[gregjor]

Would you let your parents or grandparents invest their life savings in whatever you’re doing? Or in any crypto “asset?” If the answer is no it’s probably a scam. I wouldn’t try to sell junk bonds or penny stocks or Beanie Baby futures to my parents either, but the obvious fact that scams exist independent of crypto doesn’t make crypto any more credible.

[version_five]

I think I get your point, but for clarity, I wouldn't have wanted my parents investing in startups I've worked at, or in my current startup, even though those are not scams - they are just high risk and suited only to a certain profile. "Crypto" is different because it's a scam - the potential return is undefined in a sense, because it's based on the greater fool theory and how long the scam can keep up rather than any connection to fundamentals (even the dodgy fundamentals that drive the current startup market). A risky investment is one thing, a exploitive scam is a very different proposition

[gregjor]

All investing is gambling. Investing in startups, with a 70%+ failure rate, is only for gamblers with a big bankroll, lots of nerve, and probably inside information.

Investing in crypto is like gambling at a game where you don’t know the rules, the house is cheating, the game can shut down (rug pull) at any time, and you can’t go to the police.

I wouldn’t advise my family to invest in startups, or to take their life savings to Vegas and blow it on roulette. I think most people know those are not safe investments. Crypto has a huge amount of hype and nonsense swirling around and since it depends on finding more greater fools the crypto scammers can take advantage of FOMO, ignorance, and what looks like the future of money.

[itake]

Even if I had a 'legit' startup, I would not let my parents or grandparents invest their life savings into it. Startups are not for retail investor's retirement funds.

[mikeyouse]

There's the difference between investing in the startup (taking shares in a specific company) and investing in crypto though, right? I'd happily encourage my parents or grandparents to invest in an 'index fund' of startups in a bunch of different fields. I can't say the same about an index of crypto companies, and especially not in an index of crypto assets.

[itake]

AFAIK, there is no such thing as an 'index fund' of startups.

But even if there was, purchasing a L1 coin is similar to investing in a wide swath of coins, because if the value of startups build on the coin increase in value, then there will be higher demand of that coin.