Being unconvinced to invest in crypto, in spite of many people trying, is the one financial decision that has ever made me feel halfway smart about finances.
298
maxwellcawfeehaus4 days ago
+52
I have like 1.5-2% of my total investments in crypto so it’s just a small chunk for entertainment. Bought in variously from 2021 - 2025 and it’s down 20% total after this latest crash while my other traditional investments are fine. Crypto is dead
52
LordJamPunt3 days ago
+2
I just bought 10k USD of BTC @ 68k and sold some at 75k and made a couple grand.
2
jurornumber13 days ago
+2
Math doesnt add up
2
LordJamPunt3 days ago
+1
if you say so
1
jstnryan3 days ago
+2
That person is correct, though:
10000/68000*75000=11,029.412 for a gross gain of 1029.41 (fees aside)
2
LordJamPunt3 days ago
+2
Indeed. My numbers were wrong. 11k @ 64k sold at 74500 for ~1800.
Have 10k bought at 71k that I haven’t sold yet
2
TwoHungryWolves1 day ago
+2
The problem with talking to people who trade crypto is that they can loose 20k Tuesday, gain 5k Wed, then loose 7k Thurs, and you only hear them talk about Wed
2
LordJamPunt1 day ago
+2
Very true
2
maxwellcawfeehaus3 days ago
+1
Nice, I’m not touching it anymore. If mine goes up great but it’s basically a loss for me at this point. Plenty of other long term stable investments for me to run with
1
runthepoint13 days ago
This is how you’re supposed to do it right? Quick in quick out, rinse, repeat
0
LordJamPunt3 days ago
+2
if you have the stomach and time for it, yes. Lots of time spent reading price action to find those entries and exits. buying and holding doesnt seem like a bad plan either really but im just some guy
2
runthepoint13 days ago
+1
Last time someone said they’re just some guy, they were right.
1
NoFuel11973 days ago
+1
And you have the ability to set money aside for the tax burden repeated profitable trades lay on you. So many retail "investors" gonna get fisted by the IRS if the war turns serious.
1
LordJamPunt3 days ago
+2
Yes, all of the money earned is set aside. Don’t invest or trade with money you need.
2
Change214 days ago
-4
lol crypto is dead 🤣
-4
KoosGoose4 days ago
+9
There’s always another fool to hold the bag. Maybe it’ll crash when the low birth rate impacts demand.
9
Change214 days ago
-3
Is it possible maybe you don’t understand the asset and its attributes as well as you think?
-3
KoosGoose4 days ago
+2
I recommend you watch [this.](https://youtu.be/YQ_xWvX1n9g?si=RVof6HV7oCbYVxui)
2
Change214 days ago
I will give it a watch. Personally I’ve been in crypto over a decade. Did not understand it at all and just wanted to make money initially, since then I’ve had a massive education, still loads to learn, the technology isn’t going anywhere, it’s the fastest asset class to over a trillion dollars in history, it’s integrating into our lives in more ways every day. There’s lots of sketchy actors in the space and that’s a bummer but people will exploit wherever they can, same with AI, internet,same with medical tech, social media, the list goes on, those valid criticisms won’t stop the advancement and adoption of the technology.
I hope you continue learning more about it!
0
maxwellcawfeehaus3 days ago
+3
I ask respectfully How is it integrating into our lives more and more? Its scaled functional use is limited as its realization of an actual currency continues to fade. In function, it’s mostly just criminal enterprise operations (drugs guns sex trafficking funding) and the majority of its use in reality right now is just a way for rogue and illicit governments to get around sanctions and buy / make weapons.
3
Change213 days ago
+1
Are you asking about crypographic technologies or just bitcoin?
1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
Crypto means cryptocurency.
Cryptography means cryptography.
0
StinkFartButt4 days ago
-26
You should invest to make money not for entertainment.
-26
maxwellcawfeehaus4 days ago
+20
I have done fine in 98.5% of my investments. It’s ok to try out higher risk investments with a very small safe amount of your portfolio. If it’s gone tomorrow I won’t even notice and that’s the whole point here
20
StinkFartButt4 days ago
-12
Ok. I’m just saying a lot people that lose money on crypto because they fell for the scam will say they did it for entertainment and not that they actually thought they were going to get rich quick.
-12
maxwellcawfeehaus4 days ago
+6
True. I only put a small amount of money in with the understanding it’s a risk and if I lose it all, it’s ok.
