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The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

davidgolumbia.medium.com

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Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#61

Post by drchopchop »

nwah1 wrote: post #25
dnautics wrote: post #6

was ready to give this a shot, but what?? > They do not meet any of the standard tests for money (especially the three classic criteria of store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account) That's a really difficult claim to swallow. Especially without further explanation than a wall of citations that I'm not going to bother chasing because I know the claim is false. At least provide a quick synopsis/summary fo…

Many who were even pro-bitcoin like Peter Thiel gave up on the idea that it is a good platform for transactions, and instead argue that it is like "digital gold." A wildly volatile digital gold, of course, given that it has no other uses beyond speculation. But you are correct. It is bad at transactions but not incapable of them. Just as it is bad at storing value. As for being a unit of account that seems more theor…

If we knew in advance that the price of BTC would gradually decline from $16K to $100 over the next 5 years, nobody would ever talk about it again. It's an obfuscated Ponzi scheme wrapped in a clever (but extremely wasteful) proof of work algorithm.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#62

Post by criddell »

bitxbitxbitcoin wrote: post #37

Over the last several years I've come to the realization that most "cryptocurrency is garbage" posts boil down to the author underestimating or ignoring the financial realities of those living in other countries or circumstances. There are those that live in countries with hyperinflation or US sanctions that don't think that cryptocurrency is garbage.

That's an interesting point of view. How are cryptocurrencies being used by citizens in those countries?

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#63

Post by ztjio »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #41

I think it took about 13 years for Beanie Babies to rise and fall, but it was really only on the market for about 6 of those years.

Are you suggesting beanie babies disappeared after 6 years? Or only that the speculation did? Because the former is demonstrably false, Beanie Babies continue even now as an available product still interesting collectors. They, of course, aren't really a speculation product anymore, but, they definitely didn't stop existing on the mark after 6 years.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#64

Post by wmf »

criddell wrote: post #50
wyldfire wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> very damaging to the environment That's not accurate: not all cryptocoins are secured by an ever-escalating proof-of-work.

Is it true by market value? Bitcoin itself is worth something like $200 billion. What's the biggest counter-example?

I guess Ripple (XRP) is the biggest non-PoW blockchain at $11B. Ripple is also mired in criticisms of every kind.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#65

Post by pmiller2 »

Re: BTC is not money

In addition to attacking the "BTC is money" argument by claiming it isn't really a medium of exchange, I would take exception at saying it's any sort of "store of value," either.

As I understand it, 1 BTC is born after somebody cracks a specific SHA-256 hash. Okay? Big deal. That means all you can really say is that whoever successfully mines said BTC came up with the answer to a very specific math problem.

Granted, that does require a significant expenditure of resources (electricity to power mining equipment), but, who cares? Just because I put time and work into creating something does not make it automatically worth anything.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing else that gives BTC its value other than "proof of work," and the fact that enough people believe it's worth money. I have mentioned how "proof of work" clearly does not imply any particular value to a thing. So, that basically leaves the idea that BTC is worth something because people believe it is, and that sounds an awful lot like those dirty fiat currencies BTC and crypto people in general like to deride.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#66

Post by rebuilder »

pmiller2 wrote: post #65

Re: BTC is not money In addition to attacking the "BTC is money" argument by claiming it isn't really a medium of exchange, I would take exception at saying it's any sort of "store of value," either. As I understand it, 1 BTC is born after somebody cracks a specific SHA-256 hash. Okay? Big deal. That means all you can really say is that whoever successfully mines said BTC came up with the answer to a very specific ma…

I see where you're coming from, but what is there that is valuable, absent people believing it is valuable?

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#67

Post by notassigned »

socrates1998 wrote: post #36

I don't follow the blockchain world very well, but he makes an interesting point about it. Are there any projects, other than a few cryptocurrencies, that have impacted any industries significantly? I feel like we are all still waiting for blockchain to be adopted by something that makes it really useful.

Filecoin

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#68

Post by zalkota »

Daishiman wrote: post #42
zorked wrote: post #34

Anyone old enough to remember what the press said in the 90s about the Internet will recognize the similarities. The Internet is full of fraudulent websites. It's full of porn. Email isn't as warm as a hand-written letter. Communicating online isn't professional. Etc. Guess what, all those things were true but they turned out not to matter. You can do whatever else you want in a network that also carries porn. You le…

Internet-in-the-70s was incredibly, astoundingly useful, and people weren't in it for the potential, but because it was offering them something, _today_. I'm not seeing a single BTC enthusiast who's out for the utility of it. They are, quite literally, all of them into it for the speculatory potential.

Have you looked into the ethereum decentralized finance sector? It’s worth billions.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#69

Post by pmiller2 »

rebuilder wrote: post #66
pmiller2 wrote: post #65

Re: BTC is not money In addition to attacking the "BTC is money" argument by claiming it isn't really a medium of exchange, I would take exception at saying it's any sort of "store of value," either. As I understand it, 1 BTC is born after somebody cracks a specific SHA-256 hash. Okay? Big deal. That means all you can really say is that whoever successfully mines said BTC came up with the answer to a very specific ma…

I see where you're coming from, but what is there that is valuable, absent people believing it is valuable?

Things or raw materials that are useful automatically have value.

Re: The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is mostly fraudulent

#70

Post by kemonocode »

Daishiman wrote: post #42
zorked wrote: post #34

Anyone old enough to remember what the press said in the 90s about the Internet will recognize the similarities. The Internet is full of fraudulent websites. It's full of porn. Email isn't as warm as a hand-written letter. Communicating online isn't professional. Etc. Guess what, all those things were true but they turned out not to matter. You can do whatever else you want in a network that also carries porn. You le…

Internet-in-the-70s was incredibly, astoundingly useful, and people weren't in it for the potential, but because it was offering them something, _today_. I'm not seeing a single BTC enthusiast who's out for the utility of it. They are, quite literally, all of them into it for the speculatory potential.

I am out for the utility of it and I have lamented its volatility before (check my comment history if you'd like, even) so not "literally" all of them. I acknowledge I may be an anomaly but there is defintively a non-zero amount of people out there who do use BTC/crypto for its purported goals and not just for speculation.

And just like clockwork, whenever there are big price swings, these kind of articles attacking cryptocurrency show up on HN.

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