Good article that details exactly why the bitcoin is a pyramid scheme

[chaotic neutral observer]

Proxy wars are much more fun cos they're a lot less effort, right?

Nah.  Direct engagement is way more fun than watching youtube videos, and I find it's usually worth the effort.  But if you don't feel like refining your ideas in pitched battle, that's up to you; cno-brand discordianism isn't for everyone.


cno-brand discordianism may cause confusion, self-doubt, blind screaming paranoia, and mild skin rash.  Do not use together with placebo.  cno-brand discordianism may have been contaminated with nuts.  Ask your Doktor if cno-brand discordianism is right for you.

[P3nT4gR4m]

This week in crypto

Morgan Stanley - in.
Goldman Sachs - in - predicting $130 this year (they're nothing if not conservative)
Visa - in. Shifting USDC on Etherium network no less - go to the top of the class!
Mastercard - paddling like a bunch of little FOMO ducks trying to catch up

BTC Volatility down, no surprises there
BTC/S&P 500 correlation down, same with gold - side bonus, makes it a more attractive asset class for diverse portfolios

Mainstream adoption - never going to happen apparently

[Lord Batwing Candlewaxxe]

I haven't strictly perused the entire thread; but an old acquaintance of mine wrote what is probably the definitive work on Bitcoin history and viability, and cryptocurrencies in general.

Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain by David Gerard

A pretty comprehensive explanation of why crypto-currencies in general, and Bitcoin in particular, are little more than a techno-libertarian pipe dream at best, and an outright scam at worst; and why they're technically not even a currency, but function more as unregulated securities.

[chaotic neutral observer]

There is practically nothing around here available for purchase using cryptocurrency.  The idea that cryptocurrency will supplant government-issued currency within two years is highly dubious.

That's what changes around june/july.

What changes, exactly?  I've already asked you for a testable prediction.

I guess I missed it, whatever it was.

"The rule on staying alive as a forecaster is to give 'em a number or give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once."
                -- Jane Bryant Quinn

[chaotic neutral observer]

They'd built a house of straw. The thundering machines sputtered and stopped. Their leaders talked and talked and talked. But nothing could stem the avalanche. Their world crumbled. The cities exploded. A whirlwind of looting, a firestorm of fear. Men began to feed on men.

On the roads it was a white line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage would survive. The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a tank of slurp juice. And in this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and smashed.

Except for one man armed with an AK-47, and a Honda full of tulip bulbs.

[chaotic neutral observer]

So, it's been a couple years.  I guess P3nt doesn't hang around here much anymore, but, whatever.

Couple of years and anyone not accepting crypto payments will be finding it as hard to turn a trade as anyone not accepting card payments does now. Couple of years. You can hold me to that.

Wrong. 

Not only is it unnecessary to accept crypto, but it's still practically impossible to buy anything with it.  Why?  Because no one wants to.  The transaction fees are still absurd, and the very nature of cryptocurrencies ("be your own bank!") means that you're far more susceptible to losing everything to a typo, or having your wallet drained by hackers.  It's harder to use than money in practically every way. Cryptocurrency's main use is as a speculative instrument, and as a means for siphoning funds from Greater Fools.

I've been watching cryptocurrency for the last couple years, doing a bit of research, and I've frankly fallen in love with it.  Not as a store of value, or a means of exchange, but because it's such a hilarious, stupid, obvious disaster.

Bitcoin is burning a vast amount of electricity to achieve a mind-staggeringly abysmal 3 transactions per second.  Blockchain has been dismissed by everyone with an ounce of technical knowledge as useless.  DeFi has never realized its promise of being integrated with global finances; rather, it's only been used to trade shitcoins with other shitcoins, and maybe sell the occasional ugly monkey jpeg.  The layers of scams upon scams transcends Charles Ponzi's wildest dreams.

Over the last several months, all of that is coming to fruition.  Cryptocurrency exchanges are going bankrupt, the biggest fraudsters are being charged and arrested, and governments are stepping in to impose regulations (if not outright ban them).

It will yet take a while for the dust to settle, but settle it will...and then society will move onto a different get-rich-quick scheme.

Anyone holding dynocurrency a couple of years from now is in serious danger of getting burned and, even before then, you're in for a hell of a heatwave.

Also wrong.

It's settling down, reducing in volatility by the minute. Another couple of years and you'd be as well buying bonds.

Well, that aged well.

Bitcoin is shaping up to be the new gold. It's also going to be the new gold standard

If I'm right then it'd make sense to at least hedge some of your savings in this space. Yanno, just in case?

Very wrong.

[chaotic neutral observer]

I've been watching cryptocurrency for the last couple years, doing a bit of research, and I've frankly fallen in love with it.

But time rolled on, and after a while hanging out with various crypto-currency-skeptic communities, I finally became tired of it.  I'd learned what I could, and crucified my share of True Believers, but I wasn't having a good time anymore.  The pattern was just repeating with minor variations.

And then I disconnected from those skeptic groups, and cryptocurrency abruptly vanished from my radar.  Unexpectedly, it had far less of a share of the public consciousness than even I believed.  Months go by without encountering even a mention of it.  I have no idea if bitcoin's price is $10, or $10 million.  It doesn't matter.

First I ignore you, then I laugh at you, then you lose, and I go back to ignoring you again.