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Crypto crash: almost $1 trillion wiped off markets as Bitcoin hits lowest level since 2020:
It's been a nightmare week for cryptocurrency holders as the market crashes and Bitcoin hits its lowest price since December 2020. Ethereum, BNB, XRP, and many other digital coins have also fallen to their lowest levels in a long time. The crisis came after stablecoin Terra, designed to trade 1:1 with the US dollar, collapsed.
TerraUSD (UST), the 11th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is an algorithmic stablecoin that uses a set of smart contracts to ensure its value stays as close to $1 as possible. But after hovering at around $1 for about a year, it crashed to 29 cents yesterday, plunging its market cap from more than $45 billion to less than $5 billion. It has since rallied to 62 cents, but that's still far from $1.
Terra's support coin, Luna, has also plummeted in dramatic style, going from $86 at the start of the week to its current price of 20 cents. Terra is designed so traders can exchange 1 UST for $1 worth of Luna, no matter the price of UST
[...] Do Kwon, co-founder of Terra developer Terraform Labs, tweeted: "I understand the last 72 hours have been extremely tough on all of you - know that I am resolved to work with every one of you to weather this crisis, and we will build our way out of this."
Terra's collapse has impacted many cryptocurrencies, the most notable being the biggest one of all: Bitcoin. At the time of writing, BTC is at $27,236, its lowest value since before the crypto boom at the end of 2020. Bitcoin has now lost nearly two-thirds of its value since peaking at $69,000 in November 2021.
[...] The good news for non-crypto-owning gamers is that the freefall will doubtlessly make mining less profitable, and should push graphics card prices even closer to MSRP.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Sunday May 15 2022, @04:24PM (5 children)
Government-backed currencies do have a few very specific aspects to them that attempted-currencies without government backing lack, at least within that government's jurisdiction:
1. If you decide that they don't have value, said government can send people with guns to explain that "yes, they're actually valuable, you can argue over how much they're worth but they're worth something and whoever is trying to settle a debt is genuinely doing so if they offer these pieces of paper / hunks of metal".
2. You have to come up with some amount of government-backed currency to pay taxes and fees to the government. So even if you live your life entirely via bartering or some alternative currency, at some point you'll need to convert some stuff to that government-backed currency. And if you don't, the government can send people with guns to make that conversion happen for you.
3. The more oppressive governments can mandate that all transactions use their currency, and can send people with guns to explain things if you try to do something else.
Bitcoin doesn't have the fallback to "people with guns" that fiat currencies have, precisely because government is an organized attempt at maintaining a monopoly on socially-legitimate violence.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 15 2022, @06:11PM (2 children)
yes yes. lowest form of governance.
i agree overall but it just ocured to me that if gun makers accept crypto and gun users want crypto and you can MAKE crypto ... well shit, us-of-a version 2.0(*)
(*) indicates a doubling of required energy for the you-crypto-boss-state to function, not a improvement.
on a more srsly note: modern wars are fought with industrial made machines which belong to a few 1%ers. because if this, modern wars are fought for jobs ... no just kidding ... are fought to keep ownership of them machines and the means to run/fuel them. luckily greed prevails and acctual destruction of industrial output (guns! guns! guns!) and minions is a last resort. lots of propaganda and mind control of adversaries minions tho ... the ownZ are subject to "gleichschaltung".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 16 2022, @12:07PM (1 child)
Not really.
Modern wars are fought for similar reasons like they used to be in the past, but just less often as it was realized that open trade is superior to wars over trade. Most of the wars we have today are over power, politics, religion and, of course, the hatred of your neighbours (aka, bigotry). There are also wars because the "great leader" of your area/country/whatever is disillusioned and wants a "legacy". Wars are no longer fought over economic interests because those are always a loser for both sides. So instead of real wars, there are economic wars and skirmishes -- at least with this you keep your infrastructure!
The more things change, the more things stay the same, and this applies to wars ;) Except for economic reasons -- Adam Smith had some insight in that and most of the world has bought his ideas.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @02:37AM
There are two sides to a war. Those wielding weapons and those selling them. The side wielding weapons always loses, the side selling weapons always wins.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday May 15 2022, @07:48PM (1 child)
Agreed, most fiat currencies are "backed by the full faith and credit" (aka legal systems, police and military) of the issuing governments.
I have been openly saying Bitcoin and all proof of work cryptocurrencies need to die for 10+ years now. This would also include all ICO cryptocurrencies with naught but hot air backing them.
That's not to say that the technology itself is worthless as a medium of exchange or store of value. The potential for cryptographic signatures to form a medium of exchange of fungible debt has been waiting for social adoption since PGP and the "web of trust" concepts were realized 20+ years ago.
http://assignonward.com [assignonward.com]
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 15 2022, @08:16PM
all go rhythem is the new sensor ship.
"currency" is the best invention of the piliging and slaughtering hord retiring ...