Bitcoin

[mkjeeves]

Explained

Conversational Bitcoin: The Ebook

I've been wondering and this helped.

The site and/or online slideshare viewer doesn't seem to play nice with firefox but does with chrome. Or you can sign up and get the pdf, which I didn't do.

(Chris, good job, and thanks for not outing me if you track back!)

[Just the facts]

Thanks for posting this. I haven't paid much attention to it but it really caught my attention the other day. I am most interested in the ability to use the currency internationally. I came back from France with a few hundred Euros in pocket. I first had to pay to exchange my Dollars for Euros and then I would have had to pay to change them back to Dollars (I decided to keep them for future use). I guess with Bitcoin none of that would be necessary since my European purchases would also be in Bitcoin. Let's just hope no one makes E-coin for Europe and then I have to exchange Bitcoin for E-coin.

[mkjeeves]

I'm going to have to get a wallet and try it out on some things. I have the same problem every time I travel, hate to pay the conversion fees at all and especially twice on part of it and always end up with left over currency. The good thing about that is it gives me an excuse to go back and spend what remains.

[Just the facts]

The good thing about that is it gives me an excuse to go back and spend what remains.

LOL - that is exactly what I told my wife. She either wanted to spend them all (big surprise) or exchange them back. I said nope, we'll use them on the next trip. After all, they are Euros and good in 24 countries, which makes the Bitcoin even more attractive since they can be used in 200 countries. I wonder if they will ever make physical Bitcoins or a Bitcoin debit card.

[mkjeeves]

The other side of that though, I still have a few pounds and francs. Not many but a few more than I planned to keep for souvenirs. I don't know if they can still be exchanged or not or will be when and if I ever go back to those places.

Do also have a pile of Canadian leftovers I plan to use.

[Just the facts]

Pounds are still good. The UK doesn't use the Euro.

[MadMonk]

The real reason bitcoins have become so popular lately?
Bitcoin exchange CEO arrested for money laundering - Jan. 27, 2014

[mkjeeves]

The real reason bitcoins have become so popular lately?
Bitcoin exchange CEO arrested for money laundering - Jan. 27, 2014

There's some talk about those issues and the Silk Road take down on slide or page 16 of the link at the top. FWIW.

[Just the facts]

How stupid was this clown?

1) The big selling point of bitcoin (to some) is that all transactions are tracked and recorded. They can watch each bitcoin as it makes its way through the bitcoin economy. As the head of Bitcoin Foundation you would think he would know that.

2) Using email to discuss illegal activities. Doesn't he read the NY Time or watch the news about the NSA?

3) He probably kept his cell phone powered on while making the cash drop.

[kevinpate]

How stupid was this clown?
...

Never underestimate the potential for mankind to keep the criminal defense bar gainfully employed.

[mkjeeves]

Dunning Kruger Effect?

[BLJR]

Curious what everyone's thoughts were on not just bitcoin, but the other crypto currencies.

Bitcoin mining takes alot of power consumption, and Oklahoma is a huge point of interest for large crypto mining facilites, as we have a pretty low kWh, compared to the rest of the US.

Last time this post was active, 1 BTC was about $850. Today, its worth $18.555.

[Anonymous.]

I remember hearing about bitcoin back when it first started and it was relatively easy to find them. Crazy to think about how some people who were the early miners likely lost wallets on old harddrives and that they are forever gone.

[Ross MacLochness]

I remember hearing about bitcoin back when it first started and it was relatively easy to find them. Crazy to think about how some people who were the early miners likely lost wallets on old harddrives and that they are forever gone.

I almost bought back in 2012 but decided to save the little money I had at the time instead. In hindsight, I could have made bank! I think one coin back then was less than $100

[SoonerDave]

Wasn't there a time about seven or eight years ago when 1 bitcoin was literally worth only about $0.003?? Sure seem to remember that, at least. If that's even close to correct, it's crazy to think that what might have been a $100 novelty investment would now be worth upwards of $500 MILLION. That's staggering. (assuming $100 @ $0.003 ==> 33,333 bitcoin, x approximate current value of ~$15,000 each....

Good. Heavens.

EDIT: Couldn't find any hard sources for that $0.003 price, but even if its off by a factor of ten....

[mkjeeves]

Speaking of other crypto currency...I saw Dennis Rodman on late night talk show the other night wearing a T-shirt advertising potcoin. Not a new thing I guess, just new to me.

Dennis Rodman is back in North Korea with another offbeat sponsor.

The former NBA star teamed up with online betting firm Paddy Power for a series of trips to the isolated nation in 2013. This time around, he's gone in with the backing of PotCoin, a digital currency for the cannabis industry.

"Headed back to North Korea. Thank you PotCoin.com for sponsoring my mission," Rodman tweeted Tuesday before taking a flight from Beijing to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/13/tech...oin/index.html

[baralheia]

The cryptocurrency market is kind of ridiculous... there are at least 1300 different coins, including Bitcoin, according to CoinMarketCap. Many of these coins don't require much hardware at all to mine, as opposed to Bitcoin and Litecoin, which now require expensive, specialized, single-application mining rigs to mine your own - but it's anyone's guess as to which coins will explode next, if any. If past trends are any indication, though, we're in a bubble, which will last 4-8 months or so, and then the bubble will pop and prices will settle back down to a steady low.

