| Would you share some citations? Percentages obscure the reality behind this. Say it is 3%. That’s still 180K+ individuals. If we were talking about a “traditional” scam, that number is astronomical. > Most fit the bitcoin bro mold. 18-39. Male. So hang on, the “mold” is just “Male, 18-39”? I fall into that gender and age group, and I also dabbled with crypto for awhile (even CPU mined some way back when…). But I’ve never been a bitcoin bro, have never advocated for crypto, and all involvement was based on curiosity/interest in learning. I’ve actively discouraged the people I know from getting into the space. Had I not sold awhile ago, would that make me worthy of the scorn/laughter being doled out here? This whole mentality is pretty antithetical to what HN has historically been, and is pretty disappointing, especially here. I think the crypto space has needed a dose of reality. I think the world would be better without it. It would make me happy to see the speculation and gambling and energy usage disappear. I wish “web 3” was focused on the real next generation of the Internet. It does not make me happy to see people ruined because of it. Whatever moral high ground some here feel they have as this unfolds is quickly lost when they take joy in the ruin of others. |
> https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/11/16-of-ameri...
The SEC has been crying foul of crypto-scheme’s since at least 2013.
> https://www.sec.gov/files/ia_virtualcurrencies.pdf
Early journalistic opinion has had called out Bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme years ago.
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/08/bitco...
Every major banker at Davos-, “ Bitcoin may be called a coin but it's not money. It's not a stable store of value," said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.”
> https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/23/investing/davos-central-bank-...
Now why does that matter? Those are the people the general populace are exposed to the most. Not some peddler buying crypto ads on Twitch.TV for his new Buttcoin.