4 ms·

The Coin That Could Wreck Crypto

26 points by bravogamma 4y ago

mmastrac 4y ago
Tether obviously, but this paragraph in particular was a wild ride: "Even by crypto’s often-surreal standards, Tether has a peculiar history. The company was founded in 2014 by Brock Pierce, a cryptocurrency evangelist who, as a child actor, starred in the “Mighty Ducks” movies. He and his partner, Reeve Collins, later handed control of the firm to a former plastic surgeon named Giancarlo Devasini, who has stored some of Tether’s assets in a bank in the Bahamas run by one of the creators of the “Inspector Gadget” cartoon."
- hoppyhoppy2 4y ago
  Another surreal connection: Brock Pierce is now running for US Senator from Vermont (he owns a $3.4 million home there; it's unclear if he's even legally able to declare Vermont residency, especially without giving up some big tax breaks in Puerto Rico [0]). It's a political move allegedly assisted behind the scenes by Steve Bannon.[1] [0]: https://vtdigger.org/2022/06/06/does-brock-pierce-live-in-vermont-answering-yes-could-cost-the-senate-candidate-his-puerto-rican-tax-haven/ https://vtdigger.org/2022/06/06/does-brock-pierce-live-in-ve... [1]: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/22/bannon-is-helping-a-vermont-crypto-bro-get-elected-to-the-senate-00027264 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/22/bannon-is-helping-a...
  - aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
    Do any of these articles touch on Brock (of Mighty Ducks fame) being found with a bunch of child porn and stuff?
    - ipaddr 4y ago
      No and you stop asking that in every thread
      - MerelyMortal 4y ago
        I went back three pages of OP's comment history and didn't see OP mentioning that at all, so definitely not "every thread".
arealaccount 4y ago
“Everyone’s freaking out — like, ‘I lost my life savings,’” said Mr. Collins, who founded Tether with Mr. Pierce and now runs a crypto venture called BLOCKv. “That’s a tragedy, but it’s just as much of a tragedy when someone says, ‘I went to a casino and lost my life savings.’ But that doesn’t mean let’s regulate casinos out of existence.” Do people in the crypto game generally acknowledge that they’re gambling? I always thought they considered it “investments”
- ALittleLight 4y ago
  I was much more libertarian when I was younger. Drugs are a good example. I always thought people should be free to do whatever they want. I feel that way about myself, certainly, and don't feel bound by any drug laws - not that I use drugs, but if I wanted to the law wouldn't bother me. Over time though I've lived in places where drugs practically are legal and the consequences - homeless, petty crime, public drug use, overdose deaths, etc seem less than ideal. Nowadays I feel less libertarian and more confused. What is the social benefit of allowing gambling addicts to bankrupt themselves? Why do we allow that? I like to gamble now and again, and think I should be allowed to, but...
  - cowvin 4y ago
    Yep, I'm with you. I'm generally pretty loose on letting people enjoy their vices, but I think it's also reasonable for society to protect people who might be preyed upon by others through their vices. For example, heroin is notoriously destructive and addictive. I'm cool with outlawing it. But something like marijuana is not nearly as destructive and addictive, so I'd rather legalize it. Gambling can be addictive, but people enjoy it, so it should be legal. However, I think it's appropriate to ban certain predatory gambling practices.
  - water554 4y ago
    You can legalize drugs and not let losers camp on public property and openly operate bike chop shops. The states that legalize drugs just happen to be the states that let human garbage … garbage up the city. I don’t think there’s a causal link.

26 points by bravogamma 4y ago

Tether obviously, but this paragraph in particular was a wild ride: "Even by crypto’s often-surreal standards, Tether has a peculiar history. The company was founded in 2014 by Brock Pierce, a cryptocurrency evangelist who, as a child actor, starred in the “Mighty Ducks” movies. He and his partner, Reeve Collins, later handed control of the firm to a former plastic surgeon named Giancarlo Devasini, who has stored some of Tether’s assets in a bank in the Bahamas run by one of the creators of the “Inspector Gadget” cartoon."

hoppyhoppy2 4y ago
Another surreal connection: Brock Pierce is now running for US Senator from Vermont (he owns a $3.4 million home there; it's unclear if he's even legally able to declare Vermont residency, especially without giving up some big tax breaks in Puerto Rico [0]). It's a political move allegedly assisted behind the scenes by Steve Bannon.[1] [0]: https://vtdigger.org/2022/06/06/does-brock-pierce-live-in-vermont-answering-yes-could-cost-the-senate-candidate-his-puerto-rican-tax-haven/ https://vtdigger.org/2022/06/06/does-brock-pierce-live-in-ve... [1]: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/22/bannon-is-helping-a-vermont-crypto-bro-get-elected-to-the-senate-00027264 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/22/bannon-is-helping-a...
- aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
  Do any of these articles touch on Brock (of Mighty Ducks fame) being found with a bunch of child porn and stuff?
  - ipaddr 4y ago
    No and you stop asking that in every thread
    - MerelyMortal 4y ago
      I went back three pages of OP's comment history and didn't see OP mentioning that at all, so definitely not "every thread".

arealaccount 4y ago

“Everyone’s freaking out — like, ‘I lost my life savings,’” said Mr. Collins, who founded Tether with Mr. Pierce and now runs a crypto venture called BLOCKv. “That’s a tragedy, but it’s just as much of a tragedy when someone says, ‘I went to a casino and lost my life savings.’ But that doesn’t mean let’s regulate casinos out of existence.” Do people in the crypto game generally acknowledge that they’re gambling? I always thought they considered it “investments”

ALittleLight 4y ago
I was much more libertarian when I was younger. Drugs are a good example. I always thought people should be free to do whatever they want. I feel that way about myself, certainly, and don't feel bound by any drug laws - not that I use drugs, but if I wanted to the law wouldn't bother me. Over time though I've lived in places where drugs practically are legal and the consequences - homeless, petty crime, public drug use, overdose deaths, etc seem less than ideal. Nowadays I feel less libertarian and more confused. What is the social benefit of allowing gambling addicts to bankrupt themselves? Why do we allow that? I like to gamble now and again, and think I should be allowed to, but...
- cowvin 4y ago
  Yep, I'm with you. I'm generally pretty loose on letting people enjoy their vices, but I think it's also reasonable for society to protect people who might be preyed upon by others through their vices. For example, heroin is notoriously destructive and addictive. I'm cool with outlawing it. But something like marijuana is not nearly as destructive and addictive, so I'd rather legalize it. Gambling can be addictive, but people enjoy it, so it should be legal. However, I think it's appropriate to ban certain predatory gambling practices.
- water554 4y ago
  You can legalize drugs and not let losers camp on public property and openly operate bike chop shops. The states that legalize drugs just happen to be the states that let human garbage … garbage up the city. I don’t think there’s a causal link.