It seems to me that Americans are especially susceptible to scams these days. Two that come to mind are cryptocurrency and NFTs.
I have a written against crypto currencies many times in the past. My first big problem with them is that in a time of global warming and climate change, cryptocurrencies require huge, warehouses of computers, using enormous amounts of energy in order to make the system work. Most electrical power comes from fossil fuels which are major contributors to our climate crises. There is no need for any of this. Dollars and banks work just fine.
My second big problem with crypto currencies is that it is the preferred currency for drug cartels, money launderers, and criminals all around the world. Why? Because there is no government regulation looking at what is going on, and criminals love that, of course.
And now we see a third major reason to distrust cryptocurrencies, and it is that without regulation, without a government oversight, cryptocurrencies become natural vehicles for Ponzi Schemes. The FTX scam stole nearly $4 billion from investors – better thought of as victims. This Ponzi Scheme apparently dwarfs the previous record holder, Bernie Madoff, for evil. I personally have been the victim of a real estate Ponzi Scheme and I’m more sensitive than most to the terrible assault that these kinds of crimes are.
And then there are NFTs – non-fungible tokens. Apparently these also use Blockchain, so my problem with them starts with environmental damage caused by extraordinary needs for electrical power. And we recently had the former president offer a series of NFT “cards” available for $99 each. Having this lifelong criminal use NFTs as a way to scam his gullible cult is reason enough to be suspicious of their nature. Apparently his sale was quite successful, and does that mean that thousands of cult members paid out this money, or does it mean this was simply a way for him to get a hostile foreign power like China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia to give him vast sums of money?
We live in a time of great economic turmoil. So I suppose it is natural that scams and thieves come with the territory.
I believe in normal
investments, using normal money, The United States dollar with government
rules, regulations, audits, and oversight.
