So I want to invest a few hundred in bitcoin...

[~misfit~]

Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of paid ads
and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than advertising.

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

[~misfit~]

Once upon a time on usenet ~misfit~ wrote:
> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
> advertising.
> Cheers,

I read a few articles and saw Coinbase recommended so set up a 'wallet' with
them only to find that they don't trade in NZ (yet - according to them).

My luck's not been great of late so I'd like to be sure I'm dealing with a
legitimate outfit.

[Geoff]

On 19/02/2018 1:43 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of paid ads
> and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than advertising.
>
> Cheers,
>

"A few hundred in Bitcoin" ? You'll need over NZ$14,000 to buy just one
Bitcoin.

And if you had bought one a month or so ago, you would have paid nearly
$30K and by now halved your money.

I'd think twice ....

geoff

[~misfit~]

Once upon a time on usenet Geoff wrote:
> On 19/02/2018 1:43 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>> advertising. Cheers,
>>
>
> "A few hundred in Bitcoin" ? You'll need over NZ$14,000 to buy just
> one Bitcoin.

You can buy less than a single bitcoin you know. I was hoping for informed
replies.

> And if you had bought one a month or so ago, you would have paid
> nearly $30K and by now halved your money.
>
> I'd think twice ....

I've already thought 100 times. I had a grand I was going to put into them
five or six years ago but was advised against it...

[Titus G]

On 19/02/18 14:04, ~misfit~ wrote:
> Once upon a time on usenet Geoff wrote:
>> On 19/02/2018 1:43 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>> advertising. Cheers,
>>>
>>
>> "A few hundred in Bitcoin" ? You'll need over NZ$14,000 to buy just
>> one Bitcoin.
> You can buy less than a single bitcoin you know. I was hoping for informed
> replies.

The earliest and most discussed e-currency is called Bitcoin but bitcoin
can refer to any of many crptocurrencies.

coinmarketcap.com lists 1545 Cryptocurrencies over 8944 markets and
accepts credit cards. Everything you want to know is probably there.

>> And if you had bought one a month or so ago, you would have paid
>> nearly $30K and by now halved your money.
>>
>> I'd think twice ....
>
> I've already thought 100 times. I had a grand I was going to put into them
> five or six years ago but was advised against it...
>

INVEST means to buy an asset that will produce a financial return by
making goods or services. Even if it can never be sold, it will be worth
owning from a financial perspective.
Speculation is buying something that produces nothing that you think you
can sell at a higher price some time in the future.

Blockchain technology is free so my advice, given your interest in
computing, is to create your own ByteCoin. Give it a unique kiwi
flavour, (KiwiByteCoin?), so that the Mongrel Mob, Biker Gangs and their
ilk will use it rather than the bank or an overseas bitcoin creator.

[Geoff]

On 19/02/2018 2:04 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
> Once upon a time on usenet Geoff wrote:
>> On 19/02/2018 1:43 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>> advertising. Cheers,
>>>
>>
>> "A few hundred in Bitcoin" ? You'll need over NZ$14,000 to buy just
>> one Bitcoin.
>
> You can buy less than a single bitcoin you know. I was hoping for informed
> replies.

What would you prefer to be informed of ? OK buy 1.4 Bitcents then.
Good luck.

>
>> And if you had bought one a month or so ago, you would have paid
>> nearly $30K and by now halved your money.
>>
>> I'd think twice ....
>
> I've already thought 100 times. I had a grand I was going to put into them
> five or six years ago but was advised against it...
>

Always best to buy when things are on the up, rather than when they
start to look decidedly dodgy.

geoff

[Gordon]

On 2018-02-19, Geoff <ge...@nospampaf.co.nz> wrote:
> On 19/02/2018 2:04 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
>> Once upon a time on usenet Geoff wrote:
>>> On 19/02/2018 1:43 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
>>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>>> advertising. Cheers,
>>>>

> Always best to buy when things are on the up, rather than when they
> start to look decidedly dodgy.
>

Now, the price of Bitcoin is volatile. I see this because people see it as
an investment rather than a currency. As long as people buy it as an
investment it is not not going to be used as a currency and then everyone
thinks of it as an investment, not currency, which it is.

The real revolution will come when people understand that bitcoin is a
currency and use it as such.

