Just what I said... you're a false saint. You are in thespian mode acting on stage that the reason you are a zealot against Bitcoin is because Bitcoin "only brings tears," I believe was your words.
Again, "saint?" I do not think that word means what you think it means.
My point is that Bitcoin, by its very structure, is prone to speculation and bubbles. That's going to cause a lot of pain and suffering. We've seen this, over and over, for hundreds of years.
Huh, what? You read me. I know your objection--if any--to the spread of legally operating casinos across the USA, and the whole city of Las Vegas, plummets in fire and zeal to your rabid views of even a person with no gambling addiction putting $20 in Bitcoin or any Crypto and letting it sit for weeks, months, years. Yet, there are people in Milwaukee going down to Patowatomi Casino sitting for hours in front of a slot machine doing nothing but feeding it hundreds of dollars worth of coins.
You have no idea of my opinion about casinos, nor is it in any way, shape or form relevant to this discussion. It's deeply unimpressive that you make all sorts of presumptions, rather than ask.
You also aren't reading my criticisms of Bitcoin, apparently. My point is that it can't work as a currency (as its hype men proclaim),
definitely can't work as an international currency (again, hype), and that the people who promote it that way are clueless about economics, monetary policy, international trade, and so on.
It is now almost entirely a speculative asset, that is backed by nothing, currently in a bubble, and structurally prone to bubbles and manipulation. And yes, bubbles cause lots of tears and suffering -- and in many cases, that extends beyond the people or institutions directly holding the asset.
So, your opposition is not against Americans exposing themselves to irrational levels of risk, but rather your mere emotional contempt for Bitcoin. Let me guess... you blasted Bitcoin when it was going for say... $40 a coin and told people with your cocky, know-it-all attitude, that not one damn chance in hell would Bitcoin ever sell for $15,000 a coin? And now that you found you were wrong you'll double down enraged.
lol
If individuals want to risk their money, ultimately that is their choice. My concern is more about contagious and secondary effects of bubbles, which is currently not a big issue with cryptocurrency -- but that will not be the case for long.
And what was I saying when Bitcoin was going for $40? Yep, pretty much the same thing as now. I saw right away that it was unable to function as a currency; that the value was going to deflate; that it would form bubbles, and so on. I never said "it will hit X and crash." No one knows when the bubble will burst, and anyone who thinks they know is fooling themselves.
I don't have contempt for Bitcoin. I have contempt for the fools who think that they can make Free Money by speculating on a digital asset that they don't actually understand, and the rentiers who are happy to fleece the suckers without the slightest twinge of conscience, along with the Hype Men who proclaim "this time, it's
different!" like we've heard in almost every other bubble in history.
Hey... I believe you said in this thread Bitcoin only brings tears (as in sorrow and not joy)? Did it bring tears to this young kid below?
It's early days for him, my friend.
The kid dropped out of
high school because he bought a bunch of Bitcoin when it was cheap. He's said it will go up to $1 million per coin, which (if he believes it) suggests he is unlikely to unwind his position until it's too late. His first startup ("Botangle") hasn't exactly taken the world by storm. Nor does it make sense to expect an 18 year old to be an expert on education, just because he did the equivalent of winning the lottery.
But, let's say that somehow he does make, say, $2 million off of this. The only way that can happen is if other people buy Bitcoin from him when it's incredibly high. If the market keeps going up, Erik has missed out on those gains. If it crashes, not only will he lose whatever he has in Bitcoin, the speculators who bought $2m of BTC from him will be left high and dry.
I also have my doubts that anyone who dropped out of high school to rush headlong into the Dot Com Bubble did all the well in the long run.
Anyone who has paid even cursory attention to bubbles should know that the losers vastly outnumber the winners. As it gets more integrated into the larger economy, it's more likely to harm people who aren't directly involved in trading Bitcoin. Thus yes, even if blockchain develops into useful technology, there's lots of tears and suffering ahead.