Yeah, honestly I don't particularly care what the people on HN think of me [1], but I think it's important to come out to say that even relatively educated people like me can be duped. I might very well be an idiot, but at least nominally I'm in the "educated" demographic: I have a yuppie job, a college degree, some graduate education, and until Gemini Earn was generally considered somewhat financially responsible. I don't gamble, I don't drink, I don't go out to eat very often, any large purchases are planned out for weeks (if not months), and I try and put at least 30% of my paycheck into some form long-term savings (either something low risk/long-term like an index fund or something super-low-risk like a treasury bill). I feel like if something like this can happen to me, it can happen to nearly anyone else.

If anyone was thinking about "investing" in cryptocurrencies, just try and remember that it's largely-unregulated funny money, and you're probably not going to save the world while simultaneously getting rich from it.

I'm hoping that other people can learn from my mistake the age-old adage: if it looks too good to true, it probably is.

[1] (well, most of the time, admittedly I'm subject to vanity like anyone else)