The subtitle for this book is “Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall,” and follows the culture of crypto from the bust of Silk Road in 2013 to the collapse of FTX in November 2022. The author (Zeke Faux) is a journalist for Bloomberg News, and it shows - his writing is very good.

But don’t go into this book expecting “investigative journalism,” asking a tough question and then tracking down the answer to that question. Zeke tracks lots of questions and follows lots of leads, but many leads end up being duds… some chapter end with “I didn’t find what I was looking for, so I guess I flew to [such-and-such place] for nothing.” Perhaps you could say the book explores the process of journalism; but isn’t presented as the well-polished, facts-only piece.

It’s also not a history of or technical explainer for Bitcoin, blockchain technology, or cryptocurrency. Instead, this book is a chronicling of the author’s adventures inside the world of crypto: the crazy conferences, the mega wealth, the outlandish personalities, and the many many scams. I’ve never really gotten involved, and always figured most crypto was probably a scam… after reading this book, I’m convinced that all crypto is absolutely a scam.

The author also does a great job reminding readers of the real costs to these scams: for every dollar spent by someone who got wealthy on crypto, there’s someone who got duped into buying something less valuable. And there are more insidious injuries, too - economies broken and forced labor under the pressure of the crypto boom & bust cycle.

If you don’t know anything about cryptocurrency - this book would be a great place to start. It’s not overly burdened with financial details, which is good, because the complex finances really only disguise the very straightforward scamming. And it gives a good picture of the types of people involved, and the different iterations of the culture.