Probably like most people, I was very dubious about the whole concept of Bitcoins when they first arrived back in 2008/9.
As someone who started his working life receiving a weekly brown paper pay packet containing notes and coins, it is difficult to imagine a currency that only exists in Cyber-land.
Fortunes have been made and lost through Bitcoins and other Crypto currencies. Personally I would be very hesitant to invest, but I do know those who have, and they've done well.
Just recently El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, alongside the US dollar. Otherwise Nigeria is the biggest user of the currency. Africa, Asia, and S America are also all big users, whereas N America, Europe, and Australia are hesitant.
With the predicted disappearance of 'cash', one can only imagine that Crypto currencies will play a big part in the future of both personal and national finance. Personally I shall try to pay with paper and metal for as long as possible. I do have a contactless debit card, but I'm very hesitant to use it.
When at The Nag's Head, how does one buy a Pint of Wallop with Bitcoins?
41 comments:
I'm not investing in anything that I can't hold in my hands and use to buy real stuff. I have little enough real cash as it is without losing it when some crypto company crashes and burns.
They've done incredibly well so far, but a crash is always possible. I would take my profits and run.
Children will no longer have a need for piggy banks and how will buskers and beggars get along? I predict the rise of the bartering system.
My last job was with a large financial conglomerate. They did not accept cryptocurrency and neither do I. I'm sticking with real dollars.
Love,
Janie
When you are back here you will need to adjust to contactless I think. I can't imagine life without it now.
Someone used my debit card (it's a few years ago when the limit you could do contactless was £20.00 per transaction, ie no pin number needed). After a night's pub crawl (the finder's) and £130 lighter, I asked my bank to disable that very function on my new card. Pin only. That way I can lose/leave behind/drop my card with careless abandon. Yes, I know. Don't say it.
Of more interest, given your background, what's your take on bitcoin?
U
Responsible people like me manage contactless perfectly well and keep the amount on the card at a low level to cover daily needs. Non users of contactless always love to share stories such as yours. I have no knowledge of bitcoin and without knowledge I know to steer clear of it.
No, I don't "LOVE to share stories such as [mine]". Quite the opposite. All I was trying to say that sometimes we need to acknowledge certain weaknesses of ours and try (emphasis on "try") to be proactive to avoid unnecessary practical complications. And, yes, just to feed your take on my "story" I have walked away from cashpoints with my card minus the cash, people running after me, waving the notes. Kindness of strangers.
Anyway, I like remembering numbers [pin and otherwise].
Head in the clouds greetings,
U
I think I’m too long in the tooth to think about Bitcoin. I like to keep up with all the new stuff and use contactless , PayPal and Applepay etc but that’s enough at the moment. I think I remember a lot of people lost a lot of money with Bitcoin a few years ago but I guess that’s the same as the risks we take with any investment. Don’t know enough about it to comment really ! XXXX
It is already an issue in Australia with so few people using cash.
Ursula, wherever you are, here it is better to use a credit card where you can easily dispute the transaction rather than try to recover your own money taken from your savings account.
People gamble on real currencies all the time. Why is crypto currency different? The reason being that average people do not gamble on currencies unless they are travelling overseas. I can't believe I paid 90c for a a bread roll using my card but I did. I haven't used filthy lucre since March 2020.
I know nothing of Bitcoin or investing, but I do know it is imperative to hang on to cash.
I have a friend who swears by them he's also made money ( apparantly)
Andrew, hi, for my sins I do live in England. Barely a stone throw from where poor old Crow and Lady M will be found once Billy's worm pill has taken hold.
I hope I understand what you are saying. I am all for credit cards - for high value purchases. However, my daily life is, largely, spent in CASH. Yes, really. I am a pretty tactile person. So, I enjoy handling notes and coins, silently weeping into my hanky (only joking) as I part with hard cash which, oddly, I never do when using a card. On a card money being more of an abstract than reality.
As to "RECOVERING money taken from [my] account": I didn't bother, Andrew. Life is too short. I sincerely hope that whoever took advantage of my negligence (and my card) had a good time. I firmly believe life is swings and roundabouts; at least when it comes to money. I used to find notes - with no identifiable ID attached. Next, what do you know, I drop my favourite wallet - full to the brim. Well, good luck to whoever found it. Hope it gave them joy. Finders, keepers.
U
I have always used Debit Cards, but now notice that it is also contactless. I'm not sure what to think of it.
I have a portfolio at home of share certificates from Defunct Co's. You win some and you lose some, hopefully to your advantage.
I actually like 'MONEY', I feel safe with it, and understand its value.
Sadly I think we're heading towards a cashless society. The fraudsters will probably have a ball.
People do make VERY BIG money from them.
This would be me: https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/220-million-worth-of-bitcoin-locked-away-as-man-forgets-password-101611025805874.html
I remember this story... I wonder how it ended. Didn't he offer a fortune to anyone who could unlock his account?
I know French banks who cancel accounts because of it.
When people make a 'fortune' on these speculations it is always being made by someone elses loss. My late husband worked too hard to gamble with the money.
I like contactless cards.
If you go to London to one of the galleries and use the Tube you will be glad of contactless, touch in at start of journey, touch out at destination. Easy peasey and no need for Oyster card or ticket.
That sounds like a very good use for them. I'm sure I'll get used to it.
Selling 'short' on a falling market can often be more profitable than waiting for a slow rise. Losses are not always bad news.
I use my contactless but have never even heard of Bitcoins.
Bitcoins make the antennae on the top of my head bristle madly. This particular revolution cannot end well.
I'll pass on bitcoins.
I really thought these would be a passing fad but just this week I thought that a few pesos, ahem, invested in the world of cryptocurrency might be worthwhile. Do I understand how these things work and what their mining is all about? Nope. Do I want to know? No, to that, too. So, if I do dip a toe in, it'll be as a naive speculator!
That's interesting.
You've got me worried, Cro. It's eight o'clock your time, Saturday morning. Where are you?
U
Ursula it is worrying..to easy to wave the money away..but with the limit now £100 you won't be the only one returning to pin only
I'm worried too.
On the way to Brighton
The worm tablet kicked in!
You dropped a FULL wallet and didn't look for it? Didn't care that you had lost all that money? You seem to be extremely careless about money.
And when you see your wallet is empty of "Money", you stop spending, unlike with a card where it is so easy to get an enormous bill a month later.
Don't fear for me, River. I wouldn't call myself "careless" - in any sphere of my life. However, shit happens. And it's not in my temperament to fret/beat myself up over the, in the scheme of things, largely inconsequential. As I said in another comment: I have lost money, I have found money.
And where did I say I didn't look for the dropped wallet? I did. Alas, too late. Which is why I hoped that their windfall would bring someone, preferably someone with very little money, joy.
U
Thanks for letting us know, Rachel. I was getting worried as well.
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