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Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

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Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#231

Post by amluto »

iudqnolq wrote: post #43
vgatherps wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean fourth possibility is that binance is solvent right? I’m not assigning probabilities to any of them but taking their insolvency as a foregone conclusion seems pretty incorrect?

Assuming rational actors I can't see any reason to evade audits for years, even after litigation, unless the result of the audit would be bad.

(Not an audit expert)

I can imagine that a full audit would uncover dangerous skeletons in the closet that don’t necessarily imply insolvency. At the very least, Binance made no secret of using extremely dubious banking relationships to collect money from its clients.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#232

Post by jrm4 »

simiones wrote: post #155
jrm4 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The core idea does not work for many, if not most, of the things people have promised it can work for -- but that's very different from "doesn't work." I'd say it's still a pretty strong contender not for "cash in hand" but for a better "money in your mattress."

Sure, if you're ok with the money in your mattress losing 66% of its value in one year, as happened to BTC.

That's why I didn't say money in the bank? Possibly volatile, but a hedge-slash-gamble against whatever screwiness is going on with other forms of money.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#233

Post by jrm4 »

gilrain wrote: post #201
jrm4 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The core idea does not work for many, if not most, of the things people have promised it can work for -- but that's very different from "doesn't work." I'd say it's still a pretty strong contender not for "cash in hand" but for a better "money in your mattress."

Why on earth would anyone keep “money” in a mattress that their government will not accept for payment of their debts. Wild logic.

It's almost as if there are other parties with whom you have may want to have money transactions other than governments.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#234

Post by jrm4 »

jcpham2 wrote: post #121
Gigachad wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the only use cases so far are pleasing paranoid schizos, ransomware, and scams? Cash in your mattress is likely much safer than in your bitcoin wallet.

What if I can’t decide which is better so I further diversify into both?

That's it. What you lose in safety due to price volatility you gain in worrying less about your house broken into and not knowing how flammable your mattress is.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#235

Post by poutrathor »

AdamN wrote: post #222
poutrathor wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mazars is 5th in Europe, 24 400 employees and it makes ~2 bilions in turnover. this above comment is not bringing much value to the discussion I think.

Ever since the Trump stuff, I don't think Mazar's gets alot of trust anymore: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/nyregion/mazars-trump-org...

Fair point but I am pretty sure so many accounting firms messed up quite often. Without slowing their business much.

I remember this one for example that was probably missed by most people. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58671915

Trump was a loaded client and any firm doing business with any politicians should be extra-careful

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#236

Post by throwawaymaths »

cm2187 wrote: post #230
throwawaymaths wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the big four signed off on evergrande and other Chinese real estate and it seems like there will be no consequences (we can't have the big zero)

Has there been an accounting fraud with Evergrande? Being overleveraged isn’t fraud.

It's fraud when you tell investors incorrect things in prospectuses, for example. These things are required to be signed off by auditors to participate in us stock exchanges

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#237

Post by jmull »

rippercushions wrote: post #118
dottrap wrote: post #71

This YouTuber (Sasha Yanshin) did a scrutiny of the errors or omissions made with the different wallet checks in the report. This is the most detailed tear down I've been able to find so far on the Internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42VnEndJ9mo

This is worth the watch. TL;DR: the non-audit a) doesn't cover Binance's notional holdings of $40B+ in stablecoins at all, b) doesn't match the list of wallets they've previously published, and c) there are shenanigans like billions in BTC teleporting into wallets right before the attestation date and teleporting right out afterwards.

I personally wouldn't transfer a dime into Binance, but demonstrating the ability to perform a transaction of a specific time, place, and amount isn't shenanigans.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#238

Post by jmull »

anyfactor wrote: post #140
dottrap wrote: post #71

This YouTuber (Sasha Yanshin) did a scrutiny of the errors or omissions made with the different wallet checks in the report. This is the most detailed tear down I've been able to find so far on the Internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42VnEndJ9mo

Even though I would like to casually watch a video on Binance but I am going to pass on that channel. That channel is defined by red backgrounds, down arrows and fire. I firmly believe that one should be open to every opinion as long as they have a built a good framework aka BS detector. I feel like this video is not going to be a casual watch for me and I am definitely not invested in Binance that much to fact check…

I watched maybe a third of the video. It was truly awful.

I think the overall conclusion is right -- that the Mazars report does not show Binance is sound -- but, wow, what an awful way to deliver it.

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#239

Post by birracerveza »

hef19898 wrote: post #184
johnnymorgan wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The economy collapsing...it's the first comment in this thread for context.

I thought Germany's dependency on Russian gas was the reason this time?

It depends on how the media wants to spin it.

My point was, even if the whole crypto ecosystem went to zero right now, the effects on the economy at large would be negligible. However, it would be the perfect scapegoat to finally crash the economy with no survivors. The media would not have a problem with just blaming it all on crypto: as you can see here, people are already very eager to do so! No other explanation needed to convince the masses!

Re: Binance is trying to calm investors, but its finances remain a mystery

#240

Post by totalZero »

ulfw wrote: post #52
rippercushions wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's unlikely even Coinbase will survive: they lost $1.1 billion with a B in Q2 and $545M in Q3. Their trading fees are well known to be far higher than the competition (because they can't juice their numbers by gambling), so they rely on unsophisticated mass investors who don't know any better, but those investors are wisely staying the hell away from crypto right now.

Calling anything crypto "investing" is really funny.

  invest
  verb
  gerund or present participle: investing
  1. expend money with the expectation of achieving a profit
  or material result by putting it into financial plans, 
  shares, or property, or by using it to develop a commercial 
  venture.
Seems like a correct use of the term to me, even if crypto is highly speculative and kind of a dumpster fire recently.
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