diff --git a/claims/consumer-protections.md b/claims/consumer-protections.md index 0d018a8..738993b 100644 --- a/claims/consumer-protections.md +++ b/claims/consumer-protections.md @@ -1,3 +1,44 @@ # What consumer protections exist for crypto assets? +There are little to no consumer protections for investing in crypto assets. This depends on jurisdiction but even in countries with advanced economies and regulatory institutions there is a lack of protection for investors because most [crypto asset](../concepts/cryptoasset.md) exist outside the [regulatory perimeter](../concepts/regulatory-arbitrage.md). + +Consumers are typically advised that all of their [crypto assets](../concepts/cryptoasset.md) can go to zero with no warning and with no recourse in the cause of fraud of [platform risk](../concepts/platform-risk.md). + +Most [crypto exchange](../concepts/crypto-exchange.md) are loosely regulated as[money services business](../concepts/money-services-business.md) which generally does not provide for any consumer protection even though the entities are acting as [bank](../concepts/bank.md)-like entities on behalf of their customers. There is no [deposit insurance](../concepts/deposit-insurance.md) on customer funds. + +[When crypto-exchanges go broke, you'll lose it all](https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/03/liquidation-preference/#we-live-in-a-society) + +## Risk Factors +* [Exit scams](../concepts/exit-scam.md) +* [Ponzi schemes](../concepts/ponzi-scheme.md) +* [Money laundering](../concepts/money-laundering.md) +* [Counterparty risk](../concepts/counterparty-risk.md) +* [Platform risk](../concepts/platform-risk.md) +* [Price risk](../concepts/price-risk.md) +* [Market manipulation](../concepts/market-manipulation.md) +* [Terrorism financing](../concepts/ctf.md) ## References +1. ‘Guidance on Cryptoassets’. 2019. Financial Conduct Authority. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp19-03.pdf#page=11. +1. Amenta, Carlo, E Riva Sanseverino, and Carlo Stagnaro. 2021. ‘Regulating Blockchain for Sustainability? The Critical Relationship between Digital Innovation, Regulation, and Electricity Governance’. Energy Research & Social Science 76: 102060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102060. +1. Arjaliès, Diane-Laure. 2020. ‘“At the Very Beginning, There’S This Dream.” the Role of Utopia in the Workings of Local and Cryptocurrencies’. In Handbook of Alternative Finance. February. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333755384_AT_THE_VERY_BEGINNING_THERE'S_THIS_DREAM_THE_ROLE_OF_UTOPIA_IN_THE_WORKINGS_OF_LOCAL_AND_CRYPTOCURRENCIES. +1. Azgad-Tromer, Shlomit. 2018. ‘Crypto Securities: On the Risks of Investments in Blockchain-Based Assets and the Dilemmas of Securities Regulation’. Am. UL Rev. 68: 69. +1. Barrett, Claer. 2021. ‘Why Young Investors Bet the Farm on Cryptocurrencies’. Financial Times, 28 May 2021. https://www.ft.com/content/162839aa-0437-478b-a4d4-4a8d7ab71458. +1. Burilov, Vlad. 2019. ‘Regulation of Crypto Tokens and Initial Coin Offerings in the EU: De Lege Lata and de Lege Ferenda’. European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance 6 (2): 146–86. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134514-00602003. +1. Cristina Cuervo, Anastasiia Morozova. 2020. ‘Regulation of Crypto Assets’. International Monetary Fund. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fintech-notes/Issues/2020/01/09/Regulation-of-Crypto-Assets-48810. +1. Cumming, Douglas J., Sofia Johan, and Anshum Pant. 2019. ‘Regulation of the Crypto-Economy: Managing Risks, Challenges, and Regulatory Uncertainty’. Journal of Risk and Financial Management 12 (3): 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm12030126. +1. Doody, Sean. 2020. ‘Reactionary Technopolitics: A Critical Sociohistorical Review’. Fast Capitalism 17 (1): 143–64. https://doi.org/10.32855/fcapital.202001.009. +1. Eich, Stefan. 2019. ‘Old Utopias, New Tax Havens: The Politics of Bitcoin in Historical Perspective’. Regulating Blockchain: Techno-Social and Legal Challenges, 85–98. +1. Eichengreen, Barry. 2021. ‘Financial Regulation in the Age of the Platform Economy’. Journal of Banking Regulation, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41261-021-00187-9. +1. Feinstein, Brian D, and Kevin Werbach. 2020. ‘The Impact of Cryptocurrency Regulation on Trading Markets’. http://ssrn.com/paper=3649475. +1. Ferreira, Agata. 2021. ‘The Curious Case of Stablecoins—Balancing Risks and Rewards?’ Journal of International Economic Law 24 (4): 755–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgab036. +1. Guadamuz, Andres, and Chris Marsden. 