Willeyeam Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 I spoke to a friend on Saturday who told me he had spent a few thousand pounds on bitcoins and they were currently worth £6000 more than he paid for them. I looked up the price and they were $650 each. I just looked up the current price and they are $1000+. Had anyone bought any? And if so how did you go about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 Nope but I heard they were good for drugs and assassins on the deep web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shercofray Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 I spoke to a friend on Saturday who told me he had spent a few thousand pounds on bitcoins and they were currently worth £6000 more than he paid for them. I looked up the price and they were $650 each. I just looked up the current price and they are $1000+. Had anyone bought any? And if so how did you go about it? Although there may still be some small money to be made, but once the mass market starts investing that's when you don't. The real money has already been made by people that bought at the right time. It would be better spending your time researching and invest properly rather than following the crowds.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatJsy Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 http://coinmarketcap.com/ Bitcoins have no real value so the minute the next big thing comes along the price will take a massive nose dive. There's already tonnes of new ones and they're all growing much quicker. Saying that, I have no idea how that stuff actually works, it seems fairly complicated to actually get hold of one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukasMcNeal Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 It's pretty mad how someone has effectively invented another currency. The going rate was £550 literally on Saturday though where I was looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 £590ish by close of play today. £7.70 a year ago. £500 then would be £38,000 now, if I remember rightly from when I stuck up a thought about them earlier on FB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willeyeam Posted November 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 Although there may still be some small money to be made, but once the mass market starts investing that's when you don't. The real money has already been made by people that bought at the right time. It would be better spending your time researching and invest properly rather than following the crowds.. I'm asking because they interest me more than as a potential buyer. And yes, the massive % gains are likely long gone but a $350 rise since Saturday does suggest that there is a good chance that there is money still to be made. The articles I've read on them advise to buy a small amount as a long term gamble, there's a good chance that you'll lose your money, but given the relatively small amount available, there's also a small chance that they will take off and you'll get a massive return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManxTrialSpaz Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 (edited) £590ish by close of play today. £7.70 a year ago. £500 then would be £38,000 now, if I remember rightly from when I stuck up a thought about them earlier on FB I almost bought £100 of them when they were resting at around $2-5 a coin (IIRC). When I almost bought some, they crashed to <$1 in a day. This makes me quite upset... Edited November 27, 2013 by ManxTrialSpaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb88 Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 It's very easy in hindsight to think....They were $2 back then, now theyre $500, etc. etc. but in reality you would have been very very tempted to sell after a quick profit (e.g. double your money) so it's unlikely you would've held on for the ride. I don't know anything about bitcoins but it doesn't seem a good investment to me. People have obviously made a lot of money but you shouldn't ever invest in anything you don't understand, it's just pure speculation (AKA gambling). That's also pretty much the case with gold and other commodities too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 All stocks, shares, currency and whatever else along those lines is gambling. Those who knew what bitcoin was being used for predominantly knew that at some point it was going to blow up in the media and this price rise would happen. It was a gamble, but gambling can be made a little safer with some logic in some cases. But I pussied out, so I can hardly talk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Nichols Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 The only thing I know about bitcoins is that I tried to buy some once, but I couldn't work out how, so I gave up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shercofray Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 I'm asking because they interest me more than as a potential buyer. And yes, the massive % gains are likely long gone but a $350 rise since Saturday does suggest that there is a good chance that there is money still to be made. The articles I've read on them advise to buy a small amount as a long term gamble, there's a good chance that you'll lose your money, but given the relatively small amount available, there's also a small chance that they will take off and you'll get a massive return. They already have taken off. It's now more like waiting for the huge dip they are going to have - which then, like you said, you will loose your money if that's how you like to invest go for it, I'd be running a mile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muel Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 I thought about buying some once when I was in halls at Uni (so late 2010/early 2011), and decided it was too risky, as I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to sell them again.Doh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb88 Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 All stocks, shares, currency and whatever else along those lines is gambling. Those who knew what