Here is my first post... and so there is something meaningful:
I followed bitcoin from the early days, and did a little mining in 2011. Unfortunately due to financial constraints (family and student loans) I did not keep my coins.
So now I am starting over again, buying in tranches with average price of $850. But no worries, I am confident bitcoin will reach $10,000+ someday.
But more importantly, I am a believer in bitcoin. I see the potential to revolutionize the world.
In the meantime, it is making my life, and life of my friends who are also expats, much easier.
I live in China, and moving changing money from $USD <-> China Yuan (RMB) is always costly nuisance, as is wire transfering money to my US bank with high fees! Bitcoin makes this so much easier, and I can actually make a profit with each transaction (provided the price stays > 850).
As I need RMB, I sell some bitcoin on btcchina, and also benefit from the arbitrage spread -- price difference between BTC on coinbase in USD and RMB on btcchina. The difference is narrowing but still there -- often 10%+.
It turns out foreigners can open accounts on btcchina, providing their passport #. However you can only exchange BTC for RMB, meaning you must have a bank account in China... not difficult to do if you live here, or even visit for some period of time.
With each transaction I try to buy a little more than I sell, of course trying to time "buy low, sell high" as possible. My goal is to accumulate > 10 coins in the next 3 to 6 months.
Best wishes to all of you, good luck, and may the BitCoin force be with you!
