Bitcoin...

[1198]

Can somebody please explain Bitcoin to me please? To my untrained eye it looks as if it’s like a share - but it’s a share based on nothing?
Apparently you ‘mine’ this stuff - how do you mine nothing, can’t you just grab a handful of air?
Please, please keep it simple, I’m after the absolute basics here first of all!
I’m not thinking of investing, I’m just curious and feel I’m missing the point!

[Ribenapigeon]

There's plenty of good videos to n YouTube that give a good explanation from the most basic to in depth explanations of cryptography. The clue is in the term cryptography. A bitcoin is essentially a set of transactions of bitcoin. Think of it like a page in a banks ledger of transactions. It has value because it's unique and cannot be faked or copied. Bitcoins are created when groups of computers agree with each other that the transactions in the ledger are true and accurate. When this happens the bcoin is added to a chain of these proven pages of transactions this is the Block Chain. These blocks can be broken up into Satoshis which is why you can buy fractions of a bitcoin. These Satoshis and whole bitcoins can be exchanged for goods and services over the net and stored in digital wallets. As a currency it's usefulness is based on it being decentralised as it is not controlled by any central bank or government treasury so you will hear the term DeFi (Decentralised Finance) in relation to crypto-currencies. Unlike conventional currencies Bitcoin cannot be artificially increased in volume so it's the darling of economists who believe money printing is wrong, so this is why you will hear bitcoin described as a threat/challenge etc to governments and the conventional banks.
There are a few other crypto currencies out there but a lot of them are what are known as Shitcoins and are riding on the back of Etherium which is another Blockchain derived coin. Some of these coins do have a practical use and therefore real world value but many are as far as I can see just creations by computer science engineers and carpet baggers trying to make a buck. Dodgecoin is a famous shitcoin it was created as a joke but then people started trading it for a laugh and now it has actually become quite valuable.

The thing to look up other than Bitcoin and Blockchain is DeFi. There's also an ongoing BCF thread in the geekzone thread.

[hellkat]

^^ that would be really helpful if only you had broken it up into small bite-sized paragraphs ^^


I've been trying for YEARS to understand how it works.
I even tried once to explain it to the Number One Chaperone, and he definitely couldn't see the point of it (dinosaur one percenter )

I get the "market forces" aspect of how it might go up or down in value - as you say, similar to shares but not - but I just can't seem to get past the word "blockchain" in terms of understanding how it relates to anything tangible.

I still have my two postcard things from the Receivers of Mt fucking Gox, and the bank statement that proves I really did put money in literally 3 weeks before it went bust ( ) but I have no idea whether I can actually winkle anything out of anybody by waving it about.

Or even if it would be worth it by the time I did.
The bottom could fall out at any moment.
It just feels hinky.
Interesting. But hinky.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[The Artist]

Crypto does not equal bitcoin. For simplicity, let's look at bitcoin.

It is effectively a ledger that is updated every 10 minutes. It includes every transaction ever made on the bitcoin Blockchain. These 10 minute blocks are chained together. It is not run by a company and anyone can participate in running the network by "mining". You get a reward for doing this.

So the value, like anything, is just what someone will pay for it. People like the idea of an immutable ledger that cannot be changed by government policy or banks. If you have a bitcoin or any fraction of one, then it is yours and you can keep access to it no matter what.

If you think the current banking system is a leech on society and rampant inflation is destroying any hope of maintaining or growing your wealth, you are not alone.

That is an extremely simplified look at bitcoin and there are many aspects I have overlooked to keep it basic.

[Pjay]

[JackButler]

The mechanics of how bitcoin works is really quite easy to digest, compared to the way it will alter our economic system & the power that the banks have over that.
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I clean my guns with the tears of the snivelling, left wing scum.

[1198]

[rpsmith79]

[The Artist]

[Pjay]

[doggone]

It's probably an Urban Myth but bitcoin mining is supposed to use as much power as all solar panels in the world can produce.

[Islander]

[Pjay]

https://scontent.flhr2-3.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/174221351_10158889618362324_33816527138599864_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=dbeb18&_nc_ohc=eVVG2OT-VBcAX8wTBDn&_nc_ht=scontent.flhr2-3.fna&oh=b7316b33400ecf1073bab76f8b634c10&oe=60A87B29
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struan80 - I'll go first - satisfied tick 1

[The Artist]

I do think PoW is a massive negative of Bitcoin.

IOTA ftw!

[1198]

[panrider_uk]

That graph really needs to be something like cost per $billion or similar to be a proper comparison.
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Current bike: Honda ST1100

[The Artist]

[Raza]

[Copycat73]

Pyramid scheme and all underwritten by Charles Ponzi ..

PS. plenty of cheap shirts for sale at Matalan ... incase you loose yours..
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

In my disbelief that you can get rich on imaginary tokens with no basis in a commodity of any kind, I had presumed “mining” was all about pooling spare computing power from multiple PCs to create supercomputer-style research.

https://www.networkworld.com/article/2247149/data-center-12-cool-ways-to-donate-your-pc-s-spare-processing-power.html

I must be wrong. It’s a mad world!

[Raza]

To clarify, I was NOT recommending investing in any crypto-currency, crypto-asset or crypto-bally-anything.

It reminds me of tulips mania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

and South Sea Bubble Act
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Act

It was George Santayana who said, "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."
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Raza - Account closed -

[Copycat73]

the examples you give are bull markets .. whilst there are examples of manipulation..

mine are out and out fraudulence ..
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Whatever I post I have no citation and no intention of providing one..
caveat emptor

[Raza]

Thank you for clarifying.

I have edited my earlier comment.
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Raza - Account closed -

[The Artist]

[Raza]