yes, youre correct, its possible. the cool thing is, until it does crash (if so) you can set up a computer rig to "mine" crypto currency. you can really go crazy designing the hardware and storage systems, even basing everything off grid for extra precaution. IF it goes to hell, so be it...until then, you should understand right now is a "pre apple ipo-esque" almost-golden age of crypto. Imagine you could go back in time and buy apple stock on tbe day of their ipo....ehhh??

cryptos are the logical and inevitable foray of "currency" into 21st c. digital tech. Someone had to design a monetary unit to parallel traditional banking. The missing link until bitcoin was convincing savvy and cautious investors that their non-physical assets could be secured in a non-physical vault. Encrypting is our best choice to date for securing any non-physical-digital files. So...when encryption math finally achieved a track record over the past few decades, some mysterious people twiddled their keyboards and created a sweet architecture specifically for non-physical currency. Its all quite fascinating, since we are witnessing its evolution from day zero. Just like any investment portfolio, no one should go all-in with "cryptos". Learning a fine balance of different crypto options, each accruing interest in its own unique manner, is an artform.

mysterious indeed, the origins are completely murky and unverifiable. Just claims, no proof . Names without faces.

who created the usd?

Quantum computing is gonna render encryption obsolete

Don't invest what you can't lose.. it's a bigger ponzi than fiat. Someone will be left holding the bags sooner than later.

Seriously, could you tell a noob how to invest in crypto-currencies?

Way at happens when a currency, don't know the right term; splits, spawns, whatever happens' what does that mean?

the recent "split" was slang for a generic new category of cryptos that is more easily and specifically designed for converting to cash, so you can go to mcdonalds and spend 1/1000 btc on a coffee or whatever. "Spawn" is pretty much what it sounds like: the collective efforts of btc miners around the world create new units one at a time with their custom rigs, connected online with the overall architecture of the various currencies. To start investing, you get some form of a digital wallet, many companies to choose from, and your investments live and appreciate in the " safety " of the wallets you create. There are lots of different companies, and some are dominant at the moment. Like i mentioned, setting up your own computer with custom hardware to mine btc is an excellent decision, because the raw material/commodity stage of any global investment usually always pays handsomly when executed efficiently.

Are you into mining yourself? If so could you please pm me, Im curious and would like to get involved.

I WISH...hehehhh. I am not right now

You can get a rig, or parts, from [Crypton Rigs](www.cryptonrigs.com)

You can't just do it efficiently with any ol' computer, you need high-end GPU rig or ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) to justify the power and cost expended to be efficient enough to be profitable. Unless you have a large amount of capital to throw at a decent sized mining operation, it makes more sense to just buy whatever crypto you are interested in and holding on to it.

HODL

Haha yes! I was going to write hodl, but I thought it would just confuse the new initiate.

Thank you!

you are wrong sir, please stop spreading FUD!

yes, youre correct, its possible.

no no it's not possible

bitcoin is a DECENTRALIZED solution, go google what that means first

there is no database, like facebook has or google, it's distributed through the network, encrypted, safe

nobody owns bitcoin just like nobody owns a marvel movie after it's uploaded to piratebay

nobody can delete your coins either or your accounts

that being said, it's still not suitable for replacing FIAT currencies but the technology is interesting and the best things done with it are yet to come

if its not possible, then sink all your money into it

and that guarantees me that the price will go up? who owns it?

the price is going up as we speak. if you sink ALL your money now, and watch carefully for the next crash, cash out before any losses... YOU WIN

i don't see what that has to do with bitcoin having an owner/master or not

it's just standard market volatility, but it's a gamble one way or another

i appreciate that you answered op's specific questions. His main concern was highly merited however: what about a 100 year / 1000 yr event? EMP or CME rendering utility grids worthless. OP is rightfully cautious to explore all possibilities. My point to you is to test your theory of invincibility. Market volatility notwithstanding, the arguable most significant risks are hacker/cracker ponzi schemes and electricity / magnetic anomolies destroying base ifrastructure

dear lord, OP asked and I quoute

Is there a master, or an owner of lets say Ethereum, or Bitcoin?

What type of powers do they have? Do we know fully what capabilities they have?

to which you replied, yes yes they can

....

and now you're selling me a totally different story about EMP and whatnot ... I know these traps but that's not the debate here is it?

and now i'm the weird now because you have your own film what the debate is about even?

remember i thanked you for answering his questions? thats not a debate. If you didnt intend to impart invincibility onto an inherently risky and therefore valuable trading platform, i missed it. EMP can happen any day, and markets based entirely in electronic form are most vulnerable. OP is an admitted noob...no risk should go unmentioned, no matter how unlikely

No one owns them. But I believe if someone can control over 50% of bitcoin hashing power they can fuck shit up.

https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/658/what-can-an-attacker-with-51-of-hash-power-do

that's practically impossible

it's like saying i'm gonna build the biggest hosting datacenter, host half the internet, and then shut it all off .. mwhahaha

i mean you could, but not without billions of dollars

Actually, it has nearly happened at least once iirc. People pool hashing power into working groups.

And when that pool kept approaching 50%, people started selling off their Bitcoin forcing the pool to decrease in size.

This seemed pretty relevant. https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/689y1e/coreaxablockstream_cto_greg_maxwell_ceo_adam_back/?st=j6a9t8mf&sh=b7d4d32c

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http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-08-06/mysterious-trader-nearly-unlimited-bankroll-said-be-manipulating-bitcoin-price

It's all manipulated by bots and probably a few people. Not to say you can't make money off it, just be careful. Bad time to get in when price is skyrocketing IMO.

Upvoted because of last sentence.

In theory, yes it is possible to reverse transactions in crypto-currencies, even if there is no "owner" or central authority of the network. In practice, doing so is nearly equivalent to a force majeure. Technically, 50% of miners are always in control, and can do whatever they want. But they cannot exercise that control without dire economic consequences, so they don't.

But it has happened. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum does have an explicit leader (Vitalik Buterin), and has already split over the reversal of the supposed "theft" of a buggy contract that belonged to the Ethereum Foundation. So there is now Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

Bitcoin had a split several years back when an upgrade went badly, and was reverted. Some transactions were double-spent in that incident. I'm not sure how long those who decided to split over it maintained their client. But, as far as I know, interest eventually died out.

As far as I know, there is no "Mister Bitcoin." Control of various aspects of the Bitcoin network was deliberately divided among several well-known individuals. And then Satoshi disappeared.

transactions are irreversible without 3rd party escrow services

If you take the market cap of the top 100 Cryptos, you get about ~$135 Billion.
Just the top ten, it's about $110 Billion.

Meaning, the size is so small that someone with huge pockets can easily manipulate a particular currency or even a few currencies up or down as they wish.

Lately, I'm seeing a lot of positive buzz on Bitcoin in the MSM. CNBC is all over it for example. This scares me a bit as I suspect there's an agenda at play. The price moves are ridiculous and very unhealthy. People who know nothing about Cryptos are jumping onboard with borrowed money (credit cards). A flash crash will wipe out a lot of individuals.

According to some, Cryptos are being used to rob the masses. Others believe it is the future of money. I think it's both.

Cryptocurrency went through the expected phases:

Ridicule, bargaining and now acceptance. It's a technology and the early adopters will be greatly rewarded. Among these early adopters, you will find young tech-savvy people, but also bigger fish in the financial world. There's no clear group that's being "robbed".

The majority of crypto hash power is controlled by the Chinese Government

No one owns them or regulates them in the traditional sense. However, it is very easy to manipulate digital currencies if you own a significant portion of a coin as was demonstrated just recently with the ethereum fuckery.