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1. Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽ (anarkat@hackers.town)'s status on Sunday, 30-Jan-2022 03:21:25 UTC Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽

   hahaha holy shit, I'm watching a documentary on why NFTs are bad, and realizing that the network of NFT grifters are assembling cults-on-demand to get middle class rubes to trade money for nothing.

   Scams on an industrial scale.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g

   • Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽ (anarkat@hackers.town)'s status on Sunday, 30-Jan-2022 03:21:24 UTC Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽

     in reply to

     The best zinger ever shitting on cryptocurrency from this video:

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g

     The one market that cryptocurrency has successfully disrupted is the market of fraud.

     ...A big population of people have willingly self-identified that they have substantial disposable income, poor judgment, low social literacy, a high tolerance for nonsensical risk, and are highly persuadable.

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.
   • Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽ (anarkat@hackers.town)'s status on Sunday, 30-Jan-2022 03:22:08 UTC Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽

     in reply to

     • calcifer

     @calcifer You're right about all of that.

     saying what I meant in a better way:

     There is no way to force someone to revert a fraudulent charge. Even if you find out who stole yer crypto, the best you can do is shame them.

   • calcifer@hackers.town's status on Sunday, 30-Jan-2022 03:22:08 UTC calcifer

     in reply to

     @Anarkat since most jurisdictions are treating cryptocoins et al as property, you have theoretical recourse through the legal system. Basically, you can sue to get the value returned to you even if the literal coins/whatever aren't refundable. That's impractical to do, but no more impractical than it is with being defrauded of cash (the other common fraudster target).

     The main advantages fraudsters have with crypto are: (1) some of the scams are legal, (2) it's difficult to identify the payee if they're cautious, (3) it's easy to defraud people who are in different jurisdictions, (4) it's hard to get the legal system to understand and act on the fraud

     (Sorry, defending against frauds and scams is a part of my work, so I get super nerdy about this stuff)

     Santa Claes 🇸🇪🇭🇰🎅 likes this.
   • calcifer@hackers.town's status on Sunday, 30-Jan-2022 03:22:09 UTC calcifer

     in reply to

     @Anarkat and if the fraudsters are cautious, it is difficult and expensive to uncover their identities. Perfect storm

   • Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽ (anarkat@hackers.town)'s status on Sunday, 30-Jan-2022 03:22:09 UTC Anarkat, Mad Engineer‽

     in reply to

     • calcifer

     @calcifer That doesn't actually matter, because none of the things they [the fraudsters] are doing are punishable, because they're operating within a system that is designed, by nature, to completely preclude accountability and regulation.

   • calcifer@hackers.town's status on Sunday, 30-Jan-2022 03:22:09 UTC calcifer

     in reply to

     @Anarkat those systems sure do like to make those claims (precluding accountability and regulation), but it's not actually true. They're novel enough not to fall under most existing regulatory regimes, but lack of regulation in that space is based on a lack of political will only. If regulators/legislators want to regulate cryptocurrency or NFTs or anything in that class, they absolutely can effectively do so; the only issue is they haven't figured out if they want to or what the best of many approaches would be for their goals.

     Cryptobros are mistaking "regulation moves slowly in response to disruption" for some kind of systemic resistance that just isn't there.