Cryptocurrencies are a scam

[[Dimetrodon]]

With all the fear of missing out and the hype about crypto that still seems to have not gone away, it is time to call a spade a spade. These digital "currencies" and their anonymous transactions protect scammers and they just disappear with people's money.

https://theconversation.com/scams-and-c ... for-182033

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/03/crypto- ... 1-ftc.html



It is quite clear that scams and crypto go hand and hand, and the fact that is decentralized is more of a vice than a virtue. Not only is it more often than not a tool for scammers, but also the claim that they could ever replace real money is false. Speculative investments are not going to make for a good currency to base an economy on. It's insane that there are still people buying into them.

[WolfofWords]

With all the fear of missing out and the hype about crypto that still seems to have not gone away, it is time to call a spade a spade. These digital "currencies" and their anonymous transactions protect scammers and they just disappear with people's money.

https://theconversation.com/scams-and-c ... for-182033

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/03/crypto- ... 1-ftc.html



It is quite clear that scams and crypto go hand and hand, and the fact that is decentralized is more of a vice than a virtue. Not only is it more often then not a tool for scammers, but also the claim that they could ever replace real money is false. Speculative investments are not going to make for a good currency to base an economy on. It's insane that there are still people buying into them.

Yeah. Rug pulls are very common in these scams. Same with NFTs.

[[Dimetrodon]]

Yeah. Rug pulls are very common in these scams. Same with NFTs.

The whole thing is fraudulent, and yes, NFTs are the same way. It's trying to sell the idea that you can escape poverty when usually you lose everything. It has also been proven that crypto and NTFs redistribute wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich.

[scooter]

The whole thing is fraudulent, and yes, NFTs are the same way. It's trying to sell the idea that you can escape poverty when usually you lose everything. It has also been proven that crypto and NTFs redistribute wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich.

I'd be interested to see the proof of that. It certainly does happen, but, as with the claims of energy use in bitcoin technology, which is prodigious, I think it should be considered as part of a whole. In other words: yes, it certainly can be used in scams - but moreso than gold, oil, USD, or other currencies? When we count the energy use dedicated to financial markets in world currencies (most of which doesn't actually exist as currency, keep in mind!), is the energy use that large is comparison?

I mean, really, the movement of nation-state-based currencies also redistributes wealth from the poor and middle-class to the rich. The questions then become 1) to what degree? and 2) on whose say-so does this happen?

The thing is, if we actually study cryptocurrencies from the point of view of monetary theory, they function in much the same way as almost any other established currency (particularly after the Nixon Shock): they have the value that people are willing to assign them. The main difference is that the group valuing the currency is smaller...

It's much the same way that sovereignty is basically an agreed-upon construct. What actually constitutes a "nation-state" is almost entirely a function of who asks the question.

I'm a very long way from the Sov-Cit/goldbug stylings of the libertarian right, but I'm willing to grant a bit of leeway, here. Wealth is synonymous with power, even in the more socialist states. Giving people an independent way of organizing wealth and markets is, to my mind, a good idea. I believe much of the pushback on crypto and similar constructs rises from a lack of centralized control by states, banks, and corporations.

[[Dimetrodon]]

In other words: yes, it certainly can be used in scams - but moreso than gold, oil, USD, or other currencies?

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-vi ... ypto-craze
Yes, according to the FTC.

From Super Bowl ads to Bitcoin ATMs, cryptocurrency seems to be everywhere lately. Although it’s yet to become a mainstream payment method, reports to the FTC show it’s an alarmingly common method for scammers to get peoples’ money. Since the start of 2021, more than 46,000 people have reported losing over $1 billion in crypto to scams[1] – that’s about one out of every four dollars reported lost,[2] more than any other payment method. The median individual reported loss? A whopping $2,600. The top cryptocurrencies people said they used to pay scammers were Bitcoin (70%), Tether (10%), and Ether (9%).[3]

I mean, really, the movement of nation-state-based currencies also redistributes wealth from the poor and middle-class to the rich. The questions then become 1) to what degree? and 2) on whose say-so does this happen?

