43: The Weirdest Frauds, Grifts, & Rug Pulls of Crypto's Hellish 2022 (w/ Molly White)

6: Web3 Sucks (w/ Molly White): Molly White, software engineer, Wikipedia editor, and the creator of the website "Web3 is going just great," joins host Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss...well...Web3! Molly breaks down what Web3 is, all the scams and grifts her website covers daily, what Web3 advocates want, how Wikipedia perfectly proves Web3 wrong, the commonalities found between conspiracy theorists like QAnon believers and Web3 supporters, and much more! Check out Molly's awesome website Web3 is going great: https://web3isgoinggreat.com . Visit: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

64 min listen

7: The Crypto Grift Descends on Ukraine: Scam Economy host Matt Binder breaks down how grifting cryptocurrency founders, entrepreneurs, investors, and hustlers are trying to pump their money making schemes for a profit and generate good PR for the crypto industry under the guise of charity for Ukraine. Check out: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

51 min listen

Scam Economy Post Show: Episode #2 (Teaser Clip!): A freebie teaser clip from the Scam Economy post show for episode #2 featuring a live call-in from a crypto fan. (Livestreamed immediately following the YouTube premiere of Scam Economy episode #2 on 2/3/22). Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

26 min listen

Scam Economy Post Show: Episode #1: It's the Scam Economy post show for episode #1 featuring live call-ins from an artist defending the NFT scene, a former cryptocurrency investor, a fellow crypto skeptics, and more. (Livestreamed immediately following the YouTube premiere of Scam Economy episode #1 on 1/27/22). Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

116 min listen

0: Welcome to the Scam Economy: Bitcoin, the Blockchain, Web3, NFTs...welcome to the Scam Economy. Host Matt Binder (The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder, DOOMED) dives into the world of cryptocurrency in order to reveal the frauds, grifts, and scams. And there's plenty because, really, the whole thing is a scam. It's the Scam Economy. by Scam Economy

4 min listen

1: Scam Economy 101: The ABCs of Crypto (w/ David Gerard): Welcome to the Scam Economy: Episode #1 with our first guest cryptocurrency journalist and author, David Gerard. Cryptocurrency? Bitcoin? Ethereum? NFTs? Proof of work? Proof of stake? What does this all mean? David joins host Matt Binder to breakdown everything you need to know about (most of) the basics in the world of cryptocurrency. For more, check out: scameconomy.com by Scam Economy

70 min listen

4: Crypto Super Bowl Ads Weren't Like the Dot Com Bubble (It's Much Worse.): Scam Economy host Matt Binder breaks down the "Crypto Bowl," the slew of cryptocurrency ads that ran during the Super Bowl. Why was there so many? Who were they targeting? Is this reminiscent of the 2000 dot com bubble? What's going on here? Find out where you can subscribe to the Scam Economy: http://www.scameconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

36 min listen

12: A/S/L/Crypto?: The Dating App Crypto Scam Scourge: Looking for love? Have you been targeted by a crypto scam on a dating app? Scam Economy listeners recently called into the live post-show to share their experiences with host Matt Binder. There's plenty of twists, turns, and swerves! Here are some of those stories. Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

67 min listen

The Depravity of Randi Zuckerberg's Web3 Song (Scam Economy Post Show Teaser Clip): A freebie teaser clip from the Scam Economy Post Show Episode #6 livestream on 3/10/22: Matt gives some quick thoughts on Web3 "Pay to Earn" games after his talk with Molly White. Plus a breakdown of a Twisted Sister "parody" song about Web3 by Randi Zuckerberg – yes, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's sister. Join the Patreon to access audio of the full show, complete with listener phone calls and more: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

20 min listen

2: Cryptocurrency is a Ponzi (w/ Sohale Mortazavi): Sohale Mortazavi joins Scam Economy to talk about his piece for Jacobin that went viral: Cryptocurrency Is a Giant Ponzi Scheme. Host Matt Binder and Mortazavi discuss what crypto has in common with Ponzi schemes, the market manipulation of Bitcoin courtesy of the stablecoin Tether, what should be done about crypto, the reaction to his piece which spread on Reddit and Twitter, and the "progressive" or "socialist" case for crypto. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

55 min listen

5: NFTs Get Physical, Real Estate Gets Digital, It's All Despicable (w/ Wilfred Chan): Writer Wilfred Chan joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss his experience using an NFT vending machine, how he got scammed by it, online real estate in the metaverse, and how the gig economy gave us an early look into our scam economy tech dystopia. Find out where you can subscribe to the Scam Economy: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

