I'm pretty deep in DeFi and wondered if anyone is keen to learn?

[BigTom]

Well most aren't Ponzi schemes (Onecoin was but that was a straightforward scam), and crypto works more like a commodity than other investments, so in that respect it's the same as any other with regards to profits and when you "check out".

Commodities have an end user to sell to, ie someone who actually uses that commodity.

Crypto doesn't.

That makes crypto very different to commodities. They aren't ponzi schemes by nature (though can easily be used to make a Ponzi scheme as you noted), but they are some kind of greater fool scam, because the only people you have to sell to are those who think they can sell on to someone else at a greater price.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Commodities have an end user to sell to, ie someone who actually uses that commodity.

Crypto doesn't.

That makes crypto very different to commodities. They aren't ponzi schemes by nature (though can easily be used to make a Ponzi scheme as you noted), but they are some kind of greater fool scam, because the only people you have to sell to are those who think they can sell on to someone else at a greater price.

Some people use them like money. Not just buying drugs, but you can even get credit cards which can use in normal retailers.

 

[BigTom]

Some people use them like money. Not just buying drugs, but you can even get credit cards which can use in normal retailers.

Not like money - it's a method of transaction, not money - it's like a cheque or pre-paid debit/credit card.
Everything is priced in £/$ whatever, not in crypto, so you are not paying with crypto, you are using it as a method of transaction. And the aim is to get in and out as quickly as possible.

It's also a tiny fraction of the volume of crypto trading and barely worth considering in the grand scheme of things. It's also only true for certain cryptos - bitcoin and monero really, litecoin was usable in some places for a while but doesn't seem to be anymore, dogecoin is was and always will be a meme that is accepted only for the meme value. It's also the proof of the complete irrationality of the crypto space but that's another debate.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

It's also the proof of the complete irrationality of the crypto space but that's another debate.

Well yes.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Some people use them like money. Not just buying drugs, but you can even get credit cards which can use in normal retailers.

Tiny numbers, though. And as qwerty will remind you, if you're not transacting directly on the blockchain using your own key, you're not really using crypto. You're using an intermediary. And if you're going to use an intermediary, use VISA. They're good at it, they don't cost much, they're speedy, and they're regulated to fuck.

But who wants to transact directly on the blockchain using their own key? What a faff.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Tiny numbers, though. And as qwerty will remind you, if you're not transacting directly on the blockchain using your own key, you're not really using crypto. You're using an intermediary. And if you're going to use an intermediary, use VISA. They're good at it, they don't cost much, they're speedy, and they're regulated to fuck.

But who wants to transact directly on the blockchain using their own key? What a faff.

Yes this. Anyone who thinks they're transacting in crypto with those things is missing the point. If I go into a bar and order a drink, and they say 'that'll be a fiver please', and I wave my card at their machine and they receive a fiver, that's a transaction in GBP. If that company then does some back end stuff and deducts some amount of bitcoin from my account with them that's a separate thing.

 

[On Fire]

This is the best thread on Urban for some time.