguish them since their names are already quite popular here. Some good users are Quickseller, Vod, actmyname, jackg, nullius (with expert-like postings) and theymos of course.   

You've got a point somehow, I just disagree a little bit about the "10 merit" thing. Because for me, we don't have the right to discount every merit they have, whether few or many, it still matters and proves that they are not a trash.

Absolutely! And as long as there are peoples who are interested to crypto as a whole (not only to btc) then bounty programs will not end. Another thing is, this was a form of business somehow so why do they stop this? We knew that it was easy to make a token but very hard to advertise but if they succeed on advertising then the bright future is already coming. This will result to a hype which they can grab later to dump all of their shares (they got the highest shares for sure since they are the one who developed it) and get out the market. Hooh! Happy earnings .

And guess what? The one who suffers a lot from tbis pump-&dump system are the small investors who joined their ICO. I'm not saying that all ICOs have only intentions for their own good, I still believe that there are ones who got a vision and also taking care the welfare of their investors. The challenge is, how will you pick the right one?

Oh no! That was a terrible news for our Vietnamese crypto friends out there. I can't see any loopholes from this to be honest because I think using exchanges for converting crypto to fiat (Vietnames Dong) won't work because the bottomline, you are using crypto. Well, much safer if you will now stop using btc if that's the case or else you will be fined by a large amount of money, because if you insist and get caught, the profits you generated from crypto might be not enough to pay the fine — so inefficient.

Expert in what? In predicting? Then you're probably finding for a fortune teller's comments just kidding. Dude, bear in mind that no one can accurately predict the future outcomes of this volatile market even how expert he is in this field. Yeah! There is so called hypothesis which means a smart guess but still not enough source of basis.

Let's just patiently keep our eyes on the market to see what happens next. And since btc is currently soaring, being optimistic might help you too.

@OP - your question was not specific. Are we talking about initial sendable merits for each rank (which is newbie in this case) or not? If you are pertaining to the first one then the answer is No — you can't send merits to other members (read this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3342949.0). But if a particular newbie able to receive merits from his posts then he will also have smerits at the same time which he can use later.

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I wonder, is it effective for a single shill to make a significant hype for a particular coin/token? (because I don't think so) Or they come in groups?

Do you have any references to back up this conclusion, if yes then try put it in yout post for the sake of transparency. Dude this kind of statements create FUD somehow so you should be sure with this one because this was a sensitive issue.

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Well, if it's real that 80% of ICOs last 2017 are all scams then I must say that I'm lucky to invest in an ICO belonging to the remaining 20% . I invested on ETN and plan to hodl for a long time 'til it soars high.

Just one word, OUCH! I feel sorry for your loss dude but life goes on. With that amount, imagine the profit you supposed to generate after btc skyrocketed on December last year. That was huge enough to buy a new sports car like Chevy Camaro (I think so) . For sure that feels bad to the highest level.
Another Ouch again . It seems that 2017 is not your year (while the majority feels the opposite) dude. You bought at btc's ATH price then I guess you become stressed and frustrated 'til now due to bearish days. I know that it's not your intentions and only happened to you unexpectedly so I think the best thing you can do is to hodl whatever it takes because cutting of losses is not a practical option. It only expands the total losses you had.

Anyway, I just want to say that you're so courageous and that was admirable. You still choose to stay in the crypto market despite of the miseries you encountered.m .

This kind of fearless forecasts made me remebered all the times that I get easily influenced by flowery words of others and becoming too optimistic. Now I just realized how dumb I am before believing that btc can skyrockets instantly in a matter of short period of time lol.

At least now, everything has changed. I became more logical and more precise before believing to the news spreading around. 

There so many things that could happen within a year dude, bloodbaths, skyrockets and even stagnant events. It's very hard to predict since there is no pattern at all, relevance of this year's situation to last year's cannot be considered a pattern too because it might only be a coincidence. So my answer for your question is unpredictable, the only we can do is wait until it happens and cope with it.
Who knows? What happened last year was a kind of a roller coaster ride. China bans ICO then btc drops so hard reaching $4.3k+ , then recovered slowly 'til it skyrockets during last couple of months. See? Btc still manage to rise despite of the hardest times, what more in our current market where small dips only occured ?  I'm not saying that btc's good fortune was already secured this year but I believe that it never fails to surprise us. Just patiently wait.