[Gordon]

On 2018-02-18, ~misfit~ <shaun.at...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Once upon a time on usenet ~misfit~ wrote:
>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>> advertising.
>> Cheers,
>
> I read a few articles and saw Coinbase recommended so set up a 'wallet' with
> them only to find that they don't trade in NZ (yet - according to them).
>
> My luck's not been great of late so I'd like to be sure I'm dealing with a
> legitimate outfit.
>

You might be waiting awhile, misfit as this is part of the problem. Bitcoin
is so new that understanding by the masses is not high enough to shut of
fraudsters. Or the get rich fast crowd.

[~misfit~]

Once upon a time on usenet Geoff wrote:
> On 19/02/2018 2:04 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
>> Once upon a time on usenet Geoff wrote:
>>> On 19/02/2018 1:43 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
>>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>>> advertising. Cheers,
>>>>
>>>
>>> "A few hundred in Bitcoin" ? You'll need over NZ$14,000 to buy just
>>> one Bitcoin.
>>
>> You can buy less than a single bitcoin you know. I was hoping for
>> informed replies.
>
> What would you prefer to be informed of ? OK buy 1.4 Bitcents then.

You can buy as much or as little as you want.

I was hoping that someone who reads / posts here already had some bitcoin
and could tell me the name / URL of a legitimate site / dealer.

> Good luck.


Thank you - and to you too.

>>> And if you had bought one a month or so ago, you would have paid
>>> nearly $30K and by now halved your money.
>>>
>>> I'd think twice ....
>>
>> I've already thought 100 times. I had a grand I was going to put
>> into them five or six years ago but was advised against it...
>>
>
> Always best to buy when things are on the up, rather than when they
> start to look decidedly dodgy.
>
> geoff

Bitcoin has been so volatile lately that it's possible to make make *or*
lose money by the day. That said it's on an upward trend right now;

https://charts.bitcoin.com/chart/price
https://www.dailyfx.com/bitcoin

I didn't realise it was so difficult to find a legit site open to people
from NZ. After spending quite some time on teh webz I thought I might have
more luck here.

[~misfit~]

Thanks for the reply Gordon. I have some money right now that I'd rather not
have sitting around and am due a change of luck so hoped to invest. I think
there will be a correction after the recent drop. In the few days I've spent
trying to find out how to buy some bitcoin the price has gone up 15%.

Where have all the rest of the savvy posters gone? This group used to be an
excellent source of accurate informatuon.

[~misfit~]

I'd like to be able to use it as a currency. If I can also get it cheaper by
buying now rather than later then all the better.

I might have to resort to using a broker that Google serves up to me when I
search. I didn't want to do that but how else do I find a broker / wallet
that is good to go in NZ? The email addy I'm posting from is legit if anyone
from this group would rather contact me privately.

[geoff]

On 19/02/2018 8:59 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
> Once upon a time on usenet Gordon wrote:
>> On 2018-02-18, ~misfit~ <shaun.at...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Once upon a time on usenet ~misfit~ wrote:
>>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>>> advertising.
>>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> I read a few articles and saw Coinbase recommended so set up a
>>> 'wallet' with them only to find that they don't trade in NZ (yet -
>>> according to them).
>>>
>>> My luck's not been great of late so I'd like to be sure I'm dealing
>>> with a legitimate outfit.
>>>
>> You might be waiting awhile, misfit as this is part of the problem.
>> Bitcoin is so new that understanding by the masses is not high enough
>> to shut of fraudsters. Or the get rich fast crowd.
>
> Thanks for the reply Gordon. I have some money right now that I'd rather not
> have sitting around and am due a change of luck so hoped to invest. I think
> there will be a correction after the recent drop. In the few days I've spent
> trying to find out how to buy some bitcoin the price has gone up 15%.
>
> Where have all the rest of the savvy posters gone? This group used to be an
> excellent source of accurate informatuon.
>

Still is. Some choose to ignore it, lose their sense of humour, and
dream unrealistic dreams when their efforts could be focused on better
things rather than throwing away their limited resources. Or maybe not....

geoff

[~misfit~]

Maybe not indeed. My few hundred is *very* small beans compared with what
some have and are investing:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/how-iceland-became-the-bitcoin-miners-paradise
A (very) recent BBC programme went through warehouses in Iceland filled with
thousands upon thousands of rack mounted computers all 'mining' bitcoin.
Millions of dollars worth which use tens of thousands of dollars worth of
electricity every month and nobody's switching them off because of a slight
drop in price.

