This is only the second time that Bloomberg Businessweek has been dominated by a single article in 93 years.
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Bloomberg Businessweek has published a 40,000-word article about crypto — filling the entire magazine.
Matt Levine's feature documents the highs and lows that digital assets have seen since 2009.
This is only the second time that Bloomberg Businessweek has been dominated by a single article in 93 years. (In case you're curious, the first time was for a piece called What Is Code?"
And Bloomberg helpfully points out that this is the equivalent to 8.8 U.S. constitutions — as well as being 11.6 times longer than Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin white paper.
The epic long read begins with editor Joel Weber acknowledging how divisive the space has become:
"If you're a disciple, this new dimension is the future. If you're a skeptic, this upside-down world is just a modern Ponzi scheme that’s going to end badly — and the recent “crypto winter” is evidence of its long-overdue ending."
But he argues that cryptocurrencies aren't going anywhere — and because of this, it's crucial to understand them.
Levine puts skin on the bones by saying that many early adopters "got very rich very fast and were very annoying about it."
"They bought Lamborghinis and islands. They were pleased with themselves … They said things like 'Have fun staying poor' and 'NGMI' ('not gonna make it') to people who didn’t own crypto. They were right and rich and wanted you to know it."
He then notes that critics believe cryptocurrencies are only useful for crime — and skeptics found the recent bear market, which saw BTC crash back down below $20,000, "very satisfying."
"It's a good time to be talking about crypto. There’s a pause; there's some repose. Whatever is left in crypto is not just speculation and get-rich-quick schemes. We can think about what crypto means — divorced, a little bit, from the lines going up."
While he went on to stress that he is not a "true believer" in crypto, nor an investor, Levine said that his article isn't arguing "crypto is dumb and worthless and will now vanish without a trace" — as the reality is much more nuanced than that.
"My goal here is not to convince you that crypto is building the future and that if you don't get on board you'll stay poor. My goal is to convince you that crypto is interesting, that it has found some new things to say about some old problems, and that even when those things are wrong, they’re wrong in illuminating ways."
