Scam Economy

MrBeast made a quarter of a million dollars by uploading a video to Elon Musk's X and in doing so revealed just how rigged the monetization system is. Scam Economy host Matt Binder walks through all the details of X Monetization, the little known X Amplify program, how Elon Musk and company pushed the famous YouTuber's content into social media feeds, and how basically no other creator can replicate MrBeast's earnings on the platform. Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Molly White of Web3 is Going Great joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the Sam Bankman-Fried trial. Molly brings us her first hand account from the days she spent at the court about the FTX founder's testimony and cross examination, what former FTX employees like SBF's ex Caroline Ellison had to say, and how SBF was found guilty on all 7 financial fraud charges. What does this mean for crypto and what's next going forward? Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Paris Marx of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss one of the current big tech industry hype bubbles: VR or Virtual Reality. We break down Apple's entry into the field with the Vision Pro, Meta's play with their VR headset and its subsequent failings with the Metaverse, the crypto adjacent Web3 metaverse attempts, the tech industry's continuation to try and monetize everything, and much much more! Check out Paris Marx's newsletter, Disconnect, on the Apple Vision Pro: https://www.disconnect.blog/p/apples-vision-pro-headset-deserves Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

The battle between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg officially began on Wednesday, July 5th as Meta launched Threads by Instagram, it's Twitter competitor app. On this DOOMED and Scam Economy livestream crossover episode, Matt Binder breaks down the Threads app, the enshittification of Twitter by Elon Musk, how this past week's actions by Musk at Twitter which blocked logged out visitors from accessing Twitter and rate limited logged in users' daily tweet alottment may actually be Musk's worst move at Twitter yet, where the other Twitter alternatives like bluesky, Mastodon, and Spill fit into the equation, what the future of the internet will look like, and is Twitter now actually dying? (Episode from the 7/5/23 livestream show.) Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Molly White, the creator of Web3 is Going Great, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the SEC's lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance for selling unregistered securities. Molly and Matt break down the lawsuit against Coinbase, how the suit against Binance is different (fraud allegations!), what this means for the state of cryptocurrency in the United States, and more! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Sources: https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/sec-v-binance-we-are-operating-as https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/issue-29-sec-showdown https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-102 https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-101

Leo Schwartz, reporter at Fortune, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss Worldcoin, the project that wants to scan the eyeballs of everyone in the world and give them cryptocurrency in return. Why do they want your biometric data? To create an identity network to prove you're a real human, of course! Who is behind Worldcoin? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Leo and Matt discuss the details of the project, how one Altman project supposedly creates the problem that the other claims to solve, the snag the project hit regarding its cryptocurrency, and much more! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Check out Leo's piece on Worldcoin: https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/03/21/sam-altman-orb-scan-eyeballs-ai-bot-worldcoin/ Other sources: https://web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=sam-altmans-worldcoin-project-incentivizes-a-black-market-for-biometric-data-taken-from-people-in-developing-nations

It's a DOOMED / Scam Economy crossover episode! Host Matt Binder breaks down what he's been so busy with over the past few weeks: a series of reports on Twitter that drove Elon Musk to gift/punish him with the Twitter Blue checkmark of shame. Matt breaks down what Twitter Blue is, why it's so controversial, how Elon Musk marketed the roll out and caused his own mess, the removal of the legacy verified checkmarks, @dril and the #BlockTheBlue campaign, celebrities having Twitter Blue subscriptions being force upon them, why Twitter may be DOOMED, how Musk's version of Twitter is the perfect encapsulation of the tech SCAM ECONOMY, and much more! (Episode from the 5/2/23 livestream show.) Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

In honor of the indictment and arrest of Trump Card NFT founder Donald J. Trump, Scam Economy takes a look at four of the (other) biggest crypto founders who recently got in trouble with the law. Host of CBC's The Naked Emperor, writer Jacob Silverman joins Matt Binder to break down the crimes and recent charges filed against Terra / Luna founder Do Kwon, TRON's Justin Sun, Binance founder CZ, and, of course, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried. Check out The Naked Emperor, Jacob Silverman's 4-part mini-series podcast for CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1353/episode/d20230403 Visit: http://www.scameconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Additional sources for the episode: https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/03/31/cz-native-crypto-binance-recovery-fund-corporate-wallets/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/sec-sues-justin-sun-others-over-illegal-crypto-sales-2023-03-22/ https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/23/do-kwon-now-faces-criminal-fraud-charges/ https://www.theverge.com/c/22947663/the-many-escapes-of-justin-sun