Pretty much all of these coins start out as nearly worthless then begin gaining value as people begin trading them. Bitcoin's been above $100USD/BTC since August of 2013, but it started out as only being worth a few cents each back in 2009-2010. (https://charts.bitcoin.com/chart/price)

I'm hoping Litecoin still has some room to move upwards in value... I have a small handful from the last bubble in 2014 when, for giggles, I decided to try my hand at mining. This was back when LTC could still be mined with regular computer hardware (GPU mining). If LTC hits $500, I'll probably cash out. Then comes the fun part about learning how taxes work for cryptocurrencies! :P

[BLJR]

The cryptocurrency market is kind of ridiculous... there are at least 1300 different coins, including Bitcoin, according to CoinMarketCap. Many of these coins don't require much hardware at all to mine, as opposed to Bitcoin and Litecoin, which now require expensive, specialized, single-application mining rigs to mine your own - but it's anyone's guess as to which coins will explode next, if any. If past trends are any indication, though, we're in a bubble, which will last 4-8 months or so, and then the bubble will pop and prices will settle back down to a steady low.

Pretty much all of these coins start out as nearly worthless then begin gaining value as people begin trading them. Bitcoin's been above $100USD/BTC since August of 2013, but it started out as only being worth a few cents each back in 2009-2010. (https://charts.bitcoin.com/chart/price)

I'm hoping Litecoin still has some room to move upwards in value... I have a small handful from the last bubble in 2014 when, for giggles, I decided to try my hand at mining. This was back when LTC could still be mined with regular computer hardware (GPU mining). If LTC hits $500, I'll probably cash out. Then comes the fun part about learning how taxes work for cryptocurrencies! :P

Ah yes, the taxes. We were discussing that just this week. According to my discussion partner, you will have to pay taxes on your gains.... but with the way cyber currency is tracked, it will be difficult to impossible to prove exactly what price you bought it at through some of the exchanges.

Since my last post, the bubble has come down some. I am also going to buy some LTC as well. Have been researching it, and it does what BTC does but faster. The real winner here is the companies building and selling the mining rigs. I hear they can't make or sell them fast enough.....

[SoonerDave]

The cryptocurrency market is kind of ridiculous... there are at least 1300 different coins, including Bitcoin, according to CoinMarketCap. Many of these coins don't require much hardware at all to mine, as opposed to Bitcoin and Litecoin, which now require expensive, specialized, single-application mining rigs to mine your own - but it's anyone's guess as to which coins will explode next, if any. If past trends are any indication, though, we're in a bubble, which will last 4-8 months or so, and then the bubble will pop and prices will settle back down to a steady low.

Pretty much all of these coins start out as nearly worthless then begin gaining value as people begin trading them. Bitcoin's been above $100USD/BTC since August of 2013, but it started out as only being worth a few cents each back in 2009-2010. (https://charts.bitcoin.com/chart/price)

I'm hoping Litecoin still has some room to move upwards in value... I have a small handful from the last bubble in 2014 when, for giggles, I decided to try my hand at mining. This was back when LTC could still be mined with regular computer hardware (GPU mining). If LTC hits $500, I'll probably cash out. Then comes the fun part about learning how taxes work for cryptocurrencies! :P

It's taxed like any other capital asset - you have a cost basis when you bought and and a sales basis when you sell it, and the delta is the taxable gain (or loss). I think there might actually be some IRS guidance on this, now that I think of it.

[CloudDeckMedia]

Knowing almost nothing about bitcoin or any cryptocurrency, how is the gain/loss documented for tax purposes? Do you receive a 1099? From whom? How is it subject to verification if audited by IRS or OTC?

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

"Wasn't there a time about seven or eight years ago when 1 bitcoin was literally worth only about $0.003?? Sure seem to remember that, at least. If that's even close to correct, it's crazy to think that what might have been a $100 novelty investment would now be worth upwards of $500 MILLION. That's staggering. (assuming $100 @ $0.003 ==> 33,333 bitcoin, x approximate current value of ~$15,000 each....

Good. Heavens.

EDIT: Couldn't find any hard sources for that $0.003 price, but even if its off by a factor of ten.... "

http://www.businessinsider.com/bitco...illion-2017-11

[Eddie1]

I don't think it is taxed at this point, in fact any gains (or losses) in a given year are not subject to reporting.

[Jeepnokc]

I opened up an account this week to purchase some cyber currency and they required my ssn and other identification verification. If I recall, there was information about the requirement to report.

[baralheia]

I don't think it is taxed at this point, in fact any gains (or losses) in a given year are not subject to reporting.

It is taxed. See IRS Notice 2014-21. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are what are known as "convertible virtual currency", and for tax purposes, they are treated as property. If I understand the IRS guidance, gains (or losses) are only reported when the property is disposed of.

There's a website called https://bitcoin.tax/ that helps you calculate your tax liability for cryptocurrencies, using transaction reports from several of the major cryptocurrency exchanges that they support. Looks interesting, though I haven't tried them yet.

[chuck5815]

yeah, the property classification is somewhat interesting as it leaves open the possibility for someone whose made bank to roll their profits into real estate and defer capital gains via a 1031 exchange.

then again, the new tax code might disagree with my theory.

in any event, if anyone is interested in joining a pretty active, crypto investment group, here's a link: https://discord.gg/y4d7qyc