4 ms·

Honestly, I'd love to see more material here like this, even if casual. I suppose I find it odd that people around here don't see the inevitability of at least

by jrm4 5y ago

Honestly, I'd love to see more material here like this, even if casual. I suppose I find it odd that people around here don't see the inevitability of at least some crypto being a major part of our future, even if we don't see which ones yet. I suppose I find the "luddite"ness of the whole deal surprising.

ThePrankster 5y ago
The inevitability is only perceived by people with stakes on it. For everyone else, crypto is just another fad that has been promising wonders for over a decade and still has showed nothing for it. It’s not about being luddites, but not being fooled by “if you don’t think this is great it’s because you don’t understand it”
- jrm4 5y ago
  Good point. Still, it feels very different from other techs that also seemed somewhat inevitable? Like, regardless of what they were called, I don't recall this level of "hand-held computers in your pocket are a scam and will never be a thing?" I suppose it's like, regardless of what you think of it, the fact is that there's a ton of money going into this crypto thing. It will be a significant thing, full stop. And the tone doesn't seem like "how will we ride this out," but instead sort of sticking your finger in your ears and going blah blah crypto will never be a thing?
jqpabc123 5y ago
I find it odd that people who don't trust government will readily trust unregulated crypto "exchanges".
- jrm4 5y ago
  A lot don't? Which is to say, a great deal of people only trust the technology, and merely understand that you have to use the exchanges to participate; i.e. but end up on self-hosted wallets.
  - jqpabc123 5y ago
    A self hosted wallet doesn't eliminate trust in the exchanges. Who tells you what your crypto is worth? The exchanges. Who has motive and opportunity to influence the price of your trades? The exchanges. Who has absolutely no oversight of their trading practices? The exchanges. https://www.coalexander.com/post/the-tether-binance-axis-and-the-great-crypto-crash-of-2022 https://www.coalexander.com/post/the-tether-binance-axis-and...
    - jrm4 5y ago
      All absolutely true, but also if you sort of believe in the whole thing long-term, it's not unreasonable to think that competition (and maybe even regulation and mainstream adoption) will mostly solve these issues. Yes, it's risky. New tech often is.
      - jqpabc123 5y ago
        So crypto fans don't trust government --- but they trust government will fix the fraud in the crypto marketplace??? Sorry, that is so totally illogical --- a common theme in the crypto market. Competition alone can't fix crypto --- this "free market" is already monopolized. The largest exchange dwarfs the competition *and* has access to an unlimited supply of stable coins (USDT) that are already involved in more than half of all crypto trades and can easily be used to manipulate and control the "free market". By the sheer weight of their trading volume, other exchanges (even decentralized ones) are literally forced to follow the leader's pricing. Any significant deviation becomes a buying opportunity for the lead market maker who also just happens to be an active trader with unlimited funding. This blatant conflict of interest (aka "fraud") would never be tolerated in any regulated market. Bottom line: As it currently exists, there is nothing really "free" about the crypto market.

by jrm4 5y ago

ThePrankster 5y ago

The inevitability is only perceived by people with stakes on it. For everyone else, crypto is just another fad that has been promising wonders for over a decade and still has showed nothing for it. It’s not about being luddites, but not being fooled by “if you don’t think this is great it’s because you don’t understand it”

jrm4 5y ago
Good point. Still, it feels very different from other techs that also seemed somewhat inevitable? Like, regardless of what they were called, I don't recall this level of "hand-held computers in your pocket are a scam and will never be a thing?" I suppose it's like, regardless of what you think of it, the fact is that there's a ton of money going into this crypto thing. It will be a significant thing, full stop. And the tone doesn't seem like "how will we ride this out," but instead sort of sticking your finger in your ears and going blah blah crypto will never be a thing?

jqpabc123 5y ago

I find it odd that people who don't trust government will readily trust unregulated crypto "exchanges".

jrm4 5y ago
A lot don't? Which is to say, a great deal of people only trust the technology, and merely understand that you have to use the exchanges to participate; i.e. but end up on self-hosted wallets.
- jqpabc123 5y ago
  A self hosted wallet doesn't eliminate trust in the exchanges. Who tells you what your crypto is worth? The exchanges. Who has motive and opportunity to influence the price of your trades? The exchanges. Who has absolutely no oversight of their trading practices? The exchanges. https://www.coalexander.com/post/the-tether-binance-axis-and-the-great-crypto-crash-of-2022 https://www.coalexander.com/post/the-tether-binance-axis-and...
  - jrm4 5y ago
    All absolutely true, but also if you sort of believe in the whole thing long-term, it's not unreasonable to think that competition (and maybe even regulation and mainstream adoption) will mostly solve these issues. Yes, it's risky. New tech often is.
    - jqpabc123 5y ago
      So crypto fans don't trust government --- but they trust government will fix the fraud in the crypto marketplace??? Sorry, that is so totally illogical --- a common theme in the crypto market. Competition alone can't fix crypto --- this "free market" is already monopolized. The largest exchange dwarfs the competition *and* has access to an unlimited supply of stable coins (USDT) that are already involved in more than half of all crypto trades and can easily be used to manipulate and control the "free market". By the sheer weight of their trading volume, other exchanges (even decentralized ones) are literally forced to follow the leader's pricing. Any significant deviation becomes a buying opportunity for the lead market maker who also just happens to be an active trader with unlimited funding. This blatant conflict of interest (aka "fraud") would never be tolerated in any regulated market. Bottom line: As it currently exists, there is nothing really "free" about the crypto market.