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> But I believe this is a kind of short-term bet against our future. Because we know the detrimental effects of cryptocurrencies. I'll list a few: 1. Owning y

> But I believe this is a kind of short-term bet against our future. Because we know the detrimental effects of cryptocurrencies. I'll list a few: 1. Owning your own money 2. Hedging against hyperinflation and endless money printing 3. Earning more than 0.1% given by your savings account 4. Instant value transfer across borders instead of filling out 5 forms and waiting 3 days for wires 5. Fractionalizing, decentralizing and democratizing ownership of assets 6. Disrupting legacy institutions such as banks 7. Offering citizens of autocratic nations a hedge against censorship and crackdowns Awful, I know

louwrentius 6y ago
Most people don’t benefit from any of this. This is also misleading. Only one question is relevant: Where do the Bitcoin profits come from? Anwer: other people. It’s a Ponzi and we all know it.
- another_sock 6y ago
  Name one thing that isn't a ponzi, everybody's profits in every respect come from somewhere else, the only things that get called a ponzi are things which make the game and exploitation too transparent to the degree in which they offend the human delusion that we are fundamentally good or that there are positive-sum games that exist at all.
- puranjay 6y ago
  Crypto != Bitcoin You were meant to slay dinosaurs, not become one Banks used your money and bought risky assets that crashed the entire market in 2008. Did you benefit from it? Did most people? Banks deploying risky tactics to maximize profits and crash economies every 10-15 is somehow fine. Heck, you jump fences to hand them your money. But if you own your own money and decide to take on the risks, it's...a ponzi?
  - louwrentius 6y ago
    Thanks for the ad-hominem. No thanks for the misplaced whataboutism. And yes, all cryptocurrencies are ponzis. Because they don't create value. They just extract it from other people.
    - Mithriil 6y ago
      Please stop putting all cryptoassets together. Bitcoin is not equal to, say, Filecoin or Avalanche in many ways. For some cryptos, the tokens have an intrinsic value based on the service offered by the network. Filecoins will actually get you data storage, which has value, as a service. When running smart contracts on other people's computer with Avalanche, they compute stuff for you, as a service. This cost some fees in exchange, which are paid in tokens. The fact that you believe that ALL crypto has no value created talks of lack of knowledge of many projects out there. Although I do agree that Bitcoin shouldn't be used as it is rn.

louwrentius 6y ago

Most people don’t benefit from any of this. This is also misleading. Only one question is relevant: Where do the Bitcoin profits come from? Anwer: other people. It’s a Ponzi and we all know it.

another_sock 6y ago
Name one thing that isn't a ponzi, everybody's profits in every respect come from somewhere else, the only things that get called a ponzi are things which make the game and exploitation too transparent to the degree in which they offend the human delusion that we are fundamentally good or that there are positive-sum games that exist at all.
puranjay 6y ago
Crypto != Bitcoin You were meant to slay dinosaurs, not become one Banks used your money and bought risky assets that crashed the entire market in 2008. Did you benefit from it? Did most people? Banks deploying risky tactics to maximize profits and crash economies every 10-15 is somehow fine. Heck, you jump fences to hand them your money. But if you own your own money and decide to take on the risks, it's...a ponzi?
- louwrentius 6y ago
  Thanks for the ad-hominem. No thanks for the misplaced whataboutism. And yes, all cryptocurrencies are ponzis. Because they don't create value. They just extract it from other people.
  - Mithriil 6y ago
    Please stop putting all cryptoassets together. Bitcoin is not equal to, say, Filecoin or Avalanche in many ways. For some cryptos, the tokens have an intrinsic value based on the service offered by the network. Filecoins will actually get you data storage, which has value, as a service. When running smart contracts on other people's computer with Avalanche, they compute stuff for you, as a service. This cost some fees in exchange, which are paid in tokens. The fact that you believe that ALL crypto has no value created talks of lack of knowledge of many projects out there. Although I do agree that Bitcoin shouldn't be used as it is rn.