Molly White - Citation Needed

Howard Lutnick speaking at a Cabinet meeting, with subtitles about putting “GDP on the blockchain”

Crypto recaps

Issue 91 – GDP on the blockchain

The regulator set to take on primary crypto oversight is down to a single Commissioner, and new pro-crypto PACs focus on installing more Republicans in the midterms

A photograph of Justin Sun, superimposed over a gavel and an image of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index entry

As he builds US power, Justin Sun fights to control his story

A crypto billionaire who once feared arrest in the US is now a Trump business adviser and White House guest. His lawsuit against Bloomberg reveals what he doesn't want Americans to know about his crypto fortune.

Screenshot of I Think You Should Leave episode, where the focus group man states “Oh my God, he admit it!”

Crypto recaps

Issue 90 – Crime szn bro

The Trump administration cracks down on software to limit surveillance of crypto transactions, while celebrating a “deregulatory blitz” tailored for its billionaire benefactors

A grid of articles from the “Subscriptions” tab of my RSS reader

Better web

Curate your own newspaper with RSS

Escape newsletter inbox chaos and algorithmic surveillance by building your own enshittification-proof newspaper from the writers you already read

Roman Storm, overlaid over a photo of a tornado

The Tornado Cash case: When politics sabotage a prosecution

The Trump administration’s regulatory whiplash has left prosecutors scrambling with misattributed chat messages and questionable victim testimony

A blue vending machine with branding that reads “Crypto is like a bar of chocolate” in the foreground, with the Capitol building behind

Crypto recaps

Issue 89 – Crypto wins in Washington with midnight calls, chocolate bars, and a $141 million threat

Trump stands to profit from a $2 billion bitcoin bet as the crypto industry pushes through bills aimed at bolstering the sector

A stock trader on the floor of the NYSE in 1963, photoshopped to show him holding up a large physical “bitcoin”

Crypto recaps

Issue 88 – The stockchain

Crypto firms hope putting a blockchain veneer on traditional equities will allow them to sidestep lessons learned in the 1929 Wall Street crash, crypto firms look to become banks, and Congress celebrates crypto surveillance while claiming to outlaw it

Portrait of Bill Pulte, superimposed with his “SO ORDERED” tweet about crypto and mortgages

Crypto recaps

Issue 87 – SO ORDERED

Trump’s crypto empire attracts more foreign millions, the FHFA pushes crypto on mortgage lenders, and Mamdani’s mayoral primary win makes billionaires sweat

Crypto recaps

Issue 86 – State power sponsored by Coinbase

The GENIUS Act passes the Senate after explicit threats to Democrats from the crypto lobby, and shady crypto billionaire Justin Sun cozies up even closer to the Trump family

It matters. I care.

Giving up on the idea that truth matters is not just cynicism, it’s surrender.

Extremely tangled diagram depicting relationships between LLCs, major companies, the Trump family, Bill Zanker, and various other individuals, and various crypto projects

Crypto recaps

Issue 85 – All the President’s tokens

As Trump’s web of crypto projects gets tangled up in itself, a regulator warns of “regulatory Jenga” in the crypto sector that echoes the 2008 financial crisis

UPDATED: Trump to launch branded crypto trading application

New crypto trading and wallet application, created in partnership with Magic Eden, invites fans of President Trump to buy his memecoin; Trump sons deny any involvement or knowledge

Chat bubble from phone: “Unless you take extreme action, you’re going to be filtered, ignored, and rejected by 99.99% of women no matter how much “confidence” you fake.”

Artificial intelligence

OpenAI featured chatbot is pushing extreme surgeries to “subhuman” men

OpenAI's featured chatbot recommends $200,000 in surgeries while promoting incel ideology

Crypto recaps

Issue 84 – Rogue overseas support agents

Coinbase’s substantial data breach coincides with a convenient terms of service update, while the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill regains momentum in the Senate

Collage of Senator Elizabeth Warren speaking into a bullhorn, and Senator Richard Blumenthal speaking into a microphone

Crypto recaps

Issue 83 – Trump’s crypto-backed plan to auction off access to the White House

Trump’s crypto conflicts continue to multiply as Democratic legislators demand ethics inquiries and block industry-backed bills

Clockwise from top left: “Ogle”, “INBUM” from BugsCoin, “Booblino”, Justin Sun (center) and two representatives of MemeCore

Meet Trump’s memecoin dinner guests

Trump's crypto-for-access dinner triggers broad ethics alarms, and 73% non-US attendance raises fresh concerns over foreign influence