[AznHisoka]

I also think the stock market is not "investing" but think it's safer to invest.

1. There's more government regulation and less manipulation.

2. New money is constantly flowing in, via 401K's and pensions. Most people aren't even aware they're invested in the stock market.

3. The government cares so much about the stock market doing good. Look at how Trump brags about the booming market. If it goes in a funk, the government will think of ways to prop it back up.

That said, without any of those 3 things, stocks are just as a gamble as bitcoin.

People say "past is not a predictor/indicator of the present", yet they love to say "stocks return 7-8% annually, and you should just invest in an index to enjoy such returns". Why? That's such as a huge assumption that everyone takes for granted.

[joshuahedlund]

> People say "past is not a predictor/indicator of the present", yet they love to say "stocks return 7-8% annually, and you should just invest in an index to enjoy such returns". Why? That's such as a huge assumption that everyone takes for granted.

Well, you're leaving out something something about the company putting your money to use to increase efficiency or output something something and something something about dividends from the proceeds, none of which you have with cryptocurrencies. (Though it may be disputable whether those are truly the reasons behind the historical returns of stocks and thus good reasons to expect it to continue, even if you wouldn't guarantee the exact numbers, or if those are simply motivated reasons that may or may not be reliable future indicators...)

[AznHisoka]

Other than the IPO, when you buy stock you aren’t providing capital for companies to use though, right? and most companies do not pay dividends at all.

[aoeusnth1]

This is a common misconception. Companies often raise capital by selling more stock, and by buying stock you increase the amount they are able to charge.

[darawk]

Yep. No argument from me there. Most mainstream stocks are safer investments than cryptos, along a number of axes (volatility, counterparty risk, regulatory risk, etc..). But cryptos are still very much investments.

[graedus]

> less manipulation

> If it goes in a funk, the government will think of ways to prop it back up

I don't disagree with the second statement. I guess what you're saying is that there is manipulation (talking about government intervention in this case) but overwhelmingly in the "right" direction?

[vec]

Sure, yeah, the market is systematically manipulated to my benefit, and those manipulations are done in a largely transparent manner. That makes it a more attractive investment target than a market which is not.