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

TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 366 posts

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#231

Post by PinguTS »

SilverBirch wrote: post #205

I think we really need to start talking about the broader "why" of why crypto. There's a good reason that we're seeing /r/antiwork and people throwing their last pennies into crypto. People have seen that those with assets got rich and those that work get poorer. There's no point aspiring to a better life through work. In reality what has happened is inflation that we don't measure. Assets are inflated by easy money…

It is not the first bubble and it will be not the last.

It is easy to blame the government, but don't to take the responsibilities by themselves.

There are many people who warned about the crypto bubble and the ponzi scheme over the years. But the crypto-bro's told a different story.

Many people expected that the bubble bust earlier. Some people where over that and stated that crypto is here to stay as long as there are people who can convince others to pour money in, yeah, like a ponzi scheme.

Crypto-bro's told the blue sky's, because it is decentralized and no government is able to regulate it. Now the government is blamed.

You may could blame the government, if it is regulated by the government. But it isn't. The crypto-bro's worked hard that it should not be regulated. So, you can't blame the government.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#232

Post by pototo666 »

pastacacioepepe wrote: post #214
SilverBirch wrote: post #205

I think we really need to start talking about the broader "why" of why crypto. There's a good reason that we're seeing /r/antiwork and people throwing their last pennies into crypto. People have seen that those with assets got rich and those that work get poorer. There's no point aspiring to a better life through work. In reality what has happened is inflation that we don't measure. Assets are inflated by easy money…

I've been working real hard for the past 10+ years and I have very little to show for it yet. In the meantime a couple of friends who never worked got rich(er) just because they bought a few thousands $ (money borrowed...from their family) worth of crypto at the right moment. What is this bullshit? Why am I even busting my ass trying to create value, when I could just buy shitcoins and become a millionaire? I don't t…

I would argue that crytpo is not pure lottery. It's a risky investment. As every assets, crypto can be over-valued or under-valued.

As someone from China, where central government limit foregin currency exchange, Bitcoin is a god-given tech. I'm not arguing for its value and i don't mean to persuade anyone. This is my opinion. I believe in its value. And guess what? I miss the crypto train too. And I have zero crypto investments. Because I don't want to take unncessary finantial risk when I cannot. I didn't borrow to bet on Bitcoin. In fact, I didn't bet at all. I didn't envy those who bet and win. Because there 100 losers for each winner.

Hard working provides higher expected return than betting.

Wise investmens and hard working provide higher expected return than hard-working alone.

Just my personal thoughts.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#233

Post by Gibbon1 »

PinguTS wrote: post #231
SilverBirch wrote: post #205

I think we really need to start talking about the broader "why" of why crypto. There's a good reason that we're seeing /r/antiwork and people throwing their last pennies into crypto. People have seen that those with assets got rich and those that work get poorer. There's no point aspiring to a better life through work. In reality what has happened is inflation that we don't measure. Assets are inflated by easy money…

It is not the first bubble and it will be not the last. It is easy to blame the government, but don't to take the responsibilities by themselves. There are many people who warned about the crypto bubble and the ponzi scheme over the years. But the crypto-bro's told a different story. Many people expected that the bubble bust earlier. Some people where over that and stated that crypto is here to stay as long as there…

I blame the government for not tossing the crypto-bro's in prison where they belong.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#234

Post by BuckRogers »

alangibson wrote: post #216
SilverBirch wrote: post #205

I think we really need to start talking about the broader "why" of why crypto. There's a good reason that we're seeing /r/antiwork and people throwing their last pennies into crypto. People have seen that those with assets got rich and those that work get poorer. There's no point aspiring to a better life through work. In reality what has happened is inflation that we don't measure. Assets are inflated by easy money…

> This is not a sustainable economic settlement. Unfortunately it is. For most of human history the rich got richer and the poor just stayed poor. It's truly sad to say, but people will suffer along at a subsistence level pretty much indefinitely. Without a wartime boom or the threat of an organized Left to force concessions, which were the two major drivers of wealth moving to the lower 90% in the 20th century as fa…

Concise and well said. Only one thing to add, war time booms are a bit of a myth. For example, where was the post Iraq War boom?

It is a real thing. You have to blow up your industrial competitors to achieve a worthwhile and meaningful postwar boom.

The difference today is that even if we blew up China, companies still wouldn’t invest here. They just go to India or Vietnam.

We do need more unions in this country. Because our historically low union membership was not enough to stop outsourcing. My hometown‘s manufacturing was strong and has been gutted. It was an anti-union town. And no, the companies did not reward that. It just made it easier for them to go to Malaysia.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#235

Post by gjs278 »

Gibbon1 wrote: post #233
PinguTS wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not the first bubble and it will be not the last. It is easy to blame the government, but don't to take the responsibilities by themselves. There are many people who warned about the crypto bubble and the ponzi scheme over the years. But the crypto-bro's told a different story. Many people expected that the bubble bust earlier. Some people where over that and stated that crypto is here to stay as long as there…

I blame the government for not tossing the crypto-bro's in prison where they belong.

No post body was provided.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#236

Post by CTDOCodebases »

andrewstuart wrote: post #172

There's nothing at all wrong with crypto if you understand it is a ponzi scheme and nothing more . With that understanding, you now know how to play the game - which is to say you MUST get out before the ponzi collapses. Your job as investor/gambler is to get in while the house of cards is starting to be built, and to get out before the Jenga tower collapses - and it definitely will. If however you play crypto and te…

How can Bitcoin be a ponzi scheme if it doesn't generate returns for the investors?

I have bought and sold Bitcoin on an exchange and the anonymous person on the other end of the trade did not make any promises of returns.

