Cryptocurrencies - Your Key to Financial Freedom AMA

techlead on 30/03/2021 - 10:45
Last edited 24/05/2021 - 11:22 by 1 other user

I've been tracking the crypto space since Bitcoin was invented and bought my first Bitcoin in 2013 and has been using every cent of my savings to buy cryptocurrencies ever since.

I can now comfortably retire. Which other investment allows you to do that in less than 10 years.

Ask me anything about the cryptocurrency space, there's no such thing as a "silly" question. I think this goes without being said, but I'm going to say it anyway. None of what I say here is financial advice, I do not hold an AFS license, you should seek advice from a licensed professional before making any investment decisions. If you are making investment decisions from some random guy on the internet without doing your own research and due diligence, you should stop immediately!

There's all these controversy about property prices "surging" or becoming unaffordable, not for me, if you invest in the right asset, property is actually getting cheaper and cheaper. Property prices in Bitcoin terms has been decreasing and will continue to as Bitcoin increases in price at a faster pace. So to me, property is progressively getting cheaper and cheaper.

Update:

For those who would like to find out more about cryptocurrencies and why I think Bitcoin is here to stay and will be more valuable in the future, head over to hope.com and watch some of the videos. This site was set up by the CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor who's company bought an aggregate of approximately 90,531 bitcoins, which were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $USD2.171 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $USD23,985 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses as of 24th Feb 2021.

To those who think that I "got lucky" and was "fortunate", that's very far from the truth. I saw this coming, I knew that with rampant money printing by central banks, fiat currency is going to zero and it has been doing so for centuries. All fiat currencies have gone to the zero, in history, there has not been any fiat currency that didn't go to zero. So Bitcoin's rise is inevitable to me, hence I bought it. I didn't go as far as that family who sold everything to buy Bitcoin, but I did use nearly all of my savings to buy cryptos.

Common criticisms of Bitcoin

  • Its just like Tulip mania
    Bitcoin is nothing like Tulips, Bitcoin is a decentalised and censorship resistant network which enables values to be transferred across the internet at very low cost. The value of Bitcoin is the strength of its network and the fact that it has never been breach or hacked, which means unless someone steals your private key, your coins are safe.
    Tulips has none of these qualities. The only thing which Bitcoin and Tulips have in common is the fact they both went up in value very quickly. Even then there are differences, Tulips went up and crashed all within 3 years. Bitcoin has gone through at least 3 cycles where it has smashed its previous all time highs and never dipped below the starting point of the cycle.
    Bitcoin has recorded a higher year on year low every single year since its existence except for 2015.

  • The Bitcoin network uses too much energy
    This is just market supply and demand. People mine Bitcoin because it is profitable to do so. The Bitcoin network do not require so many miners, in fact it started with just one miner. The network can continue with just one miner, it adjusts as more miners enter and leave, this is built into the network. The high energy used by Bitcoin is a sign that it is valuable and people are willing to make the effort in participating in the effort in securing the network and be rewarded for it.
    Due to the profit motive, the energy sources used by Bitcoin miner are increasingly from green energy sources reducing its impact on the environment.

  • It is used for criminal activity
    Fiat currencies are used on a much much larger scale by criminals. Banks launder money for criminal, there's been so many scandals, and those are just the ones which make it to the media, I'm sure a lot goes undetected.
    Bitcoin is actually very bad for criminal activity, this is why they quickly moved onto privacy coins like Monero and Zcash. The Bitcoin blockchain is public and all transactions remain there forever. If a drug deal is done with cash, unless there's a recording device there at the time of the transaction, that drug transaction is untraceable. If you do a drug transaction with Bitcoin, that transaction will always be on the blockchain, all it takes is for law enforcement to tie one address to a real person, and the entire web unravels, so its not very smart using Bitcoin for criminal activity.

My Crypto mistakes and other pitfalls

I want to go over some of the ways I lost money in crypto over the years so maybe you can learn from my mistake

  • Scam websites
    In 2014, there was a website called Bitcoin savings bank, which promises 9%pa interest if I transferred my Bitcoin there. Very similar to what Crypto.com, Blockfi etc offer today, except they are scammers. Unfortunately, I didn't do my research and I believed them. I transferred 2BTC to their "savings account". Never saw it again.
    Nowadays, these sites are very obvious, they promise hourly returns, like 10% every 2 hours. This is impossible to consistently do, they are all scams, don't fall for them.

  • Double your coins scam
    This is quite famous, there are many variants, but essential it just entails you sending your coins and double or some very good return percentage will return. Its a scam, you will get nothing. Fortunately, I have never fallen for these.