What happens when one of the biggest cryptocurrency mining companies in the world sets up shop in your small rural American town? Jacky Sawicky, founder of the Concerned Citizens for Navarro County and a member of the NCAC: National Coalition Against CryptoMining, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to tell us exactly what happened when Riot Platforms brought their Bitcoin mining operation to her Texas town. Jackie breaks down how it went occurred, the sweetheart backroom deals that went on between the mining company and local and state government, how the crypto mining company has affected the locals, the unbelievable way in which crypto mining companies make most of their money (and it's not from mining crypto), how this is a widespread problem happening throughout the U.S., what's being done about it, and much, much more. Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Sources: https://www.riotplatforms.com/investors/sec-filings/annual-reports https://gizmodo.com/texas-bitcoin-bitcoin-mining-ercot-riot-blockchain-1849367067/amp https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-mining-execs-make-serious-bank-versus-other-industries https://beincrypto.com/riot-blockchain-rebrands-amid-miner-capitulations/ https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-is-becoming-a-bitcoin-mining-capital-can-the-grid-handle-it/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-05/texas-s-crypto-mining-boom-is-starting-to-look-more-like-a-bust?leadSource=uverify%20wall https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a42011194/crypto-mine-noise-murphy/

Edward Ongweso Jr., writer of the Tech Bubble newsletter and co-host of This Machine Kills podcast, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the collapse of the tech industry's favorite financial institution, Silicon Valley Bank. Edward and Matt break down what this means, how it happen, what sparked the bank run by tech founders and VCs, what SVB's investments were, how the bank fell right around the same time two crypto-friendly banks Silvergate and Signature Bank also failed, how the VCs like David Sacks and Jason Calacanis threw a tantrum demanding a government bailout for the tech industry, and more. Read Edward's piece in Slate, The Incredible Tantrum Venture Capitalists Threw Over Silicon Valley Bank: https://slate.com/technology/2023/03/silicon-valley-bank-rescue-venture-capital-calacanis-sacks-ackman-tantrum.html Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics Corner and Protos joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss what a horrible years it's already been for crypto. Bennett and Matt focus on two specific areas that have hit cryptocurrency exchanges hard: traditional banking ending their relationships with crypto and the regulatory crackdowns on crypto staking. The two discuss how FTX's collapse kicked off many of these issues, Silvergate and Signature Bank, two of the banks deep in crypto, the SEC crackdown on Kraken's staking program, and much more! Plus Matt and Bennett discuss the future of what crypto skeptic media looks like... Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Visit: ScamEconomy.com

One year after the Crypto Bowl, which saw many crypto companies spend big money to advertise during the Super Bowl...crypto is totally absent from this year's big game. Brandon Sutton of The Discourse joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss what happened to companies like Coinbase, Crypto.com, eToro, and, of course, FTX. Also, who *is* advertising during the Super Bowl LVII? Articles discussed in the episode: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2023/01/24/crypto-bowl-ii-will-not-be-returning-for-super-bowl-lvii/?sh=7e977bd5b1ce https://fortune.com/2023/02/06/super-bowl-ads-sold-out-beer-crypto/?queryly=related_article https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2023/02/06/fox-sports-super-bowl.aspx Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Ed Zitron joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss Gemini Earn, the latest crypto lending program to go under and screw over customers. Ed and Matt discuss Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins, its business with Digital Currency Group's Genesis, where it all went wrong, how $900 million are owed to customers, the media's role in all of this, and much much more. Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Scam Economy BONUS CES 2023 Special Edition episode: Eoin Higgins, reporter with Morning Brew, joins Matt Binder on a special DOOMED / Scam Economy combo episode to discuss what they saw at CES 2023. The Metaverse! Web3! Robotics! Electric Vehicles! Virtual Reality! All the tech that looked good, bad, and downright dystopian. (Episode from the 1/10/23 livestream show.) Support Matt's shows: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Molly White of Web3 is Going Great joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the (best? weirdest? most interesting?) worst of crypto / blockchain / Web3 in the year 2022. We break down the failed crypto companies, Seth Green's stolen Bored Ape, the blockchain bridge hacks, the Ukraine rug pull, the "Robinhood" of crypto, and much much more as we look towards 2023 for what's next... Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Molly White, creator of Web3 is Going Great, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss a week jam-packed with FTX and SBF news. Molly discusses the Twitter Spaces chat she was in where she grilled Sam Bankman-Fried along with others, SBF's arrest later that night, details from the two Congressional hearings in the House and Senate on the failure of FTX, and much, much more. Check out Web3 is Going Great: https://web3isgoinggreat.com Visit: http://ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

If the blockchain is so secure...why are there so many crypto hacks? Infosec expert Domingo Flores joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to dispel the myth of blockchain security. Domingo brings us back to the very basics and breaks down cryptography and why so many think the blockchain is so secure. We also discuss how hacking attacks have continued to rise and unprecedented amounts of money have been stolen even during the crypto winter. Domingo breaks down flash loan attacks, protocol exploits, "code is law" issues, and even basic social engineering attacks, and much more! Visit: ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Articles mentioned on the episode: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-crime-midyear-update-2022/ https://fortune.com/crypto/2022/10/13/october-record-3-billion-stolen-in-crypto-hacks-2022/ https://cryptopotato.com/cryptocom-becomes-first-crypto-exchange-to-comply-with-soc-2-standards/ Links to Domingo's work: https://twitter.com/Domingroso/status/1600286166213091328

