Most people have apparently forgotten how bumpy Bitcoin’s history was. Now you can spend half an hour just reading a list of new crypto wannabes.
It really is a plague.
There are now about 4 trillion dollars invested in cryptos.
It’s an extravagance of absurdities. How credulous can you get? It looks more like a casino than any legitimate investment.
Cryptos have values created by crypto markets, not intrinsic values. Cryptos trade neurotically. A lot of people lose with cryptocurrencies, and now there are suddenly that many more ways to lose.
I used to do quite a lot of writing in the real markets, and I notice the beat-ups are much the same.
Amusingly, these things are now called “altcoins”, meaning specifically cryptos that aren’t Bitcoin.
If that sounds woeful, it is as woeful as it sounds. Bitcoin dominance came as a result of massive hype and had a very bumpy price ride. Other cryptos have never had anything like as much market push.
It’s “profitable fiction”.
That principle is now being applied to a suite of instantly forgettable crypto names.
The common factors in promotion are:
Huge upside. Unproven. These things aren’t even on the market yet.
Vast subscriptions are raised, usually on very low values at high volumes.
Tokenization of IP, art, etc. A mongrel NFT/crypto?
All of this comes at a time when crypto is as highly questionable as ever as a safe business environment, let alone an investment environment. Money laundering, fraud, and simple market losses are good ways to go broke fast.
Let’s clarify:
These cryptos are all in direct competition with each other.
They can’t all win and they won’t.
The market tends to lose patience with underperforming cryptos, fast. They turn into the equivalent of junk bonds.
The sheer amount of money in crypto should be a warning to the dumbest of the dumb that it’s a tricky investment environment.
Not so long ago, trillions of dollars were simply unthinkable. They didn’t even theoretically exist on paper. The lure of big money drags in the gullible. Crypto’s been doing quite nicely out of that little hobby. The Crypto Plagues are the next cycle.
Now, as the real dollar values deteriorate, the big numbers aren’t so big. To impress people, you have to talk that much bigger. That’s what’s happening.
I don’t buy a word of it.
Trust nothing, buy nothing, and see how these things bounce or break.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
