There once was a small town in the midwest...

[JohnnyRingo]

...that had a visit from a flashy millionaire.

He announced to the town folk that he would pay $20 for every racoon they could bring to him.
The citizens immediately went on a frenzied hunt, collecting as many as they could find, pocketed the cash and went back to their daily lives with a few extra dollars to spend.

Soon the wealthy investor announced he would pay $40 for every raccoon they could bring him. Again, the people dropped what they were doing and went on another hunt for what was becoming a rare commodity in town. They cashed in again and went back to living their lives with a decent stipend to spend on necessary items.

But a couple weeks later, the millionaire emerged once again and declared he was willing to pay $80 for every raccoon the town folk could bring to his office. He informed the people he would be out of town on business, but his lawyer would stay in the office while he was gone to pay the bounty. The people scoured the county but soon realized there were no more raccoons to be found.

The investor's lawyer told the people that he had a plan. He could sell all the raccoons the millionaire had stashed away to them for $50 each and they could turn around and sell them to the investor for $80 when he returned. The town's people emptied their savings and came up with enough cash to buy every raccoon in stock, then anxiously waited the millionaire's return. And they waited, but the investor and his lawyer were never seen again.

...and now you know how Crypto Coins work.

[UpInArms]

1. Well played

[Scrivener7]

2. I have an ancestor from the early 1800s who, like Joseph Smith, was a "treasure digger." He'd

use a dowsing rod and dig up treasures from people's land. Like silver candlesticks and caches of coins.

One day, he told his neighbors he had dug up Captain Kidd's treasure. He said he had sent it to Philadelphia to convert it to cash and when the cash came back he would share it with the community. His neighbors were so grateful, they showered him with gifts and money. But of course when the day the cash for Captain Kidd's treasure was supposed to arrive, my ancestor had moved far away and was never heard from again.

This is a really, really old con.

[Just Jerome]

9. Classic con

I think it’s called the “pigeon drop.”

[Joinfortmill]

3. Love this.

[uponit7771]

4. THIS !!!

[Ranting Randy]

5. This is absolutely wonderful. I didn't see the end until it hit me. Good Stuff!

[ReRe]

6. K&R

There you go! Crypto Coins defined. Thanks JohnnyRingo! Now if we could get this published in all those small town newspapers in the Misdwest. Not that they would understand it, but it's worth a try.

[BadgerKid]

7. And also how the stock market works,

particularly the hot stocks.

[Ranting Randy]

8. Is this something you created? I'd like to give credit when I share it.

[JohnnyRingo]

13. The writing is mine....

.. but I got the idea from a similar anecdote about pyramid schemes a while back.
No need to credit me.

[dflprincess]

10. This is great!

I saw another explanation of crypto that compared it to the Beanie Baby craze. I thought my niece would pay for college with her Beanie Babies, but then the bottom dropped out of that market.

[3Hotdogs]

12. Beanie Babies. This was about '97 at a McD's in Bedminster, NJ

The kid was maybe 3 years old and I was behind the parents in the waiting line. Parents had the toy, wrapped in its cellophane and the kid was bawling for the toy.

Parent: (Honest to dog) "No. we're putting it away for your school money."

I don't know how many McD gave away but I'm sure they were rare enough that it was worth the kid bawling in their ear for 15 minutes.

Where do you to, to cash 'em in?

Oh. By the way. This was in the McD in the Bedminster Hills shopping center. This is the same Bedminster where Anal Fistula has his golf course. At that time, the property was owned by John Delorean. (I used to see him in the King's supermarket from time to time.)

[Ranting Randy]

14. I re-wrote it a bit and think it applies to Crypto Meme Coins the best

Once upon a time in a small town, in the Midwest, a flashy millionaire came for a visit.

He announced to the town folk that he would pay $20 for every raccoon they would bring to him.
The citizens immediately went on a frenzied hunt, collecting as many of the furry critters as they could find. Everyone was pleased when millionaire paid out. And the town’s people went back to their daily lives with a few extra dollars to spend.

A few weeks later the millionaire came back to town and announced he would pay $40 for every raccoon the people would bring to him. Again, the people dropped what they were doing and went on another hunt for what was becoming a rare commodity in town. They cashed in again, and once again, went back to their daily lives with even more money to spend.

But a couple of weeks later, the millionaire emerged once again and declared he was willing to pay $120 for every raccoon the town folk could bring to his office. He informed the people he would be out of town on business, but his lawyer would stay in the office while he was gone to pay the bounty. The people scoured the county but soon realized there were no more raccoons to be found.

The millionaire’s lawyer told the people that he had a plan. He could sell all the raccoons the millionaire had stashed away, back to them for $90 each, and they could turn around and sell them to the millionaire for $120 when he returned. The town's people emptied their savings and came up with enough cash to buy back every raccoon in stock, then anxiously waited the millionaire's return.
And they waited, and they waited, but the millionaire and his lawyer were never seen again.

...and now you know how Crypto Meme Coins works.

[JohnnyRingo]

15. Well, that's inflation.

Well done. You make a good editor.