Thanks for the kind remarks, Funky90. Interesting that you spend a lot of time learning cryptography and hashing for work. I, unfortunately, have little knowledge of how all this technology works... and struggle keeping up with all the new gadgets and social networks that the younger generations seem to adapt to so easily. When I first looked into what this Bitcoin was all about, it was all well over my head and then, after hours of research, the difficulties of buying any cryptocurrency or storing it just seemed all too hard. However, over time (and with the help of so many more technologically advanced people on these forums and the like), I have come to understand the potential this new world of cryptocurrency has to offer.
Although mostly technologically illiterate, I do consider myself well read in the world of economics. As the Fed and other major central banks continue to print money, prop up Wall Street and penalise savers, I like to think that someday distributed currencies will give everyone an alternative choice of where to hold their hard earned money.
You continue to state that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value and is a ponzi scheme. The dollar also has no intinsic value... except the faith that the people believe in it. And as the central banks continue to debase their currencies, national debts increase, and the gap between rich and poor continues to grow, the less faith people may have. As such, they may start to look for alternatives (in some countries, they already have).
Yes, Bitcoin got very overheated late last year (Funny, just reading the forums and you could pick it a mile off. Intellegent posters were overtaken by egotistical upstarts who were bragging about how much money they were making! And with all the naysayers posting at the moment, I am now considering basing my investing decisions on who is posting!!!) But I also believe that (with the help of central banks) the sharemarket and the housing market are even more overheated...
And yes, with the novelty of this new investment vehicle comes volatility. The way I see it is cryptocurrency is still in its infancy... and still has a long way to go to make it easy for the general public to buy, store and have faith in. But for me, it is already an alternative. It has all the features I am looking for in a store of wealth that the governments, central banks and the controlling corporations can't manipulate for the benefit of themselves and their cronies, and to the detriment of others.
If you have faith that your government is doing the right thing for all its citizens, then by all means - continue to hold all your savings in their fiat currency. And (with your technological knowledge) if you have any concise detail about why a particular cryptocurrency is a scam or ponzi scheme, then be sure to let everyone know. However, please don't continue to degrade us people with alternative views of the world for trying to protect ourselves and our families... and for hoping for a better world for everyone.
