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Bitcoin is really starting to resemble a pyramid scheme or penny stocks. No one can really cash out without people cashing in, otherwise the entire pyramid coll

Bitcoin is really starting to resemble a pyramid scheme or penny stocks. No one can really cash out without people cashing in, otherwise the entire pyramid collapses. And the cult-like mentality of many Bitcoin holders does strike me as a multi-level marketing attitude. Just visit any forum or thread about bitcoin and there will always be that one person with some kind of tagline "it's not too late to get in!" which is a classic FOMO sales tactic. You know when the average person is getting into the market, we are in the late stages of the game. When suckers enter, smart money leaves. It's a very interesting technology which will continue to exist but it's really looks like an out of control bubble. In some ways it would be better for it to implode and get the snake oil salesman and sketchy white papers out of the ecosystem. It used to be a really cool proving ground for cutting edge technologies but now it's looking more like rampant greed, excess and arrogance.

closeparen 9y ago
You have to remember that many of these people are not planning on “cashing out” but on crypto becoming the new cash.
- jorblumesea 9y ago
  If that were true, why does everyone talk about it in fiat currency terms? Why would it matter what price BTC is, if the goal is to just use it? Who cares, then? I don't buy that argument. It seems to be mostly fueled by greed.
nmj 9y ago
What? It's a buyer seller market. By your terrible logic markets are pyramid schemes. This is upvoted?
- jorblumesea 9y ago
  The bitcoin is a financial asset with no ballast that people buy because they believe it will appreciate. To liquidate your position and to make a profit you need constant inflow of new investors to keep the market going as BTC has no true value. There's no backing of any hard assets. The revenue stream is based on new investments rather than the underlying product itself. That's a very common pyramid scheme/multi level marketing scenario. This is very different from company stocks, as the stock unit itself is a guarantor of dividends and a small part ownership of the assets of a company. Its price is representative of the performance of the company, it is not the product itself. That company produces something (in theory), although to cash out you still need to find someone to buy it at a said price.

closeparen 9y ago

You have to remember that many of these people are not planning on “cashing out” but on crypto becoming the new cash.

jorblumesea 9y ago
If that were true, why does everyone talk about it in fiat currency terms? Why would it matter what price BTC is, if the goal is to just use it? Who cares, then? I don't buy that argument. It seems to be mostly fueled by greed.

nmj 9y ago

What? It's a buyer seller market. By your terrible logic markets are pyramid schemes. This is upvoted?

jorblumesea 9y ago
The bitcoin is a financial asset with no ballast that people buy because they believe it will appreciate. To liquidate your position and to make a profit you need constant inflow of new investors to keep the market going as BTC has no true value. There's no backing of any hard assets. The revenue stream is based on new investments rather than the underlying product itself. That's a very common pyramid scheme/multi level marketing scenario. This is very different from company stocks, as the stock unit itself is a guarantor of dividends and a small part ownership of the assets of a company. Its price is representative of the performance of the company, it is not the product itself. That company produces something (in theory), although to cash out you still need to find someone to buy it at a said price.