Quote from: NUFCrichard on February 06, 2017, 02:08:02 PM

Well exactly. People say that it is different this time because of the infrastructure and people really using Bitcoin now.
Who actually uses Bitcoin as a currency though? The biggest use was to buy drugs online, that might still be the main use, I don't know.

Next is gambling. What else? I mean there are lots of things you can use it for, but 99% of the time you can just use fiat instead and hold your Bitcoin instead.

It is being used as a commodity, I don't think it traps users, I think people hear about it, buy a small amount, maybe gamble it or sit on it, then forget about it or sell. What else are they supposed to do with it!?

Venture Capital that comes into Bitcoin in a big way, are trapped in Bitcoin. But unlike back through 2012 - 2013, no real new significant wealth is coming into Bitcoin.

For example, how many Bitcoin is Tim Draper, the dude who 'won' the SR coins auction, sitting on? Around 50K BTC, which he bought at $800 a piece (averaged out). Right now, a specious argument could be made that Draper is up 30% or so on his investment, but how does Draper take some profits out of his pile, without tanking the market and depleting the value of his capital? Certainly if Draper wanted 100% out of Bitcoin, I would imagine that 50K of raw selling pressure (i.e. not traders swishing BTC back n forth trying to suck up Joe Public's money), 50K of sold BTC, that would not be buying back in at lower price point, and which would result in the creation of a whole new tranche of bagholders desperate to get out of their positionsm, would take back down to low-mid triple figures, and give big headaches to all the other Tim Drapers out there, who desperately need the nominal value of their holdings to remain high, not forgetting miners who need by now a steady stream of Bitcoin consumers willing to pay at least $450 just in order for them to cover thier costs.

Taking the Chinese bullshit volume out of the equation (although the China shenanigans does point out from exactly where this market is being driven), Bitcoin has been pushed up to near record highs on wafer thin volume, and that is not a sign of a strong healthy market.

I think Bitcoin will most likely pull back a significant amount from here, consolidate and build a platform for the next fabricated launch up to $1500+, So profits to be had aplenty, but Bitcoin is just not a very safe market to be playing in at all. Joe Public aint biting cos there just aren't any advantaged to Bitcoins over conventional cash, outwith it's use on darknet markets, due to it's anonymous nature, which it turns isn't that anonymous at all. Meanwhile, there are faster, more streamline, and genuinely anonymous alternatives which is already being accepted as payment on darknet markets waiting in line to replace Bitcoin in that essential sector.

Joe Public aint buying it, and because Bitcoin has become so dominated by China, Fresh western venture capital inflow has dried up. If there is to be another Bitcoin miracle (i.e. 1000%+ price increase in a very short space of time), the X Factor will have to come from China. It will most likely have something to do with Capital Flight, and if that were to be the case, the PBOC could just close Bitcoin down with a snap of their fingers. A sudden drop in 85% of the mining capacity combined with a huge market panic would end the Bitcoin story imo.