Bitcoin: Is It Time To Get In?
Is it time to buy in to the cryptocurrency bitcoin? Is now the time when you should expend time, energy and effort to become a “bitcoin miner“, get a bitcoin wallet, or is bitcoin risk still too high?
At one point in late 2010 I read this article in Slashdot about bitcoin and started poking around to learn more about it. As I thought about this new digital currency in downtime during the holidays that year, I strongly considered getting in to bitcoin mining and was even online looking at hardware to buy.
My enthusiasm was muted, however, since all of us were just coming off the global economic crisis of 2007-2008. After having struggled to keep our business afloat, slashing costs and personnel, and getting into lines of business solely to generate cash—my trust level in entering in to the fray surrounding an unregulated, digital currency with a bunch of unknowns was pretty dang low.
It is also likely I probably would have not made much—or had seen my bitcoins stored, and then lost, at Mt. Gox—but even a few dozen bitcoins mined in early 2011 (when each one was worth US$1.00) means selling them at today’s value of $684 each would have yielded a nice little gross of nearly US$25,000.
Sounds like a lot of money, right? Not so fast there cowboys and cowgirls. The bitcoin space is still the wild, wild west and a tenderfoot often got shot or died of thirst crossing the desert.
This history of bitcoin article will give you a little peek into some of that fray surrounding bitcoin and it is not pretty. If you are considering entering into the bitcoin marketplace, invest some time doing some serious learning before jumping in.
To take my “old west” metaphor a bit further, you truly need to consider that there are both gunslingers and sheriffs out there in bitcoin land and they don’t take kindly to tenderfoot strangers (but love to fleece them of their bitcoins!). There are regulatory issues in play, bitcoin theft from hacking and phishing attempts, and governments realizing they need to step-up and both regulate and tax digital transactions and are doing so.
In my view bitcoin risk is still a bit too high for anyone unwilling to invest that time, energy and effort to learn and enjoy a high tolerance for that risk. But wait a minute. Since Borsch did NOT get into bitcoin mining (yet), why should I listen to him and his tale of caution?
You don’t have to and should make up your own mind. But if you are intrigued about bitcoin and its mining but don’t know much about it, then watch one of the documentaries below and do a lot of research. There is a wealth of information you can find with a quick online search and here are some resources to get you started:
- Research
- Go to the source of bitcoin information: bitcoin.org and you probably should start with About bitcoin.org.
- This YouTube search showing all bitcoin-related videos with the filter being just those videos uploaded in 2016.
- A Google search for “bitcoin” links from January 1, 2016 to today.
- Watch either (or both) of these documentaries: this 2014 bitcoin documentary for $4.99 or this free one from November 2015 (I watched both) and it will give you a good overview of bitcoin, bitcoin mining and what it might take today to get-in-the-game.
- News & Market Data
- Bitcoincharts provides financial and technical data related to the Bitcoin network.
- Wallets & Exchanges
Let me add one more caution: Examine your tolerance for risk before jumping in. If you are the type who would have moved to the Arizona Territory in 1850 to carve out land for a ranch while peacefully co-existing with the Pima Indians and fighting off the Apaches and dealing with the ravages of desert life, then you’re exactly the type of person who would love getting in to bitcoin now. But if you’re the type of person who would rather have stayed in a larger city or town or on a safe, comfortable farm in 1850, then wait and let the market become more solid.
Hope this post helps. If it did not, OK. If it did, send me a bitcoin. 😉
About Steve Borsch
Strategist. Learner. Idea Guy. Salesman. Connector of Dots. Friend. Husband & Dad. CEO. Janitor. More here.
Connecting the Dots Podcast
Podcasting hit the mainstream in July of 2005 when Apple added podcast show support within iTunes. I'd seen this coming so started podcasting in May of 2005 and kept going until August of 2007. Unfortunately was never 'discovered' by national broadcasters, but made a delightfully large number of connections with people all over the world because of these shows. Click here to view the archive of my podcast posts.