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The Coin Bureau Podcast: Crypto Without the Hype

A journey through all things cryptocurrency from the team behind the biggest crypto channel on YouTube. The Coin Bureau is dedicated to providing education and information about cryptocurrency without the hype.

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It feels like Season One of FTX: Trouble in Paradise has drawn to a close. SBF narrowly avoided jail thanks to a last-minute $250 million bond and is now chilling at home with his parents. Season Two will see him fighting for his freedom in court as his former friends, colleagues and lovers queue up to spill the beans. Everyone just wants to get the lightest sentence possible.   SBF’s next court appearance is scheduled for the 3rd of January, so it won’t be long before Season Two is up and running. In the meantime however, it feels like a good opportunity to pause and try to make sense of what has happened in the last few weeks. How on earth was it possible for this disaster to happen? When did everything start going wrong? And, how did a bunch of maths geeks who clearly weren’t very good traders manage to mislead the whole industry for so long?   To answer these questions and many others, I got together with Ram Ahluwalia, the co-founder and CEO of Lumida - an investment advisory firm that focuses on digital assets. Ram has worked in finance for most of his career and has a level of knowledge and experience that few can match. He recently published some intriguing threads on Twitter that delved into the FTX/Alameda debacle and, having read them, I knew I had to talk with him in depth.    In our discussion we drilled down into Ram’s thoughts on the disaster and why he believes it was a long time coming - longer perhaps than many people believe. He also talked through some of the mysteries of high finance that seem to have helped thwart SBF and his cronies and explained how those who were able to play the game better were able to profit at FTX and Alameda’s expense.    This was a fascinating conversation to have and I’m grateful to Ram for taking the time to talk to me. A few developments - including the arrest and extradition of SBF - have taken place since we talked, but what we discuss here is still hugely relevant to the situation and how things may play out in the coming months.   Follow Ram on Twitter: @ramahluwahlia   Follow Lumida on Twitter: @lumidawealth or visit https://www.lumida.co/    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How On Earth Did This Happen? with Ram Ahluwalia

It’s time to check in again with our friends at the Federal Reserve, whose every move is being scrutinised by investors everywhere for signs of what might be on their minds. Are they going to keep raising interest rates as aggressively as they have been in previous months? Will they slow the pace, or maybe even ease off the rate rises completely? The decisions made inside Fed HQ have huge ramifications for the US economy and beyond.   We recently got a glimpse inside the Fed’s thinking with the release of the minutes of its latest meeting, which was held just before Jerome and co decided to hike rates by yet another 75 basis points last month. So, have a listen to our analysis of the minutes and what they might mean for the crypto market and beyond. It may have been hard to focus on much besides the FTX disaster in recent weeks, but the rest of the world doesn’t stand still when crypto has one of its periodic meltdowns.    Next up, you’ll hear about some of the catalysts that could yet drive the bear market down to new lows. Many are speculating that we may be at or near the bottom by now and it certainly feels like that sometimes. Problem is, there are still a number of factors that need to be considered and hurdles to be overcome before the path to higher prices is revealed.    From retail investors finally throwing in the towel, to miners giving up the ghost and energy prices going through the roof, there’s still lots to watch out for. With luck, the bottom is already in and 2023 will be a year of growing gains, but then again, luck seems to have been in pretty short supply of late.    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fed Minutes and Could We go Lower?

It’s back to FTX this week sadly, as the exchange’s collapse continues to dominate the crypto headlines.    Today, you’ll hear about the company’s recent bankruptcy filing, which revealed just how terribly it and its sister company Alameda Research were being run behind the scenes, by people who were unfit to be running anything bigger than a lemonade stand.    The filing makes for some pretty extraordinary reading and reveals just how much work needs to be done to try and clear up the mess that Sam Bankman-Fried and his idiotic colleagues left in their wake. This clearing up will take a long time and that means it will take an even longer time for anyone to get their money back - assuming enough money can be found, that is. Have a listen to get the lowdown.   Another consequence of the FTX fiasco is that other crypto exchanges are rushing to provide proof of reserves or PoR. This is designed to reassure their users that they do indeed have enough crypto on hand to honour any and all withdrawals, should they be required to. After FTX, people want to know they’re using an exchange which is solvent and can prove itself to be so, hence why the second part of today’s episode is also well worth your time. This is a look at what proof of reserves actually means and to what extent the top exchanges out there are providing it. There’s also the question to consider of whether the time for decentralised exchanges may be nigh.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

FTX's Bankruptcy Filing and Proof of Reserves

FTX is still making the headlines and the contagion continues to spread. Companies and projects across the industry are reeling and much of the talk is about which could be the next domino to fall. Welcome to crypto winter.   One project that many are concerned about is Solana, which was heavily backed by FTX and Alameda Research. SOL’s price has tumbled in the wake of FTX’s collapse as a result of this exposure, and the road ahead looks rocky. In the first part of today’s episode, you’ll hear a bit of background about Solana, as well as some significant developments it has undergone in recent months. You’ll also hear the details of its relationship with FTX and Alameda, as well as how the projects in its ecosystem are also under threat. Can Solana survive, or is the sun about to set on one of crypto’s biggest projects?   Next up, something a little different. There’s enough bad news floating around the cryptoverse at the moment, so let’s take a look at a fascinating geopolitical issue instead.    Africa is poised to become an economic powerhouse in the coming decades, thanks in large part to its high birth rate and abundance of natural resources. As populations across much of the rest of the world decline and grow steadily older, African nations are set to reap the benefits of having younger and more productive workforces. They’ll need them to get all those metals and minerals out of the ground.   Other nations are slowly waking up to this fact, but Western ones are lagging behind. China however is well aware of Africa’s potential and has invested heavily across the continent in recent years. As a result, Chinese power and influence have increased, making it arguably the pre-eminent foreign power across much of Africa.   But, as countries like Sri Lanka have found to their cost, Chinese money doesn’t necessarily come cheap. Defaulting on debts owed to the world’s second-largest economy can be ruinous and China hasn’t been shy of appropriating collateral in such situations. As African nations look to develop further in order to harness their future potential, is China the best business partner to have? Have a listen to our deep dive on this issue and see what you think.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What next for Solana? and China's Scramble for Africa

Crypto has been rocked over the last few days by the biggest disaster ever to hit the industry. While it has experienced its fair share of crises over its short history, the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research is the gravest challenge crypto has faced thus far and the true extent of the damage may not become apparent for some time.   In today’s episode, Mike and Guy sit down to talk through what happened and what may come next. Many of the details are still unclear and new information is coming to light every day, so much of what’s discussed here will be focused on the background to this whole debacle.    You’ll hear about the origins of Alameda Research and FTX, as well as the story of the man who founded them both and is ultimately responsible for their collapse. You’ll also hear about how concerns about Alameda started to bubble up at the beginning of November and how both it and the world’s second-largest crypto exchange were essentially brought down by a single tweet.   We’ll update you with more information on this extraordinary, tragic story next week. New twists and turns occur daily, while rumour, speculation, vitriol and despair swirl around the crypto community. Make no mistake, this is crypto history unfolding before our eyes.    We hope you enjoy the show.   Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel Brown  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The FTX Disaster Part 1

Ok, you can probably guess what’s going to be covered today. The crypto industry is reeling from the collapse of the FTX exchange and everyone has questions. What happened? Who is responsible? How could such a disaster have been possible? Where next for crypto? And many, many others besides.   So, in the first part of today’s episode, you’ll hear our initial assessment of what went down with FTX and get some crucial background info about the people and the entities involved. This is about much more than just an exchange going under - it’s about the continued fallout from Terra’s collapse earlier this year, systemic human failings, corruption, greed, incompetence and lies. It’s also about the failure of yet another centralised crypto company that seemed to have the world at its feet but, in retrospect, should never have had access to anyone’s money.   FTX may be dominating the crypto headlines, but elsewhere the world continues to turn, regardless of the existential crisis gripping the industry. A good example of this is the Federal Reserve and its continued efforts to battle inflation. The Fed’s latest interest rate hike of 75 basis points feels like a long time ago now and the focus has turned to what its next one might look like.    That’s why Jerome Powell’s most recent press conference that followed the FOMC meeting in early November was so consequential. His comments shed light on the Fed’s future plans and markets everywhere were paying close attention. So, in part two of today’s episode, you’ll hear what Jerome said, what it all means and why there’s still a lot of fire to walk through before we emerge into the light.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Collapse of FTX and Fed Forward Guidance

