What are your views on digital currencies/mining?

It is not valueless (at present), but almost impossible to value.

Very few organisations accept it in exchange for real goods and services. There is serious talk of Tesla accepting it for a new car. Its use as a means of exchange are very limited because its takes so long to process a transaction. Say if I want to pay with Bitcoin it may take 30 minutes for it to be checked but if I pay with a mastercard credit card it takes 3 to 5 seconds.

I like the idea of a currency that has a limited supply which in general Bitcoin at present does have, but who knows in the future if the limitations of today on Bitcoin production will apply for say the next 100 years.

The nature of its price movements suggest its in a speculative bubble i.e. people are buying because others are, as they did with Tulips in 1700. Humans act in herds, if everyone is doing something humans believe that must be the safe thing to do.

There can be problems securing a Bitcoin completely safely and selling a Bitcoin. People have become digital millionaires, bnut have they converted all that value back to a National currency yet?

In the gold rushs of the past more money was made supplying the miners than made by the miners.
 
It all sounds a bit too far beyond belief to be good for you. I can imagine this as a James Bond plot. Some faceless enterprise encouraging investors into a virtual money making scheme. No security, no guarantees, high risk and no comeback. Ok I am risk averse, but I do remember 15 years ago when everyone was investing in Icelandic Banks with very high interest rates only to have their figures burned.
Good luck to those who do it and make money, but it isnt for me.
 
Highly volatile but low risk.

Understand that phrase and you understand crypto. Also remember it's very risky to post on a message board that you have made big gains from crypto or anything so I would advise against anyone doing so here.
 
Yes it's valueless. Most 'money' (over 99.99%) is digital.
Then to use that definition all money is valueless, that is why I don't agree. Bitcoin may be 100% digital but if somebody buys one for £5k and sells it for £25k is there no value in that? If I go into a restaurant and pay for a meal and a beer in Bitcoin have I not received value for my Bitcoin?
 
In the gold rushs of the past more money was made supplying the miners than made by the miners.

If that's true, then that means that gold rushes of the past were unsustainable. The miners were consuming more then their efforts were yielding.

I think cryptocurrencies are a sophisticated pyramid scheme. There's no underlying value, nothing to back it. As long as you can find some people who are prepared to pay more than you did, then you'll make money. People misinterpret Ellon Musk though. "If he's buying Bitcoin, it must be good". Really, he's just creating demand, so ensuring that the cryptocurrency he bought is worth more than he paid for it.

If you like a gamble and can afford it, then it's probably worth a go. If you can't afford to lose a few thousand quid, then avoid it.
 
Why on earth should we be consuming electricity to produce something that is valueless?

120 TWh a year for bitcoin alone. A disgrace on humanity.
It would appear that the good folk on here are selective in what they want to read, see and understand, hence "I buy it via an app on my iPhone which doesn't use much electricity".

By coincidence, I read this earlier this morning.

"A lot of electricity is required to run and cool these Bitcoin mining 'rigs'. By some estimates, a single transaction requires the same amount of energy as what the average American household consumes over a three week period. In 2018, cryptocurrency miners pumped 23 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Now it's over 37 megatons per annum. And while there are a handful of operations being run off renewables, it is estimated that at least 60% of the power consumed by Bitcoin miners comes from fossil-fuels. Due to the margins involved, less scrupulous miners chase the cheapest electricity they can: state-subsidised coal power. In China, which accounts for a significant portion of all Bitcoin production, this comes from the dirtiest emitters"
 
I invested back in 2017 and jumped ship in 2018, I think I got in when it was 5k and exited when it was 7k, but it was a wild ride.
I wouldn't do it again mind, which may seem mad, considering I was up about 40%.
It just seems extremely dangerous to me, and I'm not skilled enough to handle that volatility, and it's impossible to value. I think there are much safer ways to make money and safer ways to gamble even. It does seem interesting, but it's only interesting to most after massive gains, nobody was interested 4 months ago (which would have been the time to get in).

Personally, now I just invest in some trusts/ funds/ indexes and just let that compound over the long term, which are low risk for high gains over a few years. They're extremely unlikely to go to zero (or go down more than 30% any one year even), whereas Bitcoin could take a much bigger hit. Obviously, with bitcoin and other cryptos, there's not much diversity there (unless investing in others also), where a lot of funds are split over 100's of companies.

