The Nation's Financial Condition

[Farfromgeneva]

Pereira’s other daughter, Eliza, has already told her that she would like to attend a community college, which is free for all adults in Tennessee.

Tip of the hat to Tennessee! That's great to hear.

Yeah caught that of course too. The one thing is it's not easy transferring notwithstanding some of the BigTen superfans "it's a big business now" attitude and constant incorrect explanations on the D1 lax threads. I almost did at one point but if there's social value to college then while it's a perfectly fine solution for some/many, I don't think the answer is "everyone just do two years of CC then transfer into the four year school" and get the same value out of a bachelors program and related experience. But it should be offered to many and highly subsidized at this point where a HS diploma just isn't working anymore without significant additional learning.

[a fan]

Pereira’s other daughter, Eliza, has already told her that she would like to attend a community college, which is free for all adults in Tennessee.

Tip of the hat to Tennessee! That's great to hear.

Yeah caught that of course too. The one thing is it's not easy transferring notwithstanding some of the BigTen superfans "it's a big business now" attitude and constant incorrect explanations on the D1 lax threads. I almost did at one point but if there's social value to college then while it's a perfectly fine solution for some/many, I don't think the answer is "everyone just do two years of CC then transfer into the four year school" and get the same value out of a bachelors program and related experience. But it should be offered to many and highly subsidized at this point where a HS diploma just isn't working anymore without significant additional learning.

+1

[Farfromgeneva]

https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomi ... dit-access#/

Interesting monthly updates of credit availability

From main page of link:

At a Glance: Findings from the June SCE Credit Access Survey
The application rate for any kind of credit over the past twelve months declined to 40.3 percent from 40.9 percent in February, its lowest reading since October 2020. Application rates declined to 11.9 percent for auto loans and 12.5 percent for credit card limit requests, but increased to 24.8 percent for credit cards, 6.5 percent for mortgages, and 5.3 percent for mortgage refinances.

The overall rejection rate for credit applicants increased to 21.8 percent, the highest level since June 2018. The increase was broad-based across age groups and highest among those with credit scores below 680.
The rejection rate for auto loans increased to 14.2 percent from 9.1 percent in February, a new series high. It increased for credit cards, credit card limit increase requests, mortgages, and mortgage refinance applications to 21.5 percent, 30.7 percent, 13.2 percent, and 20.8 percent, respectively.

The proportion of respondents reporting that they are likely to apply for one or more types of credit over the next twelve months rose to 26.4 percent from 26.1 percent in February.

The average reported probability that a loan application will be rejected increased sharply for all loan types. It rose to 30.7 percent for auto loans, 32.8 percent for credit cards, 42.4 percent for credit limit increase requests, 46.1 percent for mortgages, and 29.6 percent for mortgage refinance applications. The readings for auto loans, mortgages, and credit card limit increase requests are all new series highs.

[Farfromgeneva]

So Netflix’s big “innovation” is ultimately using a global nonunion labor force to circumvent US standar business practices to gain advantage. Ultimately. Kind of like AirBNB sidestepped all hospitality regulations and oversight and destroyed local communities or Uber just crushes folks with their footprint folks as full time employees while paying them like indentured servants and also skirting all regulations and jamming up city streets w random pulling over/.stops and incremental cars parked on streets waiting for fares. Or Lime/Bird stealing a public food (curbs and sidewalks) for private gain. Anyone noticing a Silicon Valley pattern of “innovation” here? And folks are still whining about “Wall Street” from 15-20yes ago. (Though The Uber book superpumped makes a good point that a lot of the “follow the money, fast follower” MBAs that went into finance in the late 90s through mid 2000s started migrating to Cali post finances crisis which is an interesting observation)

https://www.axios.com/2023/07/18/stream ... s-ad-slump

17 hours ago - Economy & Business
Streaming's doomsday clock
Sara Fischer
Sara Fischer
Tim Baysinger
Following a brutal sell-off in the first half of 2022, Netflix has managed to claw its way back into investors' hearts, but its streaming peers face major challenges during Q2 earnings season, which kicks off this week.

