Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

fstoppers.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 268 posts

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#201

Post by matwood »

bluedevil2k wrote: post #158
SkipperCat wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. It reminds me of diamonds. They're super expensive because the DeBeers family convinced everyone it's a sign of love and marriage. They're really not that rare and can be made in a lab. Aside from industrial grinders, there's really not much use for them.

It’s not anything like diamonds - diamond prices have slowly and consistently increased over the last 100 years and doesn’t see the crazy 20-30% swings in weekly prices that NFTs and even BTC sees. It’s considered a safe investment with a solid store or value. And dismissing them as “only useful for grinders” dismisses their value in jewelry. If millions find joy in having diamonds in their jewelry then I’d say there…

> If millions find joy in having diamonds in their jewelry then I’d say there’s plenty of use for them.

If millions find joy in having BTC in their digital wallet then I’d say there’s plenty of use for them.

The only reason diamond prices haven't cratered is because of a company propping them up.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#202

Post by Hamuko »

rory wrote: post #196
danaris wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least if you have a really rare baseball card, a) You have the physical card. It is in your possession, and the only way for you to lose it is for something physical to happen to it. b) You can look at and enjoy the card in its physicality. You can show it to others, and the only reason that is the case is that it is physically in your possession. Contrast that with NFTs, where all you "own" is the idea of owning…

I guess, but if the point is interacting with the physical card, why are "counterfeit" cards worthless? Can't you interact with them in the exact same way as the "real" baseball card the counterfeit is copying? It seems like the value is all in the idea of owning one instance of a limited run.

>why are "counterfeit" cards worthless?

They're not worthless, they're worth less. I could easily hang up a counterfeit Mona Lisa on my wall and get a kick out of it. And if I stop getting a kick out of it, I can put it on Craigslist for $100 afterwards.

Of course, there's absolutely no history behind the painting as it wasn't painted by the renaissance man. No one would pay to see it because it would be about as significant as a JPEG of the Mona Lisa. However, that doesn't mean that it's worthless. Even that JPEG can make for a good phone wallpaper.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#203

Post by systoll »

greenonions wrote: post #119
ses1984 wrote: post #91

Jacob Collier was going to sell an nft that granted lifetime access to any of his concerts. That seemed like a not terrible use case for an nft. He changed his mind when people pointed out the environmental impact of cryptocurrency.

Did anyone point out the environmental impact of concerts?

Among others, he did so himself.

He didn't make the comparison, but his figures would put his entire touring history at ~2000 token transfers worth of emissions.

Leaving aside, you know, the cost of performing -- this involves creating and transferring a lot more than 2000 'tokens' which grant people access to those performances. Thankfully venues just handle those with a database.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#204

Post by tasuki »

Zealotux wrote: post #51
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is your friend making that money on a regular basis? Or just once during a market mania?

Just in the last week, he started 2-3 weeks back I believe. I doubt the mania is going to last but this is a very low risk high reward market for artists.

As per the article, not necessarily "low risk" for artists - they pay real money to mint the NFTs.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#205

Post by koonsolo »

doodlebugging wrote: post #99

Someone once said that there's a sucker born every minute. It doesn't matter who said it but if you look back at the time period when it could've been said by the person it was initially attributed to, PT Barnum, then you have an approximate period between 1835 when he began his sideshow of oddities tour and 1850 when he shifted focus to theaters and a new audience. If during that time period it was true that there w…

Who is the sucker? The one who bought bitcoin years ago, or the one that didn't? Because I'm confused now.

I guess it's always "the other person" that is the sucker, as long as you can convince yourself of this fact.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#207

Post by tasuki »

volkk wrote: post #101
Zealotux wrote: post #24

An acquaintance of mine made 15k euros in 6 days with auto-generated artworks, he even made it to the local newspaper. I don't even know why I bother learning new frameworks and languages anymore.

i feel like everyday at this point (at least from the time i've noticed which started with the GME craze) there's some get rich quick scheme happening and i keep missing out. i'm still happy in life but there's a not so small part of me that is very FOMO-ey and disappointed/jealous with the concept of doing almost nothing and making a lot of money on what essentially just boils down to hype. the other part of me is a…

>there's some get rich quick scheme happening and i keep missing out

I had similar feelings. An acquiantance told me he didn't mind missing out on Bitcoin: he has all he needs, and he's happy to earn his money by solving people's problems. Actually, so do I! Perhaps there isn't much to be jealous of...

> there seems to be some amount of wealth transfer happening here

Yes, from poor artists to the people operating the NFT marketplaces? I'm generally for people losing money on their dumb decisions, as it's the best way to learn, but I can't help feeling sorry for them.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#208

Post by rory »

Hamuko wrote: post #202
rory wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess, but if the point is interacting with the physical card, why are "counterfeit" cards worthless? Can't you interact with them in the exact same way as the "real" baseball card the counterfeit is copying? It seems like the value is all in the idea of owning one instance of a limited run.

> why are "counterfeit" cards worthless? They're not worthless, they're worth less. I could easily hang up a counterfeit Mona Lisa on my wall and get a kick out of it. And if I stop getting a kick out of it, I can put it on Craigslist for $100 afterwards. Of course, there's absolutely no history behind the painting as it wasn't painted by the renaissance man. No one would pay to see it because it would be about as si…

Right, but in the case we're talking about (baseball cards), the counterfeit is worth WAY less. I'd guess it's worth about as much as a JPEG of it sized to be a phone wallpaper. Maybe a dollar.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#209

Post by JeremyNT »

arthur_sav wrote: post #95
herodotus wrote: post #6

I wrote my first Fortran program in 1969. I have been active in the field of computing since then, both as an academic and as a programmer in industry. During this time, there have been several times when I first heard about something new, something potentially game changing. I remember some of them very clearly: 1. Around 1971: a Wang desktop computer. Imagine: a computer that fit on a desk! 2. Visicalc (spreadsheet…

As with any technology we only see its impact with the pass of time. Bitcoin is holding pretty strong after 12ish years, you can't deny facts. You can question the practical applications but technology is often used in other ways than it was originally intended. In the case of Bitcoin it may prove to be useful only as a cross border digital store of value instead of an every day currency. Same with NFTs, you can dism…

> Same with NFTs, you can dismiss the hype but that doesn't mean there are no practical applications that people may end up adopting

Bitcoin and NFTs have essentially two (closely related) practical applications: 1) pyramid scheme and 2) gambling / speculation on market volatility.

So long as USD are cheap and regulation is lax, these will remain incredibly compelling use cases.

Re: NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

#210

Post by SergeAx »

mike00632 wrote: post #199
Y_Y wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The NFT itself is the fraud.

Is it? The NBA is selling "clips" of Basketball plays. They make clear in the terms of the sale that the buyer does not have any rights to the video after buying the NFT. The NBA can do whatever it wants with the actual video including selling it again

Putting a fraudilent scheme with all caps in your ToS and EULA doesn't make it legit.
Post reply on HN