[Roosh]

For this thread, explain things like the questioner is 5 years old.

First question: I'm using Electrum for Bitcoin. What's the best way to set the transaction fee to aim for low cost while ensuring the transaction eventually goes through? I'm in no rush.

There's this page that suggests anything above 0.0001 mBTC/byte (10 satoshis/byte) will go through:

https://bitcoinfees.earn.com/

Is therefore setting a fee of 0.0001 mBTC/byte safe?

[Leonard D Neubache]

I appreciate you making this thread and I hope some of the gurus will contribute.

My personal questions are these.

a) Is it reasonable to run all your trading through a smartphone.
b) Have the markets become buy/sell intensive to make money or can you still drop some cash in something like bitcoin, forget about it and see good returns in 6 months to a year.

I know nobody has a functioning crystal ball but I'd happily settle for a best guess.

[Roosh]

What does "sweep private key" mean in the contact of a wallet app like Electrum?

[Olav]

(12-03-2017 10:55 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

What does "sweep private key" mean in the contact of a wallet app like Electrum?

It means if you had a private key saved on Paper from a previous wallet (i.e. a backup) which you lost, you can "sweep" it on Electrum to restore the coins from that wallet to this one.

[Roosh]

(12-03-2017 11:11 AM)Olav Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 10:55 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

What does "sweep private key" mean in the contact of a wallet app like Electrum?

It means if you had a private key saved on Paper from a previous wallet (i.e. a backup) which you lost, you can "sweep" it on Electrum to restore the coins from that wallet to this one.

Without incurring any transaction fees, correct?

Without the private key remain the same? I'm guessing not since you have to create a new wallet on Electrum to use the sweep option.

[Pinocchio]

(12-03-2017 08:53 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

I appreciate you making this thread and I hope some of the gurus will contribute.

My personal questions are these.

a) Is it reasonable to run all your trading through a smartphone.
b) Have the markets become buy/sell intensive to make money or can you still drop some cash in something like bitcoin, forget about it and see good returns in 6 months to a year.

I know nobody has a functioning crystal ball but I'd happily settle for a best guess.

Bitcoin is up about 1400% this year.

[pants]

(12-03-2017 11:24 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 11:11 AM)Olav Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 10:55 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

What does "sweep private key" mean in the contact of a wallet app like Electrum?

It means if you had a private key saved on Paper from a previous wallet (i.e. a backup) which you lost, you can "sweep" it on Electrum to restore the coins from that wallet to this one.

Without incurring any transaction fees, correct?

Without the private key remain the same? I'm guessing not since you have to create a new wallet on Electrum to use the sweep option.

Lets say bitcoins are locked behind doors. Only way to move them is if you have they key, aka "private key" behind a door "public key".

Someone gives you a key so you have access to the bitcoins behind the door.

You can import these bitcoins by addings this key to your keychain or wallet as its called in crypto.

However, you have no reason to know if he have other keys. So the safest thing would be to move them to a place where you know you are in control of the keys.

This operation within crypto would be called "sweeping". You are emptying one address, and moving them to an address you are in control.

Import = add a key to a wallet, bitcoins stay where they are.
Sweep = add bitcoins to a wallet, bitcoins gets moved form one address to another.

AFAIK

[Royalist and Legitimist]

What is your preferred online exchange for bitcoin trading?

[MikeS]

(12-03-2017 04:08 PM)Royalist and Legitimist Wrote:  

What is your preferred online exchange for bitcoin trading?

GDAX for BTC/EUR (or USD, GBP) and ETH/EUR, ETH/BTC. They also have Litecoin pairings with fiat and BTC.
It's the Coinbase exchange so crypto or fiat can be deposited and withdrawn instantly at no fees between Coinbase and GDAX.
There are also no trading fees if you only use limit orders.

Bittrex for a pretty comprehensive list of altcoins.

(Disclaimer: I've only been in crypto for a couple of months.)

[Dvorak]

(12-03-2017 02:46 PM)pants Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 11:24 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 11:11 AM)Olav Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 10:55 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

What does "sweep private key" mean in the contact of a wallet app like Electrum?

It means if you had a private key saved on Paper from a previous wallet (i.e. a backup) which you lost, you can "sweep" it on Electrum to restore the coins from that wallet to this one.

Without incurring any transaction fees, correct?

Without the private key remain the same? I'm guessing not since you have to create a new wallet on Electrum to use the sweep option.

