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Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

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Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#141
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You got conned. Anyone who watches his actual interviews first hand can see that he’s mentally unstable, holds a degree from a third-rate university, and is more concerned with his own narcissistic tendencies than actually governing.

I do have to admit more and more Friedman seems like he is more intent on building his subscriber count than actually asking tough questions. I can't say I feel like his fact checking is worth anything if it ever was. I should have known better.

> he is more intent on building his subscriber count than actually asking tough questions.

It's quite a sad indicator of the state of knowledge in the world where Fridman is considered the more "intellectual" of pop podcasters when the most popular podcasts are crap like Rogan, Shawn Ryan, Candace Owens, and Call Her Daddy.

Because Fridman will literally have a guest with platform A, like Netanyahu, and agree on 95% of his controversial points with little pushback. And then immediately after have on Yuval Harari, with the opposite opinion on those controversial points... and agree with 95% again with little pushback. Fridman softballs and is almost useless except as a megaphone. You'd rather have him cut out and have Netanyahu and Harari debate on their own merits.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#142
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Pyramid schemes are illegal, but Multi-Level-Marketing schemes are legal. In this case, this wouldn't even fit the mold for a multilevel marketing scheme, or even affiliate marketing. There are real cash flows detached from a buy-in both of those schemes. >people earn utility tokens they can spend once into the economy, than shares where they have the right to demand rent extraction Again, there's cash flows underly…

Not sure I understand what you're trying to say. There are "real cash flows" in every case, just what you consider as the unit of account is different. As far as shares, no. It's completely different. Shares are equity securities, that entitle people to dividends or they want the shares to go up in price. Regardless, it sets up a never-ending demand for enshittification and rent extraction that you see across Big Tec…

MLM schemes and affiliate marketing businesses will have, or be related to, underlying businesses of selling products which generate revenue, and they'll have some level of expenses related to producing these products. These are components of an operating cash flow. Businesses, whether private or public, are expected to either have healthy cash flows, or would be expected to grow their cash flows in the future in the case of a startup, to support the share price. Also, shares don't necessarily "entitle people to dividends" as shares often have no dividends. In the case of cryptocurrencies, there is no underlying physical product, nor underlying debt, nor a cash flow generating business.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#143

The Solana trenches are effectively a giant crime-riddled casino. Everyone who plays understands this -- you can make money but you're essentially gambling. I'm not saying this is OK, but it's the current state of things. When this $Libra token launched, everything else dumped as capital flowed into it, and then effectively got siphoned off by insiders. So even people that didn't chase "Argentina's coin" got screwed.…

I don't get the crime part for the most part. If you know the rules of the game and you willingly participate, then how is it different from any casino? I don't buy into any of the people that claim they were scammed, they knew the rules and they tried to make money out of nothing. Other than perhaps trading unregulated securities, I don't see the actual fraud. To be clear it is distinct from pretending to be a secur…

Is there such a thing as truly "unregulated" here? What I mean is - pyramid schemes are illegal irrespective of the mechanism, so there's always _some_ basic regulation for these things.

I feel pyramid schemes are just a special kind of pump-and-dump scheme, and I don't understand how these aren't being punished effectively and swiftly by the existing laws and enforcement agencies...

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's so transparently a way for Trump to extract money from his constituents that a part of me wants to respect it. But no one deserves to be scammed. I don't really get along with Republicans, I gotta admit I don't really like most Republicans now, and I find the Republican platform reprehensible, but I wouldn't wish being scammed for a conman on my worst enemy.

Maybe they view it as offering to their god

Some might, though I've seen some people responding with "stay poor then" when people like me criticize the DJT ticker and $TRUMP coin.

I think a lot of them genuinely think that their godking is going to make them rich and reward their loyalty.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#145
I seem to be in the minority here, and I would definitely be framed as a supporter for saying this, but I'm a nuanced person.

He is more of an idiot than a scammer, legally I think the term is negligence instead of fraud. Having recognized that he caused damage by negligence, additionally I think he was a victim too, he was scammed out of political capital and reputation. I don't think he was in on it, although definitely someone near him definitely was, not necessarily a dev, but definitely someone with a "bag", holding it and speculating that it would go up, essentially utilizing their position for personal gain, which I think is a very classic form of corruption.

