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

- isthisreallife22 on 22/04/2021 - 10:25
  
  -1
  
  Thanks for this post btw - I'm a bit annoyed that ozbargain didnt get me into crypto at some point mid to late last year, as I find ozbargainers tend to have a good balance of hype vs pragmatism. Will follow your views closely.
  
  I live in hope that one of my other likeminded techies / ozbargainers will send me 1BTC one day just because they lucked into getting a few hundred a few years back. Otherwise I feel that I've missed the train but we'll see
  - techlead on 22/04/2021 - 13:28
    
    You haven't missed the train at all. Getting into Bitcoin now is still very early.
    - isthisreallife22 on 21/05/2021 - 11:47
      
      Anyone who entered the market from Mar to May is struggling to see the light atm I'd bet
      - AncientWisdom on 27/05/2021 - 23:48
        
        +1
        
        @isthisreallife22: How do you figure that?
- techlead on 22/04/2021 - 13:27
  
  When you get into crypto, you need to have a longer view. Its not a get rich quick scheme.
  
  When people invest in property, do they get angry when they are at a loss in the first 5 years or even longer?
  
  You just need to do some research.
  
  What do you think this guy is feeling? https://twitter.com/GregSchoen/status/70261648811761665
  
  "I wish I had kept my 1,700 BTC @ $0.06 instead of selling them at $0.30, now that they're $8.00! #bitcoin"
- ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 13:00
  
  Remember crypto is for the longer term play, be a little patient. Several weeks back, your crypto would have been something like +5-10% or more right? And you didn’t comment about this plus point here?
  
  There’s talk in town that more companies would be accepting crypto as a form of payment method, minus the ones which have already done so. There is also talk that more companies would be holding crypto in their treasury/balance sheets, again minus the ones which have already done so. Driven by tax incentives, crypto is also evolving into a space for financing, rather than just trading.
tunzafun001 on 23/04/2021 - 01:15

Any exchanges with sign up bonuses we should be making use of as a first time user?
- ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 12:25
  
  Tip: Search the word “crypto” in OzB here.
sn00ze on 24/04/2021 - 08:27

BTC - where's the bottom? when are you buying techlead ?
- techlead on 24/04/2021 - 09:43
  
  +1
  
  If I knew where the bottom is, I'd a lot richer. I'm just buying with every "crash". My last buy for Bitcoin was $47800. I'm also loading up on Ethereum as well. Bargains!
- ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 12:31
  
  Because nobody knows where the bottom is, one way is to use the DCA approach every time when there’s a dip. Don’t use all your money in one purchase. Crypto, like any other technology, is not going to go away soon, it will either stay as it is or evolve, so it’s going to be a longer term play and the DCA approach benefits from longer term plays.
overall on 24/04/2021 - 10:40

-2

I can't help but wonder if climate change might one day put us back to square one. Maybe global warming leads to a cooling effect of the northern hemisphere, which causes total chaos, and poses a considerable risk to the security of each and every nation. We might not have enough ammunition to shoot all the refugees coming from the north. And then there's all those sleepy volcanoes, which are slowly starting to wake up. The hotter it gets, the more likely it is that a major volcano will erupt and spew massive amounts of c02 into the atmosphere, effectively blocking out the sun on a global scale. And that's when you get a proper ice age. Can Bitcoin work without electricity.
- ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 12:43
  
  This is where you are questioning humanity. History has shown no matter what you throw at them, earth along with humans will eventually survive.
  
  Who knows what will happen in the future. One things for sure is humans are not as dumb as you think. If climate change is severely threatening life on earth (like in your description with ice age, electricity supply etc. etc.), humans will learn to adapt and evolve. And this is what’s exciting about crypto, it’s not only growing but it’s also evolving and adapting to challenges that are thrown at it. Crypto is technology after all, and technology is able to evolve to solve problems.
  - overall on 24/04/2021 - 19:08
    
    +1
    
    I reckon homosapiens have a good chance of surviving well into the future, but probably not as homosapiens per se, but more like degenerate, hybrid, human-like beings. If the weather/atmosphere/pollution gets really bad, we might have no other choice than to change, mutate, adapt, become weird, ugly, denatured, alien-looking things, who travel back in time (to our present reality/dimension, for example) to tweak and engineer better outcomes for the 1% of the 1% of the future. Who knows.
    
