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Bitcoin Foundation Boss Urges Cautious Investment (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the beware dept.

The head of the Bitcoin Foundation, Llew Claasen, has urged people to invest "no more than they can afford" in the crypto-currency. From a report: He was speaking at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania about the potential for Bitcoin in Africa. Billions lack access to formal banking, but the uptake of mobile money means many are willing to embrace alternatives. Bitcoin had been adopted in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, he said. The digital currency had particular resonance in countries with volatile economies, he said. "It offers people a chance to protect their savings from government abuse of monetary policy. A lot of people in Zimbabwe are interested in it as an alternative financial system, but that is not an easy thing to do formally as we don't want to be perceived as wanting to disrupt economies," he told the BBC. The Washington-based Bitcoin Foundation is a non-profit organisation that promotes the use of Bitcoin around the world.

10 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Note by war4peace · · Score: 2

    Bitcoin isn't any less volatile than said countries' volatile economies. While I certainly hope it's going to become very stable, I doubt it.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    1. Re:Note by Howitzer86 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's not stable, it's inconvenient, and it's easy to steal. Sounds about right.

    2. Re:Note by GLMDesigns · · Score: 2

      Peoples accounts are hacked. Bitcoin is not.

      The fact that a bank or an exchange is robbed does not devalue the currency. Bitcoin, unlike any fiat currency, has not be counterfeited.

      Bitcoin is going up because people see it as a store of value, as a way of taking their money out of an unstable market (Venezuela, China are two prime examples). If BTC is ever adopted on a large scale it's value will be 100 times if not 1000 times as much as it is now.

      Personally I think there will be multiple currencies, each with it's own niche.

      --
      If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
      Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
  2. We??? by THE_WELL_HUNG_OYSTER · · Score: 2

    "we don't want to be perceived as wanting to disrupt economies" Who is this "we" that you speak of? Bitcoin had no central spokespeople.

  3. errybody buy BitCoin now! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

    Don't hesitate. Cash in your 401k and buy BitCoin. Ask your parents to give you your inheritance in advance and buy BitCoin. Get a second mortgage and buy BitCoin. Do it now and you will be rich beyond dreams of avarice.

    And please don't sell any until at least the close of business a week from Friday. KTHX

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  4. No More than You Can Afford TO LOSE by eepok · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I always get annoyed when investment-prodders say "Never invest more than you can afford." It's impossible to do so anyway. If i have $100, I can't invest $10,000 in anything. What they need to say is, "Don't invest more than they can afford to lose," but they don't want to because that would make the product they're selling seem like a bit of a gamble. Which it is.

    1. Re:No More than You Can Afford TO LOSE by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2

      You can borrow money to invest it. That practice was a contributor to the great depression and strict controls were put on it afterward. But you can buy bitcoin on your credit card, which is the same thing.

      If you've got $100 and you lose it you might have to go to the food bank this month. If you've got $100 and you lose $1000 you paid for with your credit card, you've got a problem that's at least a hundred times worse.

    2. Re:No More than You Can Afford TO LOSE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Going from "I can't afford to eat today" to "I've had my possessions repossessed due to a debt I couldn't pay, and I still can't afford to eat today" is a lot more serious than just a numerical factor derived from $1000/$100.

  5. Came here to say that... by gatfirls · · Score: 3, Informative

    Day Low 4,201.1899
    Day High 4,616.8999
    52 Week Low 571.6600
    52 Week High 4,616.8999

    I know some countries are *relatively* unstable when compared to Dollar/Euro/etc but compared to bitcoin they are relatively stable. They may take big hits on occasion and suffer unreasonable inflation but those are usually singular events or extend over months/years. With bitcoin your gas and grocery money could become just grocery money on the way from the bank to the grocery store.

    Not to mention all of the other issues surrounding bitcoin logistics in a 'developing economy'.

    1. Re:Came here to say that... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      If I am going to have a currency that is unstable, I would rather have Bitcoin, which tends to be unstable in an upward direction, than in any government fiat currencies, which tend to be unstable in a downward direction. Since its introduction in 1973, this is the number of years that the Nigerian naira has risen in value: 0.