Wash Trading

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We often have these narratives about how crypto is decentralized, and it's about empowering people who don't have access to traditional financial services. But really, when we look at it, we can see that there's a bunch of powerful, influential, wealthy people at the centre of it. wash trading is for fake trading in order to simulate volume, which is kind of good for everyone and helps drive up price. Or it's also a way for, say, if i have a n f tea, i can just sell it between accounts that i control and drive up the price with each sale. And on a lot of platforms, wash trading is believed to be 80 to 90 % of activity.

As the podcast celebrates episode 100, Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the huge drop in crypto prices, the coming threat (to crypto) of interest rate hikes and regulation, the human impact of crypto schemes, and where things may be going next.

Jacob Silverman is a staff writer at The New Republic and writes about crypto with the actor Ben McKenzie. Follow Jacob on Twitter at @SilvermanJacob.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Jacob and Ben McKenzie wrote about Tether. Zeke Faux also wrote an essential article on the stablecoin, and Jacob recommends Crypto Critics Corner.
Crypto prices have plunged, and that’s hurt regular people.
New York’s Attorney General reached a settlement with Tether last year.
VC firm Andreessen Horowitz is making a big lobbying push in Washington, DC to get favorable crypto regulations.
Matt Damon and Spike Lee are among the celebrities to take crypto money and help pump the industry.
US regulators are looking at crypto regulations, and Biden administration is planning an executive order to move it forward.
China banned crypto mining, Russia proposed a ban on crypto, and many countries have suffered power outages due to crypto mining.
Stephen Diehl wrote explained how crypto is about arbitraging securities regulation.
Diane Jeantet wrote about a massive series of Bitcoin pyramid schemes in Brazil.