Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are considered right-wing, libertarian inventions, though they don't have to be. Whether it's Balaji Srinivasan (The Network State) making dumb bets about bitcoin hitting $1 million in a matter of months, or Roger Ver staking his "libertarianism" on illegal activity, or NFT sellers replicating the problems of academic art, crypto is full of grifters, idiots, and radical right-wingers who must be dismissed from the conversation.
CORRECTION: Roger Ver was not convicted of sending pipe bombs through the mail, but the judge alluded to pipe bombs that were not charged, nor entered into evidence in Roger Ver's criminal case: web.archive.org/web/20190316040729/https://lesperanceassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Mr.-Vers-Sentencing.pdf
Clipped from “ArtiFact 56: Bitcoin For Socialists?” -- youtube.com/watch?v=un8jqcrQ70k
Buy Joshua Davila’s “Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It” – amazon.com/Blockchain-Radicals-Building-Beyond-Capitalism/dp/1914420853
Joshua’s Twitter page: twitter.com/TBSocialist
To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon: patreon.com/automachination
B Side topics: left vs. right-wing conceptions of personal responsibility; every crypto Twitter ad is a scam; account abstraction for added security; froth vs. fundamental value; how crypto adds a premium; investment vs. utility; Alex: most of my crypto acquaintances are sociopaths; why Alex hesitates to release his art as NFTs; bitcoin ordinals encourage spam art; the art world has been scamming for centuries; NFTs place anti-art expectations upon artists; Solana’s Degen Poet is like a 10 year old; art as money laundering; hypocrisy in the art world; Josh: most art does not have value; why Alex is annoyed by DCInvestor.eth; how NFTs work and why they will NOT go away; NFTs add inalienable rights on top of authentication; why Josh rejects digital scarcity; crypto idiots: Balaji Srinivasan makes a $1 million bitcoin bet; debunking the Network State; Roger Ver gets imprisoned over illegal activity; bitcoin and energy consumption; crypto “walking” apps and greenwashing; Bill Ackman won’t be getting laid for months
Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: spoti.fi/3xw2M4D
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3wLpqEV
Google Podcasts: bit.ly/3dSQXxJ
Amazon Music: amzn.to/2SVJIxB
Podbean: bit.ly/3yzLuUo
iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L
Read more from the automachination universe: automachination.com
Read Alex’s (archived) essays: alexsheremet.com
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/automachination
Tags: #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #politics
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are considered right-wing, libertarian inventions, though they don't have to be. Whether it's Balaji Srinivasan (The Network State) making dumb bets about bitcoin hitting $1 million in a matter of months, or Roger Ver staking his "libertarianism" on illegal activity, or NFT sellers replicating the problems of academic art, crypto is full of grifters, idiots, and radical right-wingers who must be dismissed from the conversation.
CORRECTION: Roger Ver was not convicted of sending pipe bombs through the mail, but the judge alluded to pipe bombs that were not charged, nor entered into evidence in Roger Ver's criminal case: web.archive.org/web/20190316040729/https://lesperanceassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Mr.-Vers-Sentencing.pdf
Clipped from “ArtiFact 56: Bitcoin For Socialists?” -- youtube.com/watch?v=un8jqcrQ70k
Buy Joshua Davila’s “Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It” – amazon.com/Blockchain-Radicals-Building-Beyond-Capitalism/dp/1914420853
Joshua’s Twitter page: twitter.com/TBSocialist
To get the B Side to this conversation, support us on Patreon: patreon.com/automachination
B Side topics: left vs. right-wing conceptions of personal responsibility; every crypto Twitter ad is a scam; account abstraction for added security; froth vs. fundamental value; how crypto adds a premium; investment vs. utility; Alex: most of my crypto acquaintances are sociopaths; why Alex hesitates to release his art as NFTs; bitcoin ordinals encourage spam art; the art world has been scamming for centuries; NFTs place anti-art expectations upon artists; Solana’s Degen Poet is like a 10 year old; art as money laundering; hypocrisy in the art world; Josh: most art does not have value; why Alex is annoyed by DCInvestor.eth; how NFTs work and why they will NOT go away; NFTs add inalienable rights on top of authentication; why Josh rejects digital scarcity; crypto idiots: Balaji Srinivasan makes a $1 million bitcoin bet; debunking the Network State; Roger Ver gets imprisoned over illegal activity; bitcoin and energy consumption; crypto “walking” apps and greenwashing; Bill Ackman won’t be getting laid for months
Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: spoti.fi/3xw2M4D
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3wLpqEV
Google Podcasts: bit.ly/3dSQXxJ
Amazon Music: amzn.to/2SVJIxB
Podbean: bit.ly/3yzLuUo
iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L
Read more from the automachination universe: automachination.com
Read Alex’s (archived) essays: alexsheremet.com
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/automachination
Tags: #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #politics
