Lol.

So there are two possibilities:

1) He's lying.  He came on here to brag about bitcoin he doesn't own. (97% odds, probably).

2) He's telling the truth.  (3% odds, or less really).  What are the chances he "could have had 50 bitcoin", but had to "help his family instead" and has worked his way back up to 33 bitcoin?  If he is indeed telling the truth, coming on here to post about it is certainly low-IQ behavior and he will lose all of his money soon enough. You can read in between the lines that he's either younger, or immature (making bets with others to 'prove' he's right).  I'm just not buying it.

I'm so over the political sentiment with blinders on.  The OP is right, and everyone who opposes is wrong (at lease from his/her perspective).  There's no arguing or negotiating this with someone like this.  7 pages of emptiness so far in this thread.

Satoshi had to go through this with those that didn't believe in bitcoin.  "If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry".  7 pages of debating OP, I think we've drilled this into the ground now, can we move on?

I must be in a smaller minority than I originally thought.  A lot of posts talking about selling if bitcoin gets to 'x' price.  I'm not an OG, but I've been through 2 bull and 2 bear markets.  I won't sell.  Why would I sell?  Nothing is a better vehicle for my investment than bitcoin.  Sure, I know some will sell if they need money, and that's fine.  But even if bitcoin gets to 1mm per coin, I wouldn't get rid of my bitcoin.  It just doesn't make sense to me.  I'm old now (50yrs old), and this is the best discovery I've seen in my lifetime.  Right up there with TCP/IP.

Hey- I wouldn't be so hard on yourself!  I would venture to say that most that get into this space, and start out thinking they're going to make good money through trading.  I spent a few years trading and got crushed the first year or two.  Then, by year 3, I realized that "time in the market is more important than timing the market".  And once you realize that bitcoin will replace ALL fiat money- then you can just add to your position every chance you get.  Just keep adding every pay period, or DCA in, or once a year (if that's all you can do).

It's not about trading, or selling at the top & then putting all your money back in, during a bear market.  It's learning that bitcoin is the best place to store your money, and that it's safe there.  Just think of your bitcoin wallet as your retirement account and safehaven.  Add to it when you can.

Best of luck!  This is a GREAT learning lesson.  Congratulations- most people never learn this valuable one.

Yep, we are still early right now.  I think what a lot of people don't understand is that it doesn't matter what price you purchase bitcoin.  The point is to accumulate.  Never sell, as it'll replace your fiat.  Stay away from shitcoins.

And the real fun starts when we stop talking in terms of having .10 of a bitcoin, and when we start talking about satoshis.  A good goal might be 1 million satoshis or 10 million satoshis.  The point is just to accumulate this gift we've been given, to fight central banking.  There are plenty of us old guys (I'm old, hah) tired of playing against the central banks cartel, and this gives us an opportunity to 'opt out'.

Agreed.  I love using TAILS and electrum. A little complicated to set up, but extremely worth it to keep your privacy and bitcoin secure.

One of the most difficult tasks or challenges I've had is openly discussing the multitudes of positives that bitcoin has, with others that are skeptics.

I've been studying/reading/buying bitcoin since 2016. It's the best invention I've seen in my 50 years on this planet. The ability for anyone around the world, to take custody of their own money. The ability to transact with anyone, around the world, at any given time. The open ledger (blockchain) to hold all transaction accountable (that even the US Gov doesn't have).  The limited amount (21 million). The security.  The uptime.  I could go on...

But of all the discussions I've had with co-workers, friends, and relatives about bitcoin, it seems to fall on deaf ears.  In fact, if talking to more than one person, it seems to be almost a witch-hunt on how bad of a ponzi bitcoin is, and how 'it is backed by nothing', etc.

Now I realize that this reaction comes out of either fear, ignorance, or not knowing enough about it.  But no matter how hard I try to educate someone on the positives, it falls on deaf ears with some.  And it's deflating to the core.

I've been in this space for 6-7 years.  I can't imagine how tough it must be for some of you OG's.  Do you still try to enlighten others, or do you relinquish to the fact that you aren't really gonna change someone's opinion, only they can do that?

Same here. I would buy Apple stock at say, .09 per share. Buy tons of it (tax deferred) and then sell what I want to live without having to work, and then save the rest for my kids.

Wouldn't need to mess with bitcoin to get rich, but I WOULD be buying bitcoin now as I sold stock (as I truly believe in bitcoin for the future).

The best thing one can do in my opinion is to DCA bitcoin indefinitely through bear and bull markets. Price goes up, price goes down.  It always does.  But just continue to put in/accumulate, and you'll have something of value that no one can take from you.  It is such a rewarding experience to hold an asset with the ability to transact for yourself.  The longer you hodl, the more you realize it isn't about price.

A spot ETF is what the public wants.  The SEC needs to quit making these power moves by stalling.  I'm surprised we aren't seeing a bigger push by JP Morgan, et al because there's a LOT of money in it for them.  It's only a matter of time in my opinion.  And when it happens, there will be fireworks.

And as much as that excites me (the price action), it doesn't come close to the excitement of bitcoin giving me the freedom to spend my money the way that I want to.  No other asset gives me such freedom to transact.  Truly, one of the most beautiful things I've seen in my 50 years on this rock.

I found out about it in probably 2016.  Didn't buy until 2017 though.  I mostly held, but traded a lot in 2018 which didn't end too well for me. But luckily Ive always held and ever since around 2018, I've really gotten into the aspect of bitcoin that there's no intermediary.  No banks.  Peer to peer cash transfer, it's really quite remarkable.  I'm old now, and as I've learned over the years, I can say with confidence that it's the fastest growing technology I've ever seen.  Truly incredible what bitcoin is, and what it can become.  I hope it lifts up those in 3rd world countries that don't have access to banks, and I truly believe it is power for the people. It will change everything.

You say 90% is mined in China, but that number is closer to 65% (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1200477/bitcoin-mining-by-country/).  Plus, aren't the large mining pools made up of members that join the pool from all across the globe?  Thus while the pool may be based out of China, those miners in the pool can be from other countries.

I agree to a certain extent.  And sorry- didn't read the article.  The price is quite high and I DO feel that a lot of folks run to alts that appear "less expensive".  I feel like the sooner we use sats, the easier it'll be for everyone to get on board and start buying/selling/paying in sats instead of in .0009543 bitcoin.  I'd rather just say 9543 sats.  Like when splitting a dinner bill with friends and my friend pays, so I send him 9500 sats.  That just sounds better to me, tbh.

This argument is so tiresome...