There’s turmoil in the crypto market at the moment and we’ll tackle what’s been going on with FTX next week when the picture will - we hope - be a bit clearer. But for this week’s episode, we have something a bit different to take everyone’s mind off all the bad news and instead focus on the future.    Robin Schmidt is one of the most insanely creative minds in the crypto space. Following a successful career in film and TV production, he began pushing the boundaries of content creation as host of The Defiant - one of the best crypto channels out there.    In two short years, Robin and his team produced some of the most extraordinary videos on DeFi and crypto that you could hope to see. Opinionated, funny, impeccably produced and - crucially - full of vital information, they are a must-watch on so many levels.    But there’s a lot more to Robin than awesome film-making. His ideas and opinions on DeFi and web3 more broadly are some of the clearest and most insightful in the industry. While many both inside and outside of crypto remain cynical about the likes of the metaverse and NFTs, Robin is refreshingly optimistic about their potential.    We were saddened to hear a few weeks ago that Robin was leaving The Defiant for pastures new. After becoming hooked on his content, the thought of him not gracing our screens anymore was hard to bear. Fortunately, he’s got some exciting stuff up his sleeve and, even more fortunately, he was able to find some time to come on the podcast and talk to Guy about it.    So, in this episode, Robin and Guy discuss how Robin got into crypto and where he’s heading next, as well as talking about the weirdness of being crypto YouTubers, the highs and lows of content creation, how the metaverse is set to change the world in ways we can’t yet imagine and much more besides.    Robin on Twitter: @IamSuperMassive Robin’s new project: @we_are_basedaf / www.based-af.com  The Defiant (still awesome, even without Robin): https://www.youtube.com/thedefiant If you want some of Robin’s finest work to get you started, then some of his Defiant videos on NFTs have to be seen to be believed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY9lM73ie0Q&t=636s  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kjMbScb75Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv-Kl2R4Vj4  And the Ethereum merge video Robin discusses in the episode can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn1WlunVFts (warning, contains tomatoes)   We hope you enjoy the show.   Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Chat With Robin Schmidt

This week’s picks from our YouTube channel feature a look at the housing bubbles that are looking increasingly shaky in a number of countries and a little tale of what happened when Instagram fact-checked a meme I posted about CBDCs.    A home of one’s own is a big deal for many people, especially in my native UK and elsewhere. This fact, coupled with years of near-zero interest rates, have meant that housing prices in many countries have been rising for a long time. The so-called ‘race for space’ triggered by the pandemic lockdowns only exacerbated this upward trend, but this may now be about to change.   In short, inflation and the rising interest rates deployed against it mean that the era of cheap money is coming to an end. Mortgages are going to become more expensive, meaning fewer people are going to be buying homes. Rising prices mean many people will be less able to save for a deposit. And, as many current homeowners who aren’t on fixed-rate mortgages find themselves unable to make their monthly payments, they may be forced to sell. All of which will put heavy downward pressure on home prices. In countries like the UK, USA and Canada, where housing markets have long been overheated, this could spell yet more economic pain.   Next up, find out what happened when a meme I recently posted on Instagram got fact-checked. The meme in question related to central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, which are going to become a reality for many countries very soon. The meme highlighted how the convenience of CDBCs will blind many to their failings and it seemed this fact was a little too close to the truth for some people’s liking.   So, listen in and find out why what the meme says is in fact correct, and why it seemed to trigger the fact-checkers. Make no mistake, CBDCs pose an enormous threat to financial freedom and the more people who know about this, the better. They may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be resisted.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Housing Bubbles and Guy Got Fact-Checked

After being parted for over a month, Mike and Guy have managed to get together again to talk crypto once again. Thankfully, our editor has managed to cut out the very long and rambling catch-up chat they had and generally keep in the important stuff. Some waffle may remain though, so please exercise caution.    Today’s topic is a crypto niche which has attracted a lot of attention recently and could prove to have staying power in the long run. Move to earn is incentivizes users to get active by rewarding them with crypto when they do so. The thinking being that, by getting up and taking exercise, you can not only improve your health, but your finances as well.    So, join Mike and Guy as they break down what move to earn is all about, look at two of the biggest projects in this category of crypto project and ask whether the whole exercise is worth getting out of bed for. How does it all work and can you really earn some extra income just by being active?    We hope you enjoy the show.   Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Move to Earn

Mike and Guy are reunited this Friday for another in-depth discussion with plenty of lame jokes thrown in, but before all that we have another couple of recent hits from our YouTube channel for you to enjoy.   First up is a look at some recent recommendations for crypto regulations from Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he’s better known, the CEO of the FTX exchange. These were unleashed upon the world just a couple of weeks ago and the fallout from them has been pronounced. Put mildly, many in the industry were not happy with what he was proposing.   To be fair, SBF was at pains to point out that these recommendations were intended to spark debate over how possible future regulations should look and they more than succeeded in doing just that. In the first part of today’s episode, we take a look at what exactly was proposed and whether or not SBF was on the right track. This is an important conversation to have because regulations are heading towards the crypto industry and anything that we can do to influence how they might look could make all the difference to crypto’s future.   Then, that rarest of beasts these days, a new layer-one blockchain project to review. Aptos launched its mainnet a couple of weeks ago and its APT coin was listed on all major exchanges around the same time - this despite a lack of available tokenomics. Those were only published after APT had listed and this is unfortunately just one of many gripes we have with the project.   There’s no denying that Aptos has some top tech and heavy investment backing it up, as well as an experienced team. But, the more we dug into the project, the less we found to like about it. So, have a listen to our review of it and, if it piques your interest, consider looking into Aptos for yourself too - because doing your own research is vital for anyone interested in learning more about crypto.    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SBF's Crypto Regulation Suggestions and Aptos Review

From our YouTube archive this week come two videos which lay bare many of the failings of the current financial system.   The first is inflation - that pernicious force which is busy making lives harder for most people around the world. Most, but by no means all, because those at the very top of the pyramid ultimately benefit from the inflationary system the rest of us labour under.   Believe it or not, but inflation is guilty of more than just rising prices and increasing living costs. It also drives many of the most troubling aspects of society, including war, environmental degradation, inequality and corruption, to name but a few. In the first part of today’s episode, you’ll hear how inflation furthers these evil ends and allows the wealthy and powerful to benefit, while everyone else foots the bill.   Then, in part two, you’ll hear all about a new bill in Washington DC which aims to crack down on insider trading by US politicians and other government officials. This shady practice has been going on since time immemorial, and this isn’t the first bit of legislation to try and tackle it. However, as the economic climate deteriorates and public opinion hardens against such underhand practices, perhaps this could be the moment the folks on Capitol Hill are brought into line. Here’s everything you need to know about the extent of the insider trading that’s been going on and what’s being done to curb it.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inflation's Many Evils and Stopping US Politicians from Insider Trading

This week highlights from Coin Bureau’s YouTube channel focus on two critical macroeconomic issues - China and its stance on Taiwan and concerns around global oil prices. Both of these factors will be weighing on any investor’s portfolio in some way.   You’ll almost certainly be aware of the fact that China has long coveted Taiwan and aims to unite the two countries - by force, if necessary. This dispute has rumbled on for decades, but tensions are currently higher than they have been for a long time. As Chinese president Xi Jinping consolidates his absolute power by securing a third term in office - meaning he is effectively president for life if he so chooses - the likelihood that China will make its move is becoming uncomfortably high.    In the first part of today’s episode, we look at some of the main reasons as to why China could be on the brink of invading Taiwan. As US president Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged military support for Taiwan in such an eventuality, the stakes could not be higher for all three countries and the wider world. As we’ll see, there are many reasons why China could be readying for a strike and just as many reasons why such a move would have dire consequences for the world.    Next up, we take a look at why oil prices are also something we should all be concerned about (there’s not much in the way of good news this week, sadly). The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - OPEC - the powerful international cartel that sets global oil prices, recently decided to cut production by 2 million barrels a day, meaning the price of oil is set to climb. This obviously has serious consequences for the global economy.   There’s also the uncomfortable fact that the US has recently tapped its Strategic Petroleum Reserve - SPR - to make up for the disruption to oil production caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This has helped to combat inflation caused by rising energy costs and insulate Americans from higher prices at the pump. But it also means that the US has decreasing amounts of oil in reserve for an emergency, such as, for instance, a war with China over Taiwan.    So, find a safe spot behind the sofa and have a listen.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China vs Taiwan and Oil Price Worries

