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Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss historical moments in the Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and finance spaces, mainly focusing on frauds, exchange hacks, exit scams, and other malfeasance.
In 2018, Blockchains LLC chief exec Jeffrey Berns purchased 67,000 acres of land in the Nevada desert. Plans to create a fully autonomous Blockchain City were never realised. After it swiftly fell out of public discourse, we began to wonder... how much of the story was never reported? Journalist Cas Piancey and data scientist Bennett Tomlin drive down to Nevada and investigate. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Sex, Lies, and Ponzinomics: Marketing in Cryptocurrency (Feat. Adam Singer)
1:01:44
1:01:44
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by marketing executive and substack writer Adam Singer to discuss all the issues and problems clearly visible and at the forefront of cryptocurrency companies. Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamSinger or read his Substack. This episode was recorded on Tuesday, July 12th, and produced by Asher Hirsch.…
In this episode Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss how Tether has been composing itself over the last several months. Interview with Paolo Ardoino with Dierdre Bosa: https://twitter.com/CNBCTechCheck/status/1545472707374071808 This episode was recorded on July 10th, 2022 and produced by Asher Hirsch.…
Today Bennett and Cas are joined by Jackson Palmer, co-founder of Dogecoin and host of the Griftonomics podcast. We talk about how Doge flew off the rails, why Jackson has taken a few social media hiatuses, and why he's back and talking about cryptocurrency grifts and scams more than ever before. Follow Jackson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/umm…
Today Bennett and Cas talk about a civil suit brought by a former contracted employee of Celsius Network against the entity itself claiming that Celsius Network has, effectively, been run as a Ponzi scheme (and doesn't have the funds to pay back its debts). This episode was recorded on July 7th (before Celsius Network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptc…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Cryptocurrency Criticism in a Bear Market (Feat. Molly White)
39:29
39:29
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined again by Molly White, the single best archivist of web3 fraud (on her website https://web3isgoinggreat.com/), to discuss the difference between criticism during a bull market and a bear market as well as a host of other topics. This episode was recorded on June 16th and produced by Asher Hirsch. Follow Molly White o…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Contagions and Cascading Liquidations in Cryptocurrency
24:34
24:34
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24:34
Bennett and Cas discuss the risk of contagion in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and how the leverage between lenders and trading firms contribute. This episode was recorded on June 16th, 2022 and produced by Asher Hirsch.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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NFTs, Frauds, and Algorithmic Stablecoins (Feat. Mark Cuban)
1:07:26
1:07:26
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1:07:26
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, to discuss NFTs, the proliferations of fraud, and whether or not algorithmic stablecoins are viable. Follow Mark on Twitter @mcuban. This episode was recorded on Tuesday, June 7th, 2022, and produced by Asher Hirsch.…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Bitcoin ETFs, the SEC, and Regulatory Clarity (Feat. James Seyffart)
46:24
46:24
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46:24
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by James Seyffart to discuss what has prevented a spot Bitcoin ETF, and what things may make it easier for that to finally happen. This episode was recorded on May 23rd, 2022 and produced by Griffin Davis.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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New NFT Usecase Discovered, and it's Insider Trading
25:07
25:07
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25:07
Today Bennett and Cas discuss the recent Southern District of New York move to charge a former OpenSea employee, Nathaniel Chastain, with wire fraud and money laundering charges related to insider trading. This episode was recorded on June 5th and produced by Griffin Davis.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Celsius Collapsing: Causes, Concerns, and Catastrophe (Feat. Mike Burgersburg)
45:21
45:21
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by Mike Burgersburg (Dirty Bubble Media), a Twitter personality, writer, and analyst who has been discussing the systemic risks of Celsius Network and what could, and likely will, ultimately lead to its collapse. Follow Mike on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeBurgersburg This episode was produced by Asher Hirsch …
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Pre-Philanthropic Billionaires and Bitcoin (Feat. Mario Gibney)
1:14:42
1:14:42
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by Mario Gibney, host of the Unhashed Podcast and employee at a Bitcoin lending service called Ledn. We debate pre-philanthropic billionaires, lending services in the Bitcoin and DeFi industries, and other weird topics. Follow Mario on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mario_Gibney This episode was produced by Asher Hirs…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Disclosures, Conflicts of Interest, and Diplomacy