bitcoin was being used for predominantly knew that at some point it was going to blow up in the media and this price rise would happen. It was a gamble, but gambling can be made a little safer with some logic in some cases. But I pussied out, so I can hardly talk! No. Investing in stocks and shares is not gambling. Speculating in stocks and shares is more like gambling. If you invest long-term, you're buying a part of a business - whether its growing, or dishing out profit in dividends to shareholders. Buying bitcoins, gold, etc., I would call speculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Get your blinkers off. Just because you don't understand something, doesn't mean it isn't true. Investing long term in a new currency, with evidence of potential growth, is exactly the same as investing long term in a company that shows evidence of potential growth. The key words there are 'long term' and 'potential' - they are undefined and there is an element of risk. To gamble is to "take risky action in the hope of a desired result", and both shares and currency trading tick that box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Can you sell Bitcoins quickly enough to make speculation worthwhile? I once looked into this purely out of interest and figured it's not easy to buy them. If they cannot be sold instantly you risk losing lots of money if the value starts plummeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 No. Investing in stocks and shares is not gambling. Surely anything thats not 100% risk free and is 100% guarenteed IS gambling? I have money in stocks and you'd be stupid to think it's a risk free strategy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb88 Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Get your blinkers off. Just because you don't understand something, doesn't mean it isn't true. Investing long term in a new currency, with evidence of potential growth, is exactly the same as investing long term in a company that shows evidence of potential growth. The key words there are 'long term' and 'potential' - they are undefined and there is an element of risk. To gamble is to "take risky action in the hope of a desired result", and both shares and currency trading tick that box. Of course, you can argue all day about whether buying in to a currency / commodity / precious metal is a wise investment, and there are so many different views. The difference between buying a company and buying a currency is that the company is (usually) producing something - it is providing something to the world. Bitcoins or gold just sit there, and the only way you can make money is if, by chance, someone later decides that it's worth more than you paid for it. Buying a company is different - it can produce profit, it has assets, it has people-power, and the potential to give an income to investors. Surely anything thats not 100% risk free and is 100% guarenteed IS gambling? I have money in stocks and you'd be stupid to think it's a risk free strategy. Depends on your definition of risk doesn't it. If you have cash sat in a savings account right now, it's probably earning you less than inflation, you're losing money due to inflation risk. Put money into stocks and shares, you have capital and (possibly) income risk. The key is to get a portfolio that matches your appetite to risk. Gambling is generally a zero-sum game and is unproductive (money from winner to loser). Investing is productive - it adds value to an economy as businesses drive the entire economy and produce new products and services. Everybody can win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 I'm not arguing whether it's a wise investment or not. I'm arguing that you seem to think they're different. It's not even like I'm sitting on the other side of the fence. As I said, I pussied out of trading Bitcoin because of the risks involved, but I also hold a 100% stake in one company and 20% in 3 others, so I'd like to think I know a little about that side. You can't argue with definitions though, Nick is absolutely right. Just because it isn't in a casino, doesn't mean it doesn't fit the definition of gambling, as provided in my last post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb88 Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 I see your point and you can obviously lose money in any investment that you make. I don't agree that investing in stocks is gambling though, it depends on how you play it. Speculating in stocks, and hoping to make a capital gain, I would call gambling. Investing in a FTSE tracker for 20 years and reinvesting dividends, I would definitely not call gambling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 The biggest problem at the moment with them is turning them into cash. A guy at work mined about 10-15 and sold them a while ago making a few quid but nothing like they are now. He sold them to a US exchange and transferring that to a uk bank account took weeks. AKAIK it's even worse now especially with the increasing amounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitbat Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Just don't lose your harddrive.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-25134289 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Just don't lose your harddrive.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-25134289 That guy must be sooo gutted... The virtual currency has also been quickly adopted in China, where one exchange - BTC China - is said to be the most active globally. Bitcoin's use in China has been attributed to it being an effective way of reliably getting money out of the country. This suggests to me that there's a lot to be made on Bitcoins in the longer run. If the currency is becoming popular in China it's value will skyrocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willeyeam Posted November 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Just don't lose your harddrive.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-25134289 Ouch! I can't begin to imagine how that guy feels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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