Buying bitcoins

Bitcoin in the news for the wrong reasons today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39899646

cnocbui wrote: »

I saw that and thought the same. We could do without that sort of thing.

Makes you wonder about all these claims of various alt coins like Monero supposedly providing greater anonymity when its still Bitcoin that's being asked for.

Why should the cryptocurrency have to take the heat for that? Any currency can be used for good or evil.

The currency is just a store of value. Every day of the week, cash is extorted from people worldwide. Just because that's ubiquitous doesn't make it any better (or worse).

cnocbui wrote: »

I was reading very recently, a piece in an Irish newspaper by two academics in Dublin

is it any wonder irish universities are falling down the league tables then.

cnocbui wrote: »

Apologies for the current fall in the bitcoin price, all my fault, I'm afraid.

lol Can you cause a more spectacular fall?

Can't say i'm disappointed either way - will double down if it can go low enough but otherwise happy to have a decent number of btc held for the long term already. I really don't see any alternative that's worthwhile for my remaining FIAT rather than to leave it linger with a dinosaur bank. Altcoins remained an option for a while - but I simply couldn't figure out how they couldn't be treated as anything other than boiler-room penny stocks....and of course, now they're priced up significantly (even though I'm still not convinced that they will amount to anything. Presumably one or two might - but how to figure that out.....is a bit of an imponderable (at least for me). oh well...

I have seen enough real-world interest in Etherium today to now think it is going to have a future. The only problem is I don't think there is a limit on supply, as with Bitcoin.


http://www.coindesk.com/webjet-ethereum-pilot-aims-at-hotel-industrys-dirty-little-secret/

In her closing remarks, Claire Bury, deputy director general of the European Commission's Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology, cited ethereum as "one of the more sophisticated applications".

She went on to highlight the technology's challenges, quoting developer Vlad Zamfir's recent tweet that "ethereum isn't safe or scalable".

The surprising mention of the smart contract platform by a regulator was echoed in the results of an audience poll. In response to the question: "What should regulation focus on?", the most popular answer, displayed in full color on a screen above was "ethereum".

http://www.coindesk.com/regulating-ethereum-eu-parliament-weighs-blockchains-big-issues/

When has intention ever had anything to do with it? Art work, silverware, stamps, autographs, Ferrari's - all have people buying and collecting them, many for no other purpose than a hope their value appreciates, which isn't why they were originally created.

All I was trying to say was Etherium looks set to be put to actual real world uses, which aught to give it utility, and just as importantly, longevity. Utility is often associated with perceived value. I would guess that 95% of the interest and activity involving Etherium is a result of investment/speculation, rather than utility.

I doubt Etherium developers care about the interests of speculators. I doubt it's really relevant, because as I mentioned previously in relation to bitcoin, what I am interested in about Bitcoin, and what attracts me to it as an investment, is the strength of interest and positive sentiment it has attracted.

Etherium seems to me to be garnering significant 'mindshare', both in terms of investment and utility. I suspect that may bode well for future value. It doesn't look like it is going to be flash in the pan, as is likely to be the case for most of the other alt cryptos.

I have never bought any, only Bitcoin so far, but you first need to find and set up a wallet to store your Etherium in safely. You then need to find somewhere to buy it. Since I have had positive experiences buying Bitcoin from Belgacoin.com, I would most likely use them for Etherium also.

I believe Etherium wallets may work slightly differently to Bitcoin ones so perhaps someone else can fill in on that. Roughly; you pay for the etherium and it gets sent to and stored in your wallet.

dar100 wrote: »

Thanks how do I get a wallet and is there a charge?

That article on wallets I linked to mentions some. You should be able find some that are free: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=etherium%20wallet&c=apps

cnocbui wrote: »

All I was trying to say was Etherium looks set to be put to actual real world uses, which aught to give it utility, and just as importantly, longevity.

Heh, I'm getting the same gut feeling !
So much so that I will convert a little of my bitcoin into some more ETH today.

cnocbui wrote: »

That article on wallets I linked to mentions some. You should be able find some that are free: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=etherium%20wallet&c=apps

Ive installed these it's saying they will be on my device soon but that was yesterday and no sign of them yet?

cnocbui wrote: »

No sign of what? Etherium you have purchased?

No the wallets

cnocbui wrote: »

I am not really understanding this. What wallet and what device did you install it on? Is it downloading a whole blockchain or something?

Apologies maybe it's my non existent knowledge of what should happen. I have installed the Bitcoin and ETH wallets on Google play! It said the wallets will be on my device shortly, I done it with phone and laptop, but I can't seem to find or access them?

dar100 wrote: »

Apologies maybe it's my non existent knowledge of what should happen. I have installed the Bitcoin and ETH wallets on Google play! It said the wallets will be on my device shortly, I done it with phone and laptop, but I can't seem to find or access them?

I'm not sure what is going on if you installed the phone app from the phone, it should be there. You could try going to the Playstore from the phone and searching for and selecting the wallet you downloaded and see if it gives you the options to uninstall it or open it. If so, then obviously it is installed.

scamalert wrote: »

well btc seems launching for the moon, even thou it escapes my logic by now. Anyway with this nearly 100% increase over just a month, i see couple articles mentioned about dips between 1600-and 1800$ mark anyone knows volume dumped of btc to cause 16-18%pc drops ?

It's perfectly logical to me. There is a limited quantity. Decent returns on investments these last few years of 0% interest rates have been scarce to near non-existent. Bitcoin is getting more and more publicity to the point its rise and prospects were the number one lead article on CNBC a couple of days ago. Also, Bitcoin was officially acknowledged as a legitimate currency for payments in Japan, which seems to have been a stamp of approval there that set something big off because that is where a lot of the boosting action has come from since then, including South Korea.

All up, all this exposure, greed and official approval has sparked a large increase in demand and interest, but supply is limited. I now think the up-side is very significant, which is why I decided to try and acquire more, even at these prices, because I suspect they may not be high prices in a years time, or probably just a couple of months.

TLDR version - demand is increasing fast and there seems to be a lot of it.

This? https://blockchain.info/charts/trade-volume

Sounds Like you are on the right track. You should be safe.

With Belgacoin, the rate you get is the market rate when they have received the SEPA transfer and process it.