Why it matters: Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Comcast promised investors that their budding streaming services would be profitable beginning in 2024. Now that the clock is ticking, reality is starting to set in.

Driving the news: With the simultaneous writers and actors strikes shutting down Hollywood, a bleak ad market and a subscription slowdown, entertainment giants are scrambling to figure out how to sell their streaming visions to Wall Street.

Peacock said Monday it would raise its prices for the first time since it launched in 2020, joining the majority of its peers that have raised prices in recent months to help get to profitability.
Disney said last week it would possibly sell its non-core assets, including most of its cable channels and ABC. CEO Bob Iger, whose contract was recently extended until 2026, says he now plans to buy the remainder of Hulu from Comcast to bolster the company's streaming strategy.
Paramount's parent company is reportedly in talks with creditors to refinance its debt, due to heightened financial uncertainty.
Catch up quick: The economic uncertainty coming out of the pandemic forced streamers to reckon with new expectations from Wall Street around profitability.

Netflix and Disney introduced new ad-supported tiers.
Warner Bros. Discovery combined its streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+.
Paramount inked a distribution deal with Walmart and merged its main streaming service Paramount+ with Showtime.
Netflix began cracking down on password sharing.
Yes, but: To date, only Netflix has been able to convince investors that its efforts have paid off.

The entertainment giant's stock is up more than 52% year-to-date, while shares in Paramount and Disney are down. Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast have seen their stock prices increase by 12% and 18% year-to-date, respectively, but that's mostly in line with the S&P 500.
Zoom in: Netflix also remains profitable while its competitors race to cut costs to get there.

Disney executives have expressed doubts about whether the company's streaming division will be profitable by 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported.
By the numbers: Third-party data suggests Netflix's recent password-sharing crackdown is working.

One of every four sign-ups for premium subscription streaming services in the U.S. last month was for Netflix, per measurement firm Antenna, a major increase from previous months.
Be smart: Hollywood's standstill is having an outsized impact on Netflix's peers, who own traditional TV networks and whose streaming services aren't yet as global.

Analysts have noted that Netflix's reliance on overseas production and its stockpile of pre-produced content will insulate it from the strikes.
The intrigue: Most of the ire from striking Hollywood workers has been directed at Netflix for pioneering the current streaming business model and reversing decades of industry practices.

Netflix's rise has also drawn all of the other media giants into a costly and money-losing battle to gain streaming subscribers.
What we're watching: That ticking clock means that even more price hikes for other streamers are likely on the horizon.

During his newsmaking interview with CNBC last week, Disney CEO Bob Iger admitted they priced Disney+ too low when it first launched.
The rapid erosion of the cable TV bundle will also force media giants to earn more money on those viewers through streaming.
The bottom line: Many in the industry blame Netflix for Hollywood's current state of chaos. Yet it's Netflix that's best positioned to run out the current streaming survival clock

[Farfromgeneva]

“Underbanked” / “access to credit”. = lending on the arm

This is going to end a lot more of these businesses, still don’t like the setup out of the financial crisis and lack of responsibility/oversight of the CFPB but at least it’ll accelerate (a little, still an ungodly slow moving bureaucracy within a few years) the checks on predatory behavior. One day they’ll get to the biggest and most important one which are finance managers and the Id first auto world. Nobody ever focused on the intermediaries and dirty rent seekers in housing and auto which ain’t Wall Street it’s I’m the unchecked and low barrier to entry middlemen on the “street” (not Wall Street where they may or may not be ethical but it’s very hard to get front office gigs without meaningful accomplishment up to that point plus something else).

