so my first guess was “because a large-bosomed East Asian investing enthusiast he met online convinced him to go heavily into crypto“ and you will be astounded to hear what it turned out to be
🎯 "Hanes (told) the board that someone in Hong Kong had frozen millions in crypto holdings that he'd acquired while working with a couple of internet acquaintances - a banker named Rob who had good relationships in Washington & a woman named Bella". 🙄 Millions $$ lost to a WhatsApp cold call.
I've watched a lot of the catfished videos and it's hard. Some are just ordinarily stupid/desperate/gullible. But some are intelligent people who should know better - perhaps they are the easiest marks?
Wow. Crazy story. Great reporting. The same people who went down in flames with that con artist are the same people who voted from Trump. And they'll go down again.
"A part-time preacher at a local church."
Annnnnnd scene.
Think that might be too big a blanket. Crypto will be the future. But until it's highly regulated this kind of thing will keep playing out. There's ALWAYS going to be greed and fraud. We see it with fiat currency every day. The immediacy of crypto and lack of knowledge opens more doors for fraud.
There is no problem solved by cryptocurrency that isn’t better solved by a non-cryptocurrency solution. (With the possible exception of money laundering, although Bitcoin specifically is bad at this because its blockchain is a permanent public record of the transactions.)
That's not exactly true. A big one is that it removes central banks from the equation. Those who manipulate money and economies. Like any new innovation there's a period of transition. But in a world that's increasingly driven by digital technology, there's no question currency will do the same
*Best* case, crypto is just gold without the gold. That’s hopelessly deflationary & a terrible alternative to a central bank—especially one that actually honored its mandate for full employment.
Currency *is* digital. Almost all spending (in the West, at least) is done electronically.
Cryptocurrency is a tragically slow database with a financial scam bolted on. It solves no difficult, worthwhile problems, while introducing enormous, incredibly impactful new problems.
The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 that is equal to the UK's national debt alone.
yeah the question of "how can i more effectively launder money" is one of the few for which crypto may be an answer. not sure that's a goal we should strive for
He's in jail. "It was only then, months after the bank shuttered, that he accepted he had been tricked. “I’ll forever struggle understanding how I was duped,” Hanes said".
Not so intelligent then. A few YouTube videos would have explained the scam to him.
Don’t worry, the Trump/Musk regime are on the case of preventing cryptocurrency fraud and stabilising crypto markets so fewer people lose their life savings and personal fortunes to pump and dump schemes and fake crypto scams…
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And POTUS is about to use taxpayers money to fund the biggest crime in history
"A part-time preacher at a local church."
Annnnnnd scene.
lol, lmao even
Cryptocurrency is a tragically slow database with a financial scam bolted on. It solves no difficult, worthwhile problems, while introducing enormous, incredibly impactful new problems.
The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 that is equal to the UK's national debt alone.
Not so intelligent then. A few YouTube videos would have explained the scam to him.
But yes - bury her under the jail
Just the absolute worst person...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/21/myanmar-scam-call-centre-compounds
https://youtube.com/shorts/2opC8UPwSLs?si=VK9CEAbt5nJjr611