i have a few questions.

[ebay007]

Hello.
im starting out in the bitcoin world and i want to ask you somethings:

1. do you use it mainly to make money?
2. how do you make money out of it? mining or buy&sell the coins?
3. how often are the big jumps in value? like 50$ differences.
4. is there any official value? or do i need to go by what sits like bitstamp says? (131$)
5. how much money do you usually make from buying and selling? im planing on starting with a small amount. like 3 bitcoins.
6. how risky is it? its not like the value drops allot for a long time so there isnt really a risk, especially if im going to mess with 3 coins... (?)

thanks.

[greyhawk]

Hello.
im starting out in the bitcoin world and i want to ask you somethings:

1. do you use it mainly to make money?
2. how do you make money out of it? mining or buy&sell the coins?
3. how often are the big jumps in value? like 50$ differences.
4. is there any official value? or do i need to go by what sits like bitstamp says? (131$)
5. how much money do you usually make from buying and selling? im planing on starting with a small amount. like 3 bitcoins.
5. how risky is it? its not like the value drops allot for a long time so there isnt really a risk, especially if im going to mess with 3 coins... (?)

thanks.

5. (the second one) The risk is immeasurable. Value may plummet down like an asteroid powered by a rocket to slam the thing headfirst right down into a major city centre (oh wait, that's my world conquest plans, not the BTC plan). But yeah, it may plummet like that. Any day. Any time. And you'll never get out in time. Both. The city and BTC.

[Mike Christ]

Hello.
im starting out in the bitcoin world and i want to ask you somethings:

1. do you use it mainly to make money?
2. how do you make money out of it? mining or buy&sell the coins?
3. how often are the big jumps in value? like 50$ differences.
4. is there any official value? or do i need to go by what sits like bitstamp says? (131$)
5. how much money do you usually make from buying and selling? im planing on starting with a small amount. like 3 bitcoins.
6. how risky is it? its not like the value drops allot for a long time so there isnt really a risk, especially if im going to mess with 3 coins... (?)

thanks.

1. You use it as money.
2. You can speculate on Bitcoin to make money, or hold it and allow it to appreciate on its own.
3. Earlier this year, Bitcoin was roughly $10; if by often you mean, how often daily, usually it's stable daily.  Monthly, not so much, but after it dipped to 60 and came back to 100, it has been steadily rising.  See the various BTC charts to see this illustrated.
4. The official value is whatever value you assign to your Bitcoin, and however much someone might trade you for it.  If someone wants to pay you $1000 for your one Bitcoin, and you accept that, then that's the official value.  The markets only show what people are generally buying and selling at, which can go up and down; there's a whole study of this known as economics.
5. You're basically gambling, so nobody can say how much you'll earn vs. how much you'll lose through speculation.
6. How good are you at gambling?

[coqui33]

5. If you mean buying/selling on established, functioning exchanges (Bitstamp, CampBX, etc.), then the above previous answers apply.

But if you mean buying/selling to individuals, then know that the open market is a dog-eat-dog jungle. On the one hand, you will lose money to some very experienced and talented scammers as part of your learning process. On the other, you will face the challenge of persuading potential customers that you are not a scammer. yourself

I now make a modest income selling BTC to individuals on bitquick.co and localbitcoins.com but it took me a long time to learn how avoid being scammed and how to earn the trust of my customers. If this is your interest, I encourage you, but be aware of the learning curve and its pitfalls.

[ebay007]

My plan is to wait until the value drops and buy some coins. and then sell when the price goes higher on sites like bitstamp.

[Foxpup]

1. do you use it mainly to make money?

Yes, but it's not just about the money, it's about changing the world for the better. Though, to be fair, there aren't many honest ways of making a shitload of money without changing the world. Capitalism's all about incentives.

2. how do you make money out of it? mining or buy&sell the coins?

Buy low, sell high.

3. how often are the big jumps in value? like 50$ differences.

Like, $50 in a day? Pretty rare. $50 in a month? Not so rare.

