STOP BUYING INTO ALT COINS , as you are indirectly hurting Bitcoin

[bitebits]

This lecture by Andreas Antonopoulos is really quite interesting in the Alt discussion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHrjs7VkSGU

[mczarnek]

Stop buying DVDs, youre hurting VHS.

The OP was actually saying: Stop buying VHS, you are hurting the sales of Blu-Ray (and your eyes).

Obviously you haven't thought about the features of some of these altcoins.. look at Nxt: 1300 times more energy efficient, 400 times more cost efficient because you don't have to fund all those miners to prevent a 51% attack, more secure, and instant transaction confirmations are possible in a proof of stake environment in a way a proof of work environment just can't match.

[Wolf Rainer]

That´s not true... The alternative cryptocurrencies are good for the promotion of cryptocurrencies. A lot of people came here earing about an alternative cryptocurrencie and then they know about bitcoin. 

[AnonyMint]

Stop buying DVDs, youre hurting VHS.

The OP was actually saying: Stop buying VHS, you are hurting the sales of Blu-Ray (and your eyes).

Obviously you haven't thought about the features of some of these altcoins.. look at Nxt: 1300 times more energy efficient, 400 times more cost efficient because you don't have to fund all those miners to prevent a 51% attack, more secure, and instant transaction confirmations are possible in a proof of stake environment in a way a proof of work environment just can't match.

And 100% centrally controlled just another fiat. Satoshi solved the Byzantine General's problem of decentralized control with proof-of-work. Proof-of-stake undoes that and takes us back to fiat again.

[bryant.coleman]

That´s not true... The alternative cryptocurrencies are good for the promotion of cryptocurrencies. A lot of people came here earing about an alternative cryptocurrencie and then they know about bitcoin. 

No. Definitely not. 90% of these shitcoins are either pre-mined or just pump-and-dump types. Almost everyone who invests on them will lose money. How this is going to benefit the Bitcoin? By scaring away even more people?

[AnonyMint]

That´s not true... The alternative cryptocurrencies are good for the promotion of cryptocurrencies. A lot of people came here earing about an alternative cryptocurrencie and then they know about bitcoin.  

No. Definitely not. 90% of these shitcoins are either pre-mined or just pump-and-dump types. Almost everyone who invests on them will lose money. How this is going to benefit the Bitcoin? By scaring away even more people?

Why is the goal to benefit Bitcoin, when it is controlled by 2 mining pools and most of the merchants soon be controlled by Peter Thiel's (i.e. Paypal's) Bitpay?

I say we need to destroy Bitcoin and replace it with something for us, not for them.

[TaunSew]

99.% of coins out there are Bitclones.  They go to no attempt to hide it as often the wallets are reskins of the ancient Bitecoin wallet, if they couldn't change the wallet / UI then what else did they not change?  Then arguably other coins like Mastercoin are indirect clones as they're reliant on Bitcoin technology like the blockchain.

Using that criteria, the only unique second generation coins is maybe the NxT family but the NxT family is like the Sicilian Mafia, they keep on releasing these coins where a dozen people with sockpuppets own the vast majority of stake.

[AnonyMint]

I agree. But not all altcoins will be like that.

Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

[nakaone]

This lecture by Andreas Antonopoulos is really quite interesting in the Alt discussion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHrjs7VkSGU

saw it yesterday - I think his argumentation is perfectly fine and economically sound.

There are innovations that are more cost effiecient (nxt and the guys around protoshares/bitshares), there are coins adding functionality to the bitcoin protocol like Mastercoin and Counterparty. There are coins trying to anonymize transfers like Darkcoin, Anoncoin or Zercoin/Zerocash. There will be ethereum for decentralization of contracts.

What Andreas is referring to is that even coins that look like complete clones to bitcoin, can also have value because people give them value by using them. Before that video I thought this does not make sense, because they do no really innovate - what makes them useless. Anyway I think I was wrong with that assumption, because you guys and me probably are completely underestimating sociological and cultural factors. You can basically make a political or cultural statement with the money you use NOW. Memes like Doge are nothing different than a cultural expression. This is on a metalevel a really interesting development.