I just remember the last bitcoin boom in 17/18, it got up to like $18-20k, but a year later it was $3-4k. Since that last peak in 2018, to now, it's up about 300%, but this might be another peak and it may go down 80% again any minute, I think most have missed the boat. Volatility has been massive too (which is good for people that know what they're doing, but bad for those that don't and those who need the money).

People not knowing what they're doing, buying in after it's already gone up 300% in 3 months, for one single stock/ asset is extremely dangerous.

Have a look at something like this as an alternative, it's the biggest trust in the UK, I think.
https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-...sh-mortgage-it-plc-ordinary-shares-5pSCOTTISH MORTGAGE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
 
I am reading a few books on digital currencies/bitcoins as my golden rule is don’t invest in something you don’t know about.

I have started to mine for pi and bee digital currencies. Free to do by downloading the app. Risk free unless your a tinfoiler and your worried that your date will be hacked by the Chinese Government.

Two schools of thought on bitcoins. One it is the future in that apple will be following the lead of Tesla and buying billions of dollars worth and the other view is that it is a Ponzi scheme.

I don’t know. I would like to make a small investment and if it goes belly up I am not too much out of pocket.

has anyone on fmttm made a killing on bitcoin?
Was it a digital book?
 
All it takes is an airliner to hit a tower block and such things may collapse ( pardon the pun ) . Im a big believer in property and it’s served me well as it’s now my pension. People can scorn it but if you do your homework and buy in the right area you’re quids in , forget about boom and bust because its all about location . I’m maybe old school but something you can touch and feel is comforting
 
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Speak to anyone "invested" in crypto currencies and the first thing they will tell you is usually how much money they have made. Not the interesting real world applications. But how little they bought it for and what it is currently worth. This is because It is entirely speculative.

But, acknowledge that, and time your purchases in line with shifting sentiment, and you can make a lot of money. It is somewhat cyclical and patterns emerge.

Be aware however that single people can move the entire market. And that you will always be at the whim of the whales. Also note that it is very likely the entire market is compromised, manipulated, outright fraudulent. And during a sustained and significant crash, getting "actual" currency out might be a challenge.

Happy punting!!
 
All it takes is an airliner to hit a tower block and such things may collapse . Im a big believer in property and it’s served me well as it’s now my pension . I’m maybe old school but something you can touch and feel is comforting
Property is massively dependent on location, but for the UK, in general, it was good before 1989 and between 1998 and 2008, but outside of these times the cost of borrowing and inflation has meant property (via a mortgage) wouldn't have been the best move, but it's easy to say that in hindsight.

Middlesbrough house prices are still less than they were in 2008, so if people are borrowing to buy these houses and the prices are not rising in line with inflation it's a bit daft to be honest. It's funny though, because we all do it as we think it's the only way.

I've had enough of flat prices in housing and got back less than I paid on some flats I've had, so I'm selling up now, it seems a good time to sell, with the mini covid hike.

I just don't see what would make property prices increase in the North East, especially when the birth rate now is far lower and there's no baby boom to pump the market up. Would rather have the cash invested in other things or at least other areas.
 
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Property is massively dependent on location, but for the UK, in general, it was good before 1989 and between 1998 and 2008, but outside of these times the cost of borrowing and inflation has meant property (via a mortgage) wouldn't have been the best move, but it's easy to say that in hindsight.

Middlesbrough house prices are still less than they were in 2008, so if people are borrowing to buy these houses and the prices are not rising in line with inflation it's a bit daft to be honest. It's funny though, because we all do it as we think it's the only way.

I've had enough of flat prices in housing and got back less than I paid on some flats I've had, so I'm selling up now, it seems a good time to sell, with the mini covid hike.

I just don't see what would make property prices increase in the North East, especially when the birth rate now is far lower and there's no baby boom to pump the market up. Would rather have the cash invested in other things or at least other areas.
There’s a good discipline in buying a house though for normal people, in that you have to pay the mortgage rather than frittering the money or you will lose it, it focuses people in on remaining in employment or progressing at work and you can improve a house to make it worth more. And it gives you somewhere to live.

Most people who buy flats as an investment get the renter to pay the mortgage.

So whichever way you do it, I think a house is a good investment.
 
Note my wording above, the ‘modern’ currency of criminals.

How do you go on for paying tax on the money you say you have made above, incidentally?
The main exchange shares the details of UK nationals who have significant amounts in them and HMRC follow up accordingly

Our country is way ahead of the game in looking to arrange capital gains taxing compared to the rest of the world
 
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