Symbol Stock Price change today
HDSN Hudson Technologies, Inc. 3.5881%
NFLX Netflix, Inc. 3.23%
HZO MarineMax Inc 2.3656%
REGN Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc 2.2227%
AMZN Amazon.com, Inc. 1.5057%
ABMD ABIOMED, Inc. 1.4467%
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 1.432%
HSKA Heska Corp 1.4143%
ULTA Ulta Beauty Inc 1.3285%
ANET Arista Networks Inc 1.3253%
TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 1.1889%
EW Edwards Lifesciences Corp 1.162%
GTN Gray Television, Inc. 1.1429%
GOOGL Alphabet Inc 0.9263%
FB Facebook Inc 0.4985%
ALGN Align Technology, Inc. 0.4701%
SUI Sun Communities Inc 0.4314%
ILMN Illumina, Inc. 0.3711%
MCK McKesson Corporation 0.3551%
DPZ Domino’s Pizza, Inc. 0.2789%
NVDA NVIDIA Corporation 0.2332%
MRK Merck & Co., Inc. 0.1961%
AYI Acuity Brands, Inc. 0.1079%
IBP Installed Building Products Inc 0.0682%
ALXN Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. -0.048%
GILD Gilead Sciences, Inc. -0.1353%
ADBE Adobe Systems Incorporated -0.1365%
MU Micron Technology, Inc. -0.1625%
PCLN Priceline Group Inc -0.2849%
TNET TriNet Group Inc -0.2997%
STZ Constellation Brands, Inc. -0.3243%
TGS Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (ADR) -0.4255%
SBUX Starbucks Corporation -0.4603%
MEI Methode Electronics Inc. -0.4756%
EXR Extra Space Storage, Inc. -0.6313%
LULU Lululemon Athletica inc. -0.7323%
TMUS T-Mobile US Inc -0.9385%
COF Capital One Financial Corp. -0.95%
THRM Gentherm Inc -1.1006%
MKTX MarketAxess Holdings Inc. -1.1035%
GWR Genesee & Wyoming Inc -1.1795%
MIDD Middleby Corp -1.2917%
AAPL Apple Inc. -1.7851%
CRTO Criteo SA (ADR) -1.9562%
AMAT Applied Materials, Inc. -1.9778%
CRUS Cirrus Logic, Inc. -2.0523%
SWKS Skyworks Solutions Inc -2.1415%
SCHW Charles Schwab Corp -2.1845%
CVCO Cavco Industries, Inc. -2.1978%
CBPO China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc. -2.24%
ADS Alliance Data Systems Corporation -2.5589%
CEVA CEVA, Inc. -2.8862%
LRCX Lam Research Corporation -4.9969%
LGIH LGI Homes Inc -5.9145%

This is just one example of why Bitcoin is not a real currency to purchase goods, but rather it is only a currency trading platform.

Why would a person that understands the way that Bitcoin works use the currency to buy anything? For that matter, why would you sell anything in exchange for Bitcoin?

If you are acquiring a real product, using Bitcoin rather than a government backed security such as US dollars could mean that you are vastly overpaying for the product. According to the article, 50 Cent’s customers paid approximately 20X what they would have paid if they had used US dollars. At the time of the purchase, the combined value of his music was approximately $400K for those users that used Bitcoin. At the time of the publishing of the news, it had appreciated to approximately $8M.

I am perfectly confident that none of those purchasers would have paid 20X the list price for the flexibility to purchase the music using Bitcoin.

Selling a product is also riddled with risk! The volatility of Bitcoin means that if you sell a product today it is very likely that the Bitcoins that you receive could drop in value by 10-20% in a very short time – potentially before you can exchange the Bitcoins for a more stable currency or use the Bitcoins to buy a different product. This means that it could potentially destroy and profit from the sale of that original product.

Bitcoin is not a real currency. It doesn’t make sense to buy or sell products with it. Its only usefulness is to buy it in the hopes that the value increases or to short it in the hopes that the value decreases.

 

From The Verge:

In 2014, rapper 50 Cent let people buy his album Animal Ambition using bitcoin. He then let his account lie unused for years, and only just recently discovered that he’s now a bitcoin millionaire, as first reported by TMZ. 

At the time, a single bitcoin was worth only $662, and the rapper’s fans could pick up the album for a fraction of that. In total, he pulled in over $400,000. Since then, the value of bitcoin has soared: the price of the cryptocurrency rose as high as $17,000 earlier this month, only to drop under $10,000 in recent weeks. (At the time of writing, bitcoin is now worth a little more than $11,000.) After sitting untouched in his account for years, 50 Cent’s earnings are now worth $7 million to $8.5 million, based on the current fluctuating bitcoin valuation.

