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Plain English with Derek Thompson

Crypto Crash Part I: The Case Against Crypto

Plain English with Derek Thompson

The Ringer

News Commentary, News

4.7 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2022

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today, we have the first in a two-part series on lessons from the crypto crash. Crypto, also known as Web3, also known as blockchain-based technologies, remains the weirdest space I’ve ever reported on. I’ve never learned so much about a topic where there were people I trusted roughly equally, whose intelligence I trusted roughly equally, coming to completely opposite opinions. People I consider brilliant think this is the wave of the future. Others are fairly positive that the bulk of this world is a giant Ponzi scheme that’s even worse than most people realize.Today's guest is Molly Wood, a financial journalist turned venture capitalist who also hosts the podcast 'This Week in Startups.' I would summarize Molly’s case against crypto in three main points: It is a double-enemy of the environment—an energy-intensive speculation that pulls money and talent from climate technology. It is an unregulated bonanza of investor shenanigans—Molly explains why the very structure of crypto tokens invites a kind of Ponzi-scheming dynamic, which deserves our attention. Even if you have nice things to say about crypto—and we do have nice things to say about it—there’s a strong case to be made that the promises and the grandiosity is wildly out of line with the actual use cases. The timing on this episode feels right. Last week, several employees of the crypto trading exchange Coinbase were charged with wire fraud, the first insider-trading case involving cryptocurrencies. This is our little podcast trial of crypto. Today, the prosecution. Tomorrow, the defense. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Molly Wood Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:11.6

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1:16.6

Today, we have the first in a two-part series on lessons from the crypto crash.

1:23.3

Crypto, also known as Web3, also known as blockchain-based technologies,

1:29.1

remains the weirdest space I've ever reported on. I've never learned so much about a topic

1:36.1

where there were people I trusted roughly equally, whose intelligence I trusted, roughly equally,

1:42.6

coming to totally different positions about a single thing. I know people I consider brilliant

1:47.5

who think that crypto is the way of the future. I know others who are fairly positive,

1:52.1

that the bulk of this space is a giant Ponzi scheme. I know people who think that the bulk of this

1:56.7

space is worse than a giant Ponzi scheme. Tomorrow, in part two, you're going to hear from

2:04.0

Packing McCormick, a fun and popular Web3 writer who spars with me about why crypto still,

2:10.4

after a mild wipeout, could be an important tech platform. But today, we hear from a wise skeptic.

2:17.2

Molly Wood is a financial journalist turned venture capitalist. She also hosts the podcast

2:22.8

this week in startups. And today, we talk about the case against crypto. I would summarize Molly's case

2:30.7

in three main points. Number one, it is a double enemy of the environment. Crypto is an

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