I was having a conversation with a good buddy about this just a day or two ago.  I've also been preaching about this topic for about a decade at this point...bitcoin and gold are far from the same thing, lumping the two together really just doesn't make sense.  Gold is used for a lot of "real world" things such as for electronics, automobiles and jewelry.  It's a precious metal, where bitcoin is an electronic payment system.  Comparing the two or expecting bitcoin to catch up with golds "capitalization" I think just shows how too many people still see bitcoin as a gold replacement, which it's just not.

I appreciate all the replies.  I didn't expect for this thread to get so much attention but I'm glad it has since this is a very serious topic in my humble opinion, and I just see too many members coming and divulging such private information so frequently.  Hopefully this thread is a good lesson for some. 

I've also seen a couple people mention Andreas...again, if you aren't familiar with the work Andreas has done for bitcoin I HIGHLY recommend checking it out. 


Lol that's a pretty good response, I plan on using this going forward.


Lol, I know, it's just funny how people think and how uneducated so many are.  It's a reminder that people simply don't take the time to learn things, no matter how "goofy" or "wizardly" like things may seem to them.

The one positive if you can call it that with the season being over is indeed the fact that the Bears have the #1 overall pick in the draft, the #9 pick and POTENTIALLY another 1st or 2nd round pick when they trade Justin Fields.  If for some reason the Bears do not pick Caleb Williams at 1, I swear to god I'm done as a Bears fan.  I can't take it anymore and despite all these Justin Fields supporters, Caleb is the right answer 

Soo.... it's an exciting time as a Bear fan. 

I will legit give the XFL league deal a chance as well.  Anyone know any big names in the league off the top of their head?

I can't believe that the NBA All-Star Weekend is already upon us.  It just feels crazy how fast time is flying by this NBA season.  I've enjoyed the first half, other than the ugly job my own team is doing (Chicago Bulls).  Now sitting at 26-28 on the year..they are still the NBA's most popular team in terms of ticket sales.  I mean this is crazy to me, and also goes to show why they suck and will likely continue to suck and make NO MOVES before the trade deadline like they should have..when you sell more tickets than any other team, where is the motivation to do thing differently?  Just disgusts me.

I harp about this all the time, and I probably wont stop..but I think it's an important topic and distinction that needs to be made here.  AI does not exist, yet.  This is simply advanced programming.  There's no artificial learning going on here.  The programs are human made and controlled, they are programs that often use a "mash-up" of data, organize it and then spit it back out.  This type of tech would be utilizing tech we already have.

If you don't believe me or agree, don't take my word for it- https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-artificial-intelligence/there-is-no-ai

This is awesome, thanks for sharing! A big thing Hhampuz and I were talking about during the Super Bowl on Sunday was when we were going to see some sort of bitcoin or cryptocurrency commercial.  A group of us were chatting about it and we thought at the very least there would be a commercial for one of the new bitcoin ETFs.  As far as I know, unless anyone else saw something different, there weren't any crypto related commercials at all.  Was a bit disappointing.

I just wanted to share a piece of advice that I learned early on from Andreas Antonopoulos (if you don't know whom this is, I highly recommend looking up his YouTube page and watching his videos and or reading his book Mastering Bitcoin) never tell anyone how much bitcoin you have.  Andreas use to say it's not our job to teach everyone we know about bitcoin, letting them know we own some "Let that be my job" he would say.

I see so many people that come around here sharing how much bitcoin they own...don't.  Just like any of your finances such as your portfolio or how much your annual salary is..it's no one's business but your own.  Being transparent about these things can be harmful to you in a multitude of ways.  As an advisor this is something I tell my clients all the time.  Your financial info is private and should always remain that way.  I hate these new social media trends where people walk up to strangers on the street and ask things like "how much do you pay in rent" or "how much money do you make a year"...ignore them!

I've never bet anything so large that I would end up in a much worse position than I started in.  I know serious gamblers, or more so professional gamblers, which I think is the more appropriate word, tend to take such large risks, but it's part of their game/job and it's just how they have to bet to make it work as a career.  This is why unless you're that, I just wouldn't ever recommend doing something of this nature.

It's just the psychology of it all.  I swear the same thing seemingly happens to me all the time.  I always feel so confident during the NFL season , but I normally just make small bets.  I never get "in over my ski's", so to speak.  Then when it comes to actually putting down some sizable money on games, I swear I always lose.  Despite the past weekend where I got a nice win for the Super Bowl, otherwise, I feel ya.

What a game! So at halftime I was one grumpy sob.  I thought the game started at 6, so I ran some quick errands and I didn't get home until probably 4-5mns in to the game.  I was furious that I missed the Deadpool trailer.  I really wanted to see that live.  Wasn't so bad when I learned it was a short version and the full trailer was on YT (looks awesome btw).  Then Ushers performance on top of a bad game had me moody.  Second have changed all that of course.  What a game.  Mahomes is officially hands down undisputed IMO, the second best to ever play the game.  Even with all that lack of talent on offense, he comes through.

