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Episode Description
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Cryptocurrency has come a long way since it was a fringe enthusiasm for get-rich-quick bros and anti-state libertarian fantasists. Now “stablecoins” like Tether are on the verge of becoming a parallel banking system in the US, except much less regulated. And the moneymaking opportunities that crypto affords are corrupting American politics to a staggering degree.
Why is stablecoin more potent than regular crypto? Is the Trump Administration’s crypto boosterism essentially an enrichment scheme for the Trump family? WTF is going on with “Trumpcoin” and “Melaniacoin”? How deeply are Nigel Farage and Reform UK committed to bringing all this to Britain? And what happens if a mega stablecoin falls over? The FT’s Katie Martin takes Rafael Behr on an enthralling nightmare tour of “the biggest conflict of interest in history.”
Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Producer: Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Chris Jones. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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