Top all-time · #935
Amy Castor
Personal blog · amycastor.combusinesseconomics
Amy Castor's personal blog at amycastor.com covers business and economics. Since 2019, 70 different Hacker News readers have linked it 152 times, most often “Metakovan, the mystery Beeple art buyer, and his NFT/DeFi scheme”. The last post was in 2024, but the archive is still widely read.
Rarely recommended · 1 of 39 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Amy Castor's blog as a source for investigative crypto reporting, especially on Tether, the Beeple NFT sale, Celsius and Signal's MobileCoin integration. Commenters cite it as evidence in crypto discussions.
- Recommended for · 1 comments
- One commenter said everyone should read her blog, that she has been in crypto journalism for years, and that she knows her stuff thoroughly.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 39 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
I'm retired! As such, this site is no longer active. My co-writer David Gerard continues to post on Pivot to AI, a site that we launched together in June 2024. He does a great job. Send him money! As a journalist, my stories have appeared in Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, Artnet News, MIT Technology Re
Most-linked posts?
- Metakovan, the mystery Beeple art buyer, and his NFT/DeFi scheme12 people · 14 mentions · first linked 2021-03-14
- The pivot to AI: Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain7 people · 7 mentions · first linked 2023-09-12
- Curious case of Tether: a complete timeline of events5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2019-01-17
- Signal adopts MobileCoin, a crypto project linked to its own creator5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2021-04-09
- A16Z’s ‘State of Crypto’ A rehash of bad crypto market pitches4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2022-05-19
- The Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto Crashing: a map of where we are and what’s ahead4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2022-06-15
- Tether’s First Breakdown of Reserves3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2021-05-13
- Bitcoin mining in the crypto crash: The mining companies’ creative accounting2 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2022-08-04
- How 2020 set the stage for the 2021 bitcoin bubble2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2022-06-26
- The tale of a whale who took Solend’s money2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2022-06-21
What Hacker News says?
Not necessarily. It's true if the person making the decision is getting paid directly from the mining. But perverse incentives abound in the cryptocurrency space. For example, consider Celsius: https://amycastor.com/2022/09/11/crypto-collapse-celsius-voy... https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2022/08/11/crypto-colla... As they thrash around in bankruptcy, they have proposed that they will mine their way out of the…
Comment linking /2022/09/11/crypto-collapse-celsius-voyager-skybridge-the-liabilities-are-real-the-assets-are-fake/
on “The Ethereum merge is done”Submitted Metakovan, the mystery Beeple art buyer, and his NFT/DeFi scheme as a story · 211 points
HN discussionI just stopped my signal donation today, which I've been doing monthly last year due to this: https://amycastor.com/2021/04/07/signal-adopts-mobilecoin-a-... Was it an overreaction? I don't think so. I feel dumb stuff like this, massive conflicts of interest, happens too often these days, and I'm voting with my wallet.
Comment linking /2021/04/07/signal-adopts-mobilecoin-a-crypto-project-linked-to-its-own-creator-moxie-marlinspike/
on “New Year, New CEO”Submitted Are pixie fairies behind Bitcoin's latest bubble? as a story · 80 points
HN discussionHopefully they're investigating Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) pump and dump business model. https://amycastor.com/2022/05/19/a16zs-state-of-crypto-repor...
Comment linking /2022/05/19/a16zs-state-of-crypto-report-a-rehash-of-bad-crypto-market-pitches/
on “Former Coinbase PM charged in cryptocurrency insider trading tipping scheme”Submitted Tesla spent $1.5B in clean car credits on Bitcoin as a story · 66 points
HN discussionAnd the widow is left with just the 17 properties, 2 cars, yacht and plane that he earned through honest hard work. Another thing you could work into the plot is $9m appears to be with WB21 "Banking Redefined" which claimed a million users but was discovered to only have 135 downloads of its app (now removed), is run by a convicted fraudster and was awarded "Global Banker Award 2018" in a black tie ceremony that the…
Comment linking /2019/03/01/diving-into-wb21-the-company-holding-9-million-of-quadriga-money/
on “Experts cracked laptop of crypto CEO who died with $137M, but the money was gone”Submitted The NFT market hasn’t crashed – it was never not crashed as a story · 45 points
HN discussion> Far from 'weakly enforced regulations' most Western nations have very well and strongly enforced regulatory regimes. There are rules upon rules about what is allowed and what is not. They are as regulated as the system will allow. That is, companies dump lots of money into Congress to increase the chances of existing regulations being weakened and new ones neutered, and it works (see: Dodd-Frank [0]). And sadly, I…
Comment linking /2019/01/17/the-curious-case-of-tether-a-complete-timeline-of-events/
on “In second largest DeFi hack, Blockchain Bridge loses $320M Ether”Submitted Nocoiner predictions: 2021 will be year of comedy gold as a story · 33 points
HN discussionI wonder if he told that he was also part of a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scam as well? [0] After learning this I just lost respect for him. [0] https://amycastor.com/2021/04/07/signal-adopts-mobilecoin-a-...
