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I don't know why, it is probably highly irrational, but I always rejoice when the Bitcoin crashes.
by stephc_int13 5y ago
I don't know why, it is probably highly irrational, but I always rejoice when the Bitcoin crashes.
- fartcannon 5y agoThats kind of sick? What an absolutely repugnant thing to do. Do you rejoice at war and animal abuse too?
- thecopy 5y agoCare to elaborate?
- dougmwne 5y agoBTC is a climate armageddon? I cheer too.
- swader999 5y agoNaw, it's mostly fueled by and helps make green energy viable.
- jasonladuke0311 5y agoThat is the type of bizarre connection only made by zealots.
- fartcannon 5y agoIt's just empathy. I also have empathy for gamblers, criminals and zealots.
- metacritic12 5y agoPeople are envious generally and when something they don't understand does well, they're confused. When that thing goes down, they feel relieved and their worldview makes more sense. Schadenfreude in general.
- isoskeles 5y agoThe assumption that people who don’t want to buy crypto must not “understand” crypto is a cliché among that community, and it reeks of the kind of hubris that makes me okay with seeing this kind of crash.
- 52-6F-62 5y agoIt strikes me as similar to the reasons I see people rejoice when artists or the like struggle to make it. It validates one's life choices like giving up on dreams to take up a dull job that keeps the lights just barely on. Crabs in a bucket mentality. I for one would be happy if the kids find a better way forward that leaves fewer people in the dust (without instituting a new ecological drain, please). That's not happening yet, but some of the thought work shows progress to me, even if the execution isn't final and still lacking.
- frankbreetz 5y agoHe probably got told "have fun staying poor" too many times.
- stephc_int13 5y agoThis is probably some remnants of Christianity and disgust about easy money. (I think there is no such thing) But also, I really don't like Bitcoin as an alternative currency, on many levels it is worse than what it was engineered to replace. There is value behind behind the ideas of blockchain algorithms, and I believe the future of currency is digital, but not necessarily decentralized in the way that Bitcoin is decentralized. We're not there yet, and because of that, Bitcoin is as close to a scam as tulips bulbs were.
- domano 5y agoWell clearly those things are not of the same quality.
- RivieraKid 5y agoSame. I hate the arrogant stupidity of the crypto cult.
- kjakm 5y agoAs someone with no real opinion on crypto the arrogant stupidity of the anti-crypto crowd (really prevalent on HN) is also quite tiring.
- halfmatthalfcat 5y agoFor me, it's because the hype isn't around the technology (which is the interesting part and for the most part, why we're on HN), it's around the speculation. From the outside, looks like a bunch of gamblers constantly getting each other off on whether their bets will make them millionares. It's just...sad...at a level.
- kjakm 5y agoA fair opinion to have. I feel every HN thread on crypto now though dissolves to negativity (without any substance) + toxicity really quickly.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y agoIt is hard not to be negative about something with such a huge environmental impact that doesn't seem to do anything but let gamblers gamble.
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- tippytippytango 5y agoIf crypto dies you will have to find a new group of people to feel superior to to feed your ego.
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- BenoitEssiambre 5y agoI mean the technology is highly damaging to society in a whole bunch of ways, damaging the environment, supporting fraud and ransomware, used for money laundering, funding crime, and if it gets integrated into the financial system like some want it to be, it could even destroy human civilization: https://benoitessiambre.com/specter.html https://benoitessiambre.com/specter.html (even Douglas Adams tried to warn us 40 years ago). So it's a relief when it looks more like it's going away or at least staying contained.
- broighbrobroigh 5y agoIt's already integrated into the financial system. I'm sorry you live your life in terror of a poorly supported hyperbolic hypothesis.
- zaptrem 5y agoAs a crypto miner/holder/user since 2011, that article was really great. I think blockchains (esp. programmable ones) have or will have significant real value in making markets more efficient and transactions lower friction, but right now blind speculation is driving 99% of the market. IMO while this brings lots of useful funding to speed along development, it could also endanger the true purpose of the tech.