2015. ‘Blockchains and Bitcoin: Regulatory Responses to Cryptocurrencies’. First Monday 20 (12). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v20i12.6198. +1. Hacker, Philipp, Ioannis Lianos, Georgios Dimitropoulos, and Stefan Eich. 2019. Regulating Blockchain: : Techno-Social and Legal Challenges. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198842187.001.0001. +1. Herian, Robert. 2020. ‘Blockchain, GDPR, and Fantasies of Data Sovereignty’. Law, Innovation and Technology 12 (1): 156–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/17579961.2020.1727094. +1. Ivaniuk, Viktoria. 2020. ‘Cryptocurrency Exchange Regulation – An International Review’. Magda Dziembowska, Robert Dziembowski, Apelacja w Postępowaniu, 67. +1. Kapsis, Ilias. 2021. ‘Should We Trade Market Stability for More Financial Inclusion? The Case of Crypto-Assets Regulation in EU’. FinTech, Artificial Intelligence and the Law: Regulation and Crime Prevention, 85–104. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003020998-9. +1. Nabilou, Hossein, and André Prüm. 2019. ‘Ignorance, Debt, and Cryptocurrencies: The Old and the New in the Law and Economics of Concurrent Currencies’. Journal of Financial Regulation 5 (1): 29–63. https://doi.org/10.1093/jfr/fjz002. +1. Rae, Shaela W, and Lorraine Mastersmith. 2019. ‘Crypto Asset Trading in Canada: Entering a New Era of Regulation’. Banking & Finance Law Review 35 (1): 153–85. +1. Schneiders, Alexandra, and David Shipworth. 2021. ‘Community Energy Groups: Can They Shield Consumers from the Risks of Using Blockchain for Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading?’ Energies 14 (12). https://doi.org/10.3390/en14123569. +1. Tozze, Arianna, Josh Kamps, Eray Arda Akartuna, Toby Davies, Florian Hetzel, and Shane D. Johnson. 2021. ‘Cryptocurrencies and Future Crime’. Crime Science 11 (1): 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-021-00163-8. +1. Xie, Rain. 2019. ‘Why China Had to Ban Cryptocurrency but the U.S. Did Not: A Comparative Analysis of Regulations on Crypto-Markets between the U.S. and China’. Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev. 18 (2): 457–89. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1684&context=law_globalstudies. +1. Yeung, Karen. 2019. ‘Regulation by Blockchain: The Emerging Battle for Supremacy between the Code of Law and Code as Law’. Modern Law Review 82 (2): 207–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12399. diff --git a/claims/is-better-payments.md b/claims/is-better-payments.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eca1660 --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-better-payments.md @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +# Is crypto providing faster payment rails or better remittance services? + +## References \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/is-collapse.md b/claims/is-collapse.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bf317c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-collapse.md @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +# Are crypto tokens a means to accelerate the collapse of capitalism? \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/is-disrupt-hegemony.md b/claims/is-disrupt-hegemony.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c13610 --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-disrupt-hegemony.md @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +# Is web3 a means to dismantle the American tech hegemony? + +## References \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/is-hyperfinancialization.md b/claims/is-hyperfinancialization.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4456c94 --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-hyperfinancialization.md @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +# Is crypto bringing about the "financialization of everything"? + +## References \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/is-new-financial-system.md b/claims/is-new-financial-system.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dfdc527 --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-new-financial-system.md @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +# Is web3 a means to rebuild the global financial system? + +## References + + diff --git a/claims/is-opportunity-cost.md b/claims/is-opportunity-cost.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a9bfc08 --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-opportunity-cost.md @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +# Is crypto providing faster payment rails or better remittance services? \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/is-public-goods.md b/claims/is-public-goods.