By your definition is Uber stock a ponzi scheme? It too does not provide a return and relies on buying pressure to increase it's price so people can reap the rewards of their so called "investment".

I would argue that a better mental model of the crypto space is a decentralised globally distributed digital casino.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#237

Post by alangibson »

BuckRogers wrote: post #234
alangibson wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is not a sustainable economic settlement. Unfortunately it is. For most of human history the rich got richer and the poor just stayed poor. It's truly sad to say, but people will suffer along at a subsistence level pretty much indefinitely. Without a wartime boom or the threat of an organized Left to force concessions, which were the two major drivers of wealth moving to the lower 90% in the 20th century as fa…

Concise and well said. Only one thing to add, war time booms are a bit of a myth. For example, where was the post Iraq War boom? It is a real thing. You have to blow up your industrial competitors to achieve a worthwhile and meaningful postwar boom. The difference today is that even if we blew up China, companies still wouldn’t invest here. They just go to India or Vietnam. We do need more unions in this country. Bec…

> where was the post Iraq War boom?

Indeed. I wartime booms are a thing of the past. I guess the reason is that mobilizations are smaller as a function of the total economy and/or the economy is a permanent wartime economy given that the USA is almost always at war somewhere.

> We do need more unions in this country

Agreed, but I don't think that would allow us to repeat the gains of the last century. Capital make big concessions to the working class in Europe and the US in the 20th century because there was a very real threat of a revolution lead by the organized Left.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#238

Post by unicornmama »

UkrainianJew wrote: post #143
jmyeet wrote: post #31

I occasionally get asked by relatives and friends of what to invest in. Now I'm no expert but I guess in the valley of the blind the one-eyed man is king. Thing is what I tell them seems to bore them because, well, it's boring. My advice is basically this: Put your money in a broad index fund and don't look at it for 10 years. In giving this advice you start to realize it's not what people want to hear. It's not that…

>Put your money in a broad index fund and don't look at it for 10 years. That might be a dead strategy in 2022. After the 2008 crisis the fed discovered a miraculous economic cure: slowly print money and throw it into the economy, so people keep transacting with each other, and the GDP (and stocks) keep growing. Turns out, most of this growth was on paper - fads, speculative investments, overvalued stocks. Now that t…

This is spot on. What worked in the last 10, 20 or 30 years isn’t guaranteed to continue to work. Market cycles, if it does cycle, is closer to 100 years than mere decades. ETFs, 60/40, 4%, etc. have become a cult mantra that blinds investors to critically consider alternative realities.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#239

Post by pastacacioepepe »

pototo666 wrote: post #232
pastacacioepepe wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been working real hard for the past 10+ years and I have very little to show for it yet. In the meantime a couple of friends who never worked got rich(er) just because they bought a few thousands $ (money borrowed...from their family) worth of crypto at the right moment. What is this bullshit? Why am I even busting my ass trying to create value, when I could just buy shitcoins and become a millionaire? I don't t…

I would argue that crytpo is not pure lottery. It's a risky investment. As every assets, crypto can be over-valued or under-valued. As someone from China, where central government limit foregin currency exchange, Bitcoin is a god-given tech. I'm not arguing for its value and i don't mean to persuade anyone. This is my opinion. I believe in its value. And guess what? I miss the crypto train too. And I have zero crypto…

> I would argue that crytpo is not pure lottery. It's a risky investment.

Unless you have funds to throw on it and you become rich without ever moving a finger. I mean yeah, congrats for your ability to "see" the future, but I struggle to understand how you created any value, how there's anything more than luck and income inequality to support a case for your new wealth to be legit. You're just extracting value from whoever came after you, in what is a classic Ponzi scheme.

If you already had capital to begin with, you never even really "risked" on it. If you have $10 milions and you risk $1 milion, that is in no way a risk comparable to someone who owns $1k and risks $100.

> As someone from China, where central government limit foregin currency exchange, Bitcoin is a god-given tech.

Why? Most usage of crypto I see is either tax eavsion or on the black markets. Drugs, weapons, fake ids and much much worse. China is doing well and the rest of the world is considering limitations on crypto as well.

> Wise investmens and hard working provide higher expected return than hard-working alone.

I agree on this, but fuck this world where you can get richer than people who work without doing any hard work.

Re: TerraUSD crash led to vanished savings, shattered dreams

#240

Post by pa7x1 »

pastacacioepepe wrote: post #214
SilverBirch wrote: post #205

I think we really need to start talking about the broader "why" of why crypto. There's a good reason that we're seeing /r/antiwork and people throwing their last pennies into crypto. People have seen that those with assets got rich and those that work get poorer. There's no point aspiring to a better life through work. In reality what has happened is inflation that we don't measure. Assets are inflated by easy money…

I've been working real hard for the past 10+ years and I have very little to show for it yet. In the meantime a couple of friends who never worked got rich(er) just because they bought a few thousands $ (money borrowed...from their family) worth of crypto at the right moment. What is this bullshit? Why am I even busting my ass trying to create value, when I could just buy shitcoins and become a millionaire? I don't t…

I have long-suspected that a significant part of the hate for crypto from tech-literate people is resentment for not figuring out the success of something they were equipped to have seen earlier. And here is a little snippet of it at work.

> If your friend only had $5k in total and threw them all in Terra then I guess the lesson he got in the crash is way more valuable than any savings he might have kept. He would have lost them anyway on the next shitcoin.

So if they lose money, they deserve it.

> In the meantime a couple of friends who never worked got rich just because they bought a few thousands $ (money borrowed...from their family) worth of crypto at the right moment.

> What is this bullshit? Why am I even busting my ass trying to create value, when I could just buy shitcoins and become a millionaire?

If they win money, they don't deserve it.

I guess we should just send the money to you.

Post reply on HN