Dan GoodinApr 15, 2024

Behold the pyramid scheme known as cryptocurrency mining. Man allegedly consumed $3.5 million of computing resources from Amazon and Microsoft to generate $1 million worth of digital coin.

The real crime here is all the energy consumed.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/nebraska-man-indicted-multi-million-dollar-cryptojacking-scheme

Nebraska Man Indicted for Multi-Million Dollar "Cryptojacking" Scheme

“As alleged, by hijacking cloud providers’ computing power, Parks stole millions worth of powerful computing resources to acquire cryptocurrency,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will continue to prioritize prosecuting criminal actors who use new, sophisticated technology to engage in the old scheme of fraud and deceit.”

Apoc182Apr 16, 2024
Show threadDan Goodin
Some people keep missing my point. The only way to make money mining cryptocurrency is to engage in felony fraud. There's no way to do it lawfully. That makes cryptocurrency mining a pyramid scheme.
Apr 15, 2024 at 8:34pmWeb
Show threadDan GoodinApr 15, 2024
And now the people missing my point are doubling down.
Show threadChrisApr 15, 2024
@dangoodin Are they missing it or just cryptobros being cryptobros?
Show threadFox Trenton 🎱Apr 15, 2024
@ciphermonger @dangoodin My thought exactly.
Show thread🐈‍⬛David SommersethApr 15, 2024

@dangoodin

Well, you're kinda poking the "cryptocurrency dragon" ... So it is waking up ... 😉

Show threadSan Diego DanaApr 15, 2024
@dangoodin At a previous employer (who is now big into crypto) I brought up the question of “how can this supposed currency be a way to expand financial services into underserved areas such as Africa?” in a public slack channel and one of the crypto evangelists responded that mining was open to everyone. As if _mining_ was the _goal_ of cryptocurrency.
Show threadNihl L'AmasApr 15, 2024
@dangoodin Lots of frauds are not pyramid schemes.
Show threadchebraApr 15, 2024
@dangoodin Three things logically wrong with your statement:
1. do you really believe that 100% of the miners are stealing electricity?
2. if I buy a solar panel, connect it to a computer with GPU and start mining, is that illegal?
3. pyramid schemes must be enriching the higher levels of the pyramid, but that's not happening here with mining (all the less if you believe mining cannot be profitable)
Show threadSimon LucyApr 15, 2024

@chebra @dangoodin

If you use a solar panel and a GPU your great grand children won't even see any yield.

Yes it's impossible to mine Bitcoin without losing money now.

Which leads to point 1.

Show threadMichael KohneApr 16, 2024
@simon_lucy @chebra @dangoodin In fairness, some if the theft is at a remove: like when you get a politician to give you a sweet deal on power, or pay you to shutdown at peak times. There you are getting the politician to steal from the other ratepayers or taxpayers for you, instead of directly stealing yourself.
Show threadchebraApr 16, 2024
@mhkohne Yeah sure, I'm all for eliminating all such "sweet deals", they are basically just legalized corruption. But that's far from being a crypto issue. It would be quite silly to assume that 100% of crypto miners are running only on such deals. You just aren't taking into account that there are places with cheaper electricity, no crime involved.
Show threadPassimApr 16, 2024

@dangoodin That's likely true for Bitcoin. Note that Ethereum transitioned to proof of stake and doesn't require anything more than a NUC or other tiny server.

Not saying Eth is going to amount to anything, but it is a better/different/more interesting technology than Bitcoin. And it doesn't super wasteful PoW mining.

Show threadgrinApr 16, 2024
@dangoodin though felony fraud ≠ pyramid scheme 😉
there are so many interesting other kinds of fraud out there apart from pyramid schemes! 😃
Show threadmissed_slaApr 16, 2024

@dangoodin Crypto has always been a pyramid scheme. It doesn't generate value, it only moves money from one person to another. Or, more accurately, it moves lots of money from many people to far fewer other people.

It relies on bringing in new money, and existing "investors" can only get their money by convincing more people to buy in. It's absolutely, always has been and always will be, a pyramid scheme.

Only the few people at the very top are going to make money, the rest of them are screwed.