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Vitalik and Ethereum Foundation have siphoned hundreds of millions (billions?) out of the (pre-mined) Ethereum blockchain, which is probably an unregistered sec

Vitalik and Ethereum Foundation have siphoned hundreds of millions (billions?) out of the (pre-mined) Ethereum blockchain, which is probably an unregistered security if it weren't for high-roller lobbying agains the SEC, and to what end? Largely a platform for ICO/NFT/web3 failing Ponzi schemes. If you know of real-world apps on top of Ethereum, that I could use right now on my phone, and is a real thing outside of "wallet thing", "mostly-broken web3 version of existing thing", "earn 30% interest with defi scam", let me know.

jongjong 4y ago
True. They've been suppressing innovation intentionally. I know because I worked in the space and watched them pull the plug on promising projects.
drdeca 4y ago
Why do you specify "on your phone"? I'm reminded of the "prettiest lady of all those ... in this room ... currently eating a kebab" bit. I don't think the most common use of something being "to make scams or other worthless things" is enough to make that thing "a scam". I don't know what you mean by "siphoned out of". If you just mean "they sold the tokens", then... that seems like a deliberately misleading way of phrasing it?
- shrimpx 4y ago
  > on my phone To emphasize a generally useful thing. The vast majority of people I know use their phones, not desktops. But ok, my desktop is fine too. > siphoned When you become ultra-wealthy from tokens/stock from a product or platform that brings no or very little value to the world, I would call that siphoning to emphasize the hugely lopsided ratio of "wealth I got" / "value the world got". You got rich on hype, not value. You siphoned wealth before there was value, without even knowing if there will ever be value (or knowing there won't be). > I don't think the most common use of something being "to make scams or other worthless things" is enough to make that thing "a scam". This is a doozie for me. If you make "tools for scammers" somehow that brings value to the world?
  - drdeca 4y ago
    Just because something is overall not good, that doesn't make it a scam. The person doing it has to have some amount of intent to deceive in order for them to be perpetrating a scam, I think. I'm convinced that Vitalik's intentions are good, even if the net results might not be.
    - shrimpx 4y ago
      I definitely don't think Vitalik is a scammer, but I find it not-so-ethical to take large amounts of money off the table before you've created value. Vitalik's wealth comes from hype, not from value in the world. He's not centrally responsible for generating the hype, and he's even spoken against it, but then he takes a ton of hype money off the table...

jongjong 4y ago

True. They've been suppressing innovation intentionally. I know because I worked in the space and watched them pull the plug on promising projects.

drdeca 4y ago

Why do you specify "on your phone"? I'm reminded of the "prettiest lady of all those ... in this room ... currently eating a kebab" bit. I don't think the most common use of something being "to make scams or other worthless things" is enough to make that thing "a scam". I don't know what you mean by "siphoned out of". If you just mean "they sold the tokens", then... that seems like a deliberately misleading way of phrasing it?

shrimpx 4y ago
> on my phone To emphasize a generally useful thing. The vast majority of people I know use their phones, not desktops. But ok, my desktop is fine too. > siphoned When you become ultra-wealthy from tokens/stock from a product or platform that brings no or very little value to the world, I would call that siphoning to emphasize the hugely lopsided ratio of "wealth I got" / "value the world got". You got rich on hype, not value. You siphoned wealth before there was value, without even knowing if there will ever be value (or knowing there won't be). > I don't think the most common use of something being "to make scams or other worthless things" is enough to make that thing "a scam". This is a doozie for me. If you make "tools for scammers" somehow that brings value to the world?
- drdeca 4y ago
  Just because something is overall not good, that doesn't make it a scam. The person doing it has to have some amount of intent to deceive in order for them to be perpetrating a scam, I think. I'm convinced that Vitalik's intentions are good, even if the net results might not be.
  - shrimpx 4y ago
    I definitely don't think Vitalik is a scammer, but I find it not-so-ethical to take large amounts of money off the table before you've created value. Vitalik's wealth comes from hype, not from value in the world. He's not centrally responsible for generating the hype, and he's even spoken against it, but then he takes a ton of hype money off the table...