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Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin are joined by Andrew Bailey, author of Resistance Money, to discuss Tether on Tron and Bitcoin. This video was recorded on September 9th 2024. Resistance Money Patrick McKenzie and Tyler Cowen podcast Cas Piancey and PJ Vogt podcast Bennett's newsletter about Craig Wright Bennett's article about Fei Bennett's newsletter about Terra-Luna
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Ed Zitron to discuss how Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss portray themselves as the regulated alternative, but frequently flout the rules. Additional resources: Ed's newsletter about Gemini Earn Better Offline HTX is probably insolvent This episode was recorded on March 12th, 2024.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Molly White to discuss Andreessen Horowitz GP Chris Dixon's new book: Read, Write, Own. Read Molly's review of Dixon's book here and check out her archival cryptocurrency news site here. Read Protos' article about how a16z gamed the NYT Bestseller List here. Read Motherboard's article about how many copies of Read, Write, Own were bulk purchased here. This episode was recorded on February 10th, 2024.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the history and present of Tether, the most important firm in all of cryptocurrency. This video was recorded on February 4th, 2024.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by David Z. Morris to discuss the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, and the testimony against him so far. This includes longtime friend Adam Yedidia, FTX leader Gary Wang, and investor Matt Huang. Additional resources: Protos coverage of the trial https://protos.com/sbftrial/ Bennett newsletter about opening statements http://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=16a900a42513fb7998acad86d&id=4f3209dbfb Semafor reporting on loans https://www.semafor.com/article/12/07/2022/charity-money-launched-sam-bankman-frieds-empire Tara Mac Aulay tweet about leaving https://twitter.com/Tara_MacAulay/status/1592985303262072834?cxt=HHwWhMDU1a_stZssAAAA WSJ reporting on XRP bet https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/alameda-sam-bankman-fried-ftx-crypto-crash-11672434101 Reporting on MobileCoin losses https://protos.com/mobilecoin-the-project-that-doomed-ftx-a-year-before-terra-luna/ WSJ reporting on Cohen & Everdell https://www.wsj.com/articles/sam-bankman-frieds-defense-team-led-by-battle-tested-lawyers-11673217199 Where to find David: Flesh/Markets https://davidzmorris.substack.com/ Protos https://protos.com/author/dmorris/ Unchained https://unchainedcrypto.com/author/davidz/ Twitter https://twitter.com/davidzmorris This video was recorded on October 8th, 2023.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are discussing the weird shenanigans ongoing with the stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD) and the numerous platforms and exchanges that Justin Sun has purchased over the years. This episode was recorded on Wednesday, July 26th, 2023.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Jonathan Reiter and Patrick Tan of ChainArgos to discuss Prime Trust, TrueUSD, stablecoins, and offshore finance. This episode was recorded on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Dr. Micah Warren, a professor of mathematics, to discuss the game theory of Bitcoin and what it means for the security of Bitcoin. This episode was recorded on June 8th, 2023.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined - yet again! - by Mike Burgersburg of Dirty Bubble Media to discuss the recent lawsuits brought against Binance and Coinbase by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Featuring “Crypto Critics' Corner” hosts Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey, and former Terraform Labs employee Hyungsuk Kang.The past year saw the collapse of a huge variety of frauds, scams, and deeply flawed projects in crypto. Some of the most respected (and consistently correct) scam-spotters in the industry discuss how they identify red flags and dig into the nitty-gritty of uncovering malfeasance. We also meet a special guest – a former employee of one of the most notorious projects to blow up in 2022, who left early because of the bad behavior he saw from the inside. Featuring:Bennett Tomlin, co-host of “Crypto Critics' Corner”Cas Piancey, co-host of “Crypto Critics' Corner”Hyungsuk Kang, founder of Standard Protocol and former Terraform Labs employeeDavid Z. Morris, CoinDesk chief insights columnists and “Crypto Crooks” host“Crypto Crooks” is a CoinDesk Podcast Production. The executive producer is Jared Schwartz, with additional production by Eleanor Pahl, Nora Battelle, and Moon Beast. Fact-checking is by Amber Von Schassen, and sound design and music are by Altus Noumena. This show is written and voiced by David Z. Morris.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Featuring “Crypto Critics' Corner” hosts Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey, and former Terraform Labs employee Hyungsuk Kang.The past year saw the collapse of a huge variety of frauds, scams, and deeply flawed projects in crypto. Some of the most respected (and consistently correct) scam-spotters in the industry discuss how they identify red flags and dig into the nitty-gritty of uncovering malfeasance. We also meet a special guest – a former employee of one of the most notorious projects to blow up in 2022, who left early because of the bad behavior he saw from the inside. Featuring:Bennett Tomlin, co-host of “Crypto Critics' Corner”Cas Piancey, co-host of “Crypto Critics' Corner”Hyungsuk Kang, founder of Standard Protocol and former Terraform Labs employeeDavid Z. Morris, CoinDesk chief insights columnists and “Crypto Crooks” host“Crypto Crooks” is a CoinDesk Podcast Production. The executive producer is Jared Schwartz, with additional production by Eleanor Pahl, Nora Battelle, and Moon Beast. Fact-checking is by Amber Von Schassen, and sound design and music are by Altus Noumena. This show is written and voiced by David Z. Morris.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin discuss their takeaways from Consensus 2023, the recent cryptocurrency conference put on by CoinDesk. This video was recorded on April 30th, 2023.
Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin are joined by Cynthia Cooper and Daren Firestone to discuss the history of one of the largest corporate frauds ever, Worldcom, and what it means to be a whistleblower. This video was recorded on October 13th, 2022. Additional resources: Cooper Group http://www.coopergroupllc.com/index.php Extraordinary Circumstances https://a.co/d/9O4C9Vz Levy Firestone Muse https://www.levyfirestone.com/ cryptowhistleblower.com https://cryptowhistleblower.com/ Cynthia Cooper's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiaco... Daren Firestone Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/daren-fir...
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the lawsuit filed against Binance and Changpeng Zhao by the CFTC. This video was streamed live on March 27th, 2023. Additional resources: Complaint https://www.cftc.gov/media/8351/%20en... Coverage of the complaint https://protos.com/cftc-lawsuit-again...
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the lawsuit filed against Justin Sun alleging that Tron and BitTorrent token were illegal securities and that he engaged in market manipulation. We also discuss the celebrities implicated in the promotion of these tokens including: - Logan Paul - Lindsay Lohan - Lil Yachty - Ne-Yo - Akon - Soulja Boy - Austin Mahone - Kendra Lust This episode was recorded on March 23rd, 2023
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Ed Zitron to discuss NFTs and why they became popular and why they are so empty. This episode was recorded on February 1st, 2022.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the recent Wall Street Journal report that reveals that Tether and Bitfinex falsified bank records in order to try to maintain access to banking. WSJ article discussed on the show. This video was recorded on March 3rd, 2023.
Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin are joined by Laurence and Josh Cincinnati to dis1cuss the value of satire in cryptocurrency, ordinals, Justin Sun and more. This was recorded on January 30th, 2023.
Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin are joined by Domingo Flores to discuss the Salvadoran Bitcoin Token being developed in partnership with Bitfinex. Domingo's Website, Patreon, YouTube, and Twitter. This video was recorded on January 20th, 2022.
Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin discuss Silvergate, Signature, Metropolitan, and other cryptocurrency banks in light of their massive deposit outflows and increasing regulatory issues. American Banker Post about Silvergate using Home Loan bank advances: https://www.americanbanker.com/news/silvergate-bank-loaded-up-on-4-3-billion-in-fhlb-advances OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC statement on risks to crypto banks: https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23002a.pdf This video was recorded on January 12th, 2022.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the raid executed against Nexo, SBF's lies in his Substack, and the unregistered security charges brought against Genesis and Gemini. Kentucky Cease and desist against Nexo Protos On SBF's Lies This video was streamed live on January 12th, 2022.
Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin are joined by Evan Ratliff to discuss Paul Le Roux, an international criminal who some believe may have been Satoshi Nakamoto. We also discuss Evan's new podcast Persona, and the similarities between the crimes of Gilbert Chikli and cryptocurrency hacks and scams. Additional resources: Persona podcast The Mastermind Vanish for one month This episode was recorded on October 18th, 2022.