I had like $125 in squares that went bust ( @hueristic, man sorry about the OT.  You had that 4th qtr square otherwise ).  Then I put down whatever was left in my account on the Chiefs ML.  Had me sweating but came out on top. 

Now sets in my deep depression and the long wait until next year 

Winning bid. That fumble just reminded me I fumbled and forgot about this auction lol. Incognito will message you tomorrow to finalize everything.

Enjoy the game yall !

Little over 1 hour left



High Bid

Bump- roughly 1 day left.

Why doesn anyone borrow money when they have the money to pay for something? It's always better to use someone elses money, even if it comes at a cost, as long as that cost can me made up for.  For example I'm getting ready to buy a new car.  I could pay that car off, but I wont because if I take a loan (with a 20% down payment and excellent credit) I will be able to invest the difference, make up for the interest % charge and then some by investing the difference.  This is why.. that way there's money to invest or buy other goods and or services while also continuing to use it for investment purposes.

Please don't tell people how much money you make or even that you own bitcoin if you can't help it.  It's no one else's business but your own and that kind of information should be kept private. 

I want to say congrats though on the new job!  Just make sure you're well diversified ( no matter what anyone here says, remember they most likely aren't licensed financial professionals) and you understand that your bitcoin balance can highly fluctuate, up or down. 

You've got plenty of advice here already but I'm a fan of Trezor, Cold Cards, Jade and I guess BitBox wallets are pretty legit too.

I was just having this conversation with a client earlier today.  As an advisor I'm constantly telling my clients to use Credit Unions over the big banks (JP Morgan Chase/Bank of America/Wells Fargo etc).  Credit Unions are owned by their own members, therefor they aren't controlled by public stock boards (overlords) and the management team trying to make them happy at any cost.

If you're looking for a bank go credit unions and online banks such as Ally.com.  Ally has a 4.35% interest rate on its savings account (no minimums etc).  Chase and Bank of Americas interest rate on savings accounts... .01%.  FUCK big banks.

So if you want to buy bitcoin through an ETF and looking to set up an IRA or brokerage account through an advisor, go to an independent firm like Raymond James or Edward Jones (at least here in the United states).

If anyone ever has questions regarding finance, I'm happy to help.  It's what I do for a living and enjoy helping others (I will never ask for anything in return).

You sent us an NFL NFT like earlier in the year or last year right? I'm pretty sure I threw one of my counter party addy's to you, will need to double check.


Lol that's funny..Imagine if you did purchase super bowl tickets last year for 2500 hundo.  I'm not sure if you can actually do this without knowing whos playing (maybe possible as a season ticket holder, and simply get your funds back if the team doesnt make it?).  Anyways, what an ROI that would be.  The profit from the sale would pay for the wedding and honeymoon damn near.  It's crazy how much swifties are impacting the NFL.  It's just crazy period, of course.  I know a lot of US citizens are actually booking trips over season to see Taylor as even with international flight, hotel, tickets etc it's often still less expensive than ticket prices here alone are.  I just don't get it, but I'm happy for her.  She does truly seems like a good human being and that's what matters (well that and over shadowing the scummy Kardashians for most popular pop culture figures on the planet just tickles my fancy like no other).

The answer to this question is mostly likely not.  It comes down to the age old saying "if there's a will, there's a way".  People that addicted to gambling are going to find ways to gamble no matter what.  If their accounts are frozen they'll simply open new ones (maybe us a VPN) or just go to different gambling outlets.  Let's say they magically got banned from using the internet, then they'd just find places IRL offline.

If you're newer to bitcoin / cryptocurrency and would like to join a course/workshop, I know that Andreas Antonopoulos is currently offering a course- https://aantonop.com/workshops/introduction-to-bitcoin-and-open-blockchains/

"Learn the basics of Bitcoin and Open Blockchains from industry expert Andreas M. Antonopoulos. In this course Andreas will walk you through what Bitcoin is, explain how to get and use bitcoin, how the bitcoin price is derived, the transaction timeline and more. While this course is not a prerequisite for any of the other workshops courses, it is designed to give you a solid foundation of understanding for your open blockchain learning.

As with all Pragma Workshops, this course focuses on practical skills training and includes activities like quizzes and/or supplemental materials in every lesson".

Andreas is the number one person who's taught myself about bitcoin and it's inner workings.  He's helped countless people do the same.  IMO there might be no better one person to learn from than Andreas, so definitely worth looking in to IMO.

So I would assume that your 401k has a brokerage account option that allows you to invest in funds that are not offered by the plan its self, correct?  Otherwise I highly doubt that any 401k/403b/457b etc would have any sort of Bitcoin ETF available inside the plan itself. 

I'm curious of the parameters that surround utilizing this brokerage account in connection with your 401k..are you paying a fee for it?