Coming soon: When nerdy gamer Sam Bankman-Fried rocketed to fame as the world’s richest 29-year-old, he pledged to donate his billions to good causes. But then his crypto exchange FTX collapsed Billions of dollars were missing, and Sam was in handcuffs. Those who knew him were left wondering — who was Sam really? A well-meaning billionaire who made a mistake? Or a calculating con man? From Wondery and Bloomberg, the makers of The Shrink Next Door, comes a new story of incredible wealth, betrayal and what happens when “doing good” goes really really bad. Learn more here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spellcaster-the-fall-of-sam-bankman-fried/id1685258534

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It’s been another wild week of financial mayhem connected to crypto. But this time the crisis focused on banks. 

It started earlier this month [March], when Silvergate Capital shut down operations. The California-based bank serviced various crypto companies like Coinbase and Gemini. But its most notorious clients included the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and its sister firm Alameda. As these two giants faltered, Silvergate suffered a series of financial difficulties and fell under intense regulatory scrutiny, leading to its eventual shut down.  

Then, last Friday, one week ago now,  the tech and startup-focused Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. It was the largest bank failure since 2008, and incited investor panic.

By late last Sunday, another domino had fallen: New York State regulators announced they were taking possession of Signature Bank. It was moving to retreat from crypto, but was still known for having some ties to the digital asset industry, at one point even launching a crypto-payments platform. This was the third-largest bank failure in the US to date. Bloomberg reported that regulators took action after they “lost faith in management.”

This trio of recent closures is another blow to crypto - leaving the industry nearly cut off from the fiat banking sector. All the while a Bitcoin rally ensued, but has since cooled a bit.

So. In the aftermath of one of the biggest weeks in finance so far this year, how has the crypto industry fared? And how does it move forward? 

Bloomberg senior executive editor Chris Nagi joins this episode.

Listen to Bloomberg Crypto on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts or  Spotify.

Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter 

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It’s been three months since one of the most influential crypto exchanges collapsed into bankruptcy. FTX’s demise brought with it a wave of financial uncertainty and distress in the crypto industry. But it also had an effect on the small islands where the crypto exchange had established its headquarters: the island nation of the Bahamas.

This is not the Caribbean’s first financial crisis. History suggests it won’t be the last. But it is perhaps one of the highest profile losses, and potentially the most damaging. It comes as islands in the region try to diversify away from tourism revenue. 

The Bahamas had high hopes that an ambitious financial sector would achieve that. But crypto was a big part of that game plan, and now it’s gone.

Can the Bahamas fill the gap left in its financial sector? Can the nation still be a hub for digital assets? Bloomberg’s Katanga Johnson joins this episode.

Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter 

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The equivalent of an earthquake jolted the crypto world this week:  Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced and then quickly reversed a proposal to buy out rival exchange FTX, which was reportedly facing a liquidity crisis and on the brink of collapse.  

The companies are each owned by two of the most well known CEOs in crypto: Sam Bankman-Fried at FTX, who has been touted as crypto’s version of legendary banker J.P. Morgan, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, known as  “CZ.” 

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that US authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, are reviewing FTX for improper use of customer funds. Bloomberg’s senior crypto editor Philip Lagerkranser updates this moving story with fellow Bloomberg senior crypto editor Anna Irrera in this episode.

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One of the core fundamentals that personifies the Bloomberg newsroom is its commitment to data. As part of that commitment, the Markets Live team does a weekly investor survey, asking questions about different elements of financial markets. It’s called the MLIV Pulse Survey - because it’s the Markets Live team taking the pulse of financial markets. In October, the team asked investors for their opinions about crypto. 

On this episode, Bloomberg senior editor Kasia Klimasinska with the Markets Live team explains the survey’s results, joined by Bloomberg reporter Vildana Hajric.

Editor’s Note: This episode is about a Bloomberg survey of investor sentiment relating to crypto. We collected the survey results before FTX revealed it was facing significant financial difficulties, triggering a market downturn.

