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Crypto bros in hindsight were so much less dangerous than AI bros. At least they weren't trying to construct data centers in rural America or prop up artificial

Crypto bros in hindsight were so much less dangerous than AI bros. At least they weren't trying to construct data centers in rural America or prop up artificial stocks like $NVDA.

quaintpartridge 10mo ago
They were, just not as many. https://www.wired.com/story/the-worlds-biggest-bitcoin-mine-is-rattling-this-texas-oil-town/ https://www.wired.com/story/the-worlds-biggest-bitcoin-mine-...
SauntSolaire 10mo ago
Instead they were building crypto mining warehouses in rural America and propping up artificial currencies like BTC.
- ryandrake 10mo ago
  Crazy how the two most hyped and funded technologies of the decade were: energy wasting fake money for criminals and energy wasting plagiarism machines.
  - scotty79 10mo ago
    [flagged]
    - deleted 10mo ago
      [deleted]
zahlman 10mo ago
Speaking of which, we never found out the details (strike price/expiration) of Michael Burry's puts, did we? It seems he could have made bank if he'd waited one more month...
- kamranjon 10mo ago
  I think they expire in March 2026 if the NVIDIA stock drops to $140 a share? Something close to that I think.
mgfist 10mo ago
It's funny how people complain about the rust belt dying and factories leaving rural communities and so on, then when someone wants to build something that can provide jobs and tax revenue, everyone complains.
- lostlogin 10mo ago
  I’ve heard about the risk of AI leading to job losses and wealth concentration. I haven’t heard about new businesses, job creation and growth in former industrial towns. What have I missed?
- jakeydus 10mo ago
  How many people are employed at the average data center? A few dozen? Versus a steel mill, that’s nothing. A chicken plant in Nebraska closed down this last month. 3200 people lost their jobs. You think Meta will fill it with GPUs and the whole town will have jobs again?
  - scotty79 10mo ago
    Many more are employed while building it. And they will never stop building. It's modern version of rail. But instead of distances it will cover the area.
    - uxcolumbo 10mo ago
      Will local folks get those jobs to build the data center? And if so, what happens to those builders once the data center is built?
      - scotty79 10mo ago
        > Will local folks get those jobs to build the data center? Yes. At some point the demand will be so high that imported workers won't suffice and local population will need to be trained and hired. > And if so, what happens to those builders once the data center is built? They are going to be moved to a new place where the datacenters will need to be built next. Mobility if the workforce was often cited as one of the greatest strengths of US economy.

Crypto bros in hindsight were so much less dangerous than AI bros. At least they weren't trying to construct data centers in rural America or prop up artificial stocks like $NVDA.

quaintpartridge 10mo ago

They were, just not as many. https://www.wired.com/story/the-worlds-biggest-bitcoin-mine-is-rattling-this-texas-oil-town/ https://www.wired.com/story/the-worlds-biggest-bitcoin-mine-...

SauntSolaire 10mo ago

Instead they were building crypto mining warehouses in rural America and propping up artificial currencies like BTC.

ryandrake 10mo ago
Crazy how the two most hyped and funded technologies of the decade were: energy wasting fake money for criminals and energy wasting plagiarism machines.
- scotty79 10mo ago
  [flagged]
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]

zahlman 10mo ago

Speaking of which, we never found out the details (strike price/expiration) of Michael Burry's puts, did we? It seems he could have made bank if he'd waited one more month...

kamranjon 10mo ago
I think they expire in March 2026 if the NVIDIA stock drops to $140 a share? Something close to that I think.

mgfist 10mo ago

It's funny how people complain about the rust belt dying and factories leaving rural communities and so on, then when someone wants to build something that can provide jobs and tax revenue, everyone complains.

lostlogin 10mo ago
I’ve heard about the risk of AI leading to job losses and wealth concentration. I haven’t heard about new businesses, job creation and growth in former industrial towns. What have I missed?
jakeydus 10mo ago
How many people are employed at the average data center? A few dozen? Versus a steel mill, that’s nothing. A chicken plant in Nebraska closed down this last month. 3200 people lost their jobs. You think Meta will fill it with GPUs and the whole town will have jobs again?
- scotty79 10mo ago
  Many more are employed while building it. And they will never stop building. It's modern version of rail. But instead of distances it will cover the area.
  - uxcolumbo 10mo ago
    Will local folks get those jobs to build the data center? And if so, what happens to those builders once the data center is built?
    - scotty79 10mo ago
      > Will local folks get those jobs to build the data center? Yes. At some point the demand will be so high that imported workers won't suffice and local population will need to be trained and hired. > And if so, what happens to those builders once the data center is built? They are going to be moved to a new place where the datacenters will need to be built next. Mobility if the workforce was often cited as one of the greatest strengths of US economy.