Crypto scams totaled $5.6B in 2023.
That's up 45% according to the news.
700,000 complaints were taken by the FBI - proving it's an "attractive vehicle for criminals while creating challenges to recover stolen funds."
At the risk of sounding, erm, practical - let's look at a couple of other places people 'may' have lost some money along the way last year.
CMBS - another $1.2T of CMBS loans will be due by EOY'25. The key word: another. This marks the 5th year of defaulting on non-recourse debt. It's not illegal - heck it doesn't even affect your credit score.....and in most cases, lenders are just extending terms with the hopes some poor tenant sucker will come along and sign a lease.
Morningstar, Fitch, Trepp - all try to report these numbers, but they're inconsistent. You can't Google how many people have lost everything and how many lives have been impacted by these massive market shifts. Layoffs - shuttering businesses, yet no FBI reports. Very few (if any) criminal charges.
The TRILLIONS of dollars pails in comparison to some crypto thief rugging you for $1500 with a shitcoin you were dumb enough to buy because some bro told you it was a good investment. Forex, Gold Securities, heck the general debasing of the USD has far wider implications than $5.6B worth of crypto scams. Wells Fargo paid nearly that much in fines - imagine what they got away with?
I'm not here to defend the criminal activity of crypto. I am here to call out the narrative of what's determined criminal and what's not. Shareholders of TGIFridays lost 91% of their stock value yesterday because of a decision by Citibank to terminate a management agreement.
My mind went straight to short selling and buying puts. MORE stock averaged $17GBX this year. It fell to $10GBX which was the signal. 5 days later it's $.070. No criminal investigation. No FBI. No charges. Someone's Mum in Sussex lost a lot of money - but that won't make the headlines either.
Crypto isn't the problem - it's a symptom. We love our money. We lust for our success.
The irony will be evident when people pour into the technology because of things like Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Trustless Security, Stable Store of Value, and Immutable Records. These are the solutions.
The real problem? We don’t care enough to demand change.
Until then, we'll continue to see these headlines.
Be smart out there.
Song pairing - IMY2 Cover of Wicked Game
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