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Evangelists of web3 - a term popularized by venture capitalist Chris Dixon - will often say that a big goal of the whole thing is giving more power to creators, and especially monetary power.

Web3, these proponents say, allows artists, musicians, and creators of all stripes to cut out middlemen and intermediaries and to retain more of the financial benefits of their work. In other words, why pay a platform or an agent when you can keep all your royalties yourself?

That’s where things get complicated. If you’re a musician or an artist and you sell your work as an NFT, you’ll definitely get paid the first time you sell that song or piece of art. But what happens if the person who bought it sells it to someone else? In the idealized world of web3, you’d get a royalty on that sale - automatically. In reality, most of these transactions aren’t setup that way.

For more on the current state of NFTs, and how platforms are thinking about royalties, Bloomberg crypto reporter Olga Kharif and Lauren van Haaften Schick join this episode. Lauren is an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Wesleyan University’s Center for the Humanities.

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One of the bigger fights in crypto right now is over the definition of a security - what counts as a security, and who gets to decide - and therefore regulate - that. This isn’t just about semantics: the answer to that question affects trillions of dollars of assets in the United States, including crypto assets.

In December 2020, the SEC accused Ripple Labs, issuers of the Ripple token, of having conducted “an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering that raised $1.3bn.

Nearly two years later, that fight is still ongoing. Most recently, Ripple asked the court involved to dismiss the SEC’s complaint. Among other things, Ripple does not agree with the SEC’s assertion that its token counts as a security. 

Who’s right? And what are the consequences, either way?  Bloomberg reporters Matt Robinson and Chris Dolmetsch and attorney Elizabeth Davis join this episode to explain.

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Given how the crypto industry feels about fast cars and men with big personalities, it’s perhaps no surprise that crypto is emerging as one of the biggest sponsors of Formula 1. Formula One racing is marketed as being all about competition that rewards instinct, speed, engineering innovation, and sheer adrenaline. Companies ranging from FTX to Crypto.com have spent millions of dollars on flashy deals. 

Around 80% of F1 teams have at least one crypto partner. Crypto.com even has a $100 million deal with the Formula One Group itself.  But in this current market environment, how long can crypto firms keep splashing the cash?

In this episode, Bloomberg senior editor Anna Irrera and Bloomberg crypto blogger Emily Nicolle discuss the future of crypto’s fast car sponsorships.

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Listen to the second audio excerpt from this week's special issue of Businessweek magazine, The Crypto Story.

Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine uses the full issue to explain where crypto came from, what it means and why it matters.

This episode is voice by Bloomberg Businessweek editor Mark Leydorf.

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Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL - In Real Life. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we've got an audio version of their latest episode.  Enjoy!

Find the full video experience of the shows here.

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It’s been another pretty unpredictable week in crypto. Now that Elon Musk is at the helm of Twitter, what do his plans for the social media company have in store for digital assets? Why is Dogecoin rallying? And what’s the outlook for crypto earnings this quarter?

Bloomberg crypto senior editor Dave Liedtka and deputy editor Beth Williams join this episode for a look at the top stories of the week in the cryptoverse. 

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As our colleague David Pan has been reporting, Bitcoin miners have been having a very rough time of it.

To paraphrase one of his recent stories, falling Bitcoin prices and rising energy costs “led to combined second-quarter losses of more than $1 billion for the top three US publicly traded players — Core Scientific, Marathon Digital and Riot Blockchain.” Yikes.

This crunch has led to miners trying to raise cash by selling off their emergency stockpiles of Bitcoin - into the teeth of a down market.

At the same time, miners continue to flock to places like Texas - and not everyone is a fan of these relatively recent arrivals. Texas isn’t known for having the world’s most stable power grid, so miners and state officials have sought to pilot ways to address concerns about energy consumption. 

Bloomberg reporters David Pan and Michael Smith join this episode for more on how the miners are holding up.