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-u ... e-threats/

CFPB Sues Snap Finance for Illegally Luring Americans into Expensive Financing and Bullying Borrowers Using False Threats

JUL 19, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today sued lease-to-own finance company Snap Finance for deceiving consumers, obscuring the terms of its financing agreements, and making false threats. In a lawsuit filed in federal district court, the CFPB alleges that Snap Finance has offered and provided millions of “lease-purchase” and “rental-purchase” financing agreements in ways that have harmed consumers, including through misleading advertisements, insufficient disclosures, and interfering with consumers’ ability to understand the terms and conditions of its financing agreements. The CFPB further alleges Snap Finance’s illegal conduct continued in its servicing of those agreements, including misrepresenting consumers’ payment obligations and making false threats in collections.

“Snap Finance illegally obscured terms and conditions of their so-called 'rental purchase agreements,' which led to exorbitant charges,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “To ensure fair competition and to protect the public, the CFPB is carefully watching lending outfits operating outside of the traditional banking system.”

Snap Finance, based in Utah, is a consumer finance company that partners with thousands of merchants nationwide to offer, market, and underwrite “rental-purchase” or “lease-purchase” agreements to consumers. Snap issues financing agreements to consumers purchasing products and services such as furniture and appliances, mattresses, auto parts and repairs, auto electronics, and jewelry. Since at least January 2017, Snap Finance has sold more than three million “rental-purchase” or “lease-purchase” arrangements.

The CFPB alleges that Snap Finance’s practices violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Specifically, Snap Finance allegedly harmed consumers throughout the consumer experience, from advertising to enrollment to servicing to collections by:

Using deceptive advertising practices to lock consumers into expensive agreements: Snap Finance aggressively marketed its financing with advertisements that misled consumers as to the nature of the financing arrangement and failed to disclose the true costs customers would incur. In-store promotional materials provided by Snap Finance advertised a “100 Day Cash Payoff,” which led consumers to believe they had entered into a 100-day financing agreement. In fact, consumers were automatically entered into 12 months of payments, which typically involves total payments that amounted to more than double the cash price of the financed merchandise or service.
Obscuring the terms and conditions of its financing agreement to confuse consumers about their payment obligations: Snap Finance typically required merchants to provide the details of its financing agreements to consumers, but for years did not provide written training materials on this subject to its merchant partners. Using a tablet-based system designed and provided by Snap Finance, merchants commonly signed and submitted agreements on behalf of consumers without their review. The Snap-designed system required consumers to pay a fee before seeing the terms of their agreement. Snap Finance also failed to provide consumers with required disclosures about the cost of credit, such as finance charges and annual percentage rates.
Misrepresenting consumers’ rights in the finance agreements: Snap Finance made false and misleading statements to consumers about their rights under the agreement, which led consumers to believe they could not terminate their agreement or surrender merchandise back to the lender. Snap Finance’s internal training materials strongly discouraged employees from accepting consumer requests to surrender purchases, and employees routinely and false told consumers their purchases were not eligible for surrender. Out of the nearly 1.7 million “rental-purchase” agreements that Snap Finance entered into with consumers between January 2017 and January 2020, Snap Finance permitted consumers to “surrender” their financed merchandise in only 165 cases total.
Making false threats and deceptive statements to struggling borrowers: Snap Finance also employed illegal debt collection practices by threatening actions and misrepresenting consumers’ payment obligations under their agreement. In some cases, the company also made these threats to consumers who had already made all their payments, who were current on their payments, or who had not even received their purchase yet.
Snap Finance also has allegedly unlawfully conditioned its extension of credit on consumers’ repayment through preauthorized ACH debits, and failed to establish and implement reasonable written policies and procedures concerning the accuracy and integrity of the consumer information that it furnished to consumer reporting companies.

Enforcement Action

Under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), the CFPB has the authority to take enforcement action against institutions that violate federal consumer financial laws, including engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices. The CFPB also has authority to enforce the Truth in Lending Act and its implementing Regulation Z, which seeks to ensure that credit terms are meaningfully disclosed, and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and its implementing Regulation E, which protects consumers’ electronic fund transactions.