26:14
26:14
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Today Bennett and Cas discuss a recent phenomena in regard to media personalities either not doing due diligence on sponsors or pretending that any criticism must be coming from a place of malicious intent. This episode was produced by Griffin Davis.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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El Salvador Revisited: Chivo, KYC/AML, and Nayib Bukele (Feat. Domingo Flores)
42:48
42:48
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42:48
Bennett and Cas have the opportunity to speak to Domingo Flores, a privacy and infosec specialist who's gained an understanding into key parts of Chivo wallet's functionality. Follow Domingo on Twitter https://twitter.com/domingroso This episode was produced by Asher Hirsch and recorded on Monday, May 9th, 2022.…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Cryptocurrency, Coinbase, and Contagion (Feat. Jim Chanos)
45:22
45:22
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by the absolute legendary shortseller Jim Chanos (who successfully shorted Baldwin-United, Enron, and Luckin Coffee) to talk about his thoughts on cryptocurrency, shorting, Coinbase, and other economic woes and fears. If you want to follow Jim on Twitter, find him at https://twitter.com/WallStCynic This episode was …
Today Cas Piancey reads an article titled "Finding Finex" - a piece written in 2020, two years after a trip to Hong Kong - that describes his fall down the stablecoin rabbit hole and search for the offices of Bitfinex and Tether.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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DeFi and Cryptocurrency Risks and Rewards (Feat. Lily Francus)
51:42
51:42
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by Lily Francus, director and quantitative research strategist at Moody's Analytics, who helps us understand the underlying risks, rewards, and caveats of participating in the decentralized financial industry. Follow Lily on Twitter @nope_its_lily or join her free Substack here https://nopeitslily.substack.com This …
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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We Never Wanted to Discuss Terra and Luna ever Again... and yet
38:08
38:08
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Today Bennett and Cas discuss Terra, an algorithmic stablecoin, again. This time they discuss its collapse in realtime (this episode was recorded live as Terra collapsed), what it could mean as far as contagion is concerned, and if other stablecoins need to begin to worry. This episode was produced by Bennett Tomlin recorded on Wednesday, May 11th,…
Today Bennett and Cas talk about Terra, a stablecoin that uses an algorithm to stay pegged to numerous currencies (mainly the US dollar). Recently, Do Kwon, the creator of Terra, and its token that buoys the stablecoins it supports, Luna, decided to spend $10 billion worth of Luna's reserves to buy Bitcoin. What does this even mean? Let's figure it…
Today Bennett and Cas discuss Reginald Fowler, a former part-owner of the Minnesota Vikings and co-owner of Crypto Capital Corp - cryptocurrency's shadow bank of choice for years. Reggie recently pled guilty to numerous counts of... we'll just say financial malfeasance, and now faces up to 90 years in prison. For background on Crypto Capital Corp, …
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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An Unscripted Chat with the Richest Man in the World* (Feat. Colin Platt)
59:32
59:32
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by the richest man in the world*, Colin Platt: creator of PTK. While you may not be aware of this quadrillionaire, he tokenized his way to being king of the world. Other topics discussed include: wash trading, NFTs, and traditional financial issues versus issues seen within the cryptocurrency landscape. *Colin isn't…
Today Bennett and Cas talk about the unfortunate tale of Virgil Griffith, who was recently sentenced to over five years in prison for helping North Korea attempt to evade US sanctions. The story is absurd for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to: • generally, as a rule of thumb, don't evade US sanctions • if, indeed, you plan on conti…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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An Early Skeptic's Telling of "Why be skeptical?" (Feat. David Gerard)
43:42
43:42
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43:42
Today Bennett and Cas are joined by pioneering cryptocurrency author and skeptic David Gerard so he can tell us why he was skeptical in the first place and why he continues to be so today. David's books: Attack of the 50 Foot Blockhain https://www.amazon.com/Attack-50-Foot-Blockchain-Contracts-ebook/dp/B073CPP581 Libra Shrugged https://www.amazon.c…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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The Career Criminal Conspiracies of Cas Piancey
26:40
26:40
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26:40
Today Cas (Orson Newstat) and Bennett talk about Cas' previous arrest record and why he's being forced to share his name and discuss an arrest from 16 years ago.
