It will be difficult to have another bull run like 2017. But most technical analysis says there is not much space to go down anymore. So up is the only way. But I assume this time it will be more like a consistent growth rather than 20-30% increment overnight.

A good way could be use an exchange site to trade with other currencies. Such as you can trade your BTC with skrill, neteller, paypal, perfect money etc. There are several websites that does such trading. You can try http://bestchange.com, which gives a wide range of options. I have been using this to trade ETH/BTC with paypal/skrill for many months. Some of the exchanges listed here even requires KYC. I feel this is safer than dealing with a stranger!

I feel the word 'smart' should be removed from 'smart contract' as it does not make sense anymore. Let's put it as 'contract' which is a set of rules that is executed when certain conditions are met. In order to execute a contract or a portion of it, one need Ether. The contract lives in the blockchain, which is a public ledger and developed on blocks.

I think ripple is something that will never reach the moon like other crypto currencies. The fundamental economics of supply-demand is a big constraint for the price of ripple. But the sunny side is that the volatility is far less due to the price factor. So, if one has not invested crazily in xpr, there may be a good chance that you can make some steady (but little) money from it.

I beg to differ with the opinion that all ICOs are scam. Yes, there are some clever guys who want to make some quick money. Then they are assisted by some people who invest blindly with the hope that their money will grow 10 times in 10 days. So hyper expectation is a major reason for scams. I strongly believe there are still plenty of projects that are worthy of crowdfunding and have very bright  prospect. But the investors need to be picky. Do your research before investing, inquire the ability of the team- these little activities can make a safe investment with lesser chance of scams.

It is still too early for cryptocurrencies. And the user base is developed by two main groups: 1. techies who are enthusiasts and early adopters; 2. People who has some knowledge of asset trading and want to make some quick money. So, I think it is incredibly difficult at this point to involve common people into it. The price volatility of the crypto currencies is not for the faint of heart. But there will be a time when the dust will settle. Also, some crypto based real projects will be around at some point. So, I think for the time being there is not much to do other than spreading the word and building trust.

I want to know if the Argentine guy (thread starter) actually bought $10 worth bitcoin or not. If he bought, did he hold? And if he held, did he see btc where it is now today?