[geoff]

Bet who owns them sleeps well at night !

geoff

[Crash]

On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 20:59:14 +1300, "~misfit~"

<shaun.at...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Once upon a time on usenet Gordon wrote:
>> On 2018-02-18, ~misfit~ <shaun.at...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Once upon a time on usenet ~misfit~ wrote:
>>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>>> advertising.
>>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> I read a few articles and saw Coinbase recommended so set up a
>>> 'wallet' with them only to find that they don't trade in NZ (yet -
>>> according to them).
>>>
>>> My luck's not been great of late so I'd like to be sure I'm dealing
>>> with a legitimate outfit.
>>>
>> You might be waiting awhile, misfit as this is part of the problem.
>> Bitcoin is so new that understanding by the masses is not high enough
>> to shut of fraudsters. Or the get rich fast crowd.
>
>Thanks for the reply Gordon. I have some money right now that I'd rather not
>have sitting around and am due a change of luck so hoped to invest. I think
>there will be a correction after the recent drop. In the few days I've spent
>trying to find out how to buy some bitcoin the price has gone up 15%.
>
>Where have all the rest of the savvy posters gone? This group used to be an
>excellent source of accurate informatuon.

The posters here are typically techs. Investing in bitcoin (or
anything of a similar ilk) is primarily an *investment* decision.

From what I have been able to ascertain bitcoin is a tradable entity -
you buy and sell it - and although it is underpinned by technology,
its core is a commodity that is bought, exchanged or sold.

Uber is similar - a taxi or ride-share service underpinned by
technology (a proprietary phone app) but its still a taxi or
ride-share service.


--
Crash McBash

[~misfit~]

Primarilly yes. However being tech savvy would give you a big advantage when
trying to sort the legit outfits fron the scammers. Especially here in NZ.
It's easy in most larger countries.

> From what I have been able to ascertain bitcoin is a tradable entity -
> you buy and sell it - and although it is underpinned by technology,
> its core is a commodity that is bought, exchanged or sold.
>
> Uber is similar - a taxi or ride-share service underpinned by
> technology (a proprietary phone app) but its still a taxi or
> ride-share service.

Yep. I was just hoping that, with the tech component, at least one poster
here may have bought bitcoins and could advise me. (I remember staring a
discussion about bitcoins and the blockchain here quite a while back when I
was considering investing and there were quite a few replies... If I'd spent
$100 and bought 20 bitcoins back then when they were $5 each I might own my
own home now.)

Good to 'see' you, I hope that you're well. :)

[greybeard]

On 19/02/18 01:43, ~misfit~ wrote:
> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of paid ads
> and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than advertising.
>
> Cheers,
>

I have doubts about posting this being the sensible thing to do.
That said, you might try this forum for scraps of useful information.

https://www.sharetrader.co.nz/showthread.php?10558-Cryptocurrencies/page113


Be careful, devils, thieves and scam artists
dwell there....................

[greybeard]

OK, just found this ( while looking for something else :-)


https://buybullion.co/

[~misfit~]

Thanks Greybeard. I've signed up with NZBCX and oened an account. However
I'm not 'verified' yet so am still unable to buy bitcoin. I'm looking into
verification today but am a bit miffied it's taking so long. I had a hunch
ans since I started this thread bitcoin has gone up ~20% in value - I missed
that much already.

(Go here and click "1W' scale; https://www.coinbase.com/charts?locale=en )

I don't believe it's going to rocket up but was quite sure there would be a
correction upwards this week and, as my long term plans include getting some
anyway wanted to get in before this. That said I'm sure it's still going up
for a wee while yet...

[~misfit~]

Verification at NZBCX requires there to be a camera attched to the machine
you're using. I don't have one on either my desktop or laptop and when I
tried from my phone it didn't work, seems the browser doesn't have access to
the camera and couldn't work out how to fix that - for now.

I see bitcoin's trending downwards a little today.

