Bitcoins - about to hit $5,000 per coin today!

[Bindare_Dundat]

LOL I have absolutely zero idea how you came to the conclusion you did.

If you slept as little as I did these last couple of weeks, it would make perfect sense. 

[Griffith]

ETH to 5k-6k before year end.
ETH to 20k very early 2022.

Followed by a huge dump lol.

You reckon the crypto bull market could continue till 2022?

[Griffith]

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56012952

Bitcoin consumes 'more electricity than Argentina'

Bitcoin uses more electricity annually than the whole of Argentina, analysis by Cambridge University suggests.

"Mining" for the cryptocurrency is power-hungry, involving heavy computer calculations to verify transactions.

Cambridge researchers say it consumes around 121.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year - and is unlikely to fall unless the value of the currency slumps.

Critics say electric-car firm Tesla's decision to invest heavily in Bitcoin undermines its environmental image.

The currency's value hit a record $48,000 (£34,820) this week. following Tesla's announcement that it had bought about $1.5bn bitcoin and planned to accept it as payment in future.

But the rising price offers even more incentive to Bitcoin miners to run more and more machines.

And as the price increases, so does the energy consumption, according to Michel Rauchs, researcher at The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, who co-created the online tool that generates these estimates.

“It is really by design that Bitcoin consumes that much electricity,” Mr Rauchs told BBC’s Tech Tent podcast. “This is not something that will change in the future unless the Bitcoin price is going to significantly go down."

The online tool has ranked Bitcoin’s electricity consumption above Argentina (121 TWh), the Netherlands (108.8 TWh) and the United Arab Emirates (113.20 TWh) - and it is gradually creeping up on Norway (122.20 TWh).

The energy it uses could power all kettles used in the UK for 27 years, it said.

Environmental conundrum

“Bitcoin is literally anti-efficient,” David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain, explained. “So more efficient mining hardware won't help - it'll just be competing against other efficient mining hardware.

“This means that Bitcoin's energy use, and hence its CO2 production, only spirals outwards.

“It’s very bad that all this energy is being literally wasted in a lottery.”

The price of Bitcoin rose rapidly on Monday after Tesla announced its investment.

But commentators say the investment clashes with the electric car firm's previous environmental stance.

“Elon Musk has thrown away a lot of Tesla's good work promoting energy transition,” Mr Gerard said. “This is very bad... I don't know how he can walk this back effectively.

"Tesla got $1.5bn in environmental subsidies in 2020, funded by the taxpayer.

"It turned around and spent $1.5bn on Bitcoin, which is mostly mined with electricity from coal. Their subsidy needs to be examined."

A carbon tax on cryptocurrencies could be introduced to balance out some of the negative consumption, Mr Gerard suggested.

[SOMEPARTS]

What is amusing is being charged a capital gains tax on something that many people say will be made illegal one day it it gets too big and threatens the reserve curremcy.

The charge is on the gains expressed in dollars, not the platform - same as any other equity.

IRS doesn't accept crypto as payment, btw. 

[polychronopolous]

MicroStrategy plans to raise an additional $690 million to buy bitcoin


MicroStrategy announced Tuesday that it plans to raise an additional $690 million to buy bitcoin.

The raise will be facilitated by senior convertible notes, a type of debt security that can be converted into cash or shares. MicroStrategy's notes will be issued to qualified institutional buyers, and its terms are yet to be finalized.

The notes will be unsecured and will bear interest payable semi-annually in arrears on February 15 and August 15 of each year, beginning on August 15, 2021, said MicroStrategy. The notes will mature on February 15, 2027, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed, or converted.

Meanwhile, bitcoin's price has soared above $50,000 for the first time, pushing the cryptocurrency's market capitalization closer to $1 trillion.

MicroStrategy began purchasing bitcoin in August 2020. The company currently owns 71,079 bitcoin, worth about $3.5 billion at current prices.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/94982/microstrategy-plans-additional-690-million-raise-to-buy-bitcoin-btc

[FitnessFrenzy]

$ 50,341.10

[Griffith]

https://decrypt.co/57869/christies-to-auction-ethereum-nft-by-crypto-artist-beeple?&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=feed&utm_source=coinmarketcap

Christie’s to Auction Ethereum NFT by Crypto Artist Beeple

NFT marketplace MakersPlace has teamed up with Christie’s for the auction house’s first ever sale of a purely digital artwork.

If you ever needed another proof that non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are conquering the world, you’ve got it: for the first time in its 250-years long history the renowned auction house Christie’s will be auctioning a digital artwork on its own.