  • Pump and dump groups
    These are almost always scams, there are more losers than winners. Yes you may win one time, take it and walk away, but most likely you will lose. I lost more than 1BTC in this. I'm still part of the groups to monitor, but I never participate anymore. Neither should you. They also have these VIP or "inner circle" groups, where they promise you early notification of the coin to pump for a fee. Don't fall for this. They might also have an inner inner circle group or VIP+, where they promise to take your Bitcoin and buy the coins for you, to maximize your returns. These are definitely scams, they will take your Bitcoin and then block you on telegram.

  • Fake wallet apps
    These apps emulate popular wallet apps and asks you for your seed phrases and private keys so they can steal your crypto. Treat your seed phrases and private keys as private. NO ONE should know, not even staff members of the hardware wallet company. Its like your online banking password, no bank employee should ask for that. If any app do, delete it IMMEDIATELY.

  • Leveraged trading
    I lost around 1 BTC (worth around $5-6k USD at the time). I tried to pick the bottom during the 2018 bear market, the Bitcoin price was quite stable and stagnant around the $5500-$6000k mark, so around Nov 2018, I thought that was the bottom and went in with a leverage long. The market went off a cliff dropping down to $3500. I got liquidated, lost the 1 BTC I deposited. I never touched leverage trading again. Its very hard to pick tops and bottoms, so now I just dollar cost average and periodically buy and hold. You don't need to worry about being liquidated if you do this, it will help you sleep better at night haha.

Mod Note: The user is not associated with TechLead YouTube channel.

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Financial Cryptocurrency

Comments

      • netjock on 01/04/2021 - 11:46

        Cash is trash until you need it to buy stuff and realise they don't take bitcoin.

        You don't understand the liquidity and conversion risk. Then you don't understand the Bretton woods system was in itself just continuation of the old gold system where everything was pegged to gold. It just wasn't explicit.

        In Bretton woods you had to move gold around as it is what backed the currency. Shipping gold around is time consuming and someone has to pick up the cost of storage for an asset that generates no intrinsic income.

        Bitcoin has exactly the problem. Because it is worth $58k today and maybe $60k tomorrow or $56k and I have a bill of $58k to pay tomorrow nobody would accept it today because they are not assuming the risk. It is also why governments got off gold. It isn't stable store of value. Exactly the same reason why you wouldn't pay for a Tesla with bitcoin because people think it might keep going up. Tesla would shut that payment method if everyone believes it is going down.

        • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 12:19
          +3

          In Bretton woods you had to move gold around as it is what backed the currency. Shipping gold around is time consuming and someone has to pick up the cost of storage for an asset that generates no intrinsic income.

          That's right, so what happened was that the USD was supposed to be convertible to gold, but the physical gold is usually held in vaults in NY and doesn't leave the country. Its a lot easier to transport dollar bills than bars of gold.

          Its a very good system, until the US government starts printing money like crazy and other countries lose faith in the fact that the US has enough gold reserves to back the USD. That's exactly what happened, which prompted countries to demand physical delivery of gold, that's when the system fell apart and Nixon "temporarily" suspended the USD convertibility to gold. This "temporary" stop is still in effect to this day. You go to the US treasury and demand some gold for your USD, you'd get laughed out.

          This is my point, the Bretton woods system has lost its most important aspect, which is tied to something with intrinsic value, gold.

          Bitcoin is not a good currency, it shouldn't be treated as such. Steam did what you described because they treated it like a currency and that did not end well. Elon has made it clear that Bitcoin to Tesla is a reserve asset. He explicitly said that any Bitcoin used to pay for Tesla, will remain Bitcoin and will not be converted into fiat currency. Telsa will welcome a drop in the Bitcoin price, it would mean they will get more Bitcoin for their cars lol, that's their way of "buying the dip".

          • netjock on 01/04/2021 - 19:33
            -3

            @techlead: Elon might be smart in some things but he isn't good with financials. He didn't make money from investing in financial assets. Believe him about crypto you might as well ask him how to fix an iPhone. He sees a money making opportunity, just like all the financial servies firms will allow you to buy and hold bitcoin but won't invest in themselves.

            Everyone must be fools to go buying Tesla with bitcoin when it dips. That is like him low balling you for your bitcoin. Bitcoin is not a reserve assets, Elon wants people to think so for his own benefit.

            You talk about Bretton wood and the US peg to gold as foolish. It is just the same foolishness with Bitcoin if not worse.

    • negger on 07/04/2021 - 21:30

      It has to be Adam Back or at least he is the main guy in my mind.

  • ShortyX on 31/03/2021 - 21:08
    +1

    Complete noob here - where do I start? Point me in the right direction and give me a push.

    • 2wem on 31/03/2021 - 21:45

      Adding on to this comment I am also a noob. I only know of stocks/bitcoin by name but have no idea of their differences and where I can start to learn more on about these work. Are there any additional sources to hope.com you can recommended? Books/Videos/People anything or anyone to learn from?

      • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 21:51

        There's so much information on YouTube. Start with Bitcoin explained videos, then you can branch out. Be careful of shills, don't buy too obscure coins thinking it will 100x. Most will not.

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 21:50

      You should either read the whitepaper, or watch Bitcoin explained videos on youtube so you understand what Bitcoin is. Too many people just join in thinking crypto will make them millionaires without understanding the technology. This will help you avoid very simple mistakes like sending to the wrong address or getting scammed.

      • Bunnyburger on 31/03/2021 - 23:31

        I've asked folks to read the white paper that they're quite resistant to it and insistent they know everything about it.

        • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 23:32

          Ask them to explain Bitcoin mining to you haha. Why is it called the blockchain?

  • Korban Dallas on 31/03/2021 - 21:15

    What's your bitcoin address?

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 21:52

      Why? Its more like addresses. No one has a single address, because everything is public, its not good to keep everyone on the same address.

    • superuser on 31/03/2021 - 23:37

      3P3QsMVK89JBNqZQv5zMAKG8FK3kJM4rjt
      1P5ZEDWTKTFGxQjZphgWPQUpe554WKDfHQ
      p/s not mine :(

  • 2025 on 31/03/2021 - 21:27
    +1

    Are you concerned about flaws in the maths behind this stuff? That the algos might be flawed?

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 21:53
      +2

      Yes, this is why I tracked it for nearly 4 years before taking the plunge. I read the whitepaper and knew how it works, the chance of a bug being undiscovered for more than 10 years is quite slim, but of course the possibility is there. There's always risks in life.

  • Tasmaniac on 31/03/2021 - 21:45

    Now take that money and invest it in the real world. I'd be interested to see how much you can beat the market by going forward

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 21:53
      +3

      I've beaten the market consistently since 2013 being in crypto. How is that not the "real world"?

      • cloudy on 31/03/2021 - 22:12
        +8

        Honestly, if you said in 2013 you would kill it in investments and said at the time what you're buying. I'd tip my hat to you. Heck, even if you came out in Jan 2020 and said so i'd think youre smart now.

        But coming out today, when BTC is at ATH saying how good you are at investing isn't really saying much. Everyday there is some lucky bugger winning lotto or flipping a 50 heads on a coin in a row.

        meet enough people on the net and some people are just purely lucky.

        • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 22:16
          +5

          You are equating holding Bitcoin with winning the lottery? its a false equivalency, its not the same.

          I've been promoting Bitcoin to anyone who would listen ever since I bought it, the difference is that people are actually willing to listen now that there's a track record. Back in 2015 or 2016, people would just laugh, property was booming everyone was buying property, no one wants to hear about Bitcoin lol.

          I've already outline the macro economics reasons why I thought Bitcoin would be huge and why I finally took the plunge in 2013 to buy it. Its not luck, its analysis.

          • cloudy on 31/03/2021 - 22:52
            +7

            @techlead:

            You are equating holding Bitcoin with winning the lottery? its a false equivalency, its not the same.

            No, simply saying, its easy for someone to believe they are a fantastic analyst when things go right. Read Maria Konnikovia, The Biggest Bluff.

            People who make a lot of money think they are very smart, and its all skill. They attribute none to luck. You clearly saying none is luck, sounds familiar.

            Like I said, you had a chance to tell the world what a wonderful opportunity BTC was when it was $7,000. Instead, you choose to tell us how you are so smart you are rich when it is $55,000.

            Here is what you could have done.

            • plmko on 31/03/2021 - 23:35

              @cloudy: Good analysis cloudy, back in 2018 I had a DD that BBN would flop because they were heavily reliant on store openings for growth and that whilst they've made significant investment to online inventory systems they pale compared to Amazon's capability.

              But I was wrong.

              It galvanised them during Covid and if you are still holding or did hold until recently, congrats.

          • Mistredo on 01/04/2021 - 00:36
            +2

            @techlead: You made a risky investment, and it paid off. I wouldn't call that a skill. It is easy to look back and say it is all because of your talent.

          • Tony Strong on 03/04/2021 - 17:22

            @techlead: same thing here. less than 1% people that I introduced cryptos to would take time to do some research, even a single hour.

        • Tiredman on 31/03/2021 - 23:55

          I told people here to get some back in November at $17k. Am i smart? I doubt anyone listened though.

          Here i am telling people to get some again. You'll thank me in the future.

  • z0s0 on 31/03/2021 - 21:49
    -1

    I'm sure I'm not the only one bookmarking this thread so I can come back for the lolz once Bitcoin goes to zero!

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 21:55
      +4

      Go ahead. Bookmark this site as well, https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin-obituaries/.

      Bitcoin has died 404 times apparently. If you go there now, you can see it haha, what a coincidence, 404 death not found lol. If you don't get that, its fine, its a geek joke.

