this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2023
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Yes, I know that it still exist, and yes, decentralized currency which utilizes distributed, cryptographic validation is not actually a strictly bad idea, but...

Is the speculative investment scam, which crypto substantially represented, finally dead? Can we go back to buying gold bars and Pokemon cards?

I feel like it is, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on why it lost its sheen. Maybe crypto scammers moved on to selling LLM "prompts?" Maybe the rug just got pulled enough times that everyone lost trust.

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[–] nii236@lemmy.jtmn.dev 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

A lot of controversial comments. Here are some of my observations:

  • Not a single mention of decentralised finance/DeFi in the comments, which is a game-changer.
  • A lot of outdated information or misunderstanding of recent developments in the industry
  • A large focus on scams and crypto bros, who are the loudest but definitely not the majority
[–] 0xpr03@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

DeFi

All governments and API server owners have shown that this is a wish and not reality.

[–] nii236@lemmy.jtmn.dev 1 points 2 years ago

DeFi has added some real value for both project creators and users, not just for myself. I'm not talking about the 'money making, profit driven' side of value either, but utility, capital efficiency, flexibility, new financial primitives as well.

All sorts of crazy innovation that you shouldn't just hand-wave away as a scam or redundant.

[–] fades@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Good points for sure.

You mentioned recent developments, what Loopring is doing with Layer 2/3 technology has been game changing within the ethereum space. GameStop’s NFT marketplace, especially the games shines because of it.

Semi-related, this post reminds me of a recent F1 story I came across on squabbles, where they are using w3 improve their ticketing systems to combat certain things that currently cause issues like scalping while also providing a medium for tailored ticket and fan experiences. It has actually been a long time coming, I found this article from ‘21 How Non-Fungible Tokens Are Coming To F1 which goes more in-depth with what their vision is and what they believe they can achieve.

I wouldn’t be surprised if these kinds of applications pop up in other sports down the road if it does well for F1.

Given all the negative press in addition to the unfortunate support from GOP fascists, from the outside looking in it must seem like it’s 90% delusional morons being taken advantage of by 10% scammer assholes.

There are delusional morons and scammer assholes, but it’s a loud minority and does not define the technology and the assoc industry.

[–] drwho@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

Bitcoin's in the low $29kus region lately (up from $26kus), so it looks like it's going to keep going. Also, big real money investors are now pretty long on cryptocurrency, so there is a vested interest in keeping it around.

Plus, you know, folks buying stuff on the black and grey markets with it. Wish I didn't have to mention drugs, but it's the easiest way to keep getting insulin for folks these days in addition to the usual recreational compounds.

[–] Rumblestiltskin@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 years ago

It is humming along nicely for those that use it. There could be another speculative pump filled with scams, that would be no surprise.

[–] davehtaylor@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago (8 children)
  • As an actual currency, it's functionally useless. Even if every retailer on the planet were to accept it, the overhead for making the transaction is just a non-starter

  • Because of that, it's entirely just funny money. Even further, since it's entirely a virtual asset, if the power goes out, your wallet goes with it

  • The environmental impacts are horrifying. This fact alone means that it should all be eradicated. Destroying the planet for Internet funny money isn't an acceptable proposition

  • For a decentralized currency, people sure do love centralizing under large exchanges, and the massive losses, thefts, fraud, etc. have shown that no matter how "decentralized" it's supposed to be, it's still susceptible to the same bullshit as any other currency

  • Its high profile association with grifters, scammers, malware, and dark web shenanigans has completely soured its image in the public mind

  • It's entirely a speculative investment scam now. There's no way to decouple it from that.

[–] Aetherion@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago

Funny how people are creating bullshit by taking about things they don’t know.

Hint: Blockchain is more than just currency and when your centralised e-mail server is taken down with all of your e-mail's, than you will think back at people who did the switch to decentralisation.

Another hint: Ethereum did lower its CO2 emissions by 99%, just by changing its code. Can your 100% virtual currency, parked at your favorite bank in a country like sweden, where there is no cash anymore, do the same?

[–] Sodis@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago

Some of these points are not inherent properties of cryptos, like the environmental impact and the transaction overhead.

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[–] Wander@yiffit.net 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Nope. I use it on a weekly basis to pay for stuff on the internet. It's got its uses and the concept is sound. What you're talking about is the hype train that happens ever so often.

[–] Geo_bot@dataterm.digital 1 points 2 years ago

I'm glad to see that paying for things is still an option. What I really hope for is that the future of crypto is all payments and the investors fuck off

[–] SaintLunatic@midwest.social 0 points 2 years ago (3 children)

What do you use crypto to pay for on the internet every week?

[–] Wander@yiffit.net 1 points 2 years ago

Servers, VPN, domain names and recurring donations. Mostly donations every week. Servers and VPN on a monthly basis.

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[–] Ebuall@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago

Maybe people understood, that instead of freedom as advertised, crypto brings out even more oppressive forms of capitalism.

[–] Wahots@pawb.social 1 points 2 years ago

Nah. This happens every few years, has been since 2014. Buy a GPU before they rise up and use all of our electricity again. An new SBF will crash it sometime.

[–] mahutiburger@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago
[–] schizanon@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Weak hands got shaken out, and the economy is teetering on recession. When inflation stops and interest rates fall, and quantitative easing starts back up it's gonna come roaring back. The SEC and CFTC aren't trying to kill crypto, they are just trying to decide who's jurisdiction it falls under. The crypto industry will benefit from regulation, it will get safer, and you'll feel like an idiot for asking this question instead of buying while it's cheap. Hit me up in 2025!