It's not the minister of economy, it's not his modus operandi (Funds and offshore accounts), this has the markings of someone young. Whatever he got out of it, either by buying early and holding, or by founding it himself, he for sure lost of all of his political capital.

I'll take a look at the specific contract, and addresses, I'm assuming it's a basic pump.fun thing, but there may be more to it.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#146
post #69

Just to clarify, here are some important differences compared to the Trump case: 1. Milei did not sell this as a memecoin at all, unlike Trump, he sold it as a "financial instrument to help finance small Argentinan enterprises". 2. Trump tweeted about $TRUMP BEFORE stepping into office, Milei is already the president of Argentina. This constitutes an obvious ethical violation, and possibly a legal one as well. 3. 80%…

> If he made such a blunder in finance which supposedly is one of his specialties just imagine how incompetent he and most of the government right now is on other matters.

This is a hasty generalization; while I agree on the fact that Milei was incompetent in promoting a memecoin as a financial instrument, that doesn't necessarily mean he is a bad economist all of the sudden, nor that the things he has done for Argentina are inherently bad, it just means he was incompetent on this matter. I am painfully aware of how divided the country is on the current government and its actions, however that doesn't invite sweeping judgments based on a single event. Criticism should be specific and supported by broader evidence rather than assuming total incompetence from one mistake.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#147
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You got conned. Anyone who watches his actual interviews first hand can see that he’s mentally unstable, holds a degree from a third-rate university, and is more concerned with his own narcissistic tendencies than actually governing.

I do have to admit more and more Friedman seems like he is more intent on building his subscriber count than actually asking tough questions. I can't say I feel like his fact checking is worth anything if it ever was. I should have known better.

Fridman gets his guests to open up, which is valuable, but yes he does that by being uncritical of basically all guests ...

For example, I didn't know who Vivek R was before a month or so ago, and I watched the Fridman interview with him. I actually thought he came off very well ... He got to hit his high notes

Then I watched this Ezra Klein interview, and I got a better picture - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY6NGom3gvU

Vivek got challenged a bit there, in a good way. I saw a lot more of the holes and inconsistencies

(Ezra Klein seems to be a reasonable centrist, more like the reporters of 20-30 years ago. After reading NYTimes since the 90's, I stopped taking at least half of NYTimes seriously maybe around 2015. They were/are literally trolling in their Op Eds for clicks, and greatly expanded that section. But there is still some stuff worth reading)

I also watched parts of Fridman's interview of Milei, and didn't form a strong impression, maybe because of the translation.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#148
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I really appreciate your comment. I'm being totally sincere. I did see the news reports about him with a chainsaw. He seemed like a nut when I saw that. And I then watched the Lex Friedman interview and read the profile in the New Yorker. I was surprised in that my initial glance at him was not positive but my opinions shifted. Please give me other nuanced and intelligent discussions. I'm sorry I missed the ones you…

that you mention lex and the new yorker in the same sentence is very damaging to your brand for me.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#149
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do have to admit more and more Friedman seems like he is more intent on building his subscriber count than actually asking tough questions. I can't say I feel like his fact checking is worth anything if it ever was. I should have known better.

> he is more intent on building his subscriber count than actually asking tough questions. It's quite a sad indicator of the state of knowledge in the world where Fridman is considered the more "intellectual" of pop podcasters when the most popular podcasts are crap like Rogan, Shawn Ryan, Candace Owens, and Call Her Daddy. Because Fridman will literally have a guest with platform A, like Netanyahu, and agree on 95%…

I don't actually see a problem with that ...

He is uncritical, yes. But he doesn't deny being uncritical.

It's a useful "service" to get people with diametrically opposite viewpoints to talk freely, and he does that well

The interviewer doesn't need to impose their world view on the guest, or the audience -- it's OK to let the audience make up their own minds.

Contradictions aren't inherently bad, either ... "consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds", etc.

Re: Javier Milei backtracks on $4.4B memecoin after 'insiders' pocket $87M

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is talking about Argentinian President, not Trump

I don't think that's right.

> I've been following Argentina's struggles for a while given my time in Brazil and the parallels to hyperinflation so I was willing to consider his unorthodox approach, but perhaps it blinded me?

???

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