Topic Wiki

Editor’s note: I know enough about this topic to be dangerous, but I’m not a true expert so please feel free to add to or edit anything in this wiki that will improve it. The FAQs contain many oversimplifications but that is intentional to make the information relatable to the audience. Thanks!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are blockchains and bitcoins and what is the difference?
A blockchain is the fundamental element in a crypto currency system. A blockchain is an accounting ledger. Each block contains a bunch of journal entries (i.e. a chronological record of transactions) that gets encrypted (by miners) but can be downloaded and read by anyone on the network. Why the blockchain ledger is secure and how we can vouch for its integrity is a slightly more advanced topic.

An accounting ledger typically keeps track of money, and a blockchain is no different. But the only type of money that it can accurately track is digital money that lives on the blockchain network. So dollars, euros, etc are out. The digital money that lives on the blockchain is called a crypto currency, and the most well-known one at this time is Bitcoin.

Currently there are a few major blockchain networks: the Bitcoin Network, the Ethereum Network, and the Litecoin Network. Each one has its own currency, which are Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin, respectively.

I’m just a simple DDFer and not an accountant + cryptographer + hacker all at the same time. Can you make this a little simpler to understand?
Let’s try an analogy. There is a certain website called Dansdeals.com and it has quite a following. Some of the followers are just users/readers but others are more active and produce value for the website. When they provide value, they earn currency for their work – called “EQP” and “HT”. So we have something we will call the Dansdeals Blockchain Network that is simply a record keeper of various ongoing deals and it issues a native currency that is fractionable (10,000 EQP = 1 HT). This is similar to the Blockchain network recording financial transactions and issuing bitcoins. The ones who work for the network (miners) earn bitcoins and everyone else needs to buy it to participate.

The analogy improves if you imagine that the Dansdeals website visitors have to pay a small amount, let’s say 5 EQP, in order to access a deal or a code that is recorded on the network. If the website has 30,000 followers who love deals, but only 1,000 active members who earn EQP, then you can see that there is a need for a marketplace to be created where you can buy EQP for later use.

Of course, websites are not networks, and this analogy is far from perfect. But useful.

How much is a Bitcoin worth
No one knows. A few people are speculating its worth based on the potential that Bitcoin will one day become a major world currency that people use in their daily lives. Most people though are speculating its worth based on what the next new investor will pay them for it (google “Greater Fool Investing”).

Even if a crypto currency becomes dominant, who says it will be Bitcoin? Maybe it will be Schmitcoin?
This is completely possible. Bitcoin and Ether are the most likely at this point, but their long term survival is not at all guaranteed.

So why all the fuss about Bitcoin? Shouldn’t we wait for Schmitcoin and its cousins to come out?
You could, but you don’t want to ignore how hard it is to start up a network from scratch. It may be that as little as one person can create rival code to compete with the existing digital currencies and blockchains, but one person is not a network. You need a lot of highly technical and motivated people to join you and also to invest their time, energy, and money in making that network run. It’s a highly specialized group of people, and most of the people who would fit that profile are already tied up with an existing network. So it’s not impossible, especially in the long-term, but even if it does happen it would be unlikely to pop up overnight and so Vegas odds for Bitcoin are way shorter.

Let’s go back to the Dansdeals analogy. Imagine that Dansdeals is not the only such website, and there are other websites in existence that provide similar services. For the sake of the analogy let’s call them MMS and OMAAT. They too have big enough followings to survive independently, and even though each one offers a slightly different flavor that differentiates them, anyone on one of the networks could also get their most important needs met on one of the other networks. In this analogy, do you think it’s worth collecting EQP/HT or not? After all, Schmansdeals.com could open up one day and all the business could move there.

The argument for the difficulty of starting up a rival blockchain network is much stronger than in the analogy (especially if we start to include “smart contracts” in the discussion), but the basic idea that you need a critical mass of follows to be successful and compete with existing rivals is the same.

