I was just listening to a podcast on the history of money and the presenter made the obvious but important point that cryptocurrencies have not yet managed to break into the realm in which they really need to make inroads, namely a significant number of people using them as a fungible means of exchange to buy and sell stuff. He also believes that nation states are very unlikely indeed to give up their monopoly on money and so if crypto does start to go mainstream and challenge the $, €, £, 元 etc then govts will simply outlaw it in their markets. So, with that in mind, as they say on Dragons' Den...."I'm out".
Even the Google definition of “fungible” didn’t make sense until a little pictogram popped up. So, modern day barter, yes ? Andy
It’s certainly a nail biter, and not for the short term investor. You just need to stick some money in and leave it alone. And not keep checking what it’s worth! My investment has doubled, then reduced by 75%, and is now running at around 20% more than I put in. All in the space of around 8 months!
How do you get it out? I assume you have capital gains tax to pay on any profit? What’s the cost of cashing in? Any idea?
It’s very easy. I’ve bought mine through Revolut, but you can buy through PayPal. Once you hit the sell button, the funds appear in your account, which you can then withdraw to your bank account. And, yep, you have to pay capital gains on any profit.
How about a group buy-in scheme to spread the risk? £100 each investment increment, with a charge of £20 per person too the individual taking the responsibility of matters per year. With a minimum investment of 24mths before sell-option.
I bought a few small amounts of about £20 and had about £100 total in a wallet at blockchain.com. With these guys you actually buy Bitcoin or others coins yourself, that is you actually hold them in your own wallet, not part of a fund. You buy and own the actual things yourself. When Bitcoin went up to $10,000 a few years ago I sold my few ££ worth for £2,000 in two transactions on this site, and the money from the sales was paid into my bank account that is linked to this site. So once all set up you can buy and sell using the bank account associated with your credentials and user account. The cash from the sale of the Bitcoin took a few days to arrive in my bank account - but sure enough it arrived. These guys have been going a long time. I remember when they were just a wallet but now you can buy and sell completely within the platform. Expect some Customer Due Diligence (CDD) requirements . I took a picture of a utility bill and a selfie holding my passport. This is all easily done - they send you a link with your phone and it uploads. Doing CDD is normal to open bank accounts and is nothing out of the ordinary. The login is multi factor and you have to confirm log in on your phone - that sort of thing. People understand that governments are printing money. The Green future - whatever - is going to cost the US $130 Trillion over ten years - estimated by Bank of America. It will probably cost vastly more. It could cost 100 times more. That is a lot of government printed money. The west is also on board. So western governments have committed to huge and massive issuance of debts and printed money. That is why money is pouring into this as ordinary people can see what is already happening to government printed money. When people have lost their Bitcoin kept on a hard drive for example - it stays lost forever. That is proof that it cannot be manipulated. If it could be manipulated you could get it back if it was lost. It is your call.
You can buy and sell crypto currency at anytime day or night. There is still money to be made but not as quickly as in the early days. Forex is another good bet if you do your research with returns of 4% compounded monthly interest if you have the leads. No tax liability either.
Forex is a grey area and is classed as gambling. My business partner has six figures invested in Forex and has spoken to HMRC and as of today there is no official tax liability.
