Investing?

[btcandme]

Guys, I am new here, and considering investing a nice chunk of my portfolio (10-20%) in bitcoin. I have several questions:

#1 How does the government treat BTC gains tax wise?  Are there rules in effect?  Are capital gains the same as a stock sale?
#2 Whats the best method to go about buying bitcoin in the US?  Coinbase, or is there a cheaper marketmaker?
#3 Has anyone tried doing technical analysis on BTC prices, and if so has it worked?

[Faince1985]

Guys, I am new here, and considering investing a nice chunk of my portfolio (10-20%) in bitcoin. I have several questions:

#1 How does the government treat BTC gains tax wise?  Are there rules in effect?  Are capital gains the same as a stock sale?
#2 Whats the best method to go about buying bitcoin in the US?  Coinbase, or is there a cheaper marketmaker?
#3 Has anyone tried doing technical analysis on BTC prices, and if so has it worked?

There are some tax rules but I am not sure about the values. It shouldn't be considered a currency legally so asking your legal advisor might be better.
Coinbase is the largest and might be the most comfortable if you are located in the US. Bitstamp might also work but you need to do your own investigations.

[SemiMolten]

Guys, I am new here, and considering investing a nice chunk of my portfolio (10-20%) in bitcoin. I have several questions:

#1 How does the government treat BTC gains tax wise?  Are there rules in effect?  Are capital gains the same as a stock sale?
#2 Whats the best method to go about buying bitcoin in the US?  Coinbase, or is there a cheaper marketmaker?
#3 Has anyone tried doing technical analysis on BTC prices, and if so has it worked?

1) Different government treat BTC differently. You should check with your lawyer to make sure that it is legal to use it there.
2) Personally, I feel that Coinbase is pretty good. They have good customer service, got my issues solved fast.
3) not sure

[wearepoor]

#2 Whats the best method to go about buying bitcoin in the US?  Coinbase, or is there a cheaper marketmaker?

Try Bitstamp, it migh be cheaper to bank wire there and buy, check your bank fees

[miningair]

In the U.S, I would say coinbase. However Virwox would be the fastest. The trade off is the fee on Virwox is much higher than most, however you do get it instantly (or a few minutes) as opposed to coinbase where you must go through multiple verifications processes (days).

Virwox also accepts Paypal. The only one I believe....could be more?

[maurya78]

Can't speak to US taxes
Given the $ that andreessen horowtz has put in coinbase, they seem legit and would be the guys I would use to buy into bitcoins
Good luck

[Borbolon]

A 20% share of your portoflio seems very high, recommended for highly volatile assets like bitcoin is more like 2%. Be sure to make a thorough research before jumping in and remember bitcoins could lose all value overnight so don't invest money you can't lose. Also double and triple check the sellers and always do small transactions first since there are many scam-sites around. Good luck!