More Bad News for Crypto
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (112802)
United States
June 24, 2022 8:43am CST
Boy, crypto sure can't catch a break these days. With the recent fallout from the Terra collapse to a second collapse similar to the Terra thing, to the massive decline in value across all crypto, and now a massive heist that was able to abscond with $100 million in crypto in what is only the latest of several previous hacks that have drained billions of dollars from crypto owners worldwide—it begs the question.
Does crypto have any future?
I have been asking this question for quite some time because crypto is certainly not even remotely living up to any of its promises.
It can't beat inflation since the value of crypto has fallen by more than 50%. It is not a store of value for the same reason. It is not closing the gap between the rich and the poor. It is not viable as a currency because of its volatility, and this is the biggest reason no one with any significance will adopt it. It has not provided any freedom financially to anyone in any numbers worth noting.
It is essentially a pipe dream that is now being awakened from.
I am not saying crypto is necessarily dead. But it sure has all the signs that it will never become anything worth owning nor will it ever replace fiat. On the basis of the "idea" of crypto, we could have simply started trying to adopt Monopoly money—because whatever crypto is, money is not what it is.
8 people like this
6 responses
@DaddyEvil (174296)
• United States
24 Jun 22
I'm glad I didn't sink much time into Noise. I think it was a good thing I had trouble with crypto right off the bat.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174296)
• United States
24 Jun 22
@porwest Yeah.... but look at the time you invested. Your time is worth something. Maybe not a lot, but something. 
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
24 Jun 22
@DaddyEvil lol. Touché. Still, it was an investment both in time and money I made fully aware I might lose it all. Still worth it in the end.
And, a literal drop in the bucket.
2 people like this
@Chellezhere (6421)
• United States
24 Jun 22
Your posts about this on here and Noise are part of the reason why I have not posted much on the (the other being I wanted to get things settled in my new apartment first).
My son, who is 27, has an online friend he has known since 2004. This young man and his father started a crypto business a while back and invited my son to join in a few months ago, but he was leery. It now seems his friend has taken whatever money his "customers" have invested and run, so my son's Spidey senses did not fail.
I'd take cold hard cash or at least a debit and an ATM (automatic teller machine) that will spew some out to me) than crypto any day.
2 people like this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
25 Jun 22
Crypto is one of those areas that seems rife with criminal activity and the ability to get away with it due to the level of 'anonymity' of it. I will keep any invested assets in my crypto, but from the start my idea was that it was money I did not care if I lost, and that sentiment remains today. It will either grow to a fortune or be worthless.
I have no real expectation for what I currently have, which is a very tiny portion of my entire financial portfolio.
As for the earning side I have dramatically pulled back from that as well, although I still do a little bit of it through faucets and noise etc. I have been nearly absent from noise and read—although I might spend a little time on those this weekend just for kicks and grins if for no other reason.
1 person likes this
@Chellezhere (6421)
• United States
25 Jun 22
@porwest Yeah, I read about it here and there, then ask my son and see what he thinks. He's 27 and more deeply into"the computer world" than I am with my emailing, writing, and genealogical research.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
26 Jun 22
@Chellezhere The younger folks definitely have more interest in crypto, and I often wonder if it is not similar to the dot com boom when people thought there was a "new way" to make money. It turned out to not be true of course and the dot com crash happened and devastated a lot of young people who had poured their heart, soul, and livelihoods into it.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128831)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Jun 22
Most of my investments are on the more aggressive/risky side of the spectrum, but I want to feel comfortable about the investments I make. I have just never felt comfortable with crypto, and so I didn’t want to stress about investing in it. So I’ve remained on the sidelines in regard to this type of investment.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128831)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jun 22
@porwest I find that I am slowly moving towards value investments as well, although I still have most of my portfolio in growth stocks, international funds, and other “riskier” investments. But as I age, I will slowly drift toward more conservative investments.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
29 Jun 22
@moffittjc Shifting is always a wise idea. It all depends on one's experience and comfort level. One who has someone else take care of their investments needs to make many more drastic changes as they age as opposed to people keen on the markets who manage their own portfolios.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
28 Jun 22
I have shifted a bit to more value than risk over the years. In part due to the way I operate in the markets—not just the buy and sell thing. So, for me, value has been a bit more profitable. Plus, I really like the dividends. That doesn't mean I don't still have some "risky" investments. My private equity is certainly like that. Such as I am invested in a distillery in Utah that is basically a start-up with non-traditional liquors, so who knows if it really catches on. But I believe in the team over there so it is a risk I am willing to take. I also have a significant investment in Rivian, a company I believe can outperform all other electric vehicle manufacturers outside of the traditional automakers entering the field which have brand advantage and of course the necessary supply networks and distribution networks to better advance into these markets.
Crypto is something that only accounts for about 2% of my total financial portfolio and I never once have thought of it necessarily as an "investment."
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
25 Jun 22
It may still turn around. Who knows? But that's the thing. Nobody really knows. What I have said all along about crypto is that it has no real track record being right around 13 years old. Unlike the stock market which has hundreds of years of history to determine its solidity and future potential direction.
When you couple the fact that crypto produces nothing at all and is backed by nothing at all...it makes it a huge question mark.
People who are still investing now are either going to be very thankful they did or very sad that they did. I think it will be the latter. But again, who knows?
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
30 Jun 22
If you're aware that in business there's a cycle of ups and downs. No wonder it does happen to crypto. There's no perfect business venture especially money.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
1 Jul 22
That's the problem though. Crypto is not really a business. In fact, it's not even actually a currency. It simply exists to exist and for me, from a business and investment standpoint, this just makes it quite problematic.
It is almost impossible to value it because it is pegged to nothing real. It has no real value in other words. It is backed by nothing and produces nothing—so it is simply hard to say what it's real value may ever be if it has any value at all.
If crypto survives the worst time in its history and goes back to its ATH and beyond maybe then at least one can assume it may be here to stay for a while and MAYBE has some legs to be something. But that would be an entire guess right now.
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
4 Jul 22
@porwest If it has no backup support, why it grows in leaps and bounds making the investors an instant millionaire?
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
4 Jul 22
@Nakitakona If you have a pool of buyers, prices go up. It does not mean the prices are real. Of course, the guy who cashes in definitely makes money—but even then it's only real money if you convert it to fiat.
That being said, very few people actually became instant millionaires from crypto.
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