So, I teach money and banking at a regional public university and today was the first day I taught about cryptocurrency. I think the whole thing is fascinating, although I'm 100% against the idea that it's some revolutionary tech. At best, it's the equivalent of inventing a better debit card. At it's worst, it's a devolution in technology which wastes energy and human brainpower.
Although I am a hater, I'm still cognizant of the fact that if everyone chooses to use bitcoin or some other crytpo, then bam...that's our new currency. This is the pot of gold investors are seeking. They pretty much know that the technology is about as revolutionary as a tootsie roll, but they don't care because with money as a medium of exchange, all that matters is that people decide to use it as their primary medium of exchange. Heck, we've used sea shells and massive round stones as money before, so there's that. It's a self-fulfilling kind of thing, and there is still a non-zero chance that humanity is really stupid enough to buy into this.
So, I'm still wondering and still a little worried about all about this, up until today. Today, I'm super-excited to teach everything I've learned about crypto up to this point. How it's basically just a ledger, like an excel file with accounting info, and that you can write new entries but not delete anything. This whole thing was even couched in how we are evolving toward less involvement of banks in the payments system. And up to today, these students had been really interested in what I was teaching. I was doing okay, but really the class was good because they were wanting to know more about what I was teaching. That is until I started teaching about crypto. These kids' eyes just glazed over as if I was their drunk uncle ranting about Biden on Christmas eve. I honestly tried to explain the "cool" parts of the technology, The peer-to-peer aspects, how it was file sharing. I could see in their eyes, it was as if I was just re-traumatizing them all somehow.
So that's it. That's my story. This is how I know bitcoin and probably all crytpo is dead. It's a middle-aged, get-rich-quick pipe dream and these kids are simply not having it. I feel dirty for even trying to treat it as if it's something relevant or with potential. I probably hurt my own credibility just trying to teach it for 15 minutes. I can't imagine how these San-Fran silicon valley freaks are doing. Those kids are super smart and savvy out there. The prof's trying to have a class on this are likely seen as the whores of their institutions by the student body. There's not a doubt in my mind after today.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
I still think people who hate
crypto 
are just 
midwits that hate 
successful people in general, both 
those with a IQ of 85 living 
a boring 
but decent life, and the IQ of 115+ where 
they are becoming the actual scholars and researchers.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Crypto is great for having financial transactions without central escrow at the cost of having to expend way more compute per transaction, and having no protection against someone who decides to take the money and run. What's that? The darknet drugs you ordered never arrived? I guess you can try to leave a bad review about the seller, because there's no way to get that money back.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Can you give me a legitimate use case for crypto?
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Steroids
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Even if it stays super niche it's still extremely valuable to society
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
Crypto was good as a darknet currency when you wanted to buy weed online many years ago. These days its a ponzi scheme but the blockchain technology itself has alot of practical use.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Fricking moron, how can a traceable public register be good for illegal shit?
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Monero isn't traceable.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
That's what they said about buttcoin, so I call bullshit
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
Watching self-proclaimed intellectual poorcels seethe at people who put their money where their mouth is at fairly predictable cup and handles.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Tax evasion is always a legitimate use case
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Gambling and money laundering.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
crypto is a scam but hating people who got rich off it is like hating scam artists who fleeced some sucker into buying a bridge. depriving morons of their money is based
hate the game not the player
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context