**Subtitle**
During the Spring Festival, I took the opportunity to read “The Inevitable Rise of Cryptocurrency: An Epic Scam?” The more I read, the more frustrated I became, grappling with whether I should write a review that might offend others.
Although I’ve told myself to maintain my edges, I also stated the need to stay calm; ultimately, what prompted me to put pen to paper was the demeanor of the book’s publisher, Shen Yunchong, the publisher of Morning Finance. Earlier this year, Mr. Shen intended to send me a copy of “The Inevitable Rise,” but I politely declined, saying I wished to support it financially, later purchasing and reading it, only to honestly convey my dislike. Not only did he not get angry, but he also generously invited me to his podcast to candidly share my thoughts after reading.
Mr. Shen is an understanding person who knows that ignoring a book is easy, while seriously critiquing it is challenging; below, I have transformed the interview content into text and supplemented it, reflecting my respect for the author and the writing, as well as my respect for Mr. Shen and the publishing process.
To me, cryptocurrency holds no meaning; it is evidently a scam. There is clearly no value, yet a multitude of people continue to buy. Writing an article exposing the cryptocurrency scam feels akin to asking a gourmet to review a cheap fast-food restaurant.
Even without reading the text, and without needing to look at the synopsis, readers can somewhat guess from the title that Zeke Faux, the author of “The Inevitable Rise,” holds views contrary to mine. However, this is not the reason I am criticizing the book; the issue with “The Inevitable Rise” lies more in the method of deriving its conclusions: Faux devalues cryptocurrency as a worthless scam, arguing that the cryptocurrency space is rife with numerous scams and speculations.
I must clarify that I do not deny the scams and speculations the author discusses; I may even loathe them more than he does. However, even assuming the cases cited by the author are entirely accurate, this still represents a classic case of equivocation, conflating “scamming methods involving cryptocurrency” with “cryptocurrency itself being a scam.” This kind of equivocation is akin to concluding that the stock market is a scam after investigating multiple stock-related frauds like fake accounts and insider trading; or determining that telecommunications networks and telephones are fraudulent after exposing several phone scams, which is evidently illogical.
In fact, the author himself is a “Bloomberg investigative journalist responsible for tracking Wall Street con artists and stock market vultures” (as cited from the book introduction). I sincerely admire Faux’s hands-on approach to understanding the subject by visiting sites and engaging directly, yet I cannot agree with his logic. While Faux has reported extensively on financial crimes in the past, that does not necessarily lead to the negation of the significance of the dollar, limited companies, or capitalism. Unless he harbors deep prejudices against blockchain and cryptocurrencies, it is hard to imagine such an experienced journalist would confuse these fundamental logics.
People in the cryptocurrency space often boast about the limitless potential of blockchain applications, yet the only industry where such statements are realized is in scams.
Another typical fallacy in this book is the hasty generalization. “The Inevitable Rise” begins with the author’s assertion that the stablecoin USDT lacks corresponding dollar backing, prompting him to relentlessly pursue and expose the dark secrets of USDT while investigating many other projects. Setting aside the fact that Faux has not fully succeeded in exposing the USDT fraud, as he has not clearly identified the “weapons of mass destruction,” even if he were to catch the perpetrators, it does not justify a blanket dismissal of the value of cryptocurrencies based solely on USDT. The author clearly knows that another stablecoin, USDC, exists within the United States, and the company executives would likely be willing to be interviewed, yet he hardly mentions it at all; the term “USDC” appears only once throughout the book.
I do not intend to imply that Faux has a responsibility to interview successful cases or various projects; in fact, I do not believe that both sides need to be covered for a report to be considered “neutral.” For example, I do not hide my embrace of cryptography and cryptocurrencies, focusing instead on discussing how relevant technologies can improve society and the ups and downs in the practical process. Some have expressed discontent, claiming I am masking the negative aspects; I find this puzzling. I do not deny nor deliberately conceal the bizarre sides of the industry, but I do not understand why the responsibility to expose problems falls on me.
Returning to “The Inevitable Rise,” since the book’s focus is on investigating the dark side of the cryptocurrency space, it is not problematic for Faux to overlook the success stories of blockchain and various attempts to build a new world; however, denying their existence and concluding that cryptocurrency “is meaningless and clearly a scam” not only generalizes but also disregards the facts, ignoring the efforts of countless entrepreneurs, contributors, and crypto-punks striving to build society through blockchain.