It’s time for some more hits from our YouTube channel to brighten your week. Today you’ll hear all about the recent mini financial crisis in the UK and our investigation into a company that could be poised to dominate the crypto industry.   The UK has a new Prime Minister and a new Chancellor of the Exchequer and it’s safe to say they haven’t got off to the most auspicious of starts. Once parliament had reconvened following the period of mourning for the Queen, Chancellor Kwazi Kwarteng announced a so-called ‘mini budget’ that was focused on growth. The only problem was, this involved borrowing billions of pounds to not just cover soaring energy bills, but also to effectively fund a tax cut for the rich.    The markets were unimpressed and the pound plunged. What was more disconcerting however was the state of the UK bond market. The yield on UK gilts (government bonds) shot up, while the price went the other way. As a result, it became much, much more expensive for the government to borrow money. It also meant that UK pension funds became dangerously exposed, all of which is explained in the first part of this episode. It’s a sorry tale and a bitter pill for us Brits to swallow.   Then, in the second part of this episode, you’ll hear all about Circle, the company that is fast becoming one of the richest and most powerful forces in crypto. For those unfamiliar, Circle issues USDC, the second largest stablecoin by market cap. It also has some seriously heavyweight backing from the likes of BlackRock and Goldman Sachs.    Circle has been around for a few years now and began life as a bitcoin-focused payments company before moving into the stablecoin sector. It is also due to go public later this year, which would make it only the second crypto company after Coinbase to take this massive step. Suffice to say, this is a company you need to be aware of.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Day the Markets Broke and The Company That Wants to Take Over Crypto

Mike is away this week, but never fear because we’re lucky enough to have a guest joining us who is one of the wisest heads in the crypto space. Rob Wolff is the man behind Digital Asset News, one of the best crypto-focused YouTube channels out there. Rob is a seasoned investor and businessman, but also the sort of person who never rests on his laurels or stops being curious. As such, what he has to say about the crypto space, about investing and heck, about most things, is always worth hearing.   So this week, Rob and I dialled in to talk about, well, a lot of things. We cover Rob’s fascinating career up to now and how he discovered crypto. We talk about his five rules for investing which everyone should know and how he’s learned from past mistakes to become wiser and more resilient. We also dive into the current state of the crypto market and where it could be heading. And that’s just for starters.   Rob is one of crypto’s good guys. He’s bullish on the future of the industry, but doesn’t deal in hype or hopium. His philosophical approach to crypto, to investing and to life in general is just what’s needed in these difficult, uncertain times. A gentleman, a scholar and a damn nice guy into the bargain.   Digital Asset News, Rob’s brilliant YouTube channel can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigitalAssetNewsDAN and you can follow him on Twitter at @NewsAsset. His website is an amazing source of FREE educational resources about crypto and can be found at https://danteachescrypto.com/    The book ‘This Time is Different’ that Rob mentions is also essential reading. https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691152646/this-time-is-different    It was an absolute pleasure having Rob on the show and we hope he’ll come back and join us again soon.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A chat with Rob from Digital Asset News

Two more selections from our YouTube channel today, in which we take a look at the latest efforts by EU politicians to regulate crypto in the Eurozone and delve deep into a 2019 report by BlackRock which seemed to predict much of what we’re seeing play out in fiscal and monetary policy-making today.   We were lucky enough to get our hands on an advance copy of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation or MiCA bill, which will be passed by the European parliament in the next few days. We were also fortunate to get to work with insider and expert Patrick Hansen on going through it all. When the bill was originally presented a few months ago, it contained some alarming suggestions that threatened to seriously hamper the growth and development of the European crypto industry. Since that time, we have awaited the revised bill with bated breath.   Happily, much has changed during the revision period and it looks like Europe could become a trailblazer for regulatory clarity. There are still some concerns though and, in the first part of this episode, we break down what’s in the bill and give our assessment of what it all means for crypto in the EU and beyond.   Next, we dig through a report published by asset-management behemoth BlackRock all the way back in 2019, as the world barrelled unwittingly towards the era of covid-19. What’s strange is that this report has since proved to be spookily accurate when it comes to how fiscal and monetary policies would take shape in the aftermath of a global crisis, such as was then on the horizon. There’s a lot to unpack in this report, but our breakdown of it is essential listening - especially when you consider that BlackRock is arguably more powerful than most national governments. How did the report’s authors know so much about the future?   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crypto in the Eurozone and the BlackRock Report

Poor Mike felt a bit down after the last time we spoke. Yes, the merge was a success, but the crypto market found its way back into the doldrums pretty quickly afterwards and looks like remaining there for quite some time to come. There are just too many factors weighing on all financial markets at this point in time and it’s hard not to feel a bit gloomy about it all.   So, this week, we thought we’d try something different and turn to that ever-reliable source of news, nonsense, time-wasting and procrastination: Twitter. If you want to keep tabs on what’s going on in crypto, you need to monitor crypto Twitter - or CT, if you’re into the whole brevity thing. CT is, in short, where it all goes down.   If you are going to immerse yourself in the world of CT, then Coinfessions (@coinfessions) is one account you need to follow. Billed as anonymous crypto confessions, it’s a place where people go to fess up to the crypto-related shenanigans they just have to get off their chests.    Some of them make for uncomfortable reading, some are distressing, some are even uplifting. But, as entertaining and diverting as Coinfessions is, there are lessons to be learned from many of these tweets. So, let’s veer away from the horrors of global markets and dig into some confessions from the crypto space and see what they have to teach us.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hearing Coinfessions

For this week’s YouTube selection, we bring you an investigation into the practice of weather modification and a look at how various arms of the US government responded to President Biden’s executive order about cryptocurrency from earlier this year.    It’s been a longstanding human aim to control the weather, but it’s only recently that we’ve taken a technological approach to fulfilling it. Prior to that, we simply entreated one god or another to do it for us, but now we’re learning to play god ourselves. From showmen in the early 20th century burning chemicals to stimulate rain to governments shooting clouds with lasers in the 21st, we’ve come a long way from sacrificing the odd goat or two.    What’s particularly intriguing is that it appears as though these technologies we’ve developed are actually very effective. That opens the door to all sorts of possibilities, both benign and otherwise. Back in 1974, many countries pledged to refrain from modifying the weather for warlike purposes, but there are now suspicions that some are no longer abiding by these terms. Weather modification is a huge but seemingly underreported subject, so we thought we’d take a break from the gloom of the crypto markets to shed some light on it for you.   Crypto concerns can’t be ignored for long though, because authorities in the United States appear to be gearing up for a big regulatory push against the industry. IN March this year, President Biden issued an executive order about cryptocurrency and the deadline for responses to it fell just a few weeks ago. The result is a report which reviews these responses and provides some important indications of what crypto regulations in the United States could one day look like. It’s required reading for anyone interested in crypto, whether US-based or otherwise, so we’ve summarised it for you in the second part of today’s episode.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weather Modification and the White House's Crypto Framework

After previewing Ethereum’s merge event last week, it’s time to look back on the big day and see where it’s left us. Is the post-merge world any different from the world of proof of work Ethereum?   Happily the merge went to plan and there were no issues - the sense of relief was palpable. Less happily, the euphoria that followed the merge evaporated in the blink of an eye. The gloomy economic situation that the world economy finds itself in has not gone away and these pressures continue to press down hard on the crypto market. Not even one of the most seismic events in the history of computing could change that fact.    So, there’s bad news and good news to be aware of. In the latter category, rising interest rates, untamed inflation, continuing geopolitical tensions and war are just a few that spring to mind. Crypto also faces its own unique threats. The SEC considers all cryptos bar Bitcoin’s BTC to be securities, while there are also concerns around proof of stake Ethereum’s vulnerability to regulatory capture and even protocol-level censorship. Worrying times.   But, it’s not all bad. The investment case for ETH has been strengthened by the success of the merge and - long term - investors will look more favourably on it. The massive reduction in electricity usage, as well as ETH’s future as a deflationary asset, are both enormous positives. And, there are further improvements in the work, being undertaken by a team of developers who have more than proven their expertise.    So, as the merge recedes in the rear-view mirror, why not join us for one last look back, before we turn our gaze once more to the future? It may look rough, but better times lie beyond the horizon.    We hope you enjoy the show.   Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Post-Merge Post-Mortem

Coming to you this week from our YouTube archive is a piece on Europe’s energy squeeze and a recent report which casts doubt on much of cryptocurrency’s trading volume.   The war in Ukraine drags on, causing death, destruction and misery on a shocking scale. But the effects of Putin’s madness are being felt beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia in many different ways. For Europe, it means a potentially long, cold and dark winter, as fossil fuel exports from Russia dwindle in the face of sanctions and a proposed price cap on Russian oil. A stand-off has ensued, with Russia turning off the gas taps and refusing to budge until sanctions are lifted, while Europe tries to stand firm and not let energy shortages weaken its resolve.   In the first part of today’s episode, we look at what led to this situation and examine why it’s more precarious than many might think. We also look at some of the ways in which European countries are starting to take steps to try and limit the damage, all while winter gets closer with each passing day.    Then, in the second part of the episode, we go through a recent report by Forbes which digs down in the trading volumes on cryptocurrency exchanges. It’s titled: ‘More Than Half Of All Bitcoin Trades Are Fake’ and is critical of much of the crypto industry. It was an interesting report to cover, containing much to disagree with, but also plenty of food for thought. Have a listen and see what you think.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Europe's Energy Squeeze and Fake Trading Volumes

