I see too much optimism in this forum, so I expect lower returns in the near future.
So the sentiment in 2012 was that everyone was too optimistic? I have a feeling they would have jumped all over people that said that the price would be around $800 at the end of 2013!
But with the price around $13, compared the beginning of 2012 perhaps they were encouraged? Just wanting to see what the feeling was like then.
A year is perhaps too long ago in the Bitcoin world to remember.
Many were expecting a large price jump when the block reward halved. That happened in November 2012 but price didn't respond as expected. So sentiment wasn't all that strong.
Most of the speculation centered on how rich everyone with pre-orders of BFL gear would get in '2 weeks' when their toys shipped.
I didn't pay much attention to the forum in that time period. I was busy operating the FPGA farm I bought knowing that Josh and BFL were frauds.
So it was kind of like the "Wild West" of Bitcoin back then?
BitChicksHusband was laughing this week when a friend of his at work said that he thought Coinbase.com looked a little "Shady."
We started out putting funds using cash directly into a bank account for Bitfloor at BofA. Now that was shady!
They were the cheapest coins we ever got though!
It's still the wild west. But the Pinkertons and maybe even some US Marshals are starting to work up the nerve to show their faces.
The first half of 2012 was insane. You had thieves like Pirateat40, GigaVPS, BurtW etc., treated as heroes. What wasn't being stolen by Ponzi schemes was being robbed blind in 'mining bonds' priced like perpetual annuities. BFL raised several million dollars for their vapor-ware solely on a reputation for delivering a handful of FPGAs months after they had promised.
Nefario was letting any shyster list a company on his 'stock exchange' for a few BTC. I don't think he even required ID.
Bitfloor was bankrupt after losing 25000 bitcoin in a 'hack'. Roman didn't even bother to leave the parties at the London conference to handle the outcome.
And people actually continued to do business with him!Fun times. But you needed a firm grip on your wallet.