Thank you stink fart butt for your input.
6
StinkFartButt4 days ago
-4
That’s my name.
-4
blackivie4 days ago
+9
People can do what they want with their money. A lot of stocks are high risk and people take a gamble. Some people gamble for fun.
9
andyraylan4 days ago
+1
This is how I kind of see it. I don’t really enjoy gambling, so maybe that’s what kept me from participating. But most of the people that I know who got into crypto were pretty sure that they were being financially intelligent and would make a lot of money.
1
Bart-Harley-Jarvis-4 days ago
+1
>People can do what they want with their money.
Nobody is saying they can't. But if someone sets fire to a pile of money, others are going to point and laugh.
1
blackivie4 days ago
+1
The person I replied to was not laughing or making a joke. They said “you should invest to make money not for entertainment.” That’s literally telling someone what to do with their money.
1
Bart-Harley-Jarvis-3 days ago
+1
That's a suggestion. Nobody is attempting to legislate control over how you invest. Saying "people are free to do ___" is just a lazy defense against an argument nobody is making.
1
MANEWMA4 days ago
+1
Day trading crypto not based on actual events but on trying to determine what all the other crypto bros might do...
1
going2leavethishere4 days ago
+6
Crypto was supposed to be a tool used by the people for the people. But like guns, people decided to misuse the tool in order to make further gains in their own agenda.
One can easily say the same thing about the banking industry. Why do you blindly trust banks? They took our money saying it was safe 2008 then had to be bailed out with more of our money. Even if it was FDIC insured you still footed the bill in some way for their greedy mistakes.
6
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+3
This is a 13-year-old's understanding of financial systems.
Every regulation was written because before it was there institutions were taking liberties.
Cryptards are speedrunning 500 years of history of traditional finance.
3
going2leavethishere3 days ago
+1
Well yes that is what is known as simplification. I took a very difficult topic and made it easier to digest.
Amazing how that works.
Now you on the other hand can’t seem to write a cognitive sentence that one can read without going “huh”?!?!?
Maybe work on your sentence structure first before making a stupid comment.
1
andyraylan4 days ago
+1
I disagree. They aren’t the same thing.
1
EquipmentFew8824 days ago
+2
So you Don't like Crypto .. ?
Neither do I.
2
mardegre4 days ago
+9
I did not invest either but I would not take the win yet. Crypto is not dead yet, or at least the most popular ones are not.
9
Summoarpleaz4 days ago
+15
Yeah I mean I’m still suspicious of crypto but I can also understand my friends deep regret for paying for pizzas with 10 btc each back in the day. Lol.
15
andyraylan4 days ago
+7
Oh, no, I’m not predicting the future of crypto. I’m just happy to have not jumped in with both feet like many people I know, who have all lost money. And they were so judgmental when I declined, acting like they had it all figured out.
7
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
it's dead as a technology. But still booming as an instrument of crime and gambling.
0
Spiritual-Bobcat56353 days ago
+1
The only smart thing I did was recognize false promise when it was all my idiot friends would rave about
1
tpfb4 days ago
-1
!RemindMe 10 years
-1
Bart-Harley-Jarvis-4 days ago
+9
"maybe in ten years, it'll be someone else left holding the bag, instead of me!"
-- every crypto bro who pumped and is in denial about being dumped.
9
herbygerby4 days ago
-4
Haha what a stretch, anyone who doesn’t invest in crypto wouldn’t be “left holding the bag”. The success/failure of crypto does not materially affect you whatsoever if you don’t invest. Some people just want to see others fail lmao.
-4
Bart-Harley-Jarvis-4 days ago
+7
>The success/failure of crypto does not materially affect you whatsoever
Given how much silicon and electricity it uses for 0 productive output, I'd say it materially affects everyone.
7
herbygerby4 days ago
-4
The idea that crypto could ever sum to 0 productive output, even if it one day becomes as obsolete as NFTs, is an opinion that can only be held if you never studied/worked in economics.
-4
andyraylan4 days ago
+6
It kind of seems like there is less of an economic basis for your argument than basic human nature.
6
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+3
You're right, because it's productive output *sums* to less than zero. It's not *just* doing nothing useful... it's burning energy at a disgusting rate to do nothing useful (aside from crime facilitation).
3
hahaokaywhateverdude3 days ago
Should it though?
