I'm now a bitcoin consultant

I spent weeks building a technical demo for a job application that I don't think the company I applied to even looked at. Youtube shows no extra 'views' for the screen cast I recorded stepping through what I'd built and I never even got an acknowledgement of my application or a "thanks, but no thanks" when I read they'd moved on the candidate shortlist part of the process.

But, tonight the days and sleepless nights while I wrestled with learning tech I'd never used before, shunting hundreds of gigabytes of blockchain data around and other trials and tribulations has finally paid off:

Some guy on Reddit posted in a panic about his server not working and I was able to answer him with a possible solution, actually test the solution and follow up with a definitive answer within five minutes. He tipped me $5 in Bitcoin Cash. By definition that makes me a professional I believe.

Can you make me rich in Bitcoins? I will tip you hundreds of Lithu stars!

can you consult with me on how to get some bitcoins without paying for them, and then make them unhackable?

@whoofe That might be beyond even my advanced skill levels.

I'd like to either crowd-source or Hog-source a proper response to a request from my sister.

Her son, my nephew is badgering her to invest in Bitcoin. He has been sending positive reviews to her daily and it is driving her nuts.

She turned to me and asked my opinion about investing in Bitcoin and as anyone here would guess, I sent her a conservative response:

It's gambling with money, not that there is anything wrong with gambling when you can afford it. It's volatile. It's unsecured. There are many other crypto-currencies to look into as well. There are safer and better investments with lower-risk, but with lower gain potential, of course.

Pause . . .

Chris (my nephew) says: "Unlce Joe doesn't know what he's talking about because he's old and ignorant of things that are new. It's a sure thing, Mom and it will make you rich if you listen to me. And please lend me $XXXX as soon as possible! I'll invest it and make us both rich!"

So what good advice shall I give her that will likely not be followed anyway?

if i were a bitcoin consultant, i'd tell ppl to stay away

how much money can I make doing that?

I've not asked for advice in this forum as far as I can remember, and I probably will not do so a second time, so this could be a bit of fun - and a last chance! :-)

I'm curious what Hog would say to his sister if she were to ask a similar question.

My poor sister is a little overwhelmed at the moment and I thought maybe I'd hear a new approach.

I've stayed the HELL out of it, even when I know about it ahead of everyone else when it was $1 per bitcoin. Besides the scaling issues I've mentioned, it's all dependent on governments not going to war over them (probably a nice tool to point the way to activity they very much would like to know about) and trust issues. I've missed out on a lot of money to be made, but also no telling if I would have been a victim one way or another of hacks or disappearing accounts.

Plus, IRS.

Last thing I'd do is put it in the kid's hands.

Can't you just show her the price graph for the past three years and ask why would her son be able to predict the price better than minimum of hundreds of thousands of people that are also vested in it?

And I think at the very least she can invest in a bitcoin ETF (I believe they exist) and save herself from losing money in an even stupider way.

Crypto is a gamble. And unless you're buying with money you aren’t concerned about losing, don’t do it. Just like any other gambling.

I thought the bitcoin server guy died and took the password with him to the grave.

@tazzsaidin@tazz

I thought the bitcoin server guy died and took the password with him to the grave.

It's not a particularly centralized system which is why you can have a bunch of money tied to one person rather then a corporation. So whoever invested in his 'fund' for lack of a better word got hosed, but not Bitcoin in general, other then once again highlighting a currency that is near outlaw and buoyed by illegal activity and speculation.

Good responses . . . and thanks.

I've touched on a number of these things but sometimes it's interesting and personally helpful to see how other people approach such a question.

@jamsaidin@jam

I'd like to either crowd-source or Hog-source a proper response to a request from my sister.

Her son, my nephew is badgering her to invest in Bitcoin. He has been sending positive reviews to her daily and it is driving her nuts.

She turned to me and asked my opinion about investing in Bitcoin and as anyone here would guess, I sent her a conservative response:

It's gambling with money, not that there is anything wrong with gambling when you can afford it. It's volatile. It's unsecured. There are many other crypto-currencies to look into as well. There are safer and better investments with lower-risk, but with lower gain potential, of course.

All solid advice.

So what good advice shall I give her that will likely not be followed anyway?

Bitcoin BTC just doesn't work. The minute there's even moderate activity, fees to transact jump to several dollars and if demand doesn't subside, spiral to $50 or more. No one wants to use it with high fees. The supposed tech that will save Bitcoin BTC - the Lightning Network - has more fundamental flaws than I have time to post about. It's basically a shit product and all of the price is speculation that somehow the problems will be magically solved.

I could give a more positive summary of a couple of other crytpo currencies but they are even more speculative so I wont. Don't invest in anything you don't understand.

This kind of enthusiasm / mania always emerges after the price has started pumping. The time to buy if you are going to risk throwing your money away is when the price is in the toilet and everyone is talking negatively about it. My boss told me he'd bought his first bitcoin in December 2017. It was too late to give him any advice. I just pointed out that the market was in a bubble, he might be buying close to the top (hoping he'd take a hint and sell out) but I wished him well. This is the history since then:

I am also a consultant in a similar currency

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/monopoly/images/c/c1/Monopoly-money.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121102221113

@hogsaidin@hog

@jam said in I'm now a bitcoin consultant:

All solid advice.

Bitcoin BTC just doesn't work. The minute there's even moderate activity, fees to transact jump to several dollars and if demand doesn't subside, spiral to $50 or more. No one wants to use it with high fees. The supposed tech that will save Bitcoin BTC - the Lightning Network - has more fundamental flaws than I have time to post about. It's basically a shit product and all of the price is speculation that somehow the problems will be magically solved.

I could give a more positive summary of a couple of other crytpo currencies but they are even more speculative so I wont. Don't invest in anything you don't understand.

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Thanks.

That final sentence of yours above is precisely what I say to anyone who asks my opinion, also placed at the end of any informal presentation on the subject of investing.

I have a great idea to help you with your branding. Why don’t you give me 100 bitcoin, I will hire you and pay you 50 bitcoin, then I will give you raving reviews on how well you consulted me and increased my Bitcoin portfolio by 100%. Who wouldn’t hire you knowing that you can increase their portfolio by 100%! You will be rich!

https://in.reuters.com/article/paypal-cryptocurrency/paypal-to-allow-cryptocurrency-buying-selling-and-shopping-on-its-network-idINL1N2HB14U

This seems like big news