  • srr on 31/03/2021 - 21:49
    +5

    I see that you often refer to real currency in derogatory terms, e.g. cash is trash. However, Bitcoin's promise of being a currency failed to deliver. One of the flaws of Bitcoin is its intrinsic value, i.e. it can't support growing economy and by itself is a suppressor of economic activity. We will always have real stable currencies with healthy inflation for the real economy, and we will have other assets for other reasons.

    What if not a currency the killer application of Bitcoin, other than a speculative asset?

    Are you concerned that it is used for money laundering and other criminal activity?

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 22:06
      +2

      I refer to "real' currency, it should be referred to fiat currency because it is trash. What is the intrinsic value of the notes and coins in your pocket? Probably a few cents. The $AU20 note only has value because the Australian government said so, that's what fiat means, it means "by decree". Its not backed by anything physical.

      When the Bretton woods financial system was devised, it was agreed that the USD would be the reserve currency to which all other currencies are pegged and USD will be convertible to gold. That makes it have value. The issue is, the USD government printed so much USD, that other countries started becoming suspicious that the US doesn't have enough gold to cover the amount of USD in circulation, so instead of accepting USD, they demanded physical gold. Nixon "temporarily" stopped the convertibility of USD to gold and its "real" value (the economic meaning of real) has been decreasing ever since. Ever wondered why things cost less 10, 20 years ago? That's fiat currency losing its purchasing power.

      We will always have real stable currencies with healthy inflation for the real economy, and we will have other assets for other reasons.

      There's nothing stable about currencies, mate. Since USD was taken off the gold standard, it has lost 90% of its purchasing power.

      Bitcoin is being used a digital gold, a hedge against inflation. There can only ever be 21 million coins, that's all, no printing allowed.

      Are you concerned that it is used for money laundering and other criminal activity?

      I was wondering when this will come up. I'm very happy that this only came up on page 3 of the comments haha. Do you know what criminals use the most to fund their activities? Its not Bitcoin, its USD. Did you know that banks money launder? Have you heard of the HSBC scandal? Read about it here, https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/hsbc-moved-….
      Criminals use USD, AUD and other fiat currencies, are you concerned about that? Do you think its the fault of the US, Australian and other governments that criminals use their currency for their evil deeds?

      • srr on 01/04/2021 - 07:11
        +3

        It’s a large text, but unfortunately you were going off a prepared script and not answering my questions. It’s ok.

        The first time I learnt about Bitcoins was 2011. They just dropped from $30 to $11. My concerns of anti-economy and anti-social nature of Bitcoin as strong as they were at that time, and I don’t have any regrets of not buying at $11. Good luck with your choices.

      • LFO on 03/04/2021 - 20:35

        There can only ever be 21 million coins, that's all, no printing allowed

        This brings a big risk.
        Suppose you magically own all those 21 million … what if then everybody shows you the financial middle-finger to you and your 21 million coins? What will you do with 21 million numbers nobody wants??

        With gold bullion at least theoretically you can build things made of gold, a noble metal by itself.
        Even if you are the last human on earth.

    • hornbill on 31/03/2021 - 23:25
      +2

      Some good points @srr but literally trillions of $ fiat cash is used for money laundering and criminal activities around the globe. From a quick google: https://www.voanews.com/economy-business/dirty-money-crimina…

  • jaypeee on 31/03/2021 - 22:02

    Is there a coin with potential in its infancy? I.e. what’s one I can throw $100 at and forget about?

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 22:06

      You are looking for a unicorn. (and I'm not referring to Uniswap, it mooned already haha)

      Its out there, you just need to do some research.

      • jaypeee on 31/03/2021 - 22:14

        I know, I just haven’t got the time.

        Go on, have a crack. I might come back and shout you a beer or 2 one day..

        • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 22:26
          +1

          It takes a lot of time and research to find these, you will need to do your own research.

          That's like asking, what penny stock would you recommend?

          I'm not interested in these turn $100 into $1 million coins. My very first Bitcoin purchase was $3000.

  • The Wololo Wombat on 31/03/2021 - 22:16
    +6

    Just wanted to say mate, I appreciate this intelligent discussion about Bitcoin. You've helped me learn a lot.

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 22:19
      +4

      That's why I started this thread, I want to have an intelligent discussion so people can see from another perspective. Its provocative to say, Cash is trash, but it would help to understand why that is true.

      Unfortunately, financial education is not taught at schools. Kids are taught to get a job and save money in the bank. That's not going to work, look at all those people who saved for so long and can't even get into property, because asset inflation has gotten away from them, and the prospects of them ever getting on the train is very slim as the train moves faster and faster away from them.

      • The Wololo Wombat on 31/03/2021 - 22:32
        +4

        Yes, You need to invest in something.

