Based on the charts in the OP it looks like velocity is reduced as price increases so it's more of a hodl coin which makes sense. LN adoption (esp with Strike) might change this completely so it's good to also look at different charts.

Bytetree charts indicate that bitcoin velocity is currently around 300% over a 12 month period which means bitcoin moves 3 times per year. However this time last year it spiked to 1000%!

https://terminal.bytetree.com/bitcoin/charts

As we're in a bear market (hopefully end stages) it won't be a rosy picture, but when the SEC FUD blows over and retail comes back we will hopefully see more positive movement

Rather than change the forum you can just enable it in the browser. Plenty of extensions out there, here is an example:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dark-mode/dmghijelimhndkbmpgbldicpogfkceaj

Quick and easy, and you can just find one that suits

There is no need to risk even small money as a newbie, for experience it is better to use a demo trading account. Once you are confident in making profitable trades, then you can use your spare money.

More info on demo accounts here:  https://beincrypto.com/learn/crypto-demo-accounts/

Merit's shouldn't be hoarded because new users might think that getting merit is an impossible task and give up on Bitcointalk completely. Onboarding newbies should be prioritised as crypto needs new money to keep the markets going. Those that have been in the game for a while might be either cashing out their profits, or been liquidated with nothing left to buy!

Would be interesting to see charts of how many daily posts this forum gets as a trend line over the last few years. Increasing popularity or decreasing?

Rather than stake you can also try yield farming or loaning Matic instead for better rates. AAVE is the most popular choice and here is a guide for you to follow:

https://polygon.technology/blog/how-to-yield-farm-with-aave-on-polygon

If you want to chat over the blockchain using a trusted system then try Neo Chat. It's an old school coin that has been around a long time, and it works with NEO name service. It was once called the Chinese Ethereum so worth a look

https://neonewstoday.com/development/neo-releases-neochat-an-end-to-end-encrypted-chat-service-with-neons-integration/

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Is the OP really Capo?!

To be fair it does look like a bear flag, but thankfully we never got to those lows points again. Up season is hopefully approaching soon!

After experiencing a few green months in a row we can expect a red one sooner or later. Perhaps May will be the red one, but it feels like this bear market is lasting forever so if we get another green one then i'd certainly be happy. So far, it's not looking too good! but inflation data is better than expected i think we might see some signs of life

We can see from the logarithmic curve that we are experiencing diminishing returns. I think it will always have an effect but a lesser one over time. The only way to counter this theory is for bitcoin to pump well into the 6 figure number at some point next year, keeping an eye on the stock to flow model just in case

I believe it has a positive impact. The variety of coins makes crypto more appealing to the masses, especially all of these Meme coins. A lot of retail won't get into bitcoin, but they will buy Doge or PEPE. Eventually as they learn more they will switch to bitcoin but alts are needed to lead them to the king

Great list but looks like 1 very important person is missing. Any place for the founder Satoshi?

No longer active but would be good to see the name somewhere

I guess it would be the same way you got cardano in the first place? Can't get it from anywhere other than an exchange, unless a kind person gives you some P2P. Can't get it from your local bank so just use the same exchange and process you used before

When you read about the success stories with meme coins it's hard not to take a punt and gamble a bit. The variety is a big draw as well, so many altcoins to choose from. I'd say it's mostly gamblers than pro investors, especially during this meme season

If you wanted to make money to buy a new car, why not get a job and just put your salary into bitcoin?! I'm sure that a few successful trades would help you on your way. Just avoid leverage trading and sh#tcoins, and you'll get there in no time

Inventors are not known for their business acumen. It goes to show how much more important marketing is than just creating a product. I guess that is why memecoins are currently out pacing solid projects that have had years of hard work and collaborations just to survive.

They should have been restricted anyway in all countries, then we wouldn't get the debacle with Luna and their nonsensical algorithm. Maybe they will release a good stable coin that actually is backed by something solid and equally stable

If you've got $50k then you can stake it in a high APY crypto project and just live off the earnings. But as more people join APY will drop so keep an eye on it. Without massive investment you'll have to try your luck at trading, but you'll probably just end up losing $50 / day instead!

Is it too much or too little regulation that caused the bankruptcy? Too little means they can face liquidity problems, and unhappy customers. However, too much will discourage new customers to join. I think it's the latter, US regs are causing exchanges to leave in droves. Go to Hong Kong, they welcome crypto companies with open arms

For upgrades you should looks at what Litecoin is doing, normally it happens there first like a beta test - then it gets added to bitcoin. Latest there is Mimblewimble, but i doubt it will hit bitcoin. Some exchanges dislike the privacy aspect but we should see how it goes for LTC first.

I think MEXC is the most popular now, along with Kucoin. However, i doubt it will stay that way for long and most successful exchanges are now asking for KYC. Bybit was a very successful non-kyc exchange but that has now changed. Keep minimal assets on the exchange just in case they require it without warning