5 ms·

This has got to be one of the most absurd situations I've ever seen. Absolutely fucking insane that this could have even lasted that long. Every single charitab

by alexb_ 4y ago

This has got to be one of the most absurd situations I've ever seen. Absolutely fucking insane that this could have even lasted that long. Every single charitable interpretation of this situation, every single possible way that they could have somehow argued their way out of it being a clear scam, it's all just obviously stealing. I think it's absolutely absurd that "smart money" was pumped into this to the tune of billions upon billions of dollars. The popularity of this delusion, and the madness of the billion-dollar crowd is so much worse than anyone could have thought.

lkrubner 4y ago
Strongly agree. In normal times there are scammers and people trying to set up Ponzi schemes, but they don't typically fool sophisticated investors. These last 30 years have seen the markets grow increasingly deranged. In that sense, Bernie Madoff was the true visionary who set the tone for this era, much more so than Elon Musk or Adam Neumann.
gary_0 4y ago
I still have doubts that regulators will step in and take decisive action to prevent this kind of thing happening again. Is fraud basically legal now?
joe_the_user 4y ago
Absolutely fucking insane that this could have even lasted that long. When things are good, Ponzi schemes appear smarter, hipper and more profitable than ordinary businesses and so no one want to run anything else after a bit. That's why the Fed is there to "take away the punch bowl just when the party is getting interesting" - because, whatever their other virtues, markets won't stop this before disaster strikes.
- grey-area 4y ago
  Shame the Fed didn’t do that. Instead the Fed has been pouring vodka constantly into the punch bowl since 2009. This bubble is primarily their fault and now after it burst they have decided to go the other way and raise rates into a recession.
TrackerFF 4y ago
Just the same old greed that clouded peoples minds. They saw BTC/ETH/etc. get pumped time and time again. Some investors must have known it was a massive scam, but thought - hey, what if I successfully exit before the bagholders? What if I am the ONE that makes a fortune off this deal? But alas, the thing with many of these crypto startups is that they crash and burn so fast. One minute they're worth billions, the next minute the founders have vanished or in custody. Regulations are coming, no mater how much the crypto fundies hate it. Regulations don't conjure out of thin air, they are almost always reactionary measures. So maybe that's one good thing to come out of it all - these companies will be forced to be more transparent, as well as facing hard jail-time if/when they play with client money.
deleted 4y ago
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by alexb_ 4y ago

lkrubner 4y ago

Strongly agree. In normal times there are scammers and people trying to set up Ponzi schemes, but they don't typically fool sophisticated investors. These last 30 years have seen the markets grow increasingly deranged. In that sense, Bernie Madoff was the true visionary who set the tone for this era, much more so than Elon Musk or Adam Neumann.

gary_0 4y ago

I still have doubts that regulators will step in and take decisive action to prevent this kind of thing happening again. Is fraud basically legal now?

joe_the_user 4y ago

Absolutely fucking insane that this could have even lasted that long. When things are good, Ponzi schemes appear smarter, hipper and more profitable than ordinary businesses and so no one want to run anything else after a bit. That's why the Fed is there to "take away the punch bowl just when the party is getting interesting" - because, whatever their other virtues, markets won't stop this before disaster strikes.

grey-area 4y ago
Shame the Fed didn’t do that. Instead the Fed has been pouring vodka constantly into the punch bowl since 2009. This bubble is primarily their fault and now after it burst they have decided to go the other way and raise rates into a recession.

TrackerFF 4y ago

Just the same old greed that clouded peoples minds. They saw BTC/ETH/etc. get pumped time and time again. Some investors must have known it was a massive scam, but thought - hey, what if I successfully exit before the bagholders? What if I am the ONE that makes a fortune off this deal? But alas, the thing with many of these crypto startups is that they crash and burn so fast. One minute they're worth billions, the next minute the founders have vanished or in custody. Regulations are coming, no mater how much the crypto fundies hate it. Regulations don't conjure out of thin air, they are almost always reactionary measures. So maybe that's one good thing to come out of it all - these companies will be forced to be more transparent, as well as facing hard jail-time if/when they play with client money.

deleted 4y ago

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