    Humans aren't dumb, just a tad lazy (and scared) and lazy people tend to think lazily, and this makes them seem more stupid than they are. So no, I don't accept that humans are dumb. That would be too much of a free pass.
    
    I'd like to make a distinction between stupid and dumb, though. Some people are actually born dumb, but I generally don't discriminate against the dumb if I can help it, since that is a really stupid form of discrimination in itself. If it can't be helped, it can't be helped. And not accepting that is stupid, if you are indeed, intelligent.
    
    As for the rest of us, we are not born dumb. We actually have these really amazing brains that make us naturally quite thoughtful, creative, and intelligent. However, that innate intelligence isn't necessarily prized in a capitalistic society, which basically yokes us to a reward/punishment system that cultivates a shame/honour culture. Which also seems to be quite effective at brainwashing people, thereby incorporating them.
    
    Suffice it to say, that we're far, far removed from the original humans who had the guts to live and die for real, who in a strange way, most likely found sustenance in the very hardships that they had to face and endure. They might have even realised their own potential in the process, leading us alllll the way here. Amazing.
    
    I imagine that they appreciated and understood a very different kind privilege, that modern man has essentially lost, or has become estranged from. His roots, his own true nature, as it were, as corny as that sounds. If the purpose of life for all living organisms is to thrive, then perhaps we could improve ourselves by looking to the past. Biohackers are all about that. Tapping into that currency. 'Evolution'.
    - sn00ze on 29/04/2021 - 19:17
      
      a smart person once said - even the dumbest person in the room can teach you something.
- tunzafun001 on 24/04/2021 - 12:48
  
  -1
  
  …Extreme… definitely needs electricity, and a lot of it. Sad reality a lot (I believe 60%) of that currently comes from coal fired power plants in China. Very human thing to do.. introduce tech that requires a heap of electricity for computation. P.S. you forgot to add the exploding levels of methane production we now see coming from the previous permafrost (now melting Tundra). If we reduce our output right now, it's still going to accelerate. We are idiots, simple as that. We have all the knowledge and tech right now to stop global warming. I have a full electric house, solar, solar hws, drive an EV (2014 model…it's 2021..still see bugger all of them) and produce a solar credit. In my world, every plane, ship and truck should be hydrogen powered. People should be smart/ care enough to stop at 2 kids. Anyway, we have a lot bigger issues than crypto, but the environment situation should factor into your investment strategy. *Edit - just saw the above comment. Haha, history shows that humans will very likely become extinct (imagine if covid was more like Ebola…at the core, we are fragile little eggs who can't change our ways to save ourselves.. literally). As for the Earth, that will be consumed by the Sun. But right now.. which Cryptos will replace Visa, MasterCard, Banking and lending, betting, basically all trade etc..that is the question
  - ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 13:35
    
    History has shown humans will likely become extinct is not true. In earth’s history, no other species like humans/homo have ever existed before and go completely extinct. Rhinos probably yes. Humans have survived the many plagues that had dawn on it in history gone by, and we are still here! Humans are not as dumb as you think.
    
    For the sun consuming earth, this is why interplanetary exploration is important. And Mars is part of this journey.
    
    With which crypto replacing Visa, MasterCard etc, this is the same as what I was saying about how crypto is exciting because it is constantly evolving and changing to solve problems that are thrown at it.
    
    For millennials, we are born too late to see humans land on the moon, too early to probably see humans land on Mars, but in our lifetime we get to see the foundations of crypto being built which will be seen by future generations as the first few decades of crypto infancy where crypto would be a staple for them.
    
