@Muse

They may be an expert in engineering

Heh. Funny you should mention engineers. ;)

@Muse - in most law courts there is an opportunity to cross examine a witness. That can really be a ripping experience to the person being cross examined, even if they are telling "the truth" - there are always details that people mis-remember or mis-articulate.

Expert witnesses in trials have to jump through some extra hoops to demonstrate that they really are experts.

People who hear things need to learn to take a large dollop of caveat emptor syrup in the morning - but too many of us do not or do not even know to be skeptical of much of the material that is presented to us. That's a weakness in our educational system and much of the way we raise kids.

(I was raised, and trained, to ask questions until I felt I understood a thing. That drove some of my professors crazy - I felt "hey, you work for me, so I am going to squeeze knowledge out of you whether you like it or not." Some of my professors loved it; it gave them a chance to really strut their stuff.

A look at crypto and politics, one of tonight's CBS 60 Minutes segments. Coincidentally airing as I read this.
I know a similar story, 14-yr-old prodigy bought one something at the beginning and is now a global adventurer...
No backlash in her case, but testament to the "opportunity" out there to be tapped, at the top of the pyramid, if not the "risk" of huge loss, or in this case, "doxing" &/or just burning in hell - or getting "woke".

Happy Holidays!

Property investment, which crypto is a form of, can be an outright gamble. Sometimes it pays big. But so does the lottery or game machines. Really, tho, it's up to the individual to know one's limitations and up to the government to protect consumers from fraud.

Personally I think bitcoin is a speculative investment, not for the amateur. At least not meant to dip into life savings.

Also, I think bitcoin is really clunky. I think it is a fair assessment to say bitcoin doesn't have much legitimate demand, i.e. it is used to hide things more than to conduct legitimate transactions. There many, much easier ways to conduct monetary transactions than using bitcoin.

But on the other hand, LOL, bitcoin value has increased exponentially over the last couple decades. It increased a hundred fold in the last ten years.

So, it isn't a scam, it is a speculative investment.

BUT... scammers will scam, and this "opportunity of a lifetime" might seem like low-hanging fruit. I'm reading "James" now, a story of Huck's adventures as told by his friend/slave, addressing the twin worlds and languages. (Strong recommend). The thing is, I just finished reading about a scene where two top-tier scammers use Huck/Jim's raft, telling them they are a Duke and a King, and proceed down-river to find a revival meeting with a preacher/conman about to meet his match. Eventually Huck learns how low some scammers/schemers will go.

That said, I'm big on seeing "context and perspective" so in the whole I'd agree with this "thing"/tool/scheme being less the evil device than the people who are out to profit and scam. Like our collection of incoming oligarch Lords & judges.

So, it isn’t a scam, it is a speculative investment.

So is a Ponzi scheme. Some win, some lose. You takes your chances.

@Andrew Pam 5 bitcoin now is a half million dollars. You must have did your mining 20 years ago.

I toyed with crypto 10 or 15 years ago. Then i forgot about it. A year ago someone asked me to help them with a small amount of bitcoin that someone had given them. So I grudgingly refreshed my memory and figured out how to check their bitcoin for them. Along the way I dug around in my old files for keys and passwords of my own stuff, and checked on the tiny bit of bitcoin I had left in a couple wallets. Whoa, it had ballooned into a few thousand dollars. Color me impressed.

But I do agree with Joseph's sentiment, bitcoin does not have much socially redeeming value, lol.

But bitcoin isn't exactly a ponzi scheme.

In a Ponzi scheme, a con artist offers investments that promise very high returns with little or no risk to an investor. The returns are said to originate from a business or a secret idea run by the con artist. In reality, the business does not exist or the idea does not work in the way it is described or the extent of returns is made up or exaggerated.