        Really, people who just put their money in the bank today are the ones losing. 'Barefoot investor' advice is like kindergarten… helpful, to a certain degree, but only a foundation upon which to then grow and take 'risks' (of course, 'risk' is all perception… everything's risky to someone on the outside… without knowledge or education)

        I've built up a 2.6m property portfolio from scratch during my 20s. I have not diversified because I know a HUGE amount about property, tax, and finance etc… so why research anything else? I know how to win with property… You know how to win with bitcoin (honestly the tax etc side of things is just as important)

        I've not gotten serious about shares or crypto because that would only distract me from the property.

        I'm actually a teacher myself… and you are right about financial education not being taught in school… but… try teaching adults lol. Try teaching teachers! I have to keep my portfolio a secret so people won't treat me differently.

        The truth is, most 'normal/average' people just don't have the personality/risk appetite/tenacity to go against what is, essentially, a hard-wired biological urge… to earn (money, but, archaically food) and then save it… putting it away in a place that FEELS safe (…or also the other urge… to consume without ceasing!)

        But also, I look to my parents, who have taken very few financial 'risks' in their lives… they are happy. They live in a decent house, go on holiday with their caravan, have great friends… it's important to keep in perspective what's most valuable in life.

        Cash is trash.

        • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 22:45
          +3

          Good on you, you've made it work with property, that's amazing. I don't think you need to diversify when you are onto a good thing. When something is earning good returns, why dilute it by "diversifying"? It doesn't make sense.

          You should stick to something you understand and good at. I like to follow Warren Buffett's rule, only invest in something you understand, that's very important.

          I think financial education is quite lacking and the problem is two fold, first its not taught well and second, people don't see the importance of it. I don't know why, but financials seem to turn people off, this explains why Big 4 bank customers are so sticky (as in less likely to switch banks) and the Big 4 banks exploit this loyalty. Have you seen the savings rates for these Big 4 banks? Its absolute rubbish and yet people still put their money there.

          • The Wololo Wombat on 31/03/2021 - 22:49
            +1

            @techlead:

            don't know why, but financials seem to turn people off

            That's in large part, due to Aussie culture I think. Just look at our history as a country and infer from there…

  • jmel on 31/03/2021 - 22:50
    +2

    good on you for creating this AMA. Fiat is rubbish these days.

    Question on future of blockchain, with every nation looking into blockchain-ing their fiat currency, do you think this will impact the value of btc/eth and so on?

    • Loopenip on 31/03/2021 - 23:05

      good on you for creating this AMA. Fiat is rubbish these days.

      If anything the last year has shown us govt.s across the globe will do whatever they can to keep the status quo and not rock the boat.
      It's crazy, I would pooh-pooh those ideas only a year ago yet now I'm really thinking things are gonna be pretty interesting in the next decades

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 23:41
      +2

      I don't see how nations putting their fiat currency onto a blockchain would impact the value of BTC or ETH. I really don't see the point of it except to make it easier for them to print more money. Instead of having to do it physically which takes time and effort, they can do it with click of the mouse.

      If someone created a token with no cap and the owner can print unlimited tokens, would you buy it? Oh, people would, look at Doge haha. But seriously, no informed person who buy it, unless its for a meme.

      • mavis30551 on 01/04/2021 - 11:10

        How do you find out if they have a cap or now?

        • Ironic fear on 28/04/2021 - 00:24

          Coingecko
          Coinmarketcap

  • wab on 31/03/2021 - 22:58
    +2

    Thoughts on Vechain?

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 23:38

      Sorry, don't know too much about it.

  • Count Shagula on 31/03/2021 - 23:06
    +3

    I started mining ether with my recently delivered 3080 that I purchased in (profanity) September. I read an article on how much I could make from it and I laughed it off. The next day I started mining. A week later I bought every reasonably priced vid card in town. A week after that I spent just over 25k buying 3060s (hate on me all you like) through a supplier that got them to me within a week for extra cost on top of slightly more than their actual cost. I’m now making enough to not have to work at all ever again at current eth prices. I put part of my lifesavings into eth on its recent dip. Will cash out when it goes up and everything I mine is for holding on to. When I pay off the 25k which won’t be long I’m thinking of cashing out and buying 25k more of 3060s. This shit has changed my life forever. Do it if you can!

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 23:44
      +1

      Enjoy it while it lasts, this is not going to last forever. Eth will move off PoW, don't know when, it could be delayed, but if it is on track, it should start to move off PoW this year.

      Your profits will evaporate, so don't invest too much into Eth mining.

    • Ironic fear on 28/04/2021 - 00:30

      I'm about to start mining once I get my new gpu, any advice on eth mining pools?

      And what are your thoughts on mining after eth becomes unmineable? I've read a lot about rvn or even vertcoin being the two most likely to take on most profitable.