45 min listen

9: The Play to Earn Pyramid: Axie Infinity & the Dystopia That Crypto Wants (w/ Ed Zitron): Play To Earn crypto games are hyped as one of the defining products of web3, according to cryptocurrency and blockchain advocates. But, they are extremely exploitative. Now, after a big hack wreaks havoc over the biggest game in the space, Axie Infinity, resulting in a $625 million loss...what does this say about the dystopian future that crypto wants? Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss. Visit ScamEconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

93 min listen

3: Razzlekhan & The Great Bitfinex Heist (w/ Jack Morse): It's not everyday that an eccentric NYC couple in their 30s get caught stealing billions of dollars. Jack Morse, senior tech reporter at Mashable, joins Matt Binder on the latest episode of Scam Economy to discuss the money-laundering couple who are accused by the DOJ of stealing $3.6 billion in Bitcoin from the Bitfinex exchange in 2016. The news about Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan came out this week and every detail -- from their tech startup backgrounds to her TikTok rapper career -- is more amazing than the next. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

45 min listen

22: Bon Voyager! Your Crypto Loan Cash is Gone (w/ Ed Zitron): Yet another crypto lender, Voyager Digital, has frozen its customers' funds, pausing withdrawals, and just filed for bankruptcy. But this time, it's even more looney than usual. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on the show to discuss how Voyager claimed it was an FDIC insured bank an...SURPRISE! Voyager was not a bank and it was not FDIC insured, how the company gave out huge loans to relatively few entities, the people who lost money, Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks having a partnership deal with Voyager and promoting its crypto services, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried constantly coming into the picture to "save the day" (for the crypto company at least), and much, much more! Read Ed's piece: https://ez.substack.com/p/when-vibes-arent-enough Visit ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

60 min listen

24: PayWrecked: The People Who Took Their Paychecks in Crypto Regret It Now (w/ Quinn Myers): Quinn Myers, author of the upcoming book Remember the Internet Vol. 3: Google Glass, joins Scam Economy to discuss his piece for MEL Magazine about the workers who decided to take their paychecks in crypto. Quinn and host Matt Binder discuss the different types of people who took part in this program, how Coinbase made it extremely easy for people to convert their hard-earned pay from this jobs into cryptocurrency automatically, just how much these people have lost since the crypto crash, the professional athletes who promoted the idea of taking a paycheck or getting paid directly in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other tokens, and more! We also touch on the breaking news about the DOJ charging three individuals in a Coinbase insider trading scheme and briefly discuss venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who was a major Google Glass proponent and is now all aboard the Web3 train. Read Quinn by Scam Economy

58 min listen

Axie Infinity, Indentured Servitude (Scam Economy Hotline LIVE Post Show Teaser Clip): It's a BONUS teaser clip from the Scam Economy Hotline LIVE Post Show #9! In this clip, listener John from Australia calls in to tell us even more about play-to-earn NFT crypto game, Axie Infinity, and how dystopian it is for the players in developing nations who play it for a living. Check out ScamEconomy.com for more! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

24 min listen

16: How Wikipedia Cancelled Crypto (w/ Molly White): Longtime Wikipedia editor and Web3 is Going Great creator Molly White joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss why Wikipedia stopped taking cryptocurrency donations, how the Wiki community came together to make it happen, what happened when crypto advocates tried to stop the decision, the history of Wiki and cryptocurrency, and much more! Check out Web3 Is Going Great @ https://web3isgoinggreat.com. Visit ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

56 min listen

27: All Your Coinbase Are Belong To Us (w/ Ed Zitron): Coinbase is America's #1 crypto exchange. Coinbase has also had a very, very bad couple of weeks. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the Coinbase insider trading case, how a former Coinbase product manager was able to slip insider knowledge to his brother and a friend, how the scheme fell apart, just how much insider trading is going on over at Coinbase?, the SEC investigation that found Coinbase was listing unregistered securities, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's anti-politics at Coinbase stance...until Coinbase of course needs to start lobbying politicians for pro-crypto legislation, what's coming down the pike for Coinbase next?, and much more! Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Check out Ed's newsletter: http://ez.substack.com Coinbase Insider Trading Case/SEC investigation: https://mashable.com/article/crypto-insider-trading-case-doj-coinbase Coinbase In by Scam Economy

80 min listen

13: Arrested for Protesting Bitcoin (w/ Mario Gomez): Salvadorian developer Mario Gomez joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss his arrest over his activism against El Salvador's Bitcoin laws, why El Salvador is going all in on Bitcoin and making it an official currency, how it all started with an American project in the the Central American country called Bitcoin Beach, what shady dealings El Salvador's authoritarian president Nayib Bukele could possibly have with the crypto industry, what are Volcano Bonds and the Chivo wallet, how the Bitcoin laws are negatively affecting the people of El Salvador, and more! Follow Mario and his updates on El Salvador and Bitcoin on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mxgxw_gamma. Visit ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

