2018年经济学人 自由交流:疯狂，恐慌和ICO(1)

 

Finance and Economics

财经

Free exchange: Manias², panics and ICOs

自由交流：疯狂，恐慌和ICO

Crypto-coin mania¹ illustrates³ the crazy and not-so-crazy sides of bubbles.

加密货币狂热诠释了泡沫的疯狂一面和不那么疯狂的一面。

Every market mania reaches a point when pitches to would-be investors⁴ enter the realm of the surreal.

每一次市场狂热都是在针对潜在投资者的花言巧语进入超现实领域时到达临界点。

So it goes for “initial coin offerings”, or ICOs.

“货币首次发行”（initial coin offerings 简称ICO）亦是如此。

A new one by a firm called POW invites Facebook users to claim tokens for nothing; when they later become convertible⁵ into other tokens, the first to take advantage of the offer could “become worth $124bn…making them the richest person on Earth”, the blurb⁷ says.

由一家叫做POW的公司发起的一次新ICO邀请脸书用户为不存在的东西申领代币；当它们以后变得可以转换成其他代币时，头一批利用这次发行的人可能“变得价值1240亿美元......使他们成为地球上最富有的人”，推介宣传上如此写道。

Not a bad return for no money invested and no risk borne.

对于没有钱被投入、没有风险要承担的投资来说，这不算是一个糟糕的回报。

However bizarre, bubbles are hard to resist: no one wants to be the only one of their friends left out.

不管如何荒诞，泡沫是难以抗拒的：没有人想成为自己朋友圈中唯一掉队的人。

They can also be financially ruinous.

它们在财务方面也可能是毁灭性的。

But gambling⁸ on a craze, even a highly dubious⁹ one, can be about more than blind greed.

但是，为一场狂热，甚至是一场高度可疑的狂热赌上身家性命，可能更多地涉及到盲目贪婪。

The ICO boom is an outgrowth of the emerging, occasionally inscrutable world of cryptocurrencies.

ICO繁荣是新兴的、偶尔也是不可思议的加密货币世界的一个产物。

These are a form of money (bitcoin and ether are examples) used in transactions which are recorded on a distributed public ledger¹⁰ called a blockchain.

这些加密货币是用在被记录在一种叫做区块链的分布式公共总帐目中的交易中的一种钱（比特币和以太币）。

An ICO is a scheme to raise funds for an enterprise written into a contract on a blockchain.

ICO是为被写入区块链上的合同中的公司筹集资金的项目。

To buy in, punters use cryptocurrency to pay for tokens.

为了买入，投机客使用加密货币支付代币。

Those tokens become the working currency within the new enterprise.

这些代币在新企业内部成为运转货币。

A new social network, for instance, might fund itself through an ICO, then allow users to spend their tokens on goods or services on the network once it is up and running.

例如，一家新的社交网络可能通过ICO为自己筹集资金，之后，一俟网络上线运行，就允许用户把代币花在该网络的各种商品和服务上面。

In successful projects, demand for tokens should rise and early investors should profit.

在成功的项目中，对代币的需求应当上升，早期投资者应当获利。

ICOs resemble both a new form of crowdfunding, and a technological¹¹ leapfrog over the regulations that hem⁶ in more orthodox funding strategies.

ICO既类似于一种全新的众筹形式，也代表着一种对于把范围限制在正统筹资策略之内的监管的技术飞跃。

They are also all the rage.

同时，他们还一路高歌猛进。

Ether, the currency used on the ethereum blockchain, is up by more than 2,400% against the dollar over the past year and boasts a market capitalisation of nearly $28bn.

以太币，这种用在以太坊区块链上的货币，在过去的一年中对美元上涨了2400%多，并且还自我夸耀称，有将近2800亿美元的市值。

ICOs have so far raised nearly $2bn in 2017.

到目前为止，各种ICO在2017年已经筹集了将近2000亿美元。

1 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

2 manias   

n.（mania的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Like all manias, it needed an object of focus and an explanation. 华尔街立刻夸耀这种称之为“新纪元”的现象。 来自互联网
• But shareholders have frequently in the manias of the moment along with everyone else. 但股东常常会和其他人一样，陷入一时的狂热。 来自互联网

3 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 convertible   

adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车

参考例句：

• The convertible sofa means that the apartment can sleep four.有了这张折叠沙发，公寓里可以睡下4个人。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了。

6 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

7 blurb   

n.简介，短评

参考例句：

• This book fails to give what the blurb describes.这本书不像该书护封上所描绘的那样好。
• In the blurb I couldn't see anything about thinking at all.在这本书的简介中，我根本找不到任何有关思想的东西。

8 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

9 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

10 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

11 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。