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Crypto is notorious for its volatility. All its wild swings in prices have become a trademark of the market. And it’s also something that has for years now shaped the trading behaviors of investors looking to make a quick profit. But what happens when the market’s largest digital asset, Bitcoin, starts losing its volatility?

For the last four months, the coin has traded in a tight range around $20,000, unable to break out in any real way. How have crypto investors– who are used to trading on the ups and downs of the coin– responded? How have their investing strategies shifted?

For more on how traders are dealing with Bitcoin’s stasis, guest host and Bloomberg reporter Vildana Hajric is joined by Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld.

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Last month marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has had a devastating impact on Ukraine's economy, people and landmarks. In this episode, we consider the nuanced role that crypto has played so far in the conflict. 

Plus, a review of what's happening with Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital: The company was supposed to report earnings this week, but instead announced it’s restating financials from previous quarters. We’ll explain what, if anything, accounting and the price of Bitcoin have to do with prospects for the sector. 

The show also has the latest on an FTX lieutenant who recently pleaded guilty to various crimes in a New York court. 

 Bloomberg senior editor Dave Liedtka and reporter Emily Nicolle join this episode to discuss.

Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter 

This podcast is produced by the Bloomberg Crypto Podcast team: Supervising producer: Vicki Vergolina, Senior Producer: Janet Babin, Producers: Sharon Beriro and Muhammad Farouk, Associate Producers: Mo Andam and Ty Butler. Sound Design/Engineer:  Desta Wondirad.

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About a year ago, Nigeria introduced a digital version of its official currency, the naira.

The introduction of the so-called e-naira was partly a response to concerns that the rising popularity of crypto in the country was threatening the banking system.

There are a few countries experimenting with their own versions of digital money, including the Central African Republic, China, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and various islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Other countries, including the United States, are in the “studying” and “thinking deep thoughts about feasibility” phase of things.

So how’s it going for Nigeria and the e-naira? Bloomberg reporter Ruth Olurounbi and Bloomberg Nigeria Bureau Chief Anthony Osae-Brown weigh in.

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You’ve likely heard of Bitcoin and Ether as digital tokens, but there’s actually tens of thousands of cryptocurrencies you probably haven’t heard of. In fact over 12,000 of those coins are virtually defunct. Not that they’re ‘dead’ per say-  but they’re also not considered ‘alive’ or active.

They’re called ‘zombie’ coins: tokens that have stopped trading activity as of late and are simply dormant. 

These zombified coins are not a new phenomenon, but the substantial increase in their volume (from the hundreds in 2019 to 12,100 at recent count) has been eye-opening as another symptom of chilly market conditions.

Bloomberg reporter Olga Kharif joins Bloomberg senior markets editor Mike Regan to wade through what happens when a market has so many inactive currencies, and what it says about the crypto industry's overall health.

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Listen to the first audio excerpt from this week's special issue of Businessweek magazine, The Crypto Story.

Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine uses the full issue to explain where crypto came from, what it all means, and why it matters.

This episode is voiced by Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Mark Leydorf.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenocec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL - In Real Life. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we've got an audio version of their latest episode.  Enjoy!

Find the full video experience of the shows here.

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This week in crypto, we are settling in to crypto's new norms: like bitcoin now being range-bound: trading steadily between $19k-$20k. And we are still waiting to see if the so-called ‘Uptober’ will shake out. 

But, hey, trading is still happening…and the SEC’s uptick in regulation efforts are being viewed as a boon to investors. According to the latest MLIV Pulse survey, would-be Crypto investors are cautiously optimistic about having more crypto guardrails on the way.

Also, Apple updated its language regarding crypto transactions on every app in its store.  And Finally, we have a big story. Actually one story to rule them all. And that’s The Crypto Story by Bloomberg Columnist Matt Levine.

To break down the latest, crypto senior editor Philip Lagerkranser is joined by Bloomberg crypto senior editor Anna Irrera and Bloomberg reporter Muyao Shen.

