@intparent, I hear you. He’s been very responsible and fiscally conservative overall, so I’m happy to let him do this.
Our other kids got trips abroad and other fun things. He’d rather do this.
A few days ago I bought $100 worth of Bitcoin, just because. I am torn - all along I have felt Bitcoin was a Ponzi scheme and a mania similar to the Tulip Mania. I can see how it can be a legitimate medium of exchange - at least as legitimate as any of our government-issued fiat currencies, but I don’t see how a bitcoin can be worth $320 two years ago, then $730 one year ago, and $9600 now.
With all the experienced hackers in the world, and without a government defending it, I don’t see how Bitcoin can remain secure for any length of time.
Drug dealers, criminals, and money launderers will create a persistent demand for alternative currencies.
“Bitcoin’s price has been helped in recent months by the announcement that the world’s biggest derivatives exchange operator CME Group would start offering bitcoin futures. The company said last week the futures would launch by the end of the year though no precise date had been set.”
I have a relative who invested in Bitcoin (he made money); I heard lots about it over the holiday weekend. A fact that surprised me—one Bitcoin transaction uses enough energy to power the average home for a week. (This is what relatives says—assume its ttue but I don’t know for certain,)
When H was mining bitcoin, running the one computer to do so quadrupled our electric bill for our house, even with our photovoltaic!
Beginning of a wild ride?