Bitcoin

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
3,897
2,141
495
I wonder how much energy has been wasted on "mining" bitcoin in total... seems like an environmental disaster.

Bitcoin's current estimated annual electricity consumption* (TWh) 14.63
Annualized global mining revenues $1,909,557,053
Annualized estimated global mining costs $731,651,898
Country closest to Bitcoin in terms of electricity consumption Turkmenistan
Estimated electricity used over the previous day (KWh) 40,090,515
Implied Watts per GH/s 0.262
Break-even Watts per GH/s (based on 5 cents per KWh) 0.683
Electricity consumed per transaction (KWh) 169.00
Number of U.S. households that could be powered by Bitcoin 1,354,911
Number of U.S. households powered for 1 day by the electricity consumed for a single transaction 5.71
Bitcoin's electricity consumption as a percentage of the world's electricity consumption 0.07%

http://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption

Bitcoin Could Consume as Much Electricity as Denmark by 2020: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/...onsume-as-much-electricity-as-denmark-by-2020
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,303
1,420
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Ah so Bitcoin is made mainly of coal. Seems bad children don't get shafted by Santa in the 21st century after all.
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
Sadly bitcoin won't ever get out of mining on any likely scenario. A lot of other cryptcurrencies and cryptoutilities however did not start with mining or will switch away from mining.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I've read this thread 3 times and still don't have a clue about any of this

When I read about Etherium I thought of Unobtanium from Avatar

Can someone give a short understandable course on these cryptocurrencies , how they got started , what are they valued against etc. I've invested my entire life and thought I was savvy but I have no idea what all of this means.

I read about coal and bitcoin and electricity etc but I need a simple primer the subject
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
I've read this thread 3 times and still don't have a clue about any of this

When I read about Etherium I thought of Unobtanium from Avatar

Can someone give a short understandable course on these cryptocurrencies , how they got started , what are they valued against etc. I've invested my entire life and thought I was savvy but I have no idea what all of this means.

I read about coal and bitcoin and electricity etc but I need a simple primer the subject

Give me a call Steve. I can help distill it by real time engagement where you ask questions. I talk to people all the time about it; have had talks with Fintech guy, Goldman Sach's fellow, financial guys, city treasurer etc... I'm developing how to more concisely address the wonders of the crypto world.
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
I'll have a website up at some point. The crypto world isn't small... there is a lot of information and hordes of it is FUD, click bait, etc... The significance of countless news stories are not wel understood... it is the wild west in many ways. It is probably the most significant development since the transistor.
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
Also that FAQ is really funny because Bitcoin is super slow by crypto standards, and only fast compared to a significant bank transfer.
 

hvbias

Well-Known Member
Jun 22, 2012
578
38
940
New England area

R Johnson

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2010
188
43
933
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Identity Thieves Hijack Cellphone Accounts to Go After Virtual Currency

By NATHANIEL POPPER

AUG. 21, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/business/dealbook/phone-hack-bitcoin-virtual-currency.html

Hackers have discovered that one of the most central elements of online security — the mobile phone number — is also one of the easiest to steal.

....

But a particularly concentrated wave of attacks has hit those with the most obviously valuable online accounts: virtual currency fanatics like Mr. Burniske.

Within minutes of getting control of Mr. Burniske’s phone, his attackers had changed the password on his virtual currency wallet and drained the contents — some $150,000 at today’s values.

...
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
Identity Thieves Hijack Cellphone Accounts to Go After Virtual Currency

By NATHANIEL POPPER

AUG. 21, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/business/dealbook/phone-hack-bitcoin-virtual-currency.html

Hackers have discovered that one of the most central elements of online security — the mobile phone number — is also one of the easiest to steal.

....

But a particularly concentrated wave of attacks has hit those with the most obviously valuable online accounts: virtual currency fanatics like Mr. Burniske.

Within minutes of getting control of Mr. Burniske’s phone, his attackers had changed the password on his virtual currency wallet and drained the contents — some $150,000 at today’s values.

...

He should sue his service provider for $10 million.
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
.
.
.
My website is alive. Block¤Nebula




Palm Beach recently wrote a decent article on ETH and apps that can be built on block chain: https://pbg-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/editorial/pbo/201708/20170817-pbo-monthly.pdf

Does anyone have suggestions on alternatives to Coinbase? I liquidated everything there since the fees were starting to add up too much. I am thinking about doing a wire transfer into Gemini. Any other suggestions welcome.

Gemini and Bitcoin ATM's are the other gateways.

The trick with Coinbase to reduce fees is to use GDAX for trading. Market sells are a poor, poor, way to buy and sell. You can get actual value by the minute with GDAX. GDAX is the exchange Coinbase is based on; the log in is the same and you can freely swap assets back and forth between them. The fees are basically nothing for GDAX market orders, and for limit orders are almost nothing.

Identity Thieves Hijack Cellphone Accounts to Go After Virtual Currency

By NATHANIEL POPPER

AUG. 21, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/business/dealbook/phone-hack-bitcoin-virtual-currency.html

Hackers have discovered that one of the most central elements of online security — the mobile phone number — is also one of the easiest to steal.

....

But a particularly concentrated wave of attacks has hit those with the most obviously valuable online accounts: virtual currency fanatics like Mr. Burniske.

Within minutes of getting control of Mr. Burniske’s phone, his attackers had changed the password on his virtual currency wallet and drained the contents — some $150,000 at today’s values.

...

This stuff is what nightmares are made of... mobile phone carriers need to tighten their **** up.

THE EASIEST WAY TO CIRCUMVENT THE PROBLEM:
Don't use your phone number as a backup for your email address. That is the fundamental of how they actually get into your stuff.

He should sue his service provider for $10 million.

Never happen. The beauty and ugly side of cryptos is that they're out of the purview of the state. Despite a little bit of tracking that's possible by gov agencies, there is no basic rights for them. For example the Bitcoin network will probably never-ever retroactively change anything by request of a countries government...
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada

hvbias

Well-Known Member
Jun 22, 2012
578
38
940
New England area
Gemini and Bitcoin ATM's are the other gateways.

The trick with Coinbase to reduce fees is to use GDAX for trading. Market sells are a poor, poor, way to buy and sell. You can get actual value by the minute with GDAX. GDAX is the exchange Coinbase is based on; the log in is the same and you can freely swap assets back and forth between them. The fees are basically nothing for GDAX market orders, and for limit orders are almost nothing.

Are you saying with GDAX I can wire USD straight into the exchange without the high fees of Coinbase?

I'm looking to Bittrex as well, though they are only doing USDT into BTC or ETH. So yet another middle coin that I have to figure out :)

I have to say I am pretty surprised with how well technical analysis works with crypto based on my limited back testing.
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
GDAX is coinbase, I am not sure if those fees are different.

Crypto trading with indicatorscis pretty good.
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
Buy the dip people, buy the dip. Right now is an AMAZING time to diversify some cryptos by getting in on a few good altcoins. It's like the Labor Day sale all over gain!
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing