I agree.  Diversification is a must.  My personal advice is to look at coins in terms of their YTD percentage increases, pick some that you believe have continued potential to grow, and invest in those in a prudent weighting.  Bitcoin will likely come out at the top of your list, but it shouldn't be the only pick.

Also save some amount to invest in ICO or young altcoins that have growth potential.

Another idea is to cost average your way into the coins, investing a fixed amount every month (or week, etc.).  That way you even out the volatility to some extent.

But most certainly keep your eye on any investments you make.  And be prepared with appropriate exchange accounts (and backups from different exchanges).  Eliminate a single point of failure in getting in or out of any position.

Good luck!

Well well well... looks like European regulators are looking into possible market manipulation: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-09-21/jamie-dimon-faces-market-abuse-claim-over-false-misleading-bitcoin-comments

This is a good quote from the story:

I am also concerned about the fork.  Worst possible time to have this type of uncertainty (not that any time would be great).  But things feel like we are right on the cusp of much wider mainstream knowledge/acceptance of BTC.  This fork, and even the continuing prospect of it occurring, could screw that all up by creating FUD.

I hope there is contingency planning going on somewhere.  Haven't checked out the listservs or reddit.

While not completely anonymous, it is considerably more difficult to trace than, say, a bank wire or a "drop point" exchange of USD or other currency would be.

Plus, it's digital.  No need to have the logistics of establishing a bank account or scoping out a drop point.

But those bad uses of Bitcoin do NOT outweigh the benefits.  When I hear "terrorists are using BTC", or "North Korea is using BTC", or "drug traffickers are using BTC"... just remember, they're all using many more USD.

Just about any tool can be used for good or evil.

The CEO of one of the world's largest banks calling Bitcoin a fraud is like the Post Office calling email a fraud.

It threatens their existence in a way that nothing ever could before.

Technology can be like that sometimes.

Adapt or die.

They won't go down easily, they've had control over societies for thousands of years.

And honestly, in the end, they will adapt.  But they will be very different than they are today and change is scary for many.

IMO, blockchain technology does have much wider use cases than just Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.  But yes, a non-crypto investment vehicle that utilizes blockchain is limited at this time.

Never invest money that would kill you if it were to be lost/diminished in value greatly.

Not that I expect Bitcoin to go that way, but always be prudent as an investor.

And diversify.  Don't throw all your money after any one single asset or asset class.

(P.S. None of this is actual "investment advice".  You need to consult a licensed professional for that.)

I regret having installed version 0.5.1 of Bitcoin over Christmas in 2011, made a few wallets, visited some faucets (that paid a LOT more back then, don't remember exactly how much but I think I had a few hundred BTC), sent money back and forth from wallet to wallet.  I think I even did a little CPU mining.  Thought it was very cool, but would never amount to anything.  Or if it did that it would be outlawed.  So, formatted my drive maybe 6 months later and never thought about it again.

Ha, if I had only known.

This is why, now, I save every altcoin I get, no matter how worthless it seems today in 2017.  Six years later, it might just be worth something.  You just never know.

Everyone is talking about Bitcoin, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and all the rest.  It's been all over the financial news I follow (not crypto-specific).  It's making waves in all kind of circles.  People are really starting to get it!

It's exciting to hear others validate blockchain as a transformative technology -- perhaps the most amazing in the past 50 years!  It's amazing to hear people predicting the value of BTC to reach absolutely astounding amounts -- comparing the total amount of currency in the world and extrapolating that sum on the ~21,000,000 BTC that will be created.  I'm not really sure I believe those price forecasts, but I absolutely believe the sky is the limit and that people are really starting to realize the power of these technologies to transform our world.

It's such a great feeling!

I want this to work because the commission that Google/Apple charge for in-app purchases is outrageous.  Charging that commission for paid apps is bad enough, but in-app purchases too?

My concern is that Google/Apple will start pulling apps that use this payment system.  If they won't, this project has enormous potential.

My concern with ETH token ICOs is the added degree of centralization that relying on the ETH infrastructure/governance entails.  Consensus decisions could be made outside of your control that have an impact on the viability of your token.  I'd rather see a ETH fork, honestly, than something built directly on the ETH IX.  At least them you control decision making fully regarding your token.

I do recognize that it's more complicated to do that, though.

How would you describe the job description of a good bounty manager?

I've seen quite a variance in what people expect of that position.  I'd be interested to know what you and others think the job should entail (ideally).

Never say never.  Even a fully launched project could be on the way down the tubes.  ICO funding won't always save such a project, though in some cases it could.

1. Potential of their concept.  If it's unique, that's great, but it has to be something that has a market/need.  If it's not unique, I want to know why it's better than the others in the space.

2. Financials.  I want to make sure that the costs are reasonable, both for the coin/token at ICO price, as well as the budget forecast to build out/invest in growth.  Reviewing business proposals for a living, I'd rather see a higher budget that takes into account uncertainty than a low budget that doesn't get the project to the finish line.  That said, there are limits to high-balling it.  It's a judgement call based on the project and my own experience in building out businesses.  I want to see compensation amounts for the team that are reasonable, both for any pre-market time as well as eventual release of any set-aside currency for the team.  I'd much rather see currency set-aside for the business itself than for the founders, though I recognize that some reward to them is warranted.

3. Engagement.  I want to see engagement with the community.  I'd rather fund projects at the pre-ICO stage that are active, engaged, and seeking to build a team and better their concept than a project with a full team but limited interaction by at least some members of that team with the wider community.

The quality of their website is not as important to me as the details of their concept and its potential.  Many people with great ideas are not web designers.  They can get those when they have some seed funding.

Say it ain't so, Jamie?  Lol

When it is spread that thinly, do you think additional decimals of precision will need to be added?

Corrections are a healthy way for markets to consolidate at a new floor and launch another leg up.  The action by the Chinese central bank is causing their exchanges to have to either close or remove fiat conversion.  This, in turn, causes a large amount of liquidation which increases the supply of BTC.

From what I understand there's somewhere around a 15-20% discount in BTC value on Chinese exchanges right now.  This will settle out.

Glad that enough people see through it.

I don't think he cares about small investors in BTC, he's trying to scare away large institutional investors.  Granted, the amount of volatility at present is a cause for many of them to not get involved to begin with, but I am aware of a couple sizable investors with a toe in the water position in BTC.

He wants to nip that in the bud.

I agree.  Along with the cohesiveness of the community behind it, and especially the developers.

Just as the blockchain secures the units of coin encoded on it, the community serves as a type of blockchain to keep the project in a focused and positive direction.  Everyone heard about Bitcoin from someone, and anyone active stays updated on news, etc., and many use this and other forums.

Keeping any cryptocurrency "alive" without a critical mass of users all pulling together in more or less the same direction would be much more difficult and the probability of maintaining it in that state would diminish over time.

In my view, anyway.

After all, the value of any currency is based on supply and demand dynamics which ultimately come down to a perception of value of that currency, as well as trust in its resilience.

JP Morgan & Co. has built a financial empire mastering the art of doing exactly this.  So much so that when they do get caught, they can settle for paying fines that equal an extremely small fraction of their ill gotten gains.

They say what they say to drive the market.