72 min listen

8: Monkey Business: Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs, & ApeCoin (w/ Amy Castor): NFT and cryptocurrency reporter Amy Castor joins Scam Economy for a deep dive into Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, and a new cryptocurrency called ApeCoin, which is totally not connected to Yuga Labs of course (for legal reason). Visit: ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

69 min listen

10: Bitcoin Goes Green[washing] (w/ Leanna First-Arai): Climate and environmentalist journalist Leanna First-Arai joins Scam Economy to discuss the news that Exxon was going to help Bitcoin mining companies "go green" by selling them gas leaks. Leanna breaks down what gas flaring is, what the thought process and claims from Exxon and the Bitcoin community here is, how "good" is this, the waste that goes into Bitcoin mining, can renewables help?, and more! Visit ScamEconomy.com! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

51 min listen

21: Coinspiracy: How QAnon Influencers Conned Their Followers with Crypto (w/ Ernie Piper & Nick Backovic of Logically.ai): Logically.ai UK editor Ernie Piper and Senior OSINT Analyst Nick Backovic join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the tech-based anti-misinformation firm's report on the QAnon influencers scamming their followers with crypto pump-and-dump schemes. We discuss the QAnon conspiracy theory and how its conspiratorial right wing beliefs fit perfectly into the cryptocurrency scams, the Stellar network which makes minting of these tokens extremely easy, who are WhipLash347 and PatriotQakes (aka Emily Tang): the influencers involved in promoting these schemes to their followers, the real financial losses as well as the story of one individual who took their life after losing their money and business, and much more. Read the Logically.ai report: https://www.logically.ai/articles/qanon-crypto-lose-followers-2-million Check out ScamEconomy.com Support the show: ht by Scam Economy

59 min listen

20: Damn, the Torpedoes: The Story of Celsius (w/ Mike Burgersburg/Dirty Bubble Media): Mike Burgersburg of Dirty Bubble Media joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to breakdown his reporting on the crypto lender Celsius, how they contributed to the crypto crash, why they've frozen all of their customers accounts, its founder Alex Mashinsky and his interesting past, is Celsius a ponzi?, what is CEL token, how his @MikeBurgersburg account was hacked just as he was reporting on Celsius and another troubled cryptocurrency lender called Voyager, and much more!Check out Mike's new Twitter account: @dirtybubblemed and his reporting on Substack: https://dirtybubblemedia.substack.com. Visit: ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder. by Scam Economy

65 min listen

25: Helium is Touted as the Web3 Gold Standard. Is It All Just a Bunch of Hot Air? (w/ Liron Shapira): Angel investor Liron Shapira joins Scam Economy host Matt Binder to discuss his viral Twitter thread about the decentralized wireless network Helium, often viewed as the gold standard of Web3 uses cases. We discuss what Helium is and how does it work, how budding entrepreneurs buy expensive hotspots in hopes of earning Helium's cryptocurrency token, who is actually using Helium's wireless network, and much more. Plus: BONUS! As a result of Matt's research into this episode, there is an added commentary about how Helium boasted for years about one of its largest clients being the global scooter rideshare company Lime. Matt discovered...that's not true. Check out Matt' scoop in Mashable on Helium and Lime: https://mashable.com/article/helium-lime-web3-crypto Read Liron's viral Twitter thread on Helium here: https://twitter.com/liron/status/1551738599254773765 The profile of Helium in by Scam Economy

68 min listen

26: Dune and Done: The Spice DAO Saga (w/ Adi Robertson): Adi Robertson, senior reporter at The Verge, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to bring us on the epic journey that is Spice DAO, the decentralized autonomous organization that raised around $12 million in cryptocurrency in order to bid on a rare copy of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s "legendary never-made adaptation" of the classic sci-fi novel, Dune (also known as the Dune Bible). We discuss the $3 million winning bid and how it was well over expected sale price, the infamous confusion over copyright between members of the DAO, all the controversies surrounding votes on animated film production and a certain problematic member of the leadership team, and the most recent news where the creator of this whole project, crypto millionaire Soban "Soby" Saqib has decided to dissolve the DAO and...maybe just sell the book. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder Read Adi's reporting in The Verge on Spice DAO: 1) https://www.th by Scam Economy

