Sunday, May 22, 2022

NFTs for the loss!

A hilarious article at NBC News recounts the tale of an investor who bought an NFT on a celebrity recommendation and is now struggling to buy gas and groceries.
“This basically financially crippled me,” said Tyler, who asked to be identified by only his first name because he fears online trolls who ridicule unsuccessful NFT investors. Now, especially with inflation, Tyler said, he is struggling to afford gas for his car and groceries to eat.
This reminds me so much of the dotcom era "all that counts are eyeballs" as a way to value tech startups, or the CDO squared products conjured during the first housing bubble. Here, buy this abstract reference to crypto smoke and mirrors. The whole crypto space has become as cesspool of fraud. I still think there are use cases for centralized and distributed blockchains, like tracking shipments or rewards program points. I'll continue to watch from afar as people shoot themselves in the foot (or head) again and again.