[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Crypto and Web3 Thoughts

Tue Feb 8 14:46:06 PST 2022

Hello Marvin,
There is currently a power struggle between those people like Jack Dorsey
(formerly CEO of Twitter, current CEO of Block) and Marc Andreesen. Jack is
a Bitcoin maximalist, who believes crypto is all about Bitcoin and the
blockchain, while Marc feels Ethereum (with its smart contracts) and NFT's
are the future. There is a decent article going into details about why this
power struggle is happening:

https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2021/12/23/what-jack-dorseys-beef-with-web-3-is-really-about/

One of the reasons I feel is there's a ton of money involved. A lot of it
is fueled by FOMO (fear of missing out) before the pyramid falls down.
Analysis of the blockchain shows that a small percentage of wallets hold
the major share of all Bitcoins. These "whales" have a huge vested interest
to keep pulling in more and more money from small (in comparison)
investors, who in turn become almost a cult of believers, eager to create
"generational wealth". This is at odds w/ the original purpose of Bitcoin
and is one of the reasons he and Marc are fighting over it.

Jerry

On Tue, Feb 8, 2022 at 3:00 PM Marvin Menzin <mmenzin at icloud.com> wrote:

> Hi Jerry
> my two cents ..reading none of the posts .
>
> it does make me wonder if I  am a fossil by ignoring bitcoin .
> of course blockchain technology is very important but distinct from
> bitcoin and its ilk
>
>  there are so many people buying  bitcoin and similar …  big bankers ,
> musk etc .
> so i often feel like a dummy staying out . ok maybe i am .
>
>  but remember the biggies  put in a tiny pct of their assets just for fun
> or just in case,so  if it goes to zero they dont feel any real pain ..
>
> my bottom line … these coins have no intrinsic value and consume lots of
> energy.
> and when the government decides a rival currency is a threat,the govt will
> wipe them out legally .
> so they seem to me a trading or gambling   game where i buy these coins
> hoping to sell them to another at a profit, before they collapse.
>
> some like casinos and some few are smart enough win and quit ahead in
> casinos and in bitcoin.
>
> but to me its very late in the game so entering may be much riskier now ..
> so this fossil will pass.
> marvin
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> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Feb 8, 2022, at 2:21 PM, Jerry Harris <jerryharri at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
> Hello,
> This is my first post here. My interests are more aligned with the
> software side of technology, so I thought I'd share some research and
> thoughts I have about the digitization of currency, assets, and economies.
> I'm curious to hear what others think.
>
> Cheers,
> Jerry
> ---
> Does anyone else feel like Crypto/Web3 space is a mix of Dr. Jekyll and
> Mr. Hyde?
>
> Dr. Jekyll: Crypto/Web3 is surging - to the moon!
> - VC funding is surging- >$25B in 2021 [1]
> - NFTs sold for $14B in 2021 [2]
>
> Mr. Hyde: Crypto/Web3 where suckers are minted every minute.
> - Almost $500 million has been lost in 2022 due to crypto scams and smart
> contract exploits. [3]
> - The FTC reports almost $770 million lost in 2021 due to social media
> scams where cryptocurrency was involved in most of them. [4]
>
> Jekyll & Hyde: Crypto/Web3 is up for grabs for legitimate and illegitimate
> uses.
> - Twitter spats hint at a scramble to define and profit from the future
> "crypto" market. [5]
> - Darknet crypto markets still exist where most transactions are for
> drugs. [6]
>
> What does all this *mean* though? What are these technologies and how are
> they used and exploited: Bitcoin, blockchain, NFTs, smart contracts, meme
> coins, DAOs? If we're in a bubble, is there anything useful to benefit
> "normies" after it pops?
>
> These are some of the questions I asked myself this past summer and so
> started to do more research. Having worked during the dot-com boom and bust
> and resurgence - the Web1 and Web2 eras - my first inclination was to think
> the crypto bubble will pop and Web3's intrinsic value will be re-purposed
> in less speculative products. I don't feel this any longer. The founding
> design principles of Bitcoin, blockchain, and smart contracts seem so
> wildly at odds with basic requirements of a scalable[7], reliable, and
> safe[8] ecosystem[9] in which millions can participate, that I'm not sure
> how these technologies can be re-purposed or extended without changing
> their fundamental nature[10].
>
> I am curious what others think about these topics. I included a lot of
> links below. These 3 provide deep analysis: [7] [9] [10]
>
> Links:
> [1]
> https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/business/dealbook/crypto-venture-capital.html
> [2] https://news.yahoo.com/nft-sales-hit-565-million-153901719.html
> [3] https://web3isgoinggreat.com/
> [4]
> https://www.archyde.com/cryptocurrencies-drive-rise-in-online-scams-ftc-report-says/
> [5]
> https://twitter.com/jack/status/1473139010197508098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
> [6]
> https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/8347/Darknet2018_posterFINAL.pdf
> [7]
> https://hackernoon.com/web-30-will-not-achieve-decentralization-and-scale-heres-why
> [8] Today (Feb 8) some crypto companies announced an industry coalition to
> combat fraudulent schemes like pump-and-dump and wash trading.
> https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/crypto-market-integrity-coalition
> [9] https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html
> [10] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g&t=36s
>
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