Recorded November 21, 2022. George is joined by the single most outspoken voice on fraud in the cryptocurrency market. Bitfinex'ed has been harassed relentlessly for the last five years as he tried to raise the alarm about Tether, Bitfinex, FTX, and the wider cryptocurrency market. Recent events have started to vindicate his effort. George is also joined by Cas Piancey and Mike Green to discuss the ramifications of FTX's collapse, and to examine the opaque and potentially disastrous market structure of the cryptocurrency market. Follow Bitfinex'ed on Twitter Follow Cas Piancey on Twitter and Crypto Critics Corner Follow Mike Green on Twitter Follow George Noble on Twitter & YouTube Please consider donating to World Central Kitchen Listeners have been asking how they can show their appreciation for the talks George is hosting. Top of mind right now are the millions suffering as a result of the tragedy in Ukraine. World Central Kitchen has joined the fight to provide humanitarian aid to those in need of fresh food and meals within Ukraine and in bordering countries. Please consider donating generously to World Central Kitchen on behalf of No Bull - Market Talk with George Noble. Visit https://noble-impact.com/ for the Noble-Impact Capital corporate website. Visit https://www.noble-funds.com/ for information on the NOPE ETF.
This week, Riley and Alice are joined by Cas Piancey of the Crypto Critics Corner podcast to discuss Tether, stablecoins, and the enormous scam quotient of the crypto sector. It's okay to be pessimists about it! Your eyes aren't lying to you! Check out Crypto Critics Corner here: https://cryptocriticscorner.com Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/72305783?pr=true *MILO ALERT* Here are links to see Milo's upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows *AUSTRALIA ALERT* We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-additional-show-tickets-396915263237 and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances *WEB DESIGN ALERT* Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by economist Frank Muci to discuss the challenging economic situation in El Salvador, including the need for austerity and the possibility of debt restructuring. Follow Frank on Twitter @frankmuci. A Spanish translation will be available on our website: https://cryptocriticscorner.com/ Para una traducción al español transcrita por favor visite https://cryptocriticscorner.com/ This episode was recorded on August 2nd and edited by Griffin Davis.
In this episode Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss how Tether has been composing itself over the last several months. Interview with Paolo Ardoino with Dierdre Bosa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo4ISzWRyqw&t=0s This episode was recorded on July 10th, 2022 and produced by Asher Hirsch.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, to discuss NFTs, the proliferations of fraud, and whether or not algorithmic stablecoins are viable. Follow Mark on Twitter @mcuban. This episode was recorded on Tuesday, June 7th, 2022, and produced by Asher Hirsch.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by James Seyffart to discuss what has prevented a spot Bitcoin ETF, and what things may make it easier for that to finally happen. This episode was recorded on May 23rd, 2022 and produced by Griffin Davis.
We are joined by Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey, hosts of the great podcast Crypto Critics' Corner, for a deeper dive into stablecoins—a cornerstone // time bomb of the crypto financial system. They explain how stablecoins, and specifically Tether, have become systemically important to the workings of the system and the wealth of big players, creating too big to fail institutions that continue growing despite their practices, performance, and people being anything but stable. Listen to Crypto Critics' Corner: https://twitter.com/CryptoCriticPod Follow Bennett Tomlin: https://twitter.com/BennettTomlin Follow Cas Piancey: https://twitter.com/CasPiancey Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
On the sixth episode of This Week In Doom, Doomberg and I turn our attention to the world of cryptocurrencies — or rather, stablecoins — in the wake of the recent collapse of Terra/Luna and the astonishing spectacle of a $60 billion meltdown. Joining us are two high profile critics of the crypto space, Bennett Tomlin and George Noble. Bennett and his co-host Cas Piancey have been at the forefront of thoughtful criticism of the cryptoverse with their excellent podcast, Crypto Critics Corner, while George has taken the bit between his teeth on behalf of Wall Street and become an Establishment lightning rod determined to force regulators into action. As always, the subject leads to raised voices and inflamed passions but... would you want it any other way? Every episode of the Grant Williams podcast, including This Week In Doom, The End Game, The Super Terrific Happy Hour, The Narrative Game and Shifts Happen, is available to Copper, Silver and Gold Tier subscribers at my website www.Grant-Williams.com. Copper Tier subscribers get access to all podcasts, while members of the Silver Tier get both the podcasts and my monthly newsletter, Things That Make You Go Hmmm… Gold Tier subscribers have access to my new series of in-depth video conversations, About Time.
