I think that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are going to continue being solid choices for throwing money into for the foreseeable future. Ethereum will continue being the basis for many crypto-tokens to come, and based on what I’ve been learning about how the Lightning Network will operate, I believe Bitcoin will become a viable currency with reasonable fees and fast transaction times, and won’t be such a burden on the environment. If the Lightning Network is realized, I expect that Litecoin (LTC), all the Bitcoin forks, and other tokens whose primary benefits are speed vs. BTC are going to fade into obsolescence.

As I said in the other thread, I expect a major crypto crackdown this year. We just saw BitConnect (BCC) get destroyed and the SEC has sent letters to other crypto groups to halt operations. I think there will be a big purge of tokens that don’t provide utility, merely make promises about future capabilities (like TRON (TRX) which had no product in development yet), or are designed as securities or stock alternatives in organizations. I also expect a ban on anonymous tokens like Monero (XRM) and ZenCash (ZEN) which could be used for illegal activities the way laypeople still think criminals use Bitcoin.

My focus has been to try to pick longterm hold tokens that will provide inherent value to the networks they support, and are least likely to be obliterated by regulation. Here are the ones I’ve been investing into/watching and my thoughts on them:

Airswap (AST) - Decentralized exchange like EtherDelta, but designed to correct ED’s limitations and flaws, and provide the necessities to bring in the big institutional money traders. AST is locked to perform trades in the Airswap marketplace, so there are no fees in transactions, but there is Proof-of-Stake value in holding the tokens. This token’s market cap hasn’t reached the Top 100 list yet so there’s still potentially a lot of room to grow.

Jibrel (JNT) - Just completed its ICO recently (US excluded) and is going to be tradable on Feb 1st. It’s like Tether (USDT), except legitimate. Actually, Jibrel is a platform to tie traditional fiat to crypto. JNT itself is used as a Proof-of-Solvency, which is just a fancy smart contract to tether an asset like gold or fiat to what they call CryptoDepository Receipts (CryDRs). In the beginning, they are going to provide USD and KRW equivalents. Ultimately, JNT-based CryDRs may become the de facto crypto that you will buy to pair-trade for other currencies in the future rather than BTC, ETH, or LTC. They will also act as a safe-haven token that you will be able to convert your crypto into when you want to maintain its value in periods of instability, reducing the crypto market’s volatility. This is how Tether prevented a big crash this week, except if people were to attempt to cash out their USDT to USD all at once, Tether would be exposed for the fraud it is; JNT-based tokens will actually have that value backing them. JNT’s value would go up as more assets are used as backing sources in CryDRs.

Dragonchain (DRGN) - Originally developed in partnership with Disney Labs. It is designed to be a new blockchain like Ethereum. An entire ecosystem is being developed around DRGN including support for operating ICOs and smart contract development on Dragonchain’s network. DRGN is held to be able to participate on the network, and there’s a unique feature where the longer you hold the tokens (let them slumber), the greater you benefit on the network.

ICON (ICX) - Korea’s answer to Ethereum. South Korea currently makes up something like 25% of all crypto activity, so their influence in the crypto space can’t be ignored. They are building something of a federated multi-blockchain smart contract system that will allow disparate industries to operate independent and specialized block chains that are still interoperable with each other. ICX is the standard pairing currency that allows trading one of its blockchain currencies for another.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) - The big draw for this token in the immediate future is FairX, which is an exchange that will allow you to buy a wide assortment of crypto for fiat. It’s not exactly USD to crypto of your choice though; XLM is going to be an intermediary. FairX is going online in the next couple weeks.

IOTA (IOTA) - I’m less enthusiastic about this coin than I was in the past, but I like the idea and think it could be major if the technical problems can be worked out or disproven. The crypto network is currently centralized to prevent being overpowered by a hostile entity before it grows so big that won’t be possible anymore, and it uses its own home-rolled crypto algorithm, which is a very big no-no in the crypto space. The design of the network is to be literally infinitely scalable and serve as a tamper-proof transmissions layer for machine-to-machine communication. The Internet of Things is supposed to be a multi trillion dollar market in just a couple years and IOTA and other IoT-specific cryptotokens like RaiBlocks (XRB) are poised to potentially make a fortune.