The CFPB is seeking monetary relief for consumers, an end to Snap Finance’s illegal practices, and a civil money penalty.

Read today’s complaint.

Consumers can submit complaints about financial products and services by visiting the CFPB’s website or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

Employees who believe their companies have violated federal consumer financial protection laws are encouraged to send information about what they know to [email protected]. To learn more about reporting potential industry misconduct, visit the CFPB’s website.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a 21st century agency that implements and enforces Federal consumer financial law and ensures that markets for consumer financial products are fair, transparent, and competitive. For more information, visit

[OCanada]

No surprise how red states dominate

https://smartasset.com/data-studies/sta ... nment-2022

[Farfromgeneva]

No surprise how red states dominate

https://smartasset.com/data-studies/sta ... nment-2022

This is really cool and I'm going to share with some professional friends. Havent dug in but wonder how to rationalize where federal employees are a larger base looking at VA vs GA who are 25 & 26 but VA has 8% of its workforce as federal employees vs < 3% in GA but also carries a lower share of federal revenue as a % of state. Perhaps that's how the rankings avg out but will have to review more thoroughly.

[PizzaSnake]

No surprise how red states dominate

https://smartasset.com/data-studies/sta ... nment-2022

Let’s recalculate by grouping federal contractors with federal employees. Now that would be interesting and revelatory.

“ Percentage of workers employed by the federal government. This is the percentage of the state’s overall workforce that is employed by the federal government. Data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 5-year American Community Survey.”

[OCanada]

No surprise how red states dominate

https://smartasset.com/data-studies/sta ... nment-2022

This is really cool and I'm going to share with some professional friends. Havent dug in but wonder how to rationalize where federal employees are a larger base looking at VA vs GA who are 25 & 26 but VA has 8% of its workforce as federal employees vs < 3% in GA but also carries a lower share of federal revenue as a % of state. Perhaps that's how the rankings avg out but will have to review more thoroughly.

It should not come as a surprise that the red states also generally have the worst educational systems, worst healthcare systems, worst state economies , highest incidence of net gains from federal government payments from states like CA, NY, NJ, MD, CN etc all of whom combine to support them. By running their states as they do they are a drag on the national economy and harming their own citizens futures to serve various entrenched interests

[PizzaSnake]

Anyone thinking of buying a car? New? Used? Thoughts on the market?

[youthathletics]

Anyone thinking of buying a car? New? Used? Thoughts on the market?

Just know you are most likely going to spend MSRP....your only benefit at this point, is that there is a bit more inventory so the ADM is a bit lower then it was in 2021/2022.

I bought a new car in June of 22'. Zero negotiating available.....I pulled the trigger over the phone when I tracked the vehicle down being shipped from the manufacturer. I built the car on their website then searched for inventory....it was on a truck to their lot. Fortunately, Subaru was not allowing ADM, so MSRP or bust. Still felt like I got eff'd.....just part of purchasing a new vehicle. And at the time the used cars were more than a new one.

[Farfromgeneva]

https://fivepoint.substack.com/p/august ... dium=email

5 Points:

1. The data, not the opinions, on consumer credit, and who has The Old Maid

“The consumer is in good shape. They’re spending down their excess cash. That’s all tailwinds” - Jamie Dimon July 14.

All set, next topic!

Not so fast, this is what it actually looks like, from S&P:


S&P Capital IQ

I’m writing about this because it is a tricky subject and the market seems to be a bit confused.

Almost every large card originator talks about “credit normalization”, which the data above bear out. This describes a long, gradual slop with an unclear ending point. At some point it would be very helpful to define that ending point. It may be well into 2025, so consider preparing for that outcome.

But what is more interesting is the originators who have made up new rules for originating. Capital One CEO Fairbank simply calls them “Fintechs”:


In some cases, it’s obvious to that market the mistakes that got made. Dave is a neobank SPAC:


In other situations, the jury remains out. Affirm (AFRM) and (UPST) are recently popular in part due to short-squeeze strategies and in part on the expectation that consumer credit concerns are overblown. Affirm’s Buy Now Pay Later may be one of the strategies Fairbank refers to, because FICO reporting in BNPL is inconsistent.


