Is crypto era over?

That's a totally different thing though.

The internet solves a tonne of actual problems and was designed and modified to continue to do that.

Crypto currency doesn't really (currently) solve any problems. The blockchain itself may have some positive uses.

There are people saying that it increases transparancy etc as well, however isn't one of the listed "benefits" of crypto - annonominity?

See what? Why are you quoting me? And by the way, the crypto era is far from over....

F***ing hell, this from the man telling US congress and the world that crypto is the future. As with WeWork, Theranos etc., are these people delusional or sociopaths.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ftx-employees-were-claiming-expenses-051144044.html

I once pitched a dead crypto project to a friend who turned around and said it sounded amazing and could be huge. It's so easy to sell crypto; it's a "future" thing, with fancy technology things on it, cool sounding complicated bits and here's all the hypothetical solutions it could provide to problems that don't really exist (but don't mention that part). Couple that with the fact that the majority of people don't really know how money and currency and inflation and economics really work. Add the whole "you're getting in early" thing on top.

It all just combines to form these hype cycles that result in massive bull runs - which themselves attract people (and predators) to the sphere as there are vast amounts of money to be made. The whole thing is a self perpetuating loop. Each time another layer of people learn that it's mostly BS, but there's always a new layer of (sorry) fools who are easily parted with their money.

If prices drop low enough again I'll be investing again, why? Because I'm investing in the distinct possibility that another hype run will form in the future and I can sell what crypto coins I have at stupidly inflated prices.

" If prices drop low enough again I'll be investing again, why? Because I'm investing in the distinct possibility that another hype run will form in the future and I can sell what crypto coins I have at stupidly inflated prices. "

You're still just gambling. Invest in productive assets.

‘Blockchain is a solution in search of a problem’

A beautiful simple summary.

Reminds me of early internet in that respect

Early internet was 60's/70's, used by the military. Took 30 years for Amazon/Google/Facebook to figure out the billion dollar idea. It required a huge mass of individuals to adopt it before it was worthwhile, took another 10/15 year for technology to evolve to the point that Netflix etc was possible.

Every technology, be it internet, blockchain or more recently big data starts off with the nerds developing something, then eventually some visionary figures out how to mabe billions on it. We haven't found that visionary with the idea yet. And FWIW, I don't think "owning bitcoin" is goign to be enough to make others rich, it'll likely be confinded to investors in the visionary

Early internet is not a reasonable comparison to crypto. There was no way to effectively distribute or use early Internet in a widespread level for decades after invention. It was a technical innovation inaccessible to the populace.

By contrast, Bitcoin runs and works on a laptop with an Internet connection. Infact, it became inaccessible to a default user quite quickly as the value from mining was adopted on a widespread level increasing tech spec barriers to entry. We are nearly a decade into Crypto being available and tradable on a mobile phone.

It just doesn’t do anything useful yet. Even though it is widely available and accessible. That is to say, it does specific things. But those things are yet to prove themselves as intrinsically valuable or necessary.

This is the "appeal to future" thing I've been hearing for a very long time. It's usually part and parcel of dogma to sell crypto to others, to make them believe they will have something which will have some fantastical use in the future and hence be worth lots of money.

The reality is that most crypto is garbage, convoluted solutions to problems that don't exist, artificial fuel tokens that have no place on a secondary market, meme-coins, artificially scarce things that really do nothing but be digitally scarce (so better snap them up before the next guy does) and so on. I'm not saying it's all totally useless, but if a company/business/industry wants to use it for a thing - they can usually just replicate it themselves to do that thing.

Decentralized technology is alright, got some decent uses, but it's not earth-shattering stuff. Centralized databases work fine and are often better. Crypto's main use is speculating/trading, aka hawking money off some other poor schmuck by selling them hype, bamboozling them with tech prophecies, and keep doing it year after year. I don't see that changing any time soon.

It’s amazing how people rewrite history in their own heads. The early internet was a very niche and expensive hobby. This is 1995 when it was just entering the mainstream before this it was links in print magazines for enthusiasts or even the phone book.

The internet was officially made available to the public in 1983, this is twelve years later. At this point personal computers were already becoming popular, though expensive the extra cost of an internet connection was nominal compared to the cost of the PC. Back then people were saying the internet was pointless too.

