Bitcoin Skeptics, Here’s Another New Book

I expected a fairly lazy and hysterical recounting of the many ills of crypto and bitcoin. I expected to roll my eyes all the time when I began reading “Popping the Crypto Bubble”. 

However, the ambitious crypto-skeptical book was co-authored earlier this year by three experts.  One of them, a financial fraud writer Darren Tseng. The other, fintech consultant Jan Akalin.  And finally, a software engineer Stephen Diehl. 

Stephen is known for being one of the organizers of September’s historical “no-coiner” conference.

Meet The Authors Of The Bitcoin Skepticism Book

Diehl is the most notorious of this trio. He regales his 58,000-strong Twitter audience with a daily deluge of epigrammatic, cynical talking points. The kind that are a crypto-skeptical version of the vacuous sloganeering of Bitcoin revolution bros like Anthony Pompliano.

Diehl ad nauseum blasts crypto as a “grift,” a massive “ponzi,” etc., etc., and it’s all gotten a little tiresome. Furthermore, what once may have read as righteous criticism has since congealed into another tedious dogma. One to be digested by the terminally online.

However, Diehl et al’s book, which promises to “uncover the truth about the technology behind cryptocurrency.” was better than I expected. 

Furthermore, there was a sober articulation of the crypto-skeptic fears over the potential harms of crypto. In addition to that, the cries of “bubble” and “Ponzi” were more nuanced than their usual Twitter equivalent—just barely.

A Deeper Dive Into The Bitcoin Book Review

The book’s treatment of crypto as a “bubble” was interesting and well-researched. The writers describe the current crypto “bubblebath” not as a singularity, but as a collection (ICOs, Defi, NFTs, etc). 

Notwithstanding,  the issuance of private currencies, “financial nihilism,” all are in the history books if you look for them. 

The authors argue that crypto and bitcoin evolution resolves these disparate streams into one mega-fraud. One that is sold to credulous investors as a solution to the depravities of capitalism. The very capitalism that has provided the fuel for its own insane growth.

The book is best when discussing what its authors see as the sheer waste of the crypto industry. Even its most ardent supporters can’t deny the massive electricity expenditure. One that Bitcoin defenders say is a feature, not a bug. And yes, The Merge fixed this for Ethereum. 

Exclusive Features Of This Book

They deploy a novel term, “Blockchainism,” to describe the endless abortive “pivots” to blockchain by flailing legacy companies. This is because of the tendency for millions of dollars to wind up in failed projects. Also, there is a chance that money can be in the hands of scammers, or in dead wallets. 

The authors argue that investing in crypto is often a negative sum game. They call it a situation in which more value is ultimately destroyed. Investing in, say, Apple stock will ideally increase wealth for all investors if the company itself grows. 

However, with many crypto schemes, there may be practically zero underlying growth and gains. Ones that are merely the divvying up of a diminishing pool of capital among a few lucky, early investors.

The problem with the book is that the authors extend this credible challenge of the industry’s carnival-barking.in addition to that, there is a speculative side into a general case against crypto ever producing anything of value. This was burtressed while ignoring any argument that hurts their prior screed.

The authors are unwilling to dwell even momentarily on the possibilities. Especially one that has to do with the new models of ownership or organization that the tech offers.