The giant balance up top is an incredible FOMO machine. In the best findom/gamification, you can increase your "score" simply by giving them more money. The volatility makes the game more difficult to predict than most free-to-play games, but the daily graphs going up so fast make it hard to resist.

My brokerage account and bank accounts also display the balance. Sometimes at the top, sometimes in the middle. It's a UI decision, more than a FOMO game. With that mindset, capitalism itself is a FOMO and the balance at the top of your head (your net worth) the FOMO machine.

you mean... like most banking apps?

god forbid they make obvious what most users are using the app for.

In my opinion, selling the miner hardware is more like selling the shovels. Coinbase is more like the laundry service.

I'm sure someone else can poke holes in this as well. =)

Let's be careful when taking about any kind of laundering when discussing Bitcoin :-)

The number one currency for evil purposes is and will be USD, for a very very very long time.

Coinbase is the one that buys and sells gold though, they don't provide the miners or (personal) wallets. Incorrect analogy. The shovel sellers are the parties that sell mining hardware, GPU's and ASICs.