I retired at 35 because of Bitcoin
0
andyraylan3 days ago
+2
That’s awesome. But I feel pretty good about my decision.
2
skag_boy873 days ago
I made 300k during the NFT boom of 2021. Like literally *all* of late stage capitalism, it’s all bullshit meant to make rich people continually richer and entice poor people to go all in and then leave them holding bags. The stock market is just as much an easily manipulated scam. You just gotta be lucky enough to get in at the right time, and then have the will to exit when earnings feel “good enough.”
0
redddddddddditor4 days ago
+121
Commissioner Gordon cracking down on financial crimes now 👏👏
121
Aritter6644 days ago
+25
I hope Coffeezilla shows up
25
HiggyBoy0074 days ago
+7
Im glad to see someone has watched Gotham. Usually they just say Ryan from the oc.
7
steeveperry4 days ago
+4
An overwhelming majority of crimes are committed using USD. Crypto is the dumbest way to do crime—literally every transaction is logged. It’s not difficult for investigators to pin a wallet to a person/follow the money when someone cashes out.
4
benskieast4 days ago
+2
It’s much easier to deal with banks than the blockchain for law enforcement. All you need to do to see all the transactions an individual has made along with and searchable by the details you find at a crime scene like a name, and address is a subpoena. And then the bank has a legal obligation to kick out or freeze the account of any illicit actor.
Blockchain is useless you somehow already know the wallet which generally isn’t in your evidence unless an informant conducted a transaction with it. And even so you can’t go up to the blockchain with a subpoena and demand a name, address and social security like you can with a bank, freeze funds, or kick the actor out. There is a good reason crypto is dominant is ransoms, straight frauds and sanction evasions.
The advent of blockchain has also brought down the cost of money laundering from as high at 15% a decade ago to just a few percent now.
What the blockchain is useful for would be data brokers trying to match accounts at multiple sites who both shared the list of wallets they transacted with.
2
Horror-Word6664 days ago
+36
My dad has been day trading since the 90s and he’s always been triggered by crypto and calling it a scam too. I’m sure he’d enjoy this documentary.
36
noprkingonthednceflr4 days ago
+76
I have never understood crypto. My rule is that if I can’t understand something - despite doing extensive research - I stay away from it.
I don’t fully understand all the mechanics of how planes stay in the air but I understand the underlying physics, so I’m good. And while I still don’t understand why finance needs three ways to look at the exact same money (balance sheet, income statement, P&L), I see how they work in business.
But literally nothing about crypto (or NFTs for that matter) has ever made a lick of sense to me.
EDIT: PEOPLE. I get how crypto works, mechanically. What I don’t get is why anyone assigned it any value at all. It just feels like a scam in some way I can’t fully articulate. Like there is no “there” there.
76
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa4 days ago
+5
It’s really not hard. It’s a piece of computer software we created to build a distributed ledger that ensures uniqueness.
It is nothing more than fancy math to say “I have one of something, and I can give that thing to someone else in exchange for whatever I want.”
Anything beyond that is an implementation detail.
5
napalmnacey4 days ago
+30
But that thing is entirely worthless.
30
Wyatt-_-Derp_4 days ago
+10
Things are worth whatever people decide they're worth. Bitcoin has worth because collective society says it does right now
10
TwoHungryWolves1 day ago
+1
The issue is everyone has a generic worth assigned to $1. That creates stability. No one agrees on the value of crypto from day to day, so it's really just gambling with extra steps
1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
the tech is worthless.
1
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa4 days ago
+8
A bitcoin is worth a bitcoin, always.
8
SignatureIncomplete3 days ago
+1
Everything is worthless until someone is willing to pay for it
1
steeveperry4 days ago
-2
The dollar in your pocket is entirely worthless.
-2
Bag_of_Meat134 days ago
+7
If that's the case why do people have to trade BTC for USD to realize gains 🤔
7
napalmnacey4 days ago
+4
It is, but I’m not pro-capitalist so you’re not convincing me of anything other than people will do all sorts of stupid shit for money and most don’t even get it,
4
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+2
Not true. The government levies taxes and demands they must be paid in currency. The government's monopoly on legal violence is what give money its value.
2
TJames62104 days ago
+4
Back when we traded gold and silver coins, they too were confused why anyone assigned value to a printed note.
