Today I decided to pull the plug on Robonhood Gold. I joined the Gold last year to take advantage of the 3% match of Roth IRA, which is $240 for $8,000 worth of IRA. But in last few years, I am increasingly tired of their gimmicky, including but not limited to the expansion to Cryptos (remember they did the countdown around the new year, and give away Dogecoin and bitcoin), and now I started to appreciate what Charlie Munger said about them (a casino).
Full disclosure: I participated in one of the countdown and received 18.67 units of Dogecoin, worth $3.40 today, down $2.55 from the day I received it (I think it was 12/31/2024). Personally I am with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger re: cryptos, and I think they are poos.
I will probably pull out my money when there is no fees associated with the withdrawal. Also note I am a very early customer of Robinhood back in year 2015 when they were brand new, and I do appreciate their zero transaction fee revolution to the brokerage industry. But it seems now they are the bad guys: which is not uncommon – somewhat reminds me of this blog post, and this video: I recall Mearsheimer commented the youth will be corrupted when they rose to the power.
Because the Bitcoin just crossed the $100,000 mark recently, and with the upcoming US president who is friendly to the bitcoin and Cryptos, I saw a lot of excitement and craziness going on in that space.
Came across a question at FB private group:
My young adults (16/19) keep trying to invest in crypto, xrp, etc. Where is a good place to learn about it so they don’t get scammed. Already a few times one has lost $ from graduation gift we gave him to try his hand. What are legit companies to try bitcoin investing that I can learn from? They are definitely targeted on their social media platforms. Thanks!
My initial answer: Replace “invest” with speculate (or gamble). I don’t think cryptos are investment: they have no real value – other than hope the next guy will pay a higher price.
Someone’s answer to my initial answer: tell that to all the people who have made hundreds of thousands of dollars by investing in it.
My follow up answer: some people are just lucky 🍀- just like those people who won giant jackpot🎰 at the lottery. That doesn’t mean everyone else can have the exact same luck.
PS: I already expressed my opinion on “investing” on bitcoin and other cryptos (I don’t even want to call them cryptocurrencies). But at the same time, recently I realized companies such as Block Inc. with stock ticker symbol $SQ, Coinbase with ticker symbol $COIN, and Robinhood (App) $HOOD etc. actually are still viable business. Imagine them like the casino houses such as Caesar Entertainment, Las Vegas Sand, Wynn or other other casino in Las Vegas, in Macau and in Singapore: they are mostly profitable as long as their casinos are open and they have customers coming to gamble. Or just think them like the operator of Mega Millions or Powerball in the USA. Remember the old saying: the house always wins.
You may also read a Chinese version (translated by Google Translate) here.
Warren said that as a law professor studying bankruptcy she saw that consumer protections were weak and fragmented, and that America needed a single federal agency dedicated to protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive and abusive practices. “I was stunned by the number of people in financial trouble who had lost a job or got sick but who had also been cheated by one or more of their creditors,” she told Reuters. “For no agency was consumer protection a first priority, it was somewhere between fifth and tenth, which meant there was just no cop on the beat. If the CFPB is not there, people have nowhere to turn when they get cheated.”
Personally, I feel the lack of personal finance knowledge, as well as bad math, are contributing factors for people getting into financial trouble.
(Original) One downside of the free speech in this country, is one can hear or see all kinds of shenanigans or “God damned lies” on TV (both network and cables), on radio, and the latest and greatest the social medias.
Examples of financial frauds in America I read today 11-22-2024 Friday:
(This probably is rare, but I suggest to avoid it) An investor says he put 98% of his retirement funds in Trump Media stock and won’t bail because Trump has a ‘secret’ plan. Since the Enron and WorldCom debacle, many companies started to remove company stock as an investment choice in 401k plans. Personally I think it’s a wise choice. In fact, I noticed the company I used to work for, Siemens, did divest my Siemens stocks (not a lot), and put it in a target date portfolio. Not all companies are doing that though: e.g., I know Arch Coal (now Arch Resources after the emergence post bankruptcy), used to offer the company stock in its 401k plan – note that stock became useless when it went through bankruptcy about 10 years ago. GE had similar issues: it didn’t go through bankruptcy, but at one time its stock went down a lot before its eventually company split (the original company was split into 3 companies).
中国企业家3千万美元搭上川普 获邀任顾问 : don’t just walk, run away from this guy and World Liberty Financial if you could. I remember Warren Buffett famously said he won’t pay $25 for all of the bitcoins. But he was duped by this 孙宇晨（Justin Sun）guy – when Warren was just trying to raise money for charity.
Major’s Rule Number 1
If something is too good to be true: IT IS A LIE e.g.: ‘guaranteed’ 15.25% return (annually?) – Run not just walk, when you hear this kind of guaranteed return.
