Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches • Hacker News Board

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#101

Post by dmcy22 » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 2:44 PM UTC

simias wrote: post #52

zapt02 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very one-dimensional view of things. Blockchain technology carries with it the possibility to change how we think about and use money. Bitcoin is a zero-trust system that still manages to hold $41 billion dollar in value. However, I agree that almost all ICOs are cash-grabs. In my opinion we already have coins for all verticals that matter.

>Blockchain technology carries with it the possibility to change how we think about and use money. That's the type of fluff I keep hearing coming from the bitcoin enthusiasts but I have yet to read a compelling argument about what it'll enable and how exactly. "Bitcoin will kill the banks", "bitcoin will prevent the evil government from stealing your money", "bitcoin will cure cancer and polio". How it'll do any of t…

I wonder about that to. To me, cryptocurrency is akin to hiding cash under your mattress – except it's digital. You have to figure out security on your own, there's no protection against fraud, and if your money is stolen, it's gone. On top of that, it's wildly volatile as others have mentioned.

For people in nations with stable governments and currencies, access to credit, and nothing to hide, there's no compelling to use cryptocurrencies day to day.

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#102

Post by lz400 » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 2:45 PM UTC

hendzen wrote: post #47

phkahler wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the end, the continually growing computational requirements to maintain the ledger become infeasible even for the ASIC folks and the currency dies. It's all a ponzi scheme.

It's a hyperponzi. A ponzi combinator. As much as I find the actual technical details of blockchain technology interesting (it's basically nerd crack) - the severe lack of utility to general society and the constant price bubbles are really astounding. There are multiple levels of bubbles... the short term ethereum-led ICO bubble we are currently in, which is kind of overlaid on top of the long term bubble of cryptoc…

bubbleception

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#103

Post by discombobulate » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 2:47 PM UTC

richardknop wrote: post #99

discombobulate wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Occam's razor: Crypto tech works, & will be an incremental improvement to a number of areas.

Yes but that is completely unrelated to price of these tokens which is driven by speculation and has nothing to do with tech. I believe blockchain will be implemented by industries where it is useful and can improve many processes.

The speculation is driven by the tech. It wouldn't be promising tech if it didn't work.

I believe it will change international capital allocation, via token sales. Worldwide investment in the best & brightest.

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#104

Post by jboles » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 2:47 PM UTC

mpeg wrote: post #38

Anderkent wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ICO tokens. You describe an idea, provide no technical way forward, publish a token, and if you're lucky people start speculating on that token and you get crazy amounts of funding. Then just live on that money for a couple months before announcing that the project has failed, the tokens crash, if you feel nice you can buy them back at that point. I.e. the spades are the ICO scams.

It's actually scary how calmly ICO founders announce theft of millions of dollars worth of coins (like with the Parity multisig bug).

You forgot the "oops we got hacked" announcement

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#105

Post by marcosdumay » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 2:54 PM UTC

zapt02 wrote: post #36

chvid wrote: post #28

I remember the .com-bubble; it kind of made sense that companies like Amazon were very valuable as they had the promise to transform whole industries. But this one; it is just stupid. Massive amounts of electricity and hardware wasted to keep a distributed ledger safe; an army of computer nerds facilitating fraud, narcotics sale and money laundry; and finally the bankers sensing bucks to be made on a large number of…

That's a very one-dimensional view of things. Blockchain technology carries with it the possibility to change how we think about and use money. Bitcoin is a zero-trust system that still manages to hold $41 billion dollar in value. However, I agree that almost all ICOs are cash-grabs. In my opinion we already have coins for all verticals that matter.

You know, the words "zero-trust" and "money" don't go along well with each other.

The current value of BTC comes from trust. It's just not the kind you were expecting it to be.

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#106

Post by bitJericho » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 2:58 PM UTC

richardknop wrote: post #42

Investing in crypto is like a gambling addiction. I know some people who were paper millionaires based on their BTC during the days before Mt Gox collapse. They lost their entire savings once Mt Gox collapsed, since then they have spent years working hard to recover their savings and now they are investing all of it in ICOs. This won't end well. Seems to me like the story is repeating. On a side note, the brigading/s…

If you're looking for a reliable exchange, might I humbly recommend my exchange? http://bitcoinsexchange.itmustbetrue.com

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#107

Post by softawre » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 3:01 PM UTC

richardknop wrote: post #60

PeterStuer wrote: post #58

If you've made a 7 figure salary for a few years, you can afford to take a gamble on an ICO with your pocket money. Who needs a second yacht anyway?