4
rpkarma4 days ago
It’s digital Hawala
0
steeveperry4 days ago
-9
If you can understand the underlying physics but can’t understand how crypto works…. I’m not sure you understand the underlying physics of flight.
-9
TootCannon4 days ago
+13
It’s much easier to understand the fundamental idea of cryptography and fungible tokens than it is to understand the economics of why a digital currently would have any inherent value.
13
noprkingonthednceflr4 days ago
+3
This! Thank you.
3
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa4 days ago
+2
Nothing has inherent value
Things have properties, from which we derive utility, which we express as value
Bitcoin has the properties of scarceness and uniqueness, which give it utility. The people who employ this utility have then assigned bitcoin a price based on how they value its utility
2
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
> scarceness and uniqueness, which give it utility
this is not true.
>The people who employ this utility have then assigned bitcoin a price based on how they value its utility
Also not true, the price is based on gambling/speculation. Even the most ardent buttcoiner would admit this.
0
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa3 days ago
You’re wrong 🤷♂️
0
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
So you just spout falsehoods, then refuse to defend them when pointed out... Typical butter behaviour.
1
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa3 days ago
I don’t have to defend anything. Anyone who wants to verify can look at the bitcoin protocol themselves. You just want to be a petulant little keyboard warrior. Do your thing!
0
chain_letter4 days ago
+2
Air go down plane go up
2
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
wings push air down, the air pushes the plane up... That's literally the underlying physics.
1
Letskissthesky4 days ago
+17
He was just on Jon Stewart’s podcast last week as well. Solid episode.
17
Verde_37734 days ago
+7
I remember hearing about crypto & thinking I was missing some fundamental understanding of it- because it sounded like a scam. Feels much better knowing I wasn’t the only one.
7
Embarrassed-Deal-1574 days ago
+6
Ben McKenzie is Jim Gordon irl
He gives me hope there's enough people pushing against the big tech hype to make a difference
6
Dorkinfo4 days ago
+21
I love that Ryan is smart. I’m sure Sandy is proud.
21
Five-Oh-Vicryl3 days ago
+2
Who knew Seth would’ve ended up being the hunk?
2
HT_1414154 days ago
+46
r/noshitsherlok
Crypto has always been a scam. I know a bunch of people that have got into it and happily go on about how much their "investment" has grown. It's fun ask their plan on how to get their money out of crypto.
46
DrakeBurroughs4 days ago
+14
That’s the best part.
14
wigl3014 days ago
-6
I have no mortgage thanks to crypto. Each to their own I guess 🤷♂️
-6
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+4
Lot's of people make money in ponzi schemes. just because you found greater fools, doesn't make it not a ponzi.
4
well_welp_ok4 days ago
-4
Yeah not sure what this poster is trying to say. My wife and I put 2k in in 2018, and well, you can figure out the rest of where it’s currently at now. We can pull that out and have cash on hand any time we want. Small investment into something we don’t really even know what it is with a huge return.
-4
Summoarpleaz4 days ago
I think people always think in extremes. Like you can now invest and withdraw sizable amounts without much of an issue… but at some point it *was* difficult to withdraw crypto as cash. And I imagine (based on nothing) that it may remain so if say you have crypto worth 100s millions usd or even billions. Not sure you could so easily exchange it all at once (maybe you can idk). But for most people who didn’t put in huge amounts 2-3 decades ago, it’s not a problem.
0
steeveperry4 days ago
+6
Exchanging crypto for cash has been as simple as exchanging stocks for cash for quite a long time—certainly after crypto came into the mainstream.
6
well_welp_ok4 days ago
+1
Exactly. I can’t speak for the top bitcoin holders obviously but lil ol me has a down payment for a house. If that’s a scam, which I will never argue that bitcoin isn’t to a large extent, then I was able to end up on the positive end of it
1
DrakeBurroughs4 days ago
+2
Sure, some people thrive in scams. If you benefitted, more power to you, I don’t begrudge anyone their legal successes.
I just tend to be more concerned about those left holding the bag. Not the $1-4k investors who did it as a lark, the people who went all-in.
2
Successful_Fig_40334 days ago
+2
The initial investors in most Ponzi schemes usually get at least some of their investment back. It's downstream that things go sideways.
2
StinkFartButt4 days ago
+3
Crypto is a scam but it is definitely not hard to get your money out. You just sell it like any other stock from a broker.
