Here’s another something that makes me glad my BA was in “Interdisciplinary social sciences,” because a specific degree in any one would make it hard to understand this particular Fine Mess. There’s an old saying: “If something sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is.”
“I also want my cats to start speaking English to me.” Hahahaha hahahahahaha. Oh, that’s a good deadpan face statement. I’m going to use it. Hahahahahahahaha. Oh yes, also, good article. I’ve had to speak with my son-in-law to get an explanation of crypto-zypto. It just sounds so…so ridiculous.
I never understood or cared about all this weird money stuff i know my social Security Is electronically deposited in my bank on the 4th Wednesday of the month! Just don’t screw with that!
I tried to walk the pathetic beginning steps in beginning to understand monetary policy not once, but a good half-dozen times and all it ever did was make my mind glaze over. but I understand cash and bank accounts and even bought a few municipal bonds. I've NEVER been tempted to play the market because I think it's fundamentally immoral. I understand that our model of capitalism depends on the stock market, and that might be the reason I don't like it. I have an old friend who was a broker for about ten years, bought some Hoboken real estate and retired at 37 (but couldn't get anyone to play basketball with on most afternoons because they actually WORKED). he told me NEVER to play the market unless I was prepared to lose every penny. all of that was to establish my ignoramus credentials, which--at this moment--I'm fairly proud of. as soon as I heard that there was any such thing as crypto (which was probably a few years after everyone else heard of it), I thought it just stank. anther friend, given to very poor judgement, bought a very little bit of Bitcoin some months back. I told him that it's always felt to me like a really horrible idea. he told me that that people had become billionaires practically overnight. my response was two-pronged: 1) other people might have become billionaires but he sure as shit was about as likely to make a lot of money from something so nebulous as I was, which is not at all and 2) people just aren't SUPPOSED to become billionaires overnight. there's a more universal third thing, which is my unshakeable sense that no one gets to be a billionaire by being morally impeccable, which is putting it kindly. now, I recognize that those are all opinions, and very ill-informed ones, but if this comment seems to be fueled by schadenfreude, it is. is it ever.
When I first heard of this “currency” it was at a coin exchange machine (turning coins into bills, unless you bought off on the whole “imaginary money” scam.
It made no sense to me then, and never did even after it was “explained” to me by some acolytes of bitcoin.
Tried to understand Bitcoin a couple years ago and gave up. I like the old idea of money you can touch. Similarly, I don’t want to invest in art to own and view on the internet. Or clothes to wear virtually. Thank you for your thoughts on this subject that I have a friend saying is the future. May I be long gone. ❤️🤍💙
Crypto Currencies have always seemed scamily suspect to me, and on the few occaisions I have had people try to sell me on the concept of investing, their explanations usually resulted in me laughing at them. Some friends have been conned.
I always ask if they've heard of aor remember "The Goon Show" (British radio comedy) because no, I'm not interested in buying Neddy Seagoon's photograph of a five pound note.
Sounds good, Thank you TC! I never got around to even try and understand it. Hope the tsunami waves are not going to damage to much of reality. In general I think there are always a few winners, those who started, if it follows the pattern of pyramid games; some who parachuted themselves or jumped off the train before the crash. They are sitting with a starting capital, and historically they will want to brush up their reputation, and do something a little more decent than the original dirty business; only very slow, not complete, and never admitting their surviving at the cost of others.
If I know anyone personally who was foolhardy enough to fall for this scam, he (or she) is keeping mighty quiet about it! I would too. Snake oil salesmen have been around for quite a while; one even fooled enough numbskulls to make his way down a golden escalator and attempt a coup.
As for your cats - hmmm. I'm not sure if mine speak English or if they have taught me Catspeak, but somehow, we seem to be on the same page about most things. Right now, they are napping, since not much is happening on CatTV (the window where they observe birds, other cats, and the world "out there" where they are not allowed to be.) In my view, folks who observe a world through the internet are a bit like my cats - except Spanx and Judy would be too smart to throw away their comfortable assets on a whim and a wish.
"So what happens if a huge number of hedge funds have prime broker relationships with too-big-to-fail banks [and] all happen to be in similar crypto positions, whether it’s long or short and there’s massive volatility in the market. They may have to sell some of their other assets. It may lead to margin calls in their non-crypto assets which could lead to forced liquidations and sort of redound to the banks themselves in the form of counterparty risk.”
Counterparty risk is what led to the financial contagion that crashed Wall Street in 2008, leading to the worst economic crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Waters then asked Goldstein if there was any transparency on which specific hedge funds held the largest positions in crypto and who their counterparties are. Goldstein responded that crypto is not currently reported on the 13F forms that hedge funds are required to file with the SEC so regulators are currently “totally in the dark.”
I heard this morning on NPR that Fidelity Investments is going to be offering options for crypto in their retirement offerings! Good Lord! Is everyone nuts? Answer - if you are crazy for money and that's your answer to everything, then the answer is yes. McConnell and 4 of his closest dumb bunnies showed up on President Zelenskyi's doorstep today. I guess they're trying to prove they're not as stupid as Rand Paul but that only works up to a limited point.
Thank you, TC for another interesting post. I have also been really leery of investing in crypto currencies. One of my acquaintances has invested in all the ones you mentioned earlier. Also, I would love it if my cats would learn to speak English! Perfect levity for such a terrifying post!
As Michael Che explained on SNL, if you can’t figure out how it works, it’s a hustle.