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[–] SouthEndSunset@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

No, the market is down. stocks are down.

[–] dust4ngel@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

you can’t get a real discussion of crypto here because downvotes are impossible and the simps are legion

[–] Contend6248@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago

You really shouldn't care about internet points, give your opinion and move on

[–] const_void@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Hopefully. The only thing it was ever useful for was buying illegal drugs via Silk Road.

[–] Longpork_afficianado@lemmy.nz 1 points 2 years ago

It still is useful for that, and until we have a better way to buy drugs online, i don't see it going away.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago

It will never die. I believe it will wax and wane over the years. Being incredibly anonymous and deregulated means it will always be a great place for the evil doers to manipulate the market and make money off of it. Because of that there will always be some people using it.

I think one of the biggest failings of cryptocurrency in general is that people view it as a replacement for cash or debit cards when in reality with how slow and expensive the transactions are it is more of a replacement for clearing houses. When you get money sent to your bank you can use it right away because the bank trusts you and provides that service but the money isn't truly there yet. You may have heard the phrase of "the check cleared" or something similar. It takes a long time for those processes to complete and crypto is faster than it.

[–] Mandy@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

it should be

[–] joelthelion@beehaw.org 0 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Bitcoin is still around 30k a pop, so I wouldn't say it's dead yet. But I foresee a big crash in the months or years to come: the hype has passed, and the real uses of crypto are very few. It's also not a good investment since the expected returns are 0. Once people finally realize that, I see the price falling to 1k or even less.

[–] Aetherion@feddit.de 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You know that this was being said multiple times in the last 10 years?

[–] Contend6248@feddit.de 2 points 2 years ago

I was there when it hit $50 and said that the bubble has to pop soon, so at what time are we accepting crypto coins as just an alternative if you want to gamble?

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

expected returns are 0

That's the same thing with gold though. There are other reasons to invest in something than just returns. Some folks want something to maintain its value. Bitcoin being deflationary is supposed to be a good hedge against inflation. (But it's far to volatile to really serve that purpose in my opinion.)

[–] joelthelion@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Well, gold has the added benefit that it has served this purpose for thousands of years.

Would you really count on an extremely complex electronic currency requiring a distributed array of machines to get you through a major crisis?

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago

You mistake me, I'm not saying Bitcoin is better than gold. I was just pointing out that returns are not the only reason.

[–] LootGoblin42@beehaw.org 0 points 2 years ago (3 children)

No. Bitcoin is the future of money. It really is the best form of money humanity has invented so far. People just need to stop trading shit coins.

[–] Schooner@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Yeah man, keep huffing that copium.

Bitcoin has no long term plan for actually securing its chain. The fees don't add up to enough and the throughput is abysmal. Lightning is centralised and was disrupted because of chain congestion due to Ordinals.

Keep dreaming!

[–] Blake@feddit.uk 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

No fucking way haha, imagine having to hang out at the grocery store for an hour waiting for your payment to clear

[–] LootGoblin42@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

You don’t make on Chan txns to buy groceries. Use lightning network.

[–] goatmeal@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago

bitcoin will never be the dominant global currency. it couldn't even maintain its position as the dominant darknet currency. bitcoin is not perfect and you are part of a religious cult that bans people for pointing out its shortcomings.

[–] BurningnnTree@lemmy.one 0 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I know one crypto bro IRL. He acknowledges that it's all just a pyramid scheme, but he enjoys it because it's like gambling but with more strategy involved I guess.

[–] fades@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Would you also consider GameStop’s NFT marketplace for games part of a pyramid scheme?

Or maybe what F1 is doing to evolve how they handling ticketing? Here’s a recent follow up on F1’s NFT ideas I came across recently.

It’s… just not all a pyramid scheme. To say it’s all a pyramid scheme is missing the forest for the trees. It’s n o t

[–] nii236@lemmy.jtmn.dev 0 points 2 years ago

Gambling except the expected value is higher than 0

[–] rysiek@szmer.info 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] IHeartBadCode@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)
  • P2P is the new hotness
  • LAMP is the new hotness
  • Ruby on Rails is the new hotness
  • Big data is the new hotness
  • Machine Learning is the new hotness
  • Crypto is the new hotness
  • AI is the net hotness

None of these died, none of them were the new hotness for very long. Oh by the by, our company is looking for anyone with fifteen years experience in ChatGPT (/s). But in all serious, there's always a very vocal group that's chasing the hype. No idea how big they truly are, but they sure do bang the gong the entire time.

[–] AfterAll@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

Spoiler alert: AI is ML is Big Data.

[–] worfamerryman@beehaw.org 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

In the US each time crypto is traded it needs to be reported.

I got free crypto from Coinbase. Then sent it to a wallet, then sold it. So each transaction needed to be reported. It’s too troublesome to be worth it.

Also, if I buy crypto, they have a week hold before I can move it. My idea was to buy crypto in country A and sell it in country B to quickly transfer money between the two countries I live in. Also it would help me beat the bank fees.

But the 7 day hold kinda defeats the purpose of quickly transferring money.

[–] drwho@beehaw.org 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Just download your transaction CSVs from Coinbase and throw them into a Git repo.

[–] worfamerryman@beehaw.org 1 points 2 years ago

It’s not just Coinbase though.

I send it from Coinbase elsewhere and those do not provide the data through a csv.

Even if it did, it’s too much trouble. 2023 is the last year I touch crypto.

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