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The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

economist.com

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Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#31

Post by rvz »

barnabee wrote: post #18
pavlov wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s practically impossible to use Bitcoin as digital cash because it’s so slow and expensive. That was the original problem it purported to solve, but it failed miserably at that.

So far. If you spend any time in the research community you’ll realise that those problems are very likely to get solved. Lightning alone probably gets us there. Its volatility and UX, as well as how negatively it is perceived currently (by some people) look like bigger blockers to me.

> Lightning alone probably gets us there.

Which that is not Bitcoin and neither is it on-chain.

The parent comment is correct on Bitcoin's failure as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and all it is instead, is a store of value. This is how you know it has failed in its intended purpose.

Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#32

Post by bigbizisverywyz »

Nekorosu wrote: post #21

"Crypto’s detractors have long argued that it is useless—unless you are a money-launderer or con-artist—and predicted its demise." What a piece of opinion. So not overgeneralizing and down to earth.

The article then goes on to say:

>In fact the picture is rather different: a sorting process is under way

And talks more about the process of penalizing weaker crypto assets, focusing on Tether. So it's actually a balanced and interesting overview of the fallout of the current selloff on what is now becoming a rather large and very complex market all of its own.

I only mention this as your comment seems a bit dismissive based on that one sentence.

Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#33

Post by rvz »

babyshake wrote: post #4
jasfi wrote: post #3

This is a particularly bad time to trade crypto if you don't know what you're doing. Even if you think you do, it's dangerous in a bear market.

That includes having short positions? Why would that be particularly bad if the momentum is downward?

> That includes having short positions?

Yes.

> Why would that be particularly bad if the momentum is downward?

That is why. You are too late for justifying a short position if it is already going down as you can still get yourself liquidated quickly if the price jumps in one day after a correction.

Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#34

Post by redox99 »

barnabee wrote: post #18
pavlov wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s practically impossible to use Bitcoin as digital cash because it’s so slow and expensive. That was the original problem it purported to solve, but it failed miserably at that.

So far. If you spend any time in the research community you’ll realise that those problems are very likely to get solved. Lightning alone probably gets us there. Its volatility and UX, as well as how negatively it is perceived currently (by some people) look like bigger blockers to me.

What advancements have happened regarding lightning? Last I heard about lightning was around 2017, and 5 years later it doesn't really seem to have gained much adoption.

Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#35

Post by Nekorosu »

bigbizisverywyz wrote: post #32
Nekorosu wrote: post #21

"Crypto’s detractors have long argued that it is useless—unless you are a money-launderer or con-artist—and predicted its demise." What a piece of opinion. So not overgeneralizing and down to earth.

The article then goes on to say: >In fact the picture is rather different: a sorting process is under way And talks more about the process of penalizing weaker crypto assets, focusing on Tether. So it's actually a balanced and interesting overview of the fallout of the current selloff on what is now becoming a rather large and very complex market all of its own. I only mention this as your comment seems a bit dismiss…

Thanks for bringing this up! The good stuff you've mentioned is behind the paywall for me and the intro I can read does look non-balanced.

Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#38

Post by nly »

wodenokoto wrote: post #36

Looking at Google's 5 year graph of Bitcoin prices, it looks like there were 2 crashes last year of similar size as this one.

With markets it's all about narrative. Growth stocks have been coming down and so has Bitcoin, so people like to highlight that everyone is sharing the pain.

Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#39

Post by nieve »

danuker wrote: post #17
syzygyhack wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It includes shorts because you don't know when the market will turn around. It does, however, exclude DCA, which is almost always a sensible investment strategy.

> DCA, which is almost always a sensible investment strategy. It might make more sense to lump-sum invest, if volatility is small relative to the return. At least for the stock market, it's not often worth sitting on cash.

But with cryptocurrency (the investments in question) volatility is quite high.

Re: The cryptocurrency sell-off has exposed those swimming naked

#40

Post by alangibson »

pavlov wrote: post #14
oleganza wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also bitcoin != crypto, those are not even subset/superset for the most part. Bitcoin solves one single problem of "digital cash" with the most robust and boring mechanism (known to mankind so far). While the "cryptos" aim at satisfying demand for all sorts of p2p apps and moneymaking schemes that can be funded with the digital cash to avoid getting regulated out of existence.

It’s practically impossible to use Bitcoin as digital cash because it’s so slow and expensive. That was the original problem it purported to solve, but it failed miserably at that.

Every time one makes the point that Bitcoin has no real utility, someone says 'Lightning network'. Does anyone know if it's getting any adoption?
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