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bb5693c --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-public-goods.md @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +# Is crypto a means to fund public goods projects? + +## References \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/is-raise-company.md b/claims/is-raise-company.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e77e4b --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-raise-company.md @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +# Can I do a crowdfunded equity raise for my company? + +## References \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/is-raise-nonprofit.md b/claims/is-raise-nonprofit.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..586bc2d --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/is-raise-nonprofit.md @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +# Can I raise money for my non-profit using crypto tokens? \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/web3-green.md b/claims/web3-green.md index e69de29..2e182d3 100644 --- a/claims/web3-green.md +++ b/claims/web3-green.md @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +# Is Web3 green? +Web3 is allegedly based on crypto assets which have a known [environmental footprint](environmental-footprint.md) problem. Therefore web3 is not green. + +## References \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/claims/why-invest.md b/claims/why-invest.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..df592c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/claims/why-invest.md @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +# Why do people invest in crypto assets? +As has been consistently noted [2,3,8] throughout historical [market manias](../concepts/market-mania.md), the behavior of investors is not always rational and the investor herd mentality and [madness of crowds](../concepts/madness-crowds.md) sometimes gives rise to [bubbles](../concepts/bubble.md). Burton Malkiel wrote in his book *A Random Walk Down Wall Street*: + +> A [bubble](../concepts/bubble.md) starts when any group of stocks, in this case those associated with the excitement of the Internet, begin to rise. The updraft encourages [more people](../concepts/bandwagon-bias.md) to buy the stocks, which causes more TV and print coverage, which causes even more people to buy, which creates big profits for early Internet stockholders. The successful investors tell you at cocktail parties how easy it is to get rich, which causes the stocks to rise further, which pulls in larger and larger groups of investors. But the whole mechanism is a kind of [Ponzi scheme](../concepts/ponzi-scheme.md) where more and more credulous investors must be found to buy the stock from the earlier investors. Eventually, one runs out of [greater fools](../concepts/greater-fool-theory.md) + +This coupled with the [weird subculture](weird-culture.md) of crypto assets and a [narrative economics](../concepts/narrative-economics.md) of belonging to a [high control group](../concepts/high-control-group.md) with the promises of [easy money](../concepts/ponzi-scheme.md) is a psychologically enticing proposition for a large demographic. The synthesis of the market mania and the narrative appeal of the culture and its political [imaginarires](../concepts/narrative-economics.md) appears to be the main driver of the crypto bubble. + +See [madness of crowds](../concepts/madness-crowds.md), [bubble](../concepts/bubble.md), [market mania](../concepts/market-mania.md), [speculation](../concepts/speculation.md) and [bandwagon bias](../concepts/bandwagon-bias.md). + +## References +1. Malkiel, Burton Gordon. 1999. A Random Walk down Wall Street: Including a Life-Cycle Guide to Personal Investing. WW Norton & Company. +1. Bernstein, William J. 2021. The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups. Grove Press. +1. Blanchard, Olivier J, and Mark W Watson. 1982. ‘Bubbles, Rational Expectations and Financial Markets’. NBER Working Paper, no. w0945. +1. Demmler, Michael, and Amilcar Orlian Fernández Domínguez. 2021. ‘Bitcoin and the South Sea Company: A Comparative Analysis’. Revista Finanzas y Política Económica 13 (1): 197–224. +1. Fry, John, and Eng-Tuck Cheah. 2016. ‘Negative Bubbles and Shocks in Cryptocurrency Markets’. International Review of Financial Analysis 47: 343–52. +1. Lee, Seung Cheol. 2020. ‘Magical Capitalism, Gambler Subjects: South Korea’s Bitcoin Investment Frenzy’. Cultural Studies 0 (0): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2020.1788620. +1. Levenson, Thomas. 