Comment linking /2021/04/07/signal-adopts-mobilecoin-a-crypto-project-linked-to-its-own-creator-moxie-marlinspike/
on “Temporary pause of Bitcoin withdrawals on Binance”Submitted A16Z’s ‘State of Crypto’ A rehash of bad crypto market pitches as a story · 32 points
HN discussionSays the same co-creator of Signal shoving a private crypto-currency and wallet into the Signal app by not only pumping and dumping their own coins on an exchange once listed [0], but with the nature of an encrypted blockchain being a road to hell allowing the likes of terrorists, extremists, scammers and criminals to easily hide their funds used for illicit activities. At this point, Moxie's fans and minions are no…
Comment linking /2021/04/07/signal-adopts-mobilecoin-a-crypto-project-linked-to-its-own-creator-moxie-marlinspike/
on “Web3 is expensive P2P”Submitted The pivot to AI: Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain as a story · 20 points
HN discussionYou bring up an interesting point in that I can’t think of another technology out there quite as polarizing as crypto. It’s almost fanatical devotion from both sides. I disagree that the points are debunked, I think the current thinking from the pro side is that those are “today’s problems” and the future will be different. I think the anti camp like myself are frustrated by the religious devotion to something that…
Comment linking /2019/04/26/new-york-attorney-general-bitfinex-is-hiding-850-million-in-losses/
on “0x Launch Kit – Launch your own cryptocurrency exchange or marketplace”Submitted A16Z’s ‘State of Crypto’ A rehash of bad crypto market pitches as a story · 18 points
HN discussionHaven't you watched "Line Goes Up - The Problem With NFTs" yet? It's about a whole lot more than just NFTs. Your question is thoroughly addressed and truthfully answered in that video. Also see his references and citations in "Sources and Further Reading" for more proof. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g Sources and Further Reading: https://web3isgoinggreat.com/ https://tante.cc/2021/12/17/the-third-web/ h…
Comment linking /2021/03/14/metakovan-the-mystery-beeple-art-buyer-and-his-nft-defi-scheme/
on “Bitconnect founder indicted in global $2.4B cryptocurrency scheme”Submitted Bitcoin mining in the crypto crash: The mining companies’ creative accounting as a story · 15 points
HN discussionFound this article and ran down the rabbit hole. What a wild ride. https://amycastor.com/2019/02/12/how-the-hell-did-we-get-her...
Comment linking /2019/02/12/how-the-hell-did-we-get-here-a-timeline-of-quadrigacx-events/
on “Cryptocurreny retailer BitPrime closes trading after running out of money”Submitted MicroStrategy buys BTC with abandon, Tether hits $20B, MassMutual jumps in game as a story · 14 points
HN discussionAnyone who's been paying attention knows that Tether is an opaque money-laundering scam, and it's only a matter of time before it totally unravels. The only reason Tether is making noises about cooperating with the US government is because they're being told in no uncertain terms that their continued near-term existence depends on it. Check back in a year. [1] https://amycastor.com/2023/12/28/crypto-collapse-mt-gox-…
Comment linking /2023/12/28/crypto-collapse-mt-gox-payouts-tether-hooks-up-the-feds-sec-says-no-to-coinbase-crypto-media-mergers/
on “Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate”Submitted Reggie Fowler owes lawyers $600k as a story · 12 points
HN discussionThis article ( https://amycastor.com/2022/07/02/who-had-voyager-digital-nex... ) says they'd convert any USD you sent them to USDC which are not insured.
Comment linking /2022/07/02/who-had-voyager-digital-next-in-the-defi-dead-pool/
on “Voyager suspends trading, deposits, withdrawals, and loyalty rewards”Submitted The Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto Crashing: a map of where we are and what’s ahead as a story · 10 points
HN discussion> That is either false, or it's true in a way that is meaningless. https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/False-D... > The "winner" is probably some unknown previz animator working in an outsourced animation studio in India or China somewhere. :) I get it, you want have some sort of "justice" argument. I don't. Your winner's prize is getting to work overtime. Beeple's prize is 69 million dollars. > It…
Comment linking /2021/03/14/metakovan-the-mystery-beepl
on “All 5000 Images in Beeple’s $69M Magnum Opus:What I Found Isn’t So Pretty”Submitted Crypto collapse: 3AC, Voyager, Celsius, and other DeFi casualties as a story · 9 points
HN discussion> He's definitely the most prolific 3D artist, ever. That is either false, or it's true in a way that is meaningless. There are artists who have spent every day creating art. Daily art exercises and sketchbooks are commonplace. Some work in 3D, some have been working far longer than Beeple has. If you mean "Beeple has been publishing a discrete piece of art, publicly, every day for longer than others", then I dunno,…
Comment linking /2021/03/14/metakovan-the-mystery-beeple-art-buyer-and-his-nft-defi-scheme/
on “All 5000 Images in Beeple’s $69M Magnum Opus:What I Found Isn’t So Pretty”Submitted Nouriel Roubini: ‘Tether is a criminal enterprise,’ SEC should probe Musk tweets as a story · 8 points
HN discussionI think most of the news articles are based on this original reporting: https://amycastor.com/2021/03/14/metakovan-the-mystery-beepl...
Comment linking /2021/03/14/metakovan-the-mystery-beeple-art-buyer-and-his-nft-defi-scheme/
on “All 5000 Images in Beeple’s $69M Magnum Opus:What I Found Isn’t So Pretty”Submitted News: Tether’s offshore bank, the Bit Short, NYAG’s document deadline as a story · 8 points
HN discussion
