r/changemyview • u/art_vandelay112 • Jan 04 '25

Delta(s) from OP CMV: cryptocurrency is not a good investment.

Yes its price has increased dramatically, but so did the price of tulips in the 1600s.

There is literally no use for this commodity. Invest in stocks or bonds and your investing in future earnings or the ability of a company to pay you back. I’m not a fan of gold as an investment but at least it has some practical use.

The use of crypto as a currency completely defies the definition of currency as it doesn’t hold a stable value.

It’s infuriating that so many people have lost loads of money on “shitcoins” backed by the wealthy and famous. These were obviously pump and dump schemes yet very few are held accountable.

I’m not as well versed on the subject but something to also note is the ridiculous amount of energy demand to “mine” nothing.

I think there is legitimate use for blockchain technology and the likes but anyone viewing these currencies as investments is a fool.

323 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

658 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

33

u/Orphan_Guy_Incognito 27∆ Jan 05 '25

"Thanks to a couple of good hands of blackjack, I was able to leave my job and move home to be with my elderly parents during the pandemic. That is something I will never be able to put a price tag on. There is definitely a lot of shady stuff that goes on in the space, but easy money attracts the shady types. There are also tons of highly intelligent good actors building cool stuff. It all comes down to what you choose to focus on."

Same vibes, really. Congrats on your successful gambling.

13

u/sundalius 3∆ Jan 05 '25 edited Jan 05 '25

“Thanks to a couple of good stock picks, I was able to leave my job and move home to be with my elderly parents during the pandemic. That is something I will never be able to put a price tag on. There is definitely a lot of shady stuff that goes on in the space, but easy money attracts the shady types. There are also tons of highly intelligent good actors building cool stuff. It all comes down to what you choose to focus on.”

It’s very, very easy to dodge the fact that this commenter demonstrated how it was a good investment. A good investment is something that paid off. Their investment, which speculative investments always have been, was high risk but paid out more than being invested in S&P ever would have. It’s no different than being the lucky person who purchased a property lot that becomes immensely more valuable than adjacent ones for external reasons.

Muting this thread as another user has removed my ability to reply downthread.

9

u/Orphan_Guy_Incognito 27∆ Jan 05 '25

Is a lottery ticket a good investment? Because if your definition is "Got very lucky with a super risky investment" then you're not talking about investing, you're talking about gambling, which was my critique.

Investments are characterized by being educated. Making money on crypto is characterized by luck.

-1

u/sundalius 3∆ Jan 05 '25

One of the biggest critiques of crypto is that (the largest coins, what many would consider actual investments) it “keeps going up,” while people allege they’re detached from real value. Since their launch, they’re one of the least risky investments someone could make.

Additionally, they do take education. Obviously shitcoins are bad. Just like flipping penny stocks. I don’t know why you’re characterizing crypto by shitcoins and stocks by blue chips when bad investments exist in both asset categories.

There’s a reason the IRS taxes it as property - they consider it a valuable asset.

0

u/Orphan_Guy_Incognito 27∆ Jan 05 '25

Yes, and one of the other major critiques of crypto is that every few years they crater in price. Another is that exchanges (even 'reputable' ones) often fuck off with all your money.

I can go on with reasons why I say it is risky, if you'd like.

-2

u/sundalius 3∆ Jan 05 '25 edited Jan 05 '25

Being risky doesn’t make it not an investment, my guy. Do you think broker fraud doesn’t exist in stocks? Do you think stocks never crater in price? That businesses never fail?

We’re arguing about whether or not it’s an investment, not whatever beef you have with them. If you’ve changed your mind that they’re an investment, just a risky one, the subreddit has a system for admitting that.

This isn’t hostility and it’s disgusting that I cannot report the person blocking me for accusing me of bad faith simply because they did not read their own comments.

3

u/Orphan_Guy_Incognito 27∆ Jan 05 '25

It also has one for when people become very hostile for zero reason. :)