As well as our bonus catch-up episode, we’re also bringing you our regular Wednesday edition of the podcast today. Two for the price of one.    One of our most popular videos of late has been our look at the World Economic Forum’s dystopian vision of the future. This is built around the idea that ‘you’ll own nothing and be happy,’ something the folks at the WEF seem to believe is a good thing. Well, we beg to differ.   In the first part of this episode, you’ll hear our assessment of the WEF’s plans, as well as a look at how its stakeholders are starting to implement all the ways they can stop us owning but keep us consuming. We also look back at where these ideas originated - it turns out that concepts like planned obsolescence have been around for a surprisingly long time.    Next up, you’ll hear our update on Cardano, one of the biggest and most talked-about crypto projects going. All the recent talk has been of Ethereum’s upcoming merge, but Cardano has a big upgrade of its own coming up later this month, which will go a long way towards determining whether or not it will be able to challenge Ethereum’s dominance in the future. Here’s everything you need to know about where Cardano is right now.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You'll Own Nothing and be Happy & Cardano Update

It’s been a couple of weeks since Mike and Guy shared the airwaves, but here they are reunited (albeit remotely, as Guy is currently in Dubai.) Apart from catching up and - inevitably - discussing the death of HM the Queen, there’s only really one thing worth talking about right now and that is, of course, Ethereum’s upcoming merge. If you’re sick of hearing about this then take comfort in the fact that it will all be over soon.    This episode is being released earlier than normal because the merge will have happened by its normal Friday slot. However, the merge is just one stage in Ethereum’s development and there are many other important milestones ahead of it - so perhaps it’s time we looked forward to those as well.    So, whether you’re listening pre- or post-merge, there’s still lots of important stuff you should know about this pivotal moment in the history of cryptocurrency. Nothing like this has been attempted before and perhaps we’ll all look back and be thankful we were there to see it. In the words of V.I. Lenin: “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” This definitely feels like the latter.    Some useful merge-related resources:   Finematics YouTube channel, with a great merge explainer: https://www.youtube.com/c/Finematics   Ethereum website’s merge page: https://ethereum.org/en/upgrades/merge/    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editors: Sam Moult & Mykal June Theme music composed by: Noel BrownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Merge and what Comes Next

It’s an exciting time for cryptocurrency right now, even with markets in the doldrums. That’s because Ethereum’s transition to proof of stake is now only a few days away, while elsewhere the powers that be are still struggling to figure out how they can control the crypto industry. In this week’s highlights from Coin Bureau’s YouTube channel, we take a look at both of these developing situations and what they might mean for the future of crypto and the wider financial landscape.   Ever since the great depression almost a century ago, those in power in the US and elsewhere have sought to limit the ordinary person’s access to certain types of high-risk, high-reward investment vehicles such as company funding rounds or stocks before the list publicly. However, for a privileged few, no such restrictions apply. These are the so-called ‘accredited investors’ and, before you ask, there’s no test you can take or course you can study to become one. You simply have to be rich - that is, in the US at any rate, you have to have an income north of $200k a year, a net worth of over $1 million (excluding your main residence) and/or be an executive in a company selling its equity. Others need not apply.   What this creates is a system whereby the rich are able to get even richer and everyone else has to try their luck buying publicly-listed stocks and other assets like cryptocurrencies, for instance. But the huge gains many have made on crypto, coupled with the volatility of most coins and tokens, have got authorities worried that the status quo may be in danger of being upset. Governments across the world are now taking steps to limit their citizens’ access to cryptocurrencies and it’s a contagion that’s likely to spread.    Part two of this episode then focuses on Ethereum’s upcoming switch to proof of stake, one of the most hotly-anticipated and significant events in the history of crypto. After many delays and a lot of hard work by Vitalik and the rest of the Ethereum team, the transition is now scheduled for mid-September and the stakes could not be higher. The crypto industry is holding its breath waiting to see how it goes and what the post-merge future will look like. What you’ll hear is a breakdown of everything you need to know.    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir MutapcicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accredited Investors and Ethereum’s Upcoming Switch

We’re back with some picks from our YouTube channel, taking a look at a major threat to global economic stability and some invaluable tools to help you in your quest for more crypto knowledge. Something to suit every taste.   First up, we take a look at the economic crisis unfolding in China, where a cooling property market and some worrying GDP, growth, sales and unemployment numbers are causing a serious headache for Xi Jinping’s government. For years, Chinese citizens have invested heavily in real estate, in the belief that it was a market that would just keep on growing. However, just as in capitalist countries, greed has proved to be the only thing to be without limits. Property developers in China have taken on mountains of debt and, as events of the last few years have laid waste to markets there and elsewhere, that debt has started to turn bad.    That said, the woes facing the Chinese economy have been a long time coming, even before covid-19 reared its ugly head. Nothing goes up forever and it was perhaps inevitable that - in the case of the property sector at any rate - boom would eventually turn to bust. That is now starting to happen and the consequences of a serious economic downturn in China will be felt around the world.   Then, in the second half of today’s episode, we change tack entirely and take a look at some of the best tools to use in your crypto research. There’s a wealth of useful information out there if you just know where to look, and, as that’s part of our job here at Coin Bureau, we thought we’d point you in the direction of some of the best places for invaluable alpha.    These tools are all free to use and yet provide you with the sort of info others may spend hours fruitlessly trawling the internet for. Find out which crypto projects are actually earning money, get all the information you could ever want about NFTs and DAOs, or find out where to earn the best DeFi yields. Once you have these in your toolbox, you’ll wonder how you ever did without them.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir MutapcicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Global Economic Instability and The Quest for Crypto Knowledge

One of the topics that came up during our look at the cashless society was the notion of privacy and the digital age’s erosion of it. Keeping one’s financial transactions private is a big part of maintaining a life free from unwarranted interference and it’s becoming harder and harder to do.   Then, not long after we’d recorded that episode, a blow was struck against crypto privacy that is still reverberating through the industry. On the 8th August, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) - a department of the US Treasury - imposed sanctions on the Tornado Cash mixing protocol, as well as a number of wallets associated with it. This unprecedented step was taken because Tornado Cash has been used by hackers from North Korea’s Lazarus group to launder stolen crypto. It should be noted however, that, according to blockchain tracking company Chainalysis, only around 17% of the $7 billion that has passed through the protocol is thought to be related to illicit activity.    The impact of these measures was immediate: the Tornado Cash website was taken down, many DeFi protocols began blocking access to wallets that had used Tornado Cash and funds in many wallets were frozen. Most disturbingly of all, one of Tornado Cash’s developers was arrested by Dutch police and was still in custody as we recorded this, nearly two weeks later.    If you caught the last episode, you’ll be up to speed with what happened with Tornado Cash and the ongoing saga forms a big part of our discussion in this episode. We also talk about privacy in general, how the internet is eroding it and crypto’s role in the fight to keep prying eyes away from our finances.    Privacy is a right, not a privilege, and forms a central plank of human freedom. But, like other freedoms, if we don’t fight for it, then others will take it away. If that happens, it will be much harder to get back than it ever was to hold on to.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Privacy In Crypto and Beyond

This week’s highlights from our YouTube channel look at two hot topics within the crypto community. So, get ready for the lowdown on proof of work vs proof of stake and what went down when the US Treasury decided to sanction a popular privacy tool.   First up, you’ll hear our take on a recent report from the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, which looks at the two most well-known consensus mechanisms in crypto: proof of work and proof of stake. Both have their detractors and their champions and both have been in the spotlight in recent months.    Proof of work is the consensus mechanism used by Bitcoin and is much discussed because of its high energy usage. It is also currently used by Ethereum, though not for long because Ethereum’s transition to proof of stake is fast approaching. This will be a seismic moment in the history of cryptocurrency and offers the perfect opportunity to examine the two systems in depth. Kraken’s excellent report is full of useful information and should be required reading for anyone interested in crypto. In this video, we give you our take on what it all says.   In the second part of this episode, we look at the sanctioning of the Tornado Cash mixing protocol by the US Treasury Department. For those unfamiliar, a mixing protocol provides crypto users with a way to obscure the origin of a crypto transaction. It also acts as a vital tool for preserving privacy in a world where almost every transaction is viewable on-chain. Unfortunately, Tornado Cash has also been used by hackers and money-launderers in the past, hence the Treasury’s decision to sanction it.   What may on the surface appear to be merely the shuttering of a tool used by criminals is in fact a major blow to law-abiding users of cryptocurrency and one which is unlikely to affect the bad actors it purports to target. It also has enormous and far-reaching implications for the wider crypto industry and the fallout from it will be felt by all of us. So, for the background to the whole unfolding story, what has happened already and what could happen in the future, keep listening.    You can find the full text of the Kraken report here: https://blog.kraken.com/post/14885/pow-vs-pos-securing-the-chain/    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir MutapcicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake and the Tornado Cash Sanctions

