Cryptocurrencies

What cryptocurrencies do you use/own?

  • Bitcoin (XBT)

    Votes: 30 27.8%

  • Ether (ETH)

    Votes: 16 14.8%

  • Litecoin (LTC)

    Votes: 15 13.9%

  • Peercoin (PPC)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Dash (DASH)

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Dogecoin (XDG)

    Votes: 4 3.7%

  • Blackcoin (BLK)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Zcash (ZEC)

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 14 13.0%

  • None

    Votes: 69 63.9%
  • Total voters
    108
Bryce W said:
Wouldn't it be more like a bank getting robbed with your money in it, and the bank is not going to replace it?
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In so much as they're both custodial services (banks and exchanges), that's right.

One important distinction to remember however (and one which is probably the most common source of confusion to those new to the technology) is that cryptocurrency wallets/accounts do not hold funds, they hold the keys to those funds. The funds are held in the distributed ledger (blockchain) at all times, where they remain secured by consensus, until you (or someone else) transfers the funds by using the keys as proof of ownership. When you use custodial services like exchanges, you're trusting them to look after the keys. Only when you hold the keys yourself (and keep them safe) do the funds truly belong to you. And as long as you do, nobody can take those funds from you. Without the keys, a hacker would need to find a way to convince every node on the network that the funds belonged to him.
 
timeshifter said:
So are you paying less now?
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Yes but right now, I'm just break even. Regardless if I mine or buy it, it will cost me the same and long as BTC stay at 6K

For me, not sure if being rob is a good anology. If you get rob your normally ******.
I'm not ****** and actually prepare to be rob base on your analogy so I can buy and get rob some more.

Seem crazy right!. But if you believe and agree with Crypto Currency, you will look at this as an opportunity that might not happen again.
 
Moltuae said:
One important distinction to remember however (and one which is probably the most common source of confusion to those new to the technology) is that cryptocurrency wallets/accounts do not hold funds, they hold the keys to those funds. The funds are held in the distributed ledger (blockchain) at all times, where they remain secured by consensus, until you (or someone else) transfers the funds by using the keys as proof of ownership. When you use custodial services like exchanges, you're trusting them to look after the keys. Only when you hold the keys yourself (and keep them safe) do the funds truly belong to you. And as long as you do, nobody can take those funds from you. Without the keys, a hacker would need to find a way to convince every node on the network that the funds belonged to him.
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This is true, of course - but until it becomes possible on a wide-spread basis to actually TRANSACT in crypto, the exchanges remain the weak point. Your cc is secure until you actually want to spend it on something. I suppose it can be argued that this is exactly the same risk you have with cash in the bank. It's secure until you withdraw it and walk around with it in your pocket. {shrug}
 
HCHTech said:
the exchanges remain the weak point.
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Unless the exchange is a DEX. But you're right, exchanging into fiat will likely always be a security weak point. Smart contracts can go some way to reducing the risks associated with exchanging crypto for fiat currencies or using it to make purchases however, since they can act much like an automated escrow, ensuring that certain conditions are met before the transaction is finalised.
 
I have considered starting a new thread but I didn't think there was enough interest here to warrant it TBH.

Cryptocurrency developments move so fast that this thread feels way out of date now. When I first started the thread, BTC's price was still just crossing $1000 and some of the altcoins listed in the poll were much more relevant than they are today. Tagging new information on to the end of this rather long, dated thread just seems untidy.

I'm not saying that we should remove this thread -- the historical information might be of some use -- just that we should start afresh, with a new poll and more relevant information and discussions ... assuming there is sufficient interest.
 
Well, my single 6-card miner has been off for a couple of months now, since Winminer closed down. The last I knew, Nicehash was still running, but I don't know how they've fared since the breach. In the 18 months or so of operation, I amassed about .75BC, and that is just languishing in a wallet now. As a hobbyist, I enjoyed the process of building & maintaining the machine, but it just wasn't profitable enough after the price stabilized down where it has been for quite a while now. So I suppose my only questions would be about the viability of single machines and what softwares or coins would be worth mining at this point. I don't now and never did have time to study and keep up with the various coins, that's why softwares like Nicehash and Winminer were attractive. What's left at the hobbyist level?
 
Does anyone here read CERN Courier magazine?

I've always been passionately interesting in all things science and, in a community of technophiles such as this, I suspect I'm not the only one. In fact, according to a reader's survey in CERN Courier's December edition last year, "Computing, software and IT" professionals make up 37% of the magazine's readers:

CERNreaders.PNG




Anyway, the reason for the post: I was reading this month's CERN Courier and found this article interesting. It's by Monique Morrow, the president and co-founder of The Humanized Internet and former Cisco CTO.


CERNarticle01.png


In my mind, this is all part of the fascinating bigger picture, one that many people currently miss. Blockchain technology is a HUGE deal but it's largely misunderstood and underestimated, especially by 'no-coiners', who assume it to be some sort of novelty payment system or fake currency. While cryptocurrencies are certainly the "killer app", they're only a small part of the enormous potential for distributed blockchains to dramatically change the world.


By the way, if you don't already read CERN Courier and you would like to have a completely free physical copy of the magazine delivered to your door every month, you just need to contact one of the distribution centres here:
https://cerncourier.com/about/#sub
 
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Diggs said:
Hmmm.... I don't think I've ever seen ads for electron guns, particle beam systems and imaging systems in radiation environments to name a few. I never really thought of those kind of things as "off the shelf". Again, hmm...... I find it oddly interesting.
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I find the ads incredibly interesting. Some of the equipment specs are staggering, dealing with ultra high voltages or sampling speeds. It'd be interesting to know how much these high-end digitisers, amplifiers and signal generators cost but rarely do they publish prices. I guess it's a case of ... 'if you need to ask, you probably can't afford it'.
 
