janie1984

The dangers of cyrptocurrency are way larger than just the lack of government regulation and security and fraud issues. Mining takes up a lot of electricity and most systes were not built to handle the pressures, especially with most mining operations occuring in areas that may not have traditionally used so much energy (i.e. homes, warehouses) so it runs the risk of disrupting electricit flows. Also, because of the large amounts of energy required, it generates carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gasses that are created when making electricity, this adds to the pressure on an already incrediby stressed planet. Also, the ability to use cryptocurrency to hide wealth from the government can have negative impacts on the services provided to people and potentially contribute to a lack of trust by people for the banking system and the importance of transparency.

Based on a little internet research it seems like the cost of building and operating could run anywhere from $1000 to $3000 a year but that's if you - like previously mentioned - have access to cheap electricity. Also, another idea would be to join whatever computing power you have to an already operating rig which would save you money through you would have to share any profits.

That's why I said it's a weird hybrid of both commodity and currency, so rather than treat it strictly as one or the other policy for it should be a blended combination based on the best way- to our knowldge at this time- to govern it. Also, if you want get really into the nitty gritty of commodities, at one point in time they were used as is, when society was based on a batering or trading economy. I agree with you that now commodities obviously could not be used in the place of money, but given it being such a new technology we really have to utilize any available historic and economic inofrmation available to really try to understand the best way to govern and understand cryptocurrency.

That's an inaccurate way to define a commodity. Bitcoin is affected by supply and demand as much as any commodity. It is a digital currency, yes but due to its creation through mining one can make the argument that it is also a mined commodity with a finite amount, the same as oil, gold, or any other. What makes it so difficult to correctly define is that as a society, we have moved away from using a mined mineral or object as a source of currency for a long time. Couple with the fact that this is a intrinsic value rather than a physical one, it leads to the melding of two different currency structures. Personally I think it should be treated as a hybrid, similar to the UK's method, as it cannot only be defined as one or the other when it's a combination of both.

It's hard to say. I think because it's such a new phenonmenon that you can't really predict what's going to happen in the future. However we can look at real world examples of countries like Cambodia where the Camodian currency isn't used as frequently as American money due to it's lack of worth and American dollars being a sounder investment. I think if Bitcoin were to stablize more, it could become a more sound currency and potentially replace other currencies but right now it's so volitile that it won't have that potential affect for at least a while longer.

Because he probably didn't invent it. The most recently updated article talks all about how the true identity of whomever created blockchain technology - and bitcoin as a by-product - remains unknown. Even one of the most influential figures in the creation of bitcoin did not know the real indentity of the technology's creator. It could have been some famous tech individual or an unknown who just happened to come up with this amazing idea. Quite frankly, I believe that the inventor's true identity will never be uncovered and will continue to be a great mystery for years to come.

I agree, bitcoin could easily be used for drug cartels, human trafficking, and other illegal activities because it gives organizations a way to avoid being detected by the government and limits the government's ability to track money. Often times, it's the bank accounts and money trail that helps law enforcement catch criminals but if that doesn't exist within the government's realm of control, it's hard to catch people breaking the law.

There's only a limited amount of currency to be mined for Bitcoin and the use of Bitcoin has already been approved in Japan, so while on some level it might threaten governments and their currencies it seems unlikely that they will move to outlaw it. China is an expection to the rule due to their authoritarian government and the heavy control they have over citizens lives. Also bitcoin was originally used by human traffickers, drug cartels, and other nefarious organizations so it's entirely reasonable for governments around the world to be suspicious of them. Saying "they cannot shut bitcoin down" is a bit extreme, there's a very simple solution for managing bitcoins use and it invovles taxation and regulation. By controling bitcoin through the same methods they control pretty much every other aspect of life, one can guarantee that the government will make money off of bitcoin even if they don't directly control it.

I think you should wait a bit longer, with the way things are going in the American and European markets there might be a continued dip in the Bitcoin prices. Also with the holidays coming up people might be selling for that reason. Give it to the New Year and if you start to see prices go up a smidge, maybe buy then. Also Bitcoin is now an accepted currency in Japan and in Sweden people are transitioning to a cashfree lifestyle so I wouldn't be surprised if Bitcoin has a place in the future of money. Don't be too concerned about it going extinct.

Vitural currency is here to stay. As more countries make the switch to a cashless society, expect to see cryptocoins play a bigger role in how we pay for things and the preferred currency of people. One of the problems with coin mining is that they require immense amounts of energy. Quite frankly, if you wanted it to still be profitable to mine and not destroy the planet at the same time, miners should switch to renewable energy which would also help lower the cost of mining. However, it would still require a lot of capital and that's a major part of the downtrend in mining- the huge amounts of capital - physical, monetary, and labor - required to maintain these mining operations is more than the coin is currently worth.

I think you should wait a bit longer, just see how the next month plays out. Realitiscally, Bitcoin is becoming a more accepted currency and people are transitioning away from paper transactions entirely, so I wouldn't be surprised if BitCoin has a much larger role in the future of money. That being said, it is still incredibly volitile, so like cks003 said, hedge your bets and don't go all in with the cxurrency just yet. If you haven't practiced trading currency yet, maybe stick to countries' currency for the moment to get a hang of how volitile it can actually be.