3 ms·

> Mom-and-pops put their hard-earned assets into stable long-term stores of safe value The average person is simply not going to be savvy enough - nor have the

> Mom-and-pops put their hard-earned assets into stable long-term stores of safe value The average person is simply not going to be savvy enough - nor have the wherewithal in a life trying to stay above poverty - to steel themselves against all of the advertising and pressures and manipulations that the crypto crowd - the vested interests and ultrabillionaire VCs are bringing to bare. When suddenly every magazine in the gas station, commercial on tv, or major influential figure you look up to (or are aware of) is talking about this obvious grand new investment for the average man, when people you trust in your social circles are bringing this all to you with continual pressure at all angles as the solution to your honestly miserable day to day, and your 9-6 retail job with an hour commute is filled with coworkers telling you about their success with this golden ticket and billboards after billboards normalizing the stuff - well, it's reasonable that the average person would bow to such systemic and overwhelming and hyperoptimized systemic, social and psychological pressure.

ansible 4y ago
> When suddenly every magazine in the gas station, ... Yeah, I was surprised by this the first time I saw it recently. Buying crypto (like Dogecoin, for $DEITY's sake!) at some ATM-like terminal... pretending this is a good idea for everyone... they are trying to attract the very least-informed "investors" in existence. And of course these "investors" are not going to real a miles-long Terms of Service that essentially boils down to "you will probably lose all your money, and there is no recourse". My goodness. It occurs to me (again) that I could be very, very wealthy indeed if I'd only give up my morals. I mean, really, why shouldn't I do that? With a lot of money, I could have some fun times before I die.
- vba616 4y ago
  >Buying crypto (like Dogecoin, for $DEITY's sake!) at some ATM-like terminal There are literal ATMs (not "ATM-like") in government buildings that say they do Bitcoin transactions. I haven't investigated exactly what it means, but I've seen them. But you know what you can't buy with Bitcoin or credit cards? Lottery tickets. Got to have US currency.
bell-cot 4y ago
True, to a depressing degree. Especially with the modern (poisonously low) levels of trust in more-traditional sources of more-sober financial advice. OTOH, this is the old "when the shoeshine boy gives you stock tips" signal to bail out of the market - https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/04/15/211503/index.htm https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archiv...
helloworld11 4y ago
Of course, all those average people who need to be protected from themselves and their own stupidity by, I suppose enlightened betters such as yourself? Sure, there are plenty of foolish people out there making bad choices, but a fair number of them also exist among the supposedly higher earning, supposedly smarter classes too. Should a widespread program of treating adults like children in all possible be adopted worldwide? Or should we perhaps recognize that sometimes bad things do inevitably happen and that you can't legislate them away by banning whole categories of activity that sometimes lead to bad outcomes. Many of the people shitting on crypto on this very site, people who often make claims like yours about a public that they seem to look upon as little more than a moronic mass, work at high compensation for some of the world's most manipulative tech mega companies and have for years, but oh hey, lets preach about protecting the masses from themselves. Hypocrisy rarely makes itself absent.

ansible 4y ago

> When suddenly every magazine in the gas station, ... Yeah, I was surprised by this the first time I saw it recently. Buying crypto (like Dogecoin, for $DEITY's sake!) at some ATM-like terminal... pretending this is a good idea for everyone... they are trying to attract the very least-informed "investors" in existence. And of course these "investors" are not going to real a miles-long Terms of Service that essentially boils down to "you will probably lose all your money, and there is no recourse". My goodness. It occurs to me (again) that I could be very, very wealthy indeed if I'd only give up my morals. I mean, really, why shouldn't I do that? With a lot of money, I could have some fun times before I die.

vba616 4y ago
>Buying crypto (like Dogecoin, for $DEITY's sake!) at some ATM-like terminal There are literal ATMs (not "ATM-like") in government buildings that say they do Bitcoin transactions. I haven't investigated exactly what it means, but I've seen them. But you know what you can't buy with Bitcoin or credit cards? Lottery tickets. Got to have US currency.

bell-cot 4y ago

True, to a depressing degree. Especially with the modern (poisonously low) levels of trust in more-traditional sources of more-sober financial advice. OTOH, this is the old "when the shoeshine boy gives you stock tips" signal to bail out of the market - https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/04/15/211503/index.htm https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archiv...

helloworld11 4y ago

Of course, all those average people who need to be protected from themselves and their own stupidity by, I suppose enlightened betters such as yourself? Sure, there are plenty of foolish people out there making bad choices, but a fair number of them also exist among the supposedly higher earning, supposedly smarter classes too. Should a widespread program of treating adults like children in all possible be adopted worldwide? Or should we perhaps recognize that sometimes bad things do inevitably happen and that you can't legislate them away by banning whole categories of activity that sometimes lead to bad outcomes. Many of the people shitting on crypto on this very site, people who often make claims like yours about a public that they seem to look upon as little more than a moronic mass, work at high compensation for some of the world's most manipulative tech mega companies and have for years, but oh hey, lets preach about protecting the masses from themselves. Hypocrisy rarely makes itself absent.