Cryptocurrency’s Criminal Revolution
The unsavory cast of characters benefiting from bitcoin
It’s hard to believe that the “crypto revolution” started a decade ago. I can vaguely remember first hearing about bitcoin in one of my university’s computer labs way back in 2008, shortly after the bitcoin white paper was published under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Ten years later, blockchain-mania is in full swing as the full stack of Silicon Valley’s innovation infrastructure scrambles to be the next Blockchain for Uber (powered by Deep Learning).
Since bitcoin’s debut, a slew of competing “coins” and “tokens” have entered the marketplace. Although there are only about 180 government-backed currencies worldwide, Investopedia reports that more than 800 cryptocurrencies have already failed. In the first half of 2018 more than $6 billion was invested in initial coin offerings where speculators and other patrons can purchase an amount of the cryptocurrency being released. ICOs have become notorious for being a high-risk investment, with more than half of all coins becoming defunct within four months, according to Bloomberg.
The last 18 months have been a roller coaster of hype, success, and despair for those aboard the cryptotrain. As with any gold rush there have been some ill-advised casualties as well as some unexpected winners. Take…