Upstart, which tries to place consumer loans and has recently begun marketing itself as an AI company, has found some new buyers for their loans in recent months. We find also for originators like Bankers Healthcare Group that private equity has found it easier to simply buy 15% loans from young dentists and doctors to make their return hurdles vs. competing for auctioned companies and applying 6x EBITDA leverage.

So, private equity demand for loans is here; whether it is durable as the “normalization” continues is a different question. Upstart’s results are available for all to see and if results do not improve materially the company will have limited options to sustain.

Don’t forget also to look under rocks - some Banking as a Service banks show classified loan growth, presumably from sharing some risk with entities like DAVE. This note touched on classified assets at Blue Ridge (BRBS) in a recent paid 5 Points. Already dealing with regulatory issues related to BaaS, Blue Ridge has since made some changes:


To bring it all together,

If you want to own the credit card companies, don’t forget you are facing a prolonged tailwind, one you should not buy into without margin for error.
Be careful trusting fintech originators who believe they have found a better way.

[PizzaSnake]

https://fivepoint.substack.com/p/august ... dium=email

5 Points:

1. The data, not the opinions, on consumer credit, and who has The Old Maid

“The consumer is in good shape. They’re spending down their excess cash. That’s all tailwinds” - Jamie Dimon July 14.

All set, next topic!

Not so fast, this is what it actually looks like, from S&P:


S&P Capital IQ

I’m writing about this because it is a tricky subject and the market seems to be a bit confused.

Almost every large card originator talks about “credit normalization”, which the data above bear out. This describes a long, gradual slop with an unclear ending point. At some point it would be very helpful to define that ending point. It may be well into 2025, so consider preparing for that outcome.

But what is more interesting is the originators who have made up new rules for originating. Capital One CEO Fairbank simply calls them “Fintechs”:


In some cases, it’s obvious to that market the mistakes that got made. Dave is a neobank SPAC:


In other situations, the jury remains out. Affirm (AFRM) and (UPST) are recently popular in part due to short-squeeze strategies and in part on the expectation that consumer credit concerns are overblown. Affirm’s Buy Now Pay Later may be one of the strategies Fairbank refers to, because FICO reporting in BNPL is inconsistent.


Upstart, which tries to place consumer loans and has recently begun marketing itself as an AI company, has found some new buyers for their loans in recent months. We find also for originators like Bankers Healthcare Group that private equity has found it easier to simply buy 15% loans from young dentists and doctors to make their return hurdles vs. competing for auctioned companies and applying 6x EBITDA leverage.

So, private equity demand for loans is here; whether it is durable as the “normalization” continues is a different question. Upstart’s results are available for all to see and if results do not improve materially the company will have limited options to sustain.

Don’t forget also to look under rocks - some Banking as a Service banks show classified loan growth, presumably from sharing some risk with entities like DAVE. This note touched on classified assets at Blue Ridge (BRBS) in a recent paid 5 Points. Already dealing with regulatory issues related to BaaS, Blue Ridge has since made some changes:


To bring it all together,

If you want to own the credit card companies, don’t forget you are facing a prolonged tailwind, one you should not buy into without margin for error.
Be careful trusting fintech originators who believe they have found a better way.

“Be careful trusting fintech originators who believe they have found a better way.”

Financial perpetual motion machine?

Ever considered entropy and aggregated capital as a low entropy item?

[Farfromgeneva]

https://fivepoint.substack.com/p/august ... dium=email

5 Points:

1. The data, not the opinions, on consumer credit, and who has The Old Maid

“The consumer is in good shape. They’re spending down their excess cash. That’s all tailwinds” - Jamie Dimon July 14.

All set, next topic!

