[DaddyD]

I mentioned this in another crypto-thread, but someone suggested I create a new thread in order to create wider awareness:

There seems to be a fair amount of interest about bitcoin & cryptocurrency in general, so I'm going to try and organize a get-together for any forum members who are interested in discussing bitcoin & cryptocurrency in general. My thought was that we could meet at a local coffee shop (Starbucks or Panera?), but if anyone has a better suggestion as to where to meet, feel free to chime in.

Anyway, if you're interested, please send me a private message, along with an email address where I can contact you. In a few days I'll send out a group email to everyone who's interested, and collectively we can try to come up with a time & place that is most convenient for the majority.

This is NOT going to be any kind of official Village club, but rather a very loosely organized meet-up of fellow crypto-enthusiast.

Full disclosure--I am NOT a bitcoin or crypto expert, and am still learning myself. Hopefully other forum members who are more knowledgeable will join in!!

Also, since I'm the one taking the initiative to organize this discussion group, I'm going to insist on one requirement, that being that this group is only open to those who are either already investing (speculating if you prefer!) in crypto, or whom have at least a basic understanding about this topic. If you don't know anything about bitcoin or other altcoins, we are not going to spend valuable time explaining the very basics to you.

Not infrequently I have people with basically zero knowledge of crypto ask me about bitcoin, expecting me to be able to explain it to them in 10 or 15 minutes! This is a complex topic, and like any new technology or language, it takes some amount of time and effort in order to begin understanding it.

If you've heard about bitcoin & cryptocurrencies and are interested in learning more--GREAT!--but first, take the initiative of doing some very basic self-learning before joining us. The local library has any # of books on the subject available, i.e., "Bitcoin for Dummies", and obviously there's an endless amount of info. available on youtube and elsewhere. Below are some links for anyone interested in learning more. If anyone else here has other links to helpful / informative websites they'd recommend, please feel free to add to this list.

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin: on youtube here The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin - YouTube or on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Bitcoin-Dan ... B00OGM2ZY2

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains, and the Future of the Internet https://www.amazon.com/Cryptopia-Bitcoi ... 542&sr=8-3

Banking on Bitcoin Banking on Bitcoin - YouTube or here https://www.amazon.com/Banking-Bitcoin- ... 029&sr=8-1

Bitcoin Gospel: https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Gospel-H ... 067&sr=8-1 or on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zKuoqZLyKg

Bitcoin in Uganda, a short, interesting documentary about the benefits of bitcoin to those living in 3rd World countries who receive remittances from friends or family living in other countries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrRXP1t ... e=emb_logo

https://www.coindesk.com/six-bitcoin...entaries-watch

https://99bitcoins.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/Bitcoinwithpaypal/videos

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw2...KkidOGg/videos

https://www.investopedia.com/cryptocurrency-4427699

https://www.coindesk.com/

Again, if anyone has links to other helpful sites, PLEASE LINK THEM!

[DaddyD]

Introduction to bitcoin videos:

Introduction to Bitcoin: what is bitcoin and why does it matter? - YouTube

Bitcoin Explained in the Bitcoin Basics Workshop CBP Prep [Free Workshop Extras - See Description] - YouTube

[stan the man]

My fear is when it gets to our level - it's usually over.

[DaddyD]

Originally Posted by stan the man

My fear is when it gets to our level - it's usually over.

Then assuming you've got at least a basic education / understanding of bitcoin and/or crypto, please join us and let's discuss that.

But I'd make a $10 wager that not even 1% of Village residents over the age of 60 directly own any form of crypto held via any centralized exchange or controlled via keys on a cold wallet.

So while Bitcoin might be a hot topic of conversation, I think very few people have actually taken the plunge and started investing in it. But as soon as crypto ETFs are approved and begun to be marketed by Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab and the rest...wow, I can only assume that the amount of investor money flowing into crypto will skyrocket.

[Malsua]

Originally Posted by DaddyD

But as soon as crypto ETFs are approved and begun to be marketed by Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab and the rest...wow, I can only assume that the amount of investor money flowing into crypto will skyrocket.

I know Vanguard has stated that they will _NEVER_ have a bitcoin product.

Vanguard chief: You will never see a bitcoin fund from us
PUBLISHED MON, JAN 22 2018 12:58 PM EST UPDATED TUE, JAN 23 2018 1:18 PM EST

Fast forward a few years and now it's "there's reasons to be cautious"

Eventually the smell of money will be too great for Vanguard to resist.

Anyone who has even a smidgeon of money in crypto will likely be heavily rewarded when institutional investors start dumping some portion of the trillions under management into crypto. I know Coinbase has said that this is already happening. I don't know how many of these investors are from the really big fish though.

As far as alt coins go, I'm trying to stick to ones that have some real-world use. Like Tezos. If NFTs ever become a thing and Tezos becomes the defacto place to do NFTs, then Tezos will explode. Having some level of money in it could pay off big.