I don't think that this was his real intention

Most likely, he is simply not very well familiar with how the system works (I refer to bets being provably fair), so he assumed that gambling sites could feed their players any data they see appropriate (read, bust you any moment). If you look at it from this perspective, i.e. without knowing that bets can be checked (in fact, any particular bet), then it makes sense. And truth be told, some casinos have actually been caught doctoring the bet outcomes in the past (you can search the Gambling section for more info). When asked, they refused to provide server seeds for the bets in question (or how it is done), which would prove the outcomes were either legit or tampered with

If wishes were horses, beggars might ride

Or it is easier said than done (not plagiarism but a couple of witticisms). To cut a long story short, Bitcoin is good money while fiat is bad money, with the implication being that people prefer to hoard bitcoins and spend dollars (or whatever). Yeah, I know it sounds a little bit like paradox given Bitcoin's extreme volatility but the main premise still stands (good versus bad). What that means is that there is little to no chance for Bitcoin to be evenly distributed, ever, which in turn essentially means volatility is here to stay and we have to live with that


But that's unlikely to happen for the reasons stated. However, personally, I have doubts whether we actually need that land casinos started to accept crypto when there is no lack of online ones with which you can gamble your coins away in a relaxed and cozy manner without leaving your armchair and constantly looking back over your shoulder (though you can still safely keep your fingers crossed)

That may not play out as planned

Now that wolf.bet has attracted enough attention and partly thanks to its wagering contest (aka Wolf Race), you may not be the only whale sitting there in ambush and waiting for the timer to run out. So it is quite possible that you actually end up in a bitter dogfight (well, let's call it wolf fight as it seems more appropriate here) in the last minutes of the contest instead of "beat them all with your few bets". In other words, if you come up with what you think a brilliant idea, think again. Maybe, someone has already thought that out. Other than that, I agree that you need big balance to square things off and gain an advantage

Technically, there are two major varieties of market manipulation

The first, which you refer to in your post, i.e. manipulation by big players and market movers ("whales" as people call them here) may not even be considered proper manipulation by some (even though such activities can be prohibited by governing bodies and agencies such as CFTC, SEC and their likes) because it is market manipulation carried out by market means via exploiting one's financial leverage

On the other hand, there is market manipulation of a more evil or even destructive type. This manipulation is done not by traders (whales or otherwise) but by entities which have a leverage other than purely financial. These are exchanges themselves first and foremost as well as all those trading commissions already mentioned (don't be surprised here). This type of manipulation is inherently evil as it destroys the market when it runs wild

But isn't this exactly the problem?

Just like with merchants not accepting crypto, regular "offline" casinos may not be willing either because they would have to deal with volatility issues. In fact, all such issues can be dealt with in an effective and efficient way (in a technical sense), but that requires extra costs which can easily make the whole thing not worth it (given that they keep their books in whatever the official currency is). And still more so when people willing to stake their coins can easily do that in online casinos (which is totally hassle-free)


I agree, but this is not what the topic is about

This is only a tip of the iceberg

Silver market is especially shiny (pardon the pun) for its manipulation propensity but it is definitely not the only pebble on the beach. Smaller markets are easier to manipulate (silver is not a very big market overall) but even the biggest markets get manipulated. It just requires more leverage which is not available to "regular" billionaires. This is the task for central banks and their likes. Obviously, you can't catch these as they are the ones who do all the catching (and punishment, for that matter)

Someone's been kidding obviously

Really, why would you seriously expect a totally random dude to tell you something which, if true, would let you grab easy money? There is no reason in doing this, i.e. the only reason that you can come up with is someone trying to make a fool of you. As the famous (or infamous, depending on your stance) con artist Joseph Weil (aka Yellow Kid) once said, each of his victims had larceny in their heart. So it is the same here with the aim to make your greed cloud your reason and common sense (for the fun of it)

And it is not just about poker

As it refers to anything where the outcome (largely) depends on the quality of your decisions. That is kind of obvious, but sometimes you have to make a decision under pressure, for example, if you are running out of time and have to make up your mind anyway. And you may not leave, i.e. refrain from making any decision, as that would spell complete failure. The point is, you have to deal with your emotions somehow even if they are overwhelming you

Well, personally I totally agree with you

However, if you (for example) believe in God (a higher deity, conscious universe, world government, aliens, or anything to that tune), it would be hard not to accept that you can't rationally reason with somebody who believes in his luck (or in himself, which is actually the same). In other words, these are things of the same order (read, their falseness cannot be proven or disproven as they lack a certain quality called falsifiability). And the ultimate irony in all of this is that it can in fact pan out in real life as with anything truly random (read, there can be powerful outliers)


Again, agree with this point. It is how you use this system (as well as stop using it) which determines your success rates with it in the long run

I wouldn't blame just JPMorgan traders

Every trader would do essentially the same in absolutely any market (gold, crude oil, and, yes, crypto too) as long as the risk/reward ratio is acceptable to them. In more mundane terms, if they can pull off some trick that is considered illegal or even outright prohibited but there is a high chance to get away with it, you can be damn sure some will go for it to earn a buck or two

This is just human nature and you can't do anything with it apart from catching transgressors and punishing them appropriately (which would raise that ratio and make it prohibitively expensive to break the rules). The Hunt brothers case is a classic in the market manipulation genre

I don't quite understand what you mean by this. Care to explain in greater detail?