« Last edited by yuneeq on December 25, 2017, 01:05:21 AM »

Author Topic: BitCoin Master Thread  (Read 347435 times)

Offline yos9694

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 1903
  • Total likes: 899
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1600 on: March 17, 2021, 09:03:57 PM »
If wishes were horses beggars would ride

Offline yos9694

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 1903
  • Total likes: 899
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1601 on: March 18, 2021, 11:31:51 AM »
Cardano. Coinbase. One last run. GL

I really try to avoid sharing specific investment ideas with other people because when it goes well they pat themselves on the back and when it goes sour they blame me.

But at 12pm coinbase (pro) is going to start allowing cardano to trade on their platform. In the past when coinbase listed a new coin that was long anticipated (which ada certainly is) that led to a quick spike and subsequent fall but the fact that coinbase is about to go public leads me to believe it will not be allowed to fall right away.

First you got the Biden stimulus, now you can get a share of the Wall Street stimulus, where they prop up the coin for a while to avoid negative press ruining a big IPO. Everyone has to decide for themselves if the risk is worth it but it seems like an opportunity worth thinking about.

Offline Lurker

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2019
  • Posts: 5054
  • Total likes: 6390
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: As always, silence is NOT an admission of agreement on DDF. It just means that people lack the stamina to keep on arguing with made up "facts", illogical arguments, deceiving statements, nasty and degrading comments, and fuzzy math. - @yelped
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1602 on: March 18, 2021, 11:44:58 AM »
I really try to avoid sharing specific investment ideas with other people because when it goes well they pat themselves on the back and when it goes sour they blame me.

But at 12pm coinbase (pro) is going to start allowing cardano to trade on their platform. In the past when coinbase listed a new coin that was long anticipated (which ada certainly is) that led to a quick spike and subsequent fall but the fact that coinbase is about to go public leads me to believe it will not be allowed to fall right away.

First, definitely going to blame you. I'm not sure what you told me to do, but it'll be your fault.

Second, I think it's still likely there will be a spike and a fall right away. The other factors you mentioned may lead to a quicker (short term?) recovery from that fall than most coins in this situation see.
Failing at maintaining Lurker status.

Offline yos9694

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 1903
  • Total likes: 899
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1603 on: March 18, 2021, 12:20:55 PM »
Major arbitrage right now. Coinbase price is 1.62 and binance is 1.35. Send and sell, wire cash back, repeat

Offline Lurker

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2019
  • Posts: 5054
  • Total likes: 6390
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: As always, silence is NOT an admission of agreement on DDF. It just means that people lack the stamina to keep on arguing with made up "facts", illogical arguments, deceiving statements, nasty and degrading comments, and fuzzy math. - @yelped
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1604 on: March 18, 2021, 12:26:06 PM »
Failing at maintaining Lurker status.

Offline yos9694

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 1903
  • Total likes: 899
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1605 on: March 18, 2021, 12:28:52 PM »
Yup and now it normalized fast. I was able to take advantage with the small amount I transferred yesterday but the rest that i just transferred didnt get confirmed in time. Small win

Offline ah giten

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 1976
  • Total likes: 391
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1606 on: March 18, 2021, 01:03:40 PM »
Now is probably a bad time to buy. It will correct eventually.
Didn't age well.

Offline Lurker

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2019
  • Posts: 5054
  • Total likes: 6390
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: As always, silence is NOT an admission of agreement on DDF. It just means that people lack the stamina to keep on arguing with made up "facts", illogical arguments, deceiving statements, nasty and degrading comments, and fuzzy math. - @yelped
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1607 on: March 18, 2021, 01:09:59 PM »
Didn't age well.

Aged VERY well. Price in Nov 2013 was over $1100. Corrected the next month and didn't see $1000 until Feb 2017, with opportunities to buy in the low $200s in between.
Failing at maintaining Lurker status.

Offline solmeir

  • Dansdeals Gold Elite
  • ***
  • Join Date: May 2013
  • Posts: 134
  • Total likes: 8
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: brooklyn
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1608 on: April 07, 2021, 04:53:41 PM »
Can anyone advise me? I have xrp sitting locked in coinbase pro. Any idea where I can send it to cash out or trade for BTC or ETH? I live in NYC and Binance or Kraken don't let me trade.