3
bramley364 days ago
+6
And then, when the entire crypto industry collapses spectacularly, our government will bail them out.
6
HT_1414154 days ago
+9
Our? The current American government might be corrupt enough to bail them out but I don't see mine doing that.
The cool thing about crypto is that when one falls there is 10 behind it waiting to take it's place. It's not going anywhere until people stop being morons and pissing money away on it so, like I said, it's not going anywhere
9
bramley363 days ago
+1
Fair point- which is your government? But crypto doesn’t provide discernible value, and likely will collapse like tulip bubble investors did.
1
steeveperry4 days ago
-1
What is the crypto industry?
-1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
google it. have a look at the crypto super PACs and the amount of money they are investing in ~~bribing~~ lobbying the US politicians to ensure they can remain scamming the world.
1
AMediaArchivist4 days ago
+2
I have a coworker that always brags he’s invested into crypto and he’s always excited about it. I don’t know if he makes any bank with it. I never understood enough to want to invest any of my money into it.
2
boards_of_FL4 days ago
+13
Decent article but this part got me for its sheer factual inaccuracy: “(i.e., the Obama administration’s spineless bailing out of the banks and no one else, with no heads rolling)”.
There were two bank bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis, one under W Bush and one under Obama. Under Bush, it was “Hey, banks! Here is free money with no strings attached! See you later!” And this was only extended to the banks.
Under Obama, the bailout worked this way, “Hey, banks. We will give you some cash in exchange for equity in your company, which we will one day sell back to you when you are back on your feet.”
Under Obama, all funds were repaid with interest, so it’s not even fair to call that a “bailout”. Also, this “bailout” was extended to the American auto industry as well, and is the reason it still exists today. It cost the taxpayer $0.
13
Crafty-Walrus-22384 days ago
+4
Notice how the smart wealthy people are able to fleece the stupid less wealthy people time and again.
4
Pastelninja4 days ago
+3
Every time someone explains to me about crypto I attempt to explain back to them that what they’re describing is unregulated money laundering.
And yet people keep telling me that no, it’s not my
fault but I just can’t understand the block chain.
And I keep saying that no, I do understand block chain, but even if I didn’t it’s still money laundering.
I’ll be happy for the people who made a quick buck early on in this pyramid scheme and sorry for all the people who have retirement funds invested in it now.
It’s still just money laundering.
3
MilkiestMaestro3 days ago
+3
Crypto is like Communism in a lot of ways:
Originally created to be a fair wealth distribution system but has been co-opted by malfeasance and greed and warped into an abomination of the original cause.
3
quasimook4 days ago
+2
Welcome to the OC, b****
2
forkandspoon20114 days ago
+2
I feel so bad so many suckers fall for this shit
2
napalmnacey4 days ago
+7
Crypto never made sense to me. It’s like charging money for chunks of the number Pi. Like… why the f*** would I want to buy that? Who would want to buy that? Beanie babies I got, at least they were real objects and they were cute.
7
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa4 days ago
-3
If this helps: beanie babies are made in factories, a company manufactures them and thus controls the supply. So if we were to decide that they were very valuable as a society, that company would just make more of them to capitalize on the success.
The supply of bitcoin is fixed by the protocol. Name another thing in this universe with a fixed supply, and we can start using that as currency.
-3
napalmnacey4 days ago
+7
Yes but why invest in something so open to corruption? It’s all a scam.
7
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa4 days ago
Companies and governments are far more open to corruption, do you invest in stocks or bonds?
0
napalmnacey4 days ago
+1
No. It’s gambling. I’m not really pro-capitalist for the most part. The system is broken.
1
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa4 days ago
-3
Investing is not gambling.
You can gamble on stocks and bonds and crypto, sure.
But buying something because you think it has value and to own it is not gambling.
You may not be capitalist, but the system is, and you don’t do yourself any favors by abstaining. The politicians will happily tax you silently through inflation.
-3
napalmnacey4 days ago
+1
People buy stocks, they lose their money. Nobody can guarantee they’ll make money on them. Sounds like gambling to me.
You can sit there and tell me I’m not doing myself favours but in this fucked up system many of us can’t even imagine having enough money to invest in A stock, let alone *many* stocks. I don’t even have money to invest in a good pair of shoes.
You have no idea what you sound like glazing stocks and cryptocurrency like they matter.
1
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa4 days ago
-1
You are conflating investing with speculating, and speculating with gambling.
