Primecoins are an answer to one of the criticisms of bitcoin, which is that mining is a huge waste of electricity and computing power. But if you can have the miners do useful computations as their "proof of work," as it's called, then the economics make more sense.
— fishfry

That IS cool because it's one of my biggest gripes. — Benkei

For everyone thinking how cool it has been making a quick buck out of bitcoin, bitcoin is now using more electricity than the entire Netherlands combined.

Some more perspective: you can power 100,000 visa transactions with the energy used for one bitcoin transaction.

For everyone thinking how cool it has been making a quick buck out of bitcoin, bitcoin is now using more electricity than the entire Netherlands combined.

Some more perspective: you can power 100,000 visa transactions with the energy used for one bitcoin transaction. — Benkei

Yes, this is true of some bitcoin but not all bitcoin. In fact there are coins you can invest in that do not use the same electricity draw.

Examples of "Proof of stake coins are Ethereum, Algorand and I believe Crypto is getting ready to do the same.

Like all investments, you or I, the investors, need to do our due diligence. Don't put in what you cannot stand to lose. There are stable coins that do not make astronomical profits but if tied to the United States dollar will make 8% -12% profit if you simply lock it up for 3 months, 6 months, whatever you choose which you cannot make in a traditional savings account in addition to interest being paid out daily.

It's indeed not true for every cryptocurrency but I'm not familiar with any fork of BTC that has resolved the energy drain issue.

It's indeed not true for every cryptocurrency but I'm not familiar with any fork of BTC that has resolved the energy drain issue. — Benkei

https://youtu.be/-C19r0UsYws

Oh, I know the difference between proof of stake and proof of work. Ethereum, Algorand and Primecoin aren't bitcoins though. I was only referencing bitcoin specifically (not even its forks like bitcoin cash or bitcoin gold).

For everyone thinking how cool it has been making a quick buck out of bitcoin, bitcoin is now using more electricity than the entire Netherlands combined.

Some more perspective: you can power 100,000 visa transactions with the energy used for one bitcoin transaction. — Benkei

This is definitely one of the major weak points of bitcoin. One thing that sometimes gets floated by apologists is - ok, yes, it's a lot of energy - but what's the cumulative energy cost of sustaining/maintaining the US Dollar as a reserve currency? There's a strong argument to be made that those processes also use more electricity than the entire Netherlands. Viscerally it doesn't feel strong enough to justify bitcoin's energy usage, but I also don't think it's all hot air. Visa's transactions use less energy, yes, but Visa is piggybacking on the existence of a secure reserve currency.

Of course, the idea of bitcoin (or any crypto) obviating state-based reserve currencies is a little pie-in-the-sky. At the same time, honestly who knows. Stuff is getting weirder every month.

Visa's transactions use less energy, yes, but Visa is piggybacking on the existence of a secure reserve currency. — csalisbury

That doesn't speak well for bitcoin at all. Despite the huge system surrounding it, and the multitude of use cases supported by the existing system, VISA still uses less energy.

Well, I got into the crypto game as well but I'm funding loans and accepting cryptos as collateral for an 8% yearly return regardless of which way cryptos move. I don't want the market risk that is currently inherent in trading cryptos.

Interest is paid in crypto and thanks to positive market direction of the crypto I'm accepting, my RoI is 2.5% after a week. Biggest possible loss in my setup is 10% (if the crypto becomes valueless).

Or you can get up to 30% (or more) apr on a Bitcoin carry trade. Short a quarterly future and buy an equivalent amount of the underlying. Only risk is custody, which you're taking anyway.

The potential upside from the trade I'm doing is in the 4 digit apr with relatively low downside, compared to a carry trade. Plus I refuse to trade bitcoin due to the carbon footprint. :wink:

Nothing in crypto doesn't have the potential for a 4 digit apr, only talking about guaranteed returns here. Still, I understand you on BTC. What's the platform you're using anyhow?

Nexo.

Oh nice I use Nexo too. I haven't heard of anyone having problems with Nexo, but you always gotta be on your toes because custodial risk is definitely a thing and we have seen crypto exchanges go under.

I take it you own NEXO token to get those 8% rates?

Centralized exchanges are great tools and I do use them, but if you've got a bit of ETH go and install metamask and there'll be a whole other world of financial applications you can interact with without losing custody of your crypto.

:cool:

The management of the US dollar didn't double the price of GPUs right before I was planning on buying a new computer or getting one of the new Xbox/Sony consoles though. Damn crypto bubble is making even old video cards sell at 2x MSRP. Don't these people care about the real victims, those of use with copies of Cyberpunk 2077 collecting dust on our shelves because our hardware can't run it?

Thankfully, I actually have very little time for games so I'm content moving through a backlog stretching into the PlayStation 2 era that my crappy budget video card can still emulate fine.

I'm too considering getting getting a new computer and ordered a new one. They said they don't have any clue when the new computer will arrive from Asia. Hopefully this year, I guess.

Yet I think the chip shortage is more because of the pandemic problems on our wonderful globalized supply system than the "everything bubble".

Now that's a populist criticism I can get behind. On the plus side, maybe by the time you can get a new rig, cyperpunk will be all patched-up and you'll get the pristine experience promised.

cryptobury

Yes, 10%. I'm getting 12% actually, because I changed it in a term deposit of 3 months using fiat currency. It's not a lot of money so even if I lose it all it's fine.

Edit: I'll look into metamask. I actually wanted to train programming smart contracts in solidity using etherium but I have different priorities at my current job unfortunately.

cryptoburfest

I bought some Dogecoin back in 2018 on a whim, and essentially forgot about it. It's surging right now and I have over %1000 ROI.

sweet.

Yet I think the chip shortage is more because of the pandemic problems on our wonderful globalized supply system than the "everything bubble". — ssu

Oh there is a thing where bitcoin 'miners' are buying up video cards, I heard a piece on bloomberg or the economist or one of those. As crazy as it sounds, he's right - bitcoin is at least partially responsible for him not being able to play cyberpunk.

Well done. :up: Don't spend it all on MAGA hats. :monkey:

I cashed in on Space Force hats. $400USD on eBay

When this thread goes out of fashion again for a year ...or even six months, that's when bitcoin is very interesting. At least it has dealt obstacles, that is for sure. But have we yet seen any collapse in crypto or something marketed as crypto?

Somehow I don't buy the "hyperinflation immediately" -idea, so I guess that we will have again a similar roller coaster ride in the financial markets as we had in last year.

Interesting design, more Space Fart than Space Force, but if the cap fits as they say. :party:

When this thread goes out of fashion again for a year ...or even six months, that's when bitcoin is very interesting. At least it has dealt obstacles, that is for sure. But have we yet seen any collapse in crypto or something marketed as crypto?

Somehow I don't buy the "hyperinflation immediately" -idea, so I guess that we will have again a similar roller coaster ride in the financial markets as we had in last year. — ssu

This thread's activity probably isn't a good index for tracking bitcoin's value. The thread was last active, save a handful of posts, around 6 months ago before it went up all that much. It was silent during most of the steepest rises.

A friend and collaborator of mine hired me to write music for a series of three short films that he's going to mint as NFT's. I didn't even know about NFT's until this, and now I'm fascinated, weirded out, kind of disgusted, but also kind of sucked into it. To the point that I bought a little Ethereum and have plans to mint my own NFT soon...but I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. What makes me really want to do it is my concept for the series I might do; it fits in well with NFT's in general and it's something that doesn't compromise my artistic integrity, lol. But I'm still on the fence about all of it, but I've definitely gotten sucked into the whole world recently. Any thoughts? Criticisms? Am I horrible person for potentially jumping into this fray?