Author: Paris Marx, Molly White

Paris Marx is joined by Molly White to discuss why the crypto industry is spending millions on this election cycle and Coinbase’s potential breach of election finance law.

Molly White writes the Citation Needed newsletter. She is the creator of Web3 Is Going Just Great and Follow the Crypto.

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. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Molly wrote about the Coinbase campaign finance violation and Donald Trump’s Bitcoin conference speech in her newsletter.
• Paris wrote about some of the concerns about Kamala Harris’ stance on tech.
• Fairshake spent $10 million on attacks ads against Katie Porter in California. It spent millions more targeting Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.
• The crypto industry hates SEC head Gary Gensler, who is leading the regulatory effort against cryptocurrency.

Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Molly White to discuss Sam Bankman-Fried having his bail revoked and Sam Altman’s plan to scan all of our irises to get us into crypto and supposedly protect us from AI.
 
Molly White is the creator of Web3 Is Going Just Great and a fellow at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab. You can follow Molly on Twitter at @molly0xFFF.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Molly wrote about Sam Bankman-Fried going to prison and what’s going on with Worldcoin in her newsletter.
• Paris also dug into Worldcoin in the Disconnect newsletter.
• The New York Times published a story about Caroline Ellison based on details provided by Sam Bankman-Fried.
• MIT Tech Review and Buzzfeed News did in-depth investigations of Worldcoin and its exploitation of people in the Global South.
• Worldcoin has been shut down in Kenya and is under regulatory scrutiny in the European Union.

Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Molly White to discuss the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase and what they might mean for the future of the crypto industry.
 
Molly White is the creator of Web3 Is Going Just Great and a fellow at Harvard Library Innovation Lab. Follow Molly on Twitter at @molly0xFFF.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Tech Won’t Save Us was in the New York Times!
• Molly wrote about the Binance and Coinbase cases for Rolling Stone. She also wrote about both cases in her newsletter.
• Amy Castor and David Gerard broke down the Coinbase lawsuit.
• Matt Levine has also written about the lawsuits and what it means for crypto being seen as a security.
• In 2020, Forbes reported on the Tai Chi documents about Binance’s efforts to evade regulators.
• Binance is also being sued by the CFTC and there are reports that criminal charges could also be coming from the Department of Justice.
• Prometheum Capital registered to deal in crypto securities.
• Binance recently withdrew from Canada.
• Robinhood ended support for tokens the SEC listed as securities.
• Crypto.com is winding down US institutional trading.
• Nigeria’s SEC said Binance’s operations are illegal.
• Elon Musk is being sued over manipulation of the price of Dogecoin.

Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Molly White to discuss the ongoing collapse of the crypto industry, what to make of the implosion of FTX and Alameda Research, and what happens next with Sam Bankman-Fried.

Molly White is the creator of Web3 Is Going Just Great and a fellow at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab. You can follow her on Twitter at @molly0xFFF.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Since recording, Sam Bankman-Fried has been extradited from the Bahamas to the United States, and it’s been revealed that Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder have plead guilty and are cooperating with authorities against Bankman-Fried.
• Molly has been analyzing the collapse of FTX on her newsletter.
• Paris wrote about effective altruism and longtermism for the New Statesman.
• Journalists at Forbes wrote about Caroline Ellison and her history.
• After Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested, effective altruist Kelsey Piper published a series of direct messages she exchanged with her supposed friend.
• The Southern District of New York’s attorney’s office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have all filed charges against Sam Bankman-Fried.
• There are rumors that Caroline Ellison is working with authorities against Sam Bankman-Fried.
• US Justice Department is split on when to charge Binance executives. There are also growing questions about Binance’s books.

Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Molly White to discuss the big Axie Infinity hack, what’s wrong with the New York Times’ Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto, and what Molly’s years as a Wikipedia editor have taught her about the problem with web3’s vision of total commercialization.

Molly White is a software engineer and the creator of web3 is going just great. Follow Molly on Twitter at @molly0xFFF.

🎉 This month is the show’s second birthday. To celebrate, we want to get 100 new supporters at $5/month or above to bring on a producer to help make the show.  Help us hit our goal by joining on Patreon. You can also follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Molly and a bunch of other crypto critics put together an (Edited) Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto.
• You can read Kevin Roose’s original Latecomer’s Guide here.
• Molly wrote about the $625 million Axie Infinity hack and harassment on the blockchain.
• Interest in NFTs and their values have plummeted in recent months.
• Tech Won’t Save Us has a new website. Check it out at techwontsave.us.

Support the show