17 Comments
User's avatar
Cosmonaut's avatar

So cheeky, so spot on!!! Traders are the best!. Most of the volatility in the market is due to traders and even more so the ones using leverage. It's partly why whales and exchanges have such an easy task manipulating the market, a little massage here and there and the greedy leverage traders positions cascade into liquidation. Great for us who wait for the dips and eat them up. Good article, cheers mate

Joseph Sadove's avatar

"Trade our government’s money for a stake in the financial networks of the future."

Well, this kind of states who wins and who loses well.

If you were in Russia or China or some other auto/kleptocratic state or totalitarian regime this would be a truly positive statement to cheer about and promote.

However, if you were in the declining number of liberal democracies, well, you'd be doing China and Russia and their FaF a great favor.

Can you please list the governments whose currency you are seeking to undermine and why?

(I will bet there will be no response)

Mark Helfman's avatar

Not sure what the question is. I don't seek to undermine any government currency. I like my government's money and want to use it to have a better life. That includes owning a stake in the financial networks of the future. I also trade my government's money for food and foreign goods, including food and goods from China. I trade my government's money for a lot of things.

Can you explain your response a little more?

Joseph Sadove's avatar

Maybe you missed this quote in your writing:

"Our goal? Trade our government’s money for a stake in the financial networks of the future."

True, it doesn't state that the project is to "undermine USD, EU, etc". But I have to assume you are an informed denizen of the space and are familiar with the more explicit versions of moving to "the financial networks of the future": undermine the dollar reserve system the world runs on. Never mind it has resulted in more people lifting themselves out of poverty and underdevelopment than in any other era of history.

Maybe you could be more explicit of about your view of the future/future networks. Does it envision the (however imperfect) capabilities of the World Bank, IMF, WTO, BIS, SWIFT, etc.? Will it largely be driven by the Western Liberal Democracies and their views and principles?

Money is not just money. Money is power. If you propose creating power (money) that is beyond the reach of control by the liberal democratic order, where will the power shift?

I can't believe you have not given any thought to this, I hope.

Mark Helfman's avatar

I thought about it but it’s just too many variables to consider. There are so many nuances that are beyond my capacity to explore in a thoughtful way. It’s also way beyond the scope of this article. There’s no reason any of those institutions can’t adapt, survive, and flourish. I guess it’s really up to them to decide how they want to navigate this new world, where protocols move money and communities can build all the instruments of finance without depending on any government or international organization.

Joseph Sadove's avatar

So many nuances beyond your capacity? It is frankly astonishing that someone with your background to make such a step back yet be so otherwise “unimpaired” to write this piece. Oh well. The money’s good and that’s what really matters in this space and time.

Crypto1165's avatar

Interesting how over time crypto is becoming more and more like stocks as institutional traders pile in. In a way - it should make it more predictable as to what happens from a macro level. Alt coins are a different beast but BTC and maybe even ETH are now following the trends much more of the general stock market. Once a spot ETF is finally approved for BTC, this trend for institutional trading is going to explode I think. In terms of leverage, it’s been had a volatile impact on the market. Look at the Wonderland TIME rebasing token for a classic example. Cascading liquidations were brutal and have me questioning whether some kind of regulation is needed on that front to prevent the repeat of those kind of events.

Mark Helfman's avatar

You are not alone!

Martin Saxton's avatar

The bitcoin trader price effect.......interesting

pilscoop's avatar

Uuhhhmm, you're welcome!!

yasiraykac's avatar

When i read Reminiscences of a Stock Operator i changed my mind. İ was thinking trade is everything. İn this book first part will agree. But just keep reading. İ dont need trade anymore. Hodl hodl.

Husnu Coban's avatar

I realized some facts. I used to be mad at these people. But I realize that there is no harm in these people. They're just blowing new investors' minds. Frankly, I liken the crypto market to a gym. Just like those who think that they will improve with Split training, and real athletes.

Thank you for the nice article.

Mark Helfman's avatar

Sure. To your point, it's hard for new investors to get used to

Justin horton's avatar

Yea bitcoin is just outta my comfort zone can't make money with it seems pointless kinda