CryptoReality

Chronicling: Societal Decay 😑 In the delusional world of #crypto and those that actually believe that financial freedom can be found in ponzi schemes.

[CryptoReality @CryptoRealityCK]

This twitter account I use to archive information on the delusion of #crypto that are mostly build on ponzinomic liquidity injection for value with zero utility. If your invested in these ponzi's with the the delusion of financial freedom? Than just ignore and keep dreaming 🤫

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

All crypto is 💯 awful.

But Bitcoin is *by far* one of the worst phenemonon to arise out of that sewer. Most of the other coins are just VC backed pump-and-dumps, but Bitcoin is an environmental catastrope mixed with a toxic slurry of infantile anarcho-capitalist fantasies.

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

Saying the quiet part out loud again?

[Ben McKenzie @ben_mckenzie]

Can you smell the free speech https://t.co/Gljx7BIa5H

[Ben McKenzie @ben_mckenzie]

“The Justice Dept is revamping a team it launched nearly 2 yrs ago to investigate crypto-related crimes, saying the move will more than double the number of prosecutors available to work on the team’s growing caseload.” Crypto prosecutors to the moon 🚀 https://t.co/9vXPuEsSdS

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

I am flabbergasted that people still refer to the "innovation" of crypto. After 15 years of this nonsense—the same age as the iPhone—there is still not a single example of a company that uses crypto for any productive activity other than offshore gambling.

That's NOT innovation.

[Ben McKenzie @ben_mckenzie]

Rule #1 of running a Ponzi scheme: never refer to yourself as “not a Ponzi scheme”

[CBS Mornings @CBSMornings]

Actor @ben_mckenzie claims that cryptocurrency is a Ponzi scheme because it is “an investment scheme without value.”

He shares how his interest in cryptocurrency began with some advice from a friend — and why he decided to write a book criticizing the industry.

[Ed Elson @edels0n]

Way back when I was an intern for @profgalloway, I gave this presentation on crypto/DeFi. I was a big believer.

It was compelling at the time. But today I looked at it again. And WOW is it flawed + misleading.

Everything I got wrong about crypto, a thread🧵

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

Another lawsuit drops. 🙌
https://t.co/Y4bMY26Ii0

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

Crypto is going great in Europe. 📉

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

The DOJ is probably now sitting on a mountain of evidence concerning offshore crypto exchanges and criminal activity. It's pretty clear there was a massive coordinated campaign to deceive US lawmakers. And that can't stand.
https://t.co/lCa2KsB5aL

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

What the crypto bros don't understand about politics is that if you want to rewrite the laws of the land, you need widespread public support.

Yet, years of behaving like boorish hucksters and "hfsp" harassment have not endeared politicians or the voting public to their cause.

[John Reed Stark @JohnReedStark]

Get out of crypto platforms now, I can't say it any plainer. Having worked as an attorney in the SEC Enforcement Division for almost 20 years (including 11 years as Chief of the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement), I believe that we now know for certain that crypto trading platforms are under a U.S. regulatory/law enforcement siege which has only just begun.

And before you chop my head off with vitriol, ad hominems and OK Boomerisms, please allow me to explain the situation with only facts and research.

And before you label me a bureaucratic, washed-up SEC shill, please bear in mind that while I may indeed be washed up (!), I am typically an outspoken and dedicated SEC critic (see, e.g., https://t.co/nQNa5JBiJN). I also have no stake of any kind in the cryptoverse. I am 100% objective, independent and neutral. Just seeking truth, always.

My take is that the SEC is spot-on with their crypto-related enforcement efforts. No matter what the carnival barkers promise, it is axiomatic that crypto trading platforms are high-risk, perilous and inherently unsafe. Please read on to understand my reasoning.

Why A Lack of SEC Registration Matters

U.S. SEC registration of financial firms: (1) mandates that investor funds and securities be handled appropriately without conflicts of interest; (2) ensures that investors understand the risks involved in purchasing the often illiquid and speculative securities that are traded on a cryptocurrency platform; (3) makes buyers aware of the last prices on securities traded over a cryptocurrency platform; and (4) provides adequate disclosures regarding their trading policies, practices and procedures.

Overall, entities providing financial services must carefully handle access to, and control of, investor funds, and provide all users with adequate protection and fortification.