Many individuals in the cryptocurrency space I have interviewed also tell me that most cryptocurrencies are scams, except for theirs. Today, some of these individuals are in prison, some are awaiting trial, some are facing civil lawsuits, and some have gone bankrupt. Being in the cryptocurrency space seems to lead to such fates.
Another point that made my reading uncomfortable is that while Faux traveled the world, his mindset remained rooted in American traditional finance, lacking empathy for other perspectives.
Having lived for many years in a country protected by the constitution and with a highly developed financial system, Faux seems completely unaware that concepts such as money, law, and the state are all social constructs. Gold took a long historical journey to gain global recognition, the order of nation-states has only gradually been established over a few hundred years, the dollar has dominated the world for merely a century, and online shopping was considered illegal in the 1990s. It is understandable that the general public lacks imagination for possibilities outside the current order; however, Faux’s book criticizes cryptocurrencies as useless while discussing only the present situation and failing to explore the underlying concepts and historical contexts, which is a significant shortcoming.
Living in the United States, Faux finds it easy to open bank accounts and credit cards; fiat currency is the most “stable” global currency, and bond issuance is globally supported. Given his level of knowledge, he must know that fiat currencies in financially underdeveloped countries often continue to depreciate, and many individuals cannot even apply for a bank account. For this marginalized population of over a billion, cryptocurrency wallets and dollar-pegged stablecoins, which require no approval and can be opened by anyone, provide real financial independence. Yet Faux seems to think that everyone in the world enjoys the financial advantages of Americans, ignoring the needs of places like the Global South.
What I found most unbearable was Faux’s casual comparison in the final chapter of how convenient and useful credit cards are relative to small foxes and cryptocurrencies. I initially thought that even with differing viewpoints, he should at least attempt to understand what profound insights the author might have. To my surprise, after reading over a hundred thousand words, this Bloomberg journalist, who traveled the globe on public funds for two years to investigate, concluded that the most rewarding experience was accumulating flight miles with his credit card!
After investigating cryptocurrencies around the world, I gained a new understanding of my Visa credit card—immediate use, just a simple swipe, no fees, never requiring me to memorize a long string of numbers or hide my password in the backyard, and even allowing me to accumulate airline mileage.
In contrast to readers who are attracted to new book covers in bookstores, I went the opposite route, purchasing “The Inevitable Rise” without even glancing at the synopsis. Upon finishing, I noticed the book’s spine, which revealed that “The New York Times,” “The Washington Post,” “The Los Angeles Times,” “The Financial Times,” “The Globe and Mail,” “The Irish Observer,” “Morningstar,” “The Verge,” and “Wired” all rated the original version, “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall,” as the Book of the Year for 2023.
In response, I can only think of two possibilities: either the problem lies with me, or society, following the collapse of the NFT bubble, the downfall of FTX, and the bear market leading to widespread losses, is in desperate need of a scapegoat. At this moment, a book titled “Number Go Up,” written by a well-known award-winning financial journalist and purporting to expose the truths of the cryptocurrency space, was published, and the media readily jumped on the bandwagon, offering unanimous praise.
Conversely, the Chinese version of “Infinite Storm: The Rise and Fall Symphony of the FTX Empire,” also published by Morning Finance, nearly simultaneously launched Michael Lewis’s “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” which is insightful and highly professional, yet does not completely negate the essence of FTX and cryptocurrencies, earning only average reviews. The public expects the media to be neutral, truthful, and insightful; unfortunately, at least on this topic, emotions dominate, political correctness prevails, and pandering to popular sentiment drives the reporting.
A year and a half after the English version of this book was released, a bull market has returned. Newly elected President Trump overturned his previous stance on cryptocurrencies, terminating most SEC lawsuits against the web3 industry, declaring the establishment of a strategic reserve for cryptocurrencies, and explicitly halting central bank digital currency in favor of stablecoins. I am curious about how Faux and the media perceive this shift—whether they believe that the government and the cryptocurrency space are together scamming the public or consider the two not in conflict, but rather that the essence of cryptocurrency has changed over the past year.
I do not believe that the significance of decentralized technology will change according to the stance of a country’s president (which can change at any time); rather, blockchain and cryptocurrencies must demonstrate their principles through widespread application in web3. Writing this, I finally understood the true reason behind my frustration while reading “The Inevitable Rise of Cryptocurrency: An Epic Scam?”: “Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.” Instead of spending over ten hours reading this book, I should dedicate my time to research and popular science, enabling LikeCoin and DHK to truly integrate into the daily lives of the public, becoming a counterexample to the book.
This article is a collaborative reprint from: Gao Chongjian.