BITCOIN revisited – 2017

Back in 2013 I polled you about use of Bitcoin.  HERE

With some imminent news about Bitcoin coming up this week, I thought I’d ask about it, and you, again.

Are any of you mining and/or using Bitcoin?

The combox is open… not in an anarchic way, but… just go ahead.

About Bitcoin in 2017...

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About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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15 Comments

  1. byzantinesteve says:

    When Katrina hit New Orleans and Mississippi, I don’t seem to recall folks being able to go out and buy food and water with gold coins or other alternative currency. In the event of a catastrophic disaster, your gold coins and bitcoins will be worthless. The only items others will consider to be of value are ones that are in high demand and can be used immediately (e.g. freeze dried food, water, ammo and diapers). Bartering will be the new economy at that point and I hope well-intentioned people trying to prepare for their families aren’t left with some worthless coins no one wants in a chaotic scenario.

  2. Amerikaner says:

    I would never get into it. Because of it’s design, it is possible that a “51% Attack” scenario can occur.

  3. Michael says:

    Amerikaner – Given the size and diversity of the network, a 51% attack is unlikely. But more importantly, a 51% attack could not undo the ledger of transactions that came before, which is immutable.

    Fr. Z – I treat cryptocurrency like gold and silver. I hold a modest but definite percentage in my portfolio, in line with recommendations from Ben Graham et al. (made about gold and silver). I also advise clients on its use.

  4. Mike says:

    Pass on Bitcoin, whatever it is or thinks it is. In the event of disaster, junk silver coins—U.S. dimes, quarters, and halves produced before 1965—will retain the intrinsic value of the precious metal from which they were minted, and thus have at least the potential to be more readily useful in exchange for the necessities of life than an electronic (or paper) chimera could ever be.

  5. padredana says:

    Reverend Father Z, You seem to know about this sort of thing, as well as other emergency preparedness stuff. You should consider making a post or series of posts for priest on how best to prepare for themselves and their parish in case of emergency. I, for one, know very little about such things but would like to know more.

  6. Ocampa says:

    Given Bitcoin’s associations with the deep web, I have nothing to do with it.

  7. Agathon says:

    Your poll needs updating, Father: nowadays people who hold and use bitcoin are very unlikely to have tried mining. Almost all of the mining is done by “farms,” using expensive specialized hardware, in parts of the world where electricity can be had for cheap or free.

    So, I voted that I am “really into mining,” though I’m not, because that was the only way to signal my interest in holding/using bitcoin. I’ve followed the technology with interest since 2011 and have owned and held bitcoin since 2013. It’s a fascinating technology with huge potential (and, yes, risk, if you are looking at it as an investment).

  8. Lepidus says:

    Not there…yet. The value swings are a bit too wild and I’m wondering if one of the newer versions will come out on top. My idea would be to put a very small amount into it – not enough to even be considered a percentage of my investments. I don’t see it as a means of exchange during TEOTWAWKI or a natural disaster as byzantinesteve mentioned above. I see it more of a means of exchange for things if “certain things” happen with the government where perfectly legal and good items or organizations today become banned.

  9. Amerikaner says:

    Michael – I disagree with the comment that it is unlikely.

    Look at the issue with Ghash. Folks said it wasn’t likely and suddenly they started sweeping the pool. And since then there are only temporary ways in place to deal with 51%. I don’t trust self-restriction, especially with opaque entities similar to Ghash, and it has shown that the scenario is more likely to occur than not.

  10. YoungLatinMassGuy says:

    I will never so much as Touch bitcoin.

    Ever.

    I have very good reasons for that decision. I will not share them, do not ask.

    I highly suggest everyone of Good Will (Luke 2:14) NOT touch it either.

    Have nothing to do with bitcoin!

    If you have bitcoin…

    Please read the following very, VERY carefully:

    Get rid of it.

    Turn it into cash, and donate it to a woman’s shelter, or an orphanage, or your local Church, or go to the hospital and buy a brand new mother a supply of diapers, or just give that cash to a random homeless drug-addict on the street, and then walk away, and never think about bitcoin ever again.

    On Judgement Day you don’t want to be asked by Jesus, “Why do you have bitcoins?”

  11. Sloet Steenkamp says:

    Some “Social Justice Catholics” will certainly say that Bitcoin itself is contrary to the Catholic Social Teaching. And, when you ask them to substantiate this assertion and to quote from the relevant Church documents, they will haughtily call you “anti-abortion-but-not-pro-life Catholics” before blocking you.

  12. TonyO says:

    I don’t know of any reason to think of Bitcoin as evil in principle. Just that it seems ineffective in principle. In the long run, that is. I doubt that the bulk of the people who use it really know what money is (or at least ought to be). I suspect that at least a few of the people who started it up know perfectly well, and don’t care – being confident that there is a “greater fool” out there.

  13. cl00bie says:

    I started mining altcoins (Game Credits – GAME) about two years ago, and as I found them, I traded them for Bitcoins (no matter what the exchange rate was). I hit the mother lode about 6 months back, and converted them all to Bitcoin. I had about $90 worth. I looked up the price about a month ago, and they were worth $260. So I took about $75 worth of them and bought a hardware wallet for the rest of them. So I’ve mined altcoins, traded them for Bitcoins, and directly spent bitcoins.

  14. JonPatrick says:

    I guess I would be wary of depending on Bitcoin for a TEOTWAWKI event, given the possibility that such an event could disable the Internet e.g. an Nuclear EMP by the likes of North Korea or even Russia given that the clowns in our government seem to be determined to pick a fight with them. I suppose the blockchains would be backed up somewhere but then when and if the Internet is re-established it might only be in separated enclaves so the blockchains could get out of sync. Seems falling back to bartering using ammo or canned goods is a better option.

  15. GregB says:

    Bitcoin has already had an exchange, Mt. Gox, go into bankruptcy under questionable circumstances.

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