Is Bitcoin's price crash timed to hurt the economy ahead of the elections? PLUS 5 GOP Congressmen should hire criminal defense lawyers after receiving subpoenas from the Jan 6 Committee. Follow on twitter: Zev Shalev, Eric Garland, and Cas Piancey of CryptoCriticPod Made possible by NarativTV's amazing patrons: Become one at http://pateron.com/narativ. ------------------------------- Your ultimate daily nutritional insurance is here - Athletic Greens' AG1 - is made from the highest quality ingredients, in accordance with the strictest standards and obsessively improved based on the latest science. Visit https://athleticgreens.com/narativ and get generous freebies. ------------------------------- //Broadcasted Live 051222
Is Bitcoin's price crash timed to hurt the economy ahead of the elections? PLUS 5 GOP Congressmen should hire criminal defense lawyers after receiving subpoenas from the Jan 6 Committee. Follow on twitter: Zev Shalev, Eric Garland, and Cas Piancey of CryptoCriticPod Made possible by NarativTV's amazing patrons: Become one at http://pateron.com/narativ. ------------------------------- Your ultimate daily nutritional insurance is here - Athletic Greens' AG1 - is made from the highest quality ingredients, in accordance with the strictest standards and obsessively improved based on the latest science. Visit https://athleticgreens.com/narativ and get generous freebies. ------------------------------- //Broadcasted Live 051222
Today Cas (Orson Newstat) and Bennett talk about Cas' previous arrest record and why he's being forced to share his name and discuss an arrest from 16 years ago.
The strange journeys of Cas Piancey, a baker turned crypto skeptic. (For notes & further reading on this episode, check out my newsletter at pjvogt.com).
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by John Reed Stark of John Reed Stark Consulting and formerly with the Securities and Exchange Commission for over two decades. We discuss our frustrations with the SEC, the perceived lack of action, and what John expects to see from them in the coming years. Visit John's website: https://www.johnreedstark.com/digital-trust-watch/ Or, follow him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/johnreedstark?s=11
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about the proliferation of cities associated with blockchains, why the concept in and of itself is silly, and go through some historical and current examples. If you'd like to listen to Bennett and Cas' other podcast, Innovated: Blockchain City, you can listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovated-blockchain-city/id1611390567
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are lucky enough to be joined by the "Batman of Cryptocurrency" - pseudoanonymous Twitter user ZachXBT (https://www.twitter.com/zachxbt). We ask him what it's like uncovering every fraud and scam in crypto, why he does it, and whether the Cryptocurrency Batcave has a secret "nuke scam project" button. Here's a list of links that were discussed during the episode: https://t.me/s/Crypto_Deleted https://etherscan.io https://twitter.com/search-advanced?lang=en https://www.nansen.ai https://www.breadcrumbs.app https://revert.finance https://t.me/EtherDROPS_bot
The DAO is just BBS's for the kids; NFT lawsuits; tracking oligarchs; steps are the new eggs; Amazon selling digital ads in stores they aren't closing; Ukraine and Big Tech's responses; Senators unsure if crypto can be used to skirt sanctions; Star Trek Discovery & Picard; MCU consolidation; Super Pumped; Pee-Wee goes dark; Truth Social; Amazon Luna; BookTok; Hindenburg; TweetBot; the End of Everything; Escape from Yokai Land; the Jeep Wave; IoT ranting; hacking Russia.Show notes at https://gog.show/543FOLLOW UPNFT collector files $6 million lawsuit against OpenSea, LooksRare, and the company behind Bored Apes for not doing more to discourage theftsArmijo v. Ozone Networks, Inc. d/b/a OpenseaNEWS SERVICE SHAMED INTO CANCELING SALE OF NFT OF DESPERATE MIGRANTSThe teen famous for tracking Elon Musk's jet has a new target: Russian oligarchsScientists Finally Did a Study to See If Taking 10,000 Steps a Day Actually Matters. Here's What They FoundBitcoin's Inequality Problem Is Putting the Dollar to ShameIN THE NEWSAmazon plans to sell digital advertising space inside its physical storesAmazon is closing its physical Amazon Books, 4-Star, and Pop Up stores for goodBitConnect founder indicted by Justice Department has disappearedApple halts sales of all products in RussiaFacebook will demote Russian state media across its entire platformMeta blocks Russian state media from running ads worldwideTikTok follows Facebook in blocking RT and Sputnik in the EUYouTube blocks RT and Sputnik channels across EuropeReddit hides r/Russia from search and recommendations due to misinformationNetflix refuses to carry Russian state TV channelsMicrosoft is the latest to ban Russian state media from its platformsCrypto Billionaire, Pussy Riot Join Effort to Give Ukrainians MoneyPornhub cockblocks Russian usersDid Pornhub Block Russian Users?Crypto