More questions about Bitcoin

Message:

Hello, Fernando. I was wondering more & more about Bitcoin, but I can’t find too much clear information about it- everything starts in the middle & doesn’t seem too concerned about telling you how not to get snagged-up with it (ex: looking like a drug dealer or a money launderer). Would you people tell me some more about it? I would hate to miss a good investment, but I don’t even get how it IS an investment- it doesn’t seem like there’s any company that distributes it, so how can there be any stock? And why not just make your own?

A-

Hello A,

Again, I’m no Bitcoin expert by any stretch of the imagination but I’ll try to answer some of your questions.

Bitcoin is a currency, a virtual one at that but some Bitcoin does not make you a drug dealer any more than having a roll of 20s in your pocket makes you one. Don’t let the mainstream media agenda intended to stigmatize Bitcoin get to you. In any case, ALL large financial groups are into Bitcoin at this point, so don’t feel bad about doing it yourself.

Second, it is not an investment. Investments generate profit. Buying Bitcoin will only get you… Bitcoin. Like gold, it can go up or down and you selling at the right time may leave you with a profit but it’s a currency, not an investment.

Finally, you CAN make your own. You can mine Bitcoin with your computer. The problem is that by its own nature Bitcoin is HARD to mine, meaning you need a lot of computer power to mine it so that its profitable and compensates the electric power you are using to generate it. People used to buy mining computers to mine Bitcoin and many still do. How profitable it is today is hard to say. All I know is that you need some initial investment for the mining computers and electric power better be rather affordable where you are.

As I said before, I think Bitcoin is extremely interesting but it’s not on the same line as gold and silver, which have been around for thousands of years. Can it be the gold of the future generation? Maybe, but don’t put into it anything you can’t afford to lose. That would be my advice.

As for buying Bitcoins, I suggest you do a lot of google and reading first. Chances are you’ll end up in Coinbase or maybe Localbitcoins. No, I don’t have any association of any kind with either one, they are just some of the most common names that pop up.

Good luck!

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”