This topic is locked, no replies allowed. Inaccurate or out-of-date info may be present.

  • Print

Topic: Cryptocurency  (Read 505 times)

countrygirl12

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Platinum Member
  • *********
  • Posts: 12568 (since 2012)
  • Thanked: 435x
Cryptocurency
« on: January 22, 2019, 05:10:48 am »
Does anyone know exactly what this is?  I have seen it twice this morning where you have to enter a code to move forward.

I recently was looking at another PTC type site and it paid in this.  Some people think it is good or will be worth something someday.  Idk.  I can't figure out how it is worth anything at all.  Sounds more like the points you use to get on yahoo answers.  It is just bragging rights.

Would you participate in a site that paid in this currency?
Can it be converted to real money?

NRAJOE

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Gold Member
  • ********
  • Posts: 2743 (since 2016)
  • Thanked: 194x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2019, 11:10:08 am »
I only want Paypal...Amazon and maybe cannabis stocks... :silly: ;)

Tresbn00

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Gold Member
  • ********
  • Posts: 3551 (since 2009)
  • Thanked: 205x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2019, 06:12:54 pm »
There are dozens of crypto currencies available. Bit coin seems to be at the top of the heap for longevity, value, acceptability, and recognizability (if that is a word). Ethereum seems to be a little less volatile and I have used it to fund and receive innings from gambling sites. Manero is known to be used for criminal activity due to difficulty in tracing any of it's transactions. Manero has been in the news lately as it was the currency preferred in a few kidnapping cases. Eventually the money has to touch down somewhere/get reintegrated into the gold standard systems (like the United States Dollar) which is when most criminals get count. People have also been trading bitcoin currencies in a manner very similar to forex (foreign currency) exchange due to the bitcoin value volatility and markets that are open twenty four hours a day, seven  days a week.

countrygirl12

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Platinum Member
  • *********
  • Posts: 12568 (since 2012)
  • Thanked: 435x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2019, 06:20:51 am »
There are dozens of crypto currencies available. Bit coin seems to be at the top of the heap for longevity, value, acceptability, and recognizability (if that is a word). Ethereum seems to be a little less volatile and I have used it to fund and receive innings from gambling sites. Manero is known to be used for criminal activity due to difficulty in tracing any of it's transactions. Manero has been in the news lately as it was the currency preferred in a few kidnapping cases. Eventually the money has to touch down somewhere/get reintegrated into the gold standard systems (like the United States Dollar) which is when most criminals get count. People have also been trading bitcoin currencies in a manner very similar to forex (foreign currency) exchange due to the bitcoin value volatility and markets that are open twenty four hours a day, seven  days a week.

You didn't answer my question. Or maybe you do not know the answer. I know Bitcoin is a Cryptocurrency.  But WHAT IS THAT?  What does it mean? What is is worth? Is is like points on paid to click sites where it converts to cash?  Nobody seems to know what it is.  Even if you google it you cannot get a straight up answer as to what it is.

gwilson31

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Silver Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 1735 (since 2016)
  • Thanked: 98x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2019, 08:14:25 am »
I'll admit that I do not know what it is either.  I have looked it up but I just do not get it.  I guess I will just stick with real cash (when I can get it) LOL.

pectacon

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Silver Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 1455 (since 2016)
  • Thanked: 30x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2019, 09:50:06 am »
Bitcoin is the main one I've heard of but I really don't understand what a cryptocurrency is. Dollars are fine for me!
*Image Removed*

UGetPaid

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Gold Member
  • ********
  • Posts: 3140 (since 2015)
  • Thanked: 190x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2019, 10:33:51 am »

I am not at all adept at explaining the technical aspects so anyone can feel free to correct me, but in a nutshell...

It is an electronic currency that is decentralized - not like the tangible fiat money/national currencies like US Dollar or Euros or Yen, etc.  There is no physical paper/tender like a minted coin or paper currency, so there is no central authority in control of it like a government bank. It is all traded or exchanged electronically.