With traditional SEC-registered financial firms, the SEC has unlimited and instantaneous visibility into every aspect of operations. With crypto trading platforms, the SEC lacks any sort of oversight and access — and has scant ability to detect, investigate and deter fraudulent conduct. As a result, the crypto marketplace operates without much supervision, lacking:

--The hallmarks of the traditional transparent surveillance program of a financial firm like an SEC-registered broker-dealer or investment adviser, so the SEC cannot analyze or verify market trading and clearing activity, customer identities and other critical data for risk and fraud;

--SEC and/or Financial Industry Regulatory Authority licensure of individuals involved in crypto trading, operation, promotion, etc., so the SEC cannot detect individual misconduct and enforce violations; -Traditional accountability structures and fiduciaries of financial firms, so the SEC cannot ensure that every customer's interest is protected and held sacrosanct; and

--The compliance systems, personnel and infrastructure, so the SEC cannot know where crypto came from or who holds most of it; and -The verification and investigatory routine and for cause SEC or FINRA examinations, inspections and audits, so the SEC and FINRA cannot patrol, supervise or verify critical customer protections and compliance mechanisms.

What the Crypto Regulatory Vacuum Means

For customers of digital asset platforms like most so-called crypto exchanges, there is not just a gap in customer protections, but a chasm. For example unlike SEC-registered financial firms, crypto trading platforms have:

-No record-keeping and archiving requirements with respect to operations, communications, trading or any other aspect of business;

-No requirements regarding the pricing or order flow of transactions or the use internal platforms and payment systems by employees;

-No reason to abide by U.S. statutes and rules prohibiting manipulation, insider trading, trading ahead of customers and other fraudulent behavior by customers or employees;

-No mandated cybersecurity requirements or standards to combat online attackers and protect customer privacy;

-No requirement to establish mandated training or code of conduct requirements;

-No obligation to have in place internal compliance, customer service and whistleblower teams to address and archive customer complaints;

-No requirement to reverse charges if any dispute or problem arises;

-No mandated robust and documented processes for the redress and management of customer complaints (N.B. that and even if there was a formal complaint filing structure in a digital asset trading platform, the pseudo-anonymous nature of virtual currencies, ease of cross-border and interstate transport, and the lack of a formal banking edifice creates enormous challenges for law enforcement to investigate and apprehend any individuals who use cryptocurrencies for illegal activities);

-No obligation to follow publicly disseminated national best bid and offer and other related best execution requirements;

-No minimum financial standards for operation, liquidity, and net capital; -No U.S. governmental team of objective auditors and examiners to inspect and scrutinize the fairness, execution and transparency of transactions;

-No requirement to ensure consistency of trading operations i.e. that the trading protocols used, which determine how orders interact and execute, and access to a platform's trading services, are the same for all users; and

-No obligation to design ethics and compliance codes for Wall Street entities (regardless of registration status) which would ban their employees from investing in cryptocurrency or NFT investments based on the same arguments as the ban of initial public offerings and options – i.e. that they are too risky and may tempt an employee to steal if not prohibitive.

It's all straight-forward and commonsensical. SEC registration establishes critical requirements that protect investors from individual risk and protect capital markets from global systemic risk. The requirements also make U.S. markets among the safest, most robust, most vibrant and most desirable marketplaces in the world.

Thanks for reading. With my blessing (and nothing but love for you), please feel free to launch the hate. Full Stop.

https://t.co/Vw189HSabN

[Bitfinex'ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 @Bitfinexed]

Tether fraud to the rescue! CZ activates over 300 wash trading accounts stuffed with fresh Tether fraud bucks to repeatedly buy and sell to himself to show everyone “See! Crypto prices are going up! SEC is FUD!”

Of course, it’s just wash trading of course and not real demand.

[Bitfinex'ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 @Bitfinexed]

Yeah all of the legitimate institutionalized investors suddenly changed their minds eight hours later.

[Bitfinex'ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 @Bitfinexed]

Fewer than twenty people control the entire crypto market.

[Bitfinex'ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 @Bitfinexed]

New crypto ponzi scheme just dropped.

Definitely not secretly ran by Bitfinex/Tether.

[Ben McKenzie @ben_mckenzie]

The only endorsement I ever wanted. Thank you ❤️

[Stephen Diehl @smdiehl]

Making progress, only a few chokepoints left.

☑ FTX
☑ Silvergate Bank
☑ Signature Bank
☑ BUSD
🔲 USDC
🔲 Tether
🔲 Coinbase