Yes, I know that it still exist, and yes, decentralized currency which utilizes distributed, cryptographic validation is not actually a strictly bad idea, but…

Is the speculative investment scam, which crypto substantially represented, finally dead? Can we go back to buying gold bars and Pokemon cards?

I feel like it is, but I’m having a hard time putting my finger on why it lost its sheen. Maybe crypto scammers moved on to selling LLM “prompts?” Maybe the rug just got pulled enough times that everyone lost trust.

  • joelthelion@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Bitcoin is still around 30k a pop, so I wouldn’t say it’s dead yet. But I foresee a big crash in the months or years to come: the hype has passed, and the real uses of crypto are very few. It’s also not a good investment since the expected returns are 0. Once people finally realize that, I see the price falling to 1k or even less.

    • Maskawanian@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      It still has value in getting currency out of hostile countries such as China and Argentina. For regular consumers? The ship has sailed.

      • The Doctor@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        People have realized it, and they don’t seem to care.

        Every time there is a market correction, the prices fall such that more folks can buy in. Folks might not be able to buy in right now at $29kus, but if and when the price falls back to $25kus at some point the price point might be more conducive.

      • Contend6248@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        I was there when it hit $50 and said that the bubble has to pop soon, so at what time are we accepting crypto coins as just an alternative if you want to gamble?

    • JackbyDev@programming.dev
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      1 year ago

      expected returns are 0

      That’s the same thing with gold though. There are other reasons to invest in something than just returns. Some folks want something to maintain its value. Bitcoin being deflationary is supposed to be a good hedge against inflation. (But it’s far to volatile to really serve that purpose in my opinion.)

      • joelthelion@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Well, gold has the added benefit that it has served this purpose for thousands of years.

        Would you really count on an extremely complex electronic currency requiring a distributed array of machines to get you through a major crisis?

        • JackbyDev@programming.dev
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          1 year ago

          You mistake me, I’m not saying Bitcoin is better than gold. I was just pointing out that returns are not the only reason.