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$3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

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Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#171
post #4

"Sold" It's hard to show that they really sold these coins. Certainly, the LFG transferred the coins to some different exchanges. But did they truly sell them? If I was running a dodgy ponzi scheme and saw it collapsing catastrophically, I don't think I'd be throwing good money after bad trying to futilely patch it up. Much better to stash the remaining assets away somewhere and personally cash out later on. Also, “I…

> “In a sense, the market is going to take that as kind of bullish.” I mean everything is a bit oversold right now on negative emotions, both in the crypto space and in the stock markets. There's probably going to be a positive bounce just because markets don't move in straight lines. There is always the chance that something else explodes due to stress tomorrow and hits the headlines and crypto and/or stocks start m…

>I mean everything is a bit oversold right now on negative emotions, both in the crypto space and in the stock markets.

...Things have corrected SLIGHTLY from an absolutely historic bubble and you think it's OVER sold?

Meanwhile, we have significant inflation, rising interest rates, supply shocks that still haven't been sorted out and signs of economic slowdown.

Prices have been out of touch with reality for a long time. We aint anywhere near a bottom yet IMO.

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You said what happened to Luna can't happen to BTC because the BTC supply is capped. It's not. The inability to mine new BTC doesn't actually matter. The pseudobanks we call exchanges are still able to introduce numberless BTC into circulation through loans. The result is inflation and possibly market crashes in case of defaults. Really no different from what Tether and every other bank is doing. I've written more de…

> BTC supply is capped. It's not. Yes, it is. They are not introducing BTC into circulation. This is verifiable via the blockchain. Banks creating IOU's or derivatives or whatever other abstraction they can come up with never generates new BTC. You'd hope that people foolish enough to work with such financial institutions would know the risk of possessing nothing but an instrument created by the bank. If you're unwil…

How much BTC exists in the blockchain is ultimately irrelevant. What matters is the amount of BTC actively circulating.

If you deposit 1 BTC on Binance, then I can get your BTC in the form of a loan. I can even withdraw your BTC. Meanwhile, Binance records still say you have 1 BTC, they even allow you to trade with it. So there's really 2 BTC in circulation. That BTC is duplicated, it's in multiple places simultaneously.

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Terra Luna rallied 500x (50,000%) off the lows. The patient is alive! There may no longer be a head attached to the body; but - look! - the little finger is twitching.

Right, there is no takeaway, retail was making it a meme coin for the lulz and this is about volatile fun trading opportunities from people like me that have no care for the name of any asset or ticker. A buy the dip trade fueled by unverifiable rumors of a recovery plan.

"dead cat bounce" is what we call it in trad fi.

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#174
post #92
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What functionality was different between Bitcoin and Luna? Is Luna not run off of Bitcoin? So if Luna could function as a Ponzi scheme, why doesn't Bitcoin inherently have that same capability or function embedded into it? Or is there something preventing that from happening with Bitcoin? Confused.

Terra (token LUNA) is its own chain. Trillions of brand new LUNA tokens were minted within the span of a day or so rendering the token worthless. This is due to the way LUNA was tied to the algorithmic stablecoin UST. It was a true ponzi. BTC's max supply is capped and the release schedule of new coins is fixed and predictable. There is no possible way that trillions of new bitcoins could suddenly be created.

It's certainly debatable whether Bitcoin has any real worth as a currency or as an investment, or if it's just another giant speculative bubble waiting to fall apart.

But it's definitely looking like "anonymously drop a protocol and disappear" was a smart move.

All these Ethereum-based token coins seem like they're trying to answer the question "what if Bitcoin had a central banker, but it's a kid in his 20s with a CS degree?"

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure they can. You deposit 1 BTC, they loan it out to someone else. Boom, 2 BTC.

No. There is still 1 BTC in this scenerio. When you choose to deposit your 1 BTC you've lost custody of it and somebody else has gained possession of it. All you have is a promise that you'll get it back - which is not === BTC.

> There is still 1 BTC in this scenerio.

You simply do not understand finance. Consider Eurodollars as another example: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/eurodollar.asp

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll have to explain how that's usefully different from the fiat context.

First you'll have to explain to me why you would give somebody your bitcoin and allow them to give it to somebody else!

https://www.bankrate.com/glossary/r/repurchase-agreement-rep...

Every single day it's Economics 101 here.

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would miners folding cause Bitcoin to drop in value? The same amount of Bitcoin will be mined no matter what.

Not quite. Bitcoin difficulty adjusts every 2000 blocks, which typically happens every two weeks. If the hashrate drops, those blocks happen less often, so the adjustment happens less often. These past years the Bitcoin ASICs have been tremendously profitable, and as a result the demand for the hardware goes up, leading to huge profits for the hardware makers. These past few months have seen a drop in Bitcoin, which…

This all sounds good on paper, except for the fact that large miners don't sell their bitcoin. Even when they do, it isn't on the open markets and happens in ways that don't affect the price (OTC) and by selling options.

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#178
post #7

I am extremely out of the loop on the latest crypto developments / schemes, but * Where did this foundation get $3B to buy Bitcoin? * Is there any proof at all that they traded it to a counterparty who actually attempted to prop up UST and didn't just run off with them?

> Is there any proof at all that they traded it to a counterparty who actually attempted to prop up UST and didn't just run off with them? This brings up an exceedingly funny point: blockchains excel at making every transaction public (a property that nearly nobody actually wants) and simultaneously offering complete privacy to institutional actors. In other words: privacy for me, but not for thee.

Why can't non-institutional actors achieve the same level of privacy? Seems like it would be much, much easier for smaller actors since they are dealing in much smaller amounts..

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll have to explain how that's usefully different from the fiat context.

Because there's no such thing as unbacked BTC. You either have the UTXOs pointing at an address you hold the keys for, or you do not. If someone loans you BTC, the supply of BTC has not increased.

> If someone loans you BTC, the supply of BTC has not increased.

True when someone does it, false when a fractional reserve bank does it.

When someone loans money to someone else, money physically changes hands and there is no concept of a reserve. Banks are able to maintain the illusion of full reserves even though they operate in a state of perpetual insolvency.

Re: $3B in Bitcoin was sold in a last-ditch attempt to save UST from collapse

#180
post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By 2032? We need new songs, “you just got Do Kwon’d” instead of “Mt Goxxed”

Just as a reminder about how Mt Gox played out - it looks like all the people who lost money on it will receive 1:1 fiat-denominated compensation for their losses, Mark Karpeles won't serve a day in prison, and is likely to walk away with ~3 billion worth of BTC[1]. Who'd have thought that failing to operate a bitcoin exchange is a thousand times more lucrative than actually operating one! [1] If Mark owed you a bitc…

That is assuming that the whole "we got hacked" is a complete fabrication. It is possible, but isn't it completely short sighted?

I mean, who would change places with him? His head has a price, and he will never be able to hide anywhere in the world or spend any of that money. He is going to live the rest of his life being watched by authorities all around the world and he will have thousands of people believing he is holding the stash.

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