Interesting or Rubbish (crypto content)?
Discussion
I know this guy quite well - successful and experienced in business, but this is whole new departure for him.
The concept seems interesting and even perhaps appealing for a Numpty like me who knows next to nothing about Crypto.
What do you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjXCwJSZrWg
The concept seems interesting and even perhaps appealing for a Numpty like me who knows next to nothing about Crypto.
What do you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjXCwJSZrWg
Edited by Al Gorithum on Tuesday 14th December 11:01
Edited by Al Gorithum on Tuesday 14th December 11:23
Simpo Two said:
Al Gorithum said:
I know this guy quite well - successful and experienced in business, but this is whole new departure for him.
Why did he need a new departure?My bargepole is staying right here.
As mentioned elsewhere, I know sweet FA about Crypros but thought that the idea of the coins being asset-backed with gold seemed interesting. Maybe there's a hidden catch somewhere though!
Interested in the opinions of those seasoned in Crypto.
Going to do some self promotion here on the FAQ thread that's a work in progress but a good place to start.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I know of at least two gold backed cryptos, one being MELD and the other KGLD. I would trust both of these over that link you posted.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I know of at least two gold backed cryptos, one being MELD and the other KGLD. I would trust both of these over that link you posted.
RichTT said:
Going to do some self promotion here on the FAQ thread that's a work in progress but a good place to start.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I know of at least two gold backed cryptos, one being MELD and the other KGLD. I would trust both of these over that link you posted.
I did read your thread and it helped me understand more. Thank you https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I know of at least two gold backed cryptos, one being MELD and the other KGLD. I would trust both of these over that link you posted.
Al Gorithum said:
Apologies, "departure" seems to have been the wrong choice of word. "New venture" may be more appropriate.
As mentioned elsewhere, I know sweet FA about Crypros but thought that the idea of the coins being asset-backed with gold seemed interesting. Maybe there's a hidden catch somewhere though!
Interested in the opinions of those seasoned in Crypto.
Did you post the correct link in your original post? The one currently shown is to some "too good to be true" sounding seminars about acquiring businesses without using any money? Can't see any reference to crypto in it at all?As mentioned elsewhere, I know sweet FA about Crypros but thought that the idea of the coins being asset-backed with gold seemed interesting. Maybe there's a hidden catch somewhere though!
Interested in the opinions of those seasoned in Crypto.
Blockchain is an interesting technology with some concrete use-cases that are starting to be be monetised. Definitely worth understanding and keeping an eye on some of the emerging technologies here.
Cryptocurrency in general is one application of Blockchain that is struggling to find real-world adoption. Investing in the technology behind a specific currency could be a winner for the ambitious and risk-taking investor.
A large percentage of coins are scams targeted at the unwary and the greedy. Most of the rest whilst not actively looking to defraud you, are just bandwagon-jumpers looking to make a quick buck. In any event, they are worthy of consideration only if you have your eyes wide open and are willing to take the risk of losing all your money. Effectively they are just an alternative to betting on the horses. That doesn't mean that you can't make a lot of money - people can, and do. But any claim to 'investment' here is baloney; it's just luck that you got in and out at the right time.
A few coins, that you already know the names of, can usefully be considered as a long-term and small part of a prudent investment portfolio.
Cryptocurrency in general is one application of Blockchain that is struggling to find real-world adoption. Investing in the technology behind a specific currency could be a winner for the ambitious and risk-taking investor.
A large percentage of coins are scams targeted at the unwary and the greedy. Most of the rest whilst not actively looking to defraud you, are just bandwagon-jumpers looking to make a quick buck. In any event, they are worthy of consideration only if you have your eyes wide open and are willing to take the risk of losing all your money. Effectively they are just an alternative to betting on the horses. That doesn't mean that you can't make a lot of money - people can, and do. But any claim to 'investment' here is baloney; it's just luck that you got in and out at the right time.
A few coins, that you already know the names of, can usefully be considered as a long-term and small part of a prudent investment portfolio.
LooneyTunes said:
Did you post the correct link in your original post? The one currently shown is to some "too good to be true" sounding seminars about acquiring businesses without using any money? Can't see any reference to crypto in it at all?
Apologies I didn't realise so have changed it to Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjXCwJSZrWgSo the idea is to provide a crypto currency, specifically for b2b transactions in parts of the world where the banking system doesn't work well, and so provide an alternative and more efficient payment method via a new type of currency/technology underpinned by gold?
If I was a small business owner in Africa, your proposal to get me cheaper bank transfers involves converting all (or a large part) of my money into USDR? Sounds hugely risky - for example, what happens if your platform crashes, or there is a regulation change, it could mean you might not give me my money back. Or you decide to increase the transaction costs, or the cost of changing the money from USDR into fiat increases. Those costs could be significantly more than the money saved via using traditional methods.
Then there is the user interface / customer experience questions e.g. having my company money in a "chrome extension" doesn't fill me with confidence. Can it be spoofed? Or accessed by more than one person in the company? Can you set payment rules, to limit the size of payments, or to validate the recipient? What is the redress if fraud is involved?
