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Seems reasonable. A lot of people involved in cryptocurrency seem to be trading way more often than is advisable when looking at the spreads (and thus exchange

by WJW 5y ago

Seems reasonable. A lot of people involved in cryptocurrency seem to be trading way more often than is advisable when looking at the spreads (and thus exchange rake) involved. The exchange platforms certainly don't discourage extremely risky trading either, both by their interface design and by the level of leverage they offer. Finally, by providing it under the guise of "investing", which has a much better public image than "gambling", they provide it with a veneer of respectability. An ideal breeding ground for addicted behavior.

anonymoushn 5y ago
Exchange fees are different from spreads (and, in US venues, much larger than spreads) Do people really place 100% taker orders?
- qeternity 5y ago
  Yes, most people aren’t even aware of maker/taker structures or bid/offer spreads. Most people don’t really understand how markets work, especially in crypto which has self selected a lot of people who happily jump with both feet into something they don’t understand.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
headmelted 5y ago
When people try to convert me to Bitcoinology now I just smile and in my head I replace [shill token of the day] with “the ponies” as it saves me debating with them and we both get to leave with a smile on our face. “[The ponies] keep making stellar returns year after year. It’s still early to make money on [the ponies]. [The ponies] are the future of wealth.” etc. “[The ponies] are going to the moon” is my personal favourite, because what a nice thought that is. Anyway, next time someone asks about cryptocurrency just tell them you already know it’s all about spacefaring horses and wish them well while you walk safely away.
- ZeroGravitas 5y ago
  The ponies analogy also brings to mind an old bit of folk wisdom: "You'll never meet a poor bookmaker"
  - samhw 5y ago
    To wit: https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/14/coinbase-opens-at-381-per-share-valuing-the-crypto-exchange-at-nearly-100b https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/14/coinbase-opens-at-381-per-...
    - skinnymuch 5y ago
      Still true, but to be fair, Coinbase closed that first day lower. I don’t believe Coinbase has ever reached $381 again. It’s back at the $250 reference, even below that right now by a buck. Still a $55B company with an absolute insane profit margin right now.
      - samhw 5y ago
        Ah, thank you, I didn't realise that and I appreciate the correction :) And yes, I agree with the main point. $100b was wrong, but Coinbase still overwhelmingly proves the rule: namely that, setting aside the few Bitcoin millionaires who made irrational decisions and got lucky, the croupier is the only guy who goes home richer.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
a2tech 5y ago
I was just discussing Bitcoin 'investing' with a client last week and one of his engineers overheard us and told us a friend of his (another fresh Lebanese immigrant) maxes out his credit cards on the first of the month buying bitcoin, then sells it on the last day of the month and pays off the credit card and pockets the difference. I just...had no response to that. It seemed so obviously dangerous and irresponsible that I couldn't believe a grown adult would do that. AND THEN he told me about another friend who does the same thing--but with the tuition/living money his family scrapes together and sends him from Lebanon. To me, that was not only stupid, it was a staggering betrayal in trust. Imagine your entire family scrimping and scraping to get money together to send you to college in the US and then you just casually betting it on Bitcoin.
- smabie 5y ago
  I mean sure, that's a bad idea if you're making directional bets (probably), but you could do the same with delta neutral yield/farming strategies and it wouldn't be a bad idea imo. When the APR on stablecoins is >30%, it definitely makes sense to borrow as much as you can.

by WJW 5y ago

anonymoushn 5y ago

Exchange fees are different from spreads (and, in US venues, much larger than spreads) Do people really place 100% taker orders?

qeternity 5y ago
Yes, most people aren’t even aware of maker/taker structures or bid/offer spreads. Most people don’t really understand how markets work, especially in crypto which has self selected a lot of people who happily jump with both feet into something they don’t understand.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

headmelted 5y ago

When people try to convert me to Bitcoinology now I just smile and in my head I replace [shill token of the day] with “the ponies” as it saves me debating with them and we both get to leave with a smile on our face. “[The ponies] keep making stellar returns year after year. It’s still early to make money on [the ponies]. [The ponies] are the future of wealth.” etc. “[The ponies] are going to the moon” is my personal favourite, because what a nice thought that is. Anyway, next time someone asks about cryptocurrency just tell them you already know it’s all about spacefaring horses and wish them well while you walk safely away.

ZeroGravitas 5y ago
The ponies analogy also brings to mind an old bit of folk wisdom: "You'll never meet a poor bookmaker"
- samhw 5y ago
  To wit: https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/14/coinbase-opens-at-381-per-share-valuing-the-crypto-exchange-at-nearly-100b https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/14/coinbase-opens-at-381-per-...
  - skinnymuch 5y ago
    Still true, but to be fair, Coinbase closed that first day lower. I don’t believe Coinbase has ever reached $381 again. It’s back at the $250 reference, even below that right now by a buck. Still a $55B company with an absolute insane profit margin right now.
    - samhw 5y ago
      Ah, thank you, I didn't realise that and I appreciate the correction :) And yes, I agree with the main point. $100b was wrong, but Coinbase still overwhelmingly proves the rule: namely that, setting aside the few Bitcoin millionaires who made irrational decisions and got lucky, the croupier is the only guy who goes home richer.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

a2tech 5y ago

I was just discussing Bitcoin 'investing' with a client last week and one of his engineers overheard us and told us a friend of his (another fresh Lebanese immigrant) maxes out his credit cards on the first of the month buying bitcoin, then sells it on the last day of the month and pays off the credit card and pockets the difference. I just...had no response to that. It seemed so obviously dangerous and irresponsible that I couldn't believe a grown adult would do that. AND THEN he told me about another friend who does the same thing--but with the tuition/living money his family scrapes together and sends him from Lebanon. To me, that was not only stupid, it was a staggering betrayal in trust. Imagine your entire family scrimping and scraping to get money together to send you to college in the US and then you just casually betting it on Bitcoin.

smabie 5y ago
I mean sure, that's a bad idea if you're making directional bets (probably), but you could do the same with delta neutral yield/farming strategies and it wouldn't be a bad idea imo. When the APR on stablecoins is >30%, it definitely makes sense to borrow as much as you can.