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64% Positive

Analyzed from 707 words in the discussion.

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#bitcoin#years#ago#why#worth#less#dollar#don#corporations#poor

Discussion (19 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

webprofusionβ€’about 2 hours ago
It's Jim Gordon btw, nobody watched the OC surely.
PierceJoyβ€’about 2 hours ago
You obviously weren't in high school at the time the OC was on. Everybody watched it. I don't think I've ever viewed Ben as anyone other than Ryan Atwood ever since.
RedShift1β€’about 2 hours ago
The first two seasons were really good. So good it kinda surprised me on a rewatch. After that it went downhill though.
BLKNSLVRβ€’about 4 hours ago
Original ABC article, including video of interview: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-24/ben-mckenzie-cryptocu...

I turned off when he said that Bitcoin is issued by corporations. The interviewer calls him out on it and he doubles down. That's blatantly false, and indicates poor research and / or poor understanding.

It may be true for plenty of other cryptocurrencies, but it's definitely not true for some, including Bitcoin. In fact, 99% of cryptocurrencies are scams, but that's because they can now be created in seconds with little knowledge or skill.

Feels like he's pushing an agenda, especially with the use of the term 'corporations'. Which is amusing, since it's the lack of trust of big-finance that (so the story goes) led to the creation of Bitcoin in the first place - the 2007 GFC in particular. Although electronic money was being dabbled with since the mid-late 90s, and that base formed the foundation of what Bitcoin was built on.

This is probably just advertising for his documentary, really.

Nina_antalphaβ€’about 3 hours ago
most crypto's junk. But saying Bitcoin is issued by corporations, then doubling down, just hands critics a free win. Sloppy for a guy selling a doc.
georgemcbayβ€’35 minutes ago
> I turned off when he said that Bitcoin is issued by corporations. The interviewer calls him out on it and he doubles down. That's blatantly false, and indicates poor research and / or poor understanding.

He knows how bitcoin works. And what he said wasn't a lie, though you could argue it was a simplification, but he's not addressing the HN crowd with what he's saying and IMO his simplification is perfectly acceptable to the audience he is targeting.

The cost to mine a single BTC in 2026 is > $70k. Random individuals and hobbyists are not spending that kind of money mining bitcoin.

rvzβ€’about 4 hours ago
This is the same author that attempted to short bitcoin and lost most of his money. [0] Perhaps that is why he is upset about cryptocurrencies.

But the true scam is the complete debasement of the US dollar and people will slowly realize why the dollar will always be worth less than it was 40 years ago as it continues to be printed to zero and number go up with stocks and crypto.

It is also the reason why some people are crying that $1m is not enough to retire on, and they are right. Because $1m is worth less today than it was 40 years ago.

Hence why people here need >$500k and above a year to live, when in reality, it is the fiat currency becoming more worthless over time.

Sounds like a scam in the long term.

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/15/ben-mck...

catlifeonmarsβ€’about 2 hours ago
Where do you live where you need to make $500k and above to live in the US? Silicon Valley?

If so, that’s definitely the exception rather than the rule.

> Because $1m is worth less today than it was 40 years ago.

And? $1 is also worth less than it was 40 years ago. You also make more than the same person would doing the same thing 40 years ago, so that’s not a useful comparison. If you want to make statements about standards of living, you need to use the same measuring stick. You can use inflation adjusted values to do so.

latchkeyβ€’about 3 hours ago
> the dollar will always be worth less than it was 40 years ago

at this point, you don't even have to go that far back.

TMWNNβ€’about 3 hours ago
> But the true scam is the complete debasement of the US dollar and people will slowly realize why the dollar will always be worth less than it was 40 years ago as it continues to be printed to zero and number go up with stocks and crypto.

By contrast, there was essentially no inflation in England from 1614 to the start of WW1.

Yokohiiiβ€’about 2 hours ago
By contrast, england could summon anything from their colonies.
alephnerdβ€’about 3 hours ago
Don't call it that [0]

[0] - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s78adWHXQ8U

senectus1β€’about 2 hours ago
No idea what the OC is, but the guy looks familiar.

its largely a scam yes, but that doesnt mean it has no utility. Happy for it to get this sort of marketing tho.

fishgoesblubβ€’about 1 hour ago
Every time an individual blanket labels the entirety of Cryptocurrency as a "Ponzi Scheme" just reveals their lack of knowledge. Plenty of them are, and plenty of them aren't in the fact that they aren't scams, or don't even fit the definition of a Ponzi. He can try to pry my Monero from my cold, dead hands.
SilentM68β€’about 2 hours ago
Somebody should probably let him know about this site:

tftc.io

I'd be educational for him, I would think :)

gatvolβ€’43 minutes ago
Celebs having opinions that get amplified because they're celebs is simply embarrassing all round for everyone.
xhevahirβ€’25 minutes ago
He's written a book on the subject and testified in front of the US Senate. The fact that he acted in a popular TV show more than twenty years ago isn't particularly relevant.
2muchcoffeemanβ€’31 minutes ago
Dude completed under grad in foreign affairs and economics.

Might have been good student. At the very least someone with an undergrad trying to understand crypto seems reasonable.

Yes, made a doco and is trying to make money. But could still be reasonable.

someguydaveβ€’28 minutes ago
Why did they pick him to testify, out of the tens or hundreds of thousands with a similar background?