Why the Crypto Collapse Matters


I bought the book in 1996.

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This reminds me of the Japanese economic miracle, the bubble, bursting in the early '90s due to rampant land speculation.
If you will remember that rampant land speculation caused the loss of the wonderful Parker Reproduction shotgun-they sold the factory to a golf course builder!!

As far as day trading from your home computer-you'd stand a better chance playing poker
 
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One of the things that has stuck with me regarding investing in the stock market and for that matter elsewhere. Something that really stuck in my mind concerning crypto and the understanding of it and how literally everyone was getting into crypto including my son, against my advise. I can't remember exactly how this information was received but I just remember the story. It seems J Paul Getty was on the elevator ride up to his penthouse apartment with one of his closest partners. They got on and there was one operator in uniform and his buddy was with him talking incessantly about all of the money available in the stock market. This was just before the crash in '29. According to the story Getty was listening to these two elevator operators talking about their investments in the market and the "killings" they were making. Getty and friend got off the elevator and Getty turned to his partner and said "The stock market is in serious trouble, we need to make some changes." Within weeks of this discussion the market crashed and Getty managed to save much of is fortune. The lesson according to what I remember was that if a couple of elevator operators could be making a killing in the stock market something must be wrong, that is my sentiment when it comes to crypto...something that easy, shouldn't be.

Sounds similar to the Joe Kennedy (JFK's daddy) "Shoeshine Boy" story. Supposedly he was getting his shoes shinned and the shoeshine boy was giving him stock tips. He went to the office and shorted the market into the '29 crash and established the Kennedy fortune.

I've had this happen to me. During the tech stock craze in 1999/2000 one of the salespeople I worked with was telling me about some stock she bought. It was Akamai Technologies. I asked her what they did. She said "I don't know, but they are a real good company!".

Uh-oh. I walked down the hall to the scheduling office and asked my friend how his (often talked about) tech stock was doing. He said he had made so much off of it he could pay for both his girls college with the profits. I told him don't be a pig, bank it. He did. A month later everything fell apart.

Saleslady rode Akamai down some 90%, certain it would come back. The two girls finished college debt-free.

I had never played the tech stocks. My large-cap value stocks all rode through the tech-bust just fine. I did lighten up a bit.

I no longer buy individual stocks. I still have a few but I've been selling them off and transferring the money to a mutual fund. I feel the need to simplify the account so when I'm no longer around it's easier to manage. I'm more of a 40/60 guy than a 60/40.
 
Uh-oh. I walked down the hall to the scheduling office and asked my friend how his (often talked about) tech stock was doing. He said he had made so much off of it he could pay for both his girls college with the profits. I told him don't be a pig, bank it. He did. A month later everything fell apart.

Saleslady rode Akamai down some 90%, certain it would come back. The two girls finished college debt-free.

Reminds me of two sayings: "Pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered" and "Nobody ever went broke taking a profit."
 
During most of the 1980s I was a fraud and forgery investigator for a major state agency. This was pre-internet days, paper documents were still in use, shoe leather and interview skills were still necessary in my business. Fake identities and bogus credentials were fairly common, but not impossible to figure out.

In today's financial world I am a lost puppy hoping someone will lead me home safely. I have a fairly good knowledge of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other typical investment media, but I rely on trusted and experienced people to manage my investments (with my involvement and approvals, of course). Now in retirement, our risk tolerance is near zero so we are concentrating on capital preservation and income generation more so than growth in values.

The whole crypto craze has happened without my participation. I don't understand it. I don't trust it. Ponzi and Madoff probably would have been leaders in the industry if given half a chance. Very little regulatory control or official interest, mostly speculation and blind hope.

A target-rich environment for criminals.
 
To be fair, the current scandal is less about crypto itself and more about an unregulated business run by incompetent managers that mishandled customer funds.

But it has tainted the entire sector. Look at all the knowledgeable people and firms that missed the problems at FTX. That's what's astounding. I don't think crypto is going anywhere. I use Fidelity for brokerage and even they are ramping up their own crypto exchange.
 
The mention of blockchain makes me chuckle. About ten years ago everywhere you looked there were articles about how within a year blockchain was going to so radically transform the world that unless you immediately became a blockchain expert you'd wind up homeless, destitute and alone. Kind of like the "mindfulness" fad/hype/grift a few years ago. And don't forget that nanotechnology was going to replace breathing.
 
An entire investment sector built on a Ponzi scheme grows due to hype and more participants.
Contributions (bribes) are then paid to avoid any oversight.

This is what you get.

Who benefited from these 'contributions?'
 
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