Last week’s discussion about the idea of a cashless society got pretty in-depth, so we thought we’d divide it up into two. So, here is part 2, in which we talk about the groups of people for whom cash is a lifeline and look ahead to where going cashless could one day lead us.    The rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is unstoppable and state-issued digital tokens will be a fact of life for many of us by the end of the decade, if not before. We look at why governments are accelerating their development and what it could mean for all of us. We also look at one place where complete financial oversight is becoming the central plank of a thoroughly modern dystopia.   As with last week’s episode, Brett Scott’s excellent book Cloudmoney was vital reading when researching this one.    https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/439997/cloudmoney-by-scott-brett/9781847925879   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cashless Society: Part 2

Back for some more midweek action with a couple of selections from Coin Bureau’s YouTube channel. The audio you’ll hear this week is from our videos on what makes the perfect cryptocurrency and why we could be about to witness a housing market crash.    The developers and fans of many crypto projects like to claim that they have solved the so-called blockchain trilemma. This term, coined by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, posits the idea that no cryptocurrency blockchain can be decentralised, secure and scalable at the same time: one component must always be sacrificed in favour of the others. Usually, the sacrificed component is decentralisation, with many, many cryptocurrencies turning out to be centralised to a greater or lesser degree once you dig down into how they actually work.   The continued failure to solve the blockchain trilemma, as well as many other endemic failings, means that the perfect cryptocurrency is yet to appear. Some have got close and some are getting closer as we speak, but all have their imperfections. So, we here at Coin Bureau sat down and tried to imagine how exactly this mythical, perfect crypto would look. With luck, one of the crypto developers of tomorrow may be listening and taking notes…   Next up, a look at how the housing market in many countries has been running hot in recent years and why it might be about to start cooling. From a pandemic-inspired race for space, via failing supply chains, the explosion of Airbnb and much else besides have come housing prices that seemed only to go one way. After all, everyone needs a place to live.   But, as Covid recedes, the tide may be turning. Interest rates are rising, uncertainty is stalking its way through the global economy and recession is becoming a reality in many countries. As such, could bricks and mortar suddenly start to wobble, or will they always be safe as houses? This second part of today’s episode should give you a good idea of where we could be headed.   If you want to see these videos in their natural habitat (so to speak) then you can find them and many more over on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/CoinBureau/featured    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir MutapcicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Perfect Cryptocurrency and Are We Heading for a Housing Crash?

As our lives become ever more digital, a world without cash edges seemingly ever closer. For many of us, cash makes only fleeting appearances in our day-to-day lives, as we transact with cards, phones, apps and, of course, crypto on an increasingly regular basis. The cashless society is nigh.   Going cashless can certainly seem more convenient in most situations. Who has time for the money that jiggles and folds anymore? Cash use was crashing even before the pandemic came along and dealt what many assume was a mortal blow to the traditional way of transacting. When was the last time you pulled some sweaty coins out of your back pocket or unrolled a crumpled banknote?   And yet, as much as going cashless may seem like the natural evolution of things, it's a process that is being driven by some powerful vested interests. Banks, payment networks, fintech companies and even governments have much to gain from the death of cash and they have not been shy about moving that process along. And we the consumers have, for the most part, gone blithely along with them.   In this episode, we discuss the emergence of the cashless society and ask whether the speed and convenience of digital payments really make up for the loss of other freedoms that cash allows us. We look at who benefits from cash’s decline and who loses out. And we dig below the surface to see whether cash really is dying out as quickly as we might have thought, before looking at one place where the demise of cash is helping to create a living nightmare.    This episode was partly inspired by the brilliant book Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for our Wallets, by acclaimed author Brett Scott. In the book, Scott brilliantly lays bare the way in which the financial powers-that-be operate and how they would like nothing better to see cash go the way of the dodo. He also looks at how crypto has muscled in on the debate and how it may not be the saviour many of us hope it will. His book is insightful, forthright and well worth your time.    https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/439997/cloudmoney-by-scott-brett/9781847925879   Our iHeart stablemates at the wonderful Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know podcast had themselves a fascinating discussion on the cashless society back in January 2020. Much has changed since then, but it’s well worth a listen (as of course are all their other episodes too). Available wherever you get your podcasts.   https://www.iheart.com/podcast/182-stuff-they-dont-want-you-t-26941221/episode/a-world-without-cash-56794035/    Having got so caught up in discussing all the aspects of a cashless society, we decided to split our discussion in two. The second part will be available next week.    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cashless Society: Part 1

It’s time for another selection from our YouTube channel and this week, we’ve chosen our deep dives into the organisations that want to see crypto die and what you can do to beat inflation. What you’re about to hear is the audio from those two videos, which between them have been viewed over a quarter of a million times and counting.    The current financial system serves the interests of a select few over those of the rest of us and those few would rather things stayed that way. Among them are a number of institutions which wield enormous power over all of us - a power which crypto implicitly threatens. Some, like the IMF and the World Economic Forum (WEF) you may have already heard of, but others may be less familiar to you. In the first part of this episode, we take a closer look at these organisations and the ill will they bear towards the entire crypto industry.   Next, we examine some of the ways in which you can fight back against the inflation that is driving up prices around the world and threatening to push the world economy into a long recession. Inflation affects all of us - rich, poor and in-between - albeit to radically varying degrees. But there are a few steps you can take to lessen its impact on your finances and help you ride out the cost of living crisis that is starting to wash over us.   If you want to see these videos in their natural habitat (so to speak) then you can find them and many more over on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/CoinBureau/featured    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who Wants Crypto To Die?

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for crypto: markets have shown a slight recovery and there’s a renewed sense of optimism in the air from some quarters. Some are speculating that, with the disasters of Terra, Voyager, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and many others now receding in the rear-view mirror, the worst could, perhaps, be over. Is the stage set for a recovery?   We need to look at the bigger picture to find any sort of answer to that question. Crypto is now inextricably bound up with all the other elements of the global economy, as well as its own, discrete concerns. In other words, there’s a lot we have to consider before arriving at any sort of conclusion.   In this episode, we take a look at some of the macroeconomic and crypto-specific factors currently affecting the markets. From the actions of the Federal Reserve, to the Chinese housing market, via the unrest in Sri Lanka and excitement over Ethereum’s upcoming Merge event, we examine some of the most important current and impending events that you need to be aware of. Is there light at the end of the tunnel, or will we be groping our way through the gloom for a while yet?   Predicting the future is impossible, but we can make educated guesses based on what we see unfolding in front of us. If you’re curious about what may lie ahead and what it could mean for you, crypto and the wider world, then be sure to tune in. Not financial advice, of course.   PS - as mentioned in the episode, here is a link to the Bloomberg interview with the disgraced founders of Three Arrows Capital. A, shall we say, interesting read (subscription required).   https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-22/three-arrows-founders-en-route-to-dubai-describe-ltcm-moment#xj4y7vzkg    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Current Affairs

Welcome to the inaugural Wednesday edition of the Coin Bureau Podcast! We’re changing up the format a little for these extra weekly shows to bring you even more invaluable insights from the team here. Once-upon-a-time we used to upload the audio files from our popular YouTube videos as podcasts and, due to popular demand, we’re going to be doing so once more.    Each week, we’ll select two videos to bring to you in audio format, so that you can enjoy some of our YouTube content in the same way you listen to podcasts. This week, we’ve chosen to focus on a couple of seemingly localised crises that could have big implications for the global economy - including the crypto sector. These are the recent bank runs witnessed in China and the ongoing economic and political collapse in Sri Lanka.    We talk a lot about how economic events in the United States ripple out across global markets, but that’s not to say events elsewhere can’t also be consequential. It can be hard to get a clear picture of what is happening inside China, but it’s clear that all is not well in the country’s property sector and economy in general. As China is the world’s second largest economy, a crisis there will affect us all in due course.   Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s woes could be a harbinger of things to come elsewhere. Some ill-conceived environmental policies and years of political mismanagement have left the country in a parlous state and such problems are not unique to Sri Lanka. As the economic outlook grows ever-more gloomy across the world, what is happening in this small but populous country could be replicated elsewhere.    Guy and Mike will be back talking crypto later this week as usual, but in the meantime we hope this change of format is to your liking - please let us know what you think and if you’d like to hear more episodes like this in the future.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bank Runs in China and a Crisis in Sri Lanka

