Are we excited yet?

I used to buy things in a dark corner of the internet many years ago with bitcoin and the fluctuation in price was a serious pain in the ass. I can't remember exactly how I was doing things but I'd have to order $75-80 worth of bitcoin to be sure I'd have enough to buy an item currently priced at $70. I have vague memories of having $20 or so spare in my wallet on that site when it got shut down, it's probably worth thousands now 😥

I know that, but as mentioned earlier the person I was buying the car off wanted a banker's cheque so that is what I got them. I didn't want to transfer 17K into some random person's bank account. That is a sure fire way to lose your money

And if I was buying from a dealer that would take a transfer that would be possible. But as mentioned, it was a private sale and on a Saturday. Do you know of any bank transfers that can be done on a Saturday in an hour?

See this is what I am talking about. Donald said there was no examples of bitcoin being cheaper than euro. I gave an example, a real-life one that happened. And instead of the response being I never thought of that, maybe I was wrong and there are things about bitcoin I'm not sure of.

The response is, why didn't you use transfer wise, why didn't you transfer money into his bank account, why didn't you fly on a different day.

I flew Saturday and gave him a banker's cheque because that is what he wanted. We popped into the bank they ran the cheque through the system and confirmed it was legit. He was happy I hopped in the car and drove home.

Yes there are other ways to buy a car, but the question wasn't what is the cheapest way to buy a car in the UK. It was to provide 1 example. Which i did.

You don't understand what a "hedge" is.

(Financial hedges that is, in case you are thinking of the one in your garden)

Grumpypants. Your example of a use for bitcoin is a real world instance of when you could have used it but didn't.

You also mention that you would not want to transfer cash to someone else's bank account ....... but you appear willing to transfer bitcoin to another user ...... an inherently irreversible transaction. At least when using the bank, there is an intermediary who can potentially stop or reverse the transaction.

You didn't really give me an example use case grumpypants. You gave me the example of a case when you possibly could have used it ..... but you chose not to use it .... even though by your own claim, you could have saved 900 quid by using it!

What would you do if you gave your man his bitcoin, drove the car a mile down the road and the engine fell out of it? Go to a judge and say "yeah, I sent my tokens to this anonymous wallet address which I cannot prove that man has any connection to. I know he says he never met me and he does own that wallet, but will you please tell him to give me money".

Again goalposts moving. My example of a scenario where using bitcoin would be cheaper than using euro isn't acceptable because I didn't actually do it.

If I bought a shirt in Dunnes for €20 and then saw it in Tesco for a tenner am I not allowed to say that is an example of a cheaper shirt because I didn't buy it.

And then you invent fantasy scenarios to make your arguement. But for the sake of argument. I'd do the same thing I would do if I gave him cash, or a bank transfer, or a transfer wise, or any other method of payment.

I'd eat the loss because it's a private car sale. There is no come back.

That's why you don't use a short cycle when talking about investing to hedge against inflation. You look at a long term so the inflation can have its effect.

Really it's 5,10,20,30 years.

If you are going to invest for just 6 months to try and beat inflation. I wouldn't recommend bitcoin.

I'd prob just fill the tank with oil. 500 liters a week ago was 750, today it's 790. And they expect it to go up another 150-200.

If you wanted to invest for a return in 2024 then bitcoin would be a good option. I fully expect it to hit 120-150k.

Again Grumpypants, you don't seem to understand what a hedge is. A hedge should allow you to balance out movements in what you are hedging.

We've come through a sustained period of low or zero inflation, whereas your bitcoin has gone up massively in that time. Once we hit a period of actual inflation, your bitcoin has tanked.

It isn't an inflation hedge. By all means include a very small percentage of it in some portfolio you've constructed as a hedge, but it isn't in and of itself a hedge for inflation. It's just a speculative asset at this point in time.

Thread title is "are we excited yet". That allows for people to answer both "yes" and "no".