Do you use cryptocurrencies?

[Superkoop]

Cryptocurrencies currently seem to be relatively popular, or in any case I hear about them frequently enough. I'm curious how many people here on the forums use them, invest in them, mine them, whatever? Is anyone able to make money on them, and I'm curious how you do that. I do not want to spend real money on them, since I really don't trust them. However, if you do a considerable amount of trading, I'd be interested to hear how you do it and if it's profitable.

The reason I ask is because I've recently joined this new website called QoinPro, which gives away a small amount of cryptocurrencies every 24 hours. I'm not sure how it works, but it does not cost anything to join, so I figure why not. If you're interested in joining, you may want to join using my referral link: http://qoinpro.com/0ce58dadcb872f7aa5021171046ea2fd
I'm trying to understand the point behind cryptocurrencies and to see if it's something that would be worth getting involved in. I'm interested in hearing all of your opinions, both pro and con.

[3rdalbum]

I don't think referral links are allowed on Ubuntu Forums, although I may be wrong.

I have bought some fractions of a bitcoin and spent some on various things. A cafe on my way to work takes Bitcoin, so I've bought a few coffees and cakes and a fruit salad using BTC. It's very easy to do a face-to-face transaction with Bitcoin, and very quick.

I also believe I was the first person in my city to buy a beer with bitcoin.

There's not much I need to buy at any given moment, but I have bought a shirt with Bitcoin. Waiting for it to arrive. This was an online purchase. I've also donated to my local Bitcoin association, and I'm a Bitcoin Foundation member.

People do make money "shorting" bitcoin, but I always seem to buy at the wrong time! I'm not in it to buy and sell bitcoin, I want to buy Bitcoin and then use it for practical purposes. I don't buy big amounts, I just slowly put small amounts into my wallet using a local exchange. And no, I don't keep my coins or fiat in an exchange. Never did.

People also make money by buying other altcoins low and then selling high. I don't see anyone making massive amounts of money from altcoins though, their userbases are very small and you can't use many altcoins to actually buy anything.

Yet others build businesses in the Bitcoin economy, or build and sell mining machines, or buy mining machines and then use them in a 'pool' to get bitcoin. That requires significant investment. I don't recommend it to the faint of heart.

So why do I use bitcoin? I think our monetary system is wrong on several levels. Taxation takes money away from people to pay for government, a necessary evil. Inflation takes value away from people's savings and destroys it. Plus, no matter the rate of inflation, the cost of living seems to always go up faster than the inflation rate. This is, obviously, not sustainable. It must crash down at some point.

Bitcoin is currently inflationary (as new coins are still being minted), but the amount of bitcoin use does not affect the supply of bitcoin, and no government can change this. The value of bitcoin can go up, reducing the cost of living in relation to earlier savings. Deflationary money is often dissed as causing a "deflationary spiral" or encouraging hoarding, but if the rate of deflation is suitably small these effects would be almost nil. The same as the current rate of inflation doesn't encourage panic spending.

Bitcoin is really a new way of doing things, both as a payment processor and an actual currency. The rules are simple and easy to understand compared to government money. It's an even playing-field. I like the technology behind it, but I also like the idea that the people can create their own economy based on different principles. Sending money overseas is a breeze with Bitcoin. Paying a merchant no longer means that my secret financial information (credit card details) are potentially stored by the merchant. Anyone can accept Bitcoin payments without needing to have a relationship with a credit card company and a $500 machine - imagine how many innovative startups will be incubated with Bitcoin funding. Imagine how almost every aspect of society could change with a currency that operates by different rules. That's exciting!

And then, if Bitcoin's value increases before I spend it, so much the better.

Qoinpro is a variation of the old "faucet" site, where you get sent miniscule amounts of bitcoin. It's not worth using faucet sites as the effort/payoff ratio is terrible, although if this one automatically pays out money without you having to spend effort every day it's probably worthwhile giving it a go.

[newbie2244]

Greetings - I'm still trying to master the BB tags, so if I lose format, sorry . I hope I'm not breaking forum rules here by responding to this topic. I find bitcoin interesting and probably very useful. How does one get a bitcoin - bitcoin acc't- bitcoin credit? Also where can it be used? Will book vendors take bitcoin? Can I contribute bitcoin credit to schools in other countries who need textbooks or even in the USA? pls let me know. Regards

[3rdalbum]

How does one get a bitcoin - bitcoin acc't- bitcoin credit?

Hi. You're not breaking any forum rules with your post so don't worry!

We use the terminology "wallet" in relation to bitcoin, instead of "account". Your wallet contains your bitcoins and the ability to send and receive transactions to your wallet address (it's like a bank account number, or an e-mail address). You can download the Bitcoin software and run it on your computer to have a "desktop wallet". This is the most secure option because no secret data ever leaves your computer, however you can't use it to pay a real-world merchant and you need to download the "blockchain" which is a ledger of every transaction that has taken place in Bitcoin. The blockchain is several gigabytes in size and you need to download new data as it happens.

You can also download Bitcoin wallet software for your phone. You can use it to pay a real-world merchant as your phone will be with you when you purchase, but you still need to download the blockchain.

The other main way to get a bitcoin wallet is to use a website that creates a wallet for you. Some sites offer a "managed" wallet - but I don't recommend those as the server will store your secret data. If an attacker managed to hack their way into the site, they could steal your wallet. Other sites like Blockchain.info offer a "hybrid" wallet, where the secret data stays on your computer but you can still access your wallet from anywhere. These are more secure, and you don't have to download the blockchain. Managed and hybrid wallets often have an app for your mobile phone that allows you to make payments with your phone.

You can obtain bitcoin through several methods. One method is to mine bitcoins - this is now for investors only as it requires a lot of money to start. I buy bitcoins from an exchange using my local currency. I tell the exchange how much I want to buy, then I walk to the bank and make a deposit with cash into the exchange's bank account. By the time I reach home, the bitcoins have been sent to my wallet. Some cities have bitcoin ATMs that mechanise this whole process - insert cash, tell the ATM your wallet address, receive bitcoins. You can also meet somebody who wants to sell bitcoin and pay them in local currency and they will send you the agreed amount of bitcoin.


Also where can it be used? Will book vendors take bitcoin?

This site has a pretty good list of who takes bitcoin: https://spendbitcoins.com/places/

For real-world locations, check out http://www.coinmap.org

The number of vendors who accept bitcoin is continually growing. I don't know how many booksellers take bitcoin, but I'm sure there's more than one.


Can I contribute bitcoin credit to schools in other countries who need textbooks or even in the USA? pls let me know.

Bitcoin is starting to become very popular for non-profits and charities. During the recent protests in Ukraine, the organisers were appealing world-wide for donations in bitcoin; partly because it's easy to transfer bitcoin across country borders, and also partly because the banks had imposed limits on transactions due to the crisis.

Earlier this year I went to a meetup for bitcoin users in my hometown. There was a lady there who is working toward bringing bitcoin donations to the major charities operating in Africa. There's even talk of encouraging African farmers to use bitcoin as they can then trade directly to other countries.

Here is a page listing some charities and non-profit organisations that accept bitcoin: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Donation-accepting_organizations_and_projects

The organisation "As We Grow" (http://www.aswegrow.org/) sounds like the kind of thing you are looking for, although it focuses on schools in Africa, not just textbooks and not in developed nations. You can donate in bitcoin if you wish.

[forcecore]

I started to use SecureCoin, i think it may be very good future BT alternate potential.

[3rdalbum]

What is different about Securecoin?