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

Tue Feb 8 15:03:19 PST 2022

Thanks Jerry
I didint realize this big fight was underway .. 

i think lots of money will be lost and made gambling in these digital coins 
until uncle sam  decides its too big a competitor currency..uncle wants a monopoly on currency .. as usual they are always asleep too long ,amd act too late .,

i am surprised they didnt act already.. but look how long they kept rates at zero ..now waking up  to raising rates long after a mess is created.. 

my bet is they will come out with a digital dollar the us treasury controls and 
they will make bitcoin et al illegal currency.. just a guess but biggest threat to bitcoin i think .

include me out of bitcoin because i am poor at timing markets . 

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 8, 2022, at 5:46 PM, Jerry Harris <jerryharri at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> 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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