Messages

[Conclusion:]

The Australia (Reddit) crypto scene is full of newcomers trying to get into cryptos -- that is, from fiat to cryptos -- and they are posting about all sorts of difficulties.


'Coinbase announced Thursday afternoon that, for now, it would not be adding any new cryptocurrencies to either its flagship platform'                 

https://www.coindesk.com/no-new-crypto-coinbase-squashes-exchange-listing-rumors/

Now consider the drama that us GRS folks have had with Bittrex. And Kraken's trading-exchange has been so overloaded of late that the company admitted its exchange is dysfunctional.

And Poloniex? It was truly struggling even months ago, before they shut the troll box.

So, for Coinbase to choose not to add XRP shows that Coinbase must be close to its limits; and I'm suggesting that the whole global network of crypto exchanges is both overloaded and struggling to upgrade Verifications, which they are doing clumsily.

And if something sparks a bear market, people will be running for the exits.

Conclusion: From a security perspective, this is a time to be very very careful not to have too much coin on any one exchange.

'Spain's jobless rate is at its lowest level since 2009 . . . ' Wow! That's great!

Now look here: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266228/youth-unemployment-rate-in-eu-countries/

Maybe the Spanish youth unemployment rate was 40% last year; but now, it's only 38.7%.                                                                   
[ https://www.statista.com/statistics/266228/youth-unemployment-rate-in-eu-countries/ ]

The 'Eurozone powerhouse' is showing 'sustained economic strength.' [ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/01/03/german-unemployment-falls-record-low-eurozone-powers-ahead/ ]

Without a doubt, part of the crypto craze is . . . craziness; but the world economy is being held up by funny money. Some people are beginning to understand that. Capital will continue to flow to cryptos.

[Woo hoo! January 1st marked ten years of me studying the GFC seven days a week.]

'The rise in the value of bitcoin could be adding 0.3% to Japanese GDP growth . . . '

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/bitcoin-could-be-adding-03-to-japanese-gdp-2017-12?r=UK&IR=T

[Update on Australian Banks Banning Transfers to Crypto Exchanges]

Update on Australian Banks Banning Transfers to Crypto Exchanges

'NAB' is one of the 'Big Four' Australian banks. It has just put in place a total ban. A second, Westpac, will soon put in place a total ban.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinAUS/

This thread shows just how much energy is being spent at present dealing with obstacles put in place by the Government and the banks -- in Australia.

How are things going in your country?

[Happy New Year, everyone!!!!!!!!]

Ooooh! The Push-Back continues!!

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-30/australian-banks-reportedly-freeze-accounts-bitcoin-users

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-30/china-launches-new-capital-controls-puts-15000-annual-cap-overseas-atm-withdrawals

[What's my point here?]

'The Eurozone economy continued to perform robustly in the third quarter of 2017, according to preliminary estimates released by Eurostat.'
https://www.focus-economics.com/regions/euro-area

'[South Korea's] prime minister Lee Nak-yeon expressed concerns over Korea's bitcoin craze, warning  that "young people and students are rushing into virtual currency trading to earn huge profits in just a short period of time . . . '
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-29/stunning-look-inside-world-south-koreas-bitcoin-zombies

I wish that Eurostat Guy and President Guy had little windows in their heads, so we could all look in, to see what on earth is going on. The statistic on the EU's economy is a lie. Have a look here:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/266228/youth-unemployment-rate-in-eu-countries/ -- who do they think they're fooling?

And bear sharply in mind that these rates have only been made possible with MASSIVE FISCAL STIMULUS.

And youth unemployment rates in S.K. are at record highs (though nothing like the E.U.'s).

And the tide of mental illness in the western world – and I presume elsewhere – is rising steadily.

What's my point here? Don't see cryptos as just a technological phenomenon. See them as a protest: vastly increased amounts of information (' ') is teaching younger folks that The Grown Ups actually have no idea what they're doing! TGUs can't manage a political system, an economy, an environment, an education system – nothing much, really.

And in the midst of this, The Big Clumsy Government Anti-Cryptos Push-Back has begun, telling us the banks need more control, that 'rushing into cryptos to make huge profits' shows that we've all gone quite mad.



'Bitcoin investors are claiming Australia's banks are freezing their accounts and transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, with a viral tweet slamming the big four and an exchange platform putting a restriction on Australian deposits.

Cryptocurrency trader and Youtuber Alex Saunders called out National Australia Bank, ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation on Twitter for freezing customer accounts and transfers to four different bitcoin exchanges  - CoinJar, CoinSpot, CoinBase and BTC Markets.'          http://www.smh.com.au/business/bitcoin-tensions-rise-as-investors-claim-banks-freezing-their-accounts-20171229-p4yy3z.html

Go hard at cryptos in 2018, campers!! We may WELL see crypto prices hammered by Government attacks. Good! Makes cryptos cheap. Convinces more people that the Governments are losing control.

'Community managers are being hired en masse. Their job is to oversee all matters relating to a blockchain project's community of supporters. This includes interacting with core developers, contributors, investors and even end users. The role of the community manager is vital to the success of a protocol; so vital that a 'cottage industry' has propped up overnight to offer community management as a service.'

https://www.coindesk.com/2018-beyond-tokens-eating-firm/

Fantastic changes in how crypto communities function!! When I started as a community dev, there was almost no such thing (other than the devs themselves doing it . . . ).

[One:]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/12/23/bitcoin-risk-chinese-sabotage/


'Beijing could render the Bitcoin network effectively useless by taking control of the powerful computers used to maintain the digital currency, which are largely based in China, according to a report from security companies Hacken and Gladius.'

'effectively useless'??

