No, Trump didn’t make $50 billion from his memecoin

Journalists’ flawed math and ignorance of crypto markets turn tokens into fake fortunes

Issue 74 – Stop asking me questions like “where does the yield come from”

Regulators and lawmakers eagerly prepare to abdicate any last traces of interest in the wellbeing of everyday Americans as they suck up to the powerful billionaires who will soon be publicly calling the shots.

Issue 73 – Degen volunteer fire brigade

Terra founder Do Kwon is finally extradited, the CFPB proposes crypto consumer protections, and Polymarket reaches new lows.

Elon Musk and the right’s war on Wikipedia

The world's richest man has joined a growing chorus of right-wing voices attacking Wikipedia as part of an intensifying campaign against free and open access information.

Not just one bad apple: FTX's practices were business as usual in crypto

Adversary cases from the FTX collapse further expose how crypto companies do business: with secret acquisitions of “grey area” businesses, buying influence, and creative accounting.

Issue 72 – A seat at the table

The SEC is still busy even though it may soon be undermined, crypto industry capture of government continues to worsen, and several media outlets botch their crypto reporting at a time it’s needed most.

Businessweek: Crypto Got What It Wanted in November’s Election. Now What?

The industry is now in a position to weaken financial rules that might protect consumers from the next crypto crash.

Issue 71 – (Crypto) banks are not your friends

Celsius’ Alex Mashinsky pleads guilty to fraud, some Tornado Cash sanctions are overturned, and tech billionaires complain about “debanking”.

Video: The Cryptocurrency Industry's Unprecedented Election Spending

Let's talk about where the money came from, where it went, the cryptocurrency industry's political goals, and what’s next.

Issue 70 – The Cryptocurrency States of America

Crypto’s efforts to buy the 2024 elections paid off, and we’re in for a bumpy ride.

Wind the clock

A message to those asking “what do I do now?”

Issue 69 – Nice

Coinbase threatens me that continuing to report on their activities would be “.... unwise”. Also, election spending hits a fever pitch, with several new crypto PACs coming out of the woodwork.

I am my own legal department: the promise and peril of “just go independent”

Independent publishing is one important facet of the media ecosystem, and while I love it, I know it is not the path for everyone.

Guilty or coerced? Ryan Salame’s last interviews before prison

Unpacking my conversation with FTX executive Ryan Salame, where we discussed his claims that he’s innocent of the charges for which he’s now serving seven and a half years in prison.

Issue 68 – Opportunity agenda

Harris shouts out crypto in her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men”, one crypto exec leaves prison as another enters, and Stand With Crypto bets on the favorites.

Fighting for our web

A talk from XOXO

The FTX Files

Caroline Ellison: A woman with agency or a helpless pawn?

Why did the former Alameda Research CEO receive only two years imprisonment for her role in the FTX collapse?

Better web

POSSE: Reclaiming social media in a fragmented world

A simple technique offers the best of both worlds: total control over your own work, while still maintaining a presence on third-party platforms.

Crypto recaps

Issue 67 – Bug out bitcoin

Crypto resurfaces on the campaign trail and the FTX fallout continues to unfold. Also, merch!

Crypto recaps

Issue 66 – Pretensions to relevance

FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried says he wants a do-over, and some more ill-received blockchain games suggest “GameFi” has an uncertain future.

Better web

Big publishers think libraries are the enemy

The recent Second Circuit decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is only the latest battle in the war on libraries and the freedom to read.

Crypto recaps

Issue 65 – World Liberty Fiasco

Even the most pro-Trump crypto faithful think Trump’s new crypto scheme is a terrible idea.

Crypto lobby

Polling: Are Democratic voters really “increasingly gravitating towards crypto”?

Paradigm has polled some Democratic voters about crypto and released a summary of their results. How does it stack up to other industry polls, which are often heavily manipulated to paint a deceptively rosy picture?

Crypto recaps

Issue 64 – Pointing its arsenal at our friends

As parts of the crypto industry scramble to court the Harris administration with events like “Crypto4Harris”, others insist it is Harris who must “bend the knee”.

Crypto recaps

Issue 63 – RobConf 2024

Coinbase responds to campaign finance violation allegations, Trump panders to bitcoiners, and I chat with Lyn Alden about sexism in bitcoin.

Crypto lobby

Coinbase appears to have violated campaign finance laws with a $25 million super PAC donation

Actively involved in contract negotiations with a federal government agency, Coinbase was likely prohibited from making its $25 million contribution to the Fairshake cryptocurrency-focused super PAC in May 2024.

Crypto lobby

When did cryptocurrency policy become a voter issue?

I don’t believe that it has.

Crypto recaps

Issue 62 – Grassroots

Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto Alliance fudges the numbers, a (former) crypto industry CEO has a meltdown, and another exchange suffers a nine-figure hack.

Crypto lobby

Follow the Crypto

FollowTheCrypto.org: A new project to track cryptocurrency industry spending to influence 2024 elections in the United States.

Crypto recaps

Issue 61 – Soft war by the enemy

How will recent Supreme Court decisions affect the crypto world? Also, more absurdity from the crypto lobby, and some new regulatory actions.

Crypto recaps

Issue 60 – Raging in favor of the machine

The crypto industry jumps on the Trump train.

Crypto recaps

Issue 59 – Hot damn, this is going to get interesting quickly

Are US legislators warming to crypto? The SEC approves Ethereum ETPs, and a crypto bill gets through the House.