You can buy it with regular currency and you can sell it for regular currency (or you can trade between thousands of different cryptocurrencies) but all of that is done online in exchanges - similar in concept to a stock exchange or to a foreign money exchange.  Their values can be pretty volatile and you can make a crap ton of money or lose your shirt depending on how much you buy or sell it for.  Just over a year ago at its peak one Bitcoin was worth close to $20,000. Today it is worth about $3,500.  A few years ago it was worth less than $100.  So it goes up and down!  It is all based on supply and demand and what people are trading it for. But that's just Bitcoin. Some other cryptocurrencies are worth crap and losing value; some are scams; some are not and are increasing in value.  But as more and more people get fed up with decreasing values of their national currencies and turn to this as an alternative way to buy and sell goods - it has a chance to someday spike again in value.


You can 'own' or spend and trade fractions of a Bitcoin divisible down to 0.00000001 (which they call Satoshis - named after the mystery guy who 'invented' Bitcoin) - so even though a whole Bitcoin is worth thousands of dollars - you can use it in values more closely in line with what you are used to in terms of dollars and cents.


I've invested a small sum into it and I also earn small bits on web sites that pay you to click on advertising or take online surveys, etc.  Similar in concept to Fusion Cash...  I figure that my $20 today could either drop down to next to nothing, or it could someday become $20,000+.  There are some early adopters who have become millionaires simply because they got in at the right time and saw the potential.


It is all tracked and documented online in what they call the blockchain - so the entire 'ledger' of each Bitcoin (or whatever cryptocurrency you are dealing with) in all of history is tracked and verified from multiple independent [decentralized] sources through a series of complex computer calculations and equations. As multiple computers confirm transactions through that process, it is written to the blockchain and essentially becomes "written in stone".  Each time a certain number of transactions are completed and independently verified, that becomes a new "block" added to the "chain." If someone were to try to go back and hack into a prior verified transaction - that variance in the blockchain would be detected and flagged as inconsistent with what has already been established and verified through multiple independent verifications.          (((This is the part that is too technical for my limited ability to explain, but hopefully I am both accurate and articulate in trying to explain it in my own simplified understanding)))


You will be hearing more and more about the Blockchain concept as I think it is going to become more pervasive in society in coming years and decades. Right now it is mostly used to track cryptocurrency transactions, but there is talk (and many aspects are already in motion) of using it to store/verify/keep track of so many other aspects.


I won't go into those specifics (again, not sure that I would be able to), but many believe that the blockchain concept will be more revolutionary than the Internet itself.


I only got in about 18 months ago and still have a lot to learn. If you are more interested, there is a podcast called the Bad Crypto Podcast that has a lot of good information on the subject.  If you go back to their very first few episodes, they explain a lot of things quite well.  I have some other general information and informational links on my web site [not allowed to promote it here as it also has non-FC referral links] but there is a lot out there.

UGetPaid

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Gold Member
  • ********
  • Posts: 3140 (since 2015)
  • Thanked: 190x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2019, 10:52:41 am »

I have seen it twice this morning where you have to enter a code to move forward.

They have developed various ways to store your crypto in 'wallets'.  Some are web based, some are on little hardware devices.  Believe it or not, some are just printed pieces of paper.  Every wallet has 'keys' both public and private. A public key is basically an address where I can send some of the crypto that I control - or if I want someone to pay me in crypto, I give them my public key.  The private key is what you would use to send the crypto. That is what gives you the ability to transfer the crypto that you control.

Many of the sites that offer to pay you crypto to click on their ads ask you for your public key or your address/code. They are unique and a long series of upper and lowercase letters and numbers and are often translated into a QR code for ease of use.  It is safe to give out your public key as it is really only a one way RECEIVING crypto key.

Your private key should be guarded like gold. Anyone who got their hands on that can steal every bit you have and you have zero ability to get it back.


Would you participate in a site that paid in this currency?
Can it be converted to real money?

I do participate in many sites like this. Some are scams, but some are quite reliable and profitable. I have yet to find any that pays out in the same rate or volume as Fusion Cash pays in regular currency, but it you read my post above - I am speculating on the crypto that I earn today being worth exponentially more down the road.

It can be converted into real money (often with a transaction fee involved) - or it can be traded for other cryptocurrencies if you are into that sort of speculation.

