One recent news story that propelled the subject of this piece into the mainstream of society was the December 14, 2022, arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas. Known as the “crypto king” prior to his apprehension, and at his financial peak, reportedly worth 26 billion dollars as of November of 2022.
The epic downfall of a con-man, who manipulated the Ultra Capitalism model so blatantly wouldn’t normally pique my interest, but the magnitude of such a criminal offense, on such a public stage, involving that amount of money, naturally garnered an enormous volume of widespread fervor.
This particular incident sparked an intense backlash. Despite my lack of knowledge on cryptocurrency and bitcoin, I have some very strong opinions on the current financial system. We’re seemingly heading towards a modern-day feudalistic society, and greedy slime balls like Mr. Bankman-Fried only escalate my utter disdain and anger towards anyone of his ilk. (info courtesy of deadline.com)
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency created in January 2009. Even its creators are still a mystery, the fact that the inventors names have never been released, other than the phony pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, gives you a good idea of how secretive and extremely vague the whole scheme of cryptocurrency truly is. Between March 2020 and November 2021, the price of Bitcoin rose a whopping 1500 percent, before dropping considerably in 2022, further adding to the unpredictability of it’s worth. (info courtesy of investingnews.com)
I am positive that, like myself, so many others have absolutely no clue whatsoever of the purpose of Bitcoin, and even less of a clue how it really operates. I’ve had a few stock “experts” try in vain to explain the ins and outs of the whole system, but I’m not entirely sure these so-called ‘savants’ even understand the schematics of cryptocurrency themselves.
The arrest and extradition of Sam Bankman-Fried was sensationalized so heavily in the international media that being totally unaware or educated on the related topic had no bearing on the general public’s growing interest. I mean, how could we not be captivated by the ruination of some 30-year-old billionaire, who accrued his massive wealth by manipulating the stock market and bilking countless individuals out of a limitless amount of money.
Unlike a typical ponzi scheme, the victims and even the manner in which Bankman-Fried scammed these people has never been effectively explained. For example, Bernie Madoff’s billion-dollar scam, was thoroughly examined, and even adapted into an HBO film starring Robert DeNiro as Madoff. In my estimation that event was simplified as a “robbing Peter to pay Paul” on a monumental scale. It also bears mentioning that several well known actors and even the former owners of the New York Mets were among the people affected. ( info courtesy of businessinsider.com)
The current status of Bankman-Fried’s fraud case is still circulating the news cycles quite frequently of late. The focus of an NPR article from the 26th of July was prosecutors petitioning the federal judge to revoke Bankman-Fried’s 250-million-dollar bond. Bankman-Fried was ordered to remain under house arrest at his parents’ posh Northern California home.
Putting the astronomical amount of the bail into context, while also referencing the United States judicial system again showing the super wealthy such intense favoritism is nothing new. When will this constant implementation of an unfair, hypocritical and unconstitutional criminal justice system, be truly taken to task, not just by politicians, but the ordinary citizen? Personally, this typical occurrence sickens me on a number of levels. As a lower middle-class person, who survives paycheck to paycheck and at times struggles to make ends meet, this particular proceeding enrages me. Sam Bankman-Fried is certainly not alone, when it pertains to greedy financiers manipulating the economic model to benefit themselves so flagrantly, and in turn amassing an obscene fortune. (info courtesy of NPR.com)
A February 2023 featured article on the site techtarget.com, explained in great detail the latest cryptocurrency scam entitled “Pig Butchering”. Before we even attempt to scrutinize what specifically this unique crypto scam entails, let’s first make note of the grotesque moniker bestowed upon this particular fraud. I mean something as hideously sounding as “Pig Butchering”meant to describe a money making scam must warrant some very callous elucidation.
According to tech target, the term “pig butchering” refers to the scam’s ability to gain the victims trust before stealing their life’s savings. In 2022 “pig butchering” gained significant headlines when a man was robbed of 1 million dollars after being duped into believing he was communicating with an old friend on the site what’s app. This theft by deception scheme has become rampant on social media and dating sites, which is the most logical area to seak out potential victims.
After taking into consideration some of the more egregiously negative aspects of cryptocurrency, as well an individual whose own viciously discrete version of grand larceny, it would seem downright irresponsible to examine the potential of cryptocurrency eventually surpassing the almighty dollar in the distant future. One of the more notable factors is Bitcoins lack of visibility, since its 2009 origin, I haven’t witnessed a single Bitcoin ATM, and the fact I reside in the New York City metro area makes me have to wonder if they’re more than a miniscule number of these cash machines available. Combining the sparseness of the ATM’s and the confusingly difficult process involved in operating one, leads us to realization that the odds of cryptocurrency becoming the future of money transfers is slim to none. When you recall the successful launch of modern corporations like uber, cash app, amazon prime, to name a few, Bitcoin on the other hand, has had no positive impact on the world up to date. It’s seemingly a front concocted by a group of greedy opportunists to utilize their superior intellect to fleece hundreds of thousands of people out of their bank accounts. (Info courtesy of businessinsider.com)
Moving on from the portion of the editorial breaking down the countless drawbacks of cryptocurrencies dark sides. Let’s do our best to bring to light a few of the conceivable benefits of Bitcoin. Firstly, Bitcoin transactions are totally anonymous, meaning no personal information is required. Additionally, a third party is not obligatory for any transfer therefore once initiated cannot be placed on hold or refunded. Bitcoin is the easiest method to commence international exchanges, there’s no extra fees and recipients receive their cash immediately. (Info courtesy of foxbusiness)
These convenient, seemingly state of the art amenities certainly appear like a groundbreaking service at first glance, but when put into contrast with the ominous negatives, the bad definitely outweigh the positive. And truthfully, do any of these technological advancements sound feasible, especially after all the scams that’s been uncovered?
The logical conclusion is a resounding no, as long as they’re grifters and predators lurking around the internet, as well as unsuspecting, overly optimistic investors, cryptocurrency related frauds will only intensify in time.
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