There are other practical issues too - what is the customer service like? i.e. can I speak to someone if there is a problem? My understanding is a lot of people in Africa prefer to use smart phones rather than desktops - does the chrome extension work as well on a phone as a desktop?
In terms of the overall risks (from a user perspective), why is there a different company owning the gold vs issuing the token? And the chap in the video says "Brothers International (UK)" own the gold (which I would think would be worth over £400million) but I can't see them in Companies House with audited accounts to verify this is true.
I would think the insurance and storage costs of the gold would be ~5% of the value per year. Plus there is the opportunity cost of having so much money tied up in a non-income generating asset, which would add a few percent per year to the holding costs. Hence, this business is going to need a recoup a huge amount in transaction fees across the 100 million tokens for this to get anywhere close to covering the overheads - which makes me think eventually the costs would increase, significantly.
The other guy in the video says "any theft" would be covered by Lloyds, but is this true - what about insider fraud? Or negligence by company staff? And I would think the bigger risk would be if the gold was somehow de-linked from the tokens, rather than it being physically stolen. Are there any other obligations on this gold other than to underpin the value of these tokens?
And in the context of a valid and stable currency, hardly anyone in Africa will care about the extra efforts to use "artisan mining". If people were really bothered about morals, they wouldn't choose to use USD. So this sounds like something tacked on which just confuses things i.e. are you trying to provide a stable, cheap banking service/currency or making this attractive to some ethical investors?
I suppose the main point is this idea is hugely more ambitious than it first appears - far more than the value of the gold or the difficulty of marketing this new service or getting the security or software issues right. This idea requires not just establishing your own crypto currency held by some speculative investors, but which you manage to get adopted by tens of millions of people, for hundreds of millions of everyday business transactions. That sounds like a gigantic (if not impossible) marketing effort.
Sorry if that sounds negative - I've just written some initial thoughts as they popped into my head, rather than give a more balanced appraisal.
If I was a small business owner in Africa, your proposal to get me cheaper bank transfers involves converting all (or a large part) of my money into USDR? Sounds hugely risky - for example, what happens if your platform crashes, or there is a regulation change, it could mean you might not give me my money back. Or you decide to increase the transaction costs, or the cost of changing the money from USDR into fiat increases. Those costs could be significantly more than the money saved via using traditional methods.
Then there is the user interface / customer experience questions e.g. having my company money in a "chrome extension" doesn't fill me with confidence. Can it be spoofed? Or accessed by more than one person in the company? Can you set payment rules, to limit the size of payments, or to validate the recipient? What is the redress if fraud is involved?
There are other practical issues too - what is the customer service like? i.e. can I speak to someone if there is a problem? My understanding is a lot of people in Africa prefer to use smart phones rather than desktops - does the chrome extension work as well on a phone as a desktop?
In terms of the overall risks (from a user perspective), why is there a different company owning the gold vs issuing the token? And the chap in the video says "Brothers International (UK)" own the gold (which I would think would be worth over £400million) but I can't see them in Companies House with audited accounts to verify this is true.
I would think the insurance and storage costs of the gold would be ~5% of the value per year. Plus there is the opportunity cost of having so much money tied up in a non-income generating asset, which would add a few percent per year to the holding costs. Hence, this business is going to need a recoup a huge amount in transaction fees across the 100 million tokens for this to get anywhere close to covering the overheads - which makes me think eventually the costs would increase, significantly.
The other guy in the video says "any theft" would be covered by Lloyds, but is this true - what about insider fraud? Or negligence by company staff? And I would think the bigger risk would be if the gold was somehow de-linked from the tokens, rather than it being physically stolen. Are there any other obligations on this gold other than to underpin the value of these tokens?
And in the context of a valid and stable currency, hardly anyone in Africa will care about the extra efforts to use "artisan mining". If people were really bothered about morals, they wouldn't choose to use USD. So this sounds like something tacked on which just confuses things i.e. are you trying to provide a stable, cheap banking service/currency or making this attractive to some ethical investors?
I suppose the main point is this idea is hugely more ambitious than it first appears - far more than the value of the gold or the difficulty of marketing this new service or getting the security or software issues right. This idea requires not just establishing your own crypto currency held by some speculative investors, but which you manage to get adopted by tens of millions of people, for hundreds of millions of everyday business transactions. That sounds like a gigantic (if not impossible) marketing effort.
Sorry if that sounds negative - I've just written some initial thoughts as they popped into my head, rather than give a more balanced appraisal.
Thank you for all the replies.
I have no skin in this game at all, hence the subject of the post. Always hoping to learn.
I don't know anything about Cryto but it seems like a bit of a "wild west" space so I'm skeptical, although I am regretting not buying BTC at $500 when advised to so so...
I have no skin in this game at all, hence the subject of the post. Always hoping to learn.
I don't know anything about Cryto but it seems like a bit of a "wild west" space so I'm skeptical, although I am regretting not buying BTC at $500 when advised to so so...
EddieSteadyGo said:
Al Gorithum said:
...
I have no skin in this game at all, hence the subject of the post...
I should have worded my reply better - I realised it wasn't your proposal, but it was easier to write "you" and "your" than write "your colleague". I have no skin in this game at all, hence the subject of the post...
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