    For you lucky Gen Z, you will probably be able to see humans land on Mars!
    - tunzafun001 on 24/04/2021 - 13:45
      
      If you want to visit Mars, drive to the middle of Australia. Quicky learn that Mars is no place for life, and a 0.0001 drop in the ocean stepping stone of space travel. Need to look after what we have. Until we are closer to speed of light travel. Lose/ burn/ comsume so much resource getting there for little return. Burke and Wills type expeditions in my mind. Give it a few more years and you can do the trip that killed them in a 20 year old Toyota!
      
      Anyway, how do I physically buy crypto (seen some technical jargon such as 'slippage'). If I want to buy X crypto (say currently trading at 20c), how do I place a buy order for say 19c or 21c? Guessing I'll be using Trust wallet on my phone or Binanace, or do I need both?
      - ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 14:18
        
        @tunzafun001: Slippage doesn’t really have anything to do with the price of limit orders. Slippage is more about adjusting the gas fees settings so that there is enough gas fees allocated in your transaction for it not to be declined by the network.
        
        If you want to set the price of limit orders, I don’t think you can do this in Trust Wallet, but you can do this in Binance under the “Trade” tab.
        
        Edit: I just checked Trust Wallet, maybe you can set price of limit orders under the “DEX” -> “Exchange” tabs. I am not 100%, so maybe google price limit orders in Trust Wallet?
        
        tunzafun001 on 24/04/2021 - 14:47
        
        @ilovefullprice: Aw man, every minute a new term I dont understand. What are gas fees? and clearly I have no idea what slippage is.
        
        Thanks for your help. I would have done a few buy ins this morning, but clearly I'm not ready.
        
        ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 15:12
        
        @tunzafun001: Don’t worry bro, you’re not the only one with all these terms! I had to do quite a bit of researching myself and I am not even confident to say I know everything, given also the crypto space changes so quickly! The good thing is because there is so much money flying around in crypto, you will be compensated for the time in doing your research.
        
        Now, from my own understanding, a very layman way of what gas fees is, is the fees you pay for your transaction. If you set your gas fees to be within a high range, your transaction will likely to be picked up by the network and be processed, because you are offering to pay more fees. If you set your gas fees to be within a low range, your transaction will probably not be picked up by the network because there will be others offering to pay more in fees so these people will always be prioritised before you.
        
        Slippage is just a setting on what this range is on your gas fees. Wallets these days like Trust Wallet sets or uses a default slippage setting for you automatically, so you don’t need to worry about this. Unless, for more advance people, and when they think the network is not too busy (so not too many competition for a transaction to be processed), then they can save some money on fees by reducing this slippage (ie. reducing the range on the gas fees) for their transaction.
        
        tunzafun001 on 24/04/2021 - 15:53
        
        @ilovefullprice: Wow, transaction fees are even variable…
        
        But these are the same regardless of who you go through?
        
        If I want to buy defi tokens right now, who would you suggest using, and what slippage range? Cheers
        
        ilovefullprice on 24/04/2021 - 16:11
        
        @tunzafun001:
        
        But these are the same regardless of who you go through?
        
        I believe so yes, because the transactions are all on the same (say Ethereum) network.
        
        If I want to buy defi tokens right now, who would you suggest
        
        It’s better to do your own research (googling, reddit etc.) otherwise I might be accused of shilling a coin that I am also HODLing! Yes, I am HODLing a DeFi token, so maybe if you really want to know, you can dm me.
        
        what slippage range
        
        Personally, I don’t bother with the slippage and let the wallets or platform automatically set this for me. Wallets or platform these days would automatically set the most optimal slippage for you, so that your transaction wouldn’t be declined.
  - overall on 25/04/2021 - 20:16
    
    There's also an abundance of viruses and parasites which have been locked in ice and permafrost for thousands of years. That could possibly cause a hiccup or two. There was an anthrax outbreak in russia back in 2016 as a result of thawing permafrost, i think.
    
    Invest in the pharmaceutical industry?
    
    There's also a 'grand solar minimum' to consider. Apparently there'll be less sunlight until 2050 or so, which may or may.not help.
- techlead on 25/04/2021 - 09:40
  
  +1
  
  This issue didn't start with Bitcoin and it will not end with it.
  
