4 ms·

Crypto currencies are IMO all speculative assets. They may go up or down. People try to anticipate which way they will go based on various different criteria

by naet 4y ago

Crypto currencies are IMO all speculative assets. They may go up or down. People try to anticipate which way they will go based on various different criteria, but it's mostly a crap shoot. The same crypto currency is likely to fluctuate significantly up and down in value over time.

BurningFrog 4y ago
Aren't all assets speculative, and may go up or down?
- Consultant32452 4y ago
  My dollars are going down like a ton of bricks.
  - Proven 4y ago
- Quindecillion 4y ago
  Yes, and just because early adopters are disproportionately rewarded to laggards doesn't make it a "pyramid scheme" either. If it was that would mean all stock investments are "pyramid schemes" too. Did early investors in companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, or Tesla benefit from a "pyramid scheme"? They saw value before others did, got in early, and reaped the rewards once the majority cottoned on to their value proposition. It's no different with Bitcoin. People see value in it before others have and may reap the benefits if demand continues to rise from society seeing value in its properties. You can argue about whether that perceived value is justified or not, but ultimately only time (and the market) will tell.
  - jboy55 4y ago
    I'm not sure where you are getting "Pyramid scheme", most criticisms of crypto are that they are Ponzi schemes. The difference is that rather than money funneling up to the top of the pyramid, in a Ponzi scheme an illusion of returns is created by redistributing newer investors money to existing investors, rather than from the underlying investments gaining value. See Madoff's great scheme. There was a great article, probably lost in time, which explained how the dot-com crash of the 00s was basically the collapse of an internet advertising Pyramid, and a smaller collapse of a dark-fiber pyramid.
    - Quindecillion 4y ago
      > I'm not sure where you are getting "Pyramid scheme" Really? Just google "bitcoin pyramid scheme" It's a very common criticism.
    - sph 4y ago
      The pyramid vs Ponzi scheme debate is just arguing semantics. They are variants of the same idea: that you constantly need fresh suckers to prop the scheme up. (Not saying that crypto is any scheme; because there is not one cryptocurrency and because it's a dumb oversimplification of the problem)
tromp 4y ago
A cryptocurrency emitting one coin per second forever makes a poor speculative asset, as there is plenty supply for late adopters. It will take a whole century to get yearly inflation rate down to 1%.

by naet 4y ago

BurningFrog 4y ago

Aren't all assets speculative, and may go up or down?

Consultant32452 4y ago
My dollars are going down like a ton of bricks.
- Proven 4y ago
Quindecillion 4y ago
Yes, and just because early adopters are disproportionately rewarded to laggards doesn't make it a "pyramid scheme" either. If it was that would mean all stock investments are "pyramid schemes" too. Did early investors in companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, or Tesla benefit from a "pyramid scheme"? They saw value before others did, got in early, and reaped the rewards once the majority cottoned on to their value proposition. It's no different with Bitcoin. People see value in it before others have and may reap the benefits if demand continues to rise from society seeing value in its properties. You can argue about whether that perceived value is justified or not, but ultimately only time (and the market) will tell.
- jboy55 4y ago
  I'm not sure where you are getting "Pyramid scheme", most criticisms of crypto are that they are Ponzi schemes. The difference is that rather than money funneling up to the top of the pyramid, in a Ponzi scheme an illusion of returns is created by redistributing newer investors money to existing investors, rather than from the underlying investments gaining value. See Madoff's great scheme. There was a great article, probably lost in time, which explained how the dot-com crash of the 00s was basically the collapse of an internet advertising Pyramid, and a smaller collapse of a dark-fiber pyramid.
  - Quindecillion 4y ago
    > I'm not sure where you are getting "Pyramid scheme" Really? Just google "bitcoin pyramid scheme" It's a very common criticism.
  - sph 4y ago
    The pyramid vs Ponzi scheme debate is just arguing semantics. They are variants of the same idea: that you constantly need fresh suckers to prop the scheme up. (Not saying that crypto is any scheme; because there is not one cryptocurrency and because it's a dumb oversimplification of the problem)

tromp 4y ago

A cryptocurrency emitting one coin per second forever makes a poor speculative asset, as there is plenty supply for late adopters. It will take a whole century to get yearly inflation rate down to 1%.