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Comment by jeffwass | Hacker News Reader

> The 'sane' people have missed out on some of the best returns in history.

Are these actual returns (ie, BTC sold for fiat) or paper returns on an assumption of market depth at current spot?

Serious question. Most bitcoin enthusiasts I know are either still holding their bitcoin, or traded them for other cryptocurrencies. Few have crystallised their gains in fiat.

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I GPU-mined some BTC in 2011 and was a 100% HODLer until yesterday when I sold everything, including the forked BCH.

Now trying to figure out how to invest the proceeds into stocks. Somehow I doubt I will be able to get another 1000000% RoI over 6 years.

Everyone I know in BTC cashed out months/years ago. Makes them feel sick thinking about what they've missed out on recently. But I keep telling them they made a the same decision any rational actor would

and those I know who still hold BTC, the few that have tried to cash out so far haven't received a single dollar, euro, yen, or pound.

So if you transfer BTC into Coinbase, you can't get your money out?

$10k at a time, unless you make some kind of agreement.

There are also ATMs and other exchanges to tap. Cashing out a large sum is nearly impossible.

If you have millions worth of BTC, it's better to just auction them off at a discount to a large buyer.

To be clear: You can sell 100 btc today for USD. Coinbase will hold your USD (and the balance is insured). They will limit your withdraws to 10k, however. To take out more faster, you'll need to contact them and speak with a human. None of this seems unreasonable.

It paints a bleak picture of bitcoin runs on insolvent and poorly insured exchanges when the bottom falls out.

Coinbase is insured via FDIC, so I don't think "poorly" as an appropriate adverb.

Assuming everything goes smoothly in that regard, it’s still a limited coverage.

Nearly impossible? I don't have millions in BTC, but I do have six figures. I requested a limit increase with Coinbase and they bumped it up to 50K per day. I've had no problems withdrawing that.

So what exactly have they "tried"? It's really pretty straightforward.

My roommate sells $40k worth every 3 months. In cash. He travels a lot now.

>My roommate sells $40k worth every 3 months. In cash. He travels a lot now.

I seriously hope he's aware of the tax implications here. I feel like the IRS is going to be working some serious overtime after this nonsense is over.

Yeah, the first thing I would do is see a tax specialist and make sure I am setting aside enough to may my dues before I went on any sprees.

Good advice. We're in Canada so he should be ok.

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