londonlewis
Tour Rookie
does anyone in the forum trade any crypto currencies?
Even if you don't, do you have any thoughts on them?
Even if you don't, do you have any thoughts on them?
crypto currencies
- Thread starter londonlewis
- Start date
Have to be honest, I don't really understand them. Can't quite work them out.
What are the practical uses of them?
What are the practical uses of them?
drewster
Tour Rookie
Another one here who can't quite get his around the whole thing. I consider myself reasonably intelligent but Bitcoin Mining is a concept i just don't get. If anyone wants to explain it all in layman's terms then please go ahead.
londonlewis
Tour Rookie
The most established ones can be used as a currency, mainly online but there are physical places that now accept bitcoin payments instead of Fiat currencies. I think the main markets for use of bitcoin as a replacement for Fiat includes USA and Japan.
When buying online, it gives a large element on anonymity. So there has been a link between usage or bitcoin and the Silk Road for example. Which obviously isn't a big plus for law abiding citizens.
It isn't controlled by a state organisation, which is a plus.
Bitcoin gained an enormous amount of traction during the credit crisis, when people lost faith in fiat currencies. For example, anyone that had over €100k in a Cyprus bank account in 2013 had all that money taken away from them, for good. So people wanted to be able to invest money in a currency that governments and institutions couldn't touch.
And there are now those that are investing in crypto currencies or day trading in it to take advantage of volatility.
As it is a digital currency there are significantly lower costs associated with processing transactions. There is chat around whether the financial services sector will use them for online transactions in the future, without people knowing about it so they can reduce costs and speed up overseas transactions. There is a consortium of banks (I think JP Morgan is one of the main ones behind this) that have created their own crypto currency, Ripple.
There are some good documentaries on it. If anyone care's to know what they are, I'd be happy to share.
londonlewis
Tour Rookie
Mining bitcoins basically means completing transactions. Because it is all done online, computers are needed to complete a transaction. To complete a transaction, a miner needs to complete a series of tasks. If you are the successful miner, you are rewarded with a small number of bitcoins.
So, if I take £1000 out of my savings and convert it to bitcoin (that would get me about 0.5 bitcoin in today's market), a miner needs to complete this transaction for me. The transaction then goes on the blackchain (which is basically the online ledger for bitcoins and tells everyone that a transaction has been made).
Blockchain is a whole new world too. Put simply; Bitcoin is to blockchain, what email is to the internet.
Blockchain is the next big thing for global businesses when looking at things like contracts and big data.
Lazkir
Head Pro
You also need a decent dedicated PC with a powerful GPU onboard as a minimum start up.
I read recently (last week) that a company in Switzerland (I think) chartered a plane full of top end AMD graphic cards just to keep up to date with their crypto mining operation...
I read recently (last week) that a company in Switzerland (I think) chartered a plane full of top end AMD graphic cards just to keep up to date with their crypto mining operation...
londonlewis
Tour Rookie
You also need a decent dedicated PC with a powerful GPU onboard as a minimum start up.
I read recently (last week) that a company in Switzerland (I think) chartered a plane full of top end AMD graphic cards just to keep up to date with their crypto mining operation...
The mining stuff is crazy. It's a really competitive market, costs a fortune to get into and you need some unbelievable kit to do it - you are absolutely right.
But the common user of crypto currencies do not have to get involved in mining at all.
Rooter
Money List Winner
Just one PC?! LOL, i see entire data centers mining!
Lazkir
Head Pro
You can do it on a small scale, averages about $30 to $50 a week I've read. That's with a dedicated high end PC running 24/7 though.
Some do apparently.
Edit: Another thing. You're starting to see high end GPU's on ebay etc. for about 75% of the retail price. These are cards that have been crypto mining for the last 6 or 12 months, so probably not worth buying.
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I've read the posts and I'm none the wiser 😵. More reading required.
