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Has the crypto bubble popped? I definitely see less hype and tech folks talking about it. But coinbase is up 40% this year and BTC is also up. I don't get what'

Has the crypto bubble popped? I definitely see less hype and tech folks talking about it. But coinbase is up 40% this year and BTC is also up. I don't get what's propping it up.

gafferongames 2y ago
Pure industrial-grade stupid.
pineaux 2y ago
Its the bubble that ends all bubbles.
rr808 2y ago
Yeah I got interested in Solana this year. The tech is cool, I did the tutes and want to make a small project but I literally can't think of something useful to build.
- fragmede 2y ago
  I'm in the middle of making a site where people can pay me 10¢ via Solana, which is to say micropayments are now possible. Then I just need to convince 10 million people to do that.
poikroequ 2y ago
Let's just say what is propping up crypto is not in anything legal...
vundercind 2y ago
As tech, it turns out to be as boring and low-utility as most folks not caught up in it expected. The interest bubble, from the tech side, seems mercifully to have popped. As virtual-pogs and a tool for crime, it does seem to have staying power.
- stult 2y ago
  I think the greatest driver of liquidity in crypto is actually capital flight from countries with restrictive capital controls like China and Russia. So a tool for crime according to those nations but not a criminal use as far as most people would understand the term.
  - cmrdporcupine 2y ago
    At this point that movement of capital in and out of Russia is both a real world crime and an ethical "crime" regardless of what people with libertarian ideological bent think.
  - aliasxneo 2y ago
    I've worked quite a bit in crypto but keep it on the low in HN as I end up with very unfavorable responses (the general sentiment can be seen in the comments here). However, I will point out from my experience that this is true and not purely anecdotal. In particular, my most recent project was geared towards using crypto to finance innovation in particularly hard-to-finance countries (i.e., where interest rates are basically predatory). It's proved a huge success and still continues to this day.
  - xg15 2y ago
    > So a tool for crime according to those nations but not a criminal use as far as most people would understand the term. The same tech could be used to evade EU/US financial sanctions (or just as well UN sanctions) at which point the sentiments would probably be flipped.
  - jacobwilliamroy 2y ago
    When people would rather use crypto than their national currency, that is an indictment of the currency, not an endorsement of crypto.
jsheard 2y ago
NFTs are somehow still going, though as always it's hard to gauge genuine interest when there's so much astroturfing and wash trading going on. Predictably a lot of them are now using AI to mass produce the artwork, NFTs were never genuinely about appreciating the artwork so growing the art in a Petri dish is on-brand I suppose.
tim333 2y ago
Because you can make money.

Has the crypto bubble popped? I definitely see less hype and tech folks talking about it. But coinbase is up 40% this year and BTC is also up. I don't get what's propping it up.

gafferongames 2y ago

Pure industrial-grade stupid.

pineaux 2y ago

Its the bubble that ends all bubbles.

rr808 2y ago

Yeah I got interested in Solana this year. The tech is cool, I did the tutes and want to make a small project but I literally can't think of something useful to build.

fragmede 2y ago
I'm in the middle of making a site where people can pay me 10¢ via Solana, which is to say micropayments are now possible. Then I just need to convince 10 million people to do that.

poikroequ 2y ago

Let's just say what is propping up crypto is not in anything legal...

vundercind 2y ago

As tech, it turns out to be as boring and low-utility as most folks not caught up in it expected. The interest bubble, from the tech side, seems mercifully to have popped. As virtual-pogs and a tool for crime, it does seem to have staying power.

stult 2y ago
I think the greatest driver of liquidity in crypto is actually capital flight from countries with restrictive capital controls like China and Russia. So a tool for crime according to those nations but not a criminal use as far as most people would understand the term.
- cmrdporcupine 2y ago
  At this point that movement of capital in and out of Russia is both a real world crime and an ethical "crime" regardless of what people with libertarian ideological bent think.
- aliasxneo 2y ago
  I've worked quite a bit in crypto but keep it on the low in HN as I end up with very unfavorable responses (the general sentiment can be seen in the comments here). However, I will point out from my experience that this is true and not purely anecdotal. In particular, my most recent project was geared towards using crypto to finance innovation in particularly hard-to-finance countries (i.e., where interest rates are basically predatory). It's proved a huge success and still continues to this day.
- xg15 2y ago
  > So a tool for crime according to those nations but not a criminal use as far as most people would understand the term. The same tech could be used to evade EU/US financial sanctions (or just as well UN sanctions) at which point the sentiments would probably be flipped.
- jacobwilliamroy 2y ago
  When people would rather use crypto than their national currency, that is an indictment of the currency, not an endorsement of crypto.

jsheard 2y ago

NFTs are somehow still going, though as always it's hard to gauge genuine interest when there's so much astroturfing and wash trading going on. Predictably a lot of them are now using AI to mass produce the artwork, NFTs were never genuinely about appreciating the artwork so growing the art in a Petri dish is on-brand I suppose.

tim333 2y ago

Because you can make money.