Posted on 09/04/2017 8:21:29 AM PDT by Enlightened1
Investing.com - Bitcoin and the other leading cryptocurrencies all sold off sharply on Monday, after China banned individuals and organizations from raising funds through initial coin offerings, saying the practice constituted illegal fundraising.
The People’s Bank of China said in a statement earlier that it had completed investigations into ICOs, and will strictly punish offerings in the future while penalizing legal violations in ones already completed.
Individuals and organizations that have completed ICO fundraisings should make arrangements to return funds, the PBOC said, issuing the strongest regulatory challenge so far to the burgeoning market for digital token sales.
It also said digital token financing and trading platforms are prohibited from doing conversions of coins with fiat currencies.
The popularity of coin offerings has surged in China this year. ICOs have become a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs, allowing them to raise large sums quickly by creating and selling digital "tokens" with little or no regulatory oversight.
Bitcoin dropped to $4,345.70 by 6:00AM ET (1000GMT), down $249.30, or around 5.5%, after hitting a low of $4,253.00. The digital currency rallied to an all-time high of $4,911.80 over the weekend.
Ethereum, Bitcoin's closest rival in terms of market cap, sank 11%, or $38.52, to $312.69. It briefly rose to a record peak of $394.78 on Saturday.
Other prominent cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ripple and Dash also traded sharply lower.
The total value of all publicly traded cryptocurrencies was $150 billion, a figure that was down more than 16% from a high of nearly $180 billion reached on Saturday night.
(Excerpt) Read more at investing.com ...
Those will work really well after the EMP /s
I never quite understand bitcoin, though I’ve read articles, and some Freepers have given excellent explanations of how it works.
I think where I get lost, is that bitcoin is not issued by a country; it’s not legal tender as such. And it seems that the only reason that bitcoin has value is because all who spend or receive bitcoin as payment for goods and services, all believe that it has value.
And then there are bitcoin “miners” who “mine” bitcoin by performing various computerized calculations, and in do doing, are rewarded with more bitcoin for their efforts. Again, it seems that this works only because everyone involved has decided to believe that bitcoin has value. What is the intrinsic value of having performed calculations and get rewarded in bitcoin?
Mining bitcoin appears to be where the money is at. That’s if you want to make dollars for bitcoins.
Although if you really think about it. The dollar like bitcoin is not backed by anything.
It’s all perception and nothing further.
Just sitting back laughing. These apes have no clue whats coming. The meek shall inherit the earth.
Exactly...It’s a privately issued fiat currency. Like the government fiat currencies, they are backed by “faith”. The main difference between the two types of fiat money is the legal tender laws that support government fiat money.
Exactly...It’s a privately issued fiat currency. Like the government fiat currencies, they are backed by “faith”. The main difference between the two types of fiat money is the legal tender laws that support government fiat money.
Haha! Bingo!
“Those will work really well after the EMP /s”
I doubt that the US$ will work all that well either.
21st century pogs, beany babbies, or tulips?
Crypto currencies are not entirely fiat currency. There is work or effort involved in producing a “coin”. This limits the availability of the coin. IOW, there are hard limits on the coin. This is not true with our existing currency.
Meanwhile I still have my stash of Unobtanium.
“I doubt that the US$ will work all that well either.”
Actually US Dollars (in currency form) will work very well, at least for a short time after an EMP - as most people won’t even have a clue as to what hit them, and government will be promising a ‘return to normal’ in several days.
The problem, of course, will be when there’s nothing left to buy...then the ugliness starts.
That’s not relevant to what a fiat currency is. Sounds like the “labor theory of value”, which, as everyone should know, is false.
BFLR
But what are the calculations used for and why do they have any value. I get that bit coins are limited but that doesn’t give them value.
The paper that the dollar is printed on has little VALUE. However, by fiat (or rules of government) the paper is MEDIUM of exchange, that is the genius of currency. The paper itself is next to worthless. So why do we use paper?
Simple, convenience.
Paper is easier than lugging coins or bars of gold or sacks of silver. But even most paper transactions have been replaced with a digital transaction with the bank or payment clearing house.
crypto currencies are simply another MEDIUM for exchanging values, just like your credit / debit card. However there are advantages to using crypto currency. Here is a good article:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-22/bitcoin-money
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