Hi guys! I am a big cryptocurrency fan and thought I would like to share my knowledge with everyone as too often the lack of knowledge is being used to scam people such as unethical Ponzi/pyramid schemes like OneCoin, Capricoin, Utoken, MMM, Bitclubnetwork, BitKingdom, Coinbit, AviaBitcoin that use Bitcoin to evade BNM regulations by accepting Bitcoin deposits only.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies and I'll be happy to answer.

To begin with here's an introduction to the top 10 cryptocurrencies accurate as of today in terms of market capitalization.

SUMMARY OF TOP 10 CRYPTO CURRENCIES IN TERMS OF MARKETCAP

1. Bitcoin (6.3 bil market cap) The first decentralised cryptocurrency. Most merchant adoption and public awareness. Currently going through some disagreements on how to upgrade it to handle increased transaction load.

2. Ethereum (757 mil market cap) Very hot new crypto. Doesn't seek to be a currency but as a decentralised platform for applications to run. For e.g. self executing contracts that once placed in, will auto perform it upon conditions being met free from third party interference. Recently enjoyed a huge boost in price.

3. Ripple (271 mil) More aimed at banks/financial institutions and payment networks as a settlement infrastructure technology. This allows banks to settle with each other quickly at low cost reducing transaction fees.

4. Litecoin (145 mil) Used to be the no.2 cryptocurrency. Was the first altcoin that hoped to make transaction times faster and for mining to be decentralized. However these improvements have been replaced by better solutions in other coins. Development has slowed a lot and has not developed any innovative features in a while. However, still a lot of people invested in it which keeps it alive.

5. MaidSafe (45 mil): Recently gained a lot in price. Intends to replace centralized datacenters by building a fully decentralized data and communication network. That means people who participate in MaidSafe allow part of their computers to be used by other people in the network be it computing power/disk space. For e.g. it's like Dropbox except that instead of being held in Dropbox centres, your data is spread throughout the network by everyone who uses MaidSafe too in a safe and encrypted way.

6. Dash (26.6 mil): Aims to compete directly with Bitcoin as a digital curency by solving all major problems that Bitcoin has. This means instant transactions, anonymous transactions and eventually decentralized payment processors and easy to use APIs. Has a self governance model that allows stake holders to vote on the future and direction of Dash (unlike Bitcoin which relies on miners and core devs). One of the few currencies that derives its funding from its own blockchain.

7. Dogecoin (23.6 mil): Started out as a joke coin and has almost the same features as Litecoin. Fun and wide community support but little in the way of revolutionary features. One of the earlier cryptocurrencies.

8. Factom (19.7 mil): Aims to be the premier solution for records management and notarial services. For e.g. in medical records, supply chain management, voting systems, property titles. It creates an immutable audit trail. Whereas Bitcoin's blockchain stores transactions, Factom is designed to store any data.

9. NEM (15.2 mil): Experienced a huge gain in price recently. Doesn't require mining and uses POI. Has integrated messaging and multi-signature. Distributed its coins through a crowd sale. Secure messaging. Aims to be the premier solution for creating your own tokens, ledger system, asset listing without having to maintain or create your own blockchain.

10. Monero (11.6 mil): Monero focuses on privacy with privacy at its very core. Unlike other blockchains which are transparent and publicly viewable, Monero's blockchain is opaque meaning people cannot trace your payments.

HOW DO YOU GET BITCOINS?

Get yourself a proper wallet. For Android, I recommend Mycelium, for iOS I recommend Breadwallet. For desktop usage, I recommend Multibit HD or Electrum.

You can technically also mine them but you won't get much in most cases for it to be meaningful unless you have a lot of money and a source of cheap electricity.

You can grab them off Malaysian exchanges or through trading groups.

These are the three I trust:
Coinbox Fastest deposits and withdrawals. Malaysian company. 1% fee on withdrawals but free trading.
BitX Great mobile app and website. Competitive market. 1% fee on taker.
Coinhako Buy and sell Bitcoins easily.