Nikhilesh De of CoinDesk joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down the fall of another crypto lending company, BlockFi. This one has a twist though. BlockFi was actually bailed out by Sam Bankman-Friend of FTX this year when it first failed...and then things get interesting. BlockFi failed yet again and filed for bankruptcy after FTX's own bankruptcy. Nik breaks down what BlockFi did, where things went wrong, the dealings it had with FTX, and what's going on now. Plus! Nik and Matt discuss the latest on FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried's odd series of interviews and more! Visit: ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Discussed in the episode: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/11/28/ftx-fallout-continues-as-crypto-lender-blockfi-declares-bankruptcy/ https://twitter.com/FounderFlori/status/1590030306978848768 https://twitter.com/BlockFi/status/1590875997351866368 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-28/blockfi-says-it-owes-the-sec-30-million-in-bankruptcy-filing

Sergey Vasylchuk of Aid For Ukraine and CEO of Ukrainian crypto company Everstake joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to explain why the conspiracy theories being spread by right wing media outlets and influencers about FTX and its ties to Ukraine aid and the Democratic Party don't make sense. Vasylchuk takes us inside the founding of Aid for Ukraine, the crypto donation program run in tandem with the Ukraine government's Ministry of Digital Transformation, the extent of the partnership with FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and more. Matt explains why the conspiracy is spreading and breaks down specific pieces of the conspiracy theory and finds zero evidence to back up the claims. Visit ScamEconomy.com Matt's report: https://mashable.com/article/ftx-ukraine-donations-democrats-conspiracy-explained Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Ed Zitron joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss one of the craziest weeks in crypto. FTX goes bankrupt, billions gone, hundreds of millions possibly hacked and/or stolen. Matt and Ed discuss all the details, breaking down the timeline of events, how there have long been questions about the liquidity of FTX and Alameda Research, the media fawning over founder Sam Bankman-Fried, how the entire operation was run by 10 roommates with on-again-off-again personal relationships, and much much much more. Ed's newsletter on FTX: https://ez.substack.com/p/sam-bankrun-fraud Article's mention in the episode: FTX Hacked: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/12/ftx-crypto-wallets-see-mysterious-late-night-outflows-totalling-more-than-380m/ SBF and Roomates: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/10/bankman-frieds-cabal-of-roommates-in-the-bahamas-ran-his-crypto-empire-and-dated-other-employees-have-lots-of-questions/ Reuters texts with SBF: https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/exclusive-least-1-billion-client-funds-missing-failed-crypto-firm-ftx-sources-2022-11-12/ CNBC on SBF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGZrZq6z-Ig Mike Burgersberg's Alameda story: https://dirtybubblemedia.substack.com/p/is-alameda-research-insolvent CoinDesk's Alameda story: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/02/divisions-in-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-empire-blur-on-his-trading-titan-alamedas-balance-sheet/ Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Mike Burgersburg of Dirty Bubble Media joins Scam Economy to talk Sam Bankman-Fried aka SBF, founder of the crypto exchange FTX and the crypto hedge fund Alameda Research. Burgersburg explains to host Matt Binder his recent investigations into SBF's interesting ties with Celsius Network, the failed crypto lender, how FTX propped up Celsius and its CEL token, how Celsius paid FTX with users' assets even after it supposedly froze all of their funds, FTX's own stablecoin FTT, SBF's prominence as the guy who shows up to bailout failing crypto companies, and his report into Alameda and how SBF's entire empire may vey well be insolvent. Check out Mike Burgersburg's Dirty Bubble Media newsletter to read his reports featured on this episode: - https://dirtybubblemedia.substack.com/p/celsius-liquidated-user-assets-to - https://dirtybubblemedia.substack.com/p/ftxed-the-tangled-ties-of-celsius - https://dirtybubblemedia.substack.com/p/is-alameda-research-insolvent Coindesk's look into Alameda: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/02/divisions-in-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-empire-blur-on-his-trading-titan-alamedas-balance-sheet/ Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Fast Company's Yasmin Gagne & Connie Lin join Scam Economy to discuss their latest piece: a sit-down with Yuga Labs to discuss the history of how the Bored Ape Yacht Club came to be. Yaz and Connie share with Matt how they got this inside look, the early history of BAYC and how it came to be, the peculiar way this NFT project took off, the "doxxing" of its founders Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano aka Gordon Goner and Gargamel and the rest of the core team: Zeshan Ali aka No Sass & Kerem Atalay aka Emperor Tomato Ketchup, their CEO Nicole Muniz, and in the unbelievable role that superstar music manager Guy Oseary has played. The three also discuss the token ApeCoin and why the SEC is investigating Yuga Labs over that, their metaverse project "Otherside," the accusations of racism from artist Ryder Ripp, and much, much more. Read the Fast Company piece - The 800 lb. Gorilla of Crypto: Bored Ape Yacht Club tell all: https://www.fastcompany.com/90796009/bored-ape-yacht-club-tell-all-the-untold-story-of-the-4-billion-crypto-startup Articles mentioned in the episode: Max Read's NFT-to-celeb chart: https://maxread.substack.com/p/mapping-the-celebrity-nft-complex Amy Castor's reporting on Beeple's NFT sale: https://amycastor.com/2021/03/14/metakovan-the-mystery-beeple-art-buyer-and-his-nft-defi-scheme/ Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Quinn Myers, freelance writer and author of the new book Remember the Internet: Google Glass joins the show to discuss Google's new partnership with Coinbase to accept crypto payments for Google Cloud services, crypto evangelists basking in acceptance from Big Tech and Old Finance, how the tech industry and venture capitalists hype crypto and the media eats it up, how this same song and dance is very reminiscent of Google Glass, how the same cast of characters that promoted this failed product are now all in on crypto, why Google Glass was rejected by the general public and why crypto has been too, wearable tech, the Metaverse and Web3 versions like Decentraland, and what lessons are to be learned here. Check out Quinn's book, Remember the Internet: Google Glass: http://www.instarbooks.com/books/google-glass.html Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Articles mentioned on the show: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/11/google-selects-coinbase-to-take-cloud-payments-with-cryptocurrencies.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjeans/2022/10/17/andreessen-horowitz-crypto-lobbying-washington/?sh=4bde5a7946e7 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304549504579316913982034286 https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-lost-15-billion-building-the-metaverse-reality-labs-money-2022-10 https://kotaku.com/metaverse-billion-daily-users-meta-nft-crypto-1849653112

