Bitcoin discussion and news

[BigTom]

Exec who cleaned up Enron calls FTX mess 'unprecedented'

The man who had to clean up the mess at Enron says the situation at FTX is even worse, describing what he calls a “complete failure” of corporate control.

apnews.com

The man who had to clean up the mess at Enron says the situation at FTX is even worse, describing what he calls a “complete failure” of corporate control.

The filing by John Ray III, the new CEO of the bankrupt cryptocurrency firm, lays out a damning description of FTX’s operations under its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, from a lack of security controls to business funds being used to buy employees homes and luxuries.

“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here,” Ray said. “From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented.”

This from someone who has made a career out of liquidating bankrupt companies...

 

[q_w_e_r_t_y]

Exec who cleaned up Enron calls FTX mess 'unprecedented'

The man who had to clean up the mess at Enron says the situation at FTX is even worse, describing what he calls a “complete failure” of corporate control.

apnews.com

This from someone who has made a career out of liquidating bankrupt companies...

Have you actually read they filing
- they didnt know how many people they employed
- there were no employment contracts
- they paid people over signal using emojis
- their accounts were fictional
- they shared the private keys over group email with root access
- they comingled all the funds
- their auditor was based in the metaverse (I shit you not!)
- they bypassed liquidation on Alameda contracts
- they had no board of directors
- they used company money to buy personal property.

And he still, still hasnt been arrested. He's wandering around the bahamas, shit posting on twitter about how he is going to make everyone whole by borrowing a whole fucktonne of money.

 

[q_w_e_r_t_y]

Oh...and then there is the sex tape.
I forgot about the sex tape.
I wish I hadnt remembered.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I'll be surprised if he doesn't end up in jail. There is now an international arrest warrant out for Do Kwon of Terra Luna fame. SBF will be arrested as well, I don't doubt that. They won't be the last crypto billionaires to end up penniless and in jail.

 

[q_w_e_r_t_y]

Do Kwon turned up on a podcast the other day.
The NYT is doing puff pieces on SBF.

I fear a redemption arc.
At the end of this there is Tether. Tether has to go, that organisation is corrupt from its core.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

But Bitcoin is still fine, yeah?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The South Koreans don't fuck around when it comes to jailing corrupt public figures. Just ask several of their ex-presidents.

And if the NYT is doing that, they're likely to end up looking very silly. The fact that SBF set himself up as a holier-than-thou type, even preaching about global warming ffs, won't do him any favours now, I don't think. I hope people get angry about what he's done.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Do Kwon turned up on a podcast the other day.
The NYT is doing puff pieces on SBF.

I fear a redemption arc.
At the end of this there is Tether. Tether has to go, that organisation is corrupt from its core.

I have to say that it is weird to see you say that about Tether. I agree with you. They're blatantly lying and it's absurd that they haven't been called on it. But Tether detethering will be a disaster for bitcoin. What is bitcoin other than the price you can get for it in fiat? It's nothing at all without that - that's the entirety of what it is.

 

[BristolEcho]

I have to say that it is weird to see you say that about Tether. I agree with you. They're blatantly lying and it's absurd that they haven't been called on it. But Tether detethering will be a disaster for bitcoin. What is bitcoin other than the price you can get for it in fiat? It's nothing at all without that - that's the entirety of what it is.

Bitcoin is god. It's like you've not even bothered reading the last 289 pages. Geeze I feel sorry for Qwerty having to repeat themselves.

 

[t0bytoo]

Some amusing perscpectives on Coin Desk. This one is a gem:

The Silver Lining of a Crypto Market Decline: Tax Savings

Taking a moment to employ the right tax-reduction tactics could wind up saving you thousands on your tax bill.

www.coindesk.com

tl;dr If you have lost a load of money on a crypto crash, then - good news! - you can offset those losses against the tax you would have to pay on profits elsewhere.

So - losing money is good because you don't have to pay tax!

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

And he still, still hasnt been arrested.

So what you want is for the government to step in?

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Bitcoin is god.