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Let’s say you’re a crypto startup trying to raise money from venture capitalists. All things being equal, you’d have done decently well in 2020, ridiculously well in 2021, and not bad at all in the first half of 2022. But right now? Maybe not so much.

Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller joins this episode to discuss  what’s happening with crypto VCs and the startups who need them.

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Ethereum’s Merge has created a new class of blockchain participants, called ‘builders.' It's a significant shift in the current decentralized ecosystem. There are a relatively small number of these builders, but they have a significant amount of power on the blockchain. What exactly do these builders do? Why are critics so concerned?

Joining this episode to discuss are Bloomberg Crypto reporters Olga Kharif and David Pan. 

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Some of you may already know the work and writing of Bloomberg Opinion columnist Matt Levine. For everyone else — well you’re in for a treat. 

Matt’s just published many thousands of words on the subject of crypto for a special issue of Bloomberg Businessweek. It lives HERE.

He joins this episode to talk about what motivated him to do such an intensive dive into the blockchain, why he thinks of crypto as a “living laboratory” for innovation, and what prompted him to start at the very beginning, with one big question: what is crypto for?

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September is traditionally a bad month for crypto - a down month for the past five years. But for Bitcoin proponents, October might hold something a bit more hopeful. The month of pumpkins and Halloween has typically been one of the best months for Bitcoin price gains. Advocates are crossing their fingers that the same thing will happen this year, especially as Bitcoin’s total market share has risen to 48%, its highest since 2017. 

To better understand what lies ahead for BTC, Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller joins Bloomberg’s Vildana Hajric.

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Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL - In Real Life. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we've got an audio version of their latest episode.

For the full experience, find them on the web here.

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Most crypto enthusiasts pride themselves on being tech visionaries. After all, they were among the first to back innovative blockchain technologies and even embrace Web3 and NFTs.

Now there’s a new innovation that's captured the public imagination, and it's getting a lot of buzz in the crypto world too. It’s ChatGPT.

Late last year, OpenAI's new chatbot sparked a conversation about the future of artificial intelligence. People on the internet were going CRAZY about its ability to craft human-like responses and even ace an exam from Wharton.

Ever since, AI-linked crypto tokens have been on a rapid rise. At one point in early February, tokens from decentralized AI companies like SingularityNet and SingularityDAO soared over the span of just a couple of days.

But as the fervor grows, so do concerns. And some industry insiders are warning investors against being too bullish. So, what exactly are AI tokens and how can they shape the industry? Bloomberg’s Hannah Miller joins this episode.

Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter 

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This is episode 100 of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast. When we launched, in June, Bitcoin was trading around $30,000. Celsius and Three Arrows Capital hadn’t yet filed for bankruptcy. People knew where Do Kwon was. Celebrities cared about NFTs. It was a different time.

When we launched, we knew what we wanted to do: every day, we’d take a look at all things digital assets. And we’d talk to reporters, editors, analysts, investors,  industry experts, academics, policymakers - all in service of helping you better understand how crypto is shaping (and being shaped by) finance and culture.

For this hundredth episode, we’re flipping the focus just a little. We’re going to spend some time answering your questions, and hearing from Bloomberg senior executive editor Chris Nagi about how he thinks this whole crypto thing is going. 

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It might seem like the conversation about the metaverse right now is a combination of jokes about Mark Zuckerberg’s digital legs, snark about the cost of virtual reality headsets, and a real lack of clarity on why any corporation might want to be in the space. 

So we asked Matthew Boyle, a Bloomberg reporter who’s written a lot about the future of work, to help explain what’s going on here. Specifically, what’s happening with businesses hiring Chief Metaverse Officers - and what these folks do all day. 

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Wealthy crypto investors are dumping a bunch of money into US politics, especially ahead of November’s congressional elections. Over the past 15 or so months, crypto-affiliated donors have sent roughly $70 million to political causes - topping what traditional players like defense and big pharma are spending. 

One of the most prolific donors in the space is Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire co-founder of FTX. Bankman-Fried has said that he could spend up to $1 billion on the 2024 presidential election.