Parker Molloy of The Present Age newsletter joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the death of CNN's little known NFT project, the CNN Vault. Parker and Matt take a look at how bizarre it was, the NFT collectors who spent thousands of dollars on a now-dead project, the Associated Press has an NFT marketplace too, and how the mainstream media irresponsibly covers emerging technology like the "Metaverse," crypto, NFTs, and more! Check out Parker's newsletter: https://www.readtpa.com Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Bonnie Patten, executive director of Truth In Advertising (TINA), joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the scourge of celebrity crypto and NFT endorsements. We discuss Kim Kardashian getting fined $1.26 million by the SEC for pushing a pump-and-dump token by EthereumMax, the celebrities hawking NFTs without disclosing that they were paid for their endorsement, TINA's recent work sending notices to those celebs, what Justin Bieber's team and Reese Witherspoon's team had to say to TINA regarding promoting NFTs, Jimmy Fallon's obsession with NFTs on the Tonight Show, what government agencies are going to step up and do something about it, why the FTC hasn't taken action, the CAA's role, Anthony Anderson's Candyverse NFT project, and why celeb endorsements of crypto and NFTs are so harmful to their fans. Check out Truth In Advertising's work on celebs promoting NFTs: https://truthinadvertising.org/industries/celebrities-promoting-nfts/ Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Leo Schwartz, reporter at Fortune, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss his report on GiveCrypto, a crypto charity set up by the crypto exchange Coinbase, the broader realm of crypto philanthropy and the ulterior motives behind it, how GiveCrypto took advantage of its "ambassadors" around the world, how little the charity was able to help and why that is, why even some crypto advocates think crypto donations are a bad idea, and much more. Check out Leo's piece in Fortune on GiveCrypto: https://fortune.com/crypto/2022/09/20/coinbases-1b-crypto-philanthropy-disappointment/ Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

This month marks the one year anniversary of El Salvador's historic Bitcoin Law, cementing the Central American country the very first country to mark the cryptocurrency as legal tender. So, how's it going? Not good! Salvadoran infosec specialist Domingo Flores joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the turmoil the country has faced in recent months, thanks to its Bitcoin-loving President Nayib Bukele. We discuss the protests, the mass arrests, Bukele's suspension of the constitution in order to run for re-election, the alleged "troll center" being run to by the Bukele regime to spread disinformation and harass dissidents, plus...Bukele keeps using El Salvador's money to invest in Bitcoin...or is he? Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

