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You would get absolutely slaughtered in a public market setting if this happened -- I love the idea of ICOs giving non-accredited investors the ability to inves

You would get absolutely slaughtered in a public market setting if this happened -- I love the idea of ICOs giving non-accredited investors the ability to invest in risky ventures, but you have to wonder about the diligence layer that comes with it, especially as organizations like Bancor do not have nearly the legal requirements for transparency.

opportune 9y ago
Meh, I say let the fools spend their money however they want. Soon they'll understand why there are restrictions on investing in areas like this
- simias 9y ago
  If they live in a civilized country and they end up going bankrupt it's the state welfare system that's going to have to pay to fix up that mess. Meanwhile the scammers will be busy swimming in money. I know that it isn't very popular in the cryptocurrency world but I really don't think all regulations are absolutely evil. Unfortunately I think some of them are going to figure it out the hard way.
- wpietri 9y ago
  Nope. It's like feeding pigeons. Pigeon-feeding is illegal because doing it results in an exploding pigeon population and pigeon shit everywhere. It becomes everybody's problem. We want to keep the number of scam artists to a minimum, and especially to reduce the number of training grounds where novice would-be scammers become practiced experts. Even if we have zero compassion for people who get rooked, there are a bunch of negative externalities to scams. A giant one is that trust is the lubricant of the machinery of the marketplace. The busiest and most efficient financial marketplaces are the ones that are the most effectively regulated. E.g., many foreign companies list in the US because people trust US regulators better than the home-country regulators, meaning they can raise money more effectively here. A good analogy is restaurant health and safety inspections. If they didn't happen, more people would get sick. If people were often getting sick at restaurants, they'd go out to eat a lot less. That harms the whole industry, resulting in sub-optimal outcomes for both businesses and consumers.

opportune 9y ago

Meh, I say let the fools spend their money however they want. Soon they'll understand why there are restrictions on investing in areas like this

simias 9y ago
If they live in a civilized country and they end up going bankrupt it's the state welfare system that's going to have to pay to fix up that mess. Meanwhile the scammers will be busy swimming in money. I know that it isn't very popular in the cryptocurrency world but I really don't think all regulations are absolutely evil. Unfortunately I think some of them are going to figure it out the hard way.
wpietri 9y ago
Nope. It's like feeding pigeons. Pigeon-feeding is illegal because doing it results in an exploding pigeon population and pigeon shit everywhere. It becomes everybody's problem. We want to keep the number of scam artists to a minimum, and especially to reduce the number of training grounds where novice would-be scammers become practiced experts. Even if we have zero compassion for people who get rooked, there are a bunch of negative externalities to scams. A giant one is that trust is the lubricant of the machinery of the marketplace. The busiest and most efficient financial marketplaces are the ones that are the most effectively regulated. E.g., many foreign companies list in the US because people trust US regulators better than the home-country regulators, meaning they can raise money more effectively here. A good analogy is restaurant health and safety inspections. If they didn't happen, more people would get sick. If people were often getting sick at restaurants, they'd go out to eat a lot less. That harms the whole industry, resulting in sub-optimal outcomes for both businesses and consumers.