Although I trust them, they are by no means foolproof as regulatory approval is a bit grey. Trading groups can also be very risky so as a newbie I would advise sticking to the exchanges.

This post has been edited by Reuben: Jun 7 2016, 10:23 AM

if u r infected with ransomware, u will most likely be asked to pay up in bitcoin. so no. bitcoin is evil.

This is a strange assertion given that ransoms, bribes, drugs, prostitution are all paid in normal currency and cold hard cash as well. I would say that the volume of illegal activity using cash is several times much higher than Bitcoin ;P So by your analogy, all money is evil (which maybe true) ;P

As with anything, it's up to you how to use a tech. Like with a knife, I can either use it to cut my vegetables or to kill someone. Don't blame the technology, but the user.

If you think cryptocurrencies are bad, google up fractional reserve banking and let me know what you think of our fiat currencies as well ;P

Banks themselves are looking into the underlying tech of Bitcoin and implementing it into their own system to facilitate quick and easy transfers (no more 1-3 working days telegraphic transfer). Check out R3 CEV.

This post has been edited by Reuben: Mar 8 2016, 07:17 PM

How do I mine Bitcoins on my PC? What software would I need to use?

Currently mining Bitcoin with a regular pc even with a powerful gpu is pointless. You need specialised hardware called Asic machines to gain a decent amount. Such hardware are several thousand times more efficient than using a computer and you won't cover your electricity cost if you do using a pc.

There are other coins that are still OK to be mined as a hobby using a good gpu such as Ethereum where there aren't Asics developed for it yet.

If you're looking at getting miners you can look at www.bitmaintech.com. I also can sell mine as well but don't expect to be rich the days of quick profits of mining are over unless you have a huge facility.

what do you think of future of bitcoin?

Not planning on mining on my PC. Just curious as to what software can be used.

reuben, been a fan of bolehvpn since few years ago.

what currency do u foresee that is upcoming in trend ? what i mean is basically which crypto currency do u foresee that will make a big hit say, in 5-6 years time ?

Roller coasters

since gpu mining is way slower, then what do you use? any ideas how to start?

pointless, youll be competing with china mining factories.

i still prefer cold hard cash...

That's a good question and frankly I don't know. There are many other coins that work better than bitcoin in many ways and with the recent debate on how to scale bitcoin has shown it's weaknesses. But there has been huge amounts of money poured into Bitcoin and whole ecosystems built around it so I don't think it will just die. It remains to be seen if it will continue to hold the number 1 spot but I think its place is quite secure in the next few years.

Ayam use btc to buy ahem ahem then cia knock at my door Dafuq

This post has been edited by cocbum4: Mar 8 2016, 07:34 PM

I think NEM and Dash are pretty cool and have invested in them. So far already doubled my initial investments in less than a year. Ethereum is interesting but I think it has been hyped a bit too much. I'm still bullish on it in the short term.

Thanks for being a fan of Bolehvpn!

I mine with a couple of Antminer S7 and S5 as a hobby but don't think I'll make much money. More for fun than anything.

What people fail to consider is that these things consume huge amounts of electricity and you always need to mine enough to cover your electricity cost. Bitcoin also gets harder and harder to mine (historically anyway) and as you mine, you get less and less Bitcoin. Hardware tends to go obsolete in a year or so. When I started, a miner that mined at 180gh at 400 watts was considered state of the art. Now miners are 4780gh at 1200 watts thus huge gains in technology have happened over a short period of time and you need to keep updated to stay in the game.

Mining last year was still feasible and I managed to double my investment but not any longer.

This post has been edited by Reuben: Mar 8 2016, 07:43 PM

Yes, got kena once in my company. Asked to pay in bitcoin.

Hmm...for the next few years, yes, it will hold its position. I'm more worrying the future (> 10years). Lots of theory for the future of bitcoin which makes me worries cause I do plan to invest on it in few years time.

Thanks for your input!

The longer you wait, the more you'll miss the train. I think the bitcoin train has gone but other coins are still feasible.