Episode 23: The Internet’s Crypto-Grift

Stupid Anthropology

The group wraps up our journey through the internet with a long, long discussion about the gold standard, grifts, crypto, and AI. Shark and Rachel align themselves with the Machines, while Aaron yells at clouds.

Music by Daniel Griggs

Reading list:

• On Mt. Gox: https://www.wired.com/2014/03/bitcoin-exchange/
• “Could gold be the next Libor scandal?”
• What Drives Gold Prices?, Federal Reserve
• The Bank War, history.com
• Is Gold an Inflation Hedge?, Forbes
• Wizard of Oz and the Gold Standard, Marianne Hayes
• Ron Paul and Steve Forbes Jack Each Other Off About Gold
• A year on, El Salvador's bitcoin experiment is stumbling
• The New York Couple Behind El Salvador’s Bitcoin Experiment
• The Electricity Costs of Bitcoin, CNET
• Proof of Stake, Proof of Work
• No, Bitcoin isn't pumping because it's a "safe haven" from banks
• Dunning-Kruger Effect
• Dunning-Kruger Isn't Real, Psychology Today
• A Crypto Game Promised to Lift Filipinos Out of Poverty. Here's What Happened Instead, Time
• Exclusive: Large bitcoin payments to right-wing activists a month before Capitol riot linked to foreign account, Yahoo News
• The Enshittification of TikTok