Is cryptocurrency the greatest market bubble of all time?

basilio said:

Under Welch’s plan, the 3,000 square metre (32,000 sq ft) island (!!?) , (actually it's 800 acres. See video) which is part of the Vanuatu archipelago between Australia and Fiji, would be transformed from 90% undisturbed rainforest into a “sustainable smart city”, filled with multistorey apartment blocks and offices for cryptocurrency investors from around the world.

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So in other words it's sort-of a paradise now and they plan to turn it into something much like the CBD of countless cities worldwide aka the opposite of a paradise.

Smurf1976 said:

So in other words it's sort-of a paradise now and they plan to turn it into something much like the CBD of countless cities worldwide aka the opposite of a paradise.

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Indeeedd..Yep turn paradise into a parking lot.

It's utterly and totally insane. But that seems to mean much in the virtual world.

Perhaps they should recreate the island on the Metaverse and develop all the properties virtually. Then crypto investors can take the final steps of virtualisating themselves into a Brave New World

My thinking surrounding crypto has been largely that it's a "nothing universe" but still a trading opportunity situation, albeit highly risky.
Up until lately, it was looking and perceived to be at risk of government legislation.
Whilst there still is risk of some legislations, it becoming clearly apparent in the US and AU's, that the government's don't really have an issue with crypto, they just want to work out how to control it with taxation and traceability.
At the end of the day, it would be political suicide to get rid of it, heck, from the largest financial institutions down to politicians children, plenty of people now own some crypto.
I'm afraid to say it, but no longer is the overall concept of crypto, a bubble. It's here to stay. It's going mainstream ... get used to it.

Now it comes down to what is reliable and what you can trust; as trading platforms, actual crypto's used, security and insurance surrounding theft etc

Not condoning it still, but it's here to stay. The pithy coins will still cause grief to plenty of people.
The scum of the crypto world should be dealt with though, imo.
Sto p the rugpulls etc

basilio said:

One of the main stays of Crypto trading is the use of stable coins as an intermediate currency. Tether is one of major stable coins. It has issued $78Billion of coinage allegedly backed up by US dollars. But who is counting ?

Is Tether a $48 billion scam?​

https://medium.com/@sreverre?source=post_page-----4e8af1bedf76-----------------------------------
View attachment 134836
Stéphane Reverre
Follow

Apr 20 · 6 min read
Well….

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For those who follow the Tether story, there’s been a recent development worth mentioning: the publication of an audit of Tether reserves by a third-party. The statement is available for download on their front page. Tether does have a page with a statement of account (here), but as it is unaudited and uncertified it is not worth much.

There’s been a lot of discussion about whether Tether is a scam of gigantic proportion, but overall those suspicions have had little effect on the rhythm of issuance, reaching today almost $48 bln judging by the latest official figures on coinmarket cap. The immediate and intuitive reaction to this figure is that it’s too big to be anything but real. How could one possibly get away with a scheme of that magnitude?

Unfortunately, it has happened in the past: Madoff (estimated losses $18 bln), Parmalat (when the scandal broke $4 bln were missing), Wirecard ($1.9 bln missing), Enron ($40 bln bankrupcy case following a corporate Ponzi scheme for more than 10 years, during which Enron was celebrated as one of the most innovative US companies). No, size is no guarantee of legitimacy or righteousness.

Is Tether a $48 billion scam?

Well….

medium.datadriveninvestor.com

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Last year i posted this story which analysed whether the stable coin Tether had any legitimacy as a trusted crypto medium of exchange.
Tether and Terra and other similar "stable coins" are the poker chips people use to trade in crypto. Turn your dollars into chips and play.

But if the house chips lose their value the game is over.

I noticed that the stable coin Terra has collapsed. Tether has also been under extreme pressure.

Crypto crash: Stablecoin collapse sends tokens tumbling​

By Joe Tidy
Cyber reporter

Published
15 hours ago
comments
Comments


Image source, NurPhoto
Crypto-currency markets are being rocked after a popular token lost 99% of its value, dragging down a so-called "stablecoin" with it.
The Terra Luna token fell from a high of $118 (£96), last month, to $0.09 on Thursday.
The collapse had a knock-on effect on a linked token, TerraUSD, which is normally stable.
And spooked investors are now pulling out of major crypto-currencies, sending markets plummeting.
The companies behind stablecoins try to ensure they remain in parity with assets such as the US dollar - with one token equalling $1, for example.
But on Thursday TerraUSD fell to $0.4 according to the trading website Coin Market Cap.

Tether, the most popular stablecoin, also fell off its US dollar peg - to an all-time low of $0.95.

Terra’s price has collapsed from its US$1 peg with the USD to a low of US27c. Source: CoinMarketCap CoinMarketCap

TerraUSD’s market cap has been slashed from $US18.8 billion to $US4.75 billion. CoinMarketCap

TetherUSD also had its USD peg broken, tumbling down to US95c CoinMarketCap

got a message from swyftx they putting terra trading on hold due to no liquidity, I'd hate to be holding that bag

Dona Ferentes said:

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TerraUSD’s market cap has been slashed from $US18.8 billion to $US4.75 billion. CoinMarketCap

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Excuse my ignorance, nativity and general lack of care towards almost anything crypto related Aussie Stock Forumites but…

… something worth nothing somehow had a market cap of 18 billion and is collapsing.

I’m shocked.

Not.

Apparently the crash of Luna and Terra has been assisted with some very smart (evil) trading practices. Check out the details at the end of the story

Any new billionaires on ASF want to put up their hand ?

