I'm not Milton Freedman but am I the only one who sees something wrong with a "currency" that's created out of nothing by just anyone? It's not a metal or a commodity tied to a market price of that thing. Nor is it a fiat currency created by a central bank chartered by a government mandating that everyone has to accept it. It's just created by individuals completing a puzzle or something and as if by magic they're awarding this thing, this funny money. But it has value because stupid people are idiotic enough to accept it in exchange for real things. It trades versus other, real, currencies in exchanges which are obviously fixed and manipulated. It's obviously a criminal operation. I only want to know which organized crime group was clever enough to make up this con, and then convince trendies that it was cool and that they should go along. Boy there's a sucker born every second.
Originally Posted by pussycat
It's a lot more complicated than that, and not worthless at all. Many people put money into it, buy something with it, and then the person on the other end gets cash out on the other end of the transaction.
It's risky to hold bitcoin. Your value could drop to zero at any time. However, that can happen with investment into a "legitimate" investment like Bernie Madoff Inc. At one time, Enron was one of America's best respected companies, and it went to zero.
If you want to use bitcoin for something, buy or accept bitcoin, but realize that it might turn out to be worthless. If you want to be safe, only keep it for the minimum amount of time necessary.
If you buy bitcoin and spend it immediately, or accept it and convert to cash immediately, it's probably safer than taking a personal check at a local business.
If you want to speculate in bitcoin for the possible gain, you can do so, but realize that it's potentially a lot riskier long term than other investments. Definitely a case where you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket.
BTW, if you accept bitcoin, don't leave the money at an exchange. Before the cash value accumulates to an amount you can't stand to lose, transfer the money out. If you do much of it, transfer the money out into a bank other than your "regular" bank and then move it to your regular bank via cash or paper check. BTW, this last bit applies even to PayPal accounts. Some nasty things can happen with electronic payments being reversed.