A document describing the precise process used to acquire ICO shares, which I plan to automate https://medium.com/@simonwintersf/the-worlds-most-simple-gui...
Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
21–30 of 57 posts
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#22Aren't they taking on somewhat more risk by contributing large sums of money earlier on? I kind of think the discount is acceptable, but there should be stronger terms around the ability to flip it immediately.
Getting in a few weeks earlier on a multi-year project doesn't seem like much additional risk.
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#23You mean to tell me that investors don't actually want their digital Beanie Babies and are trying to pitch them to suckers after getting them cheap to make money? Colour me shocked. It's like nobody learned anything from the early 2000s.
I don't think they forgot the lessons. Its just that the allure of quick money is just too great for many people. I think this might be why a lot of people get addicted to gambling, for instance. In this case, I think most people are aware its a bubble/ponzi scheme and are trying to "beat it" by making the most profit and getting out ASAP before the bust.
It's a shame that cryptocurrency/tokens are being abused in this way - they're an interesting technology with a lot of good use cases, but after enough ICO instances where people get burned I'm concerned there's gonna be a huge aversion to them by the general public.
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#24Hedge Funds exist for one reason and one reason alone, to make money. Of course, they like early investment in the ICO's. But what's frightening is that the retail investors don't see the very obvious thing. You can't expect SEC to rally every time, individual investor education I guess is more important so people won't lose their hard earned money.
> You can't expect SEC to rally every time
Can you expect them to rally any time, given 2008?
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#25I liquidated all of my ether today. While I appreciate the potential of the technology, in my own opinion it is just too susceptible to market manipulations currently and there is too much uncertainty. I could be wrong but I am comfortable with that.
I will reinvest the profits in a vanguard fund where at least I know the 1000 pound gorilla manipulating the market is on my side. Kind of...
To those staying in, I wish you nothing but success.
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#26> Startups often need access to capital to promote ICOs. This should be a huge red flag. If a business is spending the majority of the money from early investors to find more investors, rather than actually developing and marketing their product, that's pretty much a text book pyramid scheme.
It's hardly textbook: previous investors are not being directly paid from incoming funds.
You're referring to a ponzi scheme. ICOs aren't ponzi schemes, but most of them are pump-and-dump schemes.
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#27Hedge Funds exist for one reason and one reason alone, to make money. Of course, they like early investment in the ICO's. But what's frightening is that the retail investors don't see the very obvious thing. You can't expect SEC to rally every time, individual investor education I guess is more important so people won't lose their hard earned money.
> You can't expect SEC to rally every time Can you expect them to rally any time, given 2008?
The SEC prosecutes a huge number of securities frauds.[1]
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#28Haha. How is this different from last tech bubble high of 2000 where folks were "daytrading" quickly appreciating tech stocks or last real estate cycle high where "everyone" was in and out flipping homes. I say its not any different! Here you have hedgies using early access advantage to buy at a discount and quickly turn around and sell to the "bag holders". (aka retail "know-it-all" bag holders).
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#29> Startups often need access to capital to promote ICOs. This should be a huge red flag. If a business is spending the majority of the money from early investors to find more investors, rather than actually developing and marketing their product, that's pretty much a text book pyramid scheme.
A huge proportion of the ICOs I investigate turn out to be pure facade. It's amazing to me just how quickly this con was honed and formalized, but I guess people have always been good at aping when it comes to get-rich-quick bandwagons. The standard ICO consists solely of: 1) A slick website. 2) A well-produced video. 3) A whitepaper that discusses trivially standard blockchain features and goals. No differentiation…
This. You hit the nail on the head.
Re: Hedge Funds Flip ICOs, Leaving Other Investors Holding the Bag
#30Haha. How is this different from last tech bubble high of 2000 where folks were "daytrading" quickly appreciating tech stocks or last real estate cycle high where "everyone" was in and out flipping homes. I say its not any different! Here you have hedgies using early access advantage to buy at a discount and quickly turn around and sell to the "bag holders". (aka retail "know-it-all" bag holders).
[deleted]