Lets say bitcoins are locked behind doors. Only way to move them is if you have they key, aka "private key" behind a door "public key".

Someone gives you a key so you have access to the bitcoins behind the door.

You can import these bitcoins by addings this key to your keychain or wallet as its called in crypto.

However, you have no reason to know if he have other keys. So the safest thing would be to move them to a place where you know you are in control of the keys.

This operation within crypto would be called "sweeping". You are emptying one address, and moving them to an address you are in control.

Import = add a key to a wallet, bitcoins stay where they are.
Sweep = add bitcoins to a wallet, bitcoins gets moved form one address to another.

AFAIK

Yes.

Public key = your address
Private key = "The key to the house" --> sufficient to retrieve your public key
Wallet = software that handles management of keys, transfers etc...

A sweep will lead to a transaction cost because you are transferring fro one address to another.
Not all wallets allow you to import a private key though. I know you can do it in blockchain.info.

[h3ltrsk3ltr]

https://medium.freecodecamp.org/explain-...b4257ac833

[villageindian]

Here is a primer on using Electrum wallet. The only issue with Electrum is to NOT use it on a public computer as it may have a key logger installed to track every keystroke.

If you have the money, consider getting a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger Nano S which is much safer and secure. Even if the drive breaks, you can restore it onto a new Ledger quickly.

[villageindian]

(12-03-2017 08:53 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

I appreciate you making this thread and I hope some of the gurus will contribute.

My personal questions are these.

a) Is it reasonable to run all your trading through a smartphone.

Assuming you're doing this through an exchange, you can do this via a smartphone. But ensure that the exchange supports 2-factor authentication to verify money transfer and account transactions. Once you complete the transaction, you can consider transferring it to a hardware wallet for security.

[Dvorak]

(12-04-2017 10:11 AM)villageindian Wrote:  

Here is a primer on using Electrum wallet. The only issue with Electrum is to NOT use it on a public computer as it may have a key logger installed to track every keystroke.

If you have the money, consider getting a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger Nano S which is much safer and secure. Even if the drive breaks, you can restore it onto a new Ledger quickly.

I second that. Get a hardware (HW) wallet like the Trezor or Ledger Nano S upfront. The Ledger is pretty cheap (got mine for 70 euro including transport) and does the job... It's the safest option by far and will give you ease of mind. Trezor will ship a new device (model T) at the start of next year, so if you want to get the latest and greatest, you can wait a bit but will be more expensive as well (150 euro).

I advice everyone to take a couple of days and study up on computer safety. Cyber crime will grow very hard the coming years and everyone is at risk, especially if you have crypto assets and you aren't that computer-savvy. A lot of people are getting hacked now. I haven't heard of anyone that uses a HW wallet that got hacked.

[Roosh]

What determines the byte size of a Bitcoin transaction. Is it just the amount of Bitcoin you're trying to send?

[redonion]

What is the technology behind hardware wallets and how they recover your bitcoins?

I have a friend who physically lost his Trezor, but was able to recover all of his coins via his 30-word passphrase and a new Trezor. This makes me think that the coins aren't physically stored on an individual Trezor, and there must be some central registry somewhere for him to do the recovery. If this is true, doesn't this contradict the security features of a hardware wallet? What would happen if Trezor closed shop and went out of business?

[pants]

they are stored cryptated, only to be unlocked with a PIN.
The passphrase 30 word will generate a set of addresses.
There is no central storage.
Lose your trezor, you are safe with your backup.

Lose both, and you lost your coins

[Noir]

(12-03-2017 08:53 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

a) Is it reasonable to run all your trading through a smartphone.

I am averse to using smartphones apart from checking my balance (will explain later).

Smartphones are off-putting because:
- I can't fit as much information on a mobile phone screen as a monitor/laptop screen
- It takes longer because it's easier to do on the computer
- Most exchanges don't have apps
- I don't feel technologically comfortable on a smartphone, my PC has a bunch of measures against phishing, malware, etc. that my smartphone probably doesn't have
- I wouldn't even jerk off on my smartphone so why use it to transact high amounts of money?

If you just buy some BTC/ETH or whatever tickles your fancy, you won''t need to use a smartphone, you will just be checking prices.

I use my smartphone to check my balances that I input myself (no transactions occuring) on an app such as Blockfolio or Delta. That just lets me put in x amount of BTC, y amount of ETH and track it over time. They have the grand majority of coins and it's easier to just open the app and have the info appear instead of a laptop or whatever.

