The president is moving ahead with a full-on embrace of the entire crypto industry

[RVonse]

We're long since past the time when crypto was considered to be a substitute for currency. You're not gonna buy a pizza with Bitcoin. It's a wealth extraction tool.

Yep, with one proviso: I don't know that crypto was ever really a substitute currency, other than its purported use by criminals to avoid tracking their crimes for prosecution. But even in that case, it was converted to the currency of choice as quickly as possible for use in the real world.

There has never been any "there" there. Crypto has no backing with either assets or faith in the government and has no intrinsic value. It is quite simply fueled by a belief in the "bigger fool" theory of investing.

Ruth

This is basically the argument Warren Buffet uses to downplay crypto as well.

But crypto actually does have backing and actual value to investors and savers. The value of crypto is based on the corruption of the US dollar or if you will "anti alternate US reserve dollar". Its the general feeling that when the US dollar is printed out of existence, crypto will still have its nominal value to buy goods and services after the US dollar won't. If the public placed perfect trust in the US dollar crypto would lose its value instantly. But that's not going to happen anytime soon and IMO will never happen at this point (just see all the other corruption threads on this board).

All currencies are based on the "faith of the people" and the faith of the governments responsible for managing that currency. And the government that is willing to print more of the worlds reserve currency at any second while using this currency as political punishment (Biden's Ukraine sanctions) is the government the world public will have little trust.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

There has never been any "there" there. Crypto has no backing with either assets or faith in the government and has no intrinsic value. It is quite simply fueled by a belief in the "bigger fool" theory of investing.

I believe there are crypto loans. If a financial institution is willing to give a loan using crypto as collateral then the crypto has value.

You can buy a home with crypto currency, but how long is that sustainable for?

Lending institutions aren't stupid so it's reasonable to come to the conclusion that crypto is viable in the long term. The problem with is its volatility, which means it's highly unpredictable and therefore nowhere near as stable as real currency. All investment firms e.g. Vanguard have crypto ETFs and give their investors the opportunity to buy crypto stocks.

The problem though, at least as far as my comfort level goes, is instability. Once it's converted into dollars, you're okay, but until then, you're exposed to the possibility that the entirety of your investment in crypto could vanish overnight. This as opposed to stocks like Microsoft and Apple (take your pick). They've been around for 4+ decades. They were here yesterday, they're here today, and they'll be here tomorrow.

As for Trump being involved in crypto, well, of course he loves it. It's a great tool for laundering money. Post-Trump*, If governments ever decide that they want to regulate crypto as they do all other investments, it'll be over. The question though is whether that'll ever happen, and if it does, how will it happen, which is another reason why crypto is something I'm not comfortable with.

 

[TV and credit cards]

There has never been any "there" there. Crypto has no backing with either assets or faith in the government and has no intrinsic value. It is quite simply fueled by a belief in the "bigger fool" theory of investing.

I believe there are crypto loans. If a financial institution is willing to give a loan using crypto as collateral then the crypto has value.

You can buy a home with crypto currency, but how long is that sustainable for?

Lending institutions aren't stupid so it's reasonable to come to the conclusion that crypto is viable in the long term. The problem with is its volatility, which means it's highly unpredictable and therefore nowhere near as stable as real currency. All investment firms e.g. Vanguard have crypto ETFs and give their investors the opportunity to buy crypto stocks.

The problem though, at least as far as my comfort level goes, is instability. Once it's converted into dollars, you're okay, but until then, you're exposed to the possibility that the entirety of your investment in crypto could vanish overnight. This as opposed to stocks like Microsoft and Apple (take your pick). They've been around for 4+ decades. They were here yesterday, they're here today, and they'll be here tomorrow.

As for Trump being involved in crypto, well, of course he loves it. It's a great tool for laundering money. Post-Trump*, If governments ever decide that they want to regulate crypto as they do all other investments, it'll be over. The question though is whether that'll ever happen, and if it does, how will it happen, which is another reason why crypto is something I'm not comfortable with.