exchanges refuse to freeze all Russian accounts as Ukraine requestedSenators want to know if Russia can use cryptocurrencies to skirt sanctions.MEDIA CANDYStar Trek: DiscoveryStar Trek: PicardMarvel's Netflix shows will move to Disney+ in the US on March 16thSuper PumpedCrypto Critics' Corner by Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin - Web3 is Wonky (Feat. Molly White)Innovated: Blockchain CityPee-wee Herman's “Dark” Reboot: Paul Reubens Is Ready to Stage a ComebackAPPS & DOODADSImpulse Brain TrainingAmazon Luna launches for anyone in the US, adds free games for Prime members and Twitch integrationTikTok has sent the sales of some books skyrocketing. Industry insiders explain how they are riding the wave of the BookTok phenomenon.iZotope Compatibility with Apple siliconHindenburgApple patents Magic Keyboard with integrated Mac inside to bring macOS to any displayTweetbot 7.1 for iOS adds background notifications, refreshed icons, moreAT THE LIBRARYThe End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie MackEscape from Yokai Land (Laundry Files Book 12) by Charles StrossThe Broken Room by Peter ClinesSECURITY HAH!The CyberWireDave BittnerHacking HumansCaveatJEEP CULTURE AND THE JEEP WAVESEVEN STRATEGIC LESSON FROM THE FIRST DAYS OF THE WAR IN UKRAINERussian Electric Vehicle Chargers Hacked, Tell Users ‘PUTIN IS A DICKHEAD'CLOSING SHOUT-OUTSEthernet co-inventor David Boggs dies at 71See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What happened to that Blockchain City project in Nevada? On March 1, journalist Cas Piancey and data scientist Bennett Tomlin investigate. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Ben McKenzie (star of Gotham, Southland, and The O.C.) and Jacob Silverman (author of Terms of Service and writer for The New Republic and Slate) who discuss the ideas behind their upcoming book about cryptocurrency, their issues with celebrity shilling of speculative assets, and how it really feels like corporate greed is eating our democracy. Here are some of the books and movies mentioned during the interview: Lying for Money by Dan Davies - https://www.amazon.com/Lying-Money-Legendary-Frauds-Workings-ebook/dp/B078WFT5JV The Future of Money by Eswar Prasad - https://www.amazon.com/Future-Money-Revolution-Transforming-Currencies/dp/0674258444 The China Hustle - https://www.amazon.com/China-Hustle-Dan-David/dp/B07BQH2LQG This episode was recorded on Monday, February 14th, 2022
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about the recent incredible hack of the cryptocurrency bridge, aptly named, Wormhole. Did $320,000,000 worth of ETH evaporate? Yes. Did Jump Crypto 100% cover that? Also yes.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey have the opportunity to chat with THE BEAR LORD - or just Travis, if you prefer - about all things SCARY when it comes to the future of the dollar, yields, cryptocurrency, and the economy as a whole. Follow Travis on Twitter @coloradotravis (Recorded on Monday, January 31st, 2022)
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey bring you up to date on an old character in an old story: Michael Patryn - er, should we say Omar Dhanani? Or 0xSifu? It's all up for debate, because on January 27th, 2022, the cofounder of QuadrigaCX, a now defunct Canadian cryptocurrency exchange - reappeared in a big way: by being the chief financial officer and treasurer for one of the biggest decentralized protocols around today. So now what? Read the initial thread exposing Michael Patryn here: https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1486591682728673282?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the long, complex, and fraught history of DAOs (or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and try to understand the current hype cycle.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Doomberg - Twitter and Substack's favorite Little financial Chicken - to discuss Bitcoin's, and cryptocurrency in general's, biggest threats for maximum liquidations and pain (including, but not limited to: Microstrategy, El Salvador, and Tether). Follow Doomberg on Twitter @Doomberg or subscribe to their Substack at doomberg.substack.com If you'd like to subscribe to Bennett Tomlin's FUD Letter, please visit https://TheFUDLetter.com/#/portal/ for details. Note: This episode was recorded on Friday, January 21st, 2022
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss online Poker's Black Friday - April 15th, 2011 - and it's everlasting effects with Jason Bral, a semi-professional poker player.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about how Bitcoin mining works, why the Bitcoin miners have (mostly) fled China, why the Bitcoin miners moved to Kazakhstan, and how Kazakhstan's spike in in fossil fuel prices and political upheaval has effected Bitcoin.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about the history of Ponzi schemes, the definition of Ponzi schemes, and why they're both pretty tired of hearing everything described as a Ponzi scheme (hint: it's because most things aren't Ponzi schemes).
