Scam Economy

Latest Episodes:

49: Orange is the New Blockchain: Crypto Crime ft. Kwon, Sun, SBF, & CZ (w/ Jacob Silverman) Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

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

48: Bitcoin Miners Are Making Bank...But Not From Mining Crypto (w/ Jackie Sawicky) Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

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/

47: The Fall of Silicon Valley Bank & the Crybaby Tech VCs (w/ Edward Ongweso Jr.) Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

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

46: No Banking. No Staking. No Crypto Services? (w/ Bennett Tomlin) Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

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

45: Crypto Conspicuously Absent From This Year's Super Bowl. Wonder What Happened? (w/ Brandon Sutton) Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

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

44: Genesis, Gemini, and the Winklevi (w/ Ed Zitron) Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

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

CES 2023: The Good, The Bad, The Dystopian Tech (w/ Eoin Higgins) (Scam Economy BONUS episode) Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

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

43: The Weirdest Frauds, Grifts, & Rug Pulls of Crypto's Hellish 2022 (w/ Molly White) Jan 18, 2023

Show notes

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

42: From Sam Bankman-Fried to Sam Bankman-Jailed: The FTX Saga Continues (w/ Molly White) Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

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

41: So Many Hacks! The Myth of Blockchain Security (w/ Domingo Flores) Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

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

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