Well, in my country bitcoin is not yet recognized as money or a currency. Bitcoin does not have legal tender. It is actually considered as property - just like labor. I guess it would depend on the jurisdiction or law of your country. It may be possible for other countries to have different recognitions on bitcoin or crypto. If this were the case, then theft or robbery may apply differently as well. The current recognition of bitcoin in my country may not constitute to theft or robbery as well.

This is important. A lot of first time investors panic immediately when the price drops even just a little bit. Expect this to happen because it’s normal for the price to frequently go up and down. Also, don’t be too excited when the price goes up as well. Some first timers sell immediately also when the price goes up just a little — and they regret when it goes up even more right after. Try studying the price charts so that you may make a close enough prediction.

I’d like to warn OP that there is risk in investment and there’s a chance for you to lose your savings. Bitcoin has the potential to grow and increase in value in the future but it is also risky.

In trading, you win some you lose some. The price is always unpredictable and it is bound to frequently go up and down.

There are some coins which are suitable for long term. With the upcoming forks, its hard to tell what would happen with the price. Learn from your losses and just continue to hold the coins you have left. Its price is bound to recover in the future. Instead of buying some BCG - I still think that a better investment is bitcoin. This is ideal for long term.

You may say that it is political in the sense that there are attempts to have some control and power over it. Bitcoin is involved in politics because activities are done in order to gain control and much of it are being done involving bitcoin and the cryptoworld. There is the presence of whales and other corrupt influential users who want to make the most profit by manipulating the market. It's not surprising that there is such a presence because in anything which has power is given interest by those who are greedy.

There are other ways of earning bitcoin - buying and holding is simply one of the most efficient and profitable ways. Also, it requires the least work. You may also be involved in trading if you are interested in buying other coins.

As mentioned by others, participating in a signature campaign enables you to earn bitcoin on a weekly basis. You may also offer some of your services in this forum and be paid in BTC. If you have other skills, there are some freelance jobs that pay in the form of BTC. Jobs such as programming and graphic design are just some of the few in demand jobs that are paid in bitcoin.

For all we know, anything may happen to the price. It may drop drastically at any day. The bitcoin price is very unpredictable and it may go up or down all of a sudden at any time. Most of the time, I am still surprised by the trend and price increase even if I make speculations or have expectations. Personally, I don't think that the price would go down as low as $5000 even with the fork. The price will definitely go down but not as low. It is expected for their to be a price correction after the continuous price rise.

I would like to agree. You may have allocated your investment nicely but as said, it would be too risky for you to use up all your savings. The coins you plan on investing on have good potential however cryptocurrencies are very risky. There is a risk in investment and trading - a risk of losing all your savings. Are you prepared for that? It would be best to set aside some in case of a rainy day because you can never tell whether a day like that may come or other emergencies. Only invest the money which you could afford to lose.

I would like to salute OP for being able to juggle between a full time job and managing a portfolio. There's no doubt that you're having a hard time managing both because it takes up a lot of your time.

This is the most ideal - going for long term. You wouldn't have to monitor every now and then if this were the case. You would be able to dedicate most of your time to your full job even with a long term investment because you wouldn't have to check daily. Research on which coins to buy that are good for long term investment; that way, you wouldn't have buy and sell every now and then.

It would be normal to experience a price dip or price correction every now and then especially when the price gets too high. The whales would make some actions so that the price would go down and people can buy. With this kind of trend, people are unable to buy bitcoin. As compared to before, there is more demand for bitcoin because it has been gaining popularity this 2017.

It is then quite possible for there to be a price drop after the fork however I don't expect it to drop too low. Bitcoin has been continuing to grow and it will remain strong until the end of the year.

That is true. Bitcoin is on the path towards being mainstream as social media has been shining some spotlight over bitcoin. There have been more advertisements about it and it's being talked about more in the public. Business and financial sectors have been giving it some notice and they've been sharing their opinions about it. It's no longer just an unfamiliar term around the corner.

I don't it would be mandatory for their to be interest on Bitcoin. It's still far from being the only one currency. It may exist coinciding with other currencies.