Zach Cohen from Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg campaign finance reporter Bill Allison join this episode to discuss how crypto is shaping the political landscape.

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Bankruptcies can be chaotic times for companies, and for their creditors. Investors, vendors, and former customers often end up jostling in court to get their share of what they lost from what remains of the firm. 

In the crypto space, bankruptcies can bring even more questions. Some restructuring lawyers say the U.S. bankruptcy code still does not adequately address how to handle crypto assets. But just like other bankruptcy cases, there will be winners and losers. 

To explain what happens to crypto assets during these times, Bloomberg reporter Justina Lee, and Thomas Braziel, founder of 507 Capital join this episode.

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It’s October 2021. Crypto prices are rocketing. Celebrities can’t stop talking about NFTs. There’s packed conferences in glitzy venues attended by people wearing t-shirts with cartoon monkeys on them. If you’re an executive at a big gaming studio, you might be forgiven - maybe - for sending one of those emails with the subject line: NFT strategy question mark.

And several executives at these gaming companies did indeed send those emails. And some of their companies even announced plans to make blockchain gaming happen.

Flash forward about a year. Celebrities aren’t talking about their NFTs. People are trying to sell their Apes. And gaming studios don’t seem quite so convinced that they need an NFT strategy.

Joining this episode are Bloomberg reporter Emily Nicolle and Mark Venturelli, CEO and creative director at game studio Rogue Snail, who’s also a game developer.

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Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we’ve got an audio version of their latest episode.

For the full video experience, find them on the web at https://www.bloomberg.com/qt/series/crypto-irl, on Bloomberg TV or over on YouTube.

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It’s been (another) busy week for digital assets. And now that we’re well into October, we have a better idea of whether the month will deliver a boost to crypto value as it has in years past. 

Guest-host and senior crypto editor Anna Irrera reviews some regulatory actions that took place this week and considers what smoke signals it may be sending to investors and to companies. Plus, a look at how China’s crypto ban has played out - spoiler alert: it’s not unfolding like many expected it would.  

Joining Anna for this episode is Bloomberg senior crypto editor Philip Lagerkranser and Bloomberg Crypto blogger Emily Nicolle, who wrote about DeFi’s current doldrums in this week’s Crypto Newsletter.

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It seems that the Securities and Exchange Commission has finally found a way to keep up with the Kardashians. The US Markets regulator announced last week that Kim Kardashian had agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle allegations that she broke US rules by touting a crypto token. The SEC alleges Kardashian did not disclose that she was paid $250,000 to post on her Instagram account about EMAX token, a crypto asset offered by Ethereum Max.

Kardashian settled without admitting or denying the SEC allegations. And she agreed to refrain from touting any additional digital assets for three years.

But what are the broader implications of the SEC’s action? And is it a warning shot that stricter adherence to the rules is on the way?

Bloomberg crypto and regulation reporter Allyson Versprille and Bloomberg financial lifestyles and money culture reporter Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou join this episode.

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What do Michael Saylor, Jesse Powell, Michael Moro, Sam Trabucco, Brett Harrison and Alex Mashinsky have in common? If you said they’re dudes who used to be crypto CEOs and suddenly weren’t anymore, you’d also be correct. 

This crypto winter has seen a string of high-profile exits from the C-suite.

But what’s driving all this activity? Is it Bitcoin prices falling more than 50%? Is it the bankruptcy filings? Is it the SEC breathing down your neck? Is it the wanting to spend more time with your yacht in the Bahamas? Perhaps even all of these at once.  

For more on this succession-level crypto drama, this episode features Bloomberg reporter Yueqi Yang and Deepali Vyas, Executive Search Recruiter at global consulting firm Korn Ferry.

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Back in March, President Biden issued an Executive Order that directed every relevant federal agency to work on guidance related to crypto - and then to report back.

