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GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2017-07-11 - I WIN! Pin
Duncan Edwards Jones11-Jul-17 1:56
professionalDuncan Edwards Jones11-Jul-17 1:56 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2017-07-11 - I WIN! Pin
LabVIEWstuff11-Jul-17 2:04
LabVIEWstuff11-Jul-17 2:04 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2017-07-11 - I WIN! Pin
OriginalGriff11-Jul-17 2:15
mveOriginalGriff11-Jul-17 2:15 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2017-07-11 - I WIN! Pin
RossMW11-Jul-17 9:53
professionalRossMW11-Jul-17 9:53 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2017-07-11 - I WIN! Pin
OriginalGriff11-Jul-17 10:07
mveOriginalGriff11-Jul-17 10:07 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2017-07-11 - I WIN! Pin
Brisingr Aerowing11-Jul-17 11:09
professionalBrisingr Aerowing11-Jul-17 11:09 
GeneralRe: WSO CCC OTD 2017-07-11 - I WIN! Pin
OriginalGriff11-Jul-17 11:14
mveOriginalGriff11-Jul-17 11:14 
GeneralIs cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
swampwiz10-Jul-17 14:43
swampwiz10-Jul-17 14:43 
I was just reading about how the "ether" cryptocurrency (CC) just got hacked for $200M - and I don't even know what that means, was it taken from someone, or it was created Confused | :confused: - and I remember BitCoin getting hacked a while back.

Now I am not sure about how "ether" is generated, but my understanding is that BitCoin is generated by running some fancy algorithm that is very computationally intensive, and that a few year ago at least, there were reports of folks setting up server farms to "mine" this - basically investing in the hardware and more importantly the electricity for the systems and the air-conditioning to create the BitCoins. I would presume that ether is similar.

I also understand that there are few firms that act as banks in which a buyer transfers real government-approved cash (REAL CASH) to the firm, and the firm gives out the code which represents the CC, and similarly would accept a code as a "deposit" and transfer REAL CASH to the seller. OK, so far so good, this sounds like trading stocks. And there are few businesses here & there that take CC as payment for REAL STUFF.

Now, it seems that the only folks who are actually buying the CC (i.e., forking over REAL CASH) are [1] victims of ransomware, [2] criminal gangs making payments to each other, [3] CC speculators, [4] folks with an anarcho-techno-syndicalist bent, and [5] assorted "the international economy will collapse" whackos.

Folks in [1] obviously are forced to so this. Folks in [2] are simply doing this to get around moving around paper cash, which has various issues; that said, I can't see guys like Tony Soprano contentedly looking at their bits. Folks in [3] think that this will take off, and they want to get in the ground floor (the guy with the server farm would fit in this category). Folks in [4] are choosing the buy CC to pay for REGULAR STUFF as a way to help get the CC idea going. Folks in [5] consider CC to be like gold (Au) and think that the REAL CASH will be devalued with their CC remaining intact, like gold - just a lot easier to port around & defend.

Now the way I look at it, if I am forking over REAL CASH to get my hands on the CC, I had better be able to use it like any highly liquid store of value - but very few vendors really accept this, so store of value is as per those CC banks that will buy that CC in return for REAL CASH. If I invest in a stock, I am buying a piece of a publicly traded corporation that I can read up on the official statements about their business situation, and with the knowledge that there is always a liquid market for selling it; sure, some stocks can blow up like Enron, but if I buy an ETF or mutual fund, or have a broad portfolio, that wouldn't be a problem.

The point is that there is something really there; heck, with gold there is even something, it can be guarded, and the only way to create new gold is dig for & refine it, an expensive task. And as for REAL CASH, it is ubiquitous an everyone except for ransomware crooks takes it, most importantly the government for debts owed to the government, which gives it the ultimate value. And the financial institutions that deal with stocks & REAL CASH have a very strong level of safety with a code of law, the government as law enforcer, etc., to ensure that it won't disappear. Where the hell is that with CC? Where are the security guards? I see this as the 21st Century tulip mania!

modified 10-Jul-17 21:04pm.

GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
David O'Neil10-Jul-17 15:14
professionalDavid O'Neil10-Jul-17 15:14 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Jeremy Falcon10-Jul-17 15:17
professionalJeremy Falcon10-Jul-17 15:17 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Foothill10-Jul-17 16:16
professionalFoothill10-Jul-17 16:16 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
CodeWraith10-Jul-17 18:22
CodeWraith10-Jul-17 18:22 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Marc Clifton11-Jul-17 3:42
mvaMarc Clifton11-Jul-17 3:42 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Jeremy Falcon11-Jul-17 7:26
professionalJeremy Falcon11-Jul-17 7:26 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
kalberts11-Jul-17 4:58
kalberts11-Jul-17 4:58 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
lopatir11-Jul-17 5:17
lopatir11-Jul-17 5:17 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Jeremy Falcon11-Jul-17 7:29
professionalJeremy Falcon11-Jul-17 7:29 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Kyle Moyer11-Jul-17 11:33
Kyle Moyer11-Jul-17 11:33 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
MKJCP12-Jul-17 1:45
MKJCP12-Jul-17 1:45 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
jschell13-Jul-17 6:58
jschell13-Jul-17 6:58 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
DaveAuld10-Jul-17 19:57
professionalDaveAuld10-Jul-17 19:57 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Mladen Janković10-Jul-17 22:37
Mladen Janković10-Jul-17 22:37 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
harold aptroot11-Jul-17 0:16
harold aptroot11-Jul-17 0:16 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
Eddy Vluggen11-Jul-17 1:47
professionalEddy Vluggen11-Jul-17 1:47 
GeneralRe: Is cryptocurrency just a big bubble of bits? Pin
W Balboos, GHB11-Jul-17 3:17
W Balboos, GHB11-Jul-17 3:17 

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