4. is there any official value? or do i need to go by what sits like bitstamp says? (131$)

Is there any official value of a gallon of milk? Or anything else for that matter? No, value is just whatever price a buyer and seller can agree on. If a buyer offers too low a price, nobody will sell to him. If a seller charges too high a price, nobody will buy from him. They have to reach an agreement in order to make a trade. The price you see listed on exchanges is simply an indication of what that exchange's users are currently willing to trade bitcoins for.

5. how much money do you usually make from buying and selling? im planing on starting with a small amount. like 3 bitcoins.

On average, about 1300% pa. Note that past performance does not guarantee future results. Only invest what you can afford to lose.

6. how risky is it? its not like the value drops allot for a long time so there isnt really a risk, especially if im going to mess with 3 coins... (?)

It did after June 2011. The price went from from $32 to $2 and took nearly two years to recover. There have also been other crashes since then, though none so massive, and of course the market is a lot larger now, but it's still rather small is the grand scheme of things, so don't assume it won't crash massively in the future.

Then there's also the risk of your bitcoins being lost or stolen, so make sure you encrypt and backup your wallet (in that order) and keep it secure.

[greyhawk]

My plan is to wait until the value drops and buy some coins. and then sell when the price goes higher on sites like bitstamp.

You shouldn't talk about these plans out in the open. Someone might steal your idea.

[ebay007]

i just wanted to make sure you guys dont think im on the mining thing. no need for sarcasm.


FOXPUP,
whats PA?
and 1300%? so you buy for 10 and sell for 130 for example? wow!

[adamstgBit]

 

1. do you use it mainly to make money?

Yes.

2. how do you make money out of it? mining or buy&sell the coins?

Useing it, Offering Goods and Services, dividend paying shares etc...

3. how often are the big jumps in value? like 50$ differences.

Every month now  

4. is there any official value? or do i need to go by what sits like bitstamp says? (131$)

The value is subjective, bitcoin to me looks like a 1000$ item, its head toward that, and eventual were breaking through the wall!

5. how much money do you usually make from buying and selling? im planing on starting with a small amount. like 3 bitcoins.

If you're an ok trader with a reasonable strategy, you can make good profits trading. but you really have to be watching and trading the daily action.

6. how risky is it? its not like the value drops allot for a long time so there isnt really a risk, especially if im going to mess with 3 coins... (?)

Depends,
you can buy bitcoin then buy bitcoin stocks at havelockinvesment.com, all solid bitcoin businesses are booming right now, these are maybe less risky investments, but the returns are likely to be less then simply holding bitcoin...

but the "risk" associated with holding bitcoin can be gr8ly minimized if you 1) know what you're doing ( encrypted money baby!   ) 2) actuly use bitcoin as your "Money" piggy bank wtv you can do to help fulfil the self fulfilling  prophecy that is bitcoin

[testtesttest1234]

1. do you use it mainly to make money?

I have purchased some services with my Bitcoin, and also invested them on BTC-TC to make some money, its a lot of work though. (Very easy to lose money)

2. how do you make money out of it? mining or buy&sell the coins?

I have mined about $5 worth of Bitcoin, so that is not viable for me. Mainly day trading stocks and Litecoins.

3. how often are the big jumps in value? like 50$ differences.

Not very often. When the price starts moving large like that be careful coming in and out of pairs (litecoin to bitcoin and usd to bitcoin)

4. is there any official value? or do i need to go by what sits like bitstamp says? (131$)

Value is set by the free market, meaning anyone and everyone sets the value. The equilibrium between what people want to buy and sell defines the current price. As more people want Bitcoin the price will go up because people will start selling it for more knowing that there is more demand. The reverse is also true.

5. how much money do you usually make from buying and selling? im planing on starting with a small amount. like 3 bitcoins.

My max loss in a day is 100 bitcoins and my max gain in a day is 100 bitcoins. Be very careful!

6. how risky is it? its not like the value drops allot for a long time so there isnt really a risk, especially if im going to mess with 3 coins... (?)

You could lose it all day trading, your government might ban it, a fatal flaw might be found, the exchange might be a scam and run with your money, etc... do lots of research.

[ebay007]

how did you loose that much and earned that much?

the most possible way to loose is if i sell them for lower then what i bought them right? like if i think the value will not increase or if i need the money now and i have to sell. it doesn't sound to risky... am i missing somthing?