We’re now into that “time to report back” window, and the White House, along with other agencies, have started providing updates on their findings. On the White House end, the policy recommendations included better suggestions focused on better consumer and investor protections.

But what about agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, both of whom have a stake in crypto regulation?

Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille joins this episode to break down the latest developments. 

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The Bank of England and the UK Treasury are moving forward with a plan to launch a digital currency. It’s being called the CBDC, or Central Bank Digital Currency, dubbed (or nicknamed) 'Britcoin.'

The action is part of a global effort to stay ahead of various new currency options and prepare for a future in which consumers adopt card payments backed by companies instead of by governments. But, some critics are calling it a "solution in search of a problem", particularly in light of the country's already-strong fintech industry.

Senior editor Philip Lagerkranser and reporter Emily Nicolle discuss the implications.

Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter 

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The cooling crypto atmosphere and the subsequent downturn in trading has had a domino effect for people who work in the sector. In the wake of plummeting prices, a flurry of crypto firms reduced their numbers with significant layoffs. Coinbase announced an  18% reduction of it’s workforce, BlockFi cut their headcount by 20% and Crypto.com by 5%. So, what happens to these former crypto employees? 

An increasing number of them are getting snatched up by traditional financial firms or Trad-Fi. The skills that these talented engineers and developers have accumulated is now very much in demand with Trad-Fi firms, who want to explore the crypto space and experiment with blockchain technologies. 

Bloomberg reporters Will Shaw and Aisha Gani join this episode to explore why Trad-Fi institutions are swooping in for laid off De-Fi experts. 

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Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we’ve got an audio version of their latest episode.

For the full video experience, find them on the web at https://www.bloomberg.com/qt/series/crypto-irl, on Bloomberg TV or over on YouTube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been (another) busy week in digital assets. What’s the latest in the markets? Are there any crypto CEOs left? Regulation: will it ever happen? Unclear!

Bloomberg crypto editor Beth Williams and Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille join this episode to help break down this weeks’ news.

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How do you go from video game studio to major crypto VC in the space of a few short years? That’s exactly the path that Animoca Brands has been on. Since its founding in 2014, Animoca has expanded well beyond making games to come to own and operate a portfolio of investments and acquisitions that includes more than 300 different finance, gaming, and social media companies.

Yat Siu, Animoca’s co-founder, has become one of the most influential people in technology. 

Bloomberg reporter Zheping Huang  joins this episode to chart the path of Animoca and its founder from indie game studio to crypto conglomerate.

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Do you remember Adam Neumann? The WeWork co-founder and former CEO who stepped down in 2019 in a cloud of accusations about eccentric behavior, sky-high expenses, and general extravagance? The one with an Apple TV miniseries about his rise and fall starring Jared Leto?

Well, Adam Neumann is back.  Now, with bonus crypto, and an exceptionally large $350 million dollar check from the venture capitalists over at Andresseen Horowitz. 

To discuss these projects (and why the word ‘Flow’ is the new ‘We’)  Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller joins this episode.

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For many of us, the pandemic has meant getting to know what it’s like to work remotely and in most cases from home  But in crypto, remote working had already been the norm for some time, with many workers roaming the world all year round and logging in from dreamy locations like the sandy beaches of the Caribbean or the palm-lined promenades of Miami Beach

When crypto prices were high, these roving crypto workers enjoyed the benefits of being a digital nomad, moving from country to country in an attempt to leave behind the stress, expense and bustle that’s often associated with large financial centers. 

But now that the crypto market isn’t quite as sunny, many of these nomads have started trickling back to the financial hubs of the world. Bloomberg reporter Tanzeel Ahktar and Panther Protocol CEO, Oliver Gale join this episode to share more about the crypto nomad lifestyle and why, for the time being, some have decided to give it up. 

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Perhaps you’ve heard of Molly White. The software engineer and crypto skeptic has been profiled in numerous publications. 

She has more than 80,000 followers on her personal Twitter, and more than 100,000 on an account called ‘web3 is going just great’. It is, as you might guess, a chronicle of all the ways that Web 3 is not going so great. Molly White joins this episode to talk through her skepticism of digital assets.

