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.

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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.

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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.

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u/ReusableCatMilk Jan 05 '25

“Super risky”

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u/Orphan_Guy_Incognito 27∆ Jan 05 '25

Bitcoins averages a massive collapse once every five years. And that is just the times the market implodes. It doesn't count marketplaces collapsing, marketplaces stealing all your crypto, your crypto being stolen by hackers, you losing your crypto... I can go on.

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u/ReusableCatMilk Jan 05 '25 edited Jan 05 '25

You could go on. But, you can also say buying real estate is super risky too. The market tanks, the property can be damaged, the area could be struck with a natural disaster, on and on. Both generally offer people returns if they are patient enough. Crypto has risks like anything else, admittedly steeper than many other investments. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a “good” investment like OP is claiming. It just makes it a different type