  Are you blaming the industrial revolution for climate change? Can the internet work without electricity?
  
  Climate change didn't just occurred because of something 10 years ago, it takes decades, perhaps centuries of pollution to get to where we are today.
  - tunzafun001 on 25/04/2021 - 23:12
    
    +5
    
    Looking at pure numbers, climate change has never been faster than the last 200 years. I don't blame the industrial revolution directly, but I do blame everyone who benefited from it. That's the mindset that doesnt seem to happen. Climate change is always shown as a big pollution stack coming from a power station, when it should be someone sitting in front of an airconditioner in the middle of winter in a t-shirt. I always feel for birds outside in summer and its 46C. We've put houses on every natural creek and land source, and we net all our fruit. We turn on the AC and a tap and all is good. They drop out a tree dead by midday. Never seen so many until this La Nina year. Moral, we are very inconsiderate of anything that isn't in our human bubble. Speaking of numbers, look up how many litres of oil one single cargo ship uses to cross the Atlantic. Then look up how many ships there are, then cross reference the CO2 output per litre of crude burnt. Then do the same for planes, trucks etc. How the Earth hasn't collapsed already blows my mind.
    So getting back to mindsets, we are the actual virus, and things like covid and are the 'immune system'. I hope blockchain can be used to data match the biggest offenders. For example, you can have your huge black house without eaves, with mass amounts of glass and faces due west. However, these factors all add together to mean your land rates are 90x the average and the funds will be used for carbon fixing, or something along those lines.
hahaboy on 02/05/2021 - 16:24

Views on this video? With most economies wanting a piece of this action, and investing into building/setting up their own form of digital currencies, it's almost inevitable that regulation will come into play with cryptocurrencies that are not managed by the government.
- ilovefullprice on 10/05/2021 - 22:11
  
  +1
  
  With the current state of play, the Chinese govt recently came out saying that to them crypto is an alternative asset. So likely CBDC like the digital yuan (used as currency for payments), will sit side by side next to crypto (an alternative asset).
  
  In the west, because the concept of freedom is more valued, CBDC and crypto would likely be treated as both currency and alternative asset.
  
  Most countries around the world already have some sort of regulation on crypto, with the most prevalent one being on taxes.
PhatChedda on 18/05/2021 - 14:06

Whats a good hardware wallet
- turbochris on 19/05/2021 - 08:09
  
  Trezor or Ledger
cc23 on 19/05/2021 - 16:08

+2

How you feeling today?
- cloudy on 19/05/2021 - 20:12
  
  -1
  
  lol, isn't it typical top of markets/bubbles come straight after charlatans spruik life changing opportunities.
  
  I don't feel sorry for OP, I feel sorry for anyone who read this and decided to plunge money into BTC
  - cc23 on 19/05/2021 - 20:16
    
    -1
    
    Yeah like the timing of the post is interesting. In that it was when hindsight was fully 20/20 and you can be like ‘I made this decision because I knew!’ but really you’re just hyped as hell that you made the right call and you’re now a millionaire. Which is awesome. But let’s not pretend it isn’t a bubble. Dot com really was the future, but it was also a bubble.
    - AncientWisdom on 20/05/2021 - 23:15
      
      +2
      
      I believe the point of the thread is that crypto is not just a bubble but an actual thing.
      
      Sometime in the future, can be next week, next month or next year, very probably (but by no means certain) Bitcoin will break the previous highs and will keep climbing. What will you say then?
mmd on 19/05/2021 - 20:11

Is this the start of a bear market?
- cloudy on 19/05/2021 - 20:14
  
  If i'm not mistaken it already is in a bear market. More than 20% down from the once in a lifetime Financial Freedom opportunity of April 2021 (AKA last month lol)
  - cc23 on 19/05/2021 - 20:17
    
    +1
    
    You can have bearish patterns on the hourly and still be in a bull
    - mmd on 19/05/2021 - 20:31
      
      yeh wondering whether to put some in, or wait for it drop more.
      - cc23 on 19/05/2021 - 20:37
        