Today Bennett and Cas are joined by returning guest and assistant professor of law at Willamette College, Rohan Grey. We're going to speak with him about the ECASH Act (which you can read here: https://lynch.house.gov/_cache/files/1/7/17e47e5a-2bff-42c1-b509-eb8a50931fa6/BDDFF183213326821B5C88B7F326EABB.ecashact-lynch.pdf), a bill he helped author …
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Metaverse 2: Venture Capitalist Judgement Day (Feat. münecat)
55:20
55:20
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55:20
Today Bennett and Cas are joined by a brilliant creator, münecat, who recently did a wonderful YouTube video about how Web3 is ushering in a libertarian dystopia. Watch her video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-sNSjS8cq0 Watch her video on Gary Vee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xpx0l6FXJU This is the book she mentions at the beginning of the…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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We Need to talk about El Salvador (Feat. Mario Gómez and Oscar Salguero)
1:12:40
1:12:40
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by two Salvadoran natives - Mario Gómez, a developer who was arrested in El Salvador for voicing criticism about the Bitcoin bill, and Oscar Salguero, a senior software engineer who has been traveling to and from El Salvador, testing the limits of the cryptocurrency remittance services. Para nuestros oyentes en espa…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Should Money Laundering be a Crime? (Feat. Josh Cincinnati)
1:09:52
1:09:52
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1:09:52
Bennett and Cas are joined by their good friend, former executive director of the Zcash Foundation, and current board member of the Mina Foundation, Josh Cincinnati. We wanted to pretend this was a debate about whether money laundering should be illegal, instead we all pretty much agreed, "Yes, it should." But we had to define it first and discuss …
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Trying to Think like the SEC (Feat. John Reed Stark)
1:07:17
1:07:17
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Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by John Reed Stark of John Reed Stark Consulting and formerly with the Securities and Exchange Commission for over two decades. We discuss our frustrations with the SEC, the perceived lack of action, and what John expects to see from them in the coming years. Visit John's website: https://www.johnreed…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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The Foul Financials of Cryptocurrency (Feat. Francine McKenna)
1:05:57
1:05:57
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1:05:57
Today Bennett and Cas are proud to have Francine McKenna, former auditor, current journalist, and soon to be professor at Wharton, to talk to us about all the problems with auditing, cryptocurrencies, and, let's face it, Tether's totally garbage attestations. Francine's newsletter: https://thedig.substack.com The Chickenshit Club by Jesse Eisinger:…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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The Many Faces and Citizenships of Justin Sun
32:37
32:37
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32:37
Bennett and Cas talk about Justin Sun (or Sun Yuchen): billionaire, creator of TRON cryptocurrency, citizen to five-ten countries, and egomaniac who has managed to outrun and outpace law enforcement for years. Read the fantastic The Verge article about Justin: https://www.theverge.com/c/22947663/justin-sun-tron-cryptocurrency-poloniex…
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about the proliferation of cities associated with blockchains, why the concept in and of itself is silly, and go through some historical and current examples. If you'd like to listen to Bennett and Cas' other podcast, Innovated: Blockchain City, you can listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inn…
After being ignored by the executives at Blockchains LLC and the Nevada legislature, Cas and Bennett take a trip to the high-desert to see what they can learn about the Blockchain City with boots on the ground.In this episode, Sam Toll, a local Storey County journalist, attempts to explain the twists and turns involved with the creation of Innovati…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Ukraine and Russia and What it Means for Cryptocurrency
22:33
22:33
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Today Bennett and Cas talk about the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces (as dictated by Vladimir Putin). We discuss the need for being cautious when donating to newly created charities, to not FOMO into giving, and the deep effects that sanctions against Russia may have within the space. If you'd like to donate to a humanitarian relief e…
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are lucky enough to be joined by the "Batman of Cryptocurrency" - pseudoanonymous Twitter user ZachXBT (https://www.twitter.com/zachxbt). We ask him what it's like uncovering every fraud and scam in crypto, why he does it, and whether the Cryptocurrency Batcave has a secret "nuke scam project" button. Donate to …
Cas and Bennett revisit company towns, a grim part of America’s history that bears a striking resemblance to the Blockchain City. Expert Dr. Ángela Vergara joins the pair to discuss why they do more harm than good. For more on the subject, listen to Cas, Bennett, and Dr. Vergara on a special episode of Crypto Critics’ Corner: https://open.spotify.c…
Autonomous governments and permanent identities: what can blockchain bring to cities it hasn’t already? Jeffrey Berns’ lofty project promised to employ 124,000 people. But first, he needed the innovation zone bill to pass… Listen to Cas and Bennett’s other podcast, Crypto Critics’ Corner, for more historical moments in crypto: https://open.spotify.…