My bold - 25-30 years ago they were writing bad mortgages to the point of insolvency. That was pretty dumb. Money does strange things to people.
Many moons ago I read an article by Peter Lynch who basically was preaching something along the lines of, Don't buy what you don't understand. I've always kept that close. I don't understand the purpose of stablecoins. If they are pegged to a fiat currency, commodity, or whatever, why not just invest in in that fiat currency, commodity, or whatever? Seems to me, it's just unnecessarily convoluting the simple.

 

[bilby]

The problem though, at least as far as my comfort level goes, is instability. Once it's converted into dollars, you're okay, but until then, you're exposed to the possibility that the entirety of your investment in crypto could vanish overnight. This as opposed to stocks like Microsoft and Apple (take your pick). They've been around for 4+ decades. They were here yesterday, they're here today, and they'll be here tomorrow.

Like Eastman-Kodak, which by 2012 had been in business for 120 years. Definitely here to stay; There will always be Kodak film and Kodak film processing outlets on almost every street corner in the world. People love taking pictures.


Oh, wait.



Shit.

 

[ZiprHead]

This article will show you two sets of men. The first set committed specific acts at their cryptocurrency companies, faced prosecution, were convicted, and are serving years in federal prison right now. The second set is Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who committed acts that the publicly available evidence already documents at their own cryptocurrency venture. We will lay the conduct of both sets side by side, act for act, and the conduct will match. Then we will ask you to find the difference between the men in prison and the two men who are not, and we will give you the name and the phone number of the offices that can answer that question for you.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump Are Running a $1.2 Billion Felony Fraud Scheme that is Fully Prosecutable in New York.

Other crypto founders are serving eight, twelve, and twenty-five years in prison for the same conduct. The only thing that separates the Trump sons from those men is their last name.

cmarmitage.substack.com

A must read.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

This article will show you two sets of men. The first set committed specific acts at their cryptocurrency companies, faced prosecution, were convicted, and are serving years in federal prison right now. The second set is Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who committed acts that the publicly available evidence already documents at their own cryptocurrency venture. We will lay the conduct of both sets side by side, act for act, and the conduct will match. Then we will ask you to find the difference between the men in prison and the two men who are not, and we will give you the name and the phone number of the offices that can answer that question for you.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump Are Running a $1.2 Billion Felony Fraud Scheme that is Fully Prosecutable in New York.

Other crypto founders are serving eight, twelve, and twenty-five years in prison for the same conduct. The only thing that separates the Trump sons from those men is their last name.

cmarmitage.substack.com

A must read.

In any other time, under any other administration, this would be a huge scandal.

I don't know what else to say about it except the obvious: the Trump family will never see consequences for their actions no matter how corrupt, galling, or nefarious. IOW, it's just another day in America under Trumpco.

 

[Elixir]

Trump family will never see consequences for their actions

Karma doesn’t feature escape hatches.
Whatever happens or doesn’t happen to the Trump Mob, will be a direct consequence of their actions.

 

[bilby]

Trump family will never see consequences for their actions

Karma doesn’t feature escape hatches.
Whatever happens or doesn’t happen to the Trump Mob, will be a direct consequence of their actions.

Sadly, karma is a religious belief, and not a real thing.

Plenty of truly vile people have lived rich and pleasant lives, and died peacefully surrounded by their loving families.

There is no afterlife, no judgement, and no justice. There's just death, which comes to everyone.

The only justice we can expect for Trump and his criminal children is that which their victims make for themselves.

The belief that dead tyrants are suffering is compelling, but nonsensical. The belief that justice will naturally be done (without effort or struggle by the victims) is the ultimate scam; Once the rubes swallow that big lie, they can be persuaded to sit back, shut up, and take whatever you dish out.

Karma is a tyrant's best friend.