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I think the more relevant/interesting question is where is the money flowing into crypto coming from. The data there suggests it’s highly concentrated from folk

by JCM9 5y ago

I think the more relevant/interesting question is where is the money flowing into crypto coming from. The data there suggests it’s highly concentrated from folks that really have no business investing in extremely speculative things, which is a huge red flag. Purely anecdotal but my Facebook feed suggests those with a lot of financial literacy are steering clear while folks from high school that barely passed basic math and never left their home town think this is the absolute best place to invest for the future. Just saying.

steelstraw 5y ago
From the same place that also overinflated the stock market: The Fed's money printer.
mwattsun 5y ago
Paul Krugman recently said essentially the same thing and got roasted for being elitist. I can see both points of view and well, buyer beware... How Crypto Became the New Subprime https://archive.is/1SMIy https://archive.is/1SMIy
JSavageOne 5y ago
> The data there suggests it’s highly concentrated from folks that really have no business investing in extremely speculative things What data? Practically everyone I know owns crypto at this point. Me and many of my software engineer friends have had a pretty significant amount of our portfolios allocated to crypto for over a year now. Some have quit their jobs to work full-time in crypto. Painting crypto investors as "folks from high school that barely passed basic math and never left their home town" sounds not only insulting but comically inaccurate. I've been invested heavily in crypto for over a year now and definitely don't fit to that ridiculous profile you derived from your Facebook feed (who even goes on Facebook other than baby boomers these days anyways?).
- munificent 5y ago
  I'm a software engineer and no one I know owns crypto. Everyone is in their own bubble these days.
enchiridion 5y ago
My well educated bubble is invested in crypto, probably at about 10% of income. None of us are posting about it on Facebook though.
- pauldavis 5y ago
  It's strange to characterize investment amount in terms of income. I think relative to assets or investment portfolio would be clearer.
  - enchiridion 5y ago
    In terms of total portfolio it ranges from a few percent to ~30 percent. But that’s dependent on amount previously invested. A better measure might be percent of total yearly investment that goes into crypto, since we’re talking about inflow. I’d put that at around 20%, with the other 80% going towards retirement and socks/etfs
  - vasco 5y ago
    In a world of regular professionals following the religion of Dollar Cost Averaging, the monthly contribution as % of income actually gives a good indication to their current level of faith.
- ryan_lane 5y ago
  Yeah, instead you won't shut up about it at work, on twitter, on hacker news, etc.
vasco 5y ago
> folks that really have no business investing in extremely speculative things You decide this based on what? If people can waste money on lotteries, this is no different.
- Grustaf 5y ago
  Except few people would spend 6 figures on lotteries, but 10000 people own bored apes. Yes, a lot of them didn't buy them at that price, but they are keeping them, which is actually the same thing.
  - JSavageOne 5y ago
    So what? You think you have the authority to dictate how other people choose to spend their money?
    - Grustaf 5y ago
      Well obviously not, then people wouldn’t spend it on nfts.
      - JSavageOne 5y ago
        One could say the same for $80m Picasso's
        Grustaf 5y ago
        Not quite. Picasso had actual, one-in-a-billion talent. Most people know someone that could have drawn the Bored Apes better. Not to mention the artificial nature of NFT “scarcity” or the physical aspect. If you buy a Picasso you buy something that one of the greatest artists of all time made with his hands.
deleted 5y ago
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by JCM9 5y ago

steelstraw 5y ago

From the same place that also overinflated the stock market: The Fed's money printer.

mwattsun 5y ago

Paul Krugman recently said essentially the same thing and got roasted for being elitist. I can see both points of view and well, buyer beware... How Crypto Became the New Subprime https://archive.is/1SMIy https://archive.is/1SMIy

JSavageOne 5y ago

> The data there suggests it’s highly concentrated from folks that really have no business investing in extremely speculative things What data? Practically everyone I know owns crypto at this point. Me and many of my software engineer friends have had a pretty significant amount of our portfolios allocated to crypto for over a year now. Some have quit their jobs to work full-time in crypto. Painting crypto investors as "folks from high school that barely passed basic math and never left their home town" sounds not only insulting but comically inaccurate. I've been invested heavily in crypto for over a year now and definitely don't fit to that ridiculous profile you derived from your Facebook feed (who even goes on Facebook other than baby boomers these days anyways?).

munificent 5y ago
I'm a software engineer and no one I know owns crypto. Everyone is in their own bubble these days.

enchiridion 5y ago

My well educated bubble is invested in crypto, probably at about 10% of income. None of us are posting about it on Facebook though.

pauldavis 5y ago
It's strange to characterize investment amount in terms of income. I think relative to assets or investment portfolio would be clearer.
- enchiridion 5y ago
  In terms of total portfolio it ranges from a few percent to ~30 percent. But that’s dependent on amount previously invested. A better measure might be percent of total yearly investment that goes into crypto, since we’re talking about inflow. I’d put that at around 20%, with the other 80% going towards retirement and socks/etfs
- vasco 5y ago
  In a world of regular professionals following the religion of Dollar Cost Averaging, the monthly contribution as % of income actually gives a good indication to their current level of faith.
ryan_lane 5y ago
Yeah, instead you won't shut up about it at work, on twitter, on hacker news, etc.

vasco 5y ago

> folks that really have no business investing in extremely speculative things You decide this based on what? If people can waste money on lotteries, this is no different.

Grustaf 5y ago
Except few people would spend 6 figures on lotteries, but 10000 people own bored apes. Yes, a lot of them didn't buy them at that price, but they are keeping them, which is actually the same thing.
- JSavageOne 5y ago
  So what? You think you have the authority to dictate how other people choose to spend their money?
  - Grustaf 5y ago
    Well obviously not, then people wouldn’t spend it on nfts.
    - JSavageOne 5y ago
      One could say the same for $80m Picasso's
      - Grustaf 5y ago
        Not quite. Picasso had actual, one-in-a-billion talent. Most people know someone that could have drawn the Bored Apes better. Not to mention the artificial nature of NFT “scarcity” or the physical aspect. If you buy a Picasso you buy something that one of the greatest artists of all time made with his hands.

deleted 5y ago

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