Chances are you’ve heard talk of the metaverse before and there’s perhaps an equally strong chance your eyes glaze over when you hear the term. But, the metaverse is coming, money is being spent on it and we should all be paying attention.   In this episode we dig into what the metaverse is, where the idea for it comes from and - crucially - where it's all heading. Ever since Facebook rebranded to Meta last year, the concept of the metaverse has become harder and harder to ignore and the implications for society are going to be enormous.   We explore some of the work being done to make the metaverse a reality and consider how some aspects of it are already a part of our daily lives. We consider what forms it could take in the future, as well as the downsides and potential benefits of adding an extra dimension to our already cluttered lives. Either way, whether the idea of the metaverse excites or terrifies you, you’d better get used to it because you’re going to be hearing a lot more about it in the coming months and years.   We reference a few resources in this episode, all of which are worth your time if you’d like to learn more. The brilliant Arthur Hayes article can be found at: https://cryptohayes.medium.com/rock-paper-scissors-says-go-a3641dfe132c. There’s also Time’s cover story here: https://time.com/6197849/metaverse-future-matthew-ball/ as well as a useful piece from Vice here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/93bmyv/what-is-the-metaverse-internet-technology-vr   The two books we mention are:   Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson  The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything (2022) by Matthew Ball (The Time Magazine piece comes from here)   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the Metaverse and Should You Care?

Having looked at the various categories of cryptocurrency coins last week, it’s now time to explore the world of tokens. This is where things can get a little out of hand.    Ever since Ethereum came along and made creating a crypto token an easy thing to do, the number of different tokens in existence has skyrocketed. Many are worthless, many are scams and many - however well-intentioned - will come to nothing. But, despite that, some of the biggest cryptocurrencies out there exist as tokens, running on blockchains such as Ethereum and its growing number of competitors. Tokens cannot therefore be dismissed out of hand.   So, in this episode we explore some of the different categories of token and what purposes they serve. Some, such as stablecoins and memecoins, we’ve met before. Others may be less familiar. And yes, we’ll take a look at a few with stupid names as well.   Knowing which category a cryptocurrency coin or token fits into is a great starting point for further research, as it can help immediately establish whether the project in question might have merit, or whether it’s one great big waste of time. And, as we all know, time is most definitely a finite resource.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cryptocurrency Categories: Part 2

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies out there, which means it can be hard to see the wood for the trees. But one easy way of initially assessing a crypto project is to look at what category it falls into. This is a vital first step towards understanding what its use case is (if indeed it has one).   Over this and the next episode, we’ll look at some of the principal categories cryptocurrencies fall into. The first distinction to make is that between cryptocurrency coins - those which live on their own dedicated blockchains) and cryptocurrency tokens (those built on other blockchains). In this episode, we’ll be looking at the coins, with tokens to follow next week.   Many of the biggest crypto projects, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are coins, but what do they all do? We’ll dive into stores of value, smart contract cryptos, payments coins and much more, all of which will help to put the cryptos we talk about into some sort of context.    With new cryptocurrencies emerging all the time, the number of categories is expanding too, so in this episode, we focus on a few of the most significant sectors of the industry. What we discuss today should go a long way towards helping any newcomers out there make sense of all those strange names you see when you open up CoinMarketCap or Coin Gecko to check the market.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cryptocurrency Categories: Part 1

We’ve talked before about the importance of self-custody for your crypto assets, but recent events have served to underscore how vital it is. In the past, we’ve discussed the vulnerability of exchanges to hacking and theft (ask Mt. Gox users about that) and this is still a concern, although exchange security has come on leaps and bounds since then. But, as the recent woes of platforms like Celsius and Voyager Digital have shown, hackers are not the only threat to your crypto’s safety.   When you keep your crypto on an exchange or a lending and borrowing platform - in short, when you entrust your crypto to another entity - you have to trust that entity to manage it properly. You do not control the private keys to your crypto under these circumstances - the platform you’ve entrusted it to does. And, remember that oft-repeated mantra: not your keys, not your coins.   So, in this episode, we take a look at the best ways you can take charge of your crypto and store it as safely as possible. We look at ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ storage, discuss the best types of wallets out there and go through some simple steps you can take to protect not just your crypto, but yourself as well. This could be one of the most important podcast episodes you ever listen to.   Oh, and for anyone still wondering, Mike’s wallet transfer did come through, pretty much as soon as we’d stopped recording. Typical.    Check out Coin Bureau’s video on the best hardware wallets on the market: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q8nK4XxmkA    And here are the links to some wallet manufacturers:  Ledger: https://www.ledger.com/  Trezor: https://trezor.io/ Keepkey: (Shapeshift is the company that builds the Keepkey device) https://shapeshift.com/keepkey  We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to keep your crypto safe

The crypto space is evolving from day to day and keeping on top of everything that’s going on is a time-consuming job. There’s a lot of noise out there and it can often be difficult to trust whether what you’re reading is true or not. Credible sources are therefore invaluable.   One such source is Cryptoslate, a crypto news, data and opinion platform that is one of the best resources out there for trustworthy information about what’s going on in the space. Founded in 2017 and fully independent, Cryptoslate is one of those sites you should have bookmarked in your browser.    Because there’s so much going on at the moment, we thought we’d use this episode as an opportunity to take stock and reflect on some of the most turbulent few weeks in crypto’s history. And who better to join us than Cryptoslate’s founder and CEO, Nate Whitehill?    Nate gives us his perspective on what’s been happening recently and tells us about how he came to found Cryptoslate. Sitting down with him was a real pleasure and his views on current events and where we could be headed next are invaluable. We also made him promise to come back again in the future - ideally when the market is looking a lot healthier than it is now. And, if you’re finding crypto to be a stressful place to be, Nate’s way of letting off steam certainly does sound like fun.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cryptoslate's Nate Whitehill

Normal service is being resumed this week, as we take our final look (for now) at Ethereum.    The project which started off as an idea in the head of a supremely gifted, 19-year-old Bitcoin enthusiast has now grown into a behemoth. It underpins a huge sector of the crypto industry and has triggered an avalanche of development, both of projects looking to build on top of it and of projects looking to emulate or outdo it. Without Ethereum, crypto would look completely different.   In this episode, we bring the history of Ethereum up to the present day and look at what is currently going on with the project. We’ll see how the original model of Ethereum has proved unable to cope with demand and how the switch to a new, proof of stake network is looking to resolve the issue. Exciting times lie ahead.   We’ll also look at the first NFT project to get Ethereum users excited and how it illustrated the need for the network upgrade we’re now witnessing. We’ll also look at some other projects looking to improve the Ethereum experience and look ahead to what the future holds.    One final shoutout for those two books about Ethereum everyone should read:   The Infinite Machine (2020) by Camila Russo  The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze (2022) by Laura Shin   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethereum: Part 4

You might have noticed that the crypto market - as well as pretty much every other market - is once again in freefall. As the Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world raise interest rates to try and combat runaway inflation, and fears of a global recession intensify, these are tough times to be an investor in… well, pretty much anything.   There are however some crypto-specific crises unfolding which, combined with everything happening in the wider economy, have helped push prices further down. We are living through days where one bit of bad news is followed all-too-swiftly by another.    There is, as you can probably imagine, a lot to discuss in this episode and so we thought we’d enlist a couple of friends of the Coin Bureau to help us try and make sense of it all. Josh Moden and Tom Busby are CryptoBusy - fellow YouTubers who are also crypto traders and so have a unique perspective on what’s playing out in the markets. The four of us have all squeezed into our (rather cosy) studio in London to chew over everything that’s been going on over the last few days.   In this episode, we take a look at recent news from the Fed and dig into the unfolding crises at crypto companies Celsius and Three Arrows Capital. We discuss the recent layoffs at Coinbase and how for some, these troubling times are in fact a golden opportunity.    But it’s not all doom and gloom. Bear markets are tough and this one is going to be no different, but there are ways to cope with all the bad news. When the flames eventually die down, green shoots will quickly begin to appear. Josh and Tom share their coping strategies with us and tell us why they have high hopes for the future.   It was great to have Josh and Tom join us as our inaugural guests on the show and we hope they’ll be able to join us again. CryptoBusy is a great channel and should be an essential part of your crypto research portfolio. Follow them here:   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CryptoBusy  Twitter: https://twitter.com/CryptoBusy  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cryptobusy/    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blood in the Streets: A look at the state of the crypto market

