# Are crypto assets predatory investments?
Crypto assets are a form of predatory financial product. 

Crypto asset [market making](../concepts/market-maker.md) is subject to extreme forms of [market manipulation](../concepts/market-manipulation.md) not found in other regulated markets. The [price formation](../concepts/price-formation.md) of crypto assets is untethered to any [fundamental value](../concepts/fundamental-value.md) and instead depends purely on the [greater fool theory](../concepts/greater-fool-theory.md). 

The price setting by crypto exchanges and [order book](../concepts/order-book.md) design admits extreme forms of [asymmetric information](../concepts/asymmetric-information.md) which privileges an [economic cartel](../concepts/cartel.md) who can manipulate crypto assets to extract wealth from public from unfair market making.

The base economics of crypto assets make them [negative sum](is-negative-sum.md) which guarantees the amount of loses in the asset class exceed the gains.

Crypto assets are thus a form of predatory finance with negative [expected-return](../concepts/expected-return.md) much like [gambling](../concepts/gambling.md) in a rigged casino.

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