Anyway does it hurt Bitcoin? In my opion not at all, Bitcoins function will probably be the one of the reserve currency. Ask yourself do you know how much a NXT or a litecoin or doge is worth in $, or do you know how much they are worth in btc . In my opion there can only be two events which stop bitcoin from being the reserve currency of the internet.

[bryant.coleman]

Why is the goal to benefit Bitcoin, when it is controlled by 2 mining pools and most of the merchants soon be controlled by Peter Thiel's (i.e. Paypal's) Bitpay?

None of the mining pools are near the 51% mark. And it seems extremely unlikely that anyone will ever reach that mark. And Bitpay is not having an absolute monopoly. There are a lot of other Bitcoin payment processors as well.

[Wolf Rainer]

That´s not true... The alternative cryptocurrencies are good for the promotion of cryptocurrencies. A lot of people came here earing about an alternative cryptocurrencie and then they know about bitcoin. 

No. Definitely not. 90% of these shitcoins are either pre-mined or just pump-and-dump types. Almost everyone who invests on them will lose money. How this is going to benefit the Bitcoin? By scaring away even more people?

That "shiticoins" inyect money into the Bitcoin (CryptoCurrencies) world.

[jparsley]

If u stop new forum users from announcing new scam coins, u reduce this problem by 90%

[Wolf Rainer]

If u stop new forum users from announcing new scam coins, u reduce this problem by 90%

Without Alternative CryptoCurrencies this forum is going to be provably dead.

[jcoin200]

I think buying altcoins directly hurts the BTC market cap, and therefore its value in USD.  As for the use of crypto in general, I think it benefits BTC.

[reRaise]

Altcoin trading can give you much more profit than bitcoin, it's very attractive for traders

[GodHatesFigs]

Altcoin trading can give you much more profit than bitcoin, it's very attractive for traders

At a much higher risk: it's not a better investment than BTC.

[bryant.coleman]

That "shiticoins" inyect money into the Bitcoin (CryptoCurrencies) world.

I have already explained this. Shitcoins only take money away from Bitcoin. They do not inject money in to the Bitcoin sector. You can say that the entire Crypto sector is slightly gaining from the proliferance of shitcoins (that argument is also questionable to a very large extent). But for sure Bitcoins are not gaining anything from them.

[STT]

Its possible to buy litecoin with dollars and also a few different alt coins.    Why wouldnt some of that cash be exchanged into bitcoin.   Im not sure I see your point.

If the competition is negative then I'd also disagree.  BTC can similarly compete back and add features and so gain from the added experience of other networks without having to personally test every idea itself    Depends how nimble the developers are I guess

[billysweird]

As you all are aware of recent Aurora coin that shot up to $100 with market cap almost $ 1.2 Billion.

That is almost 15% of Bitcoin Market Cap.

Of course as predicted, everyone sell it off and now it is worth $ 1.49 with market cap of $ 15 m.


In almost all exchanges, all alt coins are quoted by xxx/BTC.

Hence, for example, a person wish to sell Aurora Coin, he has to change to BTC via AUR/BTC and then BTC/US.

This has TWO Major implication.

Firstly, it will PUSH the price down as he would SELL it to the highest buyer.

Secondly, the alt coin will "eat into" the Bitcoin Market Cap.


I wish to call upon all exchanges to either change this exchange model to a specific value that doesn't involved Bitcoin and normal people don't buy into all these alt coins.

As you can see, by doing this, you are actually causing more harm to Bitcoin price indirectly.

OMG， are you new here? Do you know bit coin ? Sometimes naive!

[/quote]When people buy BTC (with cash) so they can be part of the alt coin "scene", then the alts are helping BTC.[/quote]
agree!

[AngelSky]

(facepalm)