If I earned 7 figure salary, I would do the job for about 5 years and then retire. With savings after 5 years of 7 figure salary you should be able create a comfortable passive income. Buy couple real estate properties and rent them out, invest remainder in blue chip equities and collect dividends. And you never need to work again.

I agree with you.

However, wouldn't somebody who makes say 9$ an hour have the same thoughts about developer salaries?

> If I made 200k a year, I would work for about 5 years and then retire.

I mean it's possible if you save a ton and live very cheaply, like somebody who today makes 9$/hour might be used to doing.

People always want more. Though, there is a sweet spot (~90k/year?) where more money means less and less to you.

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#108

Post by cableshaft » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 3:02 PM UTC

richardknop wrote: post #85

cableshaft wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did you invest, and why did you feel you needed to sell it off so fast? I bought some bitcoin when I thought it had reached the bottom at $800 a couple years ago, but I was wrong and it kept sliding all the way down to $250 a coin (and stayed that way for a year and a half, that was rough to see the price every day, I eventually stopped watching it for about six months), but I held on to it, and the current pric…

I invested when BTC was around 1100-1200, don't remember exactly. It then fell bellow 1000 to low 900s (quite quickly) and I panic sold. It was sometimes last year before it went to rise to almost 3000. I guess I am not a type of person who can take the stress of investing in something so volatile. I am trying to live a fiscally responsible and frugal life and this was probably the riskiest investment I have ever mad…

I'm glad to hear you only invested a small amount. Hopefully you can just take it as a life lesson and not be filled too much with regret. I've certainly made mistakes that have cost me money in the past. A few examples: dropping out of school (and later returning years later once tuition had tripled), missteps in my career, a period of unemployment exacerbating my credit card debt, etc.

It is probably best to wait until you've bought the property. That property is an investment as well. I don't mean in the "buy a house and sell it later for big bucks" variety, it's an investment for more comfort in your life and future. I'm about ready to start saving up for a house as well, and it's going to be hard to stop throwing in $100 here, $100 there towards crypto and only put it towards a downpayment, but I need to start doing that.

Also stop buying video and board games for awhile. I'll have to only play the stuff I already have and never got around to playing for awhile. It's going to be hell :)

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#109

Post by softawre » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 3:04 PM UTC

golergka wrote: post #39

Can someone here please be a devil's advocate and convince me to invest in ICOs?

If you like ultra high risk/reward investments and can afford to lose your money why not? It's like a much bigger roulette wheel where 90% of the slots are green but one of the slots gives you FU money.

Re: Bankers Ditch Fat Salaries to Chase Digital Currency Riches

#110

Post by ddeck » Wed, Jul 26, 2017, 3:06 PM UTC

cableshaft wrote: post #71

aaron-lebo wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's insidious. There are routinely four or five posts on the front page about cryptos and they usually lack substance. It seems like an entire industry with a lack of morals, ignorant about law and too often tech, but with the smug self-assuredness that they are on the verge of changing everything as only 20 somethings and extremists possess. It doesn't really bother me that people are dumb, but it's not cool when y…

You get in early enough, and you'll pretty much be always be up on your investment. I got in on Ethereum the day the announcement popped up on Hacker News that it was added to Coinbase, and the price per coin was $11 then. Even after it's massive 50% crash from it's peak, it's sitting at $200 a coin right now. That's still up almost 20x. That being said, I didn't have a ton of money to invest at the time, so I'm not…

>You get in early enough, and you'll pretty much be always be up on your investment

These sorts of statements explain a lot. You hear the same thing in every bull market, as investors conflate luck or the point in the cycle with investment acumen.

I'm not making any judgement on the usefulness or future of the blockchain et al, but this ico craze has a lot of similarities with the penny stock market, where many investors are simply relying on the greater fool to make them rich. Ultimately someone is always left holding the bag, and it is very often one without value.

The issuers and promoters always make out well. Many of the activities in the current ico market would be quite illegal if they were done in regulated markets.