3 ms·

Banks are highly regulated in exactly how much of the deposits they can use and what kind of risks they can take with it. This is complicated: https://en.wikipe

Banks are highly regulated in exactly how much of the deposits they can use and what kind of risks they can take with it. This is complicated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_requirement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_requirement Also in the US at least banks are FDIC insured, so if the bank is breaking the law and gambling inappropriately consumers are still protected. "How is crypto different than a bank" is a reductive and foolish comparison. There are many, many differences. The primary one being that almost every cryptocurrency system is a fraud at its heart.

zenapollo 4y ago
Of course you're right that they are very different. But "at it's heart" all money is imagined. Dollars are simply backed by all the most powerful institutions on the planet. The reason I asked is because it seems to me that people are clutching their pearls and saying this is stealing. But as I see it, the difference between FTX and Chase Bank are that Chase has a lot of rules and regulations, and a good insurance policy. But "at it's heart" SFB is no different than Jamie Dimon. The ethics of what SFB did and what American banks would like to do is exactly the same.
- vkou 4y ago
  At heart a snake oil salesman and a doctor are no different, but only one of them actually helps people.
duncancarroll 4y ago
> "every cryptocurrency system is a fraud at its heart." I'm not sure I agree with you on that part. Fraud is defined as "wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain." Encryption-based currency by itself does not meet that definition. Can people use crypto to commit fraud? Yes, just the same as they could use fiat or anything else that has perceived value. imho the main value of crypto as a technology is that it is A) decentralized, and B) removes many intermediaries & inefficiencies involved in handling + distributing money. </$0.02>
- NelsonMinar 4y ago
  You misquoted me; I said "almost every cryptocurrency system" for a reason. A thread where we're discussing a guy using $10B of $16B of cryptocurrency customer deposits to finance his private hedge fund gambling is not a good place to try to make your argument.

zenapollo 4y ago

Of course you're right that they are very different. But "at it's heart" all money is imagined. Dollars are simply backed by all the most powerful institutions on the planet. The reason I asked is because it seems to me that people are clutching their pearls and saying this is stealing. But as I see it, the difference between FTX and Chase Bank are that Chase has a lot of rules and regulations, and a good insurance policy. But "at it's heart" SFB is no different than Jamie Dimon. The ethics of what SFB did and what American banks would like to do is exactly the same.

vkou 4y ago
At heart a snake oil salesman and a doctor are no different, but only one of them actually helps people.

duncancarroll 4y ago

> "every cryptocurrency system is a fraud at its heart." I'm not sure I agree with you on that part. Fraud is defined as "wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain." Encryption-based currency by itself does not meet that definition. Can people use crypto to commit fraud? Yes, just the same as they could use fiat or anything else that has perceived value. imho the main value of crypto as a technology is that it is A) decentralized, and B) removes many intermediaries & inefficiencies involved in handling + distributing money. </$0.02>

NelsonMinar 4y ago
You misquoted me; I said "almost every cryptocurrency system" for a reason. A thread where we're discussing a guy using $10B of $16B of cryptocurrency customer deposits to finance his private hedge fund gambling is not a good place to try to make your argument.