$20,000 in the bank, should I invest?

[Headsaflame]

I have over $20,000 just sitting in an account.  Would it be a good idea to invest some or all of it in bitcoin?  I'm looking for any way I can to stick it to the central banking system, and If I can make a few bucks by doing it, all the better.

[1714140852]

1714140852

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

How much is losing $20,000 to you, and how much do you have in bitcoin right now?

[bonker]

I have over $20,000 just sitting in an account.  Would it be a good idea to invest some or all of it in bitcoin?  I'm looking for any way I can to stick it to the central banking system, and If I can make a few bucks by doing it, all the better.

I gots the same "problem" Im just buying mining rigs, basically so I can impress girls that I bring round.

[Headsaflame]

How much is losing $20,000 to you, and how much do you have in bitcoin right now?

I currently have no bitcoins, I just really started looking in to bitcoin a few days ago.

I'm not thinking $20,000 to start, but I'm willing to invest a chunk of it to see how it works out.  

It looks to me like I'm already a tad to late if I was in it for the most profit, but I'm still optimistic about where bitcoin's going.

I'm only 21 so $20,0000 is quite a bit in my mind, I'm working on changing that though lol

[TomRado]

Put some playmoney on MtGox or similar and check it out.
In your case I would advise to not stay in BTC for too long a time since the trading sites are not supporting stop loss orders. If you don't need any of the money in the future, of course you can risk it. However, if you feel like drawing a safety line, you have to watch the btc/usd course closely and hammer in your stop loss in case btc tanks manually.
Since the fees are based on a percentage of the traded volume, you can trade with small amounts without loosing too much in fees compared to a high roller, this is different in other market places where fees might be an absolute value per order.

[the joint]

How much is losing $20,000 to you, and how much do you have in bitcoin right now?

I currently have no bitcoins, I just really started looking in to bitcoin a few days ago.

I'm not thinking $20,000 to start, but I'm willing to invest a chunk of it to see how it works out.  

It looks to me like I'm already a tad to late if I was in it for the most profit, but I'm still optimistic about where bitcoin's going.

I'm only 21 so $20,0000 is quite a bit in my mind, I'm working on changing that though lol

If I were you I'd take 2 grand and throw it into BTC.  That's 10%.  But, I'm not you.

In my opinion, Bitcoin has a long way to go before a person can be considered "a tad to

• late."  There's a pretty popular idea around here that goes something like this: "In a few years, either Bitcoin will be worth thousands of dollars apiece, or they will be worth nothing."  I actually think this reasoning is quite sensible.

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

I'm currently permabull on bitcoin. There's lots of people not going in because they thought that the greatest returns were already over, and it happened so many times - at $8, $10, $20, $30, $40, and you're the one saying it at $50

Go in with the mindset that you have a chance to lose a significant portion of your investment.

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

How much is losing $20,000 to you, and how much do you have in bitcoin right now?

I currently have no bitcoins, I just really started looking in to bitcoin a few days ago.

I'm not thinking $20,000 to start, but I'm willing to invest a chunk of it to see how it works out.  

It looks to me like I'm already a tad to late if I was in it for the most profit, but I'm still optimistic about where bitcoin's going.

I'm only 21 so $20,0000 is quite a bit in my mind, I'm working on changing that though lol

If I were you I'd take 2 grand and throw it into BTC.  That's 10%.  But, I'm not you.

In my opinion, Bitcoin has a long way to go before a person can be considered "a tad to

• late."  There's a pretty popular idea around here that goes something like this: "In a few years, either Bitcoin will be worth thousands of dollars apiece, or they will be worth nothing."  I actually think this reasoning is quite sensible.

I believe that quote was from Satoshi but about the transaction volume.

[Headsaflame]

I think around $2,000 sounds like a reasonable investment to start with. I've made an account with https://mtgox.com/, is there a better way to buy coins to start?

Also if there's any required reading on bitcoins that I don't know about, please share your wisdom anyone!

[alcibiades]

I don't know, but I am feeling silly for paying down some 20% APR short-term credit last month instead of buying more bitcoin!

[Headsaflame]

If anyone would like to check it out, I started putting together an updated design for bitcoin:
https://forrst.com/posts/Rebranding_of_Bitcoin-Ft5

I feel we need to have a more modern look to help put us on the same playing field as the likes of Paypal.

[the joint]

I think around $2,000 sounds like a reasonable investment to start with. I've made an account with https://mtgox.com/, is there a better way to buy coins to start?

Also if there's any required reading on bitcoins that I don't know about, please share your wisdom anyone!

If you're going to invest any significant amount of money, familiarize yourself with Bitcoin security and learn how to keep your bitcoins safe, make sure you know exactly how to move your funds from place to place, familiarize yourself with the practices of any exchanges you intend to use and with the challenges you might encounter (e.g. identity verification, etc.), and familiarize yourself with how the Bitcoin protocol actually works.

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

I think around $2,000 sounds like a reasonable investment to start with. I've made an account with https://mtgox.com/, is there a better way to buy coins to start?

Also if there's any required reading on bitcoins that I don't know about, please share your wisdom anyone!

If you're going to invest any significant amount of money, familiarize yourself with Bitcoin security and learn how to keep your bitcoins safe, make sure you know exactly how to move your funds from place to place, familiarize yourself with the practices of any exchanges you intend to use and with the challenges you might encounter (e.g. identity verification, etc.), and familiarize yourself with how the Bitcoin protocol actually works.