“I also want my cats to start speaking English to me.” Hahahaha hahahahahaha. Oh, that’s a good deadpan face statement. I’m going to use it. Hahahahahahahaha. Oh yes, also, good article. I’ve had to speak with my son-in-law to get an explanation of crypto-zypto. It just sounds so…so ridiculous.
Salud, TC.
Rippling through the world’s economies… I never thought about that. Thanks for this report, TC.
I never understood or cared about all this weird money stuff i know my social Security Is electronically deposited in my bank on the 4th Wednesday of the month! Just don’t screw with that!
I tried to walk the pathetic beginning steps in beginning to understand monetary policy not once, but a good half-dozen times and all it ever did was make my mind glaze over. but I understand cash and bank accounts and even bought a few municipal bonds. I've NEVER been tempted to play the market because I think it's fundamentally immoral. I understand that our model of capitalism depends on the stock market, and that might be the reason I don't like it. I have an old friend who was a broker for about ten years, bought some Hoboken real estate and retired at 37 (but couldn't get anyone to play basketball with on most afternoons because they actually WORKED). he told me NEVER to play the market unless I was prepared to lose every penny. all of that was to establish my ignoramus credentials, which--at this moment--I'm fairly proud of. as soon as I heard that there was any such thing as crypto (which was probably a few years after everyone else heard of it), I thought it just stank. anther friend, given to very poor judgement, bought a very little bit of Bitcoin some months back. I told him that it's always felt to me like a really horrible idea. he told me that that people had become billionaires practically overnight. my response was two-pronged: 1) other people might have become billionaires but he sure as shit was about as likely to make a lot of money from something so nebulous as I was, which is not at all and 2) people just aren't SUPPOSED to become billionaires overnight. there's a more universal third thing, which is my unshakeable sense that no one gets to be a billionaire by being morally impeccable, which is putting it kindly. now, I recognize that those are all opinions, and very ill-informed ones, but if this comment seems to be fueled by schadenfreude, it is. is it ever.
When I first heard of this “currency” it was at a coin exchange machine (turning coins into bills, unless you bought off on the whole “imaginary money” scam.
It made no sense to me then, and never did even after it was “explained” to me by some acolytes of bitcoin.
Tried to understand Bitcoin a couple years ago and gave up. I like the old idea of money you can touch. Similarly, I don’t want to invest in art to own and view on the internet. Or clothes to wear virtually. Thank you for your thoughts on this subject that I have a friend saying is the future. May I be long gone. ❤️🤍💙
Crypto Currencies have always seemed scamily suspect to me, and on the few occaisions I have had people try to sell me on the concept of investing, their explanations usually resulted in me laughing at them. Some friends have been conned.
I always ask if they've heard of aor remember "The Goon Show" (British radio comedy) because no, I'm not interested in buying Neddy Seagoon's photograph of a five pound note.
Sounds good, Thank you TC! I never got around to even try and understand it. Hope the tsunami waves are not going to damage to much of reality. In general I think there are always a few winners, those who started, if it follows the pattern of pyramid games; some who parachuted themselves or jumped off the train before the crash. They are sitting with a starting capital, and historically they will want to brush up their reputation, and do something a little more decent than the original dirty business; only very slow, not complete, and never admitting their surviving at the cost of others.
Love, love, love this!
Scam from top to bottom.
If I know anyone personally who was foolhardy enough to fall for this scam, he (or she) is keeping mighty quiet about it! I would too. Snake oil salesmen have been around for quite a while; one even fooled enough numbskulls to make his way down a golden escalator and attempt a coup.
As for your cats - hmmm. I'm not sure if mine speak English or if they have taught me Catspeak, but somehow, we seem to be on the same page about most things. Right now, they are napping, since not much is happening on CatTV (the window where they observe birds, other cats, and the world "out there" where they are not allowed to be.) In my view, folks who observe a world through the internet are a bit like my cats - except Spanx and Judy would be too smart to throw away their comfortable assets on a whim and a wish.
SEC regulators are currently “totally in the dark.” - https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/05/cryptos-crash-100-to-1-leverage-goes-poof/
"So what happens if a huge number of hedge funds have prime broker relationships with too-big-to-fail banks [and] all happen to be in similar crypto positions, whether it’s long or short and there’s massive volatility in the market. They may have to sell some of their other assets. It may lead to margin calls in their non-crypto assets which could lead to forced liquidations and sort of redound to the banks themselves in the form of counterparty risk.”
Counterparty risk is what led to the financial contagion that crashed Wall Street in 2008, leading to the worst economic crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Waters then asked Goldstein if there was any transparency on which specific hedge funds held the largest positions in crypto and who their counterparties are. Goldstein responded that crypto is not currently reported on the 13F forms that hedge funds are required to file with the SEC so regulators are currently “totally in the dark.”
I for one won't be going after whatever gold is in them thar hills, thank you very much!
I heard this morning on NPR that Fidelity Investments is going to be offering options for crypto in their retirement offerings! Good Lord! Is everyone nuts? Answer - if you are crazy for money and that's your answer to everything, then the answer is yes. McConnell and 4 of his closest dumb bunnies showed up on President Zelenskyi's doorstep today. I guess they're trying to prove they're not as stupid as Rand Paul but that only works up to a limited point.
Thank you, TC for another interesting post. I have also been really leery of investing in crypto currencies. One of my acquaintances has invested in all the ones you mentioned earlier. Also, I would love it if my cats would learn to speak English! Perfect levity for such a terrifying post!