3 ms·

It's unfortunately that crypto most appealed to some of the least financially savvy "don't trust the system" types who would be most protected by the modern reg

It's unfortunately that crypto most appealed to some of the least financially savvy "don't trust the system" types who would be most protected by the modern regulatory regime they eschewed. Instead they ended up in a downward spiral of snake oil 1800s era wild Wild West financial system that we learned was bad 100 years ago. Tech people might find the underlying concepts interesting, but a lot of the "small investors" in the crypto space were sports gamblers bored during covid, kids blowing their stimulus checks, and conspiracy theory adjacent types.

LudwigNagasena 3y ago
Were stimulus checks distributed directly to kids?
- filoleg 3y ago
  I think “kids” here means not literal children (under the age of 18), but more like fresh out of HS college students and recent grads. And they got stimulus checks distributed directly to them, yeah.
  - LudwigNagasena 3y ago
    Old enough to vote, old enough to waste money on shitcoins, in my opinion.
    - filoleg 3y ago
      I agree with you. Just wanted to clarify who the grandparent comment was talking about.
junofan 3y ago
Bored sports gamblers needed more information about the business operations and financial health of Ripple to make sound investment decisions? I think we need to be clear on what we’re trying to accomplish.
- indigo0086 3y ago
  Gamblers have problems that can't be solved with regulation
aeternum 3y ago
The goal of the SEC used to be to ensure that companies could not lie to and mislead investors. The goal wasn't to ban investment in snakeoil, it was to ensure there was some grounding in truth for the financials of businesses. Instead, it has become the goal of the modern regulatory regime to put guardrails around possible investments. If people want to blow their stimmy check on a gamble there are many ways to do so. Is that really something we want the SEC 'protecting' against? Just remember all the people that were called fools for investing in the Google bubble stock, Netflix when they shuttered the mailorder business, or Facebook when there was no clear path to monetization. Investing in high-risk high-reward ideas is actually best when young.
- steveBK123 3y ago
  Of course the government should regulate financial products. There is no end to complicated weapons of mass destruction financial products that bankers and lawyers can cook up. You think the average joe stands a chance interpreting them vs banks? This is why some products require you to be an accredited investors. Or in retail for example ARMs require plain language one-pagers and disallow bad features like balloon payments that caused harm during GFC. Banks do not choose to limit themselves altruistically in the absence of regulation. This is the problem with retail crypto.

LudwigNagasena 3y ago

Were stimulus checks distributed directly to kids?

filoleg 3y ago
I think “kids” here means not literal children (under the age of 18), but more like fresh out of HS college students and recent grads. And they got stimulus checks distributed directly to them, yeah.
- LudwigNagasena 3y ago
  Old enough to vote, old enough to waste money on shitcoins, in my opinion.
  - filoleg 3y ago
    I agree with you. Just wanted to clarify who the grandparent comment was talking about.

junofan 3y ago

Bored sports gamblers needed more information about the business operations and financial health of Ripple to make sound investment decisions? I think we need to be clear on what we’re trying to accomplish.

indigo0086 3y ago
Gamblers have problems that can't be solved with regulation

aeternum 3y ago

The goal of the SEC used to be to ensure that companies could not lie to and mislead investors. The goal wasn't to ban investment in snakeoil, it was to ensure there was some grounding in truth for the financials of businesses. Instead, it has become the goal of the modern regulatory regime to put guardrails around possible investments. If people want to blow their stimmy check on a gamble there are many ways to do so. Is that really something we want the SEC 'protecting' against? Just remember all the people that were called fools for investing in the Google bubble stock, Netflix when they shuttered the mailorder business, or Facebook when there was no clear path to monetization. Investing in high-risk high-reward ideas is actually best when young.

steveBK123 3y ago
Of course the government should regulate financial products. There is no end to complicated weapons of mass destruction financial products that bankers and lawyers can cook up. You think the average joe stands a chance interpreting them vs banks? This is why some products require you to be an accredited investors. Or in retail for example ARMs require plain language one-pagers and disallow bad features like balloon payments that caused harm during GFC. Banks do not choose to limit themselves altruistically in the absence of regulation. This is the problem with retail crypto.