Why bitcoin’s most basic principle has become crypto’s biggest problem

[traderjoe200]

That can only be said with the benefit of hindsight, and that's provided that you didn't mind wasting 16-17yrs before it got back to the break even mark. That is ludicrous - who does that??
So no, i disagree completely. Holding a looser for almost 2 decades on the hopes that it will some day return??

 

[traderjoe200]

You probably don't realize it, but with those charts you posted, you just made the biggest case ever for buying and holding bitcoin. Here's the dot com bubble that you are likening Bitcoin to:

View attachment 300237

That can only be said with the benefit of hindsight, and that's provided that you didn't mind wasting 16-17yrs before it got back to the break even mark. That is ludicrous - who does that??
So no, i disagree completely. Holding a looser for almost 2 decades on the hopes that it will some day return??

 

[Statistical Trader]

That can only be said with the benefit of hindsight, and that's provided that you didn't mind wasting 16-17yrs before it got back to the break even mark. That is ludicrous - who does that??
So no, i disagree completely. Holding a looser for almost 2 decades on the hopes that it will some day return??

Yeah, it could be done with the benefit of hindsight.... or it could be done with the benefit of foresight. Many on this forum have done so repeatedly. Bitcoin's cycle is also shorter - just 4 years. Why four years? Because it follows the halving cycle.

Will it happen again? Nobody knows for sure. Is it worth a small bet? Some people think so. Other people don't. That's normal. There's no moral right or wrong here. Just predictions.

Incidentally, your comment about it being ludicrous to wait is exactly why bitcoin has these massive spikes following halving events (not immediately following, but following nonetheless), followed by crashes some time later. Lots of people don't want to put their money at risk while it goes sideways (in a volatile manner, to boot) and so it keeps meandering sideways. When it starts spiking up, 'everyone' chases the trade. At some point it runs out of steam, people start selling, and the whole thing falls apart...but so far at least it always settles at a higher base level than the previous cycle.

Anyone who says they know for sure what will happen in the future is fooling themselves. This goes for bitcoin bulls and bears, alike. On the other hand, you can take a look at what has happened and make an educated guess and put a sufficiently conservative percentage of your capital at risk and see what happens. This is trading.

Or you can stay away forever because it might not happen again. That makes sense too. The best approach for 'you' probably depends a lot on your personality. What you absolutely want to avoid, however, is convincing yourself it will never happen again (how do you know?), changing your mind toward the top of the next spike (assuming there's another one - I don't know for sure), and then freaking out and selling when you are underwater on the inevitable collapse on the other side, guaranteeing your loss. Be early, be on time, or don't trade it at all, but don't be late.

 

[virtusa]

Please indicate what marketplaces are crook-free so we can go there to avoid that risk.

As you are living in the crypto world there is no safe place. You posted yourself that you were lucky that you could transfer some of your crypto's.
I never had any problems with any bank I worked with. My money was save in these banks and there were never any risks with transfers.
Millions or maybe even billions got lost or disappeared in the crypto world. FTX is not the first and surely not the last case.

 

[traderjoe200]

You seriously think a broker like TD Ameritrade is no different than FTX?

I sure do,..they are FDIC insured where FTX was not - nor will be

 

[BMK]

I sure do,..they are FDIC insured where FTX was not - nor will be

I certainly agree that TDAmeritrade is safer than an unregulated, or poorly regulated, offshore operation like FTX. However...

Assets in a brokerage account are not insured by FDIC. They are insured by SIPC. Yes, this is somewhat technical distinction. I recognize that the type of insurance is almost identical. It protects the accountholder in the event that the broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy.

But sometimes these technicalities can be important. FDIC and SIPC are two different agencies. The limits of the insurance may be different. The limits are so high that it may not matter for most people on this board. But there are some differences between the two agencies.

The screenshot in the above post that refers to FDIC is from TD Bank--not TD Ameritrade.

And FYI TDA was acquired by Schwab.

I have a small amount of money into two crypto ETFs: GBTC and ETHE.

Both are Grayscale funds, and as various articles have noted, Grayscale is not immune to the crypto implosion. Grayscale is an ETF, and it is regulated by the SEC. But both funds are trading at a substantial discount to the underlying crypto assets.

So far, it does not appear that these funds are involved in any fradulent activity or negligent handling of assets or customer funds. My investment was less than one percent of our portfolio. I haven't bailed yet. But I'm not expecting the prices to recover any time soon.

And I certainly do not expect SIPC or FDIC is rescue me LOL

If these funds go under, that kind of thing is NOT covered by SIPC or FDIC.

SIPC protects me if my broker goes belly up. If an ETF collapses... good luck with that.

 

[traderjoe200]

I certainly agree that TDAmeritrade is safer than an unregulated, or poorly regulated, offshore operation like FTX. However...

Assets in a brokerage account are not insured by FDIC. They are insured by SIPC. Yes, this is somewhat technical distinction. I recognize that the type of insurance is almost identical. It protects the accountholder in the event that the broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy.

But sometimes these technicalities can be important. FDIC and SIPC are two different agencies. The limits of the insurance may be different. The limits are so high that it may not matter for most people on this board. But there are some differences between the two agencies.

The screenshot in the above post that refers to FDIC is from TD Bank--not TD Ameritrade.

And FYI TDA was acquired by Schwab.

I have a small amount of money into two crypto ETFs: GBTC and ETHE.

Both are Grayscale funds, and as various articles have noted, Grayscale is not immune to the crypto implosion. Grayscale is an ETF, and it is regulated by the SEC. But both funds are trading at a substantial discount to the underlying crypto assets.

So far, it does not appear that these funds are involved in any fradulent activity or negligent handling of assets or customer funds. My investment was less than one percent of our portfolio. I haven't bailed yet. But I'm not expecting the prices to recover any time soon.

And I certainly do not expect SIPC or FDIC is rescue me LOL

If these funds go under, that kind of thing is NOT covered by SIPC or FDIC.

SIPC protects me if my broker goes belly up. If an ETF collapses... good luck with that.

You are correct sir...and i stand corrected. Having said that i would still never compare the two.

 

[Baron]

You seriously think a broker like TD Ameritrade is no different than FTX?

TD Ameritrade is a broker, not an exchange or marketplace.

 

[BMK]

TD Ameritrade is a broker, not an exchange or marketplace.

But what was FTX? Was it an exchange, as that term is used by the SEC?

If not, was it an exchange by some other widely accepted definition of that term? If so, what is that definition? And what is the source of that definition?

Or was FTX something else?

 

[Baron]

But what was FTX? Was it an exchange, as that term is used by the SEC?

If not, was it an exchange by some other widely accepted definition of that term? If so, what is that definition? And what is the source of that definition?

Or was FTX something else?

Well in retrospect it was clearly something else. I'm saying that "something else" does not resemble a regulated brokerage like TD Ameritrade, so they really can't be compared at all.