Pump-and-dump schemes, fraud, ransomware, multi-level marketing, spam, incentivizing selfishness, greed, and general unethical behaviour, buying elections, quasi Nazis creating their own coins, et cetera. In my opinion, over the years the evidence has piled up tall enough to show that crypto"currencies" are an overal detriment to society.

It therefore surprised me to discover that behind the ♡ donation button on top of most Lemmy instances except for Beehaw, there is an option to donate “crypto”. This sets a bad example. Thoughts?

  • John@lemmy.mlEnglish
    132·
    2 days ago

    Wait until you learn about tradfi

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/feb/20/credit-suisse-secrets-leak-unmasks-criminals-fraudsters-corrupt-politicians

    EDIT: to answer slightly more seriously, crypto is just a tool. The great thing about crypto is that anybody can use it. The bad thing about crypto is that anybody can use it. Yes, there’s lots of dogshit out there (by lots I mean like 95% or more). But the big projects, BTC, ETH, defi stuff like AAVE, Compound, etc are very useful tools. I don’t think people realize how exploitative the banking and finance industry really are, and crypto bypasses most of that.

    • arsCynic@beehaw.orgOP
      69·
      2 days ago

      This whataboutism is probably the most used fallacy within the crypto"currency" sphere. If A and B cause cancer, and A was first, it doesn’t follow that B is less malignant.

      Quoted from my Crypto Cult Science essay linked in the original post:

      “Strong currencies are not the solution to poor governance. Good governance and democracy makes a country and its currency strong. Not vice versa.” —halukakin, HackerNews, 2021

      • JackGreenEarth@lemm.eeEnglish
        111·
        2 days ago

        You’re free to not use them, if you want. But me and many others are going to appreciate that these alternatives that don’t rely on centralised cervices exist, that won’t track credit scores, personal information, or use tech companies with privacy and freedom concerns.

      • John@lemmy.mlEnglish
        31·
        2 days ago

        Talking about logical fallacies while summarily hand-waving away all of crypto is pretty interesting.

        I guess some random HN user is smarter than the research arms of these companies who are all building on and utilizing crypto: https://ethereumadoption.com/

        😂

        Edit: stablecoins have already reached parity with traditional payment networks

        And yea, like the other user said, just don’t use it! Nobody will be mad that you don’t use it, or care. I don’t have venmo, so I don’t use it. I don’t get mad when somebody offers it. 🤷‍♀️

        • arsCynic@beehaw.orgOP
          27·
          2 days ago

          “I guess some random HN user is smarter than the research arms of these companies who are all building on and utilizing crypto”

          List of fallacies in the aforementioned statement:

          “I don’t have venmo, so I don’t use it. I don’t get mad when somebody offers it.”

          Venmo is not a multi-level marketing pyramid scheme, all crypto"currencies" are[1].

          1. “The only example of cryptocurrency not being a misnomer is TU Delft’s blockchain euro [15]. But if it is practical remains to be seen since Africa has superior payment alternatives that don’t require blockchain at all—which I address further down.” —Crypto Cult Science ↩︎