        @mmd: Yeah I’m nibbling some buys.
        
        mmd on 19/05/2021 - 20:42
        
        @cc23: curious if @techlead going to buy?
        
        cloudy on 19/05/2021 - 20:43
        
        @mmd: Didn't he declare he was all in, coz he picked the bottom in March last year.
        
        wizzlesticks on 20/05/2021 - 02:32
        
        -1
        
        @cc23: Be careful. Wait for the China news to sink in. They've virtually banned it from being used to make any purchases.
        
        EightImmortals on 20/05/2021 - 07:16
        
        @wizzlesticks: ….'again' lols.
- AncientWisdom on 20/05/2021 - 23:19
  
  Probably not, but I've misplaced my chrystal ball so can't be certain.
rektrading on 19/05/2021 - 20:58

+1

The last time BTC crossed the weekly 21 EMA and closed below it was in March 2020. We all saw what happened ~60 days after that. People can make up their own minds if this is a 2020 or a 2018 correction.
- EightImmortals on 20/05/2021 - 07:25
  
  +1
  
  Refresh my memory. Looking at my chart March 2020 is when the bull run started. Also it hasn't closed below the weekly 21MA yet (at least not on my chart) I'd be more worried if it broke the 50MA on the weekly chart and went after the 200ma which would drop the price back down to around 13K ish. As for today it seems to have hit the daily 200 MA, didn't close below and rejected it pretty hard…for now. Next day or so should tell us which way it wants to go. But lets be real, it did need a good correction after the last few months growth. Also, as for government interference in the free market. IMO they are just trying to clear the way for their CBDC's which would be a total disaster for us if things went that way. :)
  
  BUY THE DIP!!! (not financial advice)
wizzlesticks on 20/05/2021 - 02:29

Wonder how OP''s equity is doing.

Bitcoin price at time of posting; USD$58,786.

Price today; USD$37,400 (intraday low ~$32,000).
- Lucille Bluth on 20/05/2021 - 05:33
  
  I made about $4K from leveraging on the dips by selling and rebuying on the massive dips last night. It's all rebounding now too, perhaps lost a few weeks/days worth of gains depending on what you have
- techlead on 20/05/2021 - 14:39
  
  +6
  
  Obviously, I don't have $46 mil anymore. however, I did sell some ETH at over $4000, so I used that and other fiat I had lying around to buy the dip.
  
  It was great, I was very happy with the dip last night.
  
  The last major dip was $8000 to $3800 in March 2020. Look at the price now, so not scared one bit. You sell when people are greedy, buy when there's blood on the streets.
  - cc23 on 20/05/2021 - 23:47
    
    Not concerned this may be a dead cat bounce?
    - rektrading on 21/05/2021 - 00:24
      
      Use OCO.
      - isthisreallife22 on 21/05/2021 - 11:56
        
        @rektrading: I'm assuming you have a fail safe dead cat bounce OCO strategy? Care to share the orders you've placed?
  - AncientWisdom on 21/05/2021 - 03:38
    
    What made you sell the ETH at $4000? Do you not believe it will go any further or did you think there will be a correction and was seeking to capitalise?
  - pipe on 23/05/2021 - 14:56
    
    So if it went up in the past it will keep going up? Genius.
    - techlead on 24/05/2021 - 09:07
      
      Well, no, its not as simple as that. I have articulated why it would up and why it would be worth way more in the future.
      
      The main benefit of Bitcoin is its network, ability to transfer value across the internet without a possibility of intervention from government.
      - pipe on 24/05/2021 - 10:15
        
        @techlead: No, you have not articulated any reason why it would go up to $100k by end of the year except that you can draw a straght line on the chart to show that the trend was up.
        
        You point out the benefits of crypto but give no evidence to show these benefits are not already reflected into the inflated price.
        
        techlead on 24/05/2021 - 10:51
        
        +3
        
        @pipe: I don't like to draw straight lines, nothing goes up in a straight line.
        