2020. Money for Nothing: The South Sea Bubble and the Invention of Modern Capitalism. Head of Zeus Ltd. +1. Mackay, Charles. 2012. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Simon and Schuster. +1. Shaffer, Daniel S. 2010. Profiting in Economic Storms: A Historic Guide to Surviving Depression, Deflation, Hyperinflation, and Market Bubbles. John Wiley & Sons. +1. Zetzsche, Dirk A, Ross P Buckley, Douglas W Arner, and Linus Föhr. 2017. ‘The ICO Gold Rush: It’s a Scam, It’s a Bubble, It’s a Super Challenge for Regulators’. University of Luxembourg Law Working Paper, no. 11: 17–83. +1. Knauer, Florian, and Andreas Mann. 2019. ‘What Is in It for Me? Identifying Drivers of Blockchain Acceptance among German Consumers’. The Journal of the British Blockchain Association, 10484. +1. Koning, J.P. 2020. ‘Bitcoin Financial Literacy and Crypto-Twitter’. American Institute for Economic Research. https://www.aier.org/article/bitcoin-financial-literacy-and-crypto-twitter/. +1. Panos, Georgios A, and Tatja Karkkainen. 2019. ‘Financial Literacy and Attitudes to Cryptocurrencies’. Available at SSRN 3482083. +1. Hellegren, Z. Isadora. 2017. ‘A History of Crypto-Discourse: Encryption as a Site of Struggles to Define Internet Freedom’. Internet Histories 1 (4): 285–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/24701475.2017.1387466. diff --git a/concepts/ideologies/financial-nihilism.md b/concepts/ideologies/financial-nihilism.md index 9c7e1ea..0703b30 100644 --- a/concepts/ideologies/financial-nihilism.md +++ b/concepts/ideologies/financial-nihilism.md @@ -3,6 +3,13 @@ A philosophy on investing and markets in which [value](../value.md) does not exi This is a belief system held by some who participate in [meme stock](../meme-stock.md) and [meme coin](../memecoin.md) projects. +## References +1. Warzel, Charlie. 2021. ‘The Absurdity Is the Point’. Substack newsletter. Galaxy Brain (blog). 11 May 2021. https://warzel.substack.com/p/the-absurdity-is-the-point. +1. Gerard, David. n.d. ‘Confused About Dogecoin? Here’s How It (Doesn’t) Work.’ Foreign Policy (blog). Accessed 3 March 2022. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/11/dogecoin-how-does-it-work-elon-musk-cryptocurrency/. +1. Glongloff, Mark. n.d. ‘Bitcoin, GameStop Are More Cults Than Investments’. Bloomberg. Accessed 2 March 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-03-02/bitcoin-btc-gamestop-gme-are-more-cults-than-investments. +1. Klarin, Anton. 2020. ‘The Decade-Long Cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain Rollercoaster: Mapping the Intellectual Structure and Charting Future Directions’. Research in International Business and Finance 51 (March). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2019.101067. +1. Maddox, Alexia, and Luke J Heemsbergen. 2021. ‘Digging in Crypto-Communities’ Future-Making: From Dark to Doge’. M/C Journal 24 (2 SE-). https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.2755. + ## References * [@warzel_absurdity_2021] * [@weisenthal_bitcoin_nodate] diff --git a/guide/index.md b/guide/index.md index 2872760..373c788 100644 --- a/guide/index.md +++ b/guide/index.md @@ -23,8 +23,11 @@ Understand the terminology used to describe crypto and web3. * [Ponzi scheme](../concepts/ponzi-scheme.md) * [Deflationary asset](../concepts/deflationary.md) * [Crypto exchanges](/concepts/crypto-exchange.md) +* [Greater fool theory](../concepts/greater-fool-theory.md) +* [Memecoins](../concepts/memecoin.md) * [Assets](/concepts/assets.md) * [Speculative asset](/concepts/speculation.md) +* [Market manipulation](../concepts/market-manipulation.md) * [DAO](/concepts/dao.md) * [Stablecoin](../concepts/stablecoin.md) * [Regulatory arbitrage](../concepts/regulatory-arbitrage.md) @@ -48,48 +51,48 @@ Explore crypto and "web3" in terms of the claims made about it. These subclaims * [Are crypto assets a form of gambling?](../claims/is-gambling.md) * [Are crypto tokens an inflation hedge?](../claims/hedge-inflation.md) * [Is private money a desirable system?](../claims/is-private-money.md) +* [Is bitcoin compataible with ESG investing?](../claims/bitcoin-esg.md) **Better Society / Financial Inclusion** +* [What consumer protections exist for crypto assets?](../claims/consumer-protections.md) +* [Are crypto assets a form of predatory inclusion?](../claims/is-predatory.md) * [Is crypto a solution for the unbanked?](/claims/crypto-unbanked.md) -* What consumer protections exist for crypto tokens? -* Is crypto investing a form of predatory inclusion? -* Is crypto providing faster payment rails or