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Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

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Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#141

Post by anaganisk »

lostmsu wrote: post #126
derbOac wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin is puzzling to me, in that a commodity usually has some value outside of a trading market per se. That is, it is usually consumable in some abstract sense. I'm not sure what you would "do" with Bitcoin other than as some form of currency. In this regard, ETH always seemed a bit more on track, in the sense that there have been attempts to use the ETH blockchain from the beginning for the purposes of computatio…

My inner conspiracy theorist would say that given the crypto market situation and state of ETH and Bitcoin as platforms SEC actions indicate that Bitcoin might have something in its design that US government wants vs ETH.

Market dominance?

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#143

Post by Eisenstein »

wongarsu wrote: post #89
misnome wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, it’s stable as long as you understand it is unstable, and helps people without access to banking but with a stable, constant internet connection and perfect operational security, access none of the benefits of having a bank account. Oh, and it’s actually neither of those but if you wish _reaaaaly_ hard and ignore all the practical problems, it might be, someday.

In absolute terms it's not stable, in relative terms it can be. If you gave me the choice between storing my money in Bitcoin or Turkish Lira I would choose Bitcoin every time. If I have the option to use USD instead the answer is different. > helps people without access to banking but with a stable, constant internet connection and perfect operational security You don't need constant internet connection unless you a…

So, you need a worker and I offer to day labor for you. At the end of the day, how do I get paid in bitcoin?

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#144

Post by username332211 »

otoburb wrote: post #97
cs702 wrote: post #58

Three highly speculative predictions: 1. The courts are more likely than not to rule that many crypto-assets -- but not all -- should be regulated as investments. It won't be fun for a lot of crypto traders. 2. Over time, the usual giant financial institutions are bound to become the dominant market makers in crypto-assets. In all likelihood, one of them will end up buying Coinbase. Those giant financial institutions…

>> If this sounds far-fetched, consider that many smart and smart-sounding people have predicted Bitcoin's demise, and so far all have been utterly wrong Bernie Madoff pulled off one of the largest (literal Ponzi) scams and evidently stated that he started in the 1990s for a run of just over 15 years until being arrested in 2008, although some investigators thought that his fraudulent activities started as far back a…

It's not seemingly impossible, it's scientifically proven that the general public can't know when the price of Bitcoin will collapse. And it has nothing to do with the general public being stupid and any of that bullshit.

It's called the efficient market hypothesis.

If it was known that the price of Bitcoin will collapse on the 7th of June 2025, every owner would have sold their Bitcoins on the 6th of June. But then the price would collapse on the 6th, not on the 7th. But of course, the definite knowledge the price will collapse on the 6th would mean the price would collapse on the 5th and so forth.

Hence why accurate, definite and widely believed predictions are impossible.

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#145

Post by jadbox »

ttpphd wrote: post #111
rohith2506 wrote: post #87

I am absolutely baffled by how much negative criticism the whole blockchain industry gets here and I would like to understand the reasoning behind it. Most of the arguments fall into these following buckets concluding to "IT MUST DIE" 1. The whole crypto is a get rich quick scheme with predatory practices everywhere. It's a wild wild west with no sort of regulations. Well, guess what, regulated industry is no differe…

"2. I haven't seen a single use case of blockchain in the world yet. This is a valid critic and I do understand." Hmmm, it doesn't exactly sound like you are "absolutely baffled". You acknowledge that there are astoundingly few good use cases for blockchain.

Filecoin is probably one of the best examples of a decentralized storage rewarded via crypto. There's also several Defi lending platforms that have helped students paying off debt, although I don't know enough about which networks are the best there.

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#146

Post by multjoy »

bulbosaur123 wrote: post #69
babypuncher wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then they wonder why regular consumers aren't fleeing banks to start using crypto for everything. I've yet to see cryptocurrencies actually solve a problem that your everyday average person has when buying groceries or going out to eat. They just make things more difficult and confusing, and all these attempts to alleviate that just lead us straight to "banks, but worse".

This is what most people got wrong. Crypto solves one problem and one problem only: censorship. Crypto is the only, single censorship resistant asset on the entire earth. You can't remove private key by force ($5 wrench is not an argument). You can confiscate land, stocks, freeze bank accounts, take gold. You can't extract a string of numbers which you aren't even sure is there in the first place. Not yet at least. M…

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jul/13/met-polic...

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#147

Post by scottiebarnes »

HDThoreaun wrote: post #96
cs702 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...can you actually do more with it [I assume you mean Bitcoin] now than you could five years ago? Not really. To date, Bitcoin has been used successfully only as an alternate store of value -- one which, like gold, doesn't depend on the financial credibility of a particular government or country. Bitcoin's continued existence depends only on the integrity of its distributed consensus algorithm, which so far has wi…

Bitcoin is a horrible store of value. It's incredibly volatile.

Increase timeline to account for scaled adoption and project volatility for those variables.

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#148

Post by skyyler »

apercu wrote: post #121
burnished wrote: post #75

Woof, lots of emotional and nigh incoherent responses to a pretty thoughtful little statement. Doesn't inspire confidence when the average response seems to boil down to a form of religious fervor. Which is too bad, seems like it would have been the perfect place for a thorough rebuttal.

One side says "Bitcoin good!" I assume they all still hold bitcoin or dream of doing so. One side says "Bitcoin bad!" I assume they don't hold bitcoin. I think the idea is sexy, and it definitely harkens back to the earlier hacker/counterculture days of the interwebs. But I guess I will just sit on the sidelines. I don't even lament selling bitcoin at $300 any more. :)

I sold a bunch of BTC for $1 and bought a car with it. I used to regret that, the most expensive Ford Escort ever purchased.

But now I feel like I dodged a bullet, I could have been one of those zealots that spent all day every day thinking about crypto, and I'm very glad I'm not.

Re: Former US SEC attorney: 'Get out of crypto platforms now'

#150

Post by cs702 »

youreincorrect wrote: post #136
cs702 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The comparison to Madoff is not apt. Madoff hid losses by committing accounting fraud, whereas every single transaction in the Bitcoin network is visible to everyone and, moreover, cryptographically verifiable by everyone. As long as the distributed consensus algorithm continues to function, Bitcoin will continue to exist. Period. (Government regulations cannot kill it; they can only drive it underground, as with gol…

When people talk about Bitcoin's potential demise, they are referring to its price and perceived value, not whether it will cease to exist necessarily. Madoff also was not ultimately caught and his scheme ended because of the accounting fraud being revealed (i.e. the fraud was not that important). That happened later. He was caught because a market downturn resulted in him being unable to acquire new victims for the…

The longer Bitcoin's network continues to function, more and more people will become aware of its resiliency. Governments may topple; banks may fail; exchanges may go bust; Bitcoin keeps on ticking. As long as the network continues to function, Bitcoin will have a price.
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