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CollectionsRoberts On Crypto

Roberts On Crypto

A thoughtful Saturday morning read on what's new and interesting in crypto, written by Decrypt EIC Dan Roberts and Executive Editor Jeff John Roberts.

CollectionLast updated Jun 15, 2022
Jun 4
via Shutterstock

Crypto Winter Layoffs Hit Hard—But Won’t Kill the Industry

If you don't think we're in Crypto Winter yet, consider these headlines from the week: Gemini laid off 10% of its staff; Coinbase instituted a hiring freeze and rescinded accepted job offers; Mexico's largest crypto exchange Bitso laid off 10% of its staff; and Argentina-based crypto exchange Buenbit laid off 45% of its staff. The news is bad. And if you're an engineer who got a letter from Coinbase canceling a job offer you already accepted, there's no positive spin here. It's enough to make s...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Daniel Roberts
May 28
Backstopped Ethereum. Image: Shutterstock

Ethereum's Merge is Coming and the Stakes Couldn't Be Higher

Crypto holders can't wait to see the end of May, a month that has brought nothing but losses. And while it's too soon to say whether the worst is over—Bitcoin is below $30,000 right now and could go lower—it feels like the industry will come through the downturn just fine. So long as the Ethereum merge goes off okay, that is. If you've been living under a crypto rock, "The Merge" refers to the long-awaited upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that will see the No. 2 cryptocurrency switch to a pro...

NewsOpinion
3 min read
Jeff John Roberts
May 14

7 Big Moments From Bitcoin and Crypto's Craziest Week Ever

Where to begin? In a decade of covering crypto I've seen a lot of crazy things, but never a week like that. In the past, there have certainly been one-off incidents that turned the industry upside down—like the 2014 Mt. Gox hack, or Tesla buying $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, or Elon Musk shilling Dogecoin on SNL—but never a cascade of events like we just saw. In the coming days, there will be plenty of think pieces about what caused the craziness. And just maybe there will be some earnest self...

NewsOpinion
5 min read
Jeff John Roberts
May 7
No es solo Bitcoin. Los mercados en general están bajistas. Imagen: Finviz

The Bitcoin Bloodbath Will Get Worse. This Is Fine.

It's getting ugly out there. Bitcoin is down over 8% this week and has fallen nearly 50% from last year's all-time-high. The situation isn't much better for Ethereum, down 5% over the week, while newer best-of-breed coins like Solana (SOL), Terra (LUNA), and Avalanche (AVAX) fell over 10% this week. Things haven't looked this bad in a while, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. But don't be alarmed. Like the meme of the dog in a bowler hat sitting in a house on fire: This is fine....

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Jeff John Roberts
May 1
SBF US COO Sina Nader, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and Tom Brady onstage at Crypto Bahamas on April 28, 2022. (Photo: Michael Healy)

Sam Bankman-Fried's Bahamian Honeymoon Phase

Sam Bankman-Fried relocated his crypto company FTX from Hong Kong to the Bahamas in September, and this week he flexed his influence by bringing 2,000 people to the island nation for a four-day business conference. The event was hosted in partnership with Anthony Scaramucci's SALT, and attracted oodles of Wall Street tradfi types who have decided it's time to look at crypto. It also attracted Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Andrew Yang, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Apolo Ohn...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Daniel Roberts
Apr 23
Coinbase NFT landing page

Did Coinbase Blow Its NFT Launch? Not So Fast

Coinbase launched its long-awaited NFT marketplace this week and the response was... underwhelming. While news reports took note of its novel Instagram-style design and social media features, much of the coverage was dripping with snark. Bloomberg asked, “Is Coinbase’s new NFT platform the answer to its growth problems?” and cited an analyst who proclaimed the offering is “too little, too late.” The Verge sniffed that the NFT shop is missing key features like minting, and made much of the fact...

NewsOpinion
3 min read
Jeff John Roberts
Apr 16
Elon Musk has repeatedly pumped dog coins on Twitter.