Not so fast, this is what it actually looks like, from S&P:


S&P Capital IQ

I’m writing about this because it is a tricky subject and the market seems to be a bit confused.

Almost every large card originator talks about “credit normalization”, which the data above bear out. This describes a long, gradual slop with an unclear ending point. At some point it would be very helpful to define that ending point. It may be well into 2025, so consider preparing for that outcome.

But what is more interesting is the originators who have made up new rules for originating. Capital One CEO Fairbank simply calls them “Fintechs”:


In some cases, it’s obvious to that market the mistakes that got made. Dave is a neobank SPAC:


In other situations, the jury remains out. Affirm (AFRM) and (UPST) are recently popular in part due to short-squeeze strategies and in part on the expectation that consumer credit concerns are overblown. Affirm’s Buy Now Pay Later may be one of the strategies Fairbank refers to, because FICO reporting in BNPL is inconsistent.


Upstart, which tries to place consumer loans and has recently begun marketing itself as an AI company, has found some new buyers for their loans in recent months. We find also for originators like Bankers Healthcare Group that private equity has found it easier to simply buy 15% loans from young dentists and doctors to make their return hurdles vs. competing for auctioned companies and applying 6x EBITDA leverage.

So, private equity demand for loans is here; whether it is durable as the “normalization” continues is a different question. Upstart’s results are available for all to see and if results do not improve materially the company will have limited options to sustain.

Don’t forget also to look under rocks - some Banking as a Service banks show classified loan growth, presumably from sharing some risk with entities like DAVE. This note touched on classified assets at Blue Ridge (BRBS) in a recent paid 5 Points. Already dealing with regulatory issues related to BaaS, Blue Ridge has since made some changes:


To bring it all together,

If you want to own the credit card companies, don’t forget you are facing a prolonged tailwind, one you should not buy into without margin for error.
Be careful trusting fintech originators who believe they have found a better way.

“Be careful trusting fintech originators who believe they have found a better way.”

Financial perpetual motion machine?

Ever considered entropy and aggregated capital as a low entropy item?

Extension of credit via FinTech lenders is just the evolution of the storefront lenders of the 90s trying to get market premium multiples beyond their historical norms adjusted different balance sheets (less fixed overhead, in theory).

That’s written by a buddy in Birmingham who runs w relatively small amount of discretionary money, like $200mm or so, that has his own view on things but align or overlap.

But the lack of reporting, big in BNPL but broader than that, I think is going to have implications in the cycle. Also the soloing of data in the name of using data centric business models doesn’t seem like something that would lower credit costs.

[Farfromgeneva]

I believe someone was fired up about IBonds before. They pay Federal
funds -100bps now. Maybe UST + 40bps.

[youthathletics]

https://nypost.com/2023/07/27/millionai ... -suitcase/

[PizzaSnake]

Undecided where this is most pertinent, i.e. immigration, labor, etc., so settled for this thread.

So, step right up and get yer child labor here. Can't be "woke" when yer operatin' that there heavy 'quipmunt, now, ya heer?

Party of child groomers and predators, perhaps?

Drag shows are out, occupational death and dismemberment good, eh? Where's a concerned Mother for Douchery when ya need one?

Wait a minute, this is just an opportunity for the youths to develop their skills, ala Putzfeld's remark re the Viktor Frankl book, right? That, it, cons?

"The US Department of Labor has decried a national surge in child labor as the agency has found thousands of violations and is currently investigating the death of a 16-year-old boy from Guatemala, Duvan Tomas Perez, who was killed on the job at a slaughterhouse this month in Mississippi, the New York Times reported.

Two other 16-year-olds have died on the job in the US this year. Michael Schuls was killed on 29 June while working for a sawmill in Wisconsin. He was attempting to unjam a wood stacking machine when he was caught and pinned by the conveyor belt. Will Hampton died in Missouri on 8 June while working at a landfill when he was pinned between a tractor trailer rig and its trailer.

