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NFTs Are a Pyramid Scheme and People Are Already Losing Money

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

#231

Post by dorkwood »

capableweb wrote: post #15
ohgodplsno wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

things_that_have_been_said_since_2017_but_have_not_happened.txt

Sorry, can't find that. Eth2.0 is actually filed under things_that_are_very_hard_to_research_develop_and_deploy_to_production_as_they_are_currently_supporting_a_200_billion_market.txt

I found one with a quick Google search (actually even earlier, 2016).

Excerpts from the comment thread [0]:

> Ethereum hopes to do away with mining by early 2017.

> They're switching to proof of stake. Early PoS designs have some issues, like the infamous "nothing at stake" problem, but theirs addresses those.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12128406

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

#232

Post by zepto »

Y_Y wrote: post #136
Pyrodogg wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it even a fraud? What rights does holding the NFT give to the source object?

The NFT itself is the fraud.

How is it a fraud? Nobody claims it to be anything other than a token.

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

#233

Post by zepto »

delaaxe wrote: post #223
IAmGraydon wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Evil? No I don’t think so. I believe the correct word is idiotic.

This is not the first time art is destroyed upon purchase. Long before NFTs, a painting (banksy?) was shredded right after auction. Not sure if anyone called that evil or idiotic

It was only partially shredded.

Nothing was actually destroyed, and the partially shredded artwork was a new artwork in its own right.

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

#234

Post by zepto »

bsenftner wrote: post #161
mrleinad wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they not only destroyed art, but also wasted energy on creating the NFT, adding to global warming. If there's anything that's not absolute evil in all that, I fail to see it.

I'm sorry, but respectfully, you don't understand the modern art world: the destruction of the physical object and the creation of the NFT was, in this specific instance, the work of art itself. The art world has taken "meta" to extreme dimensions Internet Culture will not realize, perhaps ever.

Ok - but that piece of art is done now.

NFTs are no longer original and so are not art.

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

#235

Post by zepto »

gverrilla wrote: post #134
NoOneNew wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In your description, what's the difference between an NFT and a gag USD million bill with Bush, Obama, Trump or Biden's face on it? This makes it even harder to understand why anyone should care. Hell, it starts to make the people who thought Beanie Babies were a long term investment seem smart.

NFT Art, imo: They are future contracts for ideas in the metaidea market. They have monetary value because crypto believers think and some work and some gamble to make it go HUGE and make all believers a lot of money. It's an emergent marketing scheme and donation mechanism. It's actually genius. Triple-entry accounting has a huge number of desirable real-world applications, not to mention it's a living part within t…

> and make all believers a lot of money

Somehow I think it will transfer money from believers to a small group of non-believers.

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

#236

Post by calibas »

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 know a professional artist and this isn't unusual. He'll make 15k in 6 days, then 2k over the next 6 months. It's incredibly inconsistent.

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

#237

Post by TomSwirly »

rdiddly wrote: post #215
Nextgrid wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still can't see how a blockchain here would do something that a database wouldn't. A DB of authentic serial numbers with a way to mark them as claimed is all you need. If your new widget's serial is already marked as claimed on the manufacturer's website then you most likely have a counterfeit, no blockchain necessary.

Well, all you need is an immutable write-only (edit: append-only) database. Which is the one thing a blockchain actually is.

But a very very very slow such database, one that uses insane quantities of memory and energy.

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

#238

Post by TomSwirly »

ses1984 wrote: post #154
SCHiM wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are, as a saas I think. I mean, this gives you all the control, you can charge for all sorts of services and "value adds". There's no reason you, as the maker of this software, would want this available as a block chain. Unless you also create a token and start having people speculate on your anti-counterfeiting blockchain? That's what it looks like to me anyway.

I am not really following you. The appeal of an nft is that it doesn't rely on a saas, it doesn't rely on a trusted third party that needs up time that needs to be available in the future. Jacob Collier tried to sell an nft that granted lifetime access to his concerts. The appeal of such an nft is that it can be traded independently of any third party, on the open market. Of course it depends on Jacob's promise to ho…

So it's like a contract, but not enforceable.

In other words, worthless.

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

#239

Post by TomSwirly »

phroobster wrote: post #193
fock wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

opensource the database (just as dying companies should opensource repair manuals and signing keys - have fun with your blockchain-authenticated John Deere). and regularly archive the state hash in a public archive.

Sounds like a lot of work. Not sure why you think that is superior to simply using a blockchain.

Because a blockchain is far, far, far more expensive in terms of computing resources.

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

#240

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

A picture sold as NFT is akin a football ball signed by Ronaldo, it derives its value from 1) fame 2) scarcity. A ball is a cheap and easily replicated object, but with a signature on it, it becomes valuable.

NFT offers several advantages in this respect.

1) Ronaldo's identity is verified by the NFT site, and blockchain ensures authenticity for eternity. Let's remember, how many famous pieces of art turned out to be fakes. Can't happen with NFT. And no need to pay astronomical amounts to art experts for that.

2) Ronaldo must promise that he will sign only a limited amount of digital balls. Yes, the buyers should just trust Ronaldo on this, but Ronaldo has an incentive to keep his promise, because NFT contracts usually include "royalties": every time in the future, when the digital ball is resold, original issuer receives 10-20% of the price increase. So he is interested in objects retaining value.

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