OT: Any Ethereum (ETH) investors here?

[summilux]

I missed the Bitcoin wave but I keep hearing about ETH as the next big cryptocurrency to invest in. I'm probably too risk adverse to buy some but I know there were some BitCoin investors here and I'm curious as to whether ETH might be BitCoin for 2017.

[nrs5000]

This is speculation, not investment.

[likebikes]

tulip mania 2.0

[54ny77]

I prefer frozen concentrated orange juice futures.

[cat6]

One of my close friends has been harping BitCoin and ETH for several years now, regularly tried to recruit me to join him in investing. I never took the time to study or fully understand so stayed away.

He's netted over $50K USD off of very modest investments.

Investment or speculation there are people making real gains. I'm not building a mining rig or converting my $USD savings into ETH but it seems like time to pay closer attention.

[summilux]

What peaked my interest is that ETH has gone up 10-fold in the last few months. I haven't done a whole lot of research but there seems to be a lot of good thinking behind it.

[Llewellyn]

Originally Posted by summilux

What peaked my interest is that ETH has gone up 10-fold in the last few months. I haven't done a whole lot of research but there seems to be a lot of good thinking behind it.

To me that would be waving so many red flags about why you should stay away.

[MattTuck]

The next 'big' thing is right around the corner. Tezos is having their ICO in a few days. I am following crypto currencies as an interested spectator, not an investor with skin in the game.

That said, if you want to get in on the ground floor of one of these, with some notable backers, this could be your chance.

[mtechnica]

If I had the money I would seriously consider building a rig to mine eth, but that's just me. At current value you could start profiting in months taking into account the cost of the computer (2-3k)

[mtechnica]

Also there is a lot more to eth than bitcoin, they're not exactly the same thing.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by mtechnica

Also there is a lot more to eth than bitcoin, they're not exactly the same thing.

Yes, Tezos is like Ethereum. Which, let me just say, if eth goes belly up, people are going to be like, "you mean the crypto currency named ETHER turned out to be ether? who would have guessed? The writing was on the wall."

My biggest problem with a lot of these currencies is what I've dubbed the wampum conundrum. Specifically, that is the idea that the natives were going along and using wampum as a form of currency for trading up until European settlers figured out a way to make wampum more easily, and the value declined.

This was a case of inflation, and I know that these crypto currencies have ways to prevent inflation. But the point is that if you were a native using wampum, you'd have no way of knowing (in your understanding of the world) that wampum was a bad choice for currency.

I'm concerned these coins are the same way. They may be good at some things, and then at some point in the future, something happens (that we cannot predict) and it either obsoletes or undermines confidence in the networks of the current crop of alt currencies.

[pbarry]

These fledglings go first when there is a downturn. Not a good time to buy right now. Don't know enuf about eth, but have heard the pitch. If you have BC already, hold until the last minute.

[nate2351]

I think ETH is the most interesting crypto right now in what it's trying to do. Bitcoin and all of it's offshoots are trying to replace fiat currency, whereas ETH is trying to change the future of computing. It's fascinating.

If you're curious about investing I use Coinbase which is as easy as any online investing service. Log in, attach a card or bank account, start trading.

[thegunner]

i really don't understand why people bash cryptocurrency (and consequently lump all of them together) without understanding the point of what they're trying to accomplish.

the whole smartcontract / app backbone for eth makes me feel like it has more of a future in tech, so call me a believer. i think that inherently also means there's going to be another crappy VC-culture boom based around ICOs, but reward outweighs risk to me.

[adub]

Gold is going to be the next big thing, oh wait..