Offline Lurker

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2019
  • Posts: 5054
  • Total likes: 6390
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: As always, silence is NOT an admission of agreement on DDF. It just means that people lack the stamina to keep on arguing with made up "facts", illogical arguments, deceiving statements, nasty and degrading comments, and fuzzy math. - @yelped
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1609 on: April 07, 2021, 04:56:35 PM »
Can anyone advise me? I have xrp sitting locked in coinbase pro. Any idea where I can send it to cash out or trade for BTC or ETH? I live in NYC and Binance or Kraken don't let me trade.

Will CB let you transfer out? I know some other exchanges have frozen it completely.
Failing at maintaining Lurker status.

Offline lubaby

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 5335
  • Total likes: 736
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 12
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1610 on: April 07, 2021, 06:18:53 PM »
Will CB let you transfer out? I know some other exchanges have frozen it completely.
Yes, you can still transfer in / out from CB.

Offline Live N Learn

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Mar 2015
  • Posts: 3799
  • Total likes: 332
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1611 on: April 07, 2021, 10:02:16 PM »
Can anyone advise me? I have xrp sitting locked in coinbase pro. Any idea where I can send it to cash out or trade for BTC or ETH? I live in NYC and Binance or Kraken don't let me trade.
Have similar situation here, cand withdrawal without verification, and can't verify since they don't allow US users...
".איזהו חכם, הלומד מכל אדם"

Offline Live N Learn

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Mar 2015
  • Posts: 3799
  • Total likes: 332
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1612 on: April 07, 2021, 10:03:26 PM »
Can anyone advise me? I have xrp sitting locked in coinbase pro. Any idea where I can send it to cash out or trade for BTC or ETH? I live in NYC and Binance or Kraken don't let me trade.
Create a wallet.
".איזהו חכם, הלומד מכל אדם"

Offline Yitzshpitz

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Oct 2014
  • Posts: 662
  • Total likes: 55
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1613 on: April 09, 2021, 02:38:07 PM »
Have similar situation here, cand withdrawal without verification, and can't verify since they don't allow US users...

Why dont they let you withdraw funds? You can deposit on Kucoin without KYC. It is not a great exchange, but to liquidate some coins and then withdraw funds it should be fine.

Offline Live N Learn

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Mar 2015
  • Posts: 3799
  • Total likes: 332
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1614 on: April 09, 2021, 06:12:59 PM »
Why dont they let you withdraw funds? You can deposit on Kucoin without KYC. It is not a great exchange, but to liquidate some coins and then withdraw funds it should be fine.
Need to verify account for that. Tried doing it without, and the transaction got declined, and account got frozen.
".איזהו חכם, הלומד מכל אדם"

Offline shmebeble

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 1668
  • Total likes: 88
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: NYC
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1615 on: April 11, 2021, 05:55:07 PM »
just trying to follow. I thought coinbase pro is allowed in new york. Why cant you transfer funds out of there?

Offline Live N Learn

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Mar 2015
  • Posts: 3799
  • Total likes: 332
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1616 on: April 11, 2021, 07:06:43 PM »
binance.com doesn't allow US citizens at all, and binance.us doesn't allow NY residents.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 07:10:50 PM by User6669 »
".איזהו חכם, הלומד מכל אדם"

Offline shmebeble

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 1668
  • Total likes: 88
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: NYC
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1617 on: April 11, 2021, 07:08:21 PM »
coinbase.com doesn't allow US citizens at all, and coinbase.us doesn't allow NY residents.
are you sure you dont mean binance?

Offline Live N Learn

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Mar 2015
  • Posts: 3799
  • Total likes: 332
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1618 on: April 11, 2021, 07:11:12 PM »
are you sure you dont mean binance?
Sorry, correct.
".איזהו חכם, הלומד מכל אדם"

Offline shmebeble

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Apr 2013
  • Posts: 1668
  • Total likes: 88
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: NYC
Re: BitCoin Master Thread
« Reply #1619 on: April 11, 2021, 07:14:40 PM »
Sorry, correct.
ah. makes more sense. I was going to possibly sell on coinbase pro but in new york and wanted to make sure I wasnt going to get locked there.
Sorry about your situation.