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Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

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Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#231

Post by wild-eep »

bko wrote: post #211
csomar wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A fairer comparison will be gambling, sports games and drugs.

Sure I guess since they're voluntary. Much harder to opt out of big social media or ad agencies. But that makes my point even stronger since no one is forcing cryptocurrencies down your throat.

But, isn’t the key distinction that this is an unregulated space, which is heavily manipulated. Crypto investors cannot make proper informed decisions, because they are being mislead or outright lied to, and cheated, at a near constant rate. It’s optional for them to be sure, but they are being tricked.

Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#232

Post by latchkey »

mmcnl wrote: post #181
latchkey wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. All of this is why "web3" is not bullshit and why I've dedicated years of my energy and my funds to it. Try living in another country too, I have. Banking is the number one pain point. Even more than language issues. Ever tried to get your own money out of a western union in a country that doesn't speak your language? If you're doubting "web3" then you've probably never experienced these sorts of pain yourself a…

Banking is a solved problem, has been for decades. Seeking an alternative in technological complex solutions is running away from the actual problem.

If banking was a solved problem, then how come so many people don’t have an account?

Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#234

Post by aaaaaaaaata »

roflyear wrote: post #223
aaaaaaaaata wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is close to the speed vs time argument that does go into city and highway speed limits. Notice how no nation caps their speed limit closer to a 0 fatality level?

Most or all developed nations require strict and improving designs to new cars to help with safety. Better example IMO.

But...we only got to the point that the industry can afford to integrate those features because of mass economies of scale — which came from the tradeoff I'm referring to..

Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#235

Post by latchkey »

notahacker wrote: post #148
latchkey wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In northern Vietnam, where I've done extensive travel, to this day, women store their meager wealth in gold fillings because that is the only place where they can put it and not have it stolen from them. There is no bank where they can deposit funds and even if there was, the Vietnam govt's version of FDIC is like $2k. Amazingly, they also have smart phones and the government has put 4G towers through the whole count…

North Vietnam is also where people earn the equivalent of $30 a month and can't afford to HODL until the next price spike, as well as not having many crypto on/off ramps for the unbanked. Frankly, the enthusiasm some wealthy Westerners have for dumping newly printed gambling tokens on some of the world's poorest people is part of the cause of the anti-crypto backlash the OP describes.

They are already gambling on gold.

Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#237

Post by falcolas »

palmetieri2000 wrote: post #190
itsoktocry wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A job's a job But most people involved in the scam claim to be "just doing their job". If you're working for an employer or in an industry that you yourself consider a bit shady, you are morally obligated to leave. Society can't function otherwise.

Is a bartender morally obligated to leave because they acknowledge the harm alcohol causes to society? Is the crypto dev more or less obligated than the bartender? Really I agree with you, but also feel like this is a thread that people aren't that keen on unravelling or talking about because it leads them to realize that their job probably isn't as 'un-shady' as at first glance.

The bartender is morally (and occasionally legally) obligated to not serve alcohol to someone who is drunk. And to take car keys away from impaired people.

The analogy holds, imo.

Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#238

Post by bratwurst3000 »

charcircuit wrote: post #165
tgv wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A job's a job That's something that doesn't sit well with me. Not all jobs are equal. Some are unethical, or worse. And OP is in the unethical camp, at least by association, and also tarred by the stereotypes of exploitation and fraud. > Anyone refusing you simply because you worked in crypto at some point is short-sighted. I would also not want to hire/work with anyone who's worked for facebook or google in the pa…

>I would also not want to hire/work with anyone who's worked for facebook or google in the past 5 years These companies have a plethora of things to work on and you have the ability to positively impact most of the planet (billions of people). You are oversimplifing things if you think they are all evil people who would be bad to work with.

If the people who work there have the power to make it good … why didnt they do it the last 20 Years. Insted the collectivly build one of the worst side of internet

Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#239

Post by chillacy »

palmetieri2000 wrote: post #190
itsoktocry wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A job's a job But most people involved in the scam claim to be "just doing their job". If you're working for an employer or in an industry that you yourself consider a bit shady, you are morally obligated to leave. Society can't function otherwise.

Is a bartender morally obligated to leave because they acknowledge the harm alcohol causes to society? Is the crypto dev more or less obligated than the bartender? Really I agree with you, but also feel like this is a thread that people aren't that keen on unravelling or talking about because it leads them to realize that their job probably isn't as 'un-shady' as at first glance.

My favorite conversation to observe in person now is the “yea my industry isn’t actually bad and I’m a good person (says the person in finance, social media, etc) but yours is, how do you live with yourself?”

Re: Ask HN: Feel bad about working in crypto, what to do?

#240

Post by latchkey »

mmcnl wrote: post #179
latchkey wrote: post #63

I've been in crypto since 2014. I just had the California Franchise Tax Board literally steal money out of a bank account of mine without any warning or notice. They left $0.01 in there and charged a $125 fee. I found out today they are claiming I owe taxes from when I wasn't even living in the country (and I was paying taxes then too!). In 2021/2022, I paid more taxes than I ever have in my life. I even over paid ju…

Crypto is one of many solutions for this problem. I'm willing to argue that out of 10 possible solutions, the crypto solution is the worst of all. Simply because the law is the law, and crypto might make it harder to enforce the law, it doesn't _change_ the law. So even with your crypto solution, you still would owe money to the California Franchise Tax Board, whether you like or not.

Read what I wrote. I paid my taxes. I paid what I owed. I am almost 50 and never had an issue with taxes in my lifetime. They still emptied my account with no notification.

I never thought that would happen to me.

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