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NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

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Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#231

Post by Ekaros »

gruez wrote: post #27

sorry to be pedantic, but it's literally not multi-level-marketing? Specifically, it's missing the multi-level part. Your upline isn't getting $$$ when you sell a NFT. I suppose you can make the argument that if you then take the money and buy more stuff, then your upline gets paid, but that describes most distributor arrangements. Come to think of it, there isn't really even an upline. It's just a network of artists…

I agree. I kinda dislike when people throw around terms like pyramid scheme and MLM. And specifically calling crypto a ponzi. Yes there has been ponzi schemes done with crypto. But speculative bubble itself is not a ponzi scheme.

Pyramid and MLM are related concepts, and usually MLM is pyramid. That doesn't mean all pyramids are MLMs though. Same applies for other types of scams or structures.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#232

Post by vokep »

loudandskittish wrote: post #207
hzambo wrote: post #86

Most of the comments assume that with NFTs you are buying just a piece of digital image with no utility whatsoever. And yes, it is the case with most of the things we see on https://opensea.io/ . But on the other hand, there are a bunch of interesting projects out there where you can do some cool things with your NFTs, like the "card game" Axie Infinity and other ripoff projects - with a very few original ones - insp…

But online collectible card games have existed for well over a decade without any need for NFTs, including the ability to trade and sell your rare cards. What does having an NFT add?

It's a new implementation of the same thing, but now with no team, no servers, no company, just some code that runs on the blockchain (which is a ton of servers lol)

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#233

Post by dehrmann »

X6S1x6Okd1st wrote: post #187
dehrmann wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a pump and dump.

Which is different than an MLM. Honest question though: how long does it have to go on until it stops being a pump and dump in your mind?

> The line separating investment and speculation, which is never bright and clear, becomes blurred still further when most market participants have recently enjoyed triumphs. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible people drift into behavior akin to that of Cinderella at the ball. They know that overstaying the festivities — that is, continuing to speculate in companies that have gigantic valuations relative to the cash they are likely to generate in the future — will eventually bring on pumpkins and mice. But they nevertheless hate to miss a single minute of what is one helluva party. Therefore, the giddy participants all plan to leave just seconds before midnight. There’s a problem, though: They are dancing in a room in which the clocks have no hands.

But at least the solid tech companies had revenue in 2001. There's a long history of useless assets becoming a part of a bubble that pops. And this even worse than Beanie Babies. At least with those, if someone still enjoys them in 2021, they can put them on a shelf. Are you going to frame printed QR code of a NFT and tell your friends to scan it with their phones to verify what virtual asset you own?

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#234

Post by Tenoke »

darthvoldemort wrote: post #167
paxys wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you buy a Babe Ruth baseball card you aren't buying the rights to Babe Ruth. It's the card itself which is valuable, as a product of the context it was issued in. I don't know why that part, as it translates to NFTs, is so difficult for people to understand.

Because I can look at the baseball card. I can display the card as well. If you want to print out an NFT display that, go ahead but it's pretty meaningless.

A Babe Ruth card is pretty meaningless, too. It's hardly great to look at but you can derive pleasure from knowing you own it for some reason.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#235

Post by chrisco255 »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #219
darcys22 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its pretty arguable that cryptopunks have cultural and historical significance already. Even if you dont share that sentiment

Because I don’t know any unpopular art periods, I’ll swap to music. NFTs could be boy bands. It was fun and a few things came out of it, but largely most people don’t know or care who was in Take That and we moved on. Unlike Mozart or the Beatles which manage to have relevance beyond their times and lives. NFTs will always be a thing, but current popularity or references in white papers doesn’t mean much in a broader…

NFTs are a platform. I don't think this analogy applies.

NFTs are standards for digital ownership. If you think digital ownership will not stand the test of time, I don't know what to say. It's a critical technology for the future of the web and metaverse.

I'm sure that within the NFT ecosystem, some trends will fade with time. Maybe it's animal profile pics, or AI generated art collections or maybe it's autobattler gaming that falls out of favor, but as long as humans like gaming, music, art, and entertainment, I suspect NFTs will thrive.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#237

Post by NicoJuicy »

iAm25626 wrote: post #33

Car/bag/cloth/jewelry/art - these type of things are sometime considered status symbol. It help people convey certain “message” to other. NFT might could be the same in the ever more virtual world. I might not be be the target audience; but it does not meant that it hold no value to other. People spent lots of money on game skins, rare weapon. So there is a market. When one goes to a physical conference: flair/badges…

If someone comes to me and they said they paid 50 k for an NFT. And try to brag...

I will literally crawl on the floor to laugh at that stupidity.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#238

Post by Godel_unicode »

Tenoke wrote: post #229
Godel_unicode wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a lot of words to say "there is by design no way to do that". DeFi systems are all designed around the unspoken (although sometimes spoken, honestly) assumption that rules are bad and that the system should make enforcing them difficult-to-impossible. A fun exercise is to consider, if all businesses went to using *coin overnight and one accidentally overcharged your wallet, how would you get your coins back?

I can see exactly how much I'm being charged when making a tx and I can ask them for a refund the way I would if they overcharge my card..

And when they decide that you were charged correctly and tell you to pound sand? Or when you can't contact them because they closed your account but are still charging you? Sometimes, businesses aren't nice or reasonable.

I'm now genuinely curious, have you never heard of a credit card chargeback? What about a stop payment order for a check?

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#239

Post by consp »

X6S1x6Okd1st wrote: post #185
ineptech wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who convinces people to buy Herbalife? People who have spent a bunch of money on Herbalife. Who convinces people that NFTs aren't just a fad, they're really innovative and you should consider adding them to your portfolio? Not people who don't own any.

That still doesn't make an MLM, MLM's have a specific meaning.

Ok, let's call it a pump and dump scheme then. The end result is the same: high profit for those in control (early adopters) and latecomers get the bill.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#240

Post by jimbob45 »

VonGuard wrote: post #182
eh9 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hasn’t Banksy setup a whole pipeline to do just that?

He also created a painting that, upon being sold immediately shredded itself. They pulled the plug halfway through, though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXKE0nAMmg4

Did they pull the plug? I was under the impression that it was done halfway on purpose.
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