[geoff]

On 21/02/2018 12:56 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
> Once upon a time on usenet greybeard wrote:
>> On 21/02/18 09:33, greybeard wrote:
>>> On 19/02/18 01:43, ~misfit~ wrote:
>>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>>> paid ads
>>>> and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>>> advertising. Cheers,
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have doubts about posting this being the sensible thing to do.
>>> That said, you might try this forum for scraps of useful information.
>>>
>>> https://www.sharetrader.co.nz/showthread.php?10558-Cryptocurrencies/page113
>>>
>>>
>>> Be careful, devils, thieves and scam artists
>>> dwell there....................
>>
>>
>> OK, just found this ( while looking for something else :-)
>>
>>
>> https://buybullion.co/
>
> Thanks Greybeard. I've signed up with NZBCX and oened an account. However
> I'm not 'verified' yet so am still unable to buy bitcoin. I'm looking into
> verification today but am a bit miffied it's taking so long. I had a hunch
> ans since I started this thread bitcoin has gone up ~20% in value - I missed
> that much already.

How much Bitcoin is the 'minimum purchase' ?

geoff

[Your Name]

On 2018-02-18 12:43:07 +0000, ~misfit~ said:
>
> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
> advertising.
>
> Cheers,

If you've got money to waste, then I got a snow skiing store in South
Florida and a scuba diving store in Tibet that you can "invest" in. ;-)

[~misfit~]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+much+Bitcoin+is+the+%27minimum+purchase%27+%3F

Let's say $10. There's really no point investing less and , depending on the
trader you go with there are likely flat fees of maybe US$5 per purchase.
You'll also maybe be paying an 'overseas currency' fee whereever you're
paying from.

Practically I'd say $100 - I don't see the point in buying less. I'll let
you know more when I know, I'm still working on getting a computer with a
reasonable camera up and running so I can pose holding my drivers licence to
verify my account (and the price has been trending down the last few days so
there's no real hurry - I'd like to get it done by months end though).

[~misfit~]

If I had money to *waste* I'd be shit-faced and/or pigging out, not asking
for advice here. ;-)

[geoff]

Don't LMGTFY me cheeky. It you who needs to know. Apparently.

Make a canny enough investment and maybe you'll be able to afford a
webcam or something of sufficient resolution for your purpose. But
that's putting the cart before the horse I guess, so you are a bit
stuck. Try PBTech - they might have something cheap and not too nasty.

.... if they'd accept just a digital a photo of a driving licence. I
would think (hope !) that for most things like that you'd need something
a little more reliable.

geoff

[~misfit~]

Heh! I already knew - sorry.

> Make a canny enough investment and maybe you'll be able to afford a
> webcam or something of sufficient resolution for your purpose. But
> that's putting the cart before the horse I guess, so you are a bit
> stuck. Try PBTech - they might have something cheap and not too
> nasty.
> .... if they'd accept just a digital a photo of a driving licence. I
> would think (hope !) that for most things like that you'd need
> something a little more reliable.

I fired up a laptop that I rarely use (as it eats too much dust for regular
use in a disabled persons home) that has a webcam and took the pics. It says
may take a day or two to have someone look them over then get back to me as
they're very busy right now. The price is still dropping so I don't mind. ;)

[geoff]

On 22/02/2018 11:20 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
..................

> It says
> may take a day or two to have someone look them over then get back to me as
> they're very busy right now.
>

> Cheers,
> Shaun.

Sounds very professional !

geoff

[geoff]

On 22/02/2018 5:31 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
> Once upon a time on usenet Your Name wrote:
>> On 2018-02-18 12:43:07 +0000, ~misfit~ said:
>>>
>>> Can someone please advise me? A google search comes up with lots of
>>> paid ads and I'd rather go by referral from someone I 'know' than
>>> advertising.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>
>> If you've got money to waste, then I got a snow skiing store in South
>> Florida and a scuba diving store in Tibet that you can "invest" in. ;-)
>
> If I had money to *waste* I'd be shit-faced and/or pigging out, not asking
> for advice here. ;-)
>

Hey Shaun,

Did you see this ?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/102228201/i-lost-more-money-in-bitcoin-than-most-people-will-earn-in-a-lifetime

I do realise you are not looking at gambling a large amount, and are not
greedy ;- )

geoff

[~misfit~]

Thanks for that. I gave up reading Stuff quite a while back. Interesting,
the headline is he lost 10 million but he's still up on his original
investment.