ChainLink (LINK) - I believe ChainLink may be a sleeping giant. It solves the problem of connecting external information to the blockchain, like GPS location for a package being tracked through the blockchain. ChainLink is the middleware that provides this capability for the blockchain in a secure and trustless fashion. LINK tokens are used to power the network. When an application utilizes ChainLink to access information, nodes stake some of their LINK when they provide requested information. If the node’s answers are deemed invalid, the node loses the staked LINK, otherwise validly answered requests are rewarded LINK from the requester.

EDIT: Wrong thread. First rule of Scamcoin is you're not supposed to talk about Scamcoin.

Buy Scamcoin, err... I mean 'Super Cool Awesome Money' Coin here: http://supercoolawesomemoney.com/

This is not financial advice. Don't "invest" more than you're willing to lose. Yada, yada, yada.

Tittiecoin, and yes it's a real cryptocurrency...

What about NEO which is essentially the China version of Ethereum?

It's probably a good buy but I'm going to be honest that I've never investigated or paid attention to it. I was relatively new to crypto when GAS skyrocketed (or so I thought) and I figured I missed that boat. Aside from that, I don't particularly trust Chinese technology (see TRON) so I wasn't really interested. The project seems to have legs though. There are successful ICOs run on NEO, like TheKey (TKY), which is only going to add value to NEO. On top of that, the Chinese prefer to use their own products and with the size of their market, even if NEO never catches on outside of China, it would still have access to potentially a billion people.

For me though, it's too much of a hassle to get involved in NEO-based projects. There's no easy way to convert fiat into NEO, so I'd have to convert fiat to ETH and then to NEO to participate in a NEO ICO. That's enough of a barrier to entry for me to just avoid it.

I just don't have time for this, what with all those Pokemon to find......

I did it, and actually getting siacoin is a huge pain in the ass. I've had my node up for a week now and have 11 contracts but zero disk space used, so I have 900SC tied up and not making me any coin.

I'm not sure the network is big enough yet.

For those new to the internet, this poster is a textbook example of a troll.

TROLL - One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

Remember kids, trolls are just wannabe bullies without any testicular fortitude.

This ends today's PSA.

Happy mining.

I dunno, Litecoin is fairly stable and it's pretty fast and cheap - last transaction only cost me 5 cents vs. $30 for BTC. Seems to work okay.

And it's looking more and more like the Lighting network is going to work. That will drop BTC fees below Litecoins and make transactions blazing fast.

Unless you're doing wallet to wallet direct transactions. LN will only work between exchanges.

pasted_image (resized).png

That's only their worldwide shipping provider, it's not them directly though...

So I have some extra questions now, and apologies for the United States cultural bias here:

How do you pay any applicable sales tax if purchasing items or services via bitcoin?
If a trader sells bitcoin, how is the capital gains tax assessed and paid?
Are individual bitcoin to USD transactions kept under $10,000?

Doesn't it make sense that the world's governments will soon realize the financial loss of tax revenue and react accordingly if so?

What real protection do investors have against theft of shares, criminal mischief, insider trading and manipulation etc?
Does the SEC oversee the cryptocurrency exchanges now?

Anyone know much about 'Tethers'?

Jesus... you are obsessed with Tethers. You already know the answer because you posted it earlier. Unless you don't read your own links.

Are you saying it's a scam? If so, do you think the $1.9 Billion in USDT that is propping up the Bitcoin market will have a bigger effect on the cryptocurrency market when the scam finally collapses?

http://fortune.com/2017/12/05/bitcoin-btc-price-usd-tether-limited-bitfinex/

Simple, they did not care.

Yes & yes...from what I can tell. Will it be the end of crypto's? God no. It will likely be the end of that one exchange (granted a big one). And will cause another temporary market drop...probably a sizeable one. When will this happen? No one knows. Should I sell because of Tethers? No...not if I'm in long term. Just another wave in the crypto wild west.

The government can easily pull the plug on any cryptocurrency, then its lights out. Also the exchanges are frequently hacked. The chances of that happening to stocks portfolios or money in the bank are not zero but significantly lower. So much for the hard core thinking types.

So if I have money on binance in usdt is it safe at all?