The last video I posted explains how crypto is worse than other currencies, and it goes into great detail on how the wealth inequality in the crypto market is worse than North Korea and how it mainly takes from the little guy and gives to the big guy.

The biggest problem with our system is lack of regulations on businesses and taxes on billionaires. How is bypassing what little regulations/taxes we have left going to make things better?

[[Dimetrodon]]

I personally don't think they are all scammers per say. Why? Because I have cashed out on some sites with cryptocurrencies and they pay a lot for me personally at least anyways.

It is possible to make money on crypto even if you are the average person, but that is the exception, not the rule.

[scooter]

It is possible to make money on crypto even if you are the average person, but that is the exception, not the rule.

I'll admit that one reason I might have a differing opinion of cryptocurrency is that I view it as a currency, not strictly a money-making scheme. I mean, yes, it is possible to invest in Japanese yen, but that isn't its primary purpose. And there are lots of scams related to the investment side of foreign currency as well, which is one reason I tend to consider crypto as not as singularly dangerous in that regard - but I believe I'm in a considerable minority on that score.

I've also studied and invested in alternative currencies in the past. I still have my BMore Bucks around here somewhere.

[[Dimetrodon]]

It is possible to make money on crypto even if you are the average person, but that is the exception, not the rule.

I'll admit that one reason I might have a differing opinion of cryptocurrency is that I view it as a currency, not strictly a money-making scheme. I mean, yes, it is possible to invest in Japanese yen, but that isn't its primary purpose. And there are lots of scams related to the investment side of foreign currency as well, which is one reason I tend to consider crypto as not as singularly dangerous in that regard - but I believe I'm in a considerable minority on that score.

I've also studied and invested in alternative currencies in the past. I still have my BMore Bucks around here somewhere.

It's impractical to use them as actual currencies due to the high fees alone. https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/five ... ocurrency/

Nor is it viewed as a currency. People say it's a currency but it functions much more like a speculative investment than anything else, unlike fiat currencies. Yes, you can invest in other currencies, but unlike crypto, that's not their primary function.

[scooter]

It is possible to make money on crypto even if you are the average person, but that is the exception, not the rule.

I'll admit that one reason I might have a differing opinion of cryptocurrency is that I view it as a currency, not strictly a money-making scheme. I mean, yes, it is possible to invest in Japanese yen, but that isn't its primary purpose. And there are lots of scams related to the investment side of foreign currency as well, which is one reason I tend to consider crypto as not as singularly dangerous in that regard - but I believe I'm in a considerable minority on that score.

I've also studied and invested in alternative currencies in the past. I still have my BMore Bucks around here somewhere.

It's impractical to use them as actual currencies due to the high fees alone. https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/five ... ocurrency/

Nor is it viewed as a currency. People say it's a currency but it functions much more like a speculative investment than anything else, unlike fiat currencies. Yes, you can invest in other currencies, but unlike crypto, that's not their primary function.

Oof. We're going to Brookings for validation? And they (predictably) cite one example?

And yes, the national currencies are for the most part fiat, which is the point - when you speculate on them, there's a high potential for fraud. In fact, that's even true with specie.

The takeaway shouldn't be "don't do crypto", as if it is uniquely rife with this kind of thing, while everything else is nice and safe and reassuringly touted by elite statist institutions like Brookings. Their objections have some weight, sure, but they are equally or at least significantly applicable to their own investments; it's a lot like the stock market's objections to online traders manipulating the prices of GameStop and Bed, Bath, and Beyond: they're objecting to the same things that they themselves do, but the Internet guys are doing it without the elite buy-in. The takeaway is caveat emptor, everywhere.

[[Dimetrodon]]

I never said anything else was safe or that fiat was utopic. Rather that crypto isn’t a cure for that.