Bitcoin launched in 2009, Ethereum in 2013 which has smart contracts. Crypto is still relatively early in its adoption. It’s in the last few years that the number of projects has increased and competition has taken off.

I like reading some of the threads here but I don’t think I’ve posted that often apart from a few times in relation to binance. A lot of interesting points, thoughts and advice.

in my professional career I’ve moved from criminal law to aml to heads of compliance n trad fi investment firms and last year moved to head of legal and compliance and legal in a worldwide crypto firm. We are just finalising to digital asset business licences in Bermuda and im making the move there.

So here are some of my thoughts of this industry in probably one of the most turbulent times in it. Firstly the level of industry expertise n governance, compliance, audit, reconcilliation, asset segregation, custody etc is astoundingly bad. While obviously the technology expertise is cutting edge, you have junior compliance legal filling roles that in tradfi they wouldn’t even be junior staff.

The fact that everything is decentralised and basically trumped up spreadsheets means that even when checks and balances work is done it’s done on doctored information. Also few traditional banks and custodians are operating in the space means that the banks that do are easily swayed into unscrupulous practices.

Some of the products that were being offered are so ponzu, would have made madoff look like Francis of assisi. But it was easy to get away with it because regulators side stepped it. If you look at how hard the eu comes down on payment service providers or electronic money institutions or even insurance intermediary but ignored crypto exchanges, nft rug pulls, billions of assets stolen it’s surreal.

Ftx was crazy. SBF literally admitted it was a Ponzi scheme but was lauded as a genius. I had a mifid firm who got a phonecall from the central bank an hour into an ulster rugby match In Belfast telling them to take down an advertisement behind the posts but ftx can sponsor 100s of millions with no push back.

what I have learned is no one can predict the future and anyone who says they can is a charLatan. We deal only with institutional clients who arb direction at clicks of 100s of millions a day. They are eerily quiet because they just don’t know. But equally crypto is not dying. The fact in the last year we have blow ups of equal proportions to Enron bearings madoff and every other one in between and still have btc stuck at 17k is testament to that. It’s the players that need to improve not the concept. I do think the worldwide regulation starting with mica is a step in the right direction but fcucking hell the amount of thieves- snakeoil salesmen and equally moronic customers is like a movie. Coffeezilla on YouTube is a great resource to see each horror story. Next week I’m in involved in a landmark legal case that will test the defi concept of digital asset versus the legal definition of property which is exciting. I’ll try and update as long as no conflict.

Imagine being able to access an interest rate outside of Ireland instead of being stuck with local banks? Thats a big one right there.

Imagine your investors could come from anywhere in the world?

Lots of reasons .

Ok what interest rate in a bank is attractive. And I’m talking a traditional bank. An investment fund with a segregated custodian and a competent investment manager will always trump a bank. Now I understand what you are saying a digital asset service provider that’s offering high interest rates and can be accessed anywhere in the world. But at present it’s the emperor’s new clothes. Genesis, voyager et al fail because of basically ponzi.

concept is great. Execution is poor.

Imagine being able to borrow on an interest rate not locked to the local interest rate. For example a mortgage.

Get it?

I have used only true defi so far. Hence funds are safe.

Agreed current situation needs improvement !

You've got a point, but it should bring more options to the table. Getting the assets registered formally on the Ethereum blockchain is key also.

I imagine there will be othet forms of financing against branded assets , cars first. Maybe crypto platforms could see your income through ypur employer or your bank accounts and compete to offer you loans that are better than local institutions. If the bank account is a 'crypto bank account' its visible on the blockchain.

I don't know, I am not a financial guru.

Not on the Ethereum blockchain, you would have to purchase 51% of all assets in the blockchain.

Not gonna happen.

Besides the government could just tell them to f off .

Strong buy signal.

I bought some ETH at lows of 80 USD when 'crypto was dead'.

You've got a point.

BUT d0nt you think it's very interesting that almost all deFi platforms have been operating well throughout this turmoil with CeFi and exchanges?

The code is reviewed by auditors, and seems generally that exploits aren't common of the bigger platforms.

Call me optimistic but DeFi is doing pretty well in my book. Crypto locked in a DeFi contract is not possible to shift around like ehat FTX was up to.