Are you an investor or a speculator? Holding Bitcoin even for short periods of time is basically pure speculation due to its incredible volatility. It's pretty much like gambling in my opinion. If you have money that you don't mind losing and a very high risk tolerance it might be worth a try due to the potential for a huge payoff.

Conversion of ordinary currency to and from Bitcoin can be a hassle. The most convenient way is to use online exchanges like Mt.Gox, but they require detailed personal information (scans of your photo ID, proof of residency) and manual verification before you are allowed to trade, which can take time.

As far as other cryptocurrencies go, Litecoin is the most popular after Bitcoin. The thing is, alternative cryptocurrencies tend to be highly correlated with Bitcoin (and are even harder to buy and sell), so you might as well stick with Bitcoin unless you have a specific reason to think that a currency might be a good buy.

Invest in Dogecoin today and get rich.

Yes. One of the reasons why BitCoin isn't a particularly good implementation of that idea.

I don't think cryptocurrencies really fit in the 'fiat' / 'representative' distinction neatly. They aren't 'fiat' money as most cryptocurrencies are limited. There's a certain amount that can be, reasonably, mined and eventually no additional 'coins' can be added (or only at a really, really slow rate) to what is released. They can be 'lost' or 'destroyed' though - which has happened to some, already. Unlike fiat currency 'just printing / releasing more' isn't possible. But they are also not 'representative' as a currency. They are not tied to something else that is rare (like, for example, gold / silver and similar as with representative currency), but are 'rare' themselves. Cryptocurrency represents itself, so to speak. But that's one thing.

The other interesting aspects are that they'd have the potential to be de-central (outside of banking or any central control) and that they are global by definition. CryptoCurrencies only work, really, as part of the internet. The fascinating aspect really is that there's never been anything quite like it that actually caught on and is valued as a working currency.


I think this thread is more about speculation than investment, really :).

The best investment has to be wine. It just HAS to gain in value over time. I like to play it slow but safe.

You might want to look up the term "investor" because that's not investment, that's speculation.There's nothing inherently wrong with speculation, but you should understand that you're doing it.
If I could figure out how to invest in whine, I'd be a billionaire before too long.

It actually took me four attempts to write "wine" instead of "whine". I think my subconscious was trying really hard to give me the same idea.

Yeah, I have that problem from time to time. I remember trying to misspell something a while back and it probably took me at least 4 tries.

I think this thing is more of a problem when one is fluent. Or at least types fluently, it only happens to me in English. I got in trouble with my parents a while back trying to look a show up and typing in stupid instead of what I wanted to type.

Coinomat.com is probably the easiest way to exchange currencies and money. It doesn't require any proof (far as I can tell). You do pay for that convenience in worse rates. The correlation of alternate cryptocurrencies and bitcoin isn't that high. Sure, the dollar value changes with the fluctuations of the bitcoin, but the ratio with the bitcoin also changes. Also as I mentioned there are some reasons why alternate currencies (in particular litecoin) could become more valuable.
Just don't. I tried hitching a ride on a new coin, they go up quickly, then go down and stay down. They're good for very early adopters and miners, but you need to get out of them fast. There's really very little to distinguish them. That said, if you want to get seriously into the market, then hitching a ride on new currencies is a way. I still won't recommend it, because while I think that bitcoin and litecoin will continue to go up, and that they will drag other currencies with them, it's IMO too risky to invest in alternate coins.

Well, if I remember correctly there was a recent crash in gold prices. So while still investment-friendly it isn't free from being volatile.

As for speculation, I suppose investments in currencies are usually of that sort. I suppose it'd be best to start with a small sum....don't mind the risk, if the pay off is worth it.

I tried coinomat. Didn't work. I thought about this yesterday following the collapse of Mt. Gox, and it's clear to me that cryptocurrencies can't ever become real currencies.

Cryptocurrencies already are "real" currencies, since you can buy stuffs with them. Mt. Gox is just one exchange. Much like with any other exchange, there can be problems, screw up, scams and scandals - like the current forex scandal for instance -, some can close, new ones will open. There are still other, bigger btc exchanges than mtgox. And a new one by the same operator than Vancouver's Bitcoin ATM recently opened

No, you can't buy directly with them. Stores might accept them, but that only works by converting them to dollars. If there are no dollars in the system, you can't buy in bitcoins. There's no place I'm aware of which accepts bitcoin directly. So bitcoin isn't a currency. It's a kind of stock that's easily tradeable, but it's not a currency and is unlikely to ever be one, in the sense that you could buy something with it without having to go through another currency. Prices will never be set in bitcoin, they will always be set in another currency and converted to bitcoin.