[jacknews]

It must be difficult to see it so close.

I've been feeling a mild/medium case of the same thing just from the general news.

Every other story is about a bitcoin multi-millionaire, or companies I've never even heard of and that don't seem all that impressive, valued in 100s millions, NFT's sold for millions, etc, etc.

Most of it seems relatively un-earned/un-deserved, to me.

It all just completely devalues the 'real money' you get paid for full, hard 8+++ hour days and makes you wonder, why bother.

It wouldn't be so bad, but you just know some of these 'highly successful investors/entrepreneurs' might get to positions where they're demanding you change the button background color to fusia, now!, or you're fired! etc.

[throwaway_poor]

I fully think in this case they deserve the win. They worked hard, took risks, invented something that solved real problems, and have been executing flawlessly on it. I don't feel like it's an unfair win, I'm just wondering if I'm playing the right game.

[jacknews]

Fair enough, some do deserve to win.

But 100s millions?

[throwaway_poor]

Separately, I'd agree the game is rigged, but there isn't much I think I can do about that beyond casting my vote responsibly... it doesn't really bother me.

[jacknews]

Good for you, then your problem is simply picking the right path through the casino.

For me, the riggedness of the game urges me towards the 'don't play' strategy.

[throwaway_poor]

Lol exactly! Thank you for this. For now I'm at the slot machines all day getting soaked on cheap whisky and I just saw a high roller come out. Maybe the best move is not to play.

[ZephyrBlu]

100s of millions is the result of the power law. "Winners take most" is how things in tech tend to work.

[seibelj]

I made a lot of money in crypto and I think I deserve every penny. I told everyone I knew that crypto was the future, I got into the industry, and practically nobody listened (let alone the HN echo chamber which is to this day fiercely anti-crypto). I made an investment based on independent, contrarian analysis and it paid off. This is extremely deserved money.

[randomopining]

So you literally pressed a button a few times and made a ton of money on a pyramid scheme. Congrats.

PoW has value to the individual but maybe a negative value to society as a whole. PoS will just get co-opted by big money.

[seibelj]

Not a pyramid scheme and it's no different than buying AMZN stock. Except my purchase was ridiculously contrarian compared to buy and hold FAANG.

[randomopining]

Yeah I mostly agree, just trolling. When did you get in?

[seibelj]

I have worked professionally in crypto since 2016

[throwaway_poor]

Did you keep any friends from your pre-money days? How did the wealth change your relationships, where you hang out, etc.?

[seibelj]

Yes I have a very tight group of friends I have maintained since grade school, and a very tight family. My brother also became self-made wealthy which is nice. I keep business associates separate from family and friends and don’t mentally believe my coworkers or business partners are friends even if I do friend-things with them. If someone is unhappy with my success no one has told me or dropped me. But I still believe in family above all things, and I invest a lot of time in the friendships I maintain, which is an old-school belief especially in tech.