What Elon Musk Could Do for Crypto Twitter—and Dogecoin

A feature in the new issue of Businessweek declares Jack Dorsey "Bitcoin's spiritual leader." Maybe so, but on Crypto Twitter, they pray to Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO has 82 million followers to Twitter co-founder @Jack's 6 million, and has gleefully pumped Dogecoin again and again and again, as well as Bitcoin before he decided its environmental impact was a bad look for green-friendly Tesla. (Even after his 180-turn on Bitcoin, Musk's Tesla is partnering with Dorsey's Block to power a Bitcoin m...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Daniel Roberts
Apr 9
Oregon congressional candidate Matt West (L) and former Wyoming Rep. Tyler Lindholm on a panel about crypto and politics at Camp Ethereal 2022 in Wyoming. (Photo: Chie Endo)

Why Politicians Still Can't Lead With Crypto

Crypto is a bigger topic in the halls of U.S. government than it's ever been. President Joe Biden issued an executive order on crypto, mobilizing multiple agencies to get on the same page about regulating the industry. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) is a vocal crypto proponent, and recently defended her right to own Bitcoin as a policymaker. Former South Carolina Representative Mick Mulvaney, nicknamed the "Bitcoin Congressman," was a top aide to President Donald Trump. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx.)...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Daniel Roberts
Apr 2
Hacks remain common in DeFi. Image: Shutterstock

Web3 Is Supposed to Be Secure. What About All These Hacks?

The promise of Web3 is that we'll get all the stuff we like about the internet, but with more privacy and a blockchain-based architecture to keep our data more secure than before. Well, that's the theory. In reality, Web3 is becoming a security nightmare as a slew of recent hacks has left some wondering if they should just turn our money and data over to Mark Zuckerberg and call it day. The latest security disaster involves the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, which is supposed to be the poster...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Jeff John Roberts
Mar 26
Vitalik Buterin is the creator of the Ethereum blockchain. Image: Siam Blockchain

Vitalik Is the Crypto Hero We Don't Deserve

The crypto elite has plenty of smart people but too few good people. There's something about making it big—most likely the money and fame—that leads crypto stars to succumb to greed, narcissism and terrible Twitter manners. That's what makes Vitalik Buterin so exceptional. The man who wrote the Ethereum white paper while still a teenager is worth billions and is the most famous crypto figure after Satoshi. And yet he retains a deep sense of grace and humanity, even in the face of the slings and...

NewsOpinion
3 min read
Jeff John Roberts
Mar 19
A scene from the Yuga Labs "Otherside" promo video.

The Bored Apes Get Richer—And More Cringey

Have you heard? NFTs are dead—again. "Interest in NFTs and the Metaverse Is Falling Fast," reported Forbes last week, citing Google search trends. Coin Telegraph said the NFT market "died" in September, and before that, a slew of sites declared NFTs dead last June. But they're still here, alive and well. And that was all before ApeCoin (APE), the ERC-20 token that launched this week as the latest financial reward for members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The token bears the Bored Ape logo, owner...

NewsOpinion
5 min read
Daniel Roberts
Mar 12
Joe Biden speaking in 2020. Image: Shutterstock.

Biden's Crypto Executive Order: Big Deal or Big Nothing?

The President of the United States is the most powerful person on the planet, so when he issues an order, people jump to attention. That was certainly the case this week when President Biden signed his "Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets," a long-awaited command setting out the White House's view of the crypto industry. An "executive order" sure sounds imposing, but on close examination, this particular one doesn't amount to much at all. Asked to summarize the...

NewsOpinion
3 min read
Jeff John Roberts, Daniel Roberts
Mar 5
Aerial view of the Ukraine flag in winter. (Shutterstock)

What DAOs Can Do: $6.75M in Ethereum for Ukraine

As of Saturday morning, Ukraine has received $57 million in cryptocurrency donations to aid its defense against Russia, according to blockchain tracker Elliptic. The New York Times and others have called that amount "a drop in the bucket in the context of the conflict," but it is no small amount in any context, and it is $57 million Ukraine is happy to receive. Of that total, $6.75 million in ETH came from Ukraine DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization formed by the founder of the band Pu...