A monotheistic one too. Remember one god always equals one god.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

A monotheistic one too. Remember one god always equals one god.

But then God can also be broken down into infinitesimally small pieces.

You still can't use Them to buy a cup of coffee though.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

But then God can also be broken down into infinitesimally small pieces.

You still can't use Them to buy a cup of coffee though.

Claimed to work in mysterious ways.
Let's bad things happen to good people.
Worshipped by odd men who speak funny and you think might be mental.


Seems legit

 

[8ball]

Let's bad things happen to good people.

Well, we assume they’re good people.
God may have other ideas.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Well actually if they have invested in crypto the jury is kinda out when it comes to goodness

 

[q_w_e_r_t_y]

I have to say that it is weird to see you say that about Tether. I agree with you. They're blatantly lying and it's absurd that they haven't been called on it. But Tether detethering will be a disaster for bitcoin. What is bitcoin other than the price you can get for it in fiat? It's nothing at all without that - that's the entirety of what it is.

I have never defended Tether, tether is an out and out scam initiatied by one of the worst people in crypto.
I;ve been expecting it to fail since 2017, and I cannot work out how the hell it hasnt.

I keep telling people that I dont care what the fiat exchange rate of bitcoin is and people keep insisting that I do. Maybe bitcoin goes down when Tether collapses, maybe it goes up, I just dont care. But I do care about getting rid of Tether, now more than ever.

So what you want is for the government to step in?

Yes, because that is where SBF got his authority from - from legal contracts, licences, agreements and meetings with government officials.
People trusted SBF because they trusted the US government wouldnt allow the thing that have happened to happen.
The US government has laws in place to deal with embezzlement/theft/hacking/employment breaches/misleading accounting, as do the Bahamas and other jurisdictions.

If there is no legal action taken against SBF, and he gets "rehabilitated" as a well-meaning philanthopist who did a whoopsie, I can see this becoming the first serious assassination market. It is hard to overestimate the fury that there is over this, well beyond anyone who was directly affected.

A monotheistic one too. Remember one god always equals one god.

That would be the bitcoin maxis, they are the monotheists, I'm more the pantheistic type, who recognises that while it all might be eternal godform conciousness, its useful to create sub-gods who exemplify various virtues.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I don't get it. I don't mean this in a nasty way, but given that you see through a lot of the bullshit that surrounds crypto, and you often say some very sensible things about it, it's bonkers that you've fallen for the bits you have fallen for.

 

[muscovyduck]

Coffeezilla's got some good content keeping up with this stuff at the moment. The stuff going on right now is notable because it's caught a lot of 'finance youtubers' and influencers who haven't been caught out before. Obviously from an outside perspective it was only a matter of time but it goes to show just how rotten the whole thing is for anyone who's been following along

 

[q_w_e_r_t_y]

I don't get it. I don't mean this in a nasty way, but given that you see through a lot of the bullshit that surrounds crypto, and you often say some very sensible things about it, it's bonkers that you've fallen for the bits you have fallen for.

FTX was a scam based in the fiat world, there was no crypto there beyond some scam tokens he created.

People sent him money to buy bitcoin to keep on their behalf, and he took their money and swapped it for Tether (another scam coin) or used it to do high-risk things in the defi world, like taking out loans with UST.They sponsored a superbowl, they had video adverts with popular people. They were visible in a way that actual bitcoin is not, and part of that visibility was creating a narrative around bitcoin being something that its not - a way to make fiat money.

I totally understand that many - even most - people who get into crypto get into it with a view to "cashing out" for fiat, but once you really understand bitcoin, you understand the full meaning of "selling out"

 

[Supine]

What is the point of Bitcoin if it isn’t to make fiat? Where does have a long hash enrich your life?

 

[MrCurry]

FTX was a scam based in the fiat world, there was no crypto there beyond some scam tokens he created.

People sent him money to buy bitcoin to keep on their behalf, and he took their money and swapped it for Tether (another scam coin) or used it to do high-risk things in the defi world, like taking out loans with UST.They sponsored a superbowl, they had video adverts with popular people. They were visible in a way that actual bitcoin is not, and part of that visibility was creating a narrative around bitcoin being something that its not - a way to make fiat money.