A couple billionaires, a brothel, an industrial zone, and a small town investigative journalist all collide to form a Blockchain City.Cas and Bennett begin to peer into the abyss of Jeffrey Berns and quickly discover an elaborate scheme. Listen to Cas and Bennett’s other podcast, Crypto Critics’ Corner, for more historical moments in crypto: https:…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Company Towns - Past, Present, and Future (Feat. Dr. Ángela Vergara)
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Bennett and Cas are joined by Dr. Ángela Vergara - an expert in company towns and co-author of Company Towns in the Americas. We try to address why they tend to fail, how they usually harm employees, and why they've never really gone away. If you want to follow Dr. Vergara on Twitter, you can find her @vergara_angela. The new podcast Bennett and Ca…
Today Bennett and Cas have the distinct privilege to have on Molly White, the creator and maintainer of www.web3isgoinggreat.com - a beautiful showcase of all the disastrous projects that have plagued the Web3 ecosystem thus far. We ask Molly why so many grifters are interested in blockchains, her goals with her website, and why the Federal Reserve…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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The Verification Scam, How it Works, and Why it's Everywhere
25:24
25:24
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Bennett and Cas talk about the most recent scam that's been omnipresent on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets: the verification scam. If you've spent any time on Twitter or Instagram, you'll have noticed verified accounts with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers that are spam liking tweets (usually about NFTs). But there's a …
What happened to that Blockchain City project in Nevada? On March 1, journalist Cas Piancey and data scientist Bennett Tomlin investigate. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Inflation, the Federal Reserve, and Bitcoin (Feat. Michael Green)
52:33
52:33
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Today Bennett and Cas are joined by the portfolio manager and chief strategist for Simplify Asset Management, Michael Green (on Twitter @profplum99). In one of our most wide-ranging discussions, we had the opportunity to pick Mike's brain on what inflation means for the U.S. and the world, how the Fed should respond, the Canadian Trucker Convoy / P…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Celebrities Love Cryptocurrencies - and it's lame (Feat. Ben McKenzie and Jacob Silverman)
59:53
59:53
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59:53
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Ben McKenzie (star of Gotham, Southland, and The O.C.) and Jacob Silverman (author of Terms of Service and writer for The New Republic and Slate) who discuss the ideas behind their upcoming book about cryptocurrency, their issues with celebrity shilling of speculative assets, and how it really feel…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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The Return of the Bitfinex Hack: $4.5 billion in Bitcoin is Found and Seized
23:37
23:37
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23:37
Today Bennett and Cas will be talking about how $3.5 billion dollars (of $4.5 billion) worth of Bitcoin stolen 6 years ago was found and seized by the US Department of Justice. We discuss Ilya Lichtenstein, Heather Reyhan Morgan, what this means for all the Bitfinex tokens, and if it's possible the funds won't be returned to Bitfinex at all. This e…
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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Oh, a thing called Wormhole ate $320,000,000? Are you surprised?
22:26
22:26
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22:26
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about the recent incredible hack of the cryptocurrency bridge, aptly named, Wormhole. Did $320,000,000 worth of ETH evaporate? Yes. Did Jump Crypto 100% cover that? Also yes.
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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The US Dollar, Inflation, and Recession (Feat. Travis Kimmel)
48:08
48:08
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48:08
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey have the opportunity to chat with THE BEAR LORD - or just Travis, if you prefer - about all things SCARY when it comes to the future of the dollar, yields, cryptocurrency, and the economy as a whole. Follow Travis on Twitter @coloradotravis (Recorded on Monday, January 31st, 2022)…
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey bring you up to date on an old character in an old story: Michael Patryn - er, should we say Omar Dhanani? Or 0xSifu? It's all up for debate, because on January 27th, 2022, the cofounder of QuadrigaCX, a now defunct Canadian cryptocurrency exchange - reappeared in a big way: by being the chief financial officer …
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Crypto Critics' Corner
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The Complex History and Weird Transition of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations)
31:15
31:15
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Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the long, complex, and fraught history of DAOs (or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and try to understand the current hype cycle.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Doomberg - Twitter and Substack's favorite Little financial Chicken - to discuss Bitcoin's, and cryptocurrency in general's, biggest threats for maximum liquidations and pain (including, but not limited to: Microstrategy, El Salvador, and Tether). Follow Doomberg on Twitter @Doomberg or subscribe t…
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss online Poker's Black Friday - April 15th, 2011 - and it's everlasting effects with Jason Bral, a semi-professional poker player.