Don't ignore this advice

[JordanL]

I think around $2,000 sounds like a reasonable investment to start with. I've made an account with https://mtgox.com/, is there a better way to buy coins to start?

Also if there's any required reading on bitcoins that I don't know about, please share your wisdom anyone!

What country are you in? mtgox are good, but there are some better localized exchanges. If you're in the USA, I'd say mtgox is your best bet.

If you're going to invest any significant amount of money, familiarize yourself with Bitcoin security and learn how to keep your bitcoins safe, make sure you know exactly how to move your funds from place to place, familiarize yourself with the practices of any exchanges you intend to use and with the challenges you might encounter (e.g. identity verification, etc.), and familiarize yourself with how the Bitcoin protocol actually works.

This. Store your coins in a couple paper wallets, if you don't have a computer you will keep offline forever to use as a cold wallet. Getting familiar with security should be your first priority, by far.

[JordanL]

If anyone would like to check it out, I started putting together an updated design for bitcoin:
https://forrst.com/posts/Rebranding_of_Bitcoin-Ft5

I feel we need to have a more modern look to help put us on the same playing field as the likes of Paypal.

I wouldn't count on people adapting to your new design, the original was chosen by consensus and is likely to remain in place.

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

If anyone would like to check it out, I started putting together an updated design for bitcoin:
https://forrst.com/posts/Rebranding_of_Bitcoin-Ft5

I feel we need to have a more modern look to help put us on the same playing field as the likes of Paypal.

I wouldn't count on people adapting to your new design, the original was chosen by consensus and is likely to remain in place.

But there's no stopping someone from running, say, "whyusebitcoins.org" or "learnbitcoins.org". A decentralized currency needs multiple, unofficial, websites.

[JordanL]

If anyone would like to check it out, I started putting together an updated design for bitcoin:
https://forrst.com/posts/Rebranding_of_Bitcoin-Ft5

I feel we need to have a more modern look to help put us on the same playing field as the likes of Paypal.

I wouldn't count on people adapting to your new design, the original was chosen by consensus and is likely to remain in place.

But there's no stopping someone from running, say, "whyusebitcoins.org" or "learnbitcoins.org". A decentralized currency needs multiple, unofficial, websites.

I totally agree.

[Krabby]

I'm also thinking of investing $1800.
Primarily so that I have enough for when Batch 3# of Avalon's come out but I'm also interested in potential profits.

My worry is transfer times, I'm not sure of the danger if the market started to crash and I needed to bail out.

[JordanL]

I'm also thinking of investing $1800.
Primarily so that I have enough for when Batch 3# of Avalon's come out but I'm also interested in potential profits.

My worry is transfer times, I'm not sure of the danger if the market started to crash and I needed to bail out.

The last thing you want to do it sell while the market is crashing.   

You could store your coins in your MTGOX wallet, although that is not as safe as a cold/paper wallet. However, for $30 you can get an MTGOX yubikey, which is a pretty solid form of two factor authentication.

FYI it only takes ~ an hour for a transfer to get enough confirmations to appear in your MTGOX account.

[Gab1159]

You can set trigger orders to prevent from loosing it all if it crashes. Set it at the value you want, and when it reaches "at or below" the value you have chosen, your bitcoins will sell automatically without the need to be in front of your computer and you will be able to "secure" your funds until the bitcoin economy stabilizes.

Honestly though, I don't see it crashing yet. All the news that is coming in is very good and promising for the future!

[matt608]

I'd wait a week or so as I expect there to be another 'fall back' into the $40s from this new all time high. 

[Lethn]

I wouldn't invest that much, I'd put in $1000 or something, I think you'd be much better off getting some kind of business running with that money while the dollar has purchasing power and then selling your services for Bitcoins instead, that way you're getting Bitcoins a lot cheaper and your money won't have been wasted or lose value due to any price drop.

[Vladimir]

I think Bitcoin will be the best performing speculative high risk asset on the planet for the next 1w 1m 6m 1y 2y 4y 10y 20y periods. But, hey, I am a Bitcoin permabull, this is opinion that is to be expected from me.

You gotta decide for yourself how you will be investing your capital.

Protip: usually the best strategy of getting onto a trending bullish market is "buy on pullbacks"

[MonkeyBear68]

I would start putting say $100 a week in. This will give you some BTC. Learn about security and how to transfer BTC etc. This also will provide dollar cost averaging for your investment.

I highly recommend the free Bitcoin video series on CBT Nuggets. The URL is:

http://bitcoin.cbtnuggets.com/

I have been into Bitcoins for 18 months now and I just recently discovered that website from another topic on this forum. I am halfway through the 15 videos and they provide a great deal of information what Bitcoin is as well as encryption, multifactor authentication, securing your wallet, acquiring BTC, etc.

I learned quite a bit on my own over the past 18 months, and the videos on that website covered it all, as well as a lot of new stuff. I cannot stress enough how much I recommend it for newbies. 

[jinni]

I have over $20,000 just sitting in an account.  Would it be a good idea to invest some or all of it in bitcoin?  I'm looking for any way I can to stick it to the central banking system, and If I can make a few bucks by doing it, all the better.

I'd invest a little BTC over a period of time like every week or month, thus insulating you against swings in price.

Also I'd get a small amount like 5-10BTC to play around with carefully in a separate account to try out a few of the different options and learn. I would keep the main investment in separate accounts taking extra safety measures. Also I'd get a few Krugerrands to be safe.