It's finally here...Ethereum Merge Day. Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics Corner and Protos.com joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down exactly what the Ethereum Merge is, why the crypto world is celebrating its arrival, the difference between the old proof-of-work system and the new proof-of-stake system, how miners are taking the change, the fork, what is staking, sharding?!, the environmental impacts, how crypto advocates are missing the big picture, Lido and its role, and why the system is still set up for the rich to just keep get richer. Check out Protos and their Ethereum Merge coverage: https://protos.com/the-evolution-of-ethereum-2-0-your-questions-answered/ https://protos.com/heres-how-insiders-are-getting-rich-off-the-ethereum-merge Listen to Crypto Critics Corner: https://cryptocriticscorner.com Visit http://www.scameconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Journalist Jacob Silverman joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange...who is Guangying Chen? Silverman breaks down Binance's huge role in the crypto space and its founder Changpeng Zhao aka "CZ," the history of the company's opaqueness on many issues surrounding the business, the leaked "Tai Chi" document, the relevance of whether Binance is a "Chinese company," and the mystery surrounding Guangying Chen, a supposed low-level staffer who has long been listed on official documents and company paperwork as Binance's founder. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Jacob Silverman's tweet asking Binance about Guanying Chen: https://twitter.com/SilvermanJacob/status/1562603139001266178 Binance's statement on Guangying Chen after Jacob Silverman's tweet: https://www.binance.com/en/blog/from-cz/who-is-guangying-chen-and-is-binance-a-chinese-company-2386330931319516973 Forbes piece on the Tai Chi document: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/10/29/leaked-tai-chi-document-reveals-binances-elaborate-scheme-to-evade-bitcoin-regulators/?sh=746e9c662a92 Scam Binance website's blog on Guangying Chen: https://scambinance.com/investigations/131-who-owns-binance-casino-guangying-chen-heina-chen-or-changpeng-zhao.html

Web3 Is Going Just Great creator Molly White returns to Scam Economy to break down crypto winter aka crypto's summer from hell with host Matt Binder. Matt and Molly discuss some of the crypto and Web3 failures, controversies, and scandals from July & August like Tornado Cash winding up sanctions, Michael Saylor being sued by the DC AG for tax fraud, Martin Shkreli's odd pharma Web3 project hack, Binance's claim it doesn't own a troubled Indian crypto exchange after claiming it acquired the company, and much more! Check out Molly's Web3 is Going Just Great: https://web3isgoinggreat.com/ Links to Molly's newsletter, Patreon, & more: https://www.mollywhite.net/linktree Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Another BONUS teaser of the Scam Economy Livestream Call-In Post Show! Jon from Australia calls BACK into the Scam Economy Livestream Post Show in early August to talk to host Matt Binder about crypto in the video game space, TikTok creator NFTs, and the Australian based Web3 company, Immutable, which is involved in Gamestop's NFT marketplace.

Coinbase is America's #1 crypto exchange. Coinbase has also had a very, very bad couple of weeks. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the Coinbase insider trading case, how a former Coinbase product manager was able to slip insider knowledge to his brother and a friend, how the scheme fell apart, just how much insider trading is going on over at Coinbase?, the SEC investigation that found Coinbase was listing unregistered securities, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's anti-politics at Coinbase stance...until Coinbase of course needs to start lobbying politicians for pro-crypto legislation, what's coming down the pike for Coinbase next?, and much more! Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Check out Ed's newsletter: http://ez.substack.com Coinbase Insider Trading Case/SEC investigation: https://mashable.com/article/crypto-insider-trading-case-doj-coinbase Coinbase Insider Trading Study: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-17/coinbase-insider-trading-may-be-wider-than-us-case-study-says Coinbase: No Politics: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/10/01/coinbase-wont-allow-discussions-of-politics-and-social-causes-at-work-if-employees-dont-like-it-theyre-free-to-leave/?sh=5b4b208f7459 Coinbase Lobbying: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2022/07/28/new-bill-could-allow-americans-to-buy-coffee-with-crypto-tax-exempt/?sh=68bad27a2c60 https://cryptopotato.com/coinbase-establishes-think-tank-for-increasing-lobbying-efforts-with-regulators/

A BONUS teaser of the Scam Economy Livestream Call-In Post Show! Listener of the show, Jon from Australia, called into the Scam Economy Livestream Post Show back in June to talk to host Matt Binder, right after an episode on Celsius and the crypto crash, to discuss a listener who had called into the post show back in February who talked about staking his crypto in Celsius. First, listen to the call between Matt and Jon, then listen to the call from back in February. It's a good reminder that those who were always skeptical about crypto...had good reason to be. Visit: http://ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Adi Robertson, senior reporter at The Verge, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to bring us on the epic journey that is Spice DAO, the decentralized autonomous organization that raised around $12 million in cryptocurrency in order to bid on a rare copy of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s "legendary never-made adaptation" of the classic sci-fi novel, Dune (also known as the Dune Bible). We discuss the $3 million winning bid and how it was well over expected sale price, the infamous confusion over copyright between members of the DAO, all the controversies surrounding votes on animated film production and a certain problematic member of the leadership team, and the most recent news where the creator of this whole project, crypto millionaire Soban "Soby" Saqib has decided to dissolve the DAO and...maybe just sell the book. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Read Adi's reporting in The Verge on Spice DAO: 1) https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/17/22887948/jodorowsky-dune-bible-spice-dao-derivative-script 2) https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/28/22950868/spice-dao-crypto-jodorowsky-dune-bible-collective-writing-contest 3) https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/27/23141188/dune-crypto-collective-spice-dao-nft-tv-series-charlotte-fang-remilia-controversy 4) https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280490/spice-dao-jodorowsky-dune-bible-crypto-sale-planned-liquidation Check out the BuzzFeed article mentioned in this episode: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amansethi/spicedao-dunedao-soby Visit http://www.scameconomy.com