Huge amount of cryptocurrency developments and news lately, not least the growing market capitalisation (and prices) of Bitcoin and most of the alts ...

But, in case you missed it, I think this news/announcement might be of particular interest to folks here:

https://ethereumworldnews.com/becau...oin-btc-at-8000-is-significantly-underpriced/

The Microsoft announcement to which the article refers:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com...-decentralized-identifier-systems/ba-p/560168
We believe every person needs a decentralized, digital identity they own and control, backed by self-owned identifiers that enable secure, privacy preserving interactions. This self-owned identity must seamlessly integrate into their lives and put them at the center of everything they do in the digital world ....
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Today, we’re announcing an early preview of a Sidetree-based DID network, called ION (Identity Overlay Network) which runs atop the Bitcoin blockchain
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Coupled with the recent news that "some of the world's biggest retailers have begun accepting cryptocurrency payments" and a continual influx of institutional investors, it seems we're now on the cusp of exponential growth and mass-adoption.



You Can't Stop Bitcoin's Global Takeover, Says Max Keiser
https://www.thestreet.com/video/cant-stop-bitcoin-global-takeover-max-keiser-14961438
Bitcoin is evolving beyond a store of value to a major institutional currency, and could even dethrone traditional fiat currencies, said Max Keiser, host of the Keiser Report.

"The nation state is dissolving, thanks to bitcoin. The nation state, the units of politics as we know them, is all changing, because now we have a global unit of account, medium of exchange, store of value, where the trade is the settlement," Keiser told Kitco News.

Bitcoin's ultimate role will be to replace governments and banks as mediators of exchange as transactions can be settled between counterparties without interference, Keiser said.

He added that by the time bitcoin attains its status as a global unit of account, prices would likely have reached $100,000 a coin and volatility will subside.

Governments will not be able to regulate bitcoin, Keiser said, even if politicians have voiced their concern over bitcoin's role in replacing the dollar as the "hegemonic force in the world."
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Still plenty of money to be made in the crypto space, I kick myself for not getting in back in 09-10 and again for not getting in a few months ago but I am slowly and systematically adding crypto to my holdings in various fashions.

People can do what they want. Will this moon? I don't know. Do I expect to lose on my investment? I don't know... I've only bet what I can afford to lose. I think the risk to reward ratio is quite nice for those who need to expand their risk exposure.
 
I still think the place where cryptocurrency mining makes the most sense is where electric heating is being used. Sure they're likely less efficient at converting electricity into heat than optimized heating elements, but they're probably not *that* much less efficient and if you're going to be using the power anyway....
 
fencepost said:
Sure they're likely less efficient at converting electricity into heat than optimized heating elements
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I don't think they will be less efficient. If you think about it, how can they be?

The law of conservation of energy essentially dictates that the sum of any output energy (including any unwanted energy 'by-products') is equal to the input energy. In fact for most forms of energy conversion, the 'inefficiency', or unwanted form of energy is heat. With the exception of a relatively tiny amount amount of kinetic energy (namely fans, vibration) the energy outputted by cryptocurrency miners is almost entirely in the form of heat, with virtually no waste by-product.
 
fencepost said:
I still think the place where cryptocurrency mining makes the most sense is where electric heating is being used. Sure they're likely less efficient at converting electricity into heat than optimized heating elements, but they're probably not *that* much less efficient and if you're going to be using the power anyway....
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Aahhh, the old misconception. As @Moltuae pointed out, laws of conservation. I've seen MANY arguments about what electric heaters are most efficient. Infrared, oil heaters, etc. No, all of them produce the same amount of heat per unit of electricity. It is ultimately how they are handled after the energy is produced.

Electric baseboard heaters are regarded as some of the worst "Heaters", but not because how they generate heat, but because they end up pumping a conciderable amount of their heat at (usually) an outside wall and lost there. Also, they don't distribute their energy well. Sure, they radiate some heat, and use convection to pull the hot air away, but that "away" is straight to the ceiling, and, well, you don't benefit from the heat hanging at the ceiling and just going up and out through the roof.

Forced air electric heat is considered the best commonly, but again, a watt of electricity generates a watt of power.

I saw a great story somewhere 2 years ago. A guy who lived decently North, built a room right next to his furnace. Pumped the cold air return into floor level of the room; and then had the heat sucked out by his HVAC unit.

I think the issue with using miners, or specifically computers as miners, is most computers (And likely miners, except for large farms) are aimed at the wall for exhaust... The same issue with electric baseboard heaters. If you are mining, and want to harness the energy, you might want to change the flow of air towards the main area, not into a wall.
 
MudRock said:
If you are mining, and want to harness the energy, you might want to change the flow of air towards the main area, not into a wall.
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Which is precisely what I do. I designed my GPU rigs such that the cards are back-to-front, blowing warm air into the room. And my ASIC miners live in the cellar, attached to heat-insulated ducting, which routes most of the warm air they expel up into the house. A very small amount of the heat from the ASIC miners probably goes to waste, escaping back into the cellar so my GPU miners are probably slightly more efficient in that respect. None of them are mining right now though because the weather is too damn hot. Roll on winter ...
 
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