        Bitcoin will increase in price because:
        
        Demand will continue to increase, more ETFs are approved this year than any other and a US ETF is evitable. Supply is fixed,
        
        Network improvements continue to be implemented, the network is processing alot more transaction versus the 2017 peak yet transaction fees are nowhere as high,
        
        Adoption will continue, this is related to the first point. At just over 10 years old, this technology is still now. This is similar to where the internet was in the 90s,
        
        It enabled the unbanked and oppressed to have an option to transact via a decentralised and censorship resistant network, and
        
        Governments will continue to print money, therefore devaluing fiat which will increase the price of Bitcoin (asset inflation). It also helps shares, properties and gold by the way.
        
        So, some of these benefits may have already been priced in, but fundamentals will continue to push Bitcoin's price up, eg continued money printing and increasing demand.
        
        pipe on 24/05/2021 - 13:41
        
        -1
        
        @techlead: I can find that stuff by typing bitcoin into Google. You have not articulated why now is a good time to buy, or how you came up with your price target.
        
        techlead on 24/05/2021 - 15:34
        
        +2
        
        @pipe: Price targets are for you to work out. I couldn't care less whether you buy Bitcoin or not.
        
        pipe on 24/05/2021 - 17:05
        
        -2
        
        @techlead: Did you forget you were confidently teling the world that bitcoin will exceed $100k by end of the year? And that coincided with the top of the market?
        
        Do you care that you may have made some bloke lose half their savings because they read your baseless price target and didn't know better?
        
        techlead on 25/05/2021 - 12:39
        
        +1
        
        @pipe: First, I do remember my prediction and I still stand by what I said. Last I checked, it's still May 2021, I thought the year ends on 31st Dec 2021 or did I miss something?
        
        You sound like Dan Pena who was gleefully gloating in Nov 2018 when Bitcoin dropped from $6000USD to $3000USD and he said it would go to "zero, zero, zero", but of course what he said aged like milk, video here for a nice laugh.
        
        https://youtu.be/2t4lzuqETjg
        
        Second, people need to do their own research, no one should invest in something from what some random bloke says on the internet. Of course, anyone losing half or all their savings, my heart goes out to them, eg investors of Bitconnect, Mascot Towers etc, I hope they can move on and learn from their mistakes.
        
        My price targets are not baseless and I still think Bitcoin will easily surpass $100k USD this year and I have positioned myself financially for it. That's what I'm doing, I'm not telling anyone else to do what I'm doing, they will need to do their own research and make up their own mind.
        
        Whatever happens, it's on them, just like if I lost money with crypto, I'm not blaming some random guy on the internet, I've only myself to blame.
        
        pipe on 25/05/2021 - 18:47
        
        -2
        
        @techlead: I have done my research and my strategy is to follow your posts and do the opposite of what you do. It is working well so far.
        
        techlead on 25/05/2021 - 23:07
        
        @pipe: Really? You shorted Bitcoin in 2013? I guess you'd need to buy Doge then, because I sold it at 71 US cents and then shorted it. That short position remains opened right now.
        
        I also have 3000 shares of Coinbase ($COIN), bought at an average weighted price of $255.37 USD. Yes, this is at a loss at the moment, the current price is $225.30 USD.
        
        Good luck!
        
        pipe on 25/05/2021 - 23:41
        
        @techlead: Haha you mean how you made 20 posts about doge being a joke when it was 5c? Proves my point? I better buy more Doge now.
        
        techlead on 25/05/2021 - 23:51
        
        +2
        
        @pipe: Doge is worthless, but I have learnt to respect the power of social media after missing out on the GME rocket.
        
        Hence I bought doge, to ride the wave, it's still worthless in my opinion, that's why I'm shorting it. I took some of my profits and used it to short.
        
        pipe on 25/05/2021 - 23:52
        
        -1
        
        @techlead: Post history or it didn't happen.
        
        Edit:
        
        Posted on 3/3 "The top 5 for me are, BTC, ETH, BNB, ADA and DOT."
        
