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Altcoin enthusiasts are increasingly operating in a bubble that encourages this kind of behavior. This quote captures the essence of it all: > “Everybody I kno

Altcoin enthusiasts are increasingly operating in a bubble that encourages this kind of behavior. This quote captures the essence of it all: > “Everybody I know has gotten rug-pulled,” says Titus, a 38-year-old butcher in Salem, Oregon. “You know, you win some, you lose some. Hopefully, win more than lose. I don’t know anyone who has been “rug-pulled” by a scam coin. It’s amazing that a butcher shop employee can end up in such a bubble that they think everyone around them is also participating in scam coin sales that end in exit scams. This is the “but everyone’s doing it” mentality that is used to normalize unhealthy behaviors. I’m sure the altcoin sellers are using this to their advantage.

aww_dang 5y ago
Fortune (1996) >JOE KENNEDY, a famous rich guy in his day, exited the stock market in timely fashion after a shoeshine boy gave him some stock tips. He figured that when the shoeshine boys have tips, the market is too popular for its own good, a theory also advanced by Bernard Baruch, another vested interest who described the scene before the big Crash: "Taxi drivers told you what to buy. The shoeshine boy could give you a summary of the day's financial news as he worked with rag and polish. An old beggar who regularly patrolled the street in front of my office now gave me tips and, I suppose, spent the money I and others gave him in the market. My cook had a brokerage account and followed the ticker closely. Her paper profits were quickly blown away in the gale of 1929." Are we at the same fatal stage in the market today, when people who aren't expected to have stock tips have stock tips, including hot dog vendors, shoeshine boys, the homeless, pedicurists, barroom dancers, toll takers, and the trumpet player at the racetrack? https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/04/15/211503/index.htm https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archiv...
- only_as_i_fall 5y ago
  Probably not, I'd argue that the internet just allows people to more easily be sucked into these sorts of information silos. The total crypto market cap is just over 1 trillion usd(depending on who you believe) and global equities market cap is nearly 100 trillion usd. I'm not that concerned so long as these low info investors stick to cryptos and meme stocks.
- rchaud 5y ago
  Shoeshine boys in the 1920s did not have access to 10-Ks at a press of a button like they would now. Also, with crypto, there is no point in doing due diligence because the coins in question could disappear tomorrow due to a rugpull or code vulnerability, which no amount of 3rd party DD could know. That's why everyone chases fast gains.
practice9 5y ago
This is not different from "penny stocks" investing and GME-style investing or gambling Who in their right mind invests in dog-named coin created 1 day ago?
- ElViajero 5y ago
  > Who in their right mind invests in dog-named coin created 1 day ago? I guess that at least 2 types of people. On one side you have the pump-and-dump experts, they buy early and then promote the new crypto-coin. The second type are the wannabe, people that see some new crypto-rich guy in the news and feel that they are losing an opportunity. People that have no knowledge about what a crypto-currency really is, that is not interested in long-term but need money now, people that listen to the pump-and-dump group to get their information. YouTube, Twitch, ... are bringing complex speculation devices to average citizens. I would blame the lack of regulation and the lack of public education.
  - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
    There’s a third category: gamblers. Not problem gamblers. Just people who play with this stuff instead of lottery tickets. Worst case, they lose a few hundred bucks and gain a funny story.
- rchaud 5y ago
  This is how crypto is different from prior financial bubbles. In a financial bubble, people buy regulated securities thinking "they can only go up!". They lose money because the mania fades before they're able to sell. With crypto, there is so much scammy behaviour around you, you have to go in with the mindset that you're one of the smart ones that will get in early and cash out before the inevitable rugpull.
  - microtherion 5y ago
    I don't think that's particularly new. There's a long standing saying "You can't cheat an honest man", and it's very topical for long cons to make the mark believe that the objective is to swindle a third party. Many, though not all 419 solicitations also hint at an illicit source of the purported money, and explain the advance fees demanded with bribes, etc to be paid.
mgh2 5y ago
The statement could be true for his point of view, same with yours. Everyone lives in their own bubbles https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant The parables/stories we tell (ourselves) https://m-g-h.medium.com/anatomy-of-great-movies-bd9ee3874687 https://m-g-h.medium.com/anatomy-of-great-movies-bd9ee387468...
Tenoke 5y ago
He admits that he and the people he knows bet on 'shitcoins', so no surprise. Clue is the name.
JumpCrisscross 5y ago
It’s also interesting as a non sequitur. If everyone is getting the rug pulled out from under them, who is winning?
- rchaud 5y ago
  Shovel sellers in a gold rush always win. Crypto's even better because shovel buyers at least inspect the product before making a purchase. Crypto hodlers are already primed to think that this new shovel is better than all the others before it.
- nostrademons 5y ago
  The rug pullers, of course. It's a market with very asymmetric returns. If a typical rug pull results in millions but the typical victim is out hundreds, then there must be 10,000 victims for every winner.