Angel investor Liron Shapira joins Scam Economy host Matt Binder to discuss his viral Twitter thread about the decentralized wireless network Helium, often viewed as the gold standard of Web3 uses cases. We discuss what Helium is and how does it work, how budding entrepreneurs buy expensive hotspots in hopes of earning Helium's cryptocurrency token, who is actually using Helium's wireless network, and much more. Plus: BONUS! As a result of Matt's research into this episode, there is an added commentary about how Helium boasted for years about one of its largest clients being the global scooter rideshare company Lime. Matt discovered...that's not true. Check out Matt' scoop in Mashable on Helium and Lime: https://mashable.com/article/helium-lime-web3-crypto Read Liron's viral Twitter thread on Helium here: https://twitter.com/liron/status/1551738599254773765 The profile of Helium in The Generalist: https://www.readthegeneralist.com/briefing/helium Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Quinn Myers, author of the upcoming book Remember the Internet Vol. 3: Google Glass, joins Scam Economy to discuss his piece for MEL Magazine about the workers who decided to take their paychecks in crypto. Quinn and host Matt Binder discuss the different types of people who took part in this program, how Coinbase made it extremely easy for people to convert their hard-earned pay from this jobs into cryptocurrency automatically, just how much these people have lost since the crypto crash, the professional athletes who promoted the idea of taking a paycheck or getting paid directly in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other tokens, and more! We also touch on the breaking news about the DOJ charging three individuals in a Coinbase insider trading scheme and briefly discuss venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who was a major Google Glass proponent and is now all aboard the Web3 train. Read Quinn's piece here: https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/crypto-direct-deposit Check out Scam Economy: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Just like crypto, Elon Musk is all hype. So, they're a match made in heaven. Scam Economy host Matt Binder takes a look at Elon Musk's history of promoting cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and, his favorite, Dogecoin, whether or not he's telling the truth when he claimed he "never told people to invest in cryptocurrency," how Elon's love for crypto helped create the current crypto bot problem...and how Elon's tweets about the crypto bot problem will likely come back to bite him when fighting Twitter's lawsuit against the Tesla CEO for backing out of his agreement to buy out the company. Visit http://ScamEconomy.com Support the Show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Yet another crypto lender, Voyager Digital, has frozen its customers' funds, pausing withdrawals, and just filed for bankruptcy. But this time, it's even more looney than usual. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on the show to discuss how Voyager claimed it was an FDIC insured bank an...SURPRISE! Voyager was not a bank and it was not FDIC insured, how the company gave out huge loans to relatively few entities, the people who lost money, Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks having a partnership deal with Voyager and promoting its crypto services, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried constantly coming into the picture to "save the day" (for the crypto company at least), and much, much more! Read Ed's piece: https://ez.substack.com/p/when-vibes-arent-enough Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Logically.ai UK editor Ernie Piper and Senior OSINT Analyst Nick Backovic join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the tech-based anti-misinformation firm's report on the QAnon influencers scamming their followers with crypto pump-and-dump schemes. We discuss the QAnon conspiracy theory and how its conspiratorial right wing beliefs fit perfectly into the cryptocurrency scams, the Stellar network which makes minting of these tokens extremely easy, who are WhipLash347 and PatriotQakes (aka Emily Tang): the influencers involved in promoting these schemes to their followers, the real financial losses as well as the story of one individual who took their life after losing their money and business, and much more. Read the Logically.ai report: https://www.logically.ai/articles/qanon-crypto-lose-followers-2-million Check out ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Mike Burgersburg of Dirty Bubble Media joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to breakdown his reporting on the crypto lender Celsius, how they contributed to the crypto crash, why they've frozen all of their customers accounts, its founder Alex Mashinsky and his interesting past, is Celsius a ponzi?, what is CEL token, how his @MikeBurgersburg account was hacked just as he was reporting on Celsius and another troubled cryptocurrency lender called Voyager, and much more!Check out Mike's new Twitter account: @dirtybubblemed and his reporting on Substack: https://dirtybubblemedia.substack.com. Visit: ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder.