NewsCoins
4 min read
Daniel Roberts
Feb 26
Bitcoin in Ukraine. Image: Shutterstock

Ukraine, Bitcoin, and the 'World's First Crypto War'

The largest European military conflict since World War II is raging in Ukraine, and Bitcoin could shape the outcome. In the words of the Washington Post, the battle between Russia and Ukraine is "the world's first crypto war" as both sides discover the advantages of a borderless, permissionless currency. People around the world have already donated millions to NGOs trying to defend Ukraine from Russia's savage invasion. Meanwhile, some in Ukraine are turning to Bitcoin as the panic of war is...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Jeff John Roberts
Feb 19
BlockFi. Image: The Focal Project (CC BY-NC 2.0)

How To Get Fined $100 Million and Call It a Win

BlockFi isn't the only company that offers high-yield crypto accounts, where customers deposit crypto for the promise of high APY and the company lends out that crypto to other crypto companies for fees. Celsius, Nexo, and Eco all offer something similar. But BlockFi is the first to reach a settlement with the SEC that requires it to register its products as securities. BlockFi on Monday confirmed a report from last week that, as part of a settlement, it will pay $100 million in fines to the SE...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Daniel Roberts
Feb 12
Congress displayed in a puddle upside down. Photo: Shutterstock

A California Congressman Says Crypto Hurts People of Color. Huh?

Does the government need to protect Black people from crypto? Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) thinks so. At a Congressional hearing this week, Sherman compared crypto to sub-prime mortgages, and asked a Treasury Department official if "those of color will be left holding the bag if we see a collapse in cryptocurrency or stablecoins?" Whatever his intentions, the reaction on Twitter—especially among Black users—was savage, accusing the congressman of being patronizing and out of touch. Ryan Selk...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Jeff John Roberts
Feb 5
Solana is a high-throughput blockchain. Image: Shutterstock

The Shine Comes Off 'Ethereum-Killer' Solana

The last year brought the rise of several so-called "Ethereum killers" but the most prominent of these has been Solana, a blockchain that promises to deliver the best of Ethereum but faster and at a fraction of the cost. Solana's spectacular rise, which has seen it vault into the top ten coins, has come from its spiffy technology and also from a certain celebrity pixie dust sprinkled by the likes of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and others. But lately, the shine has started to come off Solana a...

NewsOpinion
3 min read
Jeff John Roberts
Jan 29
PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia

Diem Is Dead, But Facebook Isn't Done With Crypto

Facebook announced its grand crypto plan on June 18, 2019: a "borderless global currency" called Libra, backed by a "collection of low-volatility assets like bank deposits and government securities, in currencies from stable and reputable central banks.” In other words: a stablecoin. On the same day, Facebook announced a crypto wallet called Calibra to hold your Libra. Two years and seven months later, Facebook is called Meta, Libra is called Diem, and Diem is reportedly selling off all its ass...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Daniel Roberts
Jan 22
CryptoPunk 6529 shown in Twitter's new ad for NFT profile pictures.

5 Reasons Twitter NFT Profile Pictures Matter

Big news for the NFT crowd: you can now make your NFT your Twitter profile picture. Well, yes, you could have done that before, but now you can verify through blockchain that you own it, and Twitter will reward you with a hexagon around it. And it's only for Twitter Blue subscribers, only on iPhones, and only in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And it's only for NFTs minted on Ethereum and stored on OpenSea. So... is it actually big news? I say it is—for NFT fans and for Twitter as...

NewsOpinion
5 min read
Daniel Roberts
Jan 15
Image: Sky Mavis

Web3 Is Not a Scam, But It Can Feel Like One

Have you ever tried to play an arcade game, only to have the machine eat your quarter? That's how I felt when I tried to play the popular Web3 game Axie Infinity—except instead of losing 25 cents, I lost over $100. It went down like this. In November, I decided I had to try Axie, a metaverse game that is valued at billions of dollars and hailed as a pioneer in what's known as "play to earn." Though my gaming days are behind me (weed-fogged nights of "Halo" stopped being a thing after college),...

NewsOpinion
4 min read
Jeff John Roberts
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