Mikael Jungner: Cryptocurrencies are a scam

The downturn in cryptocurrencies led ex-MP Mikael Jungner to tweet.

Jungner refers to cryptocurrencies as a scam. Jarno Juuti / AOP

The cryptocurrency currency market saw dark clouds last week as prices fell explosively. For example, the share price of the largest cryptocurrency bitcoin fell below 25,000 last Thursday, when in April the price was almost 40,000 euros. In November last year, Bitcoin knocked nearly 60,000 euros.

Prices have risen since last week, but are still frosty compared to last month. For example, the inflation situation in the United States and the war in Ukraine have a strong effect. Significant was the loss of the dollar collateral of TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin pegged to the dollar.

Now a former Member of Parliament and CEO of Yle Mikael Jungner has tweeted about cryptocurrencies, describing them as a scam on Monday.

“Where were you when cryptocurrencies were revealed to be a giant scam,” Jungner tweets.

The tweet has sparked a lot of discussion and already has over 100 comments. We brought up some of them.

– The year was 2017 and I was doing research on what block chain technology should be used for. The answer was then and still is “apparently just about nothing,” one tweets.

Nonfiction Petteri Järvinen jokes with thought games comparing the situation to the digitization of television:

– Or “Where were you when the digitalisation of television was revealed to be a giant scam?” I will go on and on about the fact that the digitalisation of television is a giant scam: standardized typography instead of HD was standardized, interactive services (MHP) were promised, millions of non-functioning set-top boxes were sold, channels were full of reality TV, the future was online, etc. Järvinen tweets.

One person does not see a future in cryptocurrencies:

– Cryptographic delegates will be looked at sometime in the future and laughing at how God-like this human race was able, with a serious face, to trample huge amounts of the right medium into some piece of code named after a celebrity dog.

In addition, he highlights the complexity of the crypts:

– Yes, crypts are a confusing cult. No one ever bother to explain what a certain coin does with it, where the appreciation potential of a “project” comes from (except speculation) and how they could ever replace stupid fiat money?

Another Twitter user commented on this, noting that “hundreds of books” have been written about Bitcoin, which can be found in Finnish:

– “Nobody really bother to explain” seems to be just an expression of arrogance towards studying.

One Twitter user says they prefer to invest in stocks:

– Probably investing in stocks, which I do quite regularly. I wouldn’t touch and I’ve never touched crypts with a long stick. Simply because I want to know and understand where and where my money is invested.

Another Twitter user notes that cryptocurrencies are not scams, but they put a strain on the environment:

– When did this happen? Of course, there has always been quite a bit of air in the market value of Bitcoin, but I would still like to take 1000 bitcoins, for example. Genuine cryptocurrencies are not scams, but they are quite energy wasters and environmental crimes.

One Twitter user highlights the money invested in relation to what feels like a scam.

– The definition of a scam depends entirely on the stage at which you have invested in them and how much.

Paytrail Sales Director Johannes Kumpukoski again sees the future of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange:

– I see cryptocurrencies as a tool for ordinary consumer exchange in the distant future. The technology of cryptocurrencies and the innovation based on it is still undervalued (the value of the coin is partly based on it). Same as saying that Tesla’s market capitalization is a scam.

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