Financial nihilism ... describes the sense that the economic system no longer rewards prudence or long-term planningFinancial nihilism ... describes the sense that the economic system no longer rewards prudence or long-term planning
It might seem reckless for Gen Z to gamble money on meme coins and sports, but many of us have lost confidence in the traditional ladder of success. It’s known as financial nihilism, a term coined by podcaster Demetri Kofinas several years ago, and it describes the sense that the economic system no longer rewards prudence or long-term planning.
When every conventional path narrows, people start to look for alternatives.When every conventional path narrows, people start to look for alternatives.
When every conventional path narrows, people start to look for alternatives. And in practice, that has meant turning toward the few places where a real upside still appears possible, even if the risks are high. In this environment, prediction markets, sports betting and cryptocurrency start to look like some of the only levers they have left. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials think that the only way to build wealth today is through alternative methods like gambling and crypto, according to the Harris Poll.
A small chance at a large return beats a near-certainty of a slow declineA small chance at a large return beats a near-certainty of a slow decline
Faced with that reality, taking a gamble on Fartcoin or betting how many times Elon Musk tweets in a week can feel strangely rational. A small chance at a large return beats a near-certainty of a slow decline. Even a stock market with an almost 20% gain over the course of 2025 can’t compete psychologically with the promise of a 1,000% gain in one day. The logic is closer to game theory than pure irrationality.
Taking a page out of Den's playbook and highlighting some key quotes in header font.
Also, I did a CTRL+F for Bitcoin with zero hits. Boooooo! Lots of mention of "crypto" but no mention of Bitcoin, no mention of Cantillon, no mention even of the word fiat. Disappointing!
My 20-something daughters think it's already impossible for them to own a home. I remember thinking the same thing in my 20s, but it turned out doable in my 30s. That said, today's cost would have put me out of reach as well.
In 1971 the even vague premise of money being backed by gold was cancelled. I remember as a kid (in the 1960s - before 1971) we were encouraged to save in a bank account and back then the interest rate and low inflation made it make sense. But since 1971 fiat has been in full debasement mode and saving money does not make sense. So people were forced to take risks with their savings to have a chance of growing a nest egg and future security- stocks, bonds and real estate were the options offered by the bankers and government or you could invest in a business or education. Nearly all these options (except stocks and bonds) are leveraged by debt- fiat debt- and so the notion of using fiat debt to leverage investment returns became normalised. Today we are still in full fiat but Bitcoin does provide a new alternative and so far it has outperformed any of the fiat debt based offerings- I believe because enough people can see the fiat debt based system for what it is- a regime of slavery to the banks and governments. Crypto muddies the water with its DINO shitcoin offerings but as long as Bitcoin remains an option- it is an option and one that has proven its integrity. Most people do not have the time or inclination to question the status quo but as the status quo continues to decline into ever more crony capitalist bullshit and lies some are opening their eyes and taking the option of Bitcoin- to build an alternative monetary system free and independent of the fiat debt slavery bankers cartel that owns your government and seeks to enslave humanity. I rejoice we have this option and that it has already freed millions of us from fiat debt slavery- at least partially. Think of how many projects have been enabled and new innovations build upon the base of Bitcoin. As long as that building continues there is hope. If you are happy to be a slave to fiat debt slavery ok- good luck with that- but if you want a better option- one that treats all participants equally without fear or favour- we have Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a peaceful constructive protest, and alternative monetary system that anyone can be part of but nobody is forced to use. Perhaps most people are so conditioned to be slaves to the fiat debt system they cannot yet see the monetary freedom and integrity Bitcoin represents...
That sucks. Too bad they don't see the potential of hodling.
edit: btw, @sox quote reply wasn't working for me. Maybe that's related to the new editor.
It seems like I can't reproduce it, even though I'm not really sure about my recent fix on quote reply. I'll take a look now, thank you!
Did you try highlighting text from the original post and selecting quote reply from the drop down?
Started working on this the moment I got your live comment. I didn't thought of that button at all!!
The problem was that the editor didn't support quote selection updates if already open. Pushed, thanks again!
Of course
You hit the nail on the head… does the article mean ‘crypto’ or does it mean… bitcoin? Crypto could mean some little known memecoin that pumps… or it could mean multi-decade Bitcoin savings.
Which one? who knows. so many of these finance ‘articles’ put a big orange B on the front cover illustration but they don’t actually clarify what the ‘crypto’ is that they’re referring to.
‘Crypto‘ to financial publications also refers to ‘stablecoins’ which they mention constantly… but what does that have to do with ‘risky bets’ if it’s so risky why is the US embracing stablecoins???
I suspect it's not about bitcoin if they're also seeing gambling as a reasonable income strategy.
I think what they might be missing too is how quickly things can change.
If a major real estate or stock market crash hits, those who have been patiently saving up cash could have a great opportunity to buy into assets at a cheap price so they can build wealth.
To be fair, if I were a young person struggling to make ends meet, I don't know if I'd be able to think that way. Especially when history teaches us that the current regime is willing to monetize every crisis.
how do we fix this?