Bloomberg Crypto

About a year ago, Nigeria introduced a digital version of its official currency, the naira. The introduction of the so-called e-naira was partly a response to concerns that the rising popularity of crypto in the country was threatening the banking system. There are a few countries experimenting with their own versions of digital money, including the Central African Republic, China, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and various islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Other countries, including the United States, are in the “studying” and “thinking deep thoughts about feasibility” phase of things. So how’s it going for Nigeria and the e-naira? Bloomberg reporter Ruth Olurounbi and Bloomberg Nigeria Bureau Chief Anthony Osae-Brown weigh in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve likely heard of Bitcoin and Ether as digital tokens, but there’s actually tens of thousands of cryptocurrencies you probably haven’t heard of. In fact over 12,000 of those coins are virtually defunct. Not that they’re ‘dead’ per say-  but they’re also not considered ‘alive’ or active. They’re called ‘zombie’ coins: tokens that have stopped trading activity as of late and are simply dormant.  These zombified coins are not a new phenomenon, but the substantial increase in their volume (from the hundreds in 2019 to 12,100 at recent count) has been eye-opening as another symptom of chilly market conditions. Bloomberg reporter Olga Kharif joins Bloomberg senior markets editor Mike Regan to wade through what happens when a market has so many inactive currencies, and what it says about the crypto industry's overall health.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the first audio excerpt from this week's special issue of Businessweek magazine, The Crypto Story. Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine uses the full issue to explain where crypto came from, what it all means, and why it matters.This episode is voiced by Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Mark Leydorf.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenocec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL - In Real Life. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we've got an audio version of their latest episode.  Enjoy! Find the full video experience of the shows here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week in crypto, we are settling in to crypto's new norms: like bitcoin now being range-bound: trading steadily between $19k-$20k. And we are still waiting to see if the so-called ‘Uptober’ will shake out.  But, hey, trading is still happening…and the SEC’s uptick in regulation efforts are being viewed as a boon to investors. According to the latest MLIV Pulse survey, would-be Crypto investors are cautiously optimistic about having more crypto guardrails on the way. Also, Apple updated its language regarding crypto transactions on every app in its store.  And Finally, we have a big story. Actually one story to rule them all. And that’s The Crypto Story by Bloomberg Columnist Matt Levine. To break down the latest, crypto senior editor Philip Lagerkranser is joined by Bloomberg crypto senior editor Anna Irrera and Bloomberg reporter Muyao Shen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s say you’re a crypto startup trying to raise money from venture capitalists. All things being equal, you’d have done decently well in 2020, ridiculously well in 2021, and not bad at all in the first half of 2022. But right now? Maybe not so much. Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller joins this episode to discuss  what’s happening with crypto VCs and the startups who need them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethereum’s Merge has created a new class of blockchain participants, called ‘builders.' It's a significant shift in the current decentralized ecosystem. There are a relatively small number of these builders, but they have a significant amount of power on the blockchain. What exactly do these builders do? Why are critics so concerned? Joining this episode to discuss are Bloomberg Crypto reporters Olga Kharif and David Pan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of you may already know the work and writing of Bloomberg Opinion columnist Matt Levine. For everyone else — well you’re in for a treat.  Matt’s just published many thousands of words on the subject of crypto for a special issue of Bloomberg Businessweek. It lives HERE. He joins this episode to talk about what motivated him to do such an intensive dive into the blockchain, why he thinks of crypto as a “living laboratory” for innovation, and what prompted him to start at the very beginning, with one big question: what is crypto for?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September is traditionally a bad month for crypto - a down month for the past five years. But for Bitcoin proponents, October might hold something a bit more hopeful. The month of pumpkins and Halloween has typically been one of the best months for Bitcoin price gains. Advocates are crossing their fingers that the same thing will happen this year, especially as Bitcoin’s total market share has risen to 48%, its highest since 2017.  To better understand what lies ahead for BTC, Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller joins Bloomberg’s Vildana Hajric.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our colleagues on QuickTake, Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld, host a weekly video series called QuickTake IRL - In Real Life. Just for listeners of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, we've got an audio version of their latest episode. For the full experience, find them on the web here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.