Paul Vigna tells the story of attending a small conference over the Summer of 2013 about cryptocurrencies and blockchain. A former Dow Jones Market Talk writer covered pretty much everything, and few at the Journal were interested in Crypto, so he took it upon himself to attend this small conference.
At the event, he discovered an entirely unknown world of utopian cypher-punks, libertarians, survivalists and other eclectic personalities. It became apparent that Bitcoin was more than a mere computer program, it was a social movement that arose out if the Great Financial Crisis.
He mentioned in passing that this collection of people were such an interesting of fascinating oddballs that they would make for a good Michael Lewis book. He quickly realized that this might have been the silliest thing ever said by a writer – and they it was a book he should write himself. Hence, the The Age of Cryptocurrency was born.
Vigna is now a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and has also co-written other books about Crypto and Blockchain, including this year’s The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything.
His favorite books are referenced here; our conversation transcript is published here.
You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras on iTunes, Bloomberg, Overcast, and Stitcher. Our earlier podcasts can all be found on iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, and Bloomberg.
Next week, we chat with Dave Butler, co-CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors.