66 min listen

15: Terra, Luna, & The Crypto Crash: Everything You Need to Know (w/ Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics' Corner): EMERGENCY POD! The crypto market is in a free fall. What is happening?! Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics' Corner joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down what stablecoin Terra (UST) is, why it lost its peg and what that means, how its sister coin Luna factors in to all this, and how this all led to one of the biggest crashes across the entire cryptocurrency market – one that has Bitcoin at its lowest value in nearly a year and a half. Bennett and Matt also discuss the coins' parent company, Terraform and its eclectic founder Do Kwon, what an "algorithmic stablecoin" is, and how the whole thing is a ponzi. If that wasn't enough, the two also take a look at some of the conspiracies such as Blackrock and Citadel "attacking" Terra and how a Major League Baseball team was sharing Terra marketing videos as the whole thing came tumbling down. Support the show: http://www.pa by Scam Economy

55 min listen

36: Inside Yuga Labs: Bored Ape Yacht Club Behind-the-Scenes (w/ Yasmine Gagne and Connie Lin): Fast Company's Yasmine Gagne & Connie Lin join Scam Economy to discuss their latest piece: a sit-down with Yuga Labs to discuss the history of how the Bored Ape Yacht Club came to be. Yas and Connie share with Matt how they got this inside look, the early history of BAYC and how it came to be, the peculiar way this NFT project took off, the "doxxing" of its founders Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano aka Gordon Goner and Gargamel and the rest of the core team: Zeshan Ali aka No Sass & Kerem Atalay aka Emperor Tomato Ketchup, their CEO Nicole Muniz, and in the unbelievable role that superstar music manager Guy Oseary has played. The three also discuss the token ApeCoin and why the SEC is investigating Yuga Labs over that, their metaverse project "Otherside," the accusations of racism from artist Ryder Ripp, and much, much more. Read the Fast Company piece - The 800 lb. Gorilla of Crypto: Bored Ape by Scam Economy

125 min listen

17: Bitcoin Nazis, Ethereum Grifters: A Tale of Two Communities (Scam Economy LIVE in Brooklyn w/ Michael E. Hayden): Michael Edison Hayden of the Southern Poverty Law Center joined Matt Binder for a LIVE episode of Scam Economy as part of the Digital Void Festival: Brooklyn on May 26 at Littlefield's. Matt takes a look at the two biggest crypto communities: the "artists"/hucksters of Ethereum (Gary Vee, Jimmy Fallon) and the cryptonazis of Bitcoin, how the real split in cryptocurrency is the 99.99% vs. the 0.01%, and Michael Hayden breaks down his recent reporting on the millions of dollars in crypto being sent to Alex Jones and how white supremacists have become rich with crypto cash. Check out Michael on Alex Jones and his Bitcoin donations: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/05/26/alex-jones-bitcoin-8-million-infowars. Michael on white supremacists and crypto: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/12/09/how-cryptocurrency-revolutionized-white-supremacist-movement. Visit ht by Scam Economy

41 min listen

19: Crypto Jenga Tower Collapse: Celsius & the Crypto Time Bombs (w/ David Gerard & Amy Castor): Crypto critics David Gerard & Amy Castor join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to talk about the "Jenga stack of interconnected time bombs" that is this week's cryptocurrency crash. David and Amy breakdown how the entire crypto space is like a Jenga tower and all it takes is for one rug pull to knock down the stack, how Terra/Luna set the stage for the plunge, what Celsius is and why it was the next piece to take down what was left, what the role crypto exchanges like Coinbase play, why crypto hedge funds like Three Arrows Capital are now floundering, and how Tether, Bitcoin miners, and even Mt. Gox will continue to play a role in crypto's nosedive. Read David and Amy's piece, The Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto Crashing: https://amycastor.com/2022/06/14/the-latecomers-guide-to-crypto-crashing-a-quick-map-of-where-we-are-and-whats-ahead/ - Visit: ScamEconomy.com - Support the show: http://www.patr by Scam Economy

70 min listen

11: Inside the Bizarre Bitcoin 2022 Conference (w/ Ryan Broderick): Ryan Broderick of the Garbage Day newsletter joins Scam Economy to take host Matt Binder on a journey to the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami. Ryan breaks down what he saw at the 4-day Bitcoin extravaganza, which celebrities and special guests were there, the dystopian vision of the future that the Bitcoin maximalists are pushing, what the "average" Bitcoin advocate got out of the event, the difference between crypto "culture" and the Bitcoin world, what his cryptocurrency investing dad thought of the event, and more! Check out Ryan's newsletter: https://www.garbageday.email/ . Visit ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder by Scam Economy

69 min listen

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43: The Weirdest Frauds, Grifts, & Rug Pulls of Crypto's Hellish 2022 (w/ Molly White)

43: The Weirdest Frauds, Grifts, & Rug Pulls of Crypto's Hellish 2022 (w/ Molly White)

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