It's another sad day for journalism in NZ. Stuff are uncritically reporting on "meme" coins which is simply double-speak for Pyramid schemes, and Pyramid schemes are illegal under the Fair Trading Act whether or not they provide a product or service, or both.
The article in question is not Stuff's work so temper in any feelings towards white collar criminals knowing that, it is written by the Washington post but no editor with a conscience scams their readers like this. Counter-points are reluctantly included then glossed over by seeking comment from Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum creator who accepted an invitation to an economics conference in St Petersberg, meeting with Vladimir Putin, after the annexation of Crimea. FWIW Vitalik has since distanced himself from that but is still a basic crypto-scammer.
There is an element of truth in the article regarding 'financial nihilism' but integrity still went out the window, because of a complete ommission of the white collar crime aspect. Words like "investment" do not apply to or accurately describe what is bare fraud. It is ironic the disdain for a "corrupt" financial system would lead people to embrace the most obvious scam that exists today: crypto.
The language in the article grants "crypto" more legitimacy than it is due. There are many crypto critics who could have been interviewed to provide balance to the article, but none appear in it. Comment is only sought from people who grant it legitimacy. The skeptic called on has published on the subject and his work is not unscientific but he himself omits mention of the basic criminality of Bitcoin, which invites questions of an ethical nature. His work also touches on corruption so it is interesting his less-rosy publications dropped off the author's RADAR.
Nor is the environmental footprint of Bitcoin mentioned, despite one transaction resulting in more carbon dioxide than burning a whole tank of gasoline. Bitcoin uses more energy than Poland. It emits more heat than 20 'Hiroshimas' per day.
I hope I'm not being too harsh on journalists, but how hard is it to say something is illegal? Crypto-scammers would rejoice knowing that Stuff and the Washington Post are unwilling or unable to call a scam a scam: free advertising.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0121/latest/DLM96950.html
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Krause-16
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