better remittance services? +* [Is crypto providing faster payment rails or better remittance services?](../claims/is-better-payments.md) * [What is the narrative economics of crypto assets?](../claims/narrative-economics.md) * [Are crypto assets legal?](../claims/is-legal.md) -* [Are crypto tokens a predatory investment?](../claims/is-predatory.md) * [Are crypto tokens a negative-sum investment?](/claims/negative-sum.md) -* Why do people invest in crypto tokens? +* [Why do people invest in crypto tokens?](../claims/why-invest.md) * [Why does crypto have such a weird subculture?](/claims/weird-culture.md) **Financial Liberty** * [Is an unregulated transnational payment rail even desirable?](../claims/transnational-payment.md) -* Are crypto tokens a hedge against the "debasement" of the dollar? +* [Are crypto tokens a hedge against the "debasement" of the dollar?](../claims/hedge-debasement.md) * [Are crypto tokens a means to counter authoritarianism?](../claims/authoritarianism.md) -* I want to raise money for my non-profit or public goods project? -* Can I do a crowdfunded equity raise for my company? +* [Can I raise money for my non-profit using crypto tokens?](../claims/is-raise-nonprofit.md) +* [Can I do a crowdfunded equity raise for my company using crypto tokens?](../claims/is-raise-company.md) **Solving Public Goods Problems** -* Is crypto a means to fund public goods projects? +* [Is crypto a means to fund public goods projects?](../claims/is-public-goods.md) * [Is bitcoin mining harmful to the environment?](../claims/environmental-footprint.md) -* Is crypto bringing about the "financialization of everything"? -* Is crypto a giant misallocation of resources with an enormous opportunity cost? +* [Is crypto bringing about the "financialization of everything"?](../claims/is-hyperfinancialization.md) +* [Is crypto a giant misallocation of resources with an enormous opportunity cost?](../claims/is-opportunity-cost.md)0 **Financial Innovation** * [Is the underlying technology of "blockchain" useful for non-monetary purposes?](../claims/blockchain-tech.md) * [Is web3 even a well-defined term?](../claims/well-defined.md) -* Is web3 green? +* [Is web3 green?](../claims/web3-green.md) * [Is web3 decentralized?](../claims/web3-decentralized.md) * [Is web3 the next generation of the internet?](../claims/new-internet.md) **Creative Destruction** -* Is web3 a means to dismantle the American tech hegemony? -* Is web3 a means to rebuild the global financial system? -* Are crypto tokens a means to accelerate the collapse of capitalism? +* [Is web3 a means to dismantle the American tech hegemony?](../claims/is-disrupt-hegemony.md) +* [Is web3 a means to rebuild the global financial system?](../claims/is-new-financial-system.md) +* [Are crypto tokens a means to accelerate the collapse of capitalism?](../claims/is-collapse.md) *** @@ -101,7 +104,7 @@ Understand crypto and "web3" in terms of recent news events and interviews and e 1. [Episode #1: Neo-Metallism](../notes/neo-metallism.md) 2. [Episode #2: Market Fundamentalism](../notes/market-fundamentalism.md) 3. [Episode #3: Securities Regulation](/notes/are-crypto-tokens-securities.md) - 4. Episode #4: Post-state Technocracy + 4. [Episode #4: Post-state Technocracy](../notes/post-state-technocracy.md) 5. Episode #5: Fintech Incrementalism * [Recent News Stories](/notes/recent-events.md) * [Commentary on 'Line Goes Up'](../notes/olson-2022-line-go-up.md) @@ -152,6 +155,17 @@ Understand the deeper theoretical concepts behind the technical and economic cla * [Reserve currency](../concepts/reserve-currency.md) * [Bretton Woods system](../concepts/bretton-woods.md) * [Wash trading](../concepts/wash-trading.md) +* [Liquidity pool](../concepts/liquidity-pool.md) +* [Assets](../concepts/assets.md) + * [Real lestate](../concepts/real-estate.md) + * [Gold](../concepts/gold.md) + * [Art](../concepts/art.md) + * [Commodity](../concepts/commodity.md) + * [Derivative](../concepts/derivative.md) + * [Bond](../concepts/bond.md) + * [Certificate deposit](../concepts/cd.md) + * [Dollar](../concepts/dollar.md) + * [Commercial paper](../concepts/commercial-paper.md) **Technology** diff --git a/site/pages/contribute.md b/site/pages/contribute.md index ef126bc..4bea197 100644 --- a/site/pages/contribute.md +++ b/site/pages/contribute.md @@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ This is an open collaborative project. We already have a variety of partners and * Share the work with others. ### Feedback - Offer us your feedback and suggestions through [our forum][forum]. For example: * Are there particular topics or areas you think we should cover?