The department has noted it is currently pursuing more than 700 open cases and already found 4,474 children working illegally since the beginning of the fiscal year, a 44% increase over the previous year.

On 25 July, the Department of Labor announced child labor violations found at 16 McDonald’s franchises in Louisiana and Texas, affecting 83 minors."


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... department

[a fan]

https://nypost.com/2023/07/27/millionai ... -suitcase/

Isn't money laundering (ahem)....excuse me "crypto" super awesome.

I explained to my nephew: why do you think you have to register your car, and get a license plate? Do you think it's because the government does it because it's bored? Or is it a service for you, to help you to protect your Sh(t and your family?

Untraceable money. Another great idea from TeamTinFoil.

[NattyBohChamps04]

https://nypost.com/2023/07/27/millionai ... -suitcase/

Isn't money laundering (ahem)....excuse me "crypto" super awesome.

I explained to my nephew: why do you think you have to register your car, and get a license plate? Do you think it's because the government does it because it's bored? Or is it a service for you, to help you to protect your Sh(t and your family?

Untraceable money. Another great idea from TeamTinFoil.

It's been interesting chatting with crypto bros over the years. They're so gung-ho. I mined a number of cryptocurrencies about a decade ago, but sadly not enough to be a billionaire. A couple of years too late to the party. Being in the software development world, you see so many new hyped technologies pop up. It's hard to say what's gonna stick and what's not.

In any case, it's been interesting watching nearly every old school finance scheme/fraud happen with cryptocurrencies. So many of these self-described libertarians talking about how great the "free, unregulated currency market" is, then someone else absconds with millions in crypto in another scandal.

Just like OSHA regulations, banking regulations exist because someone (or most of us) got boned.

The fun part about every crypto transaction being on the blockchain? A lot of the money a lot more traceable than people think. But criminals aren't usually the smartest.

[a fan]

https://nypost.com/2023/07/27/millionai ... -suitcase/

Isn't money laundering (ahem)....excuse me "crypto" super awesome.

I explained to my nephew: why do you think you have to register your car, and get a license plate? Do you think it's because the government does it because it's bored? Or is it a service for you, to help you to protect your Sh(t and your family?

Untraceable money. Another great idea from TeamTinFoil.

It's been interesting chatting with crypto bros over the years. They're so gung-ho. I mined a number of cryptocurrencies about a decade ago, but sadly not enough to be a billionaire. A couple of years too late to the party. Being in the software development world, you see so many new hyped technologies pop up. It's hard to say what's gonna stick and what's not.

In any case, it's been interesting watching nearly every old school finance scheme/fraud happen with cryptocurrencies. So many of these self-described libertarians talking about how great the "free, unregulated currency market" is, then someone else absconds with millions in crypto in another scandal.

Just like OSHA regulations, banking regulations exist because someone (or most of us) got boned.

The fun part about every crypto transaction being on the blockchain? A lot of the money a lot more traceable than people think. But criminals aren't usually the smartest.

They were gung ho because they got in early. That's it. Nothing more.

I have literally had to ask full grown adults to take a dollar out of their wallet, and to read what's printed on it so that they understood the difference between actual, real "currency" was, versus whatever the F Crypto is.

They didn't know that a US company MUST accept a US dollar, by law. THAT is literally what makes it currency. The laws surrounding that piece of paper or coin, and its backing by the full faith and credit of the US Government.

Without that backing? It's a slip of paper or a paper weight.

Crypto has no backing. Full stop. It's all pyramid. Call me when it doesn't fluctuate, and then ask these geniuses how excited they are about it.

And then they whine about going off the Gold Standard, as if that's the key part of what makes the US dollar valid. Nope. It's laws that make the dollar work, folks.

They forget that the market determines the worth of that dollar, not a chunk of metal we dig up from the ground. If no one wants to buy your crypto? You're f'ed. But with a dollar? People HAVE to take it if you're paying a bill or a debt in the US. That's why one is currency, and the other is nonsense.