Crypto Critics' Corner

Bennett and Cas discuss DJT, which is not Donald Trump's official token, and it seems likely Barron will not even claim this mess that Martin Shkreli embroiled them all in. Protos Reporting on DJT Cas' Op-Ed on Pirate Wires Daniel Kuhn's Article for The Block This video was recorded on June 22nd, 2024.

Bennett and Cas discuss Justin Sun's empire, and the fact that he does not seem to have enough money. Additional resources: Protos coverage of Poloniex and WBTC Protos coverage of USDD reserves at HTX Protos coverage of TrueUSD market-cap collapse Protos coverage of false Diplomatic Immunity Protos reporting on stUSDT This episode was recorded on May 1st, 2024.

Bennett and Cas are joined by Vincent Woo to discuss Effective Altruism and Effective Accelerationism. ⁠Vincent Woo 's video about Honest Charlie⁠ ⁠Vincent's reporting on Lambda School⁠ ⁠Vincent's Twitter⁠ This episode was recorded on May 1st, 2024.

Bennett and Cas discuss the sentencing of Changpeng Zhao and what it means for the cryptocurrency industry, along with comparing it to the outcome for cryptocurrency exchange fraud Sam Bankman-Fried. This video was recorded on May 6th, 2024.

Bennett and Cas discuss the ongoing struggles of regional banking in the United States, and why these issues with the system persist. This video was recorded on March 6th, 2024.

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 and Cas discuss a class action lawsuit against Deltec Bank and Trust in the Bahamas that alleges that it was instrumental in moving customer funds from FTX to Alameda Research. Coverage of the lawsuit the lawsuit Farmington State response Coindesk coverage of Alameda Research insolvency Affidavit in support of MUFG seizure This episode was recorded on March 6th, 2024.

Bennett and Cas discuss the indictment of Changpeng Zhao and the Deferred Prosecution Agreement for Binance. Read coverage of charges here . This episode was recorded on February 10th, 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...

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 and Cas are joined by Patrick McKenzie of Bits About Money to discuss why cryptocurrency is not a solution for the problems of payments. Bits About Money Patrick McKenzie Twitter Protos coverage of Moonstone Cease and Desist Federal Reserve Cease and Desist for Moonstone Bennett's video about Cash App/Interchange Fees/Durbin Amendment This video was recorded on October 12th, 2023.

Bennett and Cas are joined by Elizabeth Lopatto of the Verge to discuss Sam Bankman-Fried's conviction. Sam Bankman-Fried gambled on a trial and his parents lost Elizabeth Lopatto's Coverage at The Verge Cas' review of Going Infinite Protos coverage of the trial This video was recorded on November 6th, 2023.

Bennett and Cas discuss Wyre, another cryptocurrency payments processor involved with fraud. Protos coverage of Ryan Breslow's many disasters Protos coverage of Wyre problems This episode was recorded on October 20th, 2023.

Bennett and Cas are joined by Molly White ( @molly0xfff ) to discuss the ongoing testimony of Sam Bankman-Fried. Molly's newsletter Web3 is Going Great Protos Coverage of the Trial This video was recorded on November 1st, 2023.

Bennett and Cas are joined by Sam Kessler from CoinDesk to discuss the witnesses that the defense has been calling to the stand, including Sam Bankman-Fried. CoinDesk trial coverage: https://www.coindesk.com/sam-bankman-fried-trial-live-coverage-news/ Protos trial coverage: https://protos.com/sbftrial/ SBF's Kamikaze Defense: https://protos.com/sam-bankman-frieds-kamikaze-defense/ The Jury Fin...

Bennett and Cas are joined by Katie Baker, a journalist at The Ringer, to discuss her time spent at the trial, how social media and sh*tposting are playing a role, and her most recent article, which encapsulates the story unfolding better than anything written thus far. Read Katie's article here: https://www.theringer.com/tech/2023/10/16/23919236/sam-bankman-fried-sbf-trial-caroline-ellison-te...

Bennett and Cas are joined by Danny Nelson of CoinDesk to discuss the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried and the testimony of Nishad Singh and Can Sun. CoinDesk coverage of the trial https://www.coindesk.com/sam-bankman-fried-trial-live-coverage-news/ Danny Nelson's newsletter about accounting Santa Clause https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/10/19/judge-kaplans-ire-hits-all-lawyers-in-the-sam...

Bennett and Cas discuss Farmington State Bank/Moonstone Bank, the Washington State bank that Alameda Research invested in - valuing at an unbelievable $150 million. Additional resources: Initial Protos coverage of Moonstone https://protos.com/the-curious-case-of-ftx-and-farmington-state-bank-aka-moonstone/ Moonstone Bank executives explain relationship with Alameda Research https://protos.com/excl...

Bennett and Cas are joined by Nikhilesh De of CoinDesk to discuss the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, and specifically the testimony of Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison. Additional resources: CoinDesk coverage of the trial https://www.coindesk.com/tag/sbf-trial/ Nik's newsletter about the trial https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/10/13/things-sbfs-defense-lawyers-should-be-freaking-out-abou...

Bennett and Cas discuss the evolving banking situation in the cryptocurrency industry, and how hard it is for companies to maintain banking relationships. Read more: https://cryptocriticscorner.com/2023/10/13/episode-134-can-crypto-companies-get-bank-accounts/ Additional resources: CoinDesk article about Bitstamp https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/10/09/bitstamp-courts-european-banks-as-region...

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=16a900a4...

Today Bennett and Cas discuss the SEC's settlement with the creators of an NFT called Stoner Cats and whether or not it means any NFTs offering royalties to creators could be considered securities.

Today Bennett and Cas are joined by Eric Roesch to discuss Elon Musk, ESG (environmental, social, governance), and the Golden Age of Fraud. Roesch, an environmental policy expert, tells us about the history of ESG, why it doesn't effectively combat the issues it claims to, and how Elon Musk - the wealthiest man in the world - has used ESG, government subsidies, and asking for forgiveness inste...

Today Bennett and Cas talk about Sam Bankman-Fried's parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who are alleged to be holding onto property and money that the FTX and Alameda Research estates are looking to claw back. Read more about it here . This episode was recorded on September 20th, 2023.

Today Bennett and Cas are joined by Leo Schwartz from Fortune to discuss his feature article about Circle, USDC, and why the stablecoin can't seem to overtake Tether in marketcap or volume. Read the article here .