        If I shorted your top 5 and bought doge… Get what I'm saying?
        
        techlead on 26/05/2021 - 12:02
        
        @pipe: I'm not posting all my trades lol
        
        Do your own research and make your own investment decisions.
        
        Obviously, if you did the opposite of what I did from 2 weeks ago, you'd be ahead. That means nothing. The Nasdaq and other US markets fell from 2 weeks ago too, are you going to say if I did the opposite of Warren Buffett, I'd be ahead, therefore I'm going to do that going forward? Good luck with that haha.
        
        pipe on 26/05/2021 - 12:48
        
        @techlead: Please post here when you sell. Thanks.
        
        techlead on 26/05/2021 - 15:47
        
        +3
        
        @pipe: Don't be a sheep. Do your own research and make your own investment decisions. Don't blame others for your own investment decisions if you lose money.
        
        Crypto markets are recovering by the way, whether its a dead cat bounce remains to the seen.
idjces on 22/05/2021 - 14:40

lol why the change of heart OP?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ethfinance/comments/nhxezl/exgoogle…

edit:
Bitcoin price on the day the original post was made: $57,000USD
Bitcoin price as of this moment: $36,500USD
- rektrading on 22/05/2021 - 17:15
  
  It's not the same person.
  https://youtu.be/mhLS-7YGpbM
  - idjces on 22/05/2021 - 17:31
    
    Ah cheers. The positions he liquidated at the start of the video, sounded very much like the ozbargain techlead. But i guess anyone with a spread of tokens would end up holding a similar position
    - IncidentalCase on 23/05/2021 - 02:30
      
      Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if lots of people jumped into crypto thinking this techlead was that guy from Youtube.
- techlead on 24/05/2021 - 10:52
  
  That's no me lol.
  
  I bought the dip and will continue to buy as it dips more.
  
  I continued to buy throughout the bear market, DCA is my strategy.
negger on 24/05/2021 - 15:16

BTC is still holding up well all things considered. There is no single use case going for it. Some new technology or technologies in further iterations should come up to solve the use cases Bitcoin originally attempted to solve and hopefully more though.
- techlead on 24/05/2021 - 15:35
  
  It may dip further, when that happens, I will happily buy more.
  - negger on 24/05/2021 - 15:41
    
    Store of value argument?
    To add, in western world, we live in a democracy and by definition power is still with people. The pseudo fight is not a novel idea in my mind.
    - techlead on 25/05/2021 - 12:48
      
      What's your point?
      
      US is a democracy? We, the people right? That did nothing to stop people's gold from being confiscated. Google it if you are not aware.
      - negger on 25/05/2021 - 20:00
        
        @techlead: People can use the power to change things instead of creating a parallel universe.Paralell universe will need many forks anyway;-)
        
        techlead on 25/05/2021 - 22:01
        
        @negger: Not really. How can "people use their power" to stop central banks from printing more money?
        
        negger on 26/05/2021 - 19:14
        
        @techlead: Most cryptos have whales in control. This concentration of power is worse than any traditional setup in reality. Whales are apparently anonymous too. Think about it.
        
        techlead on 26/05/2021 - 19:37
        
        @negger: When you say "in control", you mean in control of the price? I don't doubt there's price manipulation, just like in shares, however these are usually short term.
        
        You think the same dynamics aren't in play with other investments, like shares and even the USD?
        
        negger on 26/05/2021 - 19:46
        
        @techlead: Price & more importantly governance.
        
        techlead on 26/05/2021 - 19:51
        
        +1
        
        @negger: You are wrong in regards to governance. Governance is not centralised with any "whale" for Bitcoin.
        
