5 ms·

I love Bitcoin (and the broader ecosystem). The promise of great riches if you can survive long enough in a lawless new world, navigating the schemes, scams an

I love Bitcoin (and the broader ecosystem). The promise of great riches if you can survive long enough in a lawless new world, navigating the schemes, scams and intrigue and the government besides. It must be a glimpse of what got people to pack up and and head west for the gold rush. The mysterious author, watching mtgox grow, collapse and subsequent revelations, "we found Satoshi" debacle, the DAO heist and reaction, altcoins, block size schism, ICO's, segwit activation, segwit2x deactivation and bugs, Teather's "theft", this rally ... Chinese mining pools, Russian hackers, the dark web, struggles for control; it's like living in a Neal Stephenson novel. Worth the price of admission just for the entertainment value.

dstroot 9y ago
This.
- revmoo 9y ago
  This isn't reddit
prawn 9y ago
And that's why I've recommended to people that they buy even just a little bit to be part of the craziness. Even just $100 that they can afford to lose. Maybe it's tulips, maybe it's not. But it's incredibly interesting to watch unfold regardless.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
geff82 9y ago
You, man, said it right!! I am just invested with about a thousand Euros in the crypto world, and I mainly did it for one reason: I don‘t want to be last in the game and get some hands on experience. But mainly, I just want to be able to tell my grandchildren one day about that crypto craze that occured in about 2017. Its crazy, irrational, completely new and that is why I love it for that moment in my life.
wrinkl3 9y ago
If you reread some of Neal Stephenson's novels right now (namely Cryptonomicon and Reamde) it's remarkable how well he conceptualized cryptocurrencies long before their arrival. He obviously got the specifics wrong - his cybercurrencies always rely on an authoritative 3rd party, for instance - but he got the use cases, the culture and the impact spot on.
alexasmyths 9y ago
"The promise of great riches if you can survive long enough" Except that there is no net new value being created - and it's a zero sum game. So any 'riches' you make are from some suckers pocket. No thanks. The Valley and tech works because we are doing a lot of non-zero sum game stuff. Whenever anyone invents/creates something new - we can grow the whole pie. Yes - I see how it could be considered fun ... But most of the 'riches' from the 'Wild West' went to those who were just willing to be the most brutal. So in reality ... no thanks.
- cloakandswagger 9y ago
  You're completely wrong about crypto being a zero sum game. Wealth is created in crypto the same way it's created in the stock market, with changing perceptions and opinions on value driving the underlying asset's value.
  - alexasmyths 9y ago
    I'm afraid you don't understand the difference between a stock and a crypto currency, nor where the bulk of value is created. A) The bulk of value in capitalism is not created via the exchange of shares - it's created when people 'do stuff, make stuff and invent stuff' - yes - there is some value creation by financial activity, but it's not the bulk. Crypto currencies - if they were actually used as currencies - would provide some value. But i) they are not being used as currencies - and ii) they are certainly not being used to the point wherein they should be having a $50B valuation/cap. It's wrong to suggest that BTC has created $50B in value for civilization. B) Your point about valuation is wrong. Stocks can be valued in a number of ways, but ultimately they are worth the present value of all the assets the company has - and will have. Why? Because stocks are ownership. The companies bank account is de-facto owned by shareholders. Crypto currencies cannot be valued - they don't have anything underlying them - they do not imply ownership of anything - and especially since they are not used as currencies - their valuation is a total fantasy. BTC is worth whatever the next guy thinks it is worth - and what he thinks it is worth is pure speculative fiction. Just a function of emotional dynamics and fad. A stock in 'Bank of America' - well you can calculate how much assets they have, and estimate how much you might think they will earn in the future. There will be disagreement over that hence fluctuating value of prices ... (and BTW it's good that we have a lot of people trying to figure out how much BofA is worth - that provides value). At least as of today - all crypto currencies are a fiction. They are invented numbers that others are duped into paying money for. They are generally not used as currencies, and so ... 'there is no 'there' there'. Even thought it's really interesting from an academic perspective, and something may yet come out of it.

dstroot 9y ago

This.

revmoo 9y ago
This isn't reddit

prawn 9y ago

And that's why I've recommended to people that they buy even just a little bit to be part of the craziness. Even just $100 that they can afford to lose. Maybe it's tulips, maybe it's not. But it's incredibly interesting to watch unfold regardless.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

geff82 9y ago

You, man, said it right!! I am just invested with about a thousand Euros in the crypto world, and I mainly did it for one reason: I don‘t want to be last in the game and get some hands on experience. But mainly, I just want to be able to tell my grandchildren one day about that crypto craze that occured in about 2017. Its crazy, irrational, completely new and that is why I love it for that moment in my life.

wrinkl3 9y ago

If you reread some of Neal Stephenson's novels right now (namely Cryptonomicon and Reamde) it's remarkable how well he conceptualized cryptocurrencies long before their arrival. He obviously got the specifics wrong - his cybercurrencies always rely on an authoritative 3rd party, for instance - but he got the use cases, the culture and the impact spot on.

alexasmyths 9y ago

"The promise of great riches if you can survive long enough" Except that there is no net new value being created - and it's a zero sum game. So any 'riches' you make are from some suckers pocket. No thanks. The Valley and tech works because we are doing a lot of non-zero sum game stuff. Whenever anyone invents/creates something new - we can grow the whole pie. Yes - I see how it could be considered fun ... But most of the 'riches' from the 'Wild West' went to those who were just willing to be the most brutal. So in reality ... no thanks.

cloakandswagger 9y ago
You're completely wrong about crypto being a zero sum game. Wealth is created in crypto the same way it's created in the stock market, with changing perceptions and opinions on value driving the underlying asset's value.
- alexasmyths 9y ago
  I'm afraid you don't understand the difference between a stock and a crypto currency, nor where the bulk of value is created. A) The bulk of value in capitalism is not created via the exchange of shares - it's created when people 'do stuff, make stuff and invent stuff' - yes - there is some value creation by financial activity, but it's not the bulk. Crypto currencies - if they were actually used as currencies - would provide some value. But i) they are not being used as currencies - and ii) they are certainly not being used to the point wherein they should be having a $50B valuation/cap. It's wrong to suggest that BTC has created $50B in value for civilization. B) Your point about valuation is wrong. Stocks can be valued in a number of ways, but ultimately they are worth the present value of all the assets the company has - and will have. Why? Because stocks are ownership. The companies bank account is de-facto owned by shareholders. Crypto currencies cannot be valued - they don't have anything underlying them - they do not imply ownership of anything - and especially since they are not used as currencies - their valuation is a total fantasy. BTC is worth whatever the next guy thinks it is worth - and what he thinks it is worth is pure speculative fiction. Just a function of emotional dynamics and fad. A stock in 'Bank of America' - well you can calculate how much assets they have, and estimate how much you might think they will earn in the future. There will be disagreement over that hence fluctuating value of prices ... (and BTW it's good that we have a lot of people trying to figure out how much BofA is worth - that provides value). At least as of today - all crypto currencies are a fiction. They are invented numbers that others are duped into paying money for. They are generally not used as currencies, and so ... 'there is no 'there' there'. Even thought it's really interesting from an academic perspective, and something may yet come out of it.