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Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

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Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A bear's den isn't its property any more than a park bench slept on becomes the slumberer's own. A bear, however, will use (and indeed seek to monopolize) violence to defend its den. That makes it property, at least until the bear relinquishes its claim (or something - or someone - else challenges its monopoly on violence).

> bear, however, will use (and indeed seek to monopolize) violence to defend its den. That makes it property That makes it territory. The simplest definition of property might be use rights one doesn’t need to use violence to defend. (Countries don’t have property.)

> The simplest definition of property might be use rights one doesn’t need to use violence to defend.

For something to be property entails all of:

- usus: the right to use it;

- fructus: the right to profit or otherwise benefit from it; and

- abusus: the right to destroy it, alter it, or otherwise exclude others from it

Abusus is in and of itself violence (specifically, theft) unless consented to by all other members of society. By "use rights" you might be thinking of something like usufruct, which is distinct from property and (as you correctly assess) does not necessarily entail violence or the monopolization thereof.

> Countries don’t have property.

Of course they do: their sovereign territory. It is indeed that property, enforced via a country's / nation-state's monopoly on violence - from which all land ownership derives (hence: that piece of paper called a "deed" that would be useful only as kindling or sanitary napkins if not for the state enforcing it).

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's like crypto enthusiasts honestly believe that the problem with the financial system is that the buildings have the word "Bank" on them. Then they turn around and offer to take your money promising absurdly high interest rates. Surprise! The only way to do that is to invest in risky assets, except this time there is no FDIC insurance, no capital requirements, no regulations whatsoever to protect your money.

Crypto enthusiasts will be doing fine having bought in many years ago. The trouble is for the randos who just jumped on the bandwagon and use all the weird risky add-on services.

I'm pretty sure at this point the majority of crypto "investors" are underwater.

https://debthammer.org/cryptocurrency-survey/

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#93
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true. It’s also true that “your body” is just a social construct. The rabbit hole of “property is just an idea” doesn’t end well for humans who seek agency.

That "property" is just a series of laws and agreements that we can change arbitrarily is neither a tricky concept nor a slippery slope. A body is not a series of laws and agreements that we can change arbitrarily, it's a hunk of meat. "Your body" can be a social construct if you want it to be, but that probably means that you're having a disassociative episode.

Chattel slavery wants a word with you.

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Real estate is an outlier in your examples due to there being limited supply and people need shelter People need lots of things. The principal constraints on real estate are political. (The entire concept of real estate is a social construct.) Not physical space.

Is not also the "idea of a social construct" a social construct? And by extension is also arbitrary and meaningless? And surely then every idea of any category is dissolved as meaningless and arbitrary, and then reason itself is absurd?

Just because something is a social construct does not mean it's arbitrary and meaningless.

Social constructs have developed over time under evolutionary pressure. Useless or damaging constructs eventually disappear since they contribute negatively towards survival.

The constructs that remain have demonstrated a certain level of fitness towards the environment.

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#95
post #8

Thiel is a smart investor but even smart investors lose money on some investments. "backed" can have many meanings. I would imagine he has some kind of stop-loss on his exposure to risk here. And indeed, its "Valar Ventures" which has invested, an indirect vehicle. Note: I dislike the guys politics, but that has nothing to do with an objective assessment of his financial investment chops. Same with Andreessen, he doe…

Thiel is not too smart. He’s smart. As smart as Steve Bannon? In fact I cannot differentiate who’s talking if you play their podcast interviews. Thiel has a sputtering of good ideas, and he was in the right place to invest in some successful ventures, but he’s not some once in a life time visionary. As of now, it looks like he’s nothing but a hypocritical selfish vindictive rich asshole with a blood boy (every adject…

When you’ve been an investor in multiple billion dollar businesses, you can call him out for not being smart.

Until then, you basically look like a couch philosopher criticizing public figures on an anonymous forum. Well done.

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Matt Levine always likes to say that cryptocurrencies are relearning hundreds of years of financial lessons in just a few short years. He describes the current crypto crisis as a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. Every single problem that cryptocurrencies face are extremely well known and studied phenomena in traditional economics. It is all very predictable.

It's like crypto enthusiasts honestly believe that the problem with the financial system is that the buildings have the word "Bank" on them. Then they turn around and offer to take your money promising absurdly high interest rates. Surprise! The only way to do that is to invest in risky assets, except this time there is no FDIC insurance, no capital requirements, no regulations whatsoever to protect your money.

Or, it's like they're incentizied to believe and promote what they're doing and new and different because it's a way to short circuit the current financial system and make money without having to have all the same connections and rules required to make that work in the current system.

Some are lying about it being different, some are willfully ignorant, and some are just clueless, but they were all excited to start something up in this new and exciting industry where people were literally throwing money at them.

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thiel is not too smart. He’s smart. As smart as Steve Bannon? In fact I cannot differentiate who’s talking if you play their podcast interviews. Thiel has a sputtering of good ideas, and he was in the right place to invest in some successful ventures, but he’s not some once in a life time visionary. As of now, it looks like he’s nothing but a hypocritical selfish vindictive rich asshole with a blood boy (every adject…

When you’ve been an investor in multiple billion dollar businesses, you can call him out for not being smart. Until then, you basically look like a couch philosopher criticizing public figures on an anonymous forum. Well done.

Snarky, ooh! Let me try!

You basically look like a anon pundit, criticizing couch philosophers on an anonymous forum. Well done.

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#98
post #55
post #19

I've been in and out of crypto since 2014 or so but I've never been more bearish than 2021. When the majority of my Twitter feed became visionaries predicting web3 it all seemed destined for pain. There are billions of reasons to embrace the idea of a platform shift but when everyone can see it coming a mile away they're probably either wrong or a deep trough of sorrow away from it working out.

You've never been more bearish than when the highest number of developers and builders are working on crypto?

People working in this doesn't necessarily translate to future progress. You can confusing lead and lag indicators. Some people enthusiastically using a product and ready to pay money for it, is a lead indicator. A lot of people working on solution for a problem that does not exist is no indicator at all.

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#99
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crypto enthusiasts will be doing fine having bought in many years ago. The trouble is for the randos who just jumped on the bandwagon and use all the weird risky add-on services.

I'm pretty sure at this point the majority of crypto "investors" are underwater. https://debthammer.org/cryptocurrency-survey/

The majority of crypto "investors" aren't crypto enthusiasts. They're make-me-rich-quick investment enthusiasts.

Re: Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Withdrawals

#100
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that's true, at that rate crypto will blaze past traditional finance in only a few years, and be hundreds of years ahead of traditional finance in a couple decades. Sounds pretty good to me.

By that logic, we should all be taking our paychecks in tulip bulbs.

People should stop mentioning that highly exaggerated cautionary hoax created by calvinists.

https://www.finance-watch.org/lessons-from-history-vii-tulip...

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-never-was-real-...

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