        In order to make a change to the Bitcoin network, eg, change the block size, lift the 21 mil BTC limit etc the following must occur:
        
        Anyone can submit a BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) that aims to change bitcoin core
        
        The BIP must be approved by an editor
        
        The BIP must be voted in with 95% confidence from the miners
        
        The community must upgrade to the new software version
        
        No "whale" will be able to circumvent that for Bitcoin. I presume by "whale" you mean a big holder of Bitcoin. Usually these "whales" are not miners, hence by holding a lot of Bitcoin means nothing, they can't vote for any BIP.
        
        negger on 26/05/2021 - 19:55
        
        @techlead: I am sure you can pick holes all over there yourself. BTC or any PoW is is of no interest to me personally.
Tiredman on 24/05/2021 - 16:24

+5

So many no coiners in here gloating. Jeez. We are still up few hundred %. Calm down. To newcoiners, remember always to take profit and secure your capital back. Once that's back. You have more room to make decisions.
- techlead on 25/05/2021 - 12:49
  
  Exactly, zoom out, this is not a "catastrophic plunge". Don't look at the 5 minute chart
- tunzafun001 on 29/05/2021 - 01:10
  
  That was my plan, but I started in May, and then got done by the PCS flash loan attack, so will take a while to get my capital back. But going the hard way has forced me to learn a lot.
  - techlead on 30/05/2021 - 21:52
    
    Make sure you understand what you are investing your hard earned into.
- wizzlesticks on 30/05/2021 - 01:42
  
  Well, remember, there are people also speculating that Bitcoin will collapse to $20k (or less), and entering in their short positions. Doesn't necessarily mean they are 'no coiners'. They are just as certain that this is a massive bubble in the same way some of you are certain that the moon's the limit.
  - techlead on 30/05/2021 - 21:51
    
    They are positioning themselves financially based on their opinion of what the future holds, its fine, all the power to them.
    
    I saw on Twitter last year so many people who said they are shorting Bitcoin at $11k USD saying its going down to $1k USD. This was around June/July 2020 as the market was picking up, they are all saying its a bull trap. I disagreed with them at the time and the market as we all know also disagreed, as a result they are all rekt. That's fine, they have made their decision and acted on it.
    
    I have no problems with people shorting the market.
  - negger on 05/06/2021 - 12:38
    
    There is a gap on the BTC futures chart around $USD25k. Futures gap typically gets filled but not a sure thing of course.
rektrading on 06/06/2021 - 09:44

IV. Central banks are increasingly taking actions that may cause harm to the economic stability of El Salvador;

V. That in order to mitigate this negative impact from central banks, it becomes necessary to authorize the circulation of a digital currency with a supply that cannot be controlled by any central bank and is only altered in accord with objective and calculated criteria;

https://youtu.be/2V8y_IV7XU8?t=606
- Tiredman on 07/06/2021 - 14:08
  
  I like this. If this passes, more will come.
tunzafun001 on 08/06/2021 - 14:02

Just wondering if you have any concern regarding the mining representation of Bitcoin in China? Ie. Security, as it's close to 50% / losing its decentralized status.

Also, what about the "dilution factor" with many pop up deflationary coins? BTC's security being it's trump card. But a simple fork should have similar value shouldn't it?
- wizzlesticks on 08/06/2021 - 23:28
  
  Maybe not so secure: Today's news showing the FBI was somehow able to access a hacker's local Bitcoin wallet and unlocked it to retrieve $2.3m in Bitcoin which they had acquired through ransomware. The amount went through many different wallets, but stayed in the seized wallet since May 27.
  - tunzafun001 on 08/06/2021 - 23:50
    
    Just had a look at an article. Looks like they simply got keys to a wallet, not comprimised Bitcoin itself. Pretty nieve not to convert to XMR etc and move on.
    - rektrading on 09/06/2021 - 00:06
      
      Flipping BTC to XMR can't be done on-chain.
      - tunzafun001 on 09/06/2021 - 01:23
        
        @rektrading: But couldn't it be done anonymously via an exchange? I haven't completed KYC and can trade on Binance. Don't have 2.3 mil to test that amount though ; )
        
        Also, any thoughts on my above comment?
  - rektrading on 08/06/2021 - 23:58
    
    It's impossible to hack a wallet without the seed words.
    
    The easiest way to get the seed words is to use the wrench method.