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There are no rules in general. There is an ERC20 standard, but that is basically "shared API" that all the tokens agree on, and that was created organically. Be

There are no rules in general. There is an ERC20 standard, but that is basically "shared API" that all the tokens agree on, and that was created organically. Before ERC standard, people made up their own interfaces to tokens; now, they have a shared API. But these are technical rules. There are no other rules; everyone can create a token and dump it online, with no rules. The discussions are taking place on Ethereum reddit, I suppose, or maybe on other Ethereum-related subreddits and forums. Those forums are usually hives of scum and villainy, as you would expect. Scammers scamming other scammers. Because of existing code, making a new token is relatively easy; you take an existing one and change some variables. Yes, it doesn't do anything useful, but it doesn't need to; you just need a pretty website, where you put """"whitepaper"""" and a pretty photos and some """graphs""", repeat the word "decentralized" a few time and you are ready to dump. Since there is no regulation, those things are popping up one after the other. Want to create HackerNewsCoin for a new decentralized platform for programming discussion? Why not. Promise a release date for a very vaguely described project, far along in the future that everyone forgets by then, and you are all set. Does it make sense? No, but you get rich out of other people wanting to get rich. Unlike with investing, there is no actual value being made here. Just people wanting to get rich quickly. There is no substance, just scams on top of scams.

kostarelo 9y ago
> Unlike with investing, there is no actual value being made here. What's the value being made in investing?
- flatline 9y ago
  People take the invested money and do things with it. They make products and provide services. Public market speculation provides some secondary benefits such as liquidity - the stock market does not function very well if it generally takes weeks or months to pair a buyer with a seller. There is no product at the end of most of these ICOs - or at least, nothing commensurate with the amount raised. Most of them are purely speculative vehicles where money changes hands from ICO investors to second- and third-tier buyers. They are pyramid schemes that eventually collapse. Or the founders simply abscond with whatever they can. If there is a product at the end of a round of investment, the odds of it seeing the light of day are probably somewhat worse than kickstarter.
wolco 9y ago
In a way it sounds like a good way to trade virtual goods. As long as money isn't involved I see the benefit. The harm comes when these coins appear on the exchanges

kostarelo 9y ago

> Unlike with investing, there is no actual value being made here. What's the value being made in investing?

flatline 9y ago
People take the invested money and do things with it. They make products and provide services. Public market speculation provides some secondary benefits such as liquidity - the stock market does not function very well if it generally takes weeks or months to pair a buyer with a seller. There is no product at the end of most of these ICOs - or at least, nothing commensurate with the amount raised. Most of them are purely speculative vehicles where money changes hands from ICO investors to second- and third-tier buyers. They are pyramid schemes that eventually collapse. Or the founders simply abscond with whatever they can. If there is a product at the end of a round of investment, the odds of it seeing the light of day are probably somewhat worse than kickstarter.

wolco 9y ago

In a way it sounds like a good way to trade virtual goods. As long as money isn't involved I see the benefit. The harm comes when these coins appear on the exchanges