Bitcoin is indeed no less political

Just recall all the bickering, scheming and infighting around activating SegWit in 2017 which ultimately led to a Bitcoin fork into, well, just Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Wasn't that political or was it less political than with "regular" money? To me, things followed the regular pattern revealed in such matters

Moreover, if Bitcoin expands, it will be even more politically colored as is the case with anything having some value and concerning interests of different groups of people. Conceptually, it is not about the thing itself (Bitcoin or otherwise) but rather about the people and their interests involved


Rest assured they will find a way to overcome this obstacle (if it becomes worth it)

As they say, it depends

In fact, it may be worth to move an insignificant part of your cryptoholdings to Ethereum (if you hadn't done so already) as we can expect some hype prior to Ethereum 2.0 release, which is scheduled to occur in January 2020. But then we shouldn't forget about the Bitcoin halving to come a few months later which should have an even more pronounced effect on Bitcoin's price (read, there should be more powerful price action). In other words, we will likely see a roller coaster in the coming months, and if you manage to time the market, it could pay back handsomely. Just my perspective, do your own due diligence at all times

Could you expand more on this?

Every casino has a house edge if that is your point. In case of wolf.bet it is set at 1%, which is the same across the industry on average. But it is not a secret, so it can't be a cheat either. Regarding the fairness of the bets, that can be easily checked manually. In fact, you can do that right at wolf.bet. I didn't check the bets being fair myself as I don't think there is such a need for me personally (I don't bet much). But your situation may be different. Or maybe you mean something else


Be aware, these two have been retired. Just kidding

If only things were that simple

The problem is that countries which are already industrialized have a competitive advantage while the third world countries can't just proceed from exporting raw materials and natural resources to manufacturing finished products and retail-ready goods because they simply would not be able to stand the competition with the developed countries. So, instead of getting 10x the profits from exporting natural resources, they would only incur losses by producing subpar goods that will fail to market

To do what you suggest requires a lot more than just building factories as it also requires highly qualified labor force, technologies, capital, etc, as well as support from the big guns like the US opening their markets (see Japan as one such example) and it takes literally decades to go in that direction till finally getting there (or just somewhere)

It is like donating a goose laying golden eggs

If anyone had such a strategy, they would keep their mouth shut about it. And they definitely wouldn't be bragging about their profits. That essentially answers your question. People who claim that they were able to multiply their investments like 10-100x are either massively exaggerating their real successes or they were just extremely lucky to first get in on time and then get out just in time

The bottom line is, take anything that you hear about someone earning insane amounts of dough with a bag of salt as reality may be not as rosy as it is being described

If you ask me, that would completely bring down their economies (and very fast at that)

These countries have to export their natural resources "as is" because there is not much else they can do (or sell) as they lack the required technologies as well as expertise "to add value to their natural resources themselves". Remember, they are underdeveloped, which basically means natural resources are their only available means of keeping up their level of welfare

If they didn't export natural resources as you suggest, they wouldn't receive the financial means (read, dollars) to buy thousands of other things which they don't produce themselves since they are underdeveloped (but I repeat myself). Then they would quickly turn into a North Korea of sorts. In simple terms, selling whatever they have is their only option (other than developing their economy the "hard way"). It is just how things stand in the world

Adoption and age are not the same

With that said, however, I don't think either that gamblers let alone casinos are not aware about Bitcoin. But the problem lies deeper. As I see it, Bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies (and by others I refer to Dogecoin first and foremost) is perfect for online gambling (Doge is even better), so it is kind of enough is as good as a feast. In other words, people who have crypto and a desire to gamble can easily satisfy that desire in an online casino. In the case they want something real, they can convert their bitcoins to cash (provided they don't have any) and go to Las Vegas, Monaco, and similar places


Not that it is impossible per se, it is just too clumsy and cumbersome (when you already have a cash option)

А это была ирония по поводу сарказма


Это нужно с нефтяниками спорить

На соответствующем форуме. Однако Штатам не надо ни с кем воевать (ну почти), ибо вся импортируемая в Штаты нефть (хорошая она или плохая) поставляется из соседних территорий. Как я уже сказал, это Канада, Мексика и, внимание, Венесуэла, у которой самые большие запасы нефти в мире (больше чем у саудитов и даже персов, если что). Поэтому Дяде Сэму для полного нефтяного эмбарго (зачеркнуто) элизиума достаточно просто заменить упрямого Чавеса (зачеркнуто) Мадуро на кого-то более сговорчивого

There is a simple explanation

Note, however, that it is not necessarily the only explanation possible as there can be many as many factors are involved with this currency. As Libra is essentially a tokenized dollar, it can't threaten the underlying asset itself (i.e. the dollar), so the point of discord lies elsewhere. And here's the crux of the matter. Libra won't be a competitor to the dollar but it will definitely compete with the payment systems based on the dollar, i.e. almost every payment system out there (Visa, MasterCard, Western Union, to name but a few). So it is not with the governments that it causes so much tension, indignation and irritation but rather with the lobbies of payment companies in these governments

Reading the previous page would suffice. It was meant as a joke on some dude claiming wolf.bet was cheating with the race and the number of bets. Deleted the original post to avoid possible confusion and misunderstanding. You can delete yours too