This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Spending money on Bitcoin is not "investing" it is "GAMBLING"

17

Above ^
Tired of all these "I'm a future Oxbridge Economics student, I have invested in Bitcoin" types.
You didn't invest.
You gambled.
You can lose money just as much as you can gain money.

Reply 1

IWMTom

20

Original post

by erratic_deus

You can lose money just as much as you can gain money.

Just like investing, then?

Reply 2

Ganjaweed Rebel

17

Since the Brexit referendum, all my holdings of sterling are down

Reply 3

JMR2021_

22

Original post

by erratic_deus

Above ^
Tired of all these "I'm a future Oxbridge Economics student, I have invested in Bitcoin" types.
You didn't invest.
You gambled.
You can lose money just as much as you can gain money.

That's what happens with any investment you make, e.g. Currency, stocks, property etc. etc.

Reply 4

JJTwentyOne

8

Original post

by erratic_deus

Above ^
Tired of all these "I'm a future Oxbridge Economics student, I have invested in Bitcoin" types.
You didn't invest.
You gambled.
You can lose money just as much as you can gain money.

Why are you tired of the people saying this? In my opinion it's a valid investment/gamble, whatever you wish to call it. So far people have made a lot of money from it. People will loose if they're not careful but this is the nature of any investment as you're risking money in a new technology.

Reply 5

the bear

20

the taxman will be taking a hefty slice of any profits people make on these activities. it's win-win for Brexit Britain.

Reply 6

username1207499

18

It’s a bubble. The only reason people are buying it is because other people are buying it which creates a feedback loop. Eventually it will burst and the actual value of bitcoin will be shown to be a tiny fraction of its current valuation since its not used day to day as other currencies are. Problem is it’s so volatile that shorting it could bankrupt you before you get the payout

Reply 7

username2965904

19

I agree with the OP- unless it is to spend on something, it is a currency gamble.

Reply 8

FriendlyPenguin

20

Edit: Sorry, wrong thread

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 9

TheMcSame

19

Original post

by FriendlyPenguin

Cryptocurrencies are the future. I don't think it is right to dismiss Bitcoin as a fad.

There are also probably a lot more uses for it in countries with poorer existing financial infrastructure, or much more restrictive regulations (hence why so many Chinese own bitcoin).

What makes you think governments will adopt bitcoin rather than conjure up their own? Physical currency may well go away at some point, but the Government will have their own virtual replacements long before that happens.

Hell, that assuming they adopt cyptocurrencies rather than just do away with physical money and have everyone pay with their debit/credit cards...

Reply 10

The PoliticalGuy

16

All part of life is gambling, if you have any money in a savings account if the sterling crashes all your moneys gone.

Isn't that gambling?

You take a mortgage from a bank the bank goes into liquidation your mortgage fails and you lose thousands of pound

Isn't that gambling?

OP needs to get real. Cryptocurrencies is as gambling as having money in your pocket.

Reply 11

username2281157

20

I've written an entire article about my take on crypros which pretty much answers this thread.
Here's the link:
https://themarketmogul.com/cryptocurrencies-bubble/

Reply 12

Faction Paradox

13

I'm not convinced that Bitcoin is going to be THE currency of the future, but I think that cryptocurrencies are only going to grow in popularity, so even if you don't make money or even lose some money, I think there are probably going to be real advantages in the future of having experience and knowledge of cryptocurrencies before it gets to a stage where its too late to learn.

Reply 13

Emms98

10

Original post

by IWMTom

Just like investing, then?

Original post

by JMR2018

That's what happens with any investment you make, e.g. Currency, stocks, property etc. etc.

The difference is that Bitcoin is far more fotalitle and risky so investing in bitcoin is almost pure gambling whereas stocks and property overall tend to increase in value in the long run.

Reply 14

m4ttch4mp

13

It's not an investment because bitcoin doesn't have value since it's a currency. It only has a price.

Reply 15

IWMTom

20

Original post

by Emms98

The difference is that Bitcoin is far more fotalitle and risky so investing in bitcoin is almost pure gambling whereas stocks and property overall tend to increase in value in the long run.

"fotalitle" :laugh:

Did you mean volatile? Any investment carries risk - the level of risk doesn't deviate from the fact it is an investment.

Reply 16

Ninja Squirrel

20

Original post

by TheMcSame

What makes you think governments will adopt bitcoin rather than conjure up their own? Physical currency may well go away at some point, but the Government will have their own virtual replacements long before that happens.

Hell, that assuming they adopt cyptocurrencies rather than just do away with physical money and have everyone pay with their debit/credit cards...

It's 2018 and people still think bitcoin is trying to replace government issued fiat currency :s-smilie:

Bitcoin isn't trying to undermine anything, it's just an alternative decentralised way to store your wealth. Why should I pay fees to institutions or risk my wealth being manipulated and devalued by governments? Bitcoin is trying to be gold, bit in digital form.

Original post

by m4ttch4mp

It's not an investment because bitcoin doesn't have value since it's a currency. It only has a price.

Bitcoin isn't a currency, no crypto"currency" meets the criteria of being a currency and probably never will. I think cryptocurrency should be renamed to cryptoasset because putting currency in the name just confuses everyone.

Cryptocurrency isn't and never will be a proper everyday currency used by the masses. It will however be used as a way to secure networks, which is what it functions best at.

Reply 17

username3509752

13

Nobody (nobody smart at least) uses Bitcoin (or other altcoins) as an actual currency. What's more important is the technology behind it, blockchain.

Reply 18

Emms98

10

Original post

by IWMTom

"fotalitle" :laugh:

Did you mean volatile? Any investment carries risk - the level of risk doesn't deviate from the fact it is an investment.

Yeah I meant it was volatile

Reply 19

Ninja Squirrel

20

As with any investment, never invest more than you are willing to lose. Given the nature of cryptocurrencies, I don't think it would be wise to steer clear of them completely as there's some amazing returns to be made. If you're a regular investor in the stock market and understand how investing works I think putting 5% or 10% of your net worth into cryptocurrency is not a bad move.

For me the risk : reward ratio on cryptocurrency is extremely low and that's what makes it so attractive. For example doing your research and investing in a good cryptocurrency project you can risk £100 and it can quite easily go to £1000, whereas £100 in the stock market would take probably a 25 years or more to 10x in value.

Since the 2008 market crash, even if you bought at the very bottom you would have only made 120% on the FTSE or 440% on the NASDAQ and that's 10 years in a very bullish market.

Of course I'm not going to tell people to invest in cryptocurrency but I think people overestimate the risk, it is risky yes but the reward vastly outweighs the risk in my opinion.

Spending money on Bitcoin is not "investing" it is "GAMBLING"

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated