E79: Jake Adelstein: The Devil Takes Bitcoin — Mt. Gox, Silk Road & Japan's [In]justice System

Beyond the Code

In this episode, investigative journalist Jake Adelstein (Tokyo Vice) joins Yitzy to discuss his newly published book, The Devil Takes Bitcoin, a front-row narrative of the Mt. Gox collapse, where ~850k bitcoin went missing, and the cast of characters that shaped crypto’s formative years—from exchange founder Mark Karpelès to law-enforcement sleuths and the corrupt agents who derailed the Silk Road case.

We trace Jake’s path from police beat reporting in Japan to human-trafficking investigations, dig into what Jake refers to as Japan's “hostage justice” system, and debate regulation vs. libertarian ideals in crypto.

Enjoy!

Links:

Substack: Tokyo Paladin (Jake’s essays and investigations): https://tokyopaladin.substack.com/

Wikipedia overview (bio, books, and TV adaptation of Tokyo Vice): ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Adelstein

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Takes-Bitcoin-Cryptocurrency-Connection/dp/1964992176

X (Twitter): https://x.com/jakeadelstein

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeadelstein/