The promise of crypto as a stable store of value against inconstant fiat currencies has failed, too. The volatility on all time scales is extraordinary, and it's coupled with illiquidity, particularly in a crisis. If there's a bank run on crypto, good luck selling!
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For Bitcoin, the maximum transaction rate is something like four transactions a second, *globally*. And each transaction burns as much electricity as an American home does in four weeks.
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As I said on the show, these are not the growing pains of a new technology. We've had blockchain longer than we've had Pinboard! Imagine if you could only save one bookmark a day and it cost you $15 in fees each time, and also I stole your car
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The one area where crypto has been genuinely disruptive and innovative is in the field of ransomware. There's an entire industry around it now that could not exist without an underregulated way of moving large sums of money. That's the niche crypto fills
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Finally–and this is the part I feel like a yokel on TV—you can't buy things with it! If I built a bookmarking site and for 13 years it couldn't save bookmarks, I hope someone would call that out. The decentralized, unregulated currency is none of those things. It's a casino chip.
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The one thing *all* pyramid schemes have in common is that when you put your money into it, you've convinced yourself that this time it's different. Look at the story crypto boosters tell and compare it to the reality. Trust your own eyes, and don't be intimidated by the tech!
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And if you want to gamble on cryptocurrency, have at it! There are certainly fortunes to be made or lost, just like at any casino, and I don't want to step between anyone and their tendies. Just remember you're gambling, and not investing.
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There's a final, institutional point around the cryptocurrency bubble. My point of view is not original in any way, huge numbers of tech people who understand the blockchain share it. But the investor class is wedded to cryptocurrency and will not brook criticism of it.
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I made gentle fun of Bitcoin last week and got myself publicly called an idiot and blocked by one of the most prominent investors in the valley. A lot of people in this industry can't afford to antagonize deep pockets, and you won't hear their honest opinion publicly expressed
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