Between February 25 and March 11, Christie’s will be selling “THE FIRST 5000 DAYS” by prolific digital artist Beeple.

According to CryptoArt.io, Beeple is currently the most profitable crypto artist globally as his NFTs have been sold for a combined amount of $8 million.

“This historic event marks a significant inflection point for both the digital art and the fine arts industry, bridging the apparent gap in the global recognition for digital art,” said MakersPlace CEO and co-founder Dannie Chu.

“Not unlike the advent of Street Art as a blue chip collecting category, NFT-based art is on the threshold of becoming the next ingeniously disruptive force in the art market. Christie’s is proud to be in the vanguard of this exhilarating movement,” said Noah Davis, Christie’s specialist in post-war and contemporary art.

As reported earlier by Decrypt, digital artists, such as Beeple and Pak, who is the second best-selling creator worldwide, earned nearly $12 million in January alone.

Meanwhile, the total value of the crypto art market is approaching a record $100 million—with over 70,000 artworks sold to date.

[Mayday]

You reckon the crypto bull market could continue till 2022?

*edited to shorten my answer*

I think a 2013 model is likely. Double peak. Longer timeframe.

I believe we get to 250k in this upward trend. I think it will happen on a longer timeframe because the large players have a strategy to prevent short, sharp spikes eg Elon in January.

[Mayday]

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56012952

Bitcoin consumes 'more electricity than Argentina'

Bitcoin uses more electricity annually than the whole of Argentina, analysis by Cambridge University suggests.

"Mining" for the cryptocurrency is power-hungry, involving heavy computer calculations to verify transactions.

Cambridge researchers say it consumes around 121.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year - and is unlikely to fall unless the value of the currency slumps.

Critics say electric-car firm Tesla's decision to invest heavily in Bitcoin undermines its environmental image.

The currency's value hit a record $48,000 (£34,820) this week. following Tesla's announcement that it had bought about $1.5bn bitcoin and planned to accept it as payment in future.

But the rising price offers even more incentive to Bitcoin miners to run more and more machines.

And as the price increases, so does the energy consumption, according to Michel Rauchs, researcher at The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, who co-created the online tool that generates these estimates.

“It is really by design that Bitcoin consumes that much electricity,” Mr Rauchs told BBC’s Tech Tent podcast. “This is not something that will change in the future unless the Bitcoin price is going to significantly go down."

The problem with these articles is they never tell you the power consumption vs banks. That’s because it consumes less than the banks.

 The banks could power kettles for 100yrs.....

Hardware evolves providing greater efficiency.

Crypto evolves providing greater efficiency.

BTC is supposed to be expensive, that’s the point.

[gib]

Its also that high degree of processing power needed that gives Bitcoin its security.

Gold is terribly environmentally unfriendly too, from mining to transport. Yes people love it. And for anyone of those complaining on social media, they should consider the irony of doing so, considering how environmentally unfriendly the entire internet is, (including of course Google) lol!

[obsidian]

Its also that high degree of processing power needed that gives Bitcoin its security.

Gold is terribly environmentally unfriendly too, from mining to transport. Yes people love it. And for anyone of those complaining on social media, they should consider the irony of doing so, considering how environmentally unfriendly the entire internet is, (including of course Google) lol!

That processing power is only volunteered because there is an incentive to payout BTC via mining rewards. So how will they be able to maintain that incentive once all BTC has been mined? Yes I know that is 100 years out. But the mining rewards will keep on reducing to the point where miners might stop because there is no financial incentive to pay all those electrical and equipment costs.

Some argue that Proof of Work is more secure than Proof of Stake. And others argue the opposite. What's easier to acquire? 51% of all the processing power or 51% of all coins staked? I would think it might actually be harder to acquire 51% of all the coins. More than 51% of all Bitcoin miners are in China. So what if they decide as a collective whole to be dishonest miners and compromise the security of the blockchain via a 51% attack?

I am not sure how the endgame works for Bitcoin. It needs these POW miners for the security. The miners need BTC payments as an incentive. Once all BTC has been mined or the rewards are vastly reduced what then?

[Mayday]

That processing power is only volunteered because there is an incentive to payout BTC via mining rewards. So how will they be able to maintain that incentive once all BTC has been mined? Yes I know that is 100 years out. But the mining rewards will keep on reducing to the point where miners might stop because there is no financial incentive to pay all those electrical and equipment costs.