50 Cent confirmed his new windfall on Instagram and Twitter, saying, “Not bad for a kid from South Side, I’m so proud of me.” He later commented on his post: “Ima keep it real, I forgot I did that shit lol.”

Stock ticker Stock name Last Close Recommendation
AAPL Apple Inc. $174.2200 Very Concerned, may need to wait
ABMD ABIOMED, Inc. $233.3300 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
ADBE Adobe Systems Incorporated $197.7800 Strong Buy or Hold
ADS Alliance Data Systems Corporation $259.4900 Very Concerned, may need to wait
ALGN Align Technology, Inc. $272.2800 Strong Buy or Hold
ALXN Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $125.0100 Strong Buy or Hold
AMAT Applied Materials, Inc. $56.9100 Concerned, but watch close as good things may happen soon
AMZN Amazon.com, Inc. $1357.5100 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
ANET Arista Networks Inc $273.1400 Strong Buy or Hold
AYI Acuity Brands, Inc. $166.8900 Some Concerns, may need to wait
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Ltd $195.5300 Strong Buy or Hold
CBPO China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc. $83.9300 Strong Buy or Hold
CEVA CEVA, Inc. $44.1750 Very Concerned, may need to wait
COF Capital One Financial Corp. $105.2600 Concerned, but watch close as good things may happen soon
CRTO Criteo SA (ADR) $25.5600 Some Concerns, may need to wait
CRUS Cirrus Logic, Inc. $51.6500 Very Concerned, may need to wait
CVCO Cavco Industries, Inc. $163.8000 Very Concerned, may need to wait
DPZ Domino’s Pizza, Inc. $218.7200 Strong Buy or Hold
EW Edwards Lifesciences Corp $124.7900 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
EXR Extra Space Storage, Inc. $85.5400 Possible Buy or Hold, but some concerns
FB Facebook Inc $186.5500 Strong Buy or Hold
GILD Gilead Sciences, Inc. $81.3000 Strong Buy or Hold
GOOGL Alphabet Inc $1171.2900 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
GTN Gray Television, Inc. $17.5000 Strong Buy or Hold
GWR Genesee & Wyoming Inc $81.3900 Very Concerned, may need to wait
HDSN Hudson Technologies, Inc. $6.4100 Concerned, but watch close as good things may happen soon
HSKA Heska Corp $82.0200 Strong Buy or Hold
HZO MarineMax Inc $23.2500 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
IBP Installed Building Products Inc $73.3500 Very Concerned, may need to wait
ILMN Illumina, Inc. $242.4900 Very Concerned, may need to wait
LGIH LGI Homes Inc $76.7600 Strong Buy or Hold
LRCX Lam Research Corporation $209.7300 Strong Buy or Hold
LULU Lululemon Athletica inc. $79.2000 Concerned, but watch close as good things may happen soon
MCK McKesson Corporation $174.5800 Strong Buy or Hold
MEI Methode Electronics Inc. $42.0500 Concerned, but watch close as good things may happen soon
MIDD Middleby Corp $136.2500 Very Concerned, may need to wait
MKTX MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $195.7400 Very Concerned, may need to wait
MRK Merck & Co., Inc. $61.1800 Strong Buy or Hold
MU Micron Technology, Inc. $43.0800 Very Concerned, may need to wait
NFLX Netflix, Inc. $261.2790 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
NVDA NVIDIA Corporation $235.8000 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
PCLN Priceline Group Inc $1955.2400 Strong Buy or Hold
REGN Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc $383.3200 Possible Buy or Hold, but some concerns
SBUX Starbucks Corporation $60.8300 Concerned, but watch close as good things may happen soon
SCHW Charles Schwab Corp $55.3900 Concerned, but watch close as good things may happen soon
STZ Constellation Brands, Inc. $222.0300 Possible Buy or Hold, but some concerns
SUI Sun Communities Inc $90.4000 Possible Buy or Hold, but some concerns
SWKS Skyworks Solutions Inc $97.1300 Very Concerned, may need to wait
TGS Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (ADR) $23.5000 Strong Buy or Hold
THRM Gentherm Inc $31.8000 Very Concerned, may need to wait
TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. $215.3200 Strong Buy or Hold, but there are some concerns
TMUS T-Mobile US Inc $65.0000 Strong Buy or Hold
TNET TriNet Group Inc $43.3800 Possible Buy or Hold, but some concerns
ULTA Ulta Beauty Inc $224.3100 Very Concerned, may need to wait