Simple - same way they have combatted online gaming. Cripple their (legal) ability to work with credit cards and banks and combat sites. Make it hard to move money to/from US banking and you choke the ability to operate with US customers.

The same way they track illegal financial transactions, child pornography, terrorism or any other nefarious activity on the internet. If it happens on the internet, the government can track it, block it and figure out the origin and target of the data package. The NSA employs over 20000 people and has essentially unlimited funds. Any activity that happens outside the internet becomes much harder to track, but the nature of any crypto-currency is that the transactions happen on the internet.

It will get regulated...I don't think we will see it "shut down" (IMHO).

For now...I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it there though. No telling when this Tether wall will crumble. Might be years...might be next week...no idea.

Yeah I only do it when I want to jump out of something cuz I think it’s going to dip. Certainly not a long term thing. Hours or maybe a day.

Moving crypto into Tethers and back again is not the issue. The issue will come to a head when people try to cash out of their Tethers...already starting to happen on that end. Small amounts...no problem...but try cashing out a few hundred thousand and see what happens. Should be zero issue if they where actually backed 1 with USD.

Agreed. Congress's power to coin money is exclusive, under Article I, Section 10. I’ve heard people say cryptos aren’t “coined” so that exclusivity doesn’t apply, in my opinion those people have not had enough constitutional law training to see how courts interpret the constitution these days (as a living breathing document that is to be interpreted as broadly as possible to meet the modern age).

I have no idea of the future of cryptos, but the exclusive right to coin currency being within the governments pervue would make me nervous as an investor. Kudoos to those people that are making money investing and/or mining. I’m happy for you guys and hope the good times continue to roll for all of you.

Good points. Right now the SEC is treating them like an asset...like property or gold. I suppose that definition could change anytime though.

Pretty sure the USA has no say in other countries currency. So, all you need to do is not be a US company.

Besides, all the best coins aren't centralized anyway, so there's no sovereign nation for them to go after.

Same way you do now, at point of purchase.

Same as stocks, you pay capital gains.

As an unregulated market, there's no mandatory reporting at the exchange level for such transactions, until they get deposited in a regulated account.

I dunno, the individual states have been mostly ignoring internet sales for the last two decades. This one will be hard to track too.

None, and no.

For instance, Kraken was down for two days and I had zero access to the few coins I happened to keep there. No recourse for me. Welcome to the Wild West.

Regarding tax revenue...

World governments are noticing. Damn governments! Always wanting their 'cut'...

India sends tax notices to cryptocurrency investors as trading hits $3.5 billion
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-bitcoin-india-taxes/india-sends-tax-notices-to-cryptocurrency-investors-as-trading-hits-3-5-billion-idUSKBN1F8190

Authorities raid South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/10/police-tax-authorities-raid-south-korea-cryptocurrency-exchanges-for-tax-evasion.html

USA: When Trading in Bitcoin, Keep the Tax Man in Mind
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/your-money/bitcoin-irs-taxes.html

vaping is another topic.

For you perusal. The new ETF's that just came to market.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4138630-blockchain-etfs-deep-dive-blcn-blok

The crackdown on cryptos continues.

US regulators charge three bitcoin operators with fraud
https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/19/cftc-charges-three-cryptocurrency-operators/

There are also fears that bitcoin and other cryptocurrency could threaten the security of the global economy; as a result, the US isn't the only country taking action. China is moving toward an "orderly exit" from bitcoin mining because of its use of resources, as well as its affect on investors. Back in December, South Korea (which is the third largest market for cryptocurrency, after the US and Japan) banned all anonymous cryptocurrency accounts and enacted new regulations for monitoring exchanges.

CabbageTech?!

Staten Island-based 'CabbageTech' charged with bitcoin-related fraud after promising 300% returns in a week
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/19/us-regulator-charges-cabbagetech-with-bitcoin-related-fraud.html

There's rumor and speculation about the sealed 3rd case, but there's speculation that it could either be Coinbase, Bitconnect, or even Bitfinex.

Warrant Canary of Bitfinex Employee Disappears, Rumors Swirl
http://www.trustnodes.com/2017/12/15/warrant-canary-bitfinex-employee-disappears-rumors-swirl

Since Bitfinex is a Hong Kong owned company, I'm not sure it's a possible candidate for US CFTC jurisdiction.

