I’ve Covered Crypto for Six Years and Still Love It
His dirty blonde hair corkscrewed off his head, perfect for Smurf-sized Parkour. The heaviness of his 70s-style eyeglasses frames kept them from flying off his face as he gesticulated, body swiveling and arms flailing. He looked like he belonged in a different time-space reality than one that had things as staid and stuffy as big banks. And looking back, maybe that was the case. With hindsight, one could say that he was riding an asteroid — one aimed at our financial system. That thing he was raving about? Bitcoin.
Back in the spring of 2016, I was a freelance contributor to Forbes. At this point, I’d been doing journalism on and off for almost 20 years, and for the previous five years, I’d been covering personal finance. For me, the issue with writing about things like saving, debt and retirement is that the information doesn’t change much, and once I’d learned much of it, I was hungry for something new. My Forbes editors offered me a bone: would I want, with another reporter, to spearhead its inaugural Forbes Fintech 50 list?
That was how I found myself absolutely enthralled by this description of Bitcoin and blockchain technology by Devon Gundry, a cofounder of Chain, an enterprise blockchain startup. That summer, in addition to publishing the list, I wrote the first story in a major magazine on how blockchain technology could be used by Wall Street. And afterward, in my working hours and non-working hours, I inhaled all kinds of information about Bitcoin, blockchain tech, and the industry that now often calls itself “crypto.” For a long while after, I begged my editors to let me write only about Bitcoin. Feeling like I had a good grasp on personal finance, I could not care less about covering it anymore. All I could talk about was Bitcoin. (I would find out years later that one of my friends and her husband laughed privately about my obsession with what they considered a weird digital currency — which they eventually revealed when the price skyrocketed and they realized that I’d been onto something.)
Back in the spring of 2016, I was a freelance contributor to Forbes. At this point, I’d been doing journalism on and off for almost 20 years, and for the previous five years, I’d been covering personal finance. For me, the issue with writing about things like saving, debt and retirement is that the information doesn’t change much, and once I’d learned much of it, I was hungry for something new. My Forbes editors offered me a bone: would I want, with another reporter, to spearhead its inaugural Forbes Fintech 50 list?
That was how I found myself absolutely enthralled by this description of Bitcoin and blockchain technology by Devon Gundry, a cofounder of Chain, an enterprise blockchain startup. That summer, in addition to publishing the list, I wrote the first story in a major magazine on how blockchain technology could be used by Wall Street. And afterward, in my working hours and non-working hours, I inhaled all kinds of information about Bitcoin, blockchain tech, and the industry that now often calls itself “crypto.” For a long while after, I begged my editors to let me write only about Bitcoin. Feeling like I had a good grasp on personal finance, I could not care less about covering it anymore. All I could talk about was Bitcoin. (I would find out years later that one of my friends and her husband laughed privately about my obsession with what they considered a weird digital currency — which they eventually revealed when the price skyrocketed and they realized that I’d been onto something.)
Why Crypto?
A year after that first mind-blowing interview with Devon, I found out Forbes was launching a series of podcasts. Again, I pleaded with my editors to let me start one about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Though the inaugural set of Forbes shows was supposed to have 12 podcasts, this was how mine, Unchained, became the 13th. Although Forbes dropped it after one season, I was able to secure a sponsor to keep it going.
Then, the crazy year of 2017 happened. I parlayed the excitement about crypto into a full-time senior editor gig at Forbes doing what I had been requesting for years: to only cover crypto and nothing else. In short order, I published a cover story on initial coin offerings, and I’m proud to say this may be the only Forbes cover featuring someone with a mullet.
Then, the crazy year of 2017 happened. I parlayed the excitement about crypto into a full-time senior editor gig at Forbes doing what I had been requesting for years: to only cover crypto and nothing else. In short order, I published a cover story on initial coin offerings, and I’m proud to say this may be the only Forbes cover featuring someone with a mullet.
A year after that first mind-blowing interview with Devon, I found out Forbes was launching a series of podcasts. Again, I pleaded with my editors to let me start one about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Though the inaugural set of Forbes shows was supposed to have 12 podcasts, this was how mine, Unchained, became the 13th. Although Forbes dropped it after one season, I was able to secure a sponsor to keep it going.
Then, the crazy year of 2017 happened. I parlayed the excitement about crypto into a full-time senior editor gig at Forbes doing what I had been requesting for years: to only cover crypto and nothing else. In short order, I published a cover story on initial coin offerings, and I’m proud to say this may be the only Forbes cover featuring someone with a mullet.
Meanwhile, across the globe, people were catching onto the promise of blockchain technology, decentralization — and, as they say in crypto, “number go up.” As the crypto bubble was reaching its peak in early 2018, a volunteer helping me with the show gave me some research: With the downloads on the podcast, it could generate ad revenue that was greater than my then-salary. For a long time, I’d had the goal of writing a book, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity: since the shows didn’t take my full workweek, I could do those part-time and use the other hours to work on a book.
Fast forward three years, and my book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze, is becoming a reality. It tells the tale of how the 2017 ICO craze happened. That is only the briefest of descriptions of the wild saga that fills its pages. The Cryptopians will hit bookstores on January 18, 2022. The pre-order pages are already up!
Then, the crazy year of 2017 happened. I parlayed the excitement about crypto into a full-time senior editor gig at Forbes doing what I had been requesting for years: to only cover crypto and nothing else. In short order, I published a cover story on initial coin offerings, and I’m proud to say this may be the only Forbes cover featuring someone with a mullet.
Meanwhile, across the globe, people were catching onto the promise of blockchain technology, decentralization — and, as they say in crypto, “number go up.” As the crypto bubble was reaching its peak in early 2018, a volunteer helping me with the show gave me some research: With the downloads on the podcast, it could generate ad revenue that was greater than my then-salary. For a long time, I’d had the goal of writing a book, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity: since the shows didn’t take my full workweek, I could do those part-time and use the other hours to work on a book.
Fast forward three years, and my book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze, is becoming a reality. It tells the tale of how the 2017 ICO craze happened. That is only the briefest of descriptions of the wild saga that fills its pages. The Cryptopians will hit bookstores on January 18, 2022. The pre-order pages are already up!