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chia

(2,395 posts)
1. Read this recently, though it didn't pierce the veil much for me, it's all still monolithic mystery
Fri Dec 3, 2021, 08:54 AM
Dec 2021
As a technology writer, I try to balance healthy skepticism of new tools and products and platforms with the understanding that technology will evolve whether I like it or not. I don’t want to buy into the hype, but I think it’s also worth keeping an open (or at least curious) mind about movements that are growing in power and popularity.

Nowhere has this been harder for me than in the world of crypto. In recent years the crypto conversation has moved from a fringe topic dominated by a small segment of shit-stirring diehards, criminals, curious developers, and literal cryptographers to a mainstream obsession for many household names in tech, media, politics, art, and finance. Now, the true believers are adamant that the internet itself is going to transition and reorient itself around cryptographic tokens and blockchain technology (this change is referred to as Web3). This internet would be decentralized and far more immersive. The idea has captured the interest of countless technologists, like Mark Zuckerberg, who are looking to make a land grab in the event of a new era of the internet (this is partly where the metaverse comes into play). It’s all quite complicated, and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, here are a few explainers.

Given the energy and money (the biggest thing crypto has done so far is make a lot of people stupidly wealthy … and now they’re using that money) behind crypto projects and ambitions, I’m naturally interested in following this topic. But the conversation, I find, is ridiculously polarized. Ryan Broderick wrote about the crypto culture war this week, but it’s something I’ve been trying to parse for years now. I feel like I’m always speaking to either a zealous true crypto believer who will cede no ground, or somebody who basically thinks crypto is so morally bankrupt that even discussing it is odious.

So today I’m having a conversation with a true believer who I think can bring some nuance to the discussion. I’ve known Aaron Lammer for a while now—he is a journalist and musician, and just recently started working in the crypto world as the DeFi specialist for Radkl. He’s deep in the weeds on crypto, but he’s also good at calling bullshit on it—his podcast, Exit Scam, is an eight-part series dedicated to investigating the suspicious collapse of a Canadian crypto exchange.

The goal of this interview isn’t to render some final judgment on crypto (I plan to do a similar chat with a big-time skeptic, too). Nor is it to convince anyone to jump into a specific camp. In fact, Aaron makes the case that this ecosystem is too broad and chaotic to be a monolith. But I wanted to see if we could have a conversation . . . .



Long, but interesting read continues here:

https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/galaxy-brain/619717362e822d00205ab3e9/case-for-crypto/

modrepub

(3,637 posts)
2. Crypto Violates Basic Investing Principles
Fri Dec 3, 2021, 09:45 AM
Dec 2021

Rule of thumb is don't invest in anything you don't understand. And as a corollary, avoid investing in anything that cab drivers and the like seem to be pouring money into.

I've read articles of investors buying small power plants to run their data mining algorithms. It just seems very odd.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20210804/waste-coal-burning-plant-diversifies-crypto-mining

Not sure where this will go but the block-chain tech associated with crypto is something that may have a value in the future. Who knows.

RobertDevereaux

(1,943 posts)
4. Charlie is right in terms of high risk and investing unwisely...
Fri Dec 3, 2021, 01:07 PM
Dec 2021

But wrong if one uses micro-trading and "plays the wiggle" as per Dan Hollings's The Plan.

https://theplanrocks.com/webinar-dec-02-replay/?aid=robertdevereau

hermetic

(8,655 posts)
5. How about a "bitcoin city"?
Fri Dec 3, 2021, 04:29 PM
Dec 2021

There is a proposal from El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to build the world's first "Bitcoin City"—it will be very green with the city and the Bitcoin mining all powered by the geothermal heat of a volcano.

While residents of Pompeii and Herculaneum were not available for comment, building a city in the shadow of the live Conchagua volcano makes a lot of sense if you can harvest the energy and turn it into electricity. The government plans to issue a $1 billion "volcano bond" to raise money, half of which will be invested in Bitcoin and half of which will be used to build out the city. According to Reuters, Bukele invited people, stating: “Invest here and make all the money you want. This is a fully ecological city that works and is energized by a volcano.”

https://www.treehugger.com/volcano-powered-bitcoin-city-proposed-for-el-salvador-5210927

What could possibly go wrong? I think I will stick with my mutual funds.

DinahMoeHum

(22,512 posts)
6. Cryptos are nothing more than electronic tulips, IMO.
Fri Dec 3, 2021, 11:29 PM
Dec 2021

The underlying blockchain technology might be worth investing in, but the "currencies" themselves, unh-unh.

This mania is not going to end well; and whether or not there is even something fungible about them, it's going to get regulated by governments. Like it or not.

BTW, Charlie Munger has called this mania "trading in turds" . Warren Buffett has called it "rat poison squared".

Just my 2 cents.

bucolic_frolic

(47,435 posts)
8. There are plenty of pie in the sky investments without going into crypto
Sat Dec 4, 2021, 07:00 PM
Dec 2021

Question what you own because every dog has its day in the sun.

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