Some argue that Proof of Work is more secure than Proof of Stake. And others argue the opposite. What's easier to acquire? 51% of all the processing power or 51% of all coins staked? I would think it might actually be harder to acquire 51% of all the coins. More than 51% of all Bitcoin miners are in China. So what if they decide as a collective whole to be dishonest miners and compromise the security of the blockchain via a 51% attack?

I am not sure how the endgame works for Bitcoin. It needs these POW miners for the security. The miners need BTC payments as an incentive. Once all BTC has been mined or the rewards are vastly reduced what then?

They don’t mine all the coins. That’s why there is a halving event for miners. The reward keeps getting smaller and smaller for the miners but the price goes up which offsets the halving.

[Mayday]

MicroStrategy plans to raise an additional $690 million to buy bitcoin


MicroStrategy announced Tuesday that it plans to raise an additional $690 million to buy bitcoin.

The raise will be facilitated by senior convertible notes, a type of debt security that can be converted into cash or shares. MicroStrategy's notes will be issued to qualified institutional buyers, and its terms are yet to be finalized.

The notes will be unsecured and will bear interest payable semi-annually in arrears on February 15 and August 15 of each year, beginning on August 15, 2021, said MicroStrategy. The notes will mature on February 15, 2027, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed, or converted.

Meanwhile, bitcoin's price has soared above $50,000 for the first time, pushing the cryptocurrency's market capitalization closer to $1 trillion.

MicroStrategy began purchasing bitcoin in August 2020. The company currently owns 71,079 bitcoin, worth about $3.5 billion at current prices.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/94982/microstrategy-plans-additional-690-million-raise-to-buy-bitcoin-btc

Which tells me Saylor believes a 250k price is coming in this current uptrend as the price after that peak is around 85k. Meaning the price today is probably the cheapest we will ever see it.

If he believed it was only going to 100k the future los would be around the 40k mark, he wouldn’t worry about buying more.......

Shit is going to get real very soon!

This uptrend 90% will get priced out. Next uptrend 99% will be priced out. It’s no joke now, the rocket ship is getting ready to leave.....

[Griffith]

That processing power is only volunteered because there is an incentive to payout BTC via mining rewards. So how will they be able to maintain that incentive once all BTC has been mined? Yes I know that is 100 years out. But the mining rewards will keep on reducing to the point where miners might stop because there is no financial incentive to pay all those electrical and equipment costs.

Some argue that Proof of Work is more secure than Proof of Stake. And others argue the opposite. What's easier to acquire? 51% of all the processing power or 51% of all coins staked? I would think it might actually be harder to acquire 51% of all the coins. More than 51% of all Bitcoin miners are in China. So what if they decide as a collective whole to be dishonest miners and compromise the security of the blockchain via a 51% attack?

I am not sure how the endgame works for Bitcoin. It needs these POW miners for the security. The miners need BTC payments as an incentive. Once all BTC has been mined or the rewards are vastly reduced what then?

ETH 2.0 with proof of stake will use 99% less electricity so will be environment friendly in comparison.

Available supply of Ethereum will also be limited from 100 000 to a maximum of 2 million per year and burning will further reduce that amount another 1-4%.

[SOMEPARTS]

Its also that high degree of processing power needed that gives Bitcoin its security.

Gold is terribly environmentally unfriendly too, from mining to transport. Yes people love it. And for anyone of those complaining on social media, they should consider the irony of doing so, considering how environmentally unfriendly the entire internet is, (including of course Google) lol!

"yeah, yea see...it's actually worth more because it's a tech dinosaur" 

Ignore the sustainability issue at your own peril.

See Bill Gates recently on 60 minutes...would love to hear his take on crypto but he's too busy culling the population to be bothered.

[gib]

ETH 2.0 with proof of stake will use 99% less electricity so will be environment friendly in comparison.

Available supply of Ethereum will also be limited from 100 000 to a maximum of 2 million per year and burning will further reduce that amount another 1-4%.

Yes, ETH will eventually be free. And it cannot be limited if it is to scale. That should be obvious.

ETH is basically a smart contract protocol which will be free (and needs to be free to scale, and will all protocols that facilitate smart contracts. But, yes, proof of stake, if they can make it to work, will be more energy efficient. Remember, ETH code is open source, so anyone can easily take this to make smart contracts of their own.

Remember also, that operating a smart contract protocol should be efficient and easy. Whereas creating and protecting a Bitcoin (its utility being a store of value) naturally needs to be difficult, hence creating and securing its inherent value, scarcity, and incorruptibility.

[Mayday]

$50,800 !!!!!!!

On our way to 55k !!!

[Griffith]

Its also that high degree of processing power needed that gives Bitcoin its security.

