Most people in crypto do not understand anything about economics. They understand ponzi/ greater fool theory and how to obfuscate to the public and regulators to pull the wool over someone's eyes.
There's a reason this "CLEARLY YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND" has become a meme [1]. It's a card readily pulled anytime someone is critical of the crypto hype. What I've found more often to be true is proponents of crypto hype lack basic finance and economic knowledge. There's a reason most economists aren't on the crypto bandwagon, and it's not because they're afraid of it.
I challenge the notion that people who invest in crypto "understand the system". There is no regulation in this market to protect the fools from themselves and it shows.
The illusion of knowledge about crypto is very dangerous. People get this stuff wrong all the time and introducing more examples with really bad mistakes will only make the situation work.
This seems to be true of most people period. If there is a lump of people where a majority do understand crypto I haven't found it, possibly outside of tiny academic circles.
You have to understand that tech people possess no qualifications to see the abstract value crypto brings. “Bitcoin is just public key cryptography and hashing, it’s not that clever!”
Crypto is a technology, but the innovation innate in it is economic in nature, not technical. This misconception leads to a whole cohort of tech people who knew about Bitcoin, never bought, and now have to rationalize as those less technically literate than them are more and more starting to believe and starting to profit.
They should not have this expectation to understand crypto, anymore than an economist should be expected to understand what makes online banking secure, but everyone (including themselves) puts that expectation on them, causing them to rationalize by claiming that crypto is all a scam and completely useless. The more they try and understand it technically, the less they see what’s important.
I don't understand crypto (didn't understand derivatives either). I have worried that my ignorance will cost me in investing — that people smarter than me are going to make bank while I'm derp-derping with my index funds.
Reading as others, apparently as ignorant as me, ask questions about crypto, etc. the in-crowd seem to get it, seem to understand it. I find that generally the case with anything monetary/financial though: the people that do this complex stuff seem to understand it but seem unable to explain it in a way that someone as simple as me can understand.
In order to play the crypto game you have to learn this absurd set of rules. And there's something about crypto though where the proponents almost revel in other's ignorance. I've had a hard time deciding whether the proponents really understand it (and all of its nuances) or if pretending you understand it in fact part of the game.
Please do not assume this. The people who criticize crypto generally know more than the people relentlessly shilling it. Do not mindlessly repeat the "few understand" trope
The people who are the most enthusiastic about cryptocurrency are typically the least informed.
"You know nothing, your opinion is invalid" is a classic "crypto" talking point.
"You don't understand Bitcoin," they shriek while failing to comprehend the precarious position their beloved asset is in. "Bitcoin can't have bubbles, it's mathematically impossible," yell their cheerleaders.
You're saying people don't understand because they are not deeply involved.
It's a disingenuous argument, akin to no true scotsman, and a way to pat yourself on the back.
When you step back from the details and take a look at the big picture, you can understand crypto better than when you're too stuck in the reeds.
From the big picture view, you can see Crypto is destroying our planet, doesn't meet most of it's promises, squirms with new promises and redefinitions constantly, is much more complex than alternatives for the few things it does provide, and is rife absolutely rife with scammers.
Sure amongst that morass there may be a few interesting ideas, who knows and who cares, there's interesting ideas in lots of areas and crypto is a distraction from real progress, and it's a destructive force in our world. What a waste of human potential, and limited resources.
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