Anyone can buy stocks. You can purchase a fractional share of any stock or index fund with no trading fees whatsoever. There used to be gatekeepers in the market but those largely don’t exist for retail traders anymore.
I’m not sure what you think I sound like. All I know is that I took my own advice, and I no longer work in a Chick-fil-A 🤷
-1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
> All I know is that I took my own advice, and I no longer work in a Chick-fil-A
I thought you weren't gambling, but you were "buying something because you think it has value and to own it is not gambling".
If that is the case and you were buying to own, how did you cash out?
1
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa3 days ago
-1
The only times I sell stocks are those I receive as income, and to step up my cash basis. I don’t buy individual stocks, I just put more money into the market and let it snowball.
-1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
>
The supply of bitcoin is fixed by the protocol
Until the handful of mining pools that effectively own the mining decide to approve a change to the protocol to change that number.
Bitcoin mining is highly centralized today, with only six pools mining more than 95% of the blocks.
In the current Bitcoin mining landscape, nearly the complete mining hashrate is controlled by a few large mining pools, which produce the templates for the blocks. These pools control which transactions they include in or exclude from their blocks.
0
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa3 days ago
There’s no incentive to do this. Those mining pools would devalue their own holdings. What you are describing would just result in a hard fork.
In the meantime, we are ACTIVELY ~~deflating~~ inflating our fiat currency into worthlessness. So maybe you should be focused more on that than hypotheticals.
0
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+2
Exactly, a hard fork where you are no longer on the real BTC and you have another BCC situation. Until it happens again.
Just because you cannot think of an incentive for this right now does not mean there won't be one. So be clear in your misunderstanding. It is not the case that the supply cannot be changed. It's that you currently *trust* that the centralised cartel of miners that control the protocol will not do that.
Also real money is not deflating. It's deliberately inflationary to discourage hoarding and economic stagnation.
2
napalmnacey3 days ago
+2
Thank you.
2
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa3 days ago
+1
I don’t have to trust anything. Mining pools don’t control the nodes. If they want to fork themselves off the network, they can go ahead and do so and waste their resources mining something that nobody is using.
Sorry, yes, I mistyped, I meant that we are inflating our currency, obviously. Combined “devaluing” and “inflating” in my head.
1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
Inflation is necessary for a currency, otherwise the economy is fucked because nobody spends.
If prices are expected to rise, consumers and businesses are incentivized to spend or invest now rather than waiting, which boosts demand and economic activity.
1
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa3 days ago
+1
I understand that our system is built on unsustainable infinite growth. Maybe we can incentivize people to save in a healthy way by providing them with vehicles to do so. We don’t have to get rid of the existing fiat rails. We just need to use the right tools for the right job, based on their properties.
If people want to use it, they can. If you don’t, don’t! Nobody cares.
1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
deliberate managed monetary inflation has nothing to do with "infinite growth". it is simply required to keep a functioning economy and society.
>We just need to use the right tools for the right job, based on their properties.
There is no case where bitcoin is a tool that is a good way to solve a problem, outside of crime.
Excluding crime facilitation, there is no single person in existence who had a problem they wanted to solve, discovered that an available blockchain solution was the best way to solve it, and therefore became a blockchain enthusiast.
1
jjjjjjjjjjjjjaaa3 days ago
More bad faith, disingenuous nonsense. Why am I not surprised?
> deliberate managed monetary inflation has nothing to do with "infinite growth". it is simply required to keep a functioning economy and society.
At what point is growth no longer necessary for a functioning economy and society? Or is the growth intended to be infinite?
If you think that bitcoin facilitates crime then surely it must have some properties that make it useful for that purpose. What are those properties, and do they have any other possible application? Cash is used to facilitate crimes all the time, because of its properties. Doesn’t poison that well for you, apparently.
0
StasRutt4 days ago
+1
It’s so fun seeing Ben McKenzie doing a true passion project like this and it’s refreshing that he has the education to do so
1
OraDude1 day ago
+1
hello. I don't live in the US but would like to watch this. is there any sites I can stream this or download it?
1
grumpygus68864 days ago
+1
I feel the same about all the influencers on instagram
1
Five-Oh-Vicryl3 days ago
+1
Read about Tai Lopez and his Ponzi scheme. It was on a recent WSJ story and podcast
1
jarrettba4 days ago
+1
I've always felt that something that is considered to be its own currency yet is calculated in USD was odd.