Quote:

b) Have the markets become buy/sell intensive to make money or can you still drop some cash in something like bitcoin, forget about it and see good returns in 6 months to a year.

It's a bit of both to be honest.

You could invest in certain currencies/coins that are underpriced and sell them after they make a decent profit but it's generally speculation.

Trying to day-trade is tough considering you're going up against whales (people who have enough volume and $$ to drive prices up or down for their profit) or trading bots which automatically set buy and sell walls to slow down or increase momentum.

This is a difficult speculation to make. If I answered this a month ago, I would tell you that I think 2018 will see growth in other cryptocurrencies which may beat BTC on a %.

I still believe this but good ol' BTC is doing well. People overestimate the penetration of BTC because I think that anyone who is financially savvy will buy in sooner or later. Thing is, financially savvy people aren't exactly in high supply as a lot of them don't have money to invest in BTC.

You can definitely just hold BTC with confidence considering:

- its gains aren't always mutually exclusive to other cryptocurrencies and trading due to it's sheer market cap %

- it's outperformed trading and holding other currencies thus far in the past 6 months; your portfolio would have a higher % ROI if you just held BTC over the past 6 months than the majority of coins. e.g. ratio of BTC to ETH/LTC/XMR

- most of the fiat entering the cryptocurrency market is to Bitcoin and gives it brilliant liquidity and a lot of buying power to drive price up. A lot of newcomers are impatient and don't bother to time an entry or look at cycles.

- BTC is deflationary. There will be 21 million BTCs ever mined, we are currently at approximately 16.7 million mined so far. The reward that is 'mined' is halved every 4 years. Given that it's demand is increasing and it's supply is increasing, theoretically it makes sense. All BTCs will be mined by 2140.

There's a few more reasons but you could definitely just hold BTC if that's all you want to do.

That being said, this current growth is due to BTC 'overcoming' internal politics between mining groups, certain standards they aimed for, disagreements and a whole bunch of drama.

As it's a 'small community' its scrutinzed much more than any other market (commodities, bonds, stocks whatever) that it's price can fluctuate a lot.

A lot of the mining 'cartels' also have a lot of weight to throw around and this is unhealthy for the future of it. I read an article claiming that all mining will be centralized within 2 or so years given the current trajectory. It's the climate change of Bitcoin.

There's plenty of interesting and fantastic technologies out there so it's worth a research as you could hold ETH, NEO, XMR or a whole array of other things instead.

BTC is the original gateway drug though and it's price will only go up on a long enough scale. There's lot of talks of a bubble forming (within a bubble even) so perhaps look at the prices and consider if it's reasonable or not. Don't put money into it that you're not willing to lose.

I'm not sure of your familiarity with this topic so let me know if the above makes sense.

[yaku]

(12-04-2017 03:17 PM)pants Wrote:  

they are stored cryptated, only to be unlocked with a PIN.
The passphrase 30 word will generate a set of addresses.
There is no central storage.
Lose your trezor, you are safe with your backup.

Lose both, and you lost your coins

I have a Ledger S, but am looking at getting an encrypted USB for files and other stuff that I want protected. Is there a danger of keeping a 30 word seed on that encrypted USB?

https://www.kingston.com/us/usb/encrypte...ty/IKS1000

[pants]

When you open up your seed phrase on a USB in plain text, if someone are spying on your screen, they will then see it.
Thats why many recommend to keep the seed phrase analog.
Its a security feature where you need both the seed phrase and a password to restore a backup of a wallet.
Thats gotta be very secure. Biggest risk with this is you forget your password. Or you lose access to the seed phrase.

You could store the seed phrase in two locations though. So even if your house burns down, the seed phrase is still stored in another location.

Its debatable whats the best security precautions.

If you chose to go the digital way, encrypt it with VeraCrypt, store it on multiple locations. Dropbox / Google Drive.
If you ever need to open this file, ill recomend to do it on a system that has not been compromized. Clean linux installation.
Offline decryption.


Too secure, risk of locking yourself out.
Not secure enough, someone get access to it.

This is just my thoughts, securtity expert might think differently.

[MikeS]

(12-04-2017 03:09 PM)redonion Wrote:  

What is the technology behind hardware wallets and how they recover your bitcoins?