The article is contemptible scare-mongering. Let's dissect it:

One: China is corrupt out the wazoo. The Party cadre and the filthy rich capitalists are joined at the hip. The reason that Bitcoin is so central in China is that that serves their interests: money-laundering as the dream unravels.

Two: cool! Let 'em do it! The crash in crypto prices would give everyone in the world a second chance at 2014. And the network would re-assemble itself in a much more balanced fashion.

Three (my first thought, and related to Two): 'effectively useless'? Nah. Do we think the Chinese Government can co-ordinate across its vast and culturally diverse territory a swift and sufficiently affective raid? Indeed, many of the big mines are . . . big, and their location is public knowledge. But at the very least, it would take days; and the moment the news got out, all across the world, the some guys who were mining with laptops in 2012 would be gleefully firing those laptops again: cryptos are designed to be resilient.

'At CoinDesk's Consensus: Invest conference last month, there was much talk of bringing other forms of leverage, such as prime brokerage and securities lending-type services, into the crypto market to accommodate demand from newly-arrived institutional investors.'                             

https://www.coindesk.com/buyer-beware-credit-creeping-crypto/


In political theory, readers, we use the term 'co-opt.' It describes how, for example, revolutionist activists get worn down, and end up working for the Federal Government Department of Vanilla-Flavored Social Change.
Now, I don't understand this new Bitcoin futures thing at all – but I see big big money involved.
Now check the picture.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=toddler+tricycles+with+push+bar&rlz=1C1CHBD_en-GBAU726AU726&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=1XBVUX99B7v55M%253A%252CmlilxjU-QYhKKM%252C_&usg=__5r7FsTmPC_FuEEYdv4f792uA0sY%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS4a7vu5zYAhVEWrwKHcJpA6YQ9QEIiwEwAA#imgrc=1XBVUX99B7v55M:


The toddler gets to pedal and steer herself until Mum or Dad leans on the handle, thereby taking control.

It's going to be an historic conflict. The existing banking-system is going to try to 'co-opt' Planet Krypto – to tame it – by bringing capital to bear, and by 'bolting on' its historical instruments, to produce a hybrid that suits them.

Still thinking about this!!


My idea above? 'Serial ETF-ing'? Co-option?   

'Increasing demand will likely lead to more futures markets and creating greater volumes over time. There are currently over 15 applications pending for new ETFs, the volume is coming and to quote Antonopoulos again, there is a long way to go . . . ' 
  https://www.coindesk.com/comes-futures-next-chapter-bitcoin/

https://news.goldcore.com/ie/gold-blog/eu-cash-gold-bullion/

As always, let's take a broader perspective:

Imagine you're living in a nation at war. Certain goods are not 'officially' available – but you see the rich enjoying those goods, and the family in the house across the road have those . . . they bought them on the black market.
Then your child falls ill, and the medicine she/he needs is only available on that black market. Are you a criminal if you buy the necessary medicine?

As empires slide into obvious dysfunction, it becomes more and more difficult to remain 'honest.' I recommend histories of the collapse of Cambodia in '75, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Sukarno era in Indonesia.

Now look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States
The stories of the bizarre extent of these confiscations have been becoming more frequent this decade. There's little doubt at this point: this is the government stealing stuff. On a grand scale.

What's my point here?

The extension of controls on gold and cash and gift cards, etc. will become civic asset forfeiture. It is a symptom of a system in collapse. Every day it is more and more difficult for ordinary people to understand and avoid the thousands and thousands and thousands of regulations and laws that exist.

'At CoinDesk's Consensus: Invest conference last month, there was much talk of bringing other forms of leverage, such as prime brokerage and securities lending-type services, into the crypto market to accommodate demand from newly-arrived institutional investors.'                             

https://www.coindesk.com/buyer-beware-credit-creeping-crypto/


In political theory, readers, we use the term 'co-opt.' It describes how, for example, revolutionist activists get worn down, and end up working for the Federal Government Department of Vanilla-Flavored Social Change.
Now, I don't understand this new Bitcoin futures thing at all – but I see big big money involved.
Now check the picture.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=toddler+tricycles+with+push+bar&rlz=1C1CHBD_en-GBAU726AU726&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=1XBVUX99B7v55M%253A%252CmlilxjU-QYhKKM%252C_&usg=__5r7FsTmPC_FuEEYdv4f792uA0sY%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS4a7vu5zYAhVEWrwKHcJpA6YQ9QEIiwEwAA#imgrc=1XBVUX99B7v55M:


The toddler gets to pedal and steer herself until Mum or Dad leans on the handle, thereby taking control.

It's going to be an historic conflict. The existing banking-system is going to try to 'co-opt' Planet Krypto – to tame it – by bringing capital to bear, and by 'bolting on' its historical instruments, to produce a hybrid that suits them.

Here is this year's: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article61064.html

Here is last year's: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article57682.html

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-19/stunning-reversal-china-gives-deleveraging-pledge


Best article today.

The correct term here is 'propaganda.'

'Bitcoin has no natural intrinsic value. Can you buy a house with it? Can you use it for daily interactions? It may be valued at $18,000 right now but what I want to know is how you convert it into fiat currency and realize that value.'

Has no natural intrinsic value? Gawd . . . how many times do we have to go over this? (for zupaklevva Government Guys?)

Can you use it for daily transactions? Yes -- would be expensive. Why not use Litecoin?

Can't buy a house with it? Yep. Can.

How to convert it into fiat? See 'zupaklevaa Government Guy' above.

The point here, readers, is: it's not what is said. It's where it is said. Recent months have seen barraages of negative articles from the elitists: Yellen, the U.K. Telegraph, Motormouth Dimon, blah blah blah . . .

So, does the media exist to convey objective information to its readers? Or does it serve an 'ideological' purpose?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MB_Walker_-_German_bayoneting_children_-_Life_-_July_25,_1915.png