ZackJun 20
God, this bubble burst is going to be so brutal
Show threadJustin DerrickJun 20

@zenhob I cashed out all my tech stocks back in January. I suspect this will be the dot-bomb v2.0, where everyone finally figures out that LLMs and the hundreds of billions of dollars invested would have been better off getting tossed into a dumpster and just lit on fire.

They're impressive chatbots, but not useful for anything of consequence. They can't do math, they can't play games, they get basic facts wrong, they can be manipulated into being complicit in crimes, etc.

Show thread1337Jun 20
@JustinDerrick @zenhob "The market can stay irrational longer than you can remain solvent." Crypto is still going strong; been around for ~16 years. Tesla's stock is still higher than this same time last year.
Show threadStel ClementineJun 20
@1337 @JustinDerrick @zenhob Crypto is a bit of a special case IMO because it's a *purely* abstract asset that's not even pretending to be tied to any physical function. I think about it as a decentralized ponzi scheme that only requires a bit of "get rich quick!" marketing, electricity, and hardware. Until one of those things goes away, the crypto scam will continue.
Show threadJustin Derrick

@stelclementine @1337 @zenhob As an IT guy, blockchain and crypto seems interesting, possibly revolutionary -- taking money out of the hands of politicians and bankers, and making it a hard asset like gold, but instantly portable and nearly infinitely divisible -- all made possible and enforced by code.

As someone who breathes, and is consequently concerned about the environment, it's a trainwreck.

Only time will tell what happens to it.

Jun 20 at 11:53pmWeb
Show thread1337Jun 21
@JustinDerrick if it worked like the early adopter libertarians envisioned (I.e., not grifters), Bitcoin would be a deflationary currency; the rich could just horde it, not "putting it to use," with investment or loans, and they would gain value just sitting on it. Though, a long time ago I remember seeing "Freicoin" or something like that based on ideas by some obscure economist that was designed to be inflationary. The idea went something like, currency represents resources, like corn, and resources degrade, so currency should too.
Show threadShadSterlingJun 21
@JustinDerrick @stelclementine @1337 @zenhob I thought Bitcoin was interesting when it was new, but it very quickly demonstrated that it was not a viable currency. Maybe the worst problem is the transaction rate limit. The energy use is way too high, unless every node is also doubling as a space heater. Anyone who owns enough computing power can manipulate the entire network. And now that it’s securitized it’s not even independent.
Show threadTom MorrisJun 21
@JustinDerrick @stelclementine @1337 @zenhob they’ve taken money out of the hands of imperfectly regulated bankers and given it to wholly unregulated dipshits who keep doing endless scams.
Show threadShineJun 21
@JustinDerrick @stelclementine @1337 @zenhob It's a good idea only if you think that the problem is with who controls the money, and not with the whole concept of money.
Show threadAziroshinJun 23
@JustinDerrick @stelclementine @1337 @zenhob Politicians and bankers have long moved into crypto. There are no technological solutions to the natural tendency of markets to facilitate centralization.