Topic: Losing faith - page 4. (Read 6749 times)

Absolutely agree with wachtwoord, new users in bitcoin world looks at it with a complete different perspective but it's much more and bigger than it
and do not lose hope we still are the early adopters there's still much more to come to it.

When you lose faith, remind yourself how the protocol is designed and be impressed with the elegance once more.

I stand corrected. I actually meant to say he thinks he missed the boat.

2015 should be fun for people that accumulate a few bitcoins in 2014 because most big news will benefit Bitcoin


He thinks he missed the boat but he didn't since there is the potential of a 10,000profit

Markets do not and cannot move in a straight line. This correction has been natural and healthy. If bitcoin was really a ponzi scheme, the price would be much lower right now, $50 and less, but the current price is very promising.

I mean volatility. My point is that if everyone sells, then the price drops and you get more loss. If everyone buys, you get less coins. Both ways you lose and the tax credit is trivial.

Wow, very nice site! Thanks for the link.

Depends.  If you're buying Bitcoin as an investment, this makes sense.  If you planned on spending your Bitcoin on a regular basis (using it as a currency, which is the whole point), just be prepared to report all liquidations to the IRS (even coffee).  Will they find out about small transactions?  Probably not.  Larger ones may attract their attention.  Be careful who you brag to, because the IRS is now giving cash rewards to people who report "tax cheats".  Also, if you play around on a non-US exchange like Bitstamp, you would be foolish to assume the IRS doesn't already have a list of US traders who have gone through the account verification process.  If there's one government institution you do not want to mess with, it is the IRS.

Sidenote, whether or not FATCA applies to foreign Bitcoin exchanges is still in limbo.  This will probably be resolved in the first round of Bitcoin IRS audits coming down the pipe.

In the eyes of the IRS, the exchange of BTC for goods or services is a taxable event.  Surprised more wasn't made of this when the IRS announced this early 2014.

No, the point is to get rid of extra capital gains in other assets WHILE maintaining the same number of bitcoin as you want.
Basically, you are replacing bitcoins bought during the year with bitcoins that you are buying in Nov28-Nov 30 timeframe.

Lose money just so you can claim to lose money. If everyone did that it would be musical chairs and you would be left without a chair.

If you want to take losses in bitcoin this year, there is one interesting strategy that I have seen described on stock boards.
1. You buy whatever the number of bitcoins you want to keep on or before November 30 (Nov 29, 28).
2. You sell previously bought bitcoins (those that you bought before those that you buy in #1) on December 31.
3. You claim loss in BTC trade against your other capital gains for the year until ALL such gains are gone+$3000
4. You should not buy any new bitcoin until after Jan 31 so you don't have wash sales.

Result: you will have newly bought bitcoins, but you reduce your tax on other capital gains if you had them (plus $3000)

Hey Zeurpiet... I'm in the same boat as you, as I believe probably a lot of people around here are.

Anyone who heard about bitcoin (or, like me, who'd heard about it earlier but only finally began to take it seriously) only AFTER the last big run-up a year ago, is likely in the same situation.

It kinda sucks, yeah, but y'know just looking at the past price charts I figured something out for myself that's helped me a lot in coping with it.

Seems to me, most assets or investment vehicles that we are familiar with (stocks, etc) follow a typical long term pattern of slow, incremental increases with occasional periodic big-drop crashes.

It's like most investments go:
a little up,
a little up,
a little up,
a little up... then
BIG BOOM DOWN (but not below starting point), then again...
a little up,
a little up,
a little up... etc.

Bitcoin, in contrast, seems to me like it's following the exact opposite behavior.

Bitcoin goes thru these incredible periodic huge but infrequent 10X-SPIKES UP... then it calms down and goes thru normal price-falling periods, like:
a little down,
a little down,
a little down,
a little down... and then,
BAM!!  Huge 10X Spike UP!!!  Then again...
a little down,
a little down,
a little down... etc.

It's difficult to cope with this, unless & until you can SEE (and believe in) this patten.

Because what this all boils down to is, unfortunately, MOST OF THE TIME the price of bitcoin on a day to day, even month to month basis, WILL USUALLY BE GOING DOWN.

As the price is usually falling, ya just gotta get into a mindset of just buying buying buying and HOLD ON ("hodl" LOL)

Just accumulate as much BTC as you can... at any prices, so that when that next big spike finally comes, you'll benefit from one of those 10-X, ten-baggers, and then you won't care about the short term BTC price day to day anymore, LOL

Of course, that "next 10x spike" may never come... that's the risk we take. 

But I think there's a pretty good chance it will show up, one way or another, sooner or later.

I myself have never yet lived thru one of these 10X events but here's hoping it'll still happen. 

Hodl, Hodl, Hodl... 

How do you claim losses if you don't sell your bitcoins for less than you paid for them?

This. Also, you are assuming that you'll have any BTC-related income to report. I think, for most people this year, the IRS provisions are a Godsend because they can now claim losses.

I dont think so.  You are required to pay capital gains tax at the end of the year.  Who said you need to report all conversions? 

What did it for me was, as a US citizen, having to report all conversions of BTC to the IRS.  BTC -> USD, BTC -> gold, BTC -> dinner .. all require IRS disclosure.  Basically, it makes Bitcoin irrelevant as a "currency" if you plan on following the rules.  Well played, IRS, well played.

Maybe cause it's a bubble?

An "asset" with no intrinsic value???

Best to sell now before it gets to zero.

and weed, don't forget the weed

Yeah, but miners only buy hookers and blow.