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss a really interesting and weird idea: the El Salvador Bitcoin Volcano Bonds offered by El Salvador in collaboration with Tether, iFinex, and Blockstream.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about the concept that maybe stablecoins play an intimate role in how successful a fork of a major cryptocurrency is or whether the cryptocurrency forks at all.
In today's episode Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the President's Working Group, which recently released a report on stablecoins, and the issues that the creator of TerraUSD (an algorithmic stablecoin) is facing.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by a good friend and special guest Daniel Goldman, an engineer working on the Ethereum layer 2 solution called Arbitrum, but who is also a cryptocurrency critic. Daniel helped create a Twitter bot that allowed skeptics to follow any and all Tether prints for years, and without his work the chore of monitoring every large Tether print during the early days would've been an annoying errand.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk with Oliver Beige, an engineer turned economist, who tell us whether decentralization is sustainable and how tribalism plays a role.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Blockworks author Sam Reynolds, a Taipei-based reporter, who discusses the early history of Tether in Taiwan and what can be implied by their issues with their early banking partners.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about a huge investigative drop from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: the Pandora Papers. The leaks will help the public understand how the rich, famous, and politically connected are able to evade taxes and move money without anyone knowing. If you'd like to read about the Papers yourself, please visit https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/ If you'd like to donate to the ICIJ, please visit https://checkout.fundjournalism.org/memberform?org_id=icij&installmentPeriod=monthly&amount=10&campaign=701f4000001A4kF
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey review Liberty Reserve - the first stablecoin and the first stablecoin shutdown by US regulators.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined, once again, by David Z. Morris, the chief insights columnist at Coindesk, to discuss what's happening with Evergrande, why it matters for other regions and industries, and how the property market on the Chinese Mainland operates.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey explore the incredible interest rates offered by centralized cryptocurrency lenders, how they likely make their money, and whether or not any of them are "risk-free."
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey reflect on a fraud that began in the 1980s and ended when the Dot-Com Bubble burst: WorldCom. Are there applicable comparisons to cryptocurrency and securities markets of today? (Hint: Yes.)
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the history and importance of DRW/Cumerbland Global, one of the top liquidity providers in the cryptocurrency space, and speculate on the influence the company exerts on the industry.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey talk about the Binance Tai Chi document (which you can read about here https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/29/leaked-tai-chi-document-reveals-binances-elaborate-scheme-to-evade-bitcoin-regulators/?sh=6dbafb302a92). This was recorded *before* Binance introduced full-KYC (know-your-customer) practices, but highlights previous issues with Binance, Binance US, and other Binance affiliated companies. If you're interested in the book by Evan Ratliff that we mention, it can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Mastermind-Drugs-Empire-Murder-Betrayal/dp/0399590412
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the history, function, positives, negatives, flaws, and potential benefits of Bitcoin.
The second part of the two-part discussion with Frances Coppola. On this episode, Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey ask about algorithmic stablecoins, overcollateralized stablecoins, regulation, and historical precedent for pegged-currency failures.
Frances Coppola - "infamous" nocoiner and author - joins Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey to teach everyone a thing or two about inflation, deflation, hyperinflation, and stablecoin regulation.
Today's episode is guest-less! Just Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discussing how particularly egregious cryptocurrency-based charities tend to be. Examples include Jacob Kostecki, Binance's Pink Care Token, and Deltec Cares.