  • kkwhong on 31/03/2021 - 23:08

    What are your thoughts on Origin Trail (TRAC)?

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 23:42
      +2

      I have a small bag of Trac, its very interesting, combining supply chain tracking with blockchain.

      • kkwhong on 01/04/2021 - 08:33

        Have you looked into setting up a node on Trac?

        • tikei on 01/04/2021 - 09:12
          +1

          Join their telegram channel - very helpful. I plan to soon after making sure jobs are coming in decent numbers consistently.

        • techlead on 03/04/2021 - 17:30

          No, I haven't, I've just been hodling it. Will check it out now. I do run other nodes, such as Horizen, they've pumped a bit.

      • Tony Strong on 03/04/2021 - 17:28

        start looking Trac now. lol

    • tikei on 01/04/2021 - 09:10
      +1

      It's my biggest bag

  • plmko on 31/03/2021 - 23:27
    +2

    Bitcoin is now challenging US $60k resistance level and failing and OP comes out of no where with an AMA.

    Think about it.

    BTW I hold alts, so I ain't no shill.

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 23:45

      What are you implying? I'm not a Bitcoin maximalist. I think alts have its place, most are rubbish though. Ethereum or which ever smart contract platform eventually wins should definitely be up there in value with Bitcoin.

      Bitcoin was challenging $60k earlier this evening, but a whale dumped, so its now back down to $58k now.

      • Tony Strong on 03/04/2021 - 17:30

        it feels more like a whole being liquidated.

        • techlead on 03/04/2021 - 17:32

          You mean a whale? My theory is that these dumps down to $58k at the moment are either due to a newbie whale not knowing how to do a limit sell or some whale with a huge short getting liquidated.

          These dips get bought back up pretty quickly, the market seem to want to stay just below $60k.

          • Tony Strong on 03/04/2021 - 17:34

            @techlead: sorry, typo. yeah, like a whale being liquidated. April is going to be a huge month for cryptos. An interesting phenomenon for past a few years already, no reason. oh, some reasons for this year, to name one, Coinbase is going to Nasqac this mid April.

    • ARK-2 on 31/03/2021 - 23:56
      +2

      Think about this.

      Bitcoin is a 1 trillion market cap asset. Us Ozbargainers are not going to have the slightest impact on it's price, regardless of how hard we try.

      Bitcoin is hovering around the top 15 largest currencies in the world…

  • monty168 on 31/03/2021 - 23:36
    +1

    Thanks OP - very informative.
    I agree fiat currency is being diluted and will continue to do so.

    I have also recently turned pro-BTC.

    • techlead on 31/03/2021 - 23:47

      Just something to think about. I'm not suggesting anyone dump their whole life savings into Bitcoin, although some property spruikers are suggesting people do that with property investing.

      Do your research and invest what you are prepared to lose. I started with that mindset in 2013, I still have that now.

  • Cluster on 01/04/2021 - 00:02
    +4

    It's financial freedom as long as you're willing to buy someone else's bags. It's a game of hot potato, one person selling onto the next. The person holding bitcoins when the bubble pops loses.

    Is this really financial freedom?

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 00:06
      +2

      It's financial freedom as long as you're willing to buy someone else's bags. It's a game of hot potato, one person selling onto the next.

      You just described a market. Is holding property a game of hot potato?

      The person holding bitcoins when the bubble pops loses.

      That's assuming we are in a bubble. What makes you think we are in a bubble? This could be price discovery for an emerging asset.

      • Tony Strong on 03/04/2021 - 17:31
        +1

        life is also a bubble that filled with time.

        • techlead on 03/04/2021 - 17:33

          That's pretty philosophical, yet very true. haha

    • ARK-2 on 01/04/2021 - 00:23
      +2

      Your analogy also works with property, stocks, and many other investments.

      Bitcoin goes through bubbles but it is 3x the price of the 2017/2018 'bubble'. Is it a bubble now? Not sure, probably not, but we might have a small-medium correction before it goes up again. Small corrections in bitcoin are 20-30% haha. People are scared of it's volatility but if you get to know how the market moves, you have a good chance of buying low and selling high. If you wanted to buy very low, this time last year was a good time. As OP said, the market has worked in a 4 year cycle based on the bitcoin halving event. Will this continue? Maybe, but with institutional investors coming in the market could change.

  • rily001 on 01/04/2021 - 00:04

    Thanks for the AMA - really informative. I have one question - do you still scour OZB community and seek out those juicy Ozbargain deals? or just buy whatever you want now?

    I have also been investing into BTC - my plan is to accumulate, sell near the top (I would define success in calling the top if i sell within 30% of the top!) and then reaccumulate during the bear market in preparation for the next parabolic move 4 years down the track.