I didn't invest / buy any in the end. Too much trouble getting 'validated'
to buy any. It's not easy in NZ. Also a couple of weeks ago I found out that
I'll likely have to move from the house I've been living in for 15 years
(and thought I would be able to live in indefinately) next year.

I'm going to need every cent I can get for that, I've been hoarding
'projects' for ages (I have an irrational fear of having nothing to keep me
occupied) and am facing getting rid of loads of stuff as well as moving a
house-load of furnishings and whiteware etc. (if I can find somewhere to
live) when I struggle to lift 10kg and have no family to help or enough
money to pay movers.

So my cryptocurrency dreams are gone...

Cheers,

[Gordon]

On 2018-03-16, ~misfit~ <shaun.at...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for that. I gave up reading Stuff quite a while back. Interesting,
> the headline is he lost 10 million but he's still up on his original
> investment.
>
> I didn't invest / buy any in the end. Too much trouble getting 'validated'
> to buy any. It's not easy in NZ. Also a couple of weeks ago I found out that
> I'll likely have to move from the house I've been living in for 15 years
> (and thought I would be able to live in indefinately) next year.
>
> I'm going to need every cent I can get for that, I've been hoarding
> 'projects' for ages (I have an irrational fear of having nothing to keep me
> occupied) and am facing getting rid of loads of stuff as well as moving a
> house-load of furnishings and whiteware etc. (if I can find somewhere to
> live) when I struggle to lift 10kg and have no family to help or enough
> money to pay movers.

Moving house flat does bring out the irrational fear of I can not throw out
any stiuff, or not enough stuff. You find things you never knew you had and
after it is all over you realise that there was far too much stuff and you
still have more than enough.

As a flatmate said many years ago as we loaded up the nth trailer load of
rubbish. Moving is a great chance for a dung out. In those days it was not
so much of getting rid of stuff but rather, How did we collect so much is a
couple of years?

[~misfit~]

Once upon a time on usenet Gordon wrote:
> On 2018-03-16, ~misfit~ <shaun.at...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for that. I gave up reading Stuff quite a while back.
>> Interesting, the headline is he lost 10 million but he's still up on
>> his original investment.
>>
>> I didn't invest / buy any in the end. Too much trouble getting
>> 'validated' to buy any. It's not easy in NZ. Also a couple of weeks
>> ago I found out that I'll likely have to move from the house I've
>> been living in for 15 years (and thought I would be able to live in
>> indefinately) next year.
>>
>> I'm going to need every cent I can get for that, I've been hoarding
>> 'projects' for ages (I have an irrational fear of having nothing to
>> keep me occupied) and am facing getting rid of loads of stuff as
>> well as moving a house-load of furnishings and whiteware etc. (if I
>> can find somewhere to live) when I struggle to lift 10kg and have no
>> family to help or enough money to pay movers.
>
> Moving house flat does bring out the irrational fear of I can not
> throw out any stiuff, or not enough stuff. You find things you never
> knew you had and after it is all over you realise that there was far
> too much stuff and you still have more than enough.

Yep. It's made worse when your income dictates that you're highly unlikely
to ever be able to indulge in hobby projects again so you like to save them
for a 'rainy day'. I'm living in a run-down three bedroon house that's
fairly full of 'stuff' - and the rents cheap due to it's condition. For the
rent I can afford I'll be lucky to get a one bedroom flat. Scary shit.

I euthanised my aged axolotl yesterday so I can get rid of my aquarium stuff
now. I used to have lots of tanks and still have boxes of filters etc. but
the axolotl was the only tank I've had running recently. The axo had already
more than doubled their 'expected life span' and was almost as crippled as I
am. As well as not having to keep aquarium stuff around I also won't need to
go out and catch mightcrawlers for his food. That has become more and more
difficult lately.

> As a flatmate said many years ago as we loaded up the nth trailer
> load of rubbish. Moving is a great chance for a dung out. In those
> days it was not so much of getting rid of stuff but rather, How did
> we collect so much is a couple of years?

Heh! Know the feeling. I'll be pleased to get rid of a lot of my junk.
However my biggest fear is the move itself. It's a massive mountain when, as
it is I have to put off regular household chores because I'm too freakin'
sore. Getting *anything* done that isn't absolutely necessary, no matter how
small, usually results in increased pain and the need to lie down (then I
get fidgety, I hate enforced immobility!!!).

Oh well there's lots worse off...