We ended on a cliffhanger last week, with the infamous DAO hack having hit Ethereum and its community hard. So, how did they deal with it and what did it all mean for Ethereum?   With millions of dollars worth of ETH having been stolen by a hacker who had spotted a flaw in the DAO’s smart contract, Ethereum’s developers and community were faced with some tough decisions. Do nothing, or take action? And if so, what sort of action to take? And what would the implications of their possible actions be? Could Ethereum survive this? We’ll see how the whole saga proved to be one of the most dangerous - and important - episodes in Ethereum’s history.   As we saw with Bitcoin, a successful cryptocurrency project arguably needs to endure more than a little hardship in order to prove itself. The DAO hack - and subsequent attacks on the network - proved to be the trials by fire that Ethereum needed to undergo in order to show that it was robust enough to survive.   Happily, Ethereum managed to do just that and, once it had, better and more prosperous days lay ahead. In 2017 the ICO boom began and Ethereum found itself at the centre of a frenzy of investment and excitement as crypto began to go crazy. The potential that Ethereum had long promised was finally unleashed.    For more information and especially more detailed descriptions of what went down during the DAO episode, check out those two excellent books on Ethereum we mention in the episode:   The Infinite Machine (2020) by Camila Russo  The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze (2022) by Laura Shin   *NB - this episode contains strong language. Blame Mike for that.*   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethereum: Part 3

We only scratched the surface of what Ethereum is all about in the last episode, so it’s time to dive deeper. Last week was mostly about the early history of Ethereum and the colourful characters who came together to create it. Before we pick up that thread though, it’s worth taking a look at what Ethereum makes possible.   It’s no exaggeration to say that the cryptocurrency space has been transformed almost beyond recognition thanks to Ethereum. From tokens to NFTs to decentralised finance and more, Ethereum opened up a world of possibilities and established itself as one of the structural pillars of cryptocurrency.   So in this episode, we’ll explore a few of the things Ethereum has pioneered, and how they have grown into fully-fledged sub-sectors of the wider cryptocurrency industry. Then, we’ll carry on looking at the history of the Ethereum project and delve into one of its most challenging episodes. As ever, there’s a lot to discover.   As with the last episode, the two books on Ethereum by Camila Russo and Laura Shin are bith excellent reads and well worth checking out:   The Infinite Machine (2020) by Camila Russo  The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze (2022) by Laura Shin   *Side note: when we talk about gas fees, Guy mentions that they can run into the hundreds of dollars. This is an understatement. Gas fees can run into the thousands and reach some truly eye-watering sums. It’s just that Guy himself is far too penny-pinching to even countenance paying such a price.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethereum Part 2

It’s time to delve back into crypto’s history and start looking at the project that is second only to Bitcoin in terms of scale and recognition.    Ethereum may not have been the first altcoin to emerge in Bitcoin’s wake, but its influence on the crypto industry has been seismic. Since it first appeared on the scene back in 2015, Ethereum has been the driving force behind much of crypto’s evolution, triggering a wave of innovation and growth.   In this episode, we take a look at Ethereum’s early days and how it began to grow from an idea in the mind of a teenage genius into a project that would change crypto forever. We delve into the early life of Vitalik Buterin and meet some of the other characters who gravitated toward him and his idea.    We’ll also get a glimpse of the project’s early development, when Vitalik and the other co-founders gathered together for months on end at a house in Switzerland. We’ll talk about some of the interpersonal dramas and personality clashes that took place as a bunch of very smart people tried to bring the idea of Ethereum to life.    Many of the people we meet in this episode have gone on to become some of the most famous figures in cryptocurrency. Some of them are now involved with projects that are in direct competition with Ethereum: make of that what you will…   The two books on Ethereum we talk about are both excellent reads and essential for anyone interested in learning more about the project and cryptocurrency in general. They are:   The Infinite Machine (2020) by Camila Russo  The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze (2022) by Laura Shin   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethereum Part 1

After we recorded last week’s episode, things only got worse for crypto. The collapse of Terra and the plunge in the prices of LUNA and UST have all made for one of the most dramatic and harrowing weeks this industry has seen.   In this episode, we try to make some sense of what happened and also try to pinpoint what lessons can be learned from it all. The only way to take something positive out of the disaster is to try and ensure we prevent something similar from happening again.   If you have been affected by Terra’s collapse and are finding life difficult, then please don’t suffer in silence. There are many things in life that are infinitely more precious than money and we urge you to think of those if you are in a bad place. If you need someone to talk to then the Samaritans are always on hand to offer support to anyone and everyone who needs it. Look after yourselves and remember that things will get better.   http://www.samaritansusa.org/    https://www.samaritans.org/    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Myke JohnsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Crypto Market Emergency Update Continued

It’s perhaps appropriate that our 13th episode is an unscheduled one discussing the current, dire state of the crypto market.    At times like this, it’s often good to get a bit of context. When your net worth has taken a dive, it’s natural to want to know why. This episode should provide some explanations as to what’s going on out there.   The principal reasons for the downturn in crypto - and other markets - are macroeconomic factors. The world is going through one of the most turbulent periods in recent history and the fear, uncertainty and doubt these conditions create is being reflected in the global economy. Covid is still with us and the effects of the measures to counter it are being felt more acutely than ever. The war in Ukraine drags on and asset markets everywhere are feeling the sting.   But there are some specific factors affecting the crypto market too, the biggest of which has actually got worse since we recorded this episode. Terra’s UST stablecoin has slipped spectacularly off its dollar peg and thousands of holders of UST - Guy included - are currently out of pocket as a result. Fear is up, confidence is down.   We can’t offer much in the way of cheer in this episode, but sometimes a little clarity can go a long way. Stay strong and don’t do anything rash.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why We're All in the Red: A Crypto Market Emergency Update

Once Bitcoin started to gain traction, it became inevitable that other cryptocurrencies would start to appear. And so the altcoins were born.    An altcoin - as you may remember from the last episode - is any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin. There are now thousands of altcoins in existence, but the flood began as a mere trickle with the release of Namecoin in 2011. Slowly, other altcoins began to emerge - some of which are still with us today, many of which have faded into obscurity.   In this episode, we look at a few of the most notable altcoins to break out in the decade following Bitcoin’s entrance into the world. As so many are no longer relevant, we’ve focused mostly on the ones that have survived in some way, shape or form. It’s a useful look into crypto's past, which will help us better understand its present over the course of future episodes.    This episode will also serve as a useful primer for our upcoming series of episodes about the king of all the altcoins: Ethereum.   Some interesting chapters and snippets about altcoins can be found in several of the books we’ve referenced before. These include:   Bubble or Revolution? (2021), by Neel Mehta, Adi Agashe and Parth Detroja The Age of Cryptocurrency (2015) by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Altcoins

Now that we’ve covered blockchain and Bitcoin, it’s time to tackle one of the most daunting and downright intimidating aspects of cryptocurrency. It’s a minefield that’s not for the faint-hearted. It is, of course, crypto jargon.   Like any community, crypto has its own unique phraseology that can be baffling to outsiders. For newcomers, getting to grips with the lingo is one of the first steps to becoming a fully-fledged cryptopian.   So, in this episode, we unpack some of the words and phrases you’ll encounter in the world of cryptocurrency. But, we’ll also look beyond their meanings and try to figure out where they came from too. We’ll learn how one of crypto’s most famous terms came into being as a result of a forum user drinking too much whiskey; we’ll try and figure out why crypto people have lasers for eyes and we’ll put FUD to flight while we’re at it.   So, forget Duolingo because the Coin Bureau podcast has you covered.    We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Language of Crypto

We’ve been talking about Bitcoin for a while now, but then there’s a lot to discuss. After the dark days of Mt Gox and the furore surrounding Silk Road, you might think Bitcoin’s difficult days were behind it. As we’ll see in this episode, there was plenty of drama still to come.   As well as bringing Bitcoin’s history up to the present day, we also talk about the wider Bitcoin community and its often conflicting views on the whole project. Nowhere were these differences more pronounced than during the infamous 'blocksize war' which tore the community apart and gave rise to the first hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain.   We also cover some more recent events and milestones in the history of Bitcoin and crypto, bringing us (almost) bang up to date.    Further reading:    The Blocksize War (2021) by Jonathan Bier Bitcoin Billionaires (2019) by Ben Mezrich   The other podcast mentioned is Peter McCormack's excellent 'What Bitcoin Did' which can be found on all major podcast platforms.   We hope you enjoy the show.   Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown Editor: Sam MoultSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin Part 4