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But remember, do not only depend on the happenings in the market. Be still a smart buyer-seller for every situation you are dealing with. It doesn't mean that you will earn profit becauase of bullish runs and loss a lot during bearish days, it still depends on your wit and strategy .

Very informative post my friend. May natutunan na naman ako ngayong araw which is about report badges (maybe I will do some further research later) .

Hmm, actually di naman ako pala report na tao. Sa halip na ireport sila, nagrereply na lang ako sa post nila at pinapayuhan about sa mistakes nila like posts placed in wrong boards, already existing thread etc. Kadalasan sa mga napapayuhan ko eh mga newbies which is understandable kasi baguhan pa nga. I don't want to ruin them and judge them as a whole for just a single mistake, besides I'm pretty sure na matututo rin naman sila after mapagsabihan .
 
Ang mga nirereport ko lang talaga eh yung masyado ng offensive like trolling, nonsense topic, and unnecessary advertisements. Here's a friendly reminder, wala namang masama magreport ng magreport but always make sure na talagang guilty of violating rules yung nireport mo and wag rin naman maghesitate to report if you smell something fishy on someone's post, don't worry kasi nirereview pa rin naman yan ng mga mods natin .

Anyway, there is an easy way to contribute in our forum at hindi mo na kailangang magreport pa — be an obedient quality poster at all times. That's it! Maaring di mo halata ang contribution mo pero it do matters a lot.

Veri coins? That's my first time to hear that alt. Going back to your question, the answer still depends on your capability of resisting the pain caused by down trends. If you can't hold it any longer then sell to cut your loss and if you still want to fight then keep hodling. But if I'm in your position, I will wait couple of months more and see whether btc skyrockets by this December. If it happens then probably its bullish run might influence my alt holdings to rise as well and that's the opportunity I will grab for selling.

At the end of the day, you will be the only one who will make the decision. We're just here to share our opinions only based on our own points of view. So good luck.

I'm glad that someone, and take note of its big name in the industry, also agreed that mobile wallets can be considered as the safest way of storing crypto because that's what I've been thinking of all the way. Yeah! Some of you might disagree and still go in the favor of cold storage (it does) but when it comes to storing only few coins then not bad to use mobile wallets since they are more practical and convenient.

if you are willing to take risk then invest but make sure that you're preapared when the worst got happened. If not, then do not. As simple as that .

But in my opinion, I think you are not yet emotionally fit for this because it seems that your fear conquers you easily. I'm just scared that maybe you will just panic again and sell your assets despite of the red flags — in short, LOSSES. So to avoid bad things to happen, much better if you will not invest 'til you found the courage lies within yourself. We are playing in a risky playground so be careful and watch your move .

Yeah! Not only eradicating the shitposters but also having more intellectual people was a big help to further improve the status of our forum. Anyway, being intellect doesn't mean you should become a genius or a crypto technical expert first; just becoming a decent, obedient, and determined knowledge-seeker is already enough to be qualified here (IMO).

Quality standards should be maintained inside the forum because I'm pretty sure that nobody wants this beloved place of ours be filled with trash-like users, right?
Of course, that's what I always do every time I'm not well knowledged regarding the topic. But when I feel that a little search will not be enough to reply then I refuse to do so because pushing my luck might result to a spam which will be criticized later by the other members. I don't want it to happen.

Always what? Greater than? (I guess so). Anyway, I already get your point .

In my opinion, signature campaigns have a bigger reward compare to social media campaigns because it provides heavier load of work since you are creating posts meticulously compare to social media campaigns where all you have to do is to share and put hashtag sometimes. The conclusion, the harder the work, the higher the reward.

And because of this one, sir KobbyC nailed it.
For example, as a teacher, there's a greater chance of educating people even only from a bunch of interested listeners compare to a crowd of uninterested ones. I know there's a saying that "Every drop counts" but quantity doesn't matters the most all the time.

Yup! Sad to say, technological breakthrough are now used by evil ones to have a smoother and more efficient way of scamming people. Here is an example which recently happened in our country: http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/04/10/bitcoin-scam-pnp.html . We, good crypto investors, are just lucky since our government didn't pass a strict regulation or even a ban as a form of precaution after this happened. I hope this kind of things will not happen again because I'm really threatened 'til now .