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 00:10
      +1

      Yes, I do. I still find myself doing the usual OzB things, maximizing cashbacks and trying to find the best deals for my electronics. I really hate paying more than I need to. I don't think I've changed the way I purchase things, I still wait for sales for non-essential items and check OzB for previous sale prices and wouldn't buy until a similar sale occurs.

      I have also been investing into BTC - my plan is to accumulate, sell near the top (I would define success in calling the top if i sell within 30% of the top!) and then reaccumulate during the bear market in preparation for the next parabolic move 4 years down the track.

      That's a nice strategy, but finding that top and that bottom is hard. I would've never picked $19900 to be the top last cycle, nor $3400 the bottom. Remember Bitcoin was like a stablecoin around $6k for months, I thought that was the bottom, but suddenly a cliff down to $3400. Good times haha. I bought more it was nice. I find that dollar cost average is the better strategy than trying to pick the top or bottom.

  • Ipodisclassic on 01/04/2021 - 00:25

    I thought this website was for poor people like me. :(

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 00:32
      +2

      People with money can also be tight haha.

      • Ipodisclassic on 01/04/2021 - 18:31

        I was considering buying a coin at $500. People told me I was crazy and that it would never go higher. But honestly how much higher can it possibly go? There's no point putting in like $500 when the current price is like 80K is there.

  • d86 on 01/04/2021 - 02:46
    +3

    Not too long ago, you were bothered repairing a 5 years old TV having a BTC worth of $45 million? You must be a clown or story teller mate.

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 08:36
      +6

      I really don't understand why people are so snobby.

      I enjoy taking things apart and understanding how it works. And if I can reduce e-waste, why not? I don't understand how there's any connection between having money and repairing things? I also repaired my washing machine. The belt on the motor broke, so I replaced it myself, it was a $50 part.

      I continue to look for bargains and don't buy non-essential items until they are on sale. I really can't see why I can't be frugal and also have money. Why do people have the mindset that if someone has money, they need to spend it on the most expensive things?

      • d86 on 01/04/2021 - 10:57
        +2

        You are pushing a BS story here and clearly living a poor person mentality by the looks of it.

      • Tony Strong on 03/04/2021 - 17:38

        because those people have no money.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/04/2021 - 08:56
      +5

      Yah nah.

      I'm in a good position myself financially and I repair, reuse and recycle tech all the time. I do that especially with my children to tech them and to show that someone's trash can be someone else's treasure. I hate throwing out things if they still have life. Just because I can doesn't mean I should.

      You assume that if a person has $ that person should have a certain lifestyle.

  • MondaySleeper on 01/04/2021 - 07:43

    Not that far, govt will realise that crypto is disrupting the financial system and criminalise the mining and transaction. You can say its decentralized but once its crminalised common people will stay away from it.

    Considering that its not providing any real value in the real world, banning it won't have any huge impact.

    There was even some talk the bitcoin was invented by a criminal tech mastermind to support his drug business.

    I am also involved in crypto and holding some. But i still doubt the real value of it.

    Nonetheless, congrats on your win.

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 08:37
      +1

      Not sure if you are trolling, but I have heard of this. On reddit, some people are saying Bitcoin was invented by some African warlord haha. I took that as a troll post.

      • MondaySleeper on 01/04/2021 - 09:00

        Its not a troll post. People who have been hunting for satoshi zeroed into 3-4 people and 1 among them was this guy. His trade, profile, computer cryptography knowledge and bitcoins anonymous nature, and the very use of bitcoin that we saw after it circulation, (other than the speculative HODL business) perfectly matches. This guy is still in jail in US. People are watching the address that hold max BCT to make any transaction.

        I always wondered what would happen if it turned out that the real intention of bitcoin was actually something sinister.

        • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 09:03

          That's some very deep level conspiracy.

          I'd take it with a huge pinch of salt. And plus, the network has grown to a point where, all this guy can do is dump his million BTC (Yes One million BTC not one million dollars) stash. He can't do much else. There needs to be a consensus to implement code changes to the network.

  • ayam on 01/04/2021 - 09:11

    What’s a good website to look for a good crypto to invest in? How did you know that Bitcoin/ Polkadot/ Eth worth the investment before it went up? Cheers!

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 09:20

      This has been my experience when I first started. Bitcoin drew me in, then I started looking at other coins, but I was always skeptical about them, I knew that Bitcoin was the gold standard (pun intended haha). Bitcoin has the most developers and is trusted by most people. Looking back, alot of the top 10 coins from when I started is no longer there anymore. Have you heard of namecoin, PPcoin and feathercoin? They were in the top 10 back then.

      The crypto space has grown big enough to have various sectors and use cases. So when Eth first came out, I was skeptical, kicking myself for not subscribing to the ICO, but I bought later on.

