The Fall of Cryptocurrency
A potent warning, a global problem, and a massive consumer loss
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Many of you asked me — both publically and privately — to write about the topic of cryptocurrency in 2022. We spent a fair amount of time trying to meet that request in our newsletter and, occasionally, here on Medium. We wrote about:
…and more.
For some of you, these articles were helpful. They were for me as well. I didn’t know all of the details about the cryptocurrency world that I shared with you until I put in scores of hours of research. Learning about the topic in far greater detail was powerful, fascinating, and — at times — a bit odd. Digital currency?!?! Buying and selling digital collectibles that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars?
Wow.
For others, my articles (which I like to call “episodes”) created, perhaps, a false sense of security. I heard from one of my readers — one of my oldest and dearest friends, in fact — who shared that he felt that I’d made the topic of cryptocurrency sound too attractive to my readers. He cautioned that I’d not done enough to help educate subscribers about the risks that are associated with cryptocurrencies.
Now, this is someone I love, so I took his feedback seriously. For my part, I went back to re-read what I wrote, and thought we were clear on both the rewards AND risks of investing in cryptocurrencies and NFTs, but…
I ultimately agreed with him. I thought I could do better. So, at the end of last year, I decided to write an article that was more of a cautionary tale. I began to earnestly research and outline such a piece. And then…
The Fall of FTX
As 2022 came to an end, the cryptocurrency market hit the news. Hard. For that, you can thank a fella named Sam Bankman-Fried. Mr. Bankman-Fried founded and ran a company called FTX, a cryptocurrency trading platform that used to be one of the largest in the world.
Used to be.
That company is now bankrupt and Bankman-Fried was hauled before Congress to…
