In another thread on Elon Musk, the topic of cryptocurrency came up. I’m curious about the subject, so I thought I’d start a new thread on it.
I searched for free online courses in cryptocurrency and found this list. Some of the courses require registration, but there are youtube classes and MIT classes and others that don’t require much.
I don’t know much about the subject, so please share what you know about the subject here. Do you invest in it?
No idea whatsoever about this. All beyond me. 
However, I met an old friend recently and she said that her son and partner were travelling Australia, Vietnam, Thailand etc and she said they did really well with Bitcoin so they treated themselves to a year off! Still none the wiser.
Cyber currency, a bit like the kings new clothes. It’s not really there…
lol the IRS (tax agency) in the US asks about cryptocurrency positions on the tax form, so someone cares.
You could say that about most financial transactions these days. There’s no tangible thing to back it.
I first read up about cryptocurrencies to find out what it was and how it worked when Bitcoin first kept cropping up in the news and I occasionally see articles about other cryptocurrencies in investment articles.
I’ve never looked into the nuts and bolts of how to buy it because it I’ve never been interested in buying any - it sounds like a very high risk investment in a largely unregulated market - not the kind of investment I would trust for my modest savings.
This article explains the basics
I often read what The Motley Fool has to say about share markets and investments - they are usually pretty good at forecasting the markets - this is what it says about cryptocurrencies.
(The article is an old one but it was updated on 26th April 2022)
The subject is of interest to me because my son buys it … literally.
The aspect I’m interested in is not the mechanics, the money made (or lost) but the reason many/most get involved in the first place.
There’s a comprehensive Wikipedia page on the subject with an interesting piece on Social Trends:
According to Alan Feuer of The New York Times, Libertarian and Anarchist were attracted to the philosophical idea behind Bitcoin. Early Bitcoin supporter Roger Ver said: “At first, almost everyone who got involved did so for philosophical reasons. We saw Bitcoin as a great idea, as a way to separate money from the state.” Economist Paul Krugman argues that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are “something of a cult” based in “paranoid fantasies” of government power.
Nigel Dodd argues in The Social Life of Bitcoin that the essence of the Bitcoin ideology is to remove money from both social and governmental control. Dodd discusses the “Declaration of Bitcoin’s Independence” a message of crypto-anarchism with the words: "Bitcoin is inherently anti-establishment, anti-system, and anti-state. Bitcoin undermines governments and disrupts institutions because Bitcoin is fundamentally humanitarian.
David Golumbia says that the ideas influencing Bitcoin advocates emerge from right-wing extremist movements such as the Liberty Lobby and the John Birch Society and their anti-Central Bank rhetoric …
Well, the boy is highly intelligent, but as far as I’m concerned, gets in with the wrong crowd: US forums on the Dark Web, Antivaxxers 'n all.
The only thing I know is that it is not accepted at the Off Licence. 
All smoke and mirrors then? Thought so. I’ll stick with good old £ notes and coin of the Realm, thanks.
Hi
If it does not fold up and fit in my wallet I am not interested.
It’s legal tender in El Salvador, should you want a late night bottle or two.
But careful, the tequila’s got worms in it.
Sounds like a form of pyramid selling or similar, you keep needing people to join to increase the capital invested.
Anything not tangable can collapse in an instant so I would advise unless you have spare cash you don’t mind loosing then steer well clear
I know what you mean, it does seem that way, but I can’t see how a player can benefit from recruiting others.
Kids are easily impressed by the likes of Musk with his racy-looking cars. And his billions made in crypto. Lets hope they are being careful, not betting their shirts.
Thanks for the heads up on the Tequila dood, what if I filter it through some “One Sheet”.
Neck it like a man.
BTW Cuba is another destination to offload spare bitcoins.
If it doesn’t have the Queens head on it, don’t touch it with your dongle…Or anyone else’s dongle if you’re that way inclined.
My favourite dictionary sums it up nicely
cryptocurrency. n.
a decentralized digital medium of exchange which is created, regulated, and exchanged using cryptography and (usually) open source software.