The question is whether these practices could be brought to bear against major shares in the traditional stock market ?

'Evil genius' may have caused Terra and Luna cryptocurrencies to crash in a 'death spiral'​

By business reporter David Chau
Posted 9h ago9 hours ago, updated 28m ago28 minutes ago

A plunge in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, has been exacerbated by the Luna and Terra stablecoin crash.(Reuters: Florence Lo)
Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article



It's been a stressful week for those who own bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as they watched billions of dollars get wiped off the value of their assets.

Key points:​

• Terra (UST) is a stablecoin, which is meant to be worth $US1
• Its value is backed by a "sister" token called Luna
• Luna's value plunged 99pc, causing some investors to lose their life savings

In depth look of the incident:

Apparently $55 billion market cap was evaporated.
It's on par with Enron

moXJO said:

Apparently $55 billion market cap was evaporated.
It's on par with Enron

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It had a 55 bil. cap! That's amazing.

"One in nine Australians bought crypto in the past year"

Max Moulder is doing whatever he can to make ends meet.

He's taken a shot at being an Uber driver.

He's drawing on his life-long trade of cutting and selling gemstones.

But odd jobs are not earning him enough to keep up with the growing cost of living.

"I've done gemstone cutting and trading for a long, long time — since I was 10 years old — that's not paid off for me," he said.

"It's very difficult doing Uber driving with the cost of petrol. That's not working. And I can't do cabinet making anymore. So I'm running out of options really."

In his mind, there's just one option left: to invest in crypto.

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Regulation, at least in Australia, is inevitable given what has happened in the crypto space in the last few months. It is effectively like betting at a casino as Max's story above makes clear. Most of those throwing money at crypto have no idea of the risks they are taking on. Until the dust settles, I think watching from the sidelines is the sensible approach.

Really, last throw at the stumps is all in on crypto.

Humans have become extremely dumb.

The Crypto crash has destroyed $2Trillion of "value" to date and bankrupted untold numbers of people. This story offers an insight into some of these situations.
The contacts could be useful for any friends who have taken a bit hit.

They couldn’t even scream any more. They were just sobbing’: the amateur investors ruined by the crypto crash​

‘You fall into this La-La land of thinking: I’m going to make it.’ Illustration: Scott Balmer/The Guardian
Fuelled by hype and hysteria, the market in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies went from an obscure niche to a $3tn industry. Then the house of cards collapsed


Sirin Kale
Tue 12 Jul 2022 06.00 BST

In the gloom of an 18th-century drawing room at the private rehab clinic Castle Craig, near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, Roy, a 29-year-old victim of the global cryptocurrency crash, tells me his story. It is a dazzling summer’s day, but here the mood is sombre. Roy shifts uncomfortably in his chair as he begins.

It all started in February 2021, with a radio advert for Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency promoted by Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla. Intrigued, Roy started Googling, eventually using his credit card to make an initial investment of €2,500 (£2,200) in a range of cryptocurrencies. The value of Roy’s portfolio climbed to €8,000, then €100,000, then €525,000. Roy had entered the market during an adrenalised bull run, meaning an extended period of price growth. A combination of Covid stimulus packages, low interest rates and an unprecedented level of enthusiasm for cryptocurrency among furloughed workers meant the bull was careering out of sight.

Roy started spending all his time watching YouTube videos and speaking to other cryptocurrency enthusiasts in private groups on the messaging app Telegram. He had been treated for cocaine and alcohol addiction twice, but by 2021 he was sober and working as an addiction counsellor, although he was on sick leave as a result of panic attacks brought on by childhood trauma. He soon relapsed. By day, he checked his cryptocurrency wallets every 10 seconds; by night, he set alarms to go off on the hour. He began fantasising about a life free of financial constraints, in which he would never have to work. “I thought I was on top of the world,” Roy says. “Nobody could tell me anything. Money would fix every single problem I faced from now on.”

I always thought the next project would bring me back up again and I’d cash out before it crashed

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Roy
Then the cryptocurrency market crashed. The price of bitcoin fell from £42,000 in May 2021 to £23,000 by the end of June. It rallied to an all-time high of £48,000 in November, before diving to £26,000 at the end of January. Since then, it has been in near-continuous freefall. At the time of writing, bitcoin is hovering at £17,000. “It felt like I had lost my life,” says Roy. “Because I had invested everything in crypto. I had built every dream I had on there. So, when it came crashing down, my whole life came crashing down.”

Desperate, Roy made a string of bad bets. The value of his portfolio dwindled to €20,000, then €3,000. “It got so out of control because I saw all my chances to live a better life fading away,” he says. “So I became really desperate and eventually just completely isolated. I didn’t want to see anybody, because I thought I was a failure.”

The art of trading …….. knowing when to sell. Doesn’t matter when you buy.
I still haven‘t learned !!
Cheers
J

I don't see how crypto is any better or worse than any other form of gambling.

basilio said:

The Crypto crash has destroyed $2Trillion of "value" to date and bankrupted untold numbers of people. This story offers an insight into some of these situations.
The contacts could be useful for any friends who have taken a bit hit.

Click to expand...

Sounds rather like the year 2000 with the tech stocks bust.

All the same "it's different this time" stories and so on were around and it seems to have ended the same way.

For those wondering what's keeping Bitcoin's price from cratering further...

Cryptoverse: Shrimps and whales keep bitcoin afloat​

While the miners are dumping, the shrimps are buying, hope springs eternal for the hodlers at the crypto casino.