Bitcoin: The Mother of all Scams
Bob Seeman
Business builder | Entrepreneur-in-Residence | Speaker / Author / Commentator | Tech entrepreneur | Board director | Advisory boards | Integrator/Connector | Attorney | Co-founder
Almost everything one reads about bitcoin is either utopian fantasy, wishful thinking, nonsense, marketing, technobabble, or false propaganda. The book exposes the truth.
Bitcoin is not a medium of exchange. It can’t be because its price is too volatile. The transaction costs are too large and transaction time too slow for regular, small transactions. Only a tiny fraction of bitcoin transactions are used for legitimate real-world purchases and there are more illegitimate purchases than legitimate.
Bitcoin is not a store of value. A store of value does not regularly drop 20% in one day. Bitcoin does not qualify as an “investment” since no underlying asset exists.
Accurately described, bitcoin is an accounting system for a non-existent asset. Readers will remember that, in 17th Century Holland, the price of tulips rose to extraordinary heights and then collapsed. It was called Tulipmania and is the accepted term for economic bubbles built on assets of inherently little value. At least, back then, there was a legitimate, if insignificant, asset – a tulip bulb.
It is irrelevant that a limit has been set on the maximum number of bitcoin. Each coin is worth zero and the total value remains zero no matter the maximum number.
Any true utility of bitcoin for the tiny fraction of one percent of transactions representing legitimate purchases that are made using this new form of purported digital currency is far outweighed by the massive risk to the punters who speculate in this risky game.
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Credulous people are taking the bait and gambling away their life savings. Every day that this bubble is allowed to grow, thousands more innocent bystanders are drawn into a game where only the House – those operating the bitcoin gambling casino – wins.
Many people are winning in the bitcoin casino, especially the big traders and whales who can manipulate the market. However, no one is looking after the average punter.
Gambling is regulated in the US and throughout much of the world. Why aren’t the gambling regulators stepping in to investigate bitcoin gambling?
A good number of people may be starting to consider bitcoin as part of their retirement investments. In May 2021, a popular investor information service for the retail investor wrote an article entitled, “Is Bitcoin Safer for Retirement than Social Security”. Some investors may even borrow to increase their bitcoin holdings, or use their bitcoin as collateral for loans. Many people could then lose a great deal of money, question the whole system, and ask “Why didn’t anybody protect me?”
This book is to try to protect the average person.
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3 年Bob, I remember, over 25 years ago at THESEUS, you described how IP worked by comparing the packets sent as a flock of carrier pigeons, all carrying different parts of the message. I will admit, I don't understand bitcoin or crypto, but if there are pigeon-like analogies, I'm looking forward to reading this.
Just looking at the very beginning of the article. Satoshi Nakamoto. I’m not sure your conclusions are correct. Many Japanese were educated in English by Brit English users and references specifically to British English references like the time and London Times. Brits never refer to the times as the London Times. We are far too arrogant to feel the need to specify. It’s more likely a US graduated Japanese person or group looking to disguise the origins.
CISO at Motorola Mobility
3 年Can I buy it with Bitcoin? ??????