aww_dang 5y ago

Fortune (1996) >JOE KENNEDY, a famous rich guy in his day, exited the stock market in timely fashion after a shoeshine boy gave him some stock tips. He figured that when the shoeshine boys have tips, the market is too popular for its own good, a theory also advanced by Bernard Baruch, another vested interest who described the scene before the big Crash: "Taxi drivers told you what to buy. The shoeshine boy could give you a summary of the day's financial news as he worked with rag and polish. An old beggar who regularly patrolled the street in front of my office now gave me tips and, I suppose, spent the money I and others gave him in the market. My cook had a brokerage account and followed the ticker closely. Her paper profits were quickly blown away in the gale of 1929." Are we at the same fatal stage in the market today, when people who aren't expected to have stock tips have stock tips, including hot dog vendors, shoeshine boys, the homeless, pedicurists, barroom dancers, toll takers, and the trumpet player at the racetrack? https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/04/15/211503/index.htm https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archiv...

only_as_i_fall 5y ago
Probably not, I'd argue that the internet just allows people to more easily be sucked into these sorts of information silos. The total crypto market cap is just over 1 trillion usd(depending on who you believe) and global equities market cap is nearly 100 trillion usd. I'm not that concerned so long as these low info investors stick to cryptos and meme stocks.
rchaud 5y ago
Shoeshine boys in the 1920s did not have access to 10-Ks at a press of a button like they would now. Also, with crypto, there is no point in doing due diligence because the coins in question could disappear tomorrow due to a rugpull or code vulnerability, which no amount of 3rd party DD could know. That's why everyone chases fast gains.

practice9 5y ago

This is not different from "penny stocks" investing and GME-style investing or gambling Who in their right mind invests in dog-named coin created 1 day ago?

ElViajero 5y ago
> Who in their right mind invests in dog-named coin created 1 day ago? I guess that at least 2 types of people. On one side you have the pump-and-dump experts, they buy early and then promote the new crypto-coin. The second type are the wannabe, people that see some new crypto-rich guy in the news and feel that they are losing an opportunity. People that have no knowledge about what a crypto-currency really is, that is not interested in long-term but need money now, people that listen to the pump-and-dump group to get their information. YouTube, Twitch, ... are bringing complex speculation devices to average citizens. I would blame the lack of regulation and the lack of public education.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  There’s a third category: gamblers. Not problem gamblers. Just people who play with this stuff instead of lottery tickets. Worst case, they lose a few hundred bucks and gain a funny story.
rchaud 5y ago
This is how crypto is different from prior financial bubbles. In a financial bubble, people buy regulated securities thinking "they can only go up!". They lose money because the mania fades before they're able to sell. With crypto, there is so much scammy behaviour around you, you have to go in with the mindset that you're one of the smart ones that will get in early and cash out before the inevitable rugpull.
- microtherion 5y ago
  I don't think that's particularly new. There's a long standing saying "You can't cheat an honest man", and it's very topical for long cons to make the mark believe that the objective is to swindle a third party. Many, though not all 419 solicitations also hint at an illicit source of the purported money, and explain the advance fees demanded with bribes, etc to be paid.

mgh2 5y ago

The statement could be true for his point of view, same with yours. Everyone lives in their own bubbles https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant The parables/stories we tell (ourselves) https://m-g-h.medium.com/anatomy-of-great-movies-bd9ee3874687 https://m-g-h.medium.com/anatomy-of-great-movies-bd9ee387468...

Tenoke 5y ago

He admits that he and the people he knows bet on 'shitcoins', so no surprise. Clue is the name.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago

It’s also interesting as a non sequitur. If everyone is getting the rug pulled out from under them, who is winning?

rchaud 5y ago
Shovel sellers in a gold rush always win. Crypto's even better because shovel buyers at least inspect the product before making a purchase. Crypto hodlers are already primed to think that this new shovel is better than all the others before it.
nostrademons 5y ago
The rug pullers, of course. It's a market with very asymmetric returns. If a typical rug pull results in millions but the typical victim is out hundreds, then there must be 10,000 victims for every winner.