Bitcoin and gold hoarders

[robamichael]

We must at least admit that Bitcoin is very young, and therefore any investments in it are highly speculative.

Gold we know must go up, as it has proven to adhere to the fundamentals of money for thousands of years. With the amount of fiat currency inflation occurring around the world, gold will behave in a very predictable way. It has a track record that cannot be ignored.

That's not to say that the Bitcoin will behave differently, but it is certainly more prone to unknown risk - a virus, a hacker, manipulation (even a poor billionaire could do this right now), etc.

[giszmo]

We must at least admit that Bitcoin is very young, and therefore any investments in are highly speculative.

Gold we know must go up, as it has proven to adhere to the fundamentals of money for thousands of years. With the amount of fiat currency inflation occurring around the world, gold will behave in a very predictable way. It has a track record that cannot be ignored.

That's not to say that the Bitcoin will behave differently, but it is certainly more prone to unknown risk - a virus, a hacker, manipulation (even a poor billionaire could do this right now), etc.

Any manipulation a billionaire or a millionaire could do would drive the price up. Pump and dump and getting rich doing so does not work by only suggesting a bubble by buying some bitcoins. You would have to also announce some services, get some names convinced the next big thing is around the corner etc.

Is Bitcoin really a risk? Who should destroy it? Governments still have a window of opportunity that is not closing for some months if not years to come but if govs really wanted to, why wait? The longer they wait the more businesses will get mad at them. Taking away our 300M$ toy is one thing. Taking away a 300G$ toy later is a different league although the Fed is printing this amount every 6 months.

Virus? Hacker? These are known issues that are a constant in the IT business. It's the same old arms race and the more we care about other people's wallets being secure the smaller the rewards will be for hackers and less attractive the bitcoin will be for them.

[robamichael]

We must at least admit that Bitcoin is very young, and therefore any investments in are highly speculative.

Gold we know must go up, as it has proven to adhere to the fundamentals of money for thousands of years. With the amount of fiat currency inflation occurring around the world, gold will behave in a very predictable way. It has a track record that cannot be ignored.

That's not to say that the Bitcoin will behave differently, but it is certainly more prone to unknown risk - a virus, a hacker, manipulation (even a poor billionaire could do this right now), etc.

Any manipulation a billionaire or a millionaire could do would drive the price up. Pump and dump and getting rich doing so does not work by only suggesting a bubble by buying some bitcoins. You would have to also announce some services, get some names convinced the next big thing is around the corner etc.

Is Bitcoin really a risk? Who should destroy it? Governments still have a window of opportunity that is not closing for some months if not years to come but if govs really wanted to, why wait? The longer they wait the more businesses will get mad at them. Taking away our 300M$ toy is one thing. Taking away a 300G$ toy later is a different league although the Fed is printing this amount every 6 months.

Virus? Hacker? These are known issues that are a constant in the IT business. It's the same old arms race and the more we care about other people's wallets being secure the smaller the rewards will be for hackers and less attractive the bitcoin will be for them.

It seems that you think none of these things are real risks to Bitcoin, at any magnitude.

Does this mean you are 100% invested in them? No diversification? No hedging of risks?

[debianlinux]

Does this mean you are 100% invested in them? No diversification? No hedging of risks?

aka (gasp) a hoarder

 

[JustJake]

I think one of the things that I value in currency is liquidity.  This is one of the things bitcoin has over gold and silver in spades.  It is one of the reasons that I have much more cash and cash equivalents than gold.  I value the flexibility and rapid deployment.  I know that government policies have shaped society so that this kind of thinking is customary (tax codes and whatnot).  I also think that bitcoin is young enough to still be a speculative venture.  I only still own about 20% of what I have mined and have sold off the rest to be assured I come out ahead of costs.

I guess I want to say about owning bitcoin for me is that it is not my attempt to hedge against the dollar.  It is simply a great idea with incredible potential.  When it all comes down to it I think the best hedge against the dollar is the quality of my work output.  All the rest (cash, stock, gold, bonds, silver, real estate) can betray you as it has many people in the past.

[DoomDumas]

Send me your sticker, I'll cut-off the Gold/Silver part and stick the rest on my truck

[giszmo]

We must at least admit that Bitcoin is very young, and therefore any investments in are highly speculative.

Gold we know must go up, as it has proven to adhere to the fundamentals of money for thousands of years. With the amount of fiat currency inflation occurring around the world, gold will behave in a very predictable way. It has a track record that cannot be ignored.

That's not to say that the Bitcoin will behave differently, but it is certainly more prone to unknown risk - a virus, a hacker, manipulation (even a poor billionaire could do this right now), etc.

Any manipulation a billionaire or a millionaire could do would drive the price up. Pump and dump and getting rich doing so does not work by only suggesting a bubble by buying some bitcoins. You would have to also announce some services, get some names convinced the next big thing is around the corner etc.

Is Bitcoin really a risk? Who should destroy it? Governments still have a window of opportunity that is not closing for some months if not years to come but if govs really wanted to, why wait? The longer they wait the more businesses will get mad at them. Taking away our 300M$ toy is one thing. Taking away a 300G$ toy later is a different league although the Fed is printing this amount every 6 months.

Virus? Hacker? These are known issues that are a constant in the IT business. It's the same old arms race and the more we care about other people's wallets being secure the smaller the rewards will be for hackers and less attractive the bitcoin will be for them.

It seems that you think none of these things are real risks to Bitcoin, at any magnitude.

Does this mean you are 100% invested in them? No diversification? No hedging of risks?

100% is a problem cause I need to have fiat for 2 weeks spendings but other than that I was at that point, yes. Well, actually I was down with fiat to some $100 at some point but I consider that an accident cause I failed to sell some bitcoins in time.

[giszmo]

Does this mean you are 100% invested in them? No diversification? No hedging of risks?

aka (gasp) a hoarder

 

If I have 100% in $$, am I a hoarder?

[cypherdoc]

I guess I want to say about owning bitcoin for me is that it is not my attempt to hedge against the dollar.  It is simply a great idea with incredible potential.  When it all comes down to it I think the best hedge against the dollar is the quality of my work output.  All the rest (cash, stock, gold, bonds, silver, real estate) can betray you as it has many people in the past.

this part is really good.

[robamichael]

Does this mean you are 100% invested in them? No diversification? No hedging of risks?

aka (gasp) a hoarder

 

If I have 100% in $$, am I a hoarder?

We are all hoarders by the strict definition.

I think the point being made here is that diversification among currencies is usually (always?) a good idea.

Diversifying your BTC with the historical juggernauts Au and Ag is a wise move, in my opinion.