https://unherd.com/thepost/is-crypto-just-one-big-ponzi-scheme/
This article ignores other potential benefits to crypto (that is, beyond a possible rise in price) and also ignores precious metals, which like crypto offer no interest payments or dividends but have other benefits. The article also ignores some of the possible RISKS of crypto (e.g., that the alleged security and privacy might be illusions, outright theft by an exchange, loss of a wallet or a password, etc). Metals also have risks (theft of physical metal for instance, including government confiscation, plus the added risk if one uses a third party to hold the metal).
There is nothing in life without risk; assessing risk and choosing which ones to take on are among the more important life skills.
Defining whether or not something is — or has become — a Ponzi scheme has been long forgotten; it involves working out if an investment’s underlying structure creates a negative-sum game. With regulated securities, such as stocks and bonds, investors receive a combination of interest payments, dividends, and cash flows, making these, at the very least, a zero-sum endeavour. With crypto, however, investors receive none of these, only benefiting from a potential rise in price — the so-called greater fool theory.
This disparity, among other things, has led many financial commentators to describe even the number one crypto, Bitcoin, as a negative-sum Ponzi scheme (one FT story suggested it was even ‘worse’ than that). If Bitcoin’s ecosystem collapses, funds can’t be returned to holders because its price going to zero means there’s nothing to recover. But with a Ponzi scheme, funds can be recovered and returned to investors. Following the collapse of the infamous Madoff Ponzi scheme, 14 out of 20 billion dollars initially invested have been recovered from offshore accounts.
For now, Bitcoin’s Ponzi status is irrelevant. Bankman-Fried has simply joined the increasing list of crypto’s nobility who’ve accidentally gloated about profiting from dubious financial structures. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, infamously likened Bitcoin to a pyramid scheme, despite how his company’s primary function is cryptocurrency investments. Meanwhile, outlets in the crypto media have also embraced Ponzinomics, like CoinDesk publishing an article with a lede reading: “Yes, it’s a Ponzi scheme. But who cares?”
No. Crypto is incredible technology and it's designed to remove power from centralization. If you invest $1000, you can only lose $1000 - the FUD tries to act like you can lose your life savings just by investing a small amount. Meanwhile, it's gone up more than 10,000% - so a small amount would have made you rich.
The world banks are a ponzi scheme; crypto is not.
Decentralized crypto is to central banking what torrenting is to Hollywood and the music industry.
There's still so many people on this sub that don't understand crypto and the power of decentralization...
Hi! I put up a digital image of my dog on the internet. Please pay me $35,000.00 for it! I know it is worth that much!
Again, you're not thinking about what the technology means and you're focused on people selling pictures. What about official documents and transactional data? How about banking data and research data? Do you not see the impact blockchain has on those things?
You're like the people in the 90s making the argument that the internet is stupid and has no real use because people only use it for funny pictures and simple landing pages.
Just tell me, is this offering based on revolutionary blockchain technology? If so, then it must be valuable, because blockchain, and I will sell some shares of profit-making, value-creating enterprises and transfer that value to you. Thank you for not just creating unique creations that must obviously be of great value, because blockchain, but from also liberating me from the financial oppression of a corrupt system.
That's a perfect analogy!
For folks who are struggling, you know what the internet did for information, right? Bitcoin's doing that for money.
But where people get hung up is, they don't truly, fully understand what money is.
Money is (supposed to be) a way to store the economic value you create with your time, energy, skills, and smart investments.
Fiat currency fails to store the economic value you generate due to rampant money printing.
Money =/= currency.
Money is a store of value. Currency is used for exchange.
Money: Gold, silver, bitcoin, and anything else that can retain value, including collectibles.
Currency: The worthless garbage central banks print
Currency is the vatican holy see(sea) fiat fantasy garbage, hence the synonyms to water.
Yes the paper based system is much more the ponzu than crypto. But comparing crypto hard to say maybe have some crypto some gold some silver. Each are used in different scenarios.
Crypto is the largest ponzi scheme ever. China made a majority of those 10,000% profits. Its a chinese invention that you needed chinese equipment to mine. China then used said equipment until it was almost no longer profitable then sold it to the consumers to hold the bags.
The price isnt real, if youve been paying attention to gamestop you'll see that bitcoin price if insanely inflated.
Think about it, whats worse than a dollar backed by nothing, a digitial dollar backed by nothing. I mean you have people buying phony digital money iwth phony paper money.
Its all a scam and will come crashing down hard.
Where is your proof it's a Chinese invention? All signs point to brits and Americans lol
The inventor is supposedly japanese, but the chinese were WELL ahead of the curve in monopolizing the entire system. They were producing mining equipment since the very beginning. Almost all mining equipment has been produced by the chinese. Three private chinese mining pools own a majority of all bitcoin.
If anything, it was a communist/cabal attack on the petrodollar.
Where do oyu get brits and americans? They had almost nothing to do with bitcoin until well after its value skyrocketed. Up until it hit 10k a piece i think the chinese private mining pools owned like 90% of all bitcoin.
What??? He's not Japanese at all! You have no idea what you're talking about. Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym.