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Wouldn't losses for most other asset classes be piling up as well? Direct exposure to assets or securities is inherently risky. I bought some shares of SHOP at

Wouldn't losses for most other asset classes be piling up as well? Direct exposure to assets or securities is inherently risky. I bought some shares of SHOP at ~$1,200 several months ago and now it's ~$320. a 73% loss is much worse than Block's loss of 22%. I'm not sure how many companies add individual securities to their balance sheets, but the point is that people like to vilify this particular asset as if it is much riskier than traditional alternatives.

kobalsky 4y ago
>that people like to vilify Specially here. Given HN's demographic there's a ton of people that had the opportunity to get into bitcoin in its early stages and make some unthinkable amount of money, private island amount of money, myself included. Some people cannot come into terms with that and let cognitive dissonance do its work. Ahh if only I had... better just go back to work.
- redshirtrob 4y ago
  If I'd bought Bitcoin at $1 and it went to $5, I would have sold. If I'd bought at $10 and it went to $20, I would have sold. If I'd bought at $100 and it went to $150, I would have sold. The amount of discipline it would have taken to hold through all the rises and make an obscene amount of money is well beyond my risk profile. But I get what you're saying.
  - rlpb 4y ago
    This is why I'm not convinced "crypto whales" exist. If they really hold that much with no strings, why haven't they sold and retired to live a life of luxury by now? Do they plan to hold out to the grave? What good will that do them? I can believe some people might have substantial holdings but I bet they also have substantial liabilities such that their net holdings disqualify them as "whales".
    - aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
      Because they sold half, or ⅓, and still do what you described...while still holding 100+ ETH.
- moistly 4y ago
  A ton of people here also could have piled onto Apple and Microsoft back in the 90s, and have unfathomable wealth today, but they do not vilify those stocks, nor the people who said to invest in them.
  - kobalsky 4y ago
    I don't know what kind of growth you have seen in the stock market but it's nowhere close to BTC. Orders of magnitude off. I mean yes, you go back in time 30 years and put all your savings into the right companies and you would be rich. But it's hard to be bitter about it. It easy to be bitter you saw BTC trading for cents 10 years ago.

kobalsky 4y ago

>that people like to vilify Specially here. Given HN's demographic there's a ton of people that had the opportunity to get into bitcoin in its early stages and make some unthinkable amount of money, private island amount of money, myself included. Some people cannot come into terms with that and let cognitive dissonance do its work. Ahh if only I had... better just go back to work.

redshirtrob 4y ago
If I'd bought Bitcoin at $1 and it went to $5, I would have sold. If I'd bought at $10 and it went to $20, I would have sold. If I'd bought at $100 and it went to $150, I would have sold. The amount of discipline it would have taken to hold through all the rises and make an obscene amount of money is well beyond my risk profile. But I get what you're saying.
- rlpb 4y ago
  This is why I'm not convinced "crypto whales" exist. If they really hold that much with no strings, why haven't they sold and retired to live a life of luxury by now? Do they plan to hold out to the grave? What good will that do them? I can believe some people might have substantial holdings but I bet they also have substantial liabilities such that their net holdings disqualify them as "whales".
  - aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
    Because they sold half, or ⅓, and still do what you described...while still holding 100+ ETH.
moistly 4y ago
A ton of people here also could have piled onto Apple and Microsoft back in the 90s, and have unfathomable wealth today, but they do not vilify those stocks, nor the people who said to invest in them.
- kobalsky 4y ago
  I don't know what kind of growth you have seen in the stock market but it's nowhere close to BTC. Orders of magnitude off. I mean yes, you go back in time 30 years and put all your savings into the right companies and you would be rich. But it's hard to be bitter about it. It easy to be bitter you saw BTC trading for cents 10 years ago.