Pew Charitable Trust on Cryptocurrencies

46% of Americans who have invested in cryptocurrency say it’s done worse than expected

Among the 16% of U.S. adults who say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or ether, 46% report their investments have done worse than they expected. By comparison, 15% of these Americans say their investments have done better than they expected; 31% say they’ve worked out about the same as they expected. The overall share of U.S. crypto users is unchanged since September 2021. 

• About half of Americans have heard about NFTs, but few have ever bought one

 

Three Arrows on "America's Coming Weimar Moment"

One of the reasons I Demexited in 2016 was that the Democratic Party really has no ideology: despite what Fox News and other rightwing media outlets would like to pretend. On the other hand, the Republicans have firmly planted themselved in the right. Had there been a real opposition, the US wouldn't be in the situation it is.

I strongly believe that there will be a radical reshaping of US Political system since it really isn't a Democratic Republic, or even the promised republic, by any stretch of the imagination. The founders knew there would have to be systemic changes, but the system has stagnated such that it is a one party system.

Three Arrows has a really super analysis of how the system will collapse: and it isn't from the duopoly kayfabe. 

Which is what Trump was really talking about, Not "Kovfefe".

Cut the distractions and work for change.

Is Crypto Really Going To Crash? (Yes) | Robert Reich

I'm not sure what to think about Robert Reich these days. OK, I have always liked him.

On the other hand, he is pretty much saying the same thing I have. Not sure if I would call this a Ponzi Scheme. I would go more with "pump and dump".

But Bob is usually pretty good in his analyses.

Please give this a squiz since it is worth it.

He surprises me that he aligns himself with the Democrats: especially post-Bernie.

The Crypto Crisis

Cryptocurrencies and Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) remind me of the stereotypical scam of buying the Brooklyn Bridge. NFTs could actuallty put that scam into practise since they are a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items and videos.

I've got an NFT of the Brooklyn Bridge: you want to buy it?

Something about fools and money anyone?

Anyway, there has been a Cryptocurrency crash which has become public with Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, having a recent fall of more than 72 percent since its November high.

There is a great article on this by Trevor Jackson in Dissent, The Crypto Crisis. This pretty much sums up the problems with Crypto Currencies:

[At one time,] there were about 19,000 cryptocurrencies in existence. By the time you read these words, many of them will have failed. If you have heard of only one cryptocurrency, it is almost certainly Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer network with no single clearinghouse and no equivalent to a central bank or money-issuing authority. Bitcoin the platform issues currency units called “bitcoins,” whose value is determined by supply and demand on several different exchanges. There is no single price of bitcoin. Demand is driven by its use in transactions. Supply is determined through “mining”: using computer processing power to solve increasingly complicated math problems. The inventors of Bitcoin have consistently maintained that there will be a finite supply of bitcoins, alleviating the danger of inflation and creating instead an intentionally deflationary system. All transactions are anonymous, and bitcoins are held in a digital “wallet.” A bitcoin spent in a transaction is really a unique code and a series of past transactions of that code in a kind of digital ledger, known as the blockchain. Imagine if every dollar you spend came with a list of every past transaction that dollar had been used in, thereby proving that you obtained it legally. It’s a way to verify transactions while preserving anonymity. Once a transaction happens, notice of it is sent to the entire Bitcoin network, and all the “miners” in the system race to verify the ledger of past transactions. If you win the verification race, you are awarded with new bitcoins.

He then gets into how problematic the crypto currency system happens to be, which is very.

As I said, if you don't like Fiat Currencies, you should avoid crypto like the plague. Fiat currencies at least have something backing them up. Crypto isn't even a commodity based currency, which also have their problems.

Crypto is the commidity.

And it's one that only exists in cyberspace.

It's unconstitutional if the rationale is based solely upon religious or ethical considerations

Big points to Judge Mitch Perry of the Jefferson County Circuit Court in Kentucky for doing what should be done in regard to this debate:

His July 22 ruling extended that order, saying there is “a substantial likelihood” that the new abortion ban violates “the rights to privacy and self-determination” protected by the state constitution, the Associated Press reported. 

But he also assumed that the laws are based on sectarian doctrine. 

“The General Assembly is not permitted to single out and endorse the doctrine of a favored faith for preferred treatment,” Perry wrote. “By taking this approach, the bans fail to account for the diverse religious views of many Kentuckians whose faith leads them to take very different views of when life begins.”

Perry said there is “nothing in our laws or history that allows for such theocratic based policymaking.”

 Exactly. The First Amendment, Freedom of Religion, and Separation of Church and State are based on the fact that a lot of early Americans came here for religious freedom. In other words, not to have the government, or anybody else, tell them how to practise their relgious beliefs.

This also gets down to what pro-choice means:

Don't have an abortion if you are against them, but don't tell someone else what to do with their body.

The founders were for a secular society because they didn't want a bunch of Catholics telling them What the Fuck to do in regard to religion. 

The Catholics on the Supreme Court should admit to that fact.

See also:

• Judge blocks abortion bans saying they are based on religious doctrine