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This special bonus episode features Bloomberg QuickTake’s Katie Griefeld and Tim Stenovec. The pair have created a new video series called Crypto IRL. It takes us behind the scenes of this current crypto winter, and features interesting perspectives from special guests. You can catch the new series on a range of platforms including Bloomberg TV and YouTube.

For more information, go to Bloomberg.com/QT

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With apologies to TS Eliot - in finance, September is commonly held to be the cruelest month of the trading calendar. This extends to the crypto markets, too: Almost every year since 2013, Bitcoin prices struggle come September. And market conditions have been especially unforgiving this year. So what’s the outlook for crypto asset prices as we leave September behind?

Joining this episode from Sydney is Jamie Coutts, crypto market analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.

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On Tuesday September 27th, Bloomberg reporters Allyson Versprille and David Pan participated in a Twitter Spaces with Costa Samaras. Samaras is the White House’s chief advisor for energy policy in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

They spoke about the office’s crypto climate report and what’s next for US efforts. This episode features highlights from that conversation.

Read more here

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The story of crypto lender Celsius Network’s bankruptcy officially began last summer, when it filed for Chapter 11 and cited a severe liquidity crisis. At the time, FTX and its CEO were still heralded as promising figures in the industry, even as companies and users were struggling to get by in the midst of a grueling crypto winter. 

But now, we're getting a glimpse of just how bad things were at Celsius, almost from its inception. The recent release of a final independent examiner's report contains a searing account of how the lender may have concealed ineffective risk management and misled customers. 

In the report, Celsius appears to have failed to properly track assets and liabilities. They also failed to disclose crucial financial information about its native token, CEL, and falsely portrayed the financial state of the company as robust and healthy. It’s a whopping 689-page read. So - what else did it say about Celsius? 

Bloomberg's Olga Kharif joins this episode to discuss.

Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter 

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If you’ve ever found yourself on Crypto Twitter, you’ll be familiar with the hype machine that keeps the industry’s thousands of projects going. Rallying cries of “WAGMI” — an acronym for We Are All Going To Make It — and “To the Moon!” abound, found in tweets from accounts with colorful, graphic profile pictures and usually a hashtag or two.

But there are always two sides to a coin, and if you’ve come across a Twitter display name featuring the Tulip emoji, you might find a crypto skeptic instead. A reference to the Dutch tulip mania of the 1600s, these figures – technologists, academics and writers among them – are working to counteract crypto’s steady rise to the top with a dose of reality.

Stephen Diehl is a software engineer by trade, a leading crypto skeptic and now co-founder of the recently established Center for Emerging Technology Policy. He joins this episode to break down crypto’s promises of a brighter tomorrow, and when he thinks it might actually be closer to myth.

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You may have heard of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and you may have heard of its CEO and Founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. But have you heard of Alameda Research? 

It’s not a Silicon Valley robotics lab but it is one of the largest and most influential cryptocurrency trading firms in the world. Founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and operating with a modest team of 30 employees, Alameda pocketed over $1 billion dollars in profit last year. The firm and its employees have, for the most part, preferred not to draw too much attention. In recent months though, it’s gotten harder for Alameda to fly under the radar, as the collapse of crypto has revealed a tangle of connections between Alameda, FTX and the broader virtual currency markets.  

But as Alameda’s influence spreads and connections emerge, so have concerns over potential conflicts of interests. 

Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller joins guest host and Bloomberg crypto senior editor Anna Irrera in this episode to untangle these connections.

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For investors trying to get exposure to crypto, there are many different options available these days. Products like crypto ETFs, or exchange traded funds, are one of the most popular alternatives to owning tokens directly. 

What are crypto ETFs and how do they work? And what does it mean that many of the products pitched as ways to diversify your crypto portfolio are actually pretty similar to each other? Katie Greifeld joins this episode to tackle these questions.

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