Bit coin

[Angrboda]

Of course a debit card is virtual money.

If you aren't handing someone bills and coins but are completing a financial transaction electronically, it's virtual.

No, it is a physical/paper/computer representation of money you have deposited. 

I don't think you understand how debit cards actually work.

Debit cards don't work like credit cards. You can't overdraw.

Yes you can. And some times when you use a debit card it actually is a credit transaction. Look at your card. If you're like most of us, it doubles as a Visa or Mastercard credit card.

It isn't a loan either.

In many cases it is as the transaction isn't reconciled until up to days later. The bank and the merchant are taking it on faith that when it is resolved the funds will be there. Different pending transactions are treated differently depending upon the type of the transaction.

If you don't have funds in the account, you cant withdraw money. 

You're not withdrawing money. And yes a debit card transaction can result in an overdraft. I know. It's happened to me.

[Jackalope]

I've worked in the payment card industry for over 20 years and what Angrboda says above is essentially correct with a minor quibble (there are differences in how payment card issuers and the member networks (Visa/MC/etc) treat credit and debit transactions, at least in the USA).

One thing I would like to say is this: if you have a choice, credit cards offer better protection against fraud than debit cards.

[Jackalope]

As far as crypto goes, I have less than 0.1% of my assets in crypto. I personally think it's a terrible investment vehicle but as long as people keep buying it, there's money to be made trading the volatility. I would never put a penny into it that I wasn't prepared to lose in a flash.

[ignoramus]

Bitcoin is a speculative investment. It's liquid enough in that it can be exchanged for cash fairly quickly. Do not confuse it for money. (any more than eg: trading a share in BHP).
The poster child for bitcoin, Michael Saylor himself says that bitcoin will not be banned by central banks as it is not a competing currency. He sees it as an investment. I see it for what it is.
Tulipmania 2.0. It's not a coin and it's not gold. It's a ponzi. And we all know how all ponzi schemes end. And just like gods, there's been 4,000 cryptos, most have already died.
What Michael hates now is the rise of dogecoin. Created strictly as a parody, it is gaining value. And without fundamental differences between dogecoin and bitcoin, it exposes bitcoin for the ponzi that it is.

[onlinebiker]

I've worked in the payment card industry for over 20 years and what Angrboda says above is essentially correct with a minor quibble (there are differences in how payment card issuers  and the member networks (Visa/MC/etc) treat credit and debit transactions, at least in the USA).

One thing I would like to say is this: if you have a choice, credit cards offer better protection against fraud than debit cards.

I find a sock full of quarters offers better protection than a credit card.

If you whack some asshole upside the head with a credit card the results are less than satisfying.

[Jackalope]

I prefer to not assault people, TBH. You do you, of course.

[Angrboda]

The price of dogecoin tumbled by as much as a third on Sunday, after billionaire Elon Musk, one of its biggest supporters, appeared to call the virtual currency a “hustle” while hosting Saturday Night Live.

Cryptocurrency watchers had high expectations of what Tesla chief executive and crypto-enthusiast Musk, who has called himself the “Dogefather”, would say while hosting the American comedy sketch show, and dogecoin had risen in anticipation.

However, Musk’s appearance had the opposite effect to that expected by investors.

Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency similar to bitcoin which was started as a joke, fell by 35% at one point to reach $0.47 (£0.34) against the dollar, according to news website Coindesk. By Sunday evening (UK time) it had recovered slightly to reach $0.49, although that was well below the $0.68 it hit before the weekend after surging interest from investors.

(Guardian)

[HappySkeptic]

So Dogecoin, the joke coin, got its value hammered by a joke about it?

I would think that the more jokes the better. The more everyone realizes that Dogecoin is stupid, the higher it should go.

Stick it to the man! Make it go to infinity! Show those economists and central bankers that we can just invent our own currency that rises unbounded in value!

*****
I want all crypto to die, but unfortunately I think it is here permanently.

[ignoramus]

For what it's worth, no crypto can become currency without the Fed and govt's consent.
For one simple reason. And it's the biggest whopping elephant in the room.
It needs a bond market. (Without this, it's just an intermediate bartering tool. May as well use sea shells, or nice colored feathers to trade)

[Jackalope]

Pretty much, yeah, which is why I'll never hold it for more than a week or so, and only because of the mindless buying driving volatility.