Lawyer Preston Byrne joins Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey for a wide-ranging discussion that goes from his own crypto journey (of skeptic to believer) to regulatory and legal risks for stablecoin operators. Visit his Twitter to see more from Preston https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by Assistant Professor of Law at Willamette University and one of the authors of the STABLE Act, Rohan Grey. We discuss how stablecoins operate, what he hopes to see from CBDCs and the problems he sees in all kinds of new(er) money markets. Find him on Twitter @rohangrey
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey are joined by David Z. Morris to discuss what happened at Enron, the ramifications of its downfall, and how the climate during Enron relates to today. If you'd like to hear more from David visit his website http://www.davidzmorris.com/ his twitter profile https://twitter.com/davidzmorris or subscribe to his substack http://davidzmorris.substack.com
Our favorite journalist and Crypto Critic discusses a healthy approach to skepticism and journalism in a space that very much requires it. Although published one month after the conversation took place (I was moving! Sorry!), the discussion around managing personal bias and responsible means to convey and challenge fraud remain equally valuable today as they did then. Tether is the largest stable coin in the cryptocurrency space, with more than 60 billion USD equivalent in circulation. It acts as the the shadow bank for a majority of exchanges worldwide, exchanges like Binance and Bitfinex. In 2014 Tether made a promise that each unit of Tether would be 1-to-1 backed by a real dollar. Since then, a lot has changed. Check out Cas' work on his Medium and by subscribing to Protos: https://www.protos.com/ https://thecaspiancey.medium.com/ Find him and his partner in crime on twitter: @CasPiancey @BennettTomlin @CryptoCriticPod Their latest show on investigating the Bitfinex head office is available here: https://cryptocriticscorner.com/ Want to come on the podcast? Reach out to me at aviv@goodterrain.com Special thanks to the r/buttcoin community for encouraging skeptical inquiry. And special thanks to @Bitfinexed Upcoming podcasts: Professor Jorge Stolfi! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/when-the-music-stops/message
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss Cas' trip to Hong Kong in search of the ethereal Bitfinex headquarters, how and why exchanges continue to try to get away with existing nowhere, and what it means for consumers.
Today Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey bring on David Canellis, the director of news at Protos Media (https://protos.com) and long time journalist covering cryptocurrency and fintech, to discuss the "decentralized" social media platform BitClout. We'll talk about its odd origin story, why David thinks it's probably destined to fail, and why it reminds us of so many other projects that never made it out of the 2017/2018 cryptocurrency bullrun.
Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss how Coinbase plans on creating a media company to confirm its own version of the facts and report its own version of the truth. Is journalism entering its final death spiral or are VC bros just losing their minds? Read more here: https://protos.com/coinbase-crypto-exchange-media-content-marketing-journalism/ https://bennettftomlin.com/2021/05/31/a-rant-about-coinbase-media-and-coinbase-fact-checking/
In this recorded conversation, Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey discuss the early history of Bitfinex and Tether and why Tether has outpaced Bitfinex as a growing concern. Another discussion concerning the NYAG settlement and ongoing skepticism will be addressed in the next conversation.
Guests:Bennett Tomlin (@bennetttomlin)Larry Cermak (@lawmaster)Host:Richard Yan (@gentso09)Patrick McKenzie (@patio11, special co-host)Today's motion is “Tether has always been acting in bad faith.”This topic is very relevant for today's markets because Tether is simultaneously an incredibly important, if not the most important, source of on-ramp liquidity for crypto, and a controversial, legally-challenged, blackbox operation that make market participants worry about their undesirable dealings and, worse, imminent collapse.We previously had a similar debate on this with Matthew Graham from Sino Global Capital vs Cas Piancey, the independent crypto commentator and Tether skeptic. So definitely check that out.Today's debaters are Larry from the Crypto publication and Bennett Tomlin, another crypto commentator and Tether skeptic. The episode was also co-hosted by Patrick McKenzie, who also did extensive independent research on Tether.If you're into crypto and like to hear two sides of the story, be sure to also check out our previous episodes. We've featured some of the best known thinkers in the crypto space.If you would like to debate or want to nominate someone, please DM me at @blockdebate on Twitter.Please note that nothing in our podcast should be construed as financial advice.Source of select items discussed in the debate (and supplemental material):Paper claiming unbacked Tether drove BTC price:https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3195066Papers dispelling the above notion:https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3175876https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3508006Patrick McKenzie comprehensive history of Tether: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2019/10/28/tether-and-bitfinex/Bennett Tomlin blog: https://bennettftomlin.com/The Block publication: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/Amy Caster Tether timeline: https://amycastor.com/2019/01/17/the-curious-case-of-tether-a-complete-timeline-of-events/Guest bios:Bennett Tomlin regularly publishes articles about fraud in the crypto space via his blog. His dayjob is data scientist and fraud investigator in the pharmacy benefits area.Larry Cermak is Director of Research and Analysis at The Block, a crypto research, analysis and news outlet geared toward institutional investors.Patrick McKenzie is a Tokyo-based entrepreneur and commentator. He wrote a thorough recount of the Tether controversy on his personal website. Patrick works for the Internet at Stripe. All comments are his own.