Gold is terribly environmentally unfriendly too, from mining to transport. Yes people love it. And for anyone of those complaining on social media, they should consider the irony of doing so, considering how environmentally unfriendly the entire internet is, (including of course Google) lol!

Gold and mining provides a considerable amount of employment and income to people, contractors and companies and contributes a large part to the national economy and currency.

Mining creates tangible things which are used to contribute to society and needed in production and industries.

The internet provides a large amount of work, services and income to people across the world. All the programmers, online stores, retailers, warehouses, websites for businesses, advertising, banking, video calls, faster communication etc.

[gib]

Which tells me Saylor believes a 250k price is coming in this current uptrend as the price after that peak is around 85k. Meaning the price today is probably the cheapest we will ever see it.

If he believed it was only going to 100k the future los would be around the 40k mark, he wouldn’t worry about buying more.......

Shit is going to get real very soon!

This uptrend 90% will get priced out. Next uptrend 99% will be priced out. It’s no joke now, the rocket ship is getting ready to leave.....

Looks like a decisive breakthrough thr 50K resistance level may be about to occur. Would be interesting to see where it next consolidates.

[gib]

Gold and mining provides a considerable amount of employment and income to people, contractors and companies and contributes a large part to the national economy and currency.

Mining creates tangible things which are used to contribute to society and needed in production and industries.

The internet always provides a large amount of work, services and income to people across the world. All the programmers, online stores, retailers, warehouses, websites for businesses, advertising, banking, video calls, faster communication etc.

Yep, for sure.

[Bindare_Dundat]

Boom

[Bindare_Dundat]

https://decrypt.co/57869/christies-to-auction-ethereum-nft-by-crypto-artist-beeple?&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=feed&utm_source=coinmarketcap

Christie’s to Auction Ethereum NFT by Crypto Artist Beeple

NFT marketplace MakersPlace has teamed up with Christie’s for the auction house’s first ever sale of a purely digital artwork.

If you ever needed another proof that non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are conquering the world, you’ve got it: for the first time in its 250-years long history the renowned auction house Christie’s will be auctioning a digital artwork on its own.

Between February 25 and March 11, Christie’s will be selling “THE FIRST 5000 DAYS” by prolific digital artist Beeple.

According to CryptoArt.io, Beeple is currently the most profitable crypto artist globally as his NFTs have been sold for a combined amount of $8 million.

“This historic event marks a significant inflection point for both the digital art and the fine arts industry, bridging the apparent gap in the global recognition for digital art,” said MakersPlace CEO and co-founder Dannie Chu.

“Not unlike the advent of Street Art as a blue chip collecting category, NFT-based art is on the threshold of becoming the next ingeniously disruptive force in the art market. Christie’s is proud to be in the vanguard of this exhilarating movement,” said Noah Davis, Christie’s specialist in post-war and contemporary art.

As reported earlier by Decrypt, digital artists, such as Beeple and Pak, who is the second best-selling creator worldwide, earned nearly $12 million in January alone.

Meanwhile, the total value of the crypto art market is approaching a record $100 million—with over 70,000 artworks sold to date.

And still can't get over 2 grand. Don't give a shit about this garbage art and trading card nonsense. Pretentious billionaire collectibles.

[Pray_4_War]

$50,800 !!!!!!!

On our way to 55k !!!

We hit 51,000 !!!

[obsidian]

And still can't get over 2 grand. Don't give a shit about this garbage art and trading card nonsense. Pretentious billionaire collectibles.

You need to be patient. Ethereum has still outperformed Bitcoin the past year even with Bitcoin at $51,000. Don't get caught up with the big figure. Look at percentage increases. Go look at the charts.

Small corrections are healthy. Bitcoin struggled how many times to punch through $50,000? Ethereum has come close to breaking $1,900. It took a few tries to get past the ATH. Same thing for Bitcoin. Remember when Bitcoin dropped over $3,000 just a few days ago lol!

In 2017 Bitcoin started the year around $1,000 and didn't hit $2,000 until Mid-April. Also note that Ethereum lags behind Bitcoin moves. So I would expect an Ethereum move once Bitcoin has cooled off.

Remember cash is trash. People don't want cash. It will go into cryptos, stocks or physical assets. Not all of it will go to Bitcoin as we have seen for over 5 years now. If that was the case Bitcoin would have been the top performing asset and it has not. Ethereum has yielded a greater return on investment than Bitcoin the past 5 years. It Bitcoin goes to 60k big whoop. That's not a huge percentage increase.

[Pray_4_War]