Acquisition of huge amounts of bitcoin would definitely affect supply and demand but then for this to happen it would take much time and money. The best part about bitcoin's decentralized nature is the lack of any control or regulation over bitcoin.

Governments may try to impose taxes on bitcoin transactions in order to generate revenue and protect the interest of the citizens. They may make some regulations such as limited bitcoin holdings or transactions to be made. The CIA may be already trying to intervene with bitcoin transactions already for as much as we know.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if the prince of Saudi Arabia thinks that the bitcoin will collapse then he can say so. It does not necessarily mean anything nor should we be too affected by it. He may have power and influence due to his title but his statement does change any facts. Bitcoin will collapse for different, and not because of the statement of a influential person. Anyone else can say the same thing but bitcoin will remain as it is.

Banks always find huge or 'unusual' amounts of money to be suspicious because they are wary of money laundering and illegally smuggled money. They have many security measures and make sure that everything is clean. I agree that the system may have not recognized it and assumed it to be as fraudulent. Since most banks are not aware or are not familiar with bitcoin transactions, this made them question the 'unusual amount'. Even if it were recognized as legal in the country, banks should adopt to the increasing number of btc transactions. I think they should partner with bitcoin services so as to cater the bitcoin users. There will be more and more bitcoin users and banks should keep up with the times.

Same here. It would be convenient if bitcoin as a payment were to be available in my country.

In light with this, I am happy to say that the popularity for bitcoin has been increasing here in my country. It's still not mainstream, yet it's no longer just an unfamiliar term for most. It's been gaining some attention by the business and financial sector, and I've been seeing it all over social media. Just recently, I saw a news article from our local news website.

Bitcoin still has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream - it'll even experience some road bumps along the way but it is definitely on the road towards becoming mainstream.

I have never heard trading to be easy but you may profit handsomely if you are able to invest wisely.

It is good to research first before making an investment and choosing a coin. There are some coins out there that are good and ideal for short term or long term trading. Most look into the dev team, whitepaper and popularity of an ICO to determine the success of the coin or project. Some look into the reviews or reactions from the other altcoin buyers. Just be very wary because some scams have professional looking ICOs and are very enticing. From these, you will be able to tell the potential of a coin.

Exactly my thoughts. I've been hearing that bitcoin is a bubble over and over again yet it remains to be strong. Indicators such as the massive surge of price increase and the volatility of bitcoin has suggested that bitcoin is a bubble. True, the price increase has been ridiculous especially for this year but it cannot be said that bitcoin is a bubble.

Also, just because the price goes down a bit, it does not mean that it will fall or the 'bubble' is about to burst. It's normal to experience some price corrections especially after a rise. Bitcoin will experience some dips but in the long run, it's price will just continue to rise.

Just as with IPOs, there should also be regulations for ICOs because generally they are similar. It should be imposed so as to have some control and to avoid frauds and scams. Also, if licenses were issued it would encourage the investors because it would contribute to the legitimacy of an ICO. However, most jurisdictions have not made any specifications in their law because it may not be recognized yet. Some countries may not even recognized the presence of it.

At this point, anything is possible. But as said, it is highly unlikely for it to happen. Defying odds is an appropriate term because most have not expected the price to be where it is right now. It is normal for their to be price correction because of the rise we are experiencing but it does not necessarily mean that it will fall to $2000 before the end of the year. Bitcoin has remained to be strong throughout the forks and FUDs it has experienced. Most of the users are confident that it will even rise by the end of 2017.

That's true. The early bitcoin adopters are now new rich people because of bitcoin. I'm amazed of some people I know who were able to buy bitcoin back when it had a much lower price and now they showed me their wallet which contained about more than triple it's price. He could buy a new house and car with the balance in his wallet. Keeping some bitcoin will definitely enable one to profit and gain much more in the future.

Bitcoin is open to anyone and may be accessed so long as there is internet.

I did not even expect it to reach $6000 before the fork so anything may be possible at this point. Since it has been increasing these past weeks, we may expect there to be a dump or a price correction soon - I’m not quite sure whether would be before or after the fork. It is hard to tell and predict what may happen before or during the fork but I agree that we will most likely hit $7K after the fork or even higher.