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> If the key innovation of crypto is that it's supposed to reduce the risk of lending by bringing realtime transparency to the assets and liabilities of borrowe

> If the key innovation of crypto is that it's supposed to reduce the risk of lending by bringing realtime transparency to the assets and liabilities of borrowers, then why was FTX paying vastly higher interest rates than traditional banks? What I hear from people who invest in crypto is hoping they will make money on it. Maybe that technology is part of it but I've only known people that want to invest in it for a greater return. It's thought of as a stock, but unlike a regular stock there is no company behind it that produces something of value. It's a made up digital collectible spawned from the mind of boy geniuses that is literally nothing. My recommendation for investing in collectibles is comic books, trading cards, etc. They are finite, they exist, and they are not propped up by VC money.

MrMan 4y ago
also art and wine
lordfrito 4y ago
> It's a made up digital collectible spawned from the mind of boy geniuses that is literally nothing. Wow this got me thinking... like all collectibles the value is not intrinsic in the item itself, but subjective to the eye of the beholder. What exactly is the subjective thing that's being collected here? I wonder if the appeal of crypto is that literally represents (well, as literal as a digital good can be) a piece of "the digital new", whatever that may be. It's a piece of the our perceived digital future, but one you can own and say is yours. This must strongly resonate at a subconscious level to those weaned on social media who now live in a state of constant anxiety due to FOMO. The digital world is ephemeral, but bitcoin is something you can hold on to. The average person doesn't understand the digital revolution and the world it's built and are discontent as they feel left out it's promise; namely a techno utopia that brings great wealth and power to those in the know (Gates/Jobs/Zuckerbergs/etc.). Crypto therefore allows these people to believe they own a piece of the action. That may be it's only appeal. They can point to it and say it's theirs. "I don't understand it, but I'm not going to be left out of it." It is the ultimate nexus of everything wrong with social media and the modern digital world. The future is coming, everyone else on my feed is having fun and smiling, and vast riches await you too if you only have Diamond Hands and HODL, which ensures you will never experience FOMO. A collectible that acts as a balm against all the anxieties of the modern world. Snake oil as a collectible. I must think on this further.

MrMan 4y ago

also art and wine

lordfrito 4y ago

> It's a made up digital collectible spawned from the mind of boy geniuses that is literally nothing. Wow this got me thinking... like all collectibles the value is not intrinsic in the item itself, but subjective to the eye of the beholder. What exactly is the subjective thing that's being collected here? I wonder if the appeal of crypto is that literally represents (well, as literal as a digital good can be) a piece of "the digital new", whatever that may be. It's a piece of the our perceived digital future, but one you can own and say is yours. This must strongly resonate at a subconscious level to those weaned on social media who now live in a state of constant anxiety due to FOMO. The digital world is ephemeral, but bitcoin is something you can hold on to. The average person doesn't understand the digital revolution and the world it's built and are discontent as they feel left out it's promise; namely a techno utopia that brings great wealth and power to those in the know (Gates/Jobs/Zuckerbergs/etc.). Crypto therefore allows these people to believe they own a piece of the action. That may be it's only appeal. They can point to it and say it's theirs. "I don't understand it, but I'm not going to be left out of it." It is the ultimate nexus of everything wrong with social media and the modern digital world. The future is coming, everyone else on my feed is having fun and smiling, and vast riches await you too if you only have Diamond Hands and HODL, which ensures you will never experience FOMO. A collectible that acts as a balm against all the anxieties of the modern world. Snake oil as a collectible. I must think on this further.