Crypto critics David Gerard & Amy Castor join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to talk about the "Jenga stack of interconnected time bombs" that is this week's cryptocurrency crash. David and Amy breakdown how the entire crypto space is like a Jenga tower and all it takes is for one rug pull to knock down the stack, how Terra/Luna set the stage for the plunge, what Celsius is and why it was the next piece to take down what was left, what the role crypto exchanges like Coinbase play, why crypto hedge funds like Three Arrows Capital are now floundering, and how Tether, Bitcoin miners, and even Mt. Gox will continue to play a role in crypto's nosedive. Read David and Amy's piece, The Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto Crashing: https://amycastor.com/2022/06/14/the-latecomers-guide-to-crypto-crashing-a-quick-map-of-where-we-are-and-whats-ahead/ - Visit: ScamEconomy.com - Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Leo Schwartz, reporter at Rest of World, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss his recent piece interviewing people from around the world who had invested in the stablecoin Terra and lost everything they had in the crash. We also discuss the predatory nature of crypto and DeFi, why people in countries like Argentina, Iran, and Nigeria invest in crypto, how the industry preys on the most economically vulnerable, and more! Check out Leo's pieces that we discuss on the show: 1) https://restofworld.org/2022/argentina-nigeria-terra-crash/ 2) https://restofworld.org/2022/crash-crypto-hodling-bitfinex-ardoino/ 3) https://restofworld.org/2021/insiders-and-experts-are-driving-a-massive-spike-in-crypto-transactions-new-data-shows/ Visit: ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Michael Edison Hayden of the Southern Poverty Law Center joined Matt Binder for a LIVE episode of Scam Economy as part of the Digital Void Festival: Brooklyn on May 26 at Littlefield's. Matt takes a look at the two biggest crypto communities: the "artists"/hucksters of Ethereum (Gary Vee, Jimmy Fallon) and the cryptonazis of Bitcoin, how the real split in cryptocurrency is the 99.99% vs. the 0.01%, and Michael Hayden breaks down his recent reporting on the millions of dollars in crypto being sent to Alex Jones and how white supremacists have become rich with crypto cash. Check out Michael on Alex Jones and his Bitcoin donations: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/05/26/alex-jones-bitcoin-8-million-infowars. Michael on white supremacists and crypto: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/12/09/how-cryptocurrency-revolutionized-white-supremacist-movement. Visit http://www.ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Longtime Wikipedia editor and Web3 is Going Great creator Molly White joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss why Wikipedia stopped taking cryptocurrency donations, how the Wiki community came together to make it happen, what happened when crypto advocates tried to stop the decision, the history of Wiki and cryptocurrency, and much more! Check out Web3 Is Going Great @ https://web3isgoinggreat.com. Visit ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

EMERGENCY POD! The crypto market is in a free fall. What is happening?! Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics' Corner joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down what stablecoin Terra (UST) is, why it lost its peg and what that means, how its sister coin Luna factors in to all this, and how this all led to one of the biggest crashes across the entire cryptocurrency market – one that has Bitcoin at its lowest value in nearly a year and a half. Bennett and Matt also discuss the coins' parent company, Terraform and its eclectic founder Do Kwon, what an "algorithmic stablecoin" is, and how the whole thing is a ponzi. If that wasn't enough, the two also take a look at some of the conspiracies such as Blackrock and Citadel "attacking" Terra and how a Major League Baseball team was sharing Terra marketing videos as the whole thing came tumbling down. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Creator of Web3 is Going Great, developer Molly White joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the insanely high Ethereum gas fees from over the weekend where people were being charged thousands in fees for transactions as low as $5, how this was caused by Bored Ape Yacht Club owners Yuga Labs, and shows everything wrong with the Ethereum network (and crypto more broadly.) Also, after the SCOTUS leak showing Roe v. Wade may very well be overturned and abortions could become illegal in certain U.S. states, some crypto users had a brilliant idea: the blockchain can solve this. Molly and Matt discuss why this is in fact not a good idea at all. Check out Molly's website: https://web3isgoinggreat.com. Visit: ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Salvadorian developer Mario Gomez joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss his arrest over his activism against El Salvador's Bitcoin laws, why El Salvador is going all in on Bitcoin and making it an official currency, how it all started with an American project in the the Central American country called Bitcoin Beach, what shady dealings El Salvador's authoritarian president Nayib Bukele could possibly have with the crypto industry, what are Volcano Bonds and the Chivo wallet, how the Bitcoin laws are negatively affecting the people of El Salvador, and more! Follow Mario and his updates on El Salvador and Bitcoin on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mxgxw_gamma. Visit ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Looking for love? Have you been targeted by a crypto scam on a dating app? Scam Economy listeners recently called into the live post-show to share their experiences with host Matt Binder. There's plenty of twists, turns, and swerves! Here are some of those stories. Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Ryan Broderick of the Garbage Day newsletter joins Scam Economy to take host Matt Binder on a journey to the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami. Ryan breaks down what he saw at the 4-day Bitcoin extravaganza, which celebrities and special guests were there, the dystopian vision of the future that the Bitcoin maximalists are pushing, what the "average" Bitcoin advocate got out of the event, the difference between crypto "culture" and the Bitcoin world, what his cryptocurrency investing dad thought of the event, and more! Check out Ryan's newsletter: https://www.garbageday.email/ . Visit ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Climate and environmentalist journalist Leanna First-Arai joins Scam Economy to discuss the news that Exxon was going to help Bitcoin mining companies "go green" by selling them gas leaks. Leanna breaks down what gas flaring is, what the thought process and claims from Exxon and the Bitcoin community here is, how "good" is this, the waste that goes into Bitcoin mining, can renewables help?, and more! Visit ScamEconomy.com! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

