If you compare Bitcoin to anything else the common denominator is that it takes a minimum of two people to establish a value that is used for trading purposes. Our cars are kind of like this except if there is zero interest (meaning no one wants a ZL-1 at some point in the future) the car still has its lowest value point which is its weight in scrap and recyclable materials.

So the ZL-1 is and never will be worth zero.

Bitcoin can drop to zero and be totally worthless since it is a digital construct built out of the ashes of the 2008 economic downturn.

Forbes has another more detailed explaination and this is a good read:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jayadki.../#6beceffa5c1e

IMO the people who are going to make out on Bitcoin and other crypto currancies are the people with large holdings that will then jointly agree that the bubble is tapped out and will bail all at once.

I have set some miners up for customers. They are mining ZCash, Ethereum and a few more of the more obscure ones. It takes about $8,000 to make a competent mining computer. On average, they are making $19 to $32 per day per machine and they use more electricity than a regular computer. In fact, the cases are "open" cases to dissipate heat better (thus using less electricity).

Another thing that I learned is that the mining group that you join is also a big factor in how successful you can be.

Even with the best group, I don't see the upside to mining unless they take off even more than they have. At the current inflated prices, it will still take them a year plus to recover their money, not counting the $800 or so I charged them and the electricity costs.

In China, with subsidized electricity and really cheap electronic components Bitcoin still has to be at ~7500 to be profitable.

Then, rumor is this year that the mining system will be changing, tying into some sort of broker that requires you to own the cryptocurrency to mine it.

All that said, it takes days and sometimes longer to divest of these cryptocurrencies which is a big downside. If a crash starts, you will not be selling your investments quickly.

One of my clients has a $33,000 bitcoin investment that is now worth ~150,000. I am helping him divest of his initial investment and then let the rest ride with "house money". It is not easy to sell, not super hard, but nothing like selling a stock.

And while Bitcoin and some others have a value and are traded, some of the other more obscure ones are not even usable as a currency. How these have value other than "piling on" is beyond me.

Finally, I wonder how the nation based governments are going to go on this one. On one hand this is what I believe that the globalist financial machine has wanted for some time now, an electronic currency and to divest society of printed/coined money. In fact, in global currency concerns about 8% is in actual physical paper/coin. Here in the US, it is even lower, at 3-5% I believe. However, [in America] the ability to print fiat currency at will is something reserved and jealously guarded by the federal government.

One thing for sure, its been a crazy ride. I have a small investment in Ethereum, and sold what Bitcoin I had (we usually keep some for paying off hackers for customers that do not keep good backups and get their systems hacked and encrypted).

That's my .02 on the subject.

Rich

Rich,

I agree. Universal Basic Income is the end game here and removing Fiat as the king of the hill is the objective and in order to do this you need to first get rid of fossil fuels, because as as a result of Nixon Shock and the collapse of the Bretton Woods agreement the dollar became a form of a petro currency and the balance between committed current and future national debt projections all hinges these days on the estimated oil reserves.

As long as Oil is traded in US dollars-and the U.S. has the largest known reserves in both shale and conventional drilled production-- the Dollar is going to remain king as long as we have oil and the ability and will to explore for it here.

Bitcoin bloodbath last night... back below 10k right now.

Oh yeah, it's ugly. Definitely for the faint of heart.

Its rough, South Korea is killing us.

Bitcoin currently @ $8613... https://charts.bitcoin.com/chart/price

Its definitely taking a beating.

No question, there are a lot of cryptos hurting now.

Honestly, I think these are growing pains, and I am for at least some govt regulation to keep things honest.

Im hoping the same, im staying in the game.