[testtesttest1234]

how did you loose that much and earned that much?

the most possible way to loose is if i sell them for lower then what i bought them right? like if i think the value will not increase or if i need the money now and i have to sell. it doesn't sound to risky... am i missing somthing?

Three things: FUD, News and liquidity.

My worst day and best day have been because of FUD/News. I make a position I find comfortable that I have made before and then paranoia starts spreading and a exit had to be made, yes I have failed and moved out of a position that If I had left myself in for a long period of time would have gained. But thats emotion for you. Its hard to see lots of hard earned money disappear. Even when things seem predictable shit happens.

Liquidity, if the market has no depth near a position you want and you need out then this really screws you over. You might see a price but that does not mean you can sell hundreds of Bitcoin at that price. Market depth is so important I really wish I had researched this more before I started trading.

I have made mistakes and gains, overall the gains have been worthwhile but to be honest I feel like day trading is a gamble and I have been lucky. Some people have skill but I am not I am one of those people.

The issue is when the value starts to erode away, do you have the guts to hold a losing position for months of lower and lower prices before it rebounds? I got out sometimes early to save even greater loses. Holding is actually the most important thing in trading. Learning patience.

[Gabi]

Bitcoin is not a get rich quick scheme.

[ebay007]

i dont plan on getting rich quick. i understand that there is allot of reading and research to do. and i need to learn how things effect the value of the BTC.
and again. im going small. buying a few coins, wait for a rise in value, sell, and so on. i dont have much to spend and if i could make a few tens of dollars then im good. 
 
BTW, how many coins are you messing with? and how often do you buy and sell? do you wait for a big rise to sell or you sell and buy all the time when its a few bucks differences?

[Gabi]

An easy way to answer to most of your questions: replace "bitcoin" with "dollar" or "euro" and then answer. Do you use dollar mainly to make money? how do you make money out of dollar? mining or buy&sell the dollars?

[testtesttest1234]

i dont plan on getting rich quick. i understand that there is allot of reading and research to do. and i need to learn how things effect the value of the BTC.
and again. im going small. buying a few coins, wait for a rise in value, sell, and so on. i dont have much to spend and if i could make a few tens of dollars then im good. 
 
BTW, how many coins are you messing with? and how often do you buy and sell? do you wait for a big rise to sell or you sell and buy all the time when its a few bucks differences?

I tend to buy alternative crytpo-currencies when they are weak and with stocks getting in at the bottom (IPO) has worked out well so far.

When day trading bitcoin with usd I have lost money. That pair (usd/bitcoin) is dangerous because bitcoin can rise and never ever return to a usd value. But trading ltc to btc has worked because historically there was a constant cycle between 0.028 - 0.03 ltc/btc and it was possible to cash in on that (don't try this at the moment as ltc is not doing very well against btc and there is no cycle)

[testtesttest1234]

Bitcoin is not a get rich quick scheme.

And this is spot on.

I considered this entire bitcoin thing to be like a game, and the money I set aside to invest and play the markets was essentially game money.

That is certainly worth mentioning.

[Wary]

5. how much money do you usually make from buying and selling? im planing on starting with a small amount. like 3 bitcoins.

Don't start from 3 bitcoins. It's too risky. Start from 300.

The risk is to lose one-in-lifetime opportunity to become rich. In several year's time bitcoin will be worth either nothing or a lot. You've already lost the chances to start from 300,000, from 30,000, from 3,000. While you will be playing with 3 coins you'll lose the chance to start from 300, then - from 30, and then - from 3 (and most of your original 3 coins will be lost in daytrading).

tl;dr: To make money on BTC, buy now, as much as you can, put them on paper wallet and forget for several years.

[Foxpup]

whats PA?

Per annum (per year).

and 1300%? so you buy for 10 and sell for 130 for example? wow!

No, that's 1300% on top of my original investment. Buy for 10, sell for 140. Of course, such rapid gains are much less likely now that the market is larger and more mature, and in any case Bitcoin should be regarded as a high-risk investment.

[ebay007]

i saw that there is some other coin called litecoin. and its cheap and can be ,mined with a normal computer. does any of you have experience with it?