1
jstnryan3 days ago
+1
There are many markets for each cryptocurrency; for example BTC/USD, or BTC/JPY, or BTC/AUD. Like any other currency of the world, it can be traded for any other currency of the world (as long as there is a market for it). Cryptocurrency is not _only_ valued in terms of USD.
1
elsehamy4 days ago
+1
Crypto is very different to Bitcoin. If you want to understand the value all i have to say is this world is ruled and run by greedy humans who are constantly changing the rules. Most crypto besides bitcoin is run by CEOs and developers who have the power to change software at will and without your control. The reason why Bitcoin is so special is because it doesn’t operate that way. The community with majority rule votes collectively on any changes and it’s hard to get most people to agree so the code goes on unchanged. It takes real world energy to create Bitcoin. I feel more comfortable with my money in a computer algorithm that has never been hacked and whose members must collectively vote on change than I do the US dollar with a definite trajectory downward and even more so now with political instability and mounting debt forcing more endless dollar printing. For me the intrinsic value of Bitcoin is its lack of centralized control or change in a world that is too quickly evolving and changing for the worst.
On top of this Bitcoin is liquid and i can travel with a vast quantity and be able to retrieve it on the other end with no friction if necessary. I can sell it on holidays, weekends, after hours etc which i can’t say for gold or the stock market.
1
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
> The community with majority rule votes collectively on any changes and it’s hard to get most people to agree so the code goes on unchanged.
Who told you this?
The miners and node operators decide what gets approved. The "community concensus" idea is a myth. Once the cartel of large mining pools decides to approve a BIP and move forward on that version, that's it. They control 95% of the hash rate, so individuals that don't update are out of sync with the real protocol.
>It takes real world energy to create Bitcoin.
This is a flaw not a pro.
>US dollar with a definite trajectory downward
Currencies are deliberately inflationary to discourage holding, and economic stagnation.
> intrinsic value of Bitcoin is its lack of centralized control or change
Not only is this *not* the case, given how centralised the mining power is, but it is also a bug and not a feature. Trustless "code is law" type paradigms are a terrible vision for the future. There is a reason we evolved a form of society where we can have trusted 3rd parties for transactions. The trust is a feature.
Blockchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future. Its failure to achieve adoption to date is because systems built on trust, norms, and institutions inherently function better than the type of no-need-for-trusted-parties systems blockchain envisions. That’s permanent: no matter how much blockchain improves it is still headed in the wrong direction.
0
jstnryan3 days ago
+1
A clarification: “nodes” (validators) are different than miners. Nodes determine consensus, miners do not.
1
elsehamy3 days ago
Miners and node operators is what i meant by community. But maybe im mistaken. Can you give me more info on how the voting works?
0
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
+1
>
Miners and node operators is what i meant by community
So you understand regular users/owners have effectively no say.
Voting is basically just switching to the new version. And since bitcoin mining power is *extremely centralised*, the handful of entities that control it can just switch, and now they've forced a change, and the 5% that are not controlled by them are left out of sync with the consensus until they change, or decide to hardfork to an entirely new crypto (a la bitcoin cash, and others).
1
NappyDougOut4 days ago
+1
I put $100 on BTC back when it was at $18k. Nothing more since.
That's all I needed to do in order to figure out the real honest truth of it all.
1
roscodawg3 days ago
+1
the sooner cryptocurrency is banned the better
1
No-Cicada-46514 days ago
Crypto is dead, Bitcoin is not.
0
Longjumping-Ad-86264 days ago
If you understand that the biggest economy running 40T in debt is a bad thing, but don’t see how a trust-less system of transaction with a fixed supply is a good idea you cannot be saved.
0
funny-tummy4 days ago
-2
I believe he is one hundred percent right about crypto and one hundred percent wrong about bitcoin.
-2
BrahneRazaAlexandros3 days ago
Funny seeing all the bitcoin absolutists commenting that they agree that crypto sucks but that bitcoin is "not like the other girls!".
Bitcoin is the worst of the lot. Burning more energy than many countries to create a giant append-only spreadsheet thats only genuine use case is criime facilitation.
And always fun to remind anyone thinking of running a node themselves that every single full node requires you have the entire history of the chain, from the genesis block. This includes blocks containing CSAM material. So.. probably not a good idea.
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