[ShopCat]

Originally Posted by Wayne 962

Hmmm, it's my opinion that the comparison to 1,000 years of mining gold is a straw man argument. No one is going to argue that mining gold is a terrible, dirty business that destroys the environment - that has been discussed for decades. Was not meant as an argument, just an observation of comparison in thinking of the "old guard." As in, "their way" was not really seen as a problem like this "new" way. Just interesting and expected.

It's very clear to me and especially after reading all the comments here that Bitcoin and other currencies are similar to a multi-level marketing system. The only reason why people are investing in them at this point (admitted by nearly 100% of everyone on this thread) is that they are hoping that someone comes along in the future and pays them more for it. That is the technical definition of a speculative asset, and very similar to how multi-level marketing works. The MLM systems depend upon other people buying up and replacing the investments that the early adopters have made. this broad logic can be applied to any investment vehicle, anything applied this broadly can just be "greater fool" at work, take time to learn what crypto does and can do and youll see otherwise

The discussion of speculative assets goes bananas when considering Dogecoin. I'm not sure the people "investing" (betting) on this even know that this is an inflationary asset? The miners are minting something like 10,000+ new coins a day, so the crypto coin has a built-in "poison pill" that will self-destruct itself with time? Crazy - people buying this stuff are really naive and/or simply gambling. Then again, the Vegas casinos are a billion-dollar business, and people still blow money all the time there, even though they know they cannot win. Perhaps in the short term, the Dogecoin odds are better, as long as other people who don't know anything are buying in. Here's a good, brief article on why this is just a bad idea: https://www.coindesk.com/buy-dogecoin-risk Agreed, I actually think its like 10,000 minted a minute! Anyone with real knowledge in cryptocurrency will tell you doge is a time bomb

Fascinating news today about Elon and Tesla abandoning Bitcoin because of its environmental impact (Bitcoin miners use more electricity than the entire country of Sweden). I guess Elon finally recognized the irony of being one of the most prolific supporters of reducing emissions, while advocating cryptos that completely negate that premise. It's depressing to think that the miners use that amount of energy just to "solve puzzles" that don't add value and don't improve mankind. It's actually quite sad to think of all of the coal factories in China burning coal just so that miners can mine Bitcoin. Sorry, it's perverse to me. I think this will be the sticking point and the end-all of the blockchain in the future. It's easy for me to imagine that the US and Europe will ban the use of Bitcoin due to the obscene energy waste that occurs.
Tesla did not abandon, they are still running a node and will not sell their stock of coins, but will not accept payment for now. Depressing? Really? Many see the current banking system as perverse in the way you see bitcoin, but see bitcoin or some proof of stake/work crypto as the savior. Current system props up wealthy, fractional banking steals your money with leverage while paying you nothing in return. Then when the system collapses, tax payers write the check AGAIN. No thanks, there must be a better way, hopefully in this crypto wild west something emerges. I think thats the best the crypto community can hope for. Change is always messy, especially when it comes to power and money, so give it 20 years and I agree, we'll see...

We'll see...

-Wayne

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