This is a good summary about what is known to date about Tether.

The Tether Conundrum: A Quick Backstory
https://tonyarcieri.com/the-tether-conundrum

You should give these guys a break. Maybe come on over to the pork bellies thread and tell me how bacon is going to give me cancer.

Mmmmm bacon...

Speaking of exit strategies...

Crypto investors should practice converting a small amount of their holdings back into USD in their actual bank accounts.

Just in case the bubble bursts and there are a run on the exchanges. Crypto exchanges have a weird way of suddenly being down for maintenance, suspending buy/sell functionality, and transferring money into your bank account.

Have a safety ladder in case shit hits the fan.

Or HODL like the brave stalwarts who invested in BCC. It could always recover given enough time...

do you guys think this looming govt shutdown will be a boon for crypto?

It could slow down the number of scams they're able to shut down.

Rumor is that Coinbase has gotten the attention of the SEC/CFTC after the supposed insider trading by Coinbase employees after Bitcoin Cash was secretly added to the exchange.

https://twitter.com/LDTmike/status/944271641260982272

It helps to understand what YOU wrote yourself, to then understand what I wrote. You surmised that when the electricity got cut off, crypto currency disappears. I noted that if the electricity goes out, all electronic money disappears.

This obviously both confused and upset you, so you attempted another poor attempt at sarcasm. Your inability to stay on your own topic, electrical outage affecting crypto currencies, is sad.

I always was a bit curious on the type of investor that would fall for an obvious Ponzi like Bitconnect.

Here's an example of someone who "invested" $30K in BitConnect/BCC.

A day later, he's posted an "update". Apparently Bitconnect is now a legit investment. And the guys who were running the Ponzi are going to "take care of" their investors with a new coin offering, named... BitConnectX

I don't even know what's real life anymore...

The same way they pulled the plug on the illegal drug trade, arms trade, murder, human trafficking, prostitution, child pornography and illegal immigration. Based on the efficient, quick and successful abolishment of the above, this little crypto currency thing should be no problem.

One must logically assume that any attempt by this federal government to ban anything, would be an outright joke.

For those new to the internet, this poster is a textbook example of a troll.

TROLL - One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

Remember kids, trolls are just wannabe bullies without any testicular fortitude. They're often sad & lonely, and seek out attention by intentionally irritating others. It has been surmised that this is caused by a direct link to micro-penis syndrome.

This ends today's PSA.

Happy mining.

So....

JPOPcoin confirmed?

This is one thing I've been struggling to understand... where are these fees coming from, exactly? I keep seeing articles saying average transaction fee is around 30 bucks on BTC, but where are those fees charged from, and where are they going to, exactly? If I sell say 60 bucks of BTC on GDAX, they say THEIR fee is like .25% or whatever.. where are these huge fees coming from? Or is it just that people are mostly selling 10k+ USD value of BTC at once typically with BTC?

Feel free to point out the errors in any of the links I have posted and I'll pass them on to the editors at Bloomberg, Retuers, CNBC and the NY Times so they can be corrected.

BTW, How much did you lose in Bitconnect?

Miners validate transactions in exchange for fees. They can pick and choose which transactions to validate, so they go for the highest paying ones.

We get it, you hate crypto. Why don't you go continue shitting up that other thread and leave people to their discussions in this one?

I hate scams.

I don't hate cryptocoins. I think they're interesting from a technology standpoint (as a 20+ year programmer and computer hardware enthusiast), but I don't see much of a personal use for them and think the negatives outweigh the current benefits. I think rampant scams are the underlying reason for the current cryptocoin bubble, and there is an elephant in the room that could cause a lot of naive people to lose their money when it unravels.

Within the last hour another $100 million in Tethers were printed to prop up the Bitcoin market.
http://omnichest.info/lookuptx.aspx?txid=0fbf16c7b937a8a5601ade7897c69bc33f1836b9cb02b1814425dcf4a98d3436

How much of an influence do Tethers have on the rest of the coin markets/exchanges?
https://wallet.tether.to/richlist

If this is just the shill/pump & dump thread, then I will bow out at your request. If I remember correctly, the people who questioned the JPOP scams weren't received that well either...

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