It's a BONUS teaser clip from the Scam Economy Hotline LIVE Post Show #9! In this clip, listener John from Australia calls in to tell us even more about play-to-earn NFT crypto game, Axie Infinity, and how dystopian it is for the players in developing nations who play it for a living. Check out ScamEconomy.com for more! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Play To Earn crypto games are hyped as one of the defining products of web3, according to cryptocurrency and blockchain advocates. But, they are extremely exploitative. Now, after a big hack wreaks havoc over the biggest game in the space, Axie Infinity, resulting in a $625 million loss...what does this say about the dystopian future that crypto wants? Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss. Visit ScamEconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

NFT and cryptocurrency reporter Amy Castor joins Scam Economy for a deep dive into Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, and a new cryptocurrency called ApeCoin, which is totally not connected to Yuga Labs of course (for legal reason). Visit: ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Scam Economy host Matt Binder breaks down how grifting cryptocurrency founders, entrepreneurs, investors, and hustlers are trying to pump their money making schemes for a profit and generate good PR for the crypto industry under the guise of charity for Ukraine. Check out: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

A freebie teaser clip from the Scam Economy Post Show Episode #6 livestream on 3/10/22: Matt gives some quick thoughts on Web3 "Pay to Earn" games after his talk with Molly White. Plus a breakdown of a Twisted Sister "parody" song about Web3 by Randi Zuckerberg – yes, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's sister. Join the Patreon to access audio of the full show, complete with listener phone calls and more: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Molly White, software engineer, Wikipedia editor, and the creator of the website "Web3 is going just great," joins host Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss...well...Web3! Molly breaks down what Web3 is, all the scams and grifts her website covers daily, what Web3 advocates want, how Wikipedia perfectly proves Web3 wrong, the commonalities found between conspiracy theorists like QAnon believers and Web3 supporters, and much more! Check out Molly's awesome website Web3 is going great: https://web3isgoinggreat.com . Visit: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Writer Wilfred Chan joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss his experience using an NFT vending machine, how he got scammed by it, online real estate in the metaverse, and how the gig economy gave us an early look into our scam economy tech dystopia. Find out where you can subscribe to the Scam Economy: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Scam Economy host Matt Binder breaks down the "Crypto Bowl," the slew of cryptocurrency ads that ran during the Super Bowl. Why was there so many? Who were they targeting? Is this reminiscent of the 2000 dot com bubble? What's going on here? Find out where you can subscribe to the Scam Economy: http://www.scameconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

It's not everyday that an eccentric NYC couple in their 30s get caught stealing billions of dollars. Jack Morse, senior tech reporter at Mashable, joins Matt Binder on the latest episode of Scam Economy to discuss the money-laundering couple who are accused by the DOJ of stealing $3.6 billion in Bitcoin from the Bitfinex exchange in 2016. The news about Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan came out this week and every detail -- from their tech startup backgrounds to her TikTok rapper career -- is more amazing than the next. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

A freebie teaser clip from the Scam Economy post show for episode #2 featuring a live call-in from a crypto fan. (Livestreamed immediately following the YouTube premiere of Scam Economy episode #2 on 2/3/22). Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Sohale Mortazavi joins Scam Economy to talk about his piece for Jacobin that went viral: Cryptocurrency Is a Giant Ponzi Scheme. Host Matt Binder and Mortazavi discuss what crypto has in common with Ponzi schemes, the market manipulation of Bitcoin courtesy of the stablecoin Tether, what should be done about crypto, the reaction to his piece which spread on Reddit and Twitter, and the "progressive" or "socialist" case for crypto. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

It's the Scam Economy post show for episode #1 featuring live call-ins from an artist defending the NFT scene, a former cryptocurrency investor, a fellow crypto skeptics, and more. (Livestreamed immediately following the YouTube premiere of Scam Economy episode #1 on 1/27/22). Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder

Welcome to the Scam Economy: Episode #1 with our first guest cryptocurrency journalist and author, David Gerard. Cryptocurrency? Bitcoin? Ethereum? NFTs? Proof of work? Proof of stake? What does this all mean? David joins host Matt Binder to breakdown everything you need to know about (most of) the basics in the world of cryptocurrency. For more, check out: scameconomy.com

Bitcoin, the Blockchain, Web3, NFTs...welcome to the Scam Economy. Host Matt Binder (The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder, DOOMED) dives into the world of cryptocurrency in order to reveal the frauds, grifts, and scams. And there's plenty because, really, the whole thing is a scam. It's the Scam Economy.