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 dang ..read more

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 pr ..read more

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 be ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 respo ..read more

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 ..read more

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 r ..read more

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 ..read more