We’ve gone for a bit of a change of pace this week and are bringing you something a little different. The annual Bitcoin Conference is one of the biggest events in the crypto calendar and this year, as in 2021, it was held in Miami, FL. For those who don’t know, Miami is aiming to position itself as the capital of cryptocurrency and its mayor, Francis Suarez, is one of the most pro-crypto politicians in the United States. As such, it felt only right for us to go and see what all the fuss was about.So, in this episode, we discuss everything we did, saw and heard on our visit to Bitcoin 2022 in the Magic City. We talk about our impressions of Miami, the conference itself, the people we met there, the talks and discussions we listened to and what all of the above says about the current state of the crypto industry. It was great to hit the road after such a long period of travel restrictions and it was a trip we won’t forget in a hurry. If you’d like to watch footage of the conference and the events we talked about, then you can visit Bitcoin Magazine’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/BitcoinMagazine for some of the highlights. We hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin Miami

The story of Bitcoin starts to get a lot spicier! After looking last time at some of the unsung heroes who were so pivotal in Bitcoin’s early days, it’s time to gauge the impact of some rather more controversial characters. To many, Bitcoin is still synonymous with hacking, scandal and crime - perceptions that are hard to shift. Much of this bad press is down to two ill-fated projects that wereinspired by Bitcoin but ultimately ended up staining its reputation. So, in this episode, we take a look at the sorry tale of the Mt Gox exchange and the even darker story of the Silk Road marketplace. For a long time, Mt Gox was the place to buy bitcoins and Silk Road was the place to spend them. The rise and fall of both are stories that still haunt the crypto space to this day. Understanding the role both played in the story of Bitcoin - and vice versa - helps make sense of a lot of today’s cryptocurrency landscape. The stories of Mt Gox and Silk Road are rich in detail, so if you want to dig further into what happened in both cases, the following resources may be of use:Books:American Kingpin (2017) by Nick Bilton (all about Ross Ulbricht and Silk Road)Bitcoin: The Future of Money? (2014) by Dominic FrisbyDigital Gold (2015) by Nathaniel PopperA great documentary about Mt Gox by Vincent Gonon and Xavier Sayanoff can be found on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-8-oVXV9AThere’s also a short piece from The Guardian on Silk Road here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FknwWMzc96A We hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin Part 3

We’re delving deeper into the story of Bitcoin in this episode, and meeting some more of the other major players from its early days. It’s fair to say that, without these people and the work they did, Bitcoin would not have evolved and may not even have survived.Although these men are well known within the crypto community, their impact on the world is largely unknown outside of it. These were the few who discovered Bitcoin early on, recognised its potential, and did all they could to make it better and spread the word.We’ll meet Hal Finney, the cypherpunk who was the first person to respond positively to Satoshi Nakamoto’s unveiling of Bitcoin. Martti Malmi, the student who taught himself how to code in order to work on Bitcoin, and helped Satoshi design its iconic logo. And, of course, the guy who spent 10,000 BTC on pizza…We’ll also run through a timeline of Bitcoin’s early days and some of the key events that took place while the wider world remained unaware of its existence.If you want to read more, here are a few of the excellent books on Bitcoin that we used in researching this episode:The Bitcoin Standard (2018) by Saifedean AmmousBitcoin: The Future of Money? (2014) by Dominic FrisbyDigital Gold (2015) by Nathaniel PopperThe Age of Cryptocurrency (2015) by Paul Vigna and Michael J. CaseyWe hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin Part 2

It’s taken a while, but we’re finally there folks: it’s time to talk about Bitcoin. Now that we’ve covered the origins of money and how we use it, and spent some time exploring blockchain technology, we’re ready to talk about cryptocurrency. Let’s face it, that’s what we’re here for, after all.In this episode, we’ll talk about the emergence of Bitcoin back in 2009. We’ll explore the shadowy group known as the cypherpunks, whose ideas and obsessions were key influences on Bitcoin and its mysterious creator. We’ll also look at some early attempts to create a form of digital money free from the malign influence of banks and other financial institutions. These forerunners of Bitcoin would themselves play a major role in shaping the first cryptocurrency.We’ll also start to encounter some of the characters who have contributed, directly or indirectly, to Bitcoin’s development and begin to ask the question: who on earth is Satoshi Nakamoto?As with previous episodes, there’s tons of material online if you want to dig deeper into what we cover. There are some great books you can read too, several of which were enormously useful in putting this episode together:The Bitcoin Standard (2018) by Saifedean AmmousBitcoin: The Future of Money? (2014) by Dominic FrisbyDigital Gold (2015) by Nathaniel PopperThe Age of Cryptocurrency (2015) by Paul Vigna and Michael J. CaseyWe hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin Part 1

We’re getting to the end of our exploration of blockchain technology, which means we’re almost ready to start talking about cryptocurrency.In this final blockchain-focused episode, we clarify a few definitions and look at what exactly is going on under the hood when a bitcoin transaction is made. Although blockchain can get pretty complicated, we know that a basic understanding of it will stand you in good stead when we start to talk about crypto in earnest.Further reading for those who like to curl up with a good book:The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything (2018), by Michael J. Casey and Paul VignaThe Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains (2018), by Anthony LewisBubble or Revolution? (2021), by Neel Mehta, Adi Agashe and Parth DetrojaBlockchain Revolution (2016), by Don and Alex TapscottWe hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blockchain Part 3

Last time we started talking in earnest about blockchain: the technology that makes cryptocurrency possible. We avoided getting too deep into the weeds, as it’s easy to get swamped by technical jargon if you’re not careful.This time, we’re wading out a little deeper and talking more about how blockchain works. We’ll explore some of the processes that take place when we use a blockchain and explore how they’re able to function. Naturally, things get a bit more technical from here, but never fear - we’ll explain everything as we go along. We’ll look at hash functions, Merkle trees, nodes, miners and much more besides. And, if that all sounds a bit too technical we’ll also be exploring how one man ended up spending 10,000 bitcoins on pizza.Some further reading if you fancy it:The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything (2018), by Michael J. Casey and Paul VignaThe Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains (2018), by Anthony LewisBubble or Revolution? (2021), by Neel Mehta, Adi Agashe and Parth DetrojaBlockchain Revolution (2016), by Don and Alex TapscottWe hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blockchain Part 2

Cryptocurrency couldn’t exist without a technology that many have heard of, but few really understand. Blockchain is something of a buzzword these days and, from the outside, it can look dauntingly complicated. Surely this is something best left to the geeks, right?Well, blockchain is indeed pretty complex, but that doesn’t mean it’s incomprehensible: it just needs some careful explanation. In this episode, we’ll begin to explore the subject of blockchain; what it is and what it’s designed to do. We’ll introduce a few terms that are useful to know in the world of crypto, but we’re going to keep things pretty simple today. The tricky stuff comes later!A working knowledge of blockchain technology is an invaluable aid to understanding cryptocurrency. Once we start to talk about Bitcoin in later episodes, a little blockchain know-how will go a long way.If you want to dig deeper into the wonders of blockchain, then there are a number of well-written and easy-to-understand books available. We found all of those below super-helpful when researching blockchain for this and later episodes.The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything (2018), by Michael J. Casey and Paul VignaThe Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains (2018), by Anthony LewisBubble or Revolution? (2021), by Neel Mehta, Adi Agashe and Parth DetrojaBlockchain Revolution (2016), by Don and Alex TapscottWe hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blockchain Part 1

It’s time to look at how money moves around in the digital age. It’s a common assumption that, when we make a bank transfer or card payment, the money in our account somehow makes its way from our account to that of the person or entity we’re paying. In fact, it’s a little more complicated than that.Unless we use cash to pay for things, our financial transactions are conducted and overseen by others, be they banks, card issuers, payment networks, governments - and sometimes all of the above. Although these electronic payments are convenient, they come at a price.It’s also easy for us to forget that the banking services we enjoy and that make our lives easier are not available to many other people throughout the world. The numbers of unbanked people out there may surprise you and their exclusion from the financial system costs both them and the world economy dear. We used many sources in the research for this episode, but a special mention must go once again to the book, The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains (2018), by Anthony Lewis. If you want to take a look at the Bank of England’s image we discuss in the episode then you can find it here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/how-do-card-payments-workWe hope you enjoy the show.Producer for iHeart Media: Noel BrownEditor: Sam Moult  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Easy Come Easy Go

For our very first podcast, we start at the beginning... the very beginning, and discuss a world before money, how money may have developed, and what money actually is anyway.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What Is Money?

  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.