UGetPaid

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Gold Member
  • ********
  • Posts: 3140 (since 2015)
  • Thanked: 190x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #8 on: January 23, 2019, 10:57:04 am »
I only want Paypal...Amazon and maybe cannabis stocks... :silly: ;)


Believe it or not, there is a cryptocurrency called Potcoin whose primary function is to act as currency in the legalized cannabis industry!  It has a pretty low value at the moment (One Potcoin is worth about 1.5¢).

countrygirl12

    US flag
    View Profile
  • Platinum Member
  • *********
  • Posts: 12568 (since 2012)
  • Thanked: 435x
Re: Cryptocurency
« Reply #9 on: January 23, 2019, 10:58:45 am »

I am not at all adept at explaining the technical aspects so anyone can feel free to correct me, but in a nutshell...

It is an electronic currency that is decentralized - not like the tangible fiat money/national currencies like US Dollar or Euros or Yen, etc.  There is no physical paper/tender like a minted coin or paper currency, so there is no central authority in control of it like a government bank. It is all traded or exchanged electronically.


You can buy it with regular currency and you can sell it for regular currency (or you can trade between thousands of different cryptocurrencies) but all of that is done online in exchanges - similar in concept to a stock exchange or to a foreign money exchange.  Their values can be pretty volatile and you can make a crap ton of money or lose your shirt depending on how much you buy or sell it for.  Just over a year ago at its peak one Bitcoin was worth close to $20,000. Today it is worth about $3,500.  A few years ago it was worth less than $100.  So it goes up and down!  It is all based on supply and demand and what people are trading it for. But that's just Bitcoin. Some other cryptocurrencies are worth crap and losing value; some are scams; some are not and are increasing in value.  But as more and more people get fed up with decreasing values of their national currencies and turn to this as an alternative way to buy and sell goods - it has a chance to someday spike again in value.


You can 'own' or spend and trade fractions of a Bitcoin divisible down to 0.00000001 (which they call Satoshis - named after the mystery guy who 'invented' Bitcoin) - so even though a whole Bitcoin is worth thousands of dollars - you can use it in values more closely in line with what you are used to in terms of dollars and cents.


I've invested a small sum into it and I also earn small bits on web sites that pay you to click on advertising or take online surveys, etc.  Similar in concept to Fusion Cash...  I figure that my $20 today could either drop down to next to nothing, or it could someday become $20,000+.  There are some early adopters who have become millionaires simply because they got in at the right time and saw the potential.


It is all tracked and documented online in what they call the blockchain - so the entire 'ledger' of each Bitcoin (or whatever cryptocurrency you are dealing with) in all of history is tracked and verified from multiple independent [decentralized] sources through a series of complex computer calculations and equations. As multiple computers confirm transactions through that process, it is written to the blockchain and essentially becomes "written in stone".  Each time a certain number of transactions are completed and independently verified, that becomes a new "block" added to the "chain." If someone were to try to go back and hack into a prior verified transaction - that variance in the blockchain would be detected and flagged as inconsistent with what has already been established and verified through multiple independent verifications.          (((This is the part that is too technical for my limited ability to explain, but hopefully I am both accurate and articulate in trying to explain it in my own simplified understanding)))


You will be hearing more and more about the Blockchain concept as I think it is going to become more pervasive in society in coming years and decades. Right now it is mostly used to track cryptocurrency transactions, but there is talk (and many aspects are already in motion) of using it to store/verify/keep track of so many other aspects.


I won't go into those specifics (again, not sure that I would be able to), but many believe that the blockchain concept will be more revolutionary than the Internet itself.


I only got in about 18 months ago and still have a lot to learn. If you are more interested, there is a podcast called the Bad Crypto Podcast that has a lot of good information on the subject.  If you go back to their very first few episodes, they explain a lot of things quite well.  I have some other general information and informational links on my web site [not allowed to promote it here as it also has non-FC referral links] but there is a lot out there.

I actually understand or grasp the concept of not being able to go back to a previous "block' and hack that.  Or change it in any way.  Kind of like the books in a company - once a month is "closed out" you cannot go back and change anything. So if you are going to do something shandy do it while it is open. lol.  Otherwise you just have to amend to correct the mistake. But that is a completely different thing.

I just had a random thought while readying your post (which does make sense) but it is too scary for me to say it out loud.  I think they Cryptocurrency could in the future be a bad thing.  I think I will stick to sites that pay like FC does or in points that end up being worth cash or gift cards. :D

Thank you for your explanation.  It does make some sense to me.  And some of it is WAY over my comprehension. :D:D:D:D:D

  • Print