      I know due to the macro economic factors I outlined regarding fiat currency, that Bitcoin will be valuable, for the alts, I try to look for leaders and potentially winners in their sector. For example, smart contract platforms, I'm heavily into ETH, however I have a small position in ADA. I saw Dot as valuable because they were the first movers in the interoperability sector, this is very important to enable people to exchange coins across blockchains.

      The next sector to explode (or is exploding now) is gaming. Theta has been going crazy, but there are other tokens like Enjin and Verasity. Gaming is going to be big, and some of these tokens will take off (or has already taken off in the case of Theta).

  • timmy_tam on 01/04/2021 - 09:21

    hi OP, I've read each of your replies and applaud you're honesty and the AMA

    I'm feeling myself moving towards giving BTC another go, so questions is

    is it worth buying some now at the 70k AUD price?

    i realize this is one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions, so i'm really just asking your expert opinion on those of us (and i'm sure there are a few hiding behind me) wondering if its worth jumping on

    thanks!

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 10:33
      +3

      It really depends on your circumstances, your investment goals and time horizon as well as whether you believe in the value of Bitcoin. Bitcoin's value is derived mainly from people's trust and faith in its network plus other external factors like the declining purchasing power of fiat currency.

      I personally think that the parabolic phase of Bitcoin has not happened yet this cycle, yes, we have ramped up from $10k to now $58k, but I think Bitcoin can easily reach $100k this year. How much is the top, I wouldn't have a clue and I wouldn't even try to guess. In 2017, I thought $10k was the top, I was way off.

      I have a long term view of Bitcoin, I believed in 2013 that it could definitely reach $10k, then $100k and eventually $1 million and beyond. So with that view, $70k AUD per Bitcoin is cheap. I have been dollar cost averaging (periodically buying when there's dip) and that strategy has worked for me.

      If you are buying, I would suggest easing into it, don't FOMO in and spend your entire budget in one go, and of course don't over extend yourself. Only invest what you can afford to lose.

      • timmy_tam on 01/04/2021 - 14:07

        thanks mate
        really appreciate the honest, no bull reply you gave :)

    • [Deactivated] on 01/04/2021 - 10:55

      When you'll be jumping, please try avoid innocent people on sidewalks. Thanks.

  • tomcat83 on 01/04/2021 - 09:51
    +2

    My understanding about the energy costs of Bitcoin is that it's not so much foccused on the mining (which is ludicrously energy intensive) but on the energy costs of supporting the blockchain whenever a transaction occurs. I.e. currently everytime someone uses a fraction of a Bitcoin to buy a pizza, or exchange for another currency, or whatever, that exchange is recorded on every blockchain in the world which causes huge bandwidth and computing time costs in aggregate.

    Plus when all the Bitcoins are mined there is no further incentive to hold a blockchain repository, at which point the whole system will need a transaction fee to compensate the ledger holders.

    These problems aren't insurmountable; but neither are they trivial.

  • Podroo on 01/04/2021 - 10:08
    +1

    what wallet should I use, I am currently using coinbase, but it is UK based and I cant cash out. any recommendations for aussie wallet?

    • techlead on 01/04/2021 - 10:21

      You looking to cash out? or to hodl to earn some interest? or do you want the most secure way to hodl?

      • Podroo on 01/04/2021 - 18:20

        the most secure way to hold. because I think australian based wallet is easier for me later to cash out if i need to

  • AfterDeals on 01/04/2021 - 10:12
    +2

    I have been into cryptocurrency since around the same time as you (~$18/ btc circa 2012-13).

    Few macro concerns that keep me worried:
    1) Bitcoin will never be used as a currency, it doesn't have the tx throughput and as a result, eliminates the use case of a "p2p electronic cash". Having as a "store of value" defeats the purpose of why we all started using it in the early days, to make transactions.

    2) Mining is done ~80% in China, ~5% Russia, ~5% Kazakstan and a few other places. We have a large majority of mining taking place in these countries. It will never become a reserve currency of Western economies while this stands just based on a national security threat alone.

    3) Tether has been proven unbacked and a majority of all volume in this industry is based on Tether. It's a house of cards for how long they can keep printing unbacked dollars, but when it does crash, I foresee a huge pullback and a crippling effect on the industry.

    That said, I do have a large amount of my net worth in crypto, but I am not confident enough to all in.

    • Fobsessive on 01/04/2021 - 13:43

      Point #3 especially…yeah

    • Circly on 01/04/2021 - 15:12

      Yeah I am a bit unsure of tether.

    • turbochris on 01/04/2021 - 21:43

      https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/tether-verifi…

      • Tether released an assurance report accompanied by an opinion from accounting firm Moore Cayman to verify that its stablecoins are fully backed.

      • The stablecoin issuer will release attestation reports regularly in the future.

      • Periodic reporting was required as part of Tether’s settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office.

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