John Oliver explores the dark side of cryptocurrency

So many scams.
By Sam Haysom  on 
A man in glasses and a suit sits behind a desk, looking at the camera, next to an image of a coin that read "cryptocurrency".
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To say the world of crypto is quite popular among scammers would be a massive understatement, but when you look at the size of some of the companies that have come crashing down in recent years, it's truly terrifying.

Here to round up all the misery is John Oliver, who recaps the implosions of Terra, Celsius, and FTX in the latest Last Week Tonight episode above.

"The throughline in all three companies I've talked about tonight is them confidently presenting a veneer of expertise, even as beneath the surface they were a complete shitshow," Oliver summarises. "And it says something that even as they imploded, all three of the men behind them were still trying to bluster their way out of it."

Oliver's conclusion?

"The truth is, in a financial system where the only real currency is confidence, scammers are going to thrive [...] We should recognise that right now, the main thing you can really do with crypto is gamble with more crytpo. This is all still a casino."

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Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.


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