I totally understand that many - even most - people who get into crypto get into it with a view to "cashing out" for fiat, but once you really understand bitcoin, you understand the full meaning of "selling out"

Crypto.com seems to be a similar thing. Eye catching sponsorship deals all over the place and lots of Joe Public investors probably thinking it’s like a bank account with magic high interest rates. Bound to go pop at some point.

 

[BigTom]

It's almost as if those third parties have a useful function that people want or need, and that the solution isn't to get rid of said third parties, but to accept that they can't be trusted and to have regulation, oversight and protection provided by other third parties (fourth parties??).

 

[BigTom]

What is the point of Bitcoin if it isn’t to make fiat? Where does have a long hash enrich your life?

The bitcoin blockchain will be the spine on which the world's AI overlords run things. All hail the god of bitcoin!

Of course if you have enough bitcoin, you get to pay the world's AI to do the things you want. Which tbf doesn't sound much different to the setup we have now.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

View attachment 352190

It's almost as if those third parties have a useful function that people want or need, and that the solution isn't to get rid of said third parties, but to accept that they can't be trusted and to have regulation, oversight and protection provided by other third parties (fourth parties??).

We could call them, I dunno, “banks” maybe? Might catch on.

 

[q_w_e_r_t_y]

What is the point of Bitcoin if it isn’t to make fiat? Where does have a long hash enrich your life?

To replace the monetary system from one based on nation states monopoly on violence to a consensus based, borderless, neutral, censorship resistant, permissionless system for exchanging value.

This article might be enlightening about the difference between the kind of people I tend to hang out with and the people who have been rekt by FTX.
I'm not a maxi like Gigi, I think alt-chains have value for innovation and experimentation, but I am bitcoin first.

Dear Crypto & Fiat Bros - An open letter to the confused and dismissive. | dergigi.com

The coin is dead, long live the coin!

dergigi.com

 

[elbows]

To replace the monetary system from one based on nation states monopoly on violence to a consensus based

Con senseless based more like.

 

[Storm Fox]

To replace the monetary system from one based on nation states monopoly on violence to a consensus based, borderless, neutral, censorship resistant, permissionless system for exchanging value.

This article might be enlightening about the difference between the kind of people I tend to hang out with and the people who have been rekt by FTX.
I'm not a maxi like Gigi, I think alt-chains have value for innovation and experimentation, but I am bitcoin first.

Dear Crypto & Fiat Bros - An open letter to the confused and dismissive. | dergigi.com

The coin is dead, long live the coin!

dergigi.com

The bit in bold Italics is very true. It will end the nation states monopoly*, it will just mean all kinds of groups will go to war with each other.
For reference see all of human history.

The bit in bold in general is bollocks. The power and influence will accumulate with a few individuals as it does now, they may be different individuals but probably a lot of the same ones.
As has been seen in the last few weeks libertarians are shit at pretty much everything they touch (See Truss, Musk and the lettuce) Also any sea-steading project fails and if on land they have problems with bears.

Humans for most of their history has required cooperation whether bitcoin encourages this moot, but the people behind it do. It's all about depriving governments of funds and not helping the less fortunate.

From you quoted webpage:

Bitcoin is best understood as a force of nature, like the coming and going of the tide, like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. You can have an opinion on it, but your opinion doesn't have any influence on the phenomenon whatsoever. The tide will come and go, the sun will rise and set, and Bitcoin will produce a new block. Every 10 minutes.

So do bears shitting in the wood, it doesn't mean it's worth anything. But at least bear shit is environmentally beneficial.

*Not that nation-states have a monopoly on violence now and not that Crypto has been used to fund state violence.

 

[kabbes]

1. Make Bitcoins
2. ???
3. Nation-states no longer have vast power and access to institutional violence

 

[David Clapson]

North Korean nuke news now qualifies as crypto news. So here it is: North Korea ICBM had range to hit US mainland - Japan