Bittcoin cruiding

imagine having gotten into Bittcoin a year or so ago - valued at about $500 - think of the accommodations you could get with today's $4,000 + plus.

Do you see cruise fares payable in Bittcoin in the future - and are you getting into them?

No and no - bitcons are entirely fictional with nothing at all behind them, and their only value is in persuading the next person down the line that they want them more than you do. It's a classic bubble and it will burst, just like the tulip bulbs, the South Sea bubble, and the dotcom bubble - in all of those cases, people were buying stuff not because it was worth anything, but because lots of other people were buying and they thought the price increases would go on for ever.

I was a semi early adopter. Got in late 2011, Sold my coins during the run up to 1000$ ea in 2014. Continued to mine and sold 2nd batch at 290$ in late 2015. Still waiting for price to go back to 200$ so I can buy them back LOL.

There were a few agencys that were taking btc a while back. Of course you could just sell them some place like coinbase and use tyhe cash to cruise.

No and no - bitcons are entirely fictional with nothing at all behind them, and their only value is in persuading the next person down the line that they want them more than you do. It's a classic bubble and it will burst, just like the tulip bulbs, the South Sea bubble, and the dotcom bubble - in all of those cases, people were buying stuff not because it was worth anything, but because lots of other people were buying and they thought the price increases would go on for ever.

I think you are largely right. Crypto-currency only works as long as more people believe in it today than did yesterday. While some transactions do take place, they are slow and somewhat expensive. Once governments learn how to monitor them for tax purposes and to limit money laundering, I suspect a lot of the magic will disappear. To the extent it is successful for a while, it will continue to attract imitators/competitors: there are many crypto-currencies right now seeking acceptance.

My view is that when the point is reached when one more person wants to cash in their Bittcoins than wants to buy, the whole structure will deflate faster than a ruptured airplane fuselage at 39,000 feet.

The fact that no one is able to give a broadly comprehensible explanation of how they are created and provide certainly that they cannot be created faster than German Marks in the 1930's, should be seen as a caution.

The fact that no one is able to give a broadly comprehensible explanation of how they are created and provide certainly that they cannot be created faster than German Marks in the 1930's, should be seen as a caution.

How's this - bitcoin etc. are in many ways the virtual equivalent of the old Gold and Silver currencies. The Stuff is Mined - which may take virtual effort and luck rather than physical, but fundamentally is the same as any rare-but-findable tangible substance. The perceived overall currency value is based on the value of the actual substance (gold & silver themselves go up & down based on supply/demand - if bitcoins start seeming to be too-easily-found their value drops etc.), the degree of trust you have in the issuers of the currency (e.g. Roman Imperial coins varied wildly in their actual precious metal content depending how well the empire was doing), how easily forged or altered a given currency is perceived to be, how well accepted it is where you need to spend funds (try buying a coffee in Starbucks with gold these days...)

Pulling it back to more modern, no-longer-even-backed-by-tangible-substances currencies - instead of having faith in a government/banks to print more or less of a currency, you have faith in magical internet fairies to keep the rarity at an appropriate level - the folks running Bitcoin have way less experience and power behind them than a large country gov't, there's big swings in how easily spent they are, so it's less stable in value.

Ever since the guarantee was dropped by even major currencies to back them with tangible substances, you are basically operating entirely on faith anyway with 'real' currencies whether it's dollars, pounds, pesos, roubles - so the crux is do you trust your own gov't, other gov'ts, or magical internet fairies the most? That should shape how you decide to invest when it comes to currency speculation;-)

The fact that there are over thirty crypto-currencies creates the risk that one of the others could gain favor - leading to a sudden, mass exit. Even if there remains loyalty to Bittcoin, the proliferation of alternatives creates a virtually unlimited supply of comparable "currencies".

Further, while it is true that major currencies are no longer backed by precious metals,, there are limits: most governments engaged in the printing of currency have statutory limitations - supported by those governments' interest in maintaining international respect for their currencies.

At this point, while there may be effective limitations upon the total amount of Bittcoins in circulation, the fact remains that there is no limit on the creation of competing crypto-currencies.

Finally - as Australia is now taking steps to control the use of such currencies, and most other countries are going to see the same need, the current non-traceability of transactions - which contributes to the success of these currencies, cannot be expected to last long.

If you do hold Bittcoins, I think the time may now be close --- either buy your next cruise - or watch the air come out of the bubble.