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Crypto Convulsions: the Highest Stage of Capitalist Speculation

Bitcoin, Stablecoin, Tether, Blockchain, Coinbase, Binance, Etherium, Luna, Celsius, Circle, FTX,  NFTs: What’s all this crypto jargon really about? What stage of capitalism does it mean we’re in? How has digital currency been impacted by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine? What are the geopolitical implications for the US cold war with China? And what’s the significance of the downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried? Could we see an even more dramatic unraveling in the crypto world in the future, one that spills over into the rest of the economy, or will it bounce back?

To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by economist Ramaa Vasudevan, an Associate Professor at Colorado State University and author of the recent Monthly Review piece Crypto Convulsions, Digital Delusions, and the Inexorable Logic of Finance Capitalism.

Article discussed in the episode: https://monthlyreview.org/2022/12/01/crypto-convulsions-digital-delusions-and-the-inexorable-logic-of-finance-capitalism/ 

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about the author

Rania Khalek

Rania Khalek is a Middle East-based journalist for Breakthrough News. Her work has also appeared at The Grayzone, The intercept, Truthout, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Al Jazeera, The Nation, Salon, AlterNet, Vice and more.

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