I have a friend who physically lost his Trezor, but was able to recover all of his coins via his 30-word passphrase and a new Trezor. This makes me think that the coins aren't physically stored on an individual Trezor, and there must be some central registry somewhere for him to do the recovery. If this is true, doesn't this contradict the security features of a hardware wallet? What would happen if Trezor closed shop and went out of business?

The "central registry" is the blockchain that's the technology behind cryptocurrencies.
Read up on it or wait for someone here more knowledgeable than me to give a brief primer (assuming that's even possible in less than a few pages), but as far as I've rudimentarily understood it and remember it, it's (and many cryptocurrencies have their own blockchain technology so there can be differences) a decentralized ledger consisting of blocks of data - transaction and various other things, for Ethereum for instance it can also be executable program code - connected into a chain, and it's pretty much impossible to go back and change individual blocks because that would mean having to modify every single connected block in the chain to reflect changes.

As such hacking attempt of blockchains would be prohibitively expensive in computation power, just like crypto mining energy costs are now higher than those of some individual countries.

The wallet is... I think someone used the term keychain earlier?... to your data, addresses, transactions etc. on the blockchain. And it can thus be restored with your seed to any wallet that supports the same encryption standards for the seed.

[Genghis Khan]

(12-04-2017 02:02 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

What determines the byte size of a Bitcoin transaction. Is it just the amount of Bitcoin you're trying to send?

It's a bit complex as each transaction has inputs (where the BTC comes from), output (where it goes) and stuff like signatures to validate transaction.

But the actual Bitcoin amount - no, that won't change the size of the transaction. So sending a million BTC versus sending 0.000001 BTC won't change the size of the transaction (all other things being equal).

However let's say you were to hold a RVF appreciation contest and the winners each got a BTC. You could create a transaction with one input (your BTC) and 10 outputs (the addresses of the 10 individuals). This would increase the size of the transaction.

Miners get paid for the transactions they confirm in a block. Block sizes are limited, so they typically pick the best transactions to add based on transaction fee/kB.

Hope that answers your question.

[Genghis Khan]

(12-03-2017 08:53 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

I appreciate you making this thread and I hope some of the gurus will contribute.

My personal questions are these.

a) Is it reasonable to run all your trading through a smartphone.
b) Have the markets become buy/sell intensive to make money or can you still drop some cash in something like bitcoin, forget about it and see good returns in 6 months to a year.

I know nobody has a functioning crystal ball but I'd happily settle for a best guess.

Hey Leonard,

a) what do you mean with trading? Some people trade very actively (daily) while others like me just buy and hold. If you're trading very actively, smartphones may not be the best choice - there's a higher probability you accidentally type in the wrong number and loss a massive amount of money. It's called 'fat-fingering' and there's quite a few stories around.

If you're planning on just buying, holding for a long time and the. selling, Coinbase is a great option. They currently only have BTC, ETH and LTC. That said, if you have a Coinbase account - you automatically can login into GDax (an exchange, aka where you can do a lot of active trading).

Coinbase has a smartphone app, which I recommend. It's very easy to use and a create way to get your feet wet.

b) I think there's still plenty of opportunity for growth. A lot of people believe 2018 will be a big year. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. That said, my opinion (and this is purely mine):

I think Bitcoin will probably see a big rise in the next few months, if not years - however I think long-term it's going to lose out to Ethereum. I'm sure people will disagree, and in general too there are some people who thinks it's ALL a big bubble waiting to pop. Though I think Ethereum especially will be huge.

But yeah if you buy BTC or ETH right now, I'd be very surprised if you can't make a good profit in the next 2-3 years (it might take a year, or barely a month, but the prices will go up).

(And for full disclosure the vast majority of my stack is in Ethereum, so yes I'm biased).

[Leonard D Neubache]

Are there any good wallet options for linux users that don't involve running windows emulators?

I run basic zorin but I haven't gotten into any of the command prompt stuff.

[Genghis Khan]

(12-04-2017 10:39 PM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

Are there any good wallet options for linux users that don't involve running windows emulators?

I run basic zorin but I haven't gotten into any of the command prompt stuff.

How do you feel about online wallets?

Blockchain.info is very simple to use and supports both BTC and ETH.

Myetherwallet (MEW) is outstanding, very smooth when Ethereum has its updates and a very easy user interface as well (literally it's two step process to create a wallet: 1. Press create wallet, 2. Save private key).