- twox2 5y agoIt's not irrational, it's an opportunity to buy more for cheap!
- lottin 5y agoMe too. I have never seen a group of people so ignorant and so arrogant as crypto-currency fans. I can't help but rejoice at their misfortunes.
- mumblemumble 5y agoMy rational take is that Bitcoin's carbon footprint is more-or-less a direct function of its price. The market forces are such that you can expect mining to expand until, on average, each miner's expected reward is only a little bit higher than their electricity bill and hardware costs. If prices come down, that is going to encourage some miners to take capacity offline, which is probably great for anyone who's interested in keeping Amsterdam dry.
- cheaprentalyeti 5y agoAnd you think China's going to shut down their coal plants and dismantle the train tracks carrying coal there just because the price of bitcoin drops? Or are they just going to use the pollution for something else?
- Swenrekcah 5y agoBasically yeah. There are time lags, but crypto mining has been causing new power plants to be built everywhere and when it goes away that pressure will stop. However the world always needs more energy so the plants built will unfortunately continue operating in some other capacity for a while, but the sooner the mining stops, the sooner they will be replaced by renewables.
- mumblemumble 5y agoMarket forces affect the energy industry as well. They aren't burning coal for fun; they're burning it to make money and/or satisfy a demand. If electricity consumption drops, then plants will produce less electricity, and construction of new plants will slow down or stop.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y agoSo they use their pollution for something else, as opposed to using it for that and mining BTC. Still a net-win.
- almost_usual 5y agoIt’s not irrational it’s a step towards not wasting tremendous energy.
- ArkanExplorer 5y agoAnd also freeing up computer chip manufacturing capacity to go towards actual productive use. I look forward to buying a new GPU!
- matheusmoreira 5y agoIt's not even 1% of the world's energy consumption. If you want to stop wasting tremendous amounts of energy, all you have to do is stop trading with China.
- almost_usual 5y agoAll you have to do is end global trade and possibly spark WW3. Ok.
- matheusmoreira 5y agoActually changing the world for the better is hard, isn't it? Much easier to zero in on bitcoin's inconsequential energy usage I guess.
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- uncomputation 5y agoYou’re not alone. Seeing the comments flooded with “buy the dip” or, God, “diamond hands” makes me cringe every time. They get so offended when you call cryptocurrency a cult or Ponzi scheme but they make it extremely difficult not to. This is from someone with financial interest in a few coins but I’m not ready to die on any hill for bragging rights. I wish they would just admit they want capital gain and call it a day
- celticninja 5y agoThat's probably the worst aspect of crypto communities. Early in BTC the talk was about the tech and possibilities, trading/selling goods for BTC. Those sort of comments you mention started creeping in, but now that is the mainstay, in every individual crypto community. I dont care that they are speculation vehicles, but pretending you are changing the world just grates. And the constant calls to HODL, which used to be humourous, are now just so much propaganda.
- matheusmoreira 5y ago> Early in BTC the talk was about the tech and possibilities People who care about that have already moved on. Bitcoin has failed in that aspect, only speculators still care about it. The fact it's still the number one coin despite the existence of coins with better fundamentals like Monero and Ethereum is proof of how irrational this market is.
- thehappypm 5y agoSo true. I wish that the Bitcoin community had seen that fundamentally BTC would only become inequitable as it grew. If early adopters knew that it would eventually reach $50,000, they would be billionaires, and that it would be used far more as a Ponzi scheme / bubble than for anything useful, I think they'd be more horrified than happy.
- cesarb 5y agoThe usefulness of Bitcoin does not depend on its price, but its power usage does depend on its price (it's bounded by how much power can be bought with the block rewards and transaction fees), so it's a good thing when the Bitcoin price goes down.
- rvz 5y agoExactly. I remember the last time I rejoiced about BTC dropping. [0] At that time, I bought it at <$8,000 and bought it again in March 2020 and held it. And now I am laughing at the ones who bought BTC at >$60K who are now bag-hodling around and have to wait again. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21606212 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21606212