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I'm at about 15% NW crypto exposure, should've done more. I missed out on the huge gains because I didn't believe in the use cases. But now I realize the ultim

I'm at about 15% NW crypto exposure, should've done more. I missed out on the huge gains because I didn't believe in the use cases. But now I realize the ultimate usecase is a huge pyramid scheme. Might as well ride it up.

dheera 6y ago
I mean, is a pyramid scheme a bad thing if we treat it as a game? In the initial stages it would essentially be a lottery with better odds than the lottery, but in the later stages it would turn into a system that funnels money into the hands of those who are more mathematically capable and can build better and more accurate models of the dynamics of human hype. Good models of hype is something that I think hasn't really been done well yet. Hype is something we just have to live with because it is human nature, and IMO it is worth modelling so that we can learn to both exploit it and counteract it effectively.
- jjirsa 6y ago
  A currency that is used for real, genuine transactions and also happens to burn energy to keep the world economy honest? Can argue that's worthwhile. A pyramid scheme that has electricity consumption of bitcoin? Strictly a net loss for the world.
  - kneel 6y ago
    Fiat is an hamster wheel that continually runs faster over time, Bitcoin is an offramp to stable value.
    - randomopining 6y ago
      Sure, if you think that individual right to hoard and safeguard value is better than top down tools to help the economic activity of the country as a whole. To be honest, I would say a good balance of those is right. If a central bank does a good job, then some devaluing of currency is not a problem.
      - kneel 6y ago
        >Sure, if you think that individual right to hoard and safeguard value is better than top down tools to help the economic activity of the country as a whole. Cantillon effect is real and creates widening gaps in inequality. Printing money and handing it to financiers isn't helping, hasn't helped, and will not help anyone. They're kicking the can down the road.
- randomopining 6y ago
  Not a bad thing at all if everybody is playing willingly. I've been pondering it a lot lately... because I missed out in the beginning. I think it'll just keep increasing in value until the "first derivative of hype" goes towards zero. Then it'll level out and people will exit, and rocket back to earth. There's def a lot more hype to go though, imo.
alwillis 6y ago
A pyramid scheme requires somebody at the top making money from the people at the lower levels, which clearly isn't the case. Here's the use case for Bitcoin: "Bitcoin is a non-sovereign, hard-capped supply, global, immutable, decentralized digital store of value. It’s an insurance policy against monetary and fiscal policy irresponsibility from central banks and governments globally."—@Travis_Kling"
- randomopining 6y ago
  Yeah, so the people that buy in first (the top) then begin to shill it so that other people buy in (the bottom) so the price goes up. Once it hits max hype, then the top people should exit and thus get the real value out (USD fiat to buy stuff with)... thus leaving the people who bought in at 20k or whatever with losses.
  - alwillis 6y ago
    The mantra of bitcoin is to HODL--hold on for dear life. It's not a pump and dump scheme. Besides, why would a highly regulated company like Mass Mutual (an insurance company) get involved with a pyramid scheme? Makes no sense. https://www.investopedia.com/decoding-insurance-giant-massmutuals-bitcoin-investment-5092586 https://www.investopedia.com/decoding-insurance-giant-massmu...

dheera 6y ago

I mean, is a pyramid scheme a bad thing if we treat it as a game? In the initial stages it would essentially be a lottery with better odds than the lottery, but in the later stages it would turn into a system that funnels money into the hands of those who are more mathematically capable and can build better and more accurate models of the dynamics of human hype. Good models of hype is something that I think hasn't really been done well yet. Hype is something we just have to live with because it is human nature, and IMO it is worth modelling so that we can learn to both exploit it and counteract it effectively.

jjirsa 6y ago
A currency that is used for real, genuine transactions and also happens to burn energy to keep the world economy honest? Can argue that's worthwhile. A pyramid scheme that has electricity consumption of bitcoin? Strictly a net loss for the world.
- kneel 6y ago
  Fiat is an hamster wheel that continually runs faster over time, Bitcoin is an offramp to stable value.
  - randomopining 6y ago
    Sure, if you think that individual right to hoard and safeguard value is better than top down tools to help the economic activity of the country as a whole. To be honest, I would say a good balance of those is right. If a central bank does a good job, then some devaluing of currency is not a problem.
    - kneel 6y ago
      >Sure, if you think that individual right to hoard and safeguard value is better than top down tools to help the economic activity of the country as a whole. Cantillon effect is real and creates widening gaps in inequality. Printing money and handing it to financiers isn't helping, hasn't helped, and will not help anyone. They're kicking the can down the road.
randomopining 6y ago
Not a bad thing at all if everybody is playing willingly. I've been pondering it a lot lately... because I missed out in the beginning. I think it'll just keep increasing in value until the "first derivative of hype" goes towards zero. Then it'll level out and people will exit, and rocket back to earth. There's def a lot more hype to go though, imo.

alwillis 6y ago

A pyramid scheme requires somebody at the top making money from the people at the lower levels, which clearly isn't the case. Here's the use case for Bitcoin: "Bitcoin is a non-sovereign, hard-capped supply, global, immutable, decentralized digital store of value. It’s an insurance policy against monetary and fiscal policy irresponsibility from central banks and governments globally."—@Travis_Kling"

randomopining 6y ago
Yeah, so the people that buy in first (the top) then begin to shill it so that other people buy in (the bottom) so the price goes up. Once it hits max hype, then the top people should exit and thus get the real value out (USD fiat to buy stuff with)... thus leaving the people who bought in at 20k or whatever with losses.
- alwillis 6y ago
  The mantra of bitcoin is to HODL--hold on for dear life. It's not a pump and dump scheme. Besides, why would a highly regulated company like Mass Mutual (an insurance company) get involved with a pyramid scheme? Makes no sense. https://www.investopedia.com/decoding-insurance-giant-massmutuals-bitcoin-investment-5092586 https://www.investopedia.com/decoding-insurance-giant-massmu...