There are bona fide millionaires of cryptos and some of them cashing out. Charlie Lee just did last December, the creator of LTC. Reasons why they are not cashing out (by the way it is rather easy): 1. They are true believers, and they think it will go to the Moon. 2. They cash out only as much as they need. Remember these are geeks with not much of a life experience/needs. 3. Tax reasons. Cashing out all at once might not be a wise choice.
In 367 days cashing out 3 times, one can stretch taxes into 3 different calendar years. So someone cashing out on: 2016 Dec 31st, anytime late in 2017 and 2018 Jan 1st that is practically 1 year length but 3 different taxing calendar years. And his investment returns would be still damn good.
Cashing out at 19K and pay taxes is cheaper then cashing out now at 9K and pay also (less) taxes. At 9K taxes are replaced by a loss of over 50%. taxes are lower I think.
Sure but on Dec 31st 2016 nobody knew it would go up to 19K. Once the rally was under way in 2017 it was worthy to wait until the end of the year and when the top was in for sure, in January it was obvious that a quick cash out is the best tax policy.
I agree with you, just telling that the tax argument is not sure at all. I agree that in hindsight things are always very clear.
You don't understand, intrinsic value is irrelevant when it comes to cryptocurrencies, it's all about utility. "Satoshi was very clear that Bitcoin’s utility of being a medium of exchange is what gives it value. By being valuable through utility, is what makes Bitcoin also be a store of value." The only relevance intrinsic value has is when investors lose confidence, there's no intrinsic value support level where buyers come back into the market. This contributes to overall market volatility.
The network effect and different coins/block chains are geared towards a different purpose. "However, from a general point of view, Bitcoin and Ethereum differ in purpose. While Bitcoin is created as an alternative to regular money and is thus a medium of payment transaction and store of value, Ethereum is developed as a platform which facilitates peer-to-peer contracts and applications via its own currency vehicle. While Bitcoin and Ether are both digital currencies, the primary purpose of Ether is not to establish itself as a payment alternative (unlike Bitcoin) but to facilitate and monetize the working of Ethereum to enable developers to build and run distributed applications (ĐApps)." Bitcoin Vs Ethereum: Driven by Different Purposes https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/031416/bitcoin-vs-ethereum-driven-different-purposes.asp#ixzz567mNULbr
Bitcoin is probably a bubble but what's your issue with people living with their parents? You sound like a baby boomer frustrated about the fact that the millennials don't follow your societal rules. They look at a house as an extra expense but more than that, something that robs you of your time and energy. If they can get along with their parents and have reasonable privacy in their "mom's basement", more power to them. They don't waste time cutting grass outside just to adhere to some opaque suburban rules of what's pretty. That's time saved right there. I'm a millennial and from people I know, no millennial is proud to have a house/apartment anymore, for good reasons. Many geniuses have lived with parents. Grigory Perelman in Russia turned down $1m after solving one of the most difficult mathematical problems of all time. He lives with his mother. In the end it sounds like you're just infuriated that what you consider an achievement (getting a house) is not recognized as anything anymore, time have moved on. Remember, ghetto gangbangers with an IQ of 80 also have houses, so it's really not a big deal in any sense. Disclaimer: I don't live in my mom's basement.
Living in moms basement is fine for singles or even couples for a few years. great way to save money. But it is no place to raise kids (if that is what you want).