Crypto

There is a problem with the way we talk about cryptocurrency. Every time there is a major fraud, hack, Ponzi scheme or spectacular collapse involving crypto, the headlines quickly become another indictment of cryptocurrency itself: crypto is a scam; bitcoin is for criminals; digital currencies are dangerous … the whole thing should be shut down….

Three months ago, I wrote a short piece about Revolut but, since then, there has been an extraordinary amount of Revolut news: a banking licence in France; full banking status in Britain; conditional approval for a US national bank; a banking licence in Australia; banking operations in Mexico; expansion into Finland; licences in the UAE;…

Over the past year, I’ve been doing something slightly different. I’ve been writing fiction. Not just fiction, but Pulp Finction. The idea behind Pulp Finction is simple: Fun. Fact. Finance. Fiction. Keep track of the full series here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HG6DP7C4 and here: https://pulpfinction.com/ I’ve spent most of my life writing and talking about banking, money, technology…

The European Central Bank is moving the digital euro from policy discussion towards implementation. Its latest Digital Euro Scheme Rulebook goes deep into how the system would work, covering everything from customer journeys and APIs to merchant acceptance, fraud, disputes, settlement, security and certification. What is emerging looks less like another CBDC experiment and more…

There was a time when Donald Trump was not particularly keen on cryptocurrencies. In 2019, he declared that he was “not a fan” of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, arguing that they were highly volatile, based on thin air and potentially useful for unlawful activity. How things change. Today, President Trump is arguably the most important…

Ten years ago on twitter, I kept getting messages from a guy called Preston Byrne about marmots. Marmots are basically the biggest squirrel in the world. Americans also call them woodchucks, although a woodchuck is a specific type of marmot, meaning all woodchucks are marmots, but not all marmots are woodchucks. They are most populous…

Crypto has turbo-charged the Ponzi scheme There is something wonderfully predictable about a Ponzi scheme. It invariably begins with an extraordinary opportunity, usually involving a market, technology or investment strategy that is sufficiently complicated to discourage too many questions. It offers returns that make conventional investing look painfully dull, attracts a charismatic promoter who explains…

Something quite important is happening in cryptocurrency, and it is easy to miss if you spend too much time watching the price of bitcoin. For most of crypto’s relatively short history, the discussion has been dominated by price. Bitcoin goes up. Bitcoin crashes. Ethereum rallies. Ethereum collapses. Somebody launches another token. Somebody loses a fortune….

This week’s main blog discussions include … Crypto wanted to get rid of banks. Now they are banks. When Bitcoin launched in 2008, the whole idea was to get rid of banks and intermediaries. In 2026, they’ve learned the lesson I learnt years ago. That’s how the world works. You need intermediaries. The whole idea…

When Bitcoin launched in 2008, the whole idea was to get rid of banks and intermediaries. In 2026, they’ve learned the lesson I learnt years ago. That’s how the world works. You need intermediaries. The whole idea of bitcoin is that money can move from person to person, ownership could be established cryptographically and the…