Episode description

What’s cryptocurrency really? What are NFTs? Is it as revolutionary as its advocates claim or is it a libertarian fake money Ponzi scheme? Is this digital funny money really the future, and if so why is it tanking? 

To help break it all down, Rania Khalek was joined by Tom Redshaw, a sociologist and lecturer in digital society at the University of Salford.

Tom’s articles on cryptocurrency mentioned in the episode:

https://mronline.org/2021/12/28/cryptocurrencies-a-view-from-the-left/ 

https://mronline.org/2020/12/07/should-the-left-care-about-blockchain-technology/

TIME CODES:

0:00 Intro

1:58 What is cryptocurrency?

7:11 Can crypto fit into a leftist system? 

13:43 Is crypto a ponzi scheme?

17:17 Environmental dangers of cryptocurrency

21:07 What are NFTs?

25:08 Capitalism’s dying breaths? 

31:20 Libertarian influences on crypto 

36:12 Paying celebrities to sell Bitcoin 

43:57 El Salvador’s crypto gamble 

50:07 Utopian technology won’t save us

54:14 Crypto integration into global financial flows

59:43 What is tether? 

1:01:39 Who determines bitcoin’s value?