Daily Bit #165: Fast Times At Fast Money
By: Daily Bit
Tags: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency News, Cryptocurrency Investment

*Full post available at The Daily Bit.

Fast Times At Fast Money

Few outlets receive as much flak for their crypto reporting as CNBC. And there’s ample reason behind the criticism.

Case in point: CNBC’s documentary, “Bitcoin: Boom or Bust”. While intended to showcase characters behind the crypto movement, the feature was also expected to provide more value beyond that of entertaining thrills.

However, when screen time is clawed out for Justin, the “Crypto Kid”….

…. it’s hard to view the industry as anything more than a place for cheap gags. Granted, CNBC could’ve been catfished themselves if the Tweet of the Day held any weight (if only the names checked out), but that’s the risk you take when most of the influential figures are pseudonymous Twitter avatars.

Keyword: “most”. That’s the main qualm with CNBC’s reporting. Of all those that could’ve been interviewed for the documentary, management settled for:

The Crypto Kid, who bunks in a treehouse

Jordan Belfort, Hollywood’s favorite snake oil salesman

While both are certainly electric characters to have in a Bitcoin documentary, there are more knowledgeable individuals to ask for commentary on the movement:

Nick Szabo: (mulled over smart contracts in 1994)

Andreas Antonopoulos: (has given hundreds of talks on blockchain tech)

Relatedly, CNBC is a tremendous reverse indicator.

Another blow to CNBC’s credibility? They are wrong — a lot. One analyst showed that the majority of price forecasts offered by the network end up being incorrect. And let’s not forget that CNBC suggested folks buy Ripple at $2.57 near the peak of the bubble.

Which begs the question: Is CNBC obligated to up the quality of their reporting? If they’re trying to paint themselves as a trustworthy source for industry news, we think a makeover is due.

Other Reads

(1) Is North Korea gearing up to host the world’s first blockchain conference of October 2018? Well, that depends. Do you trust anonymous sources? An unnamed security expert claims the dictatorship intends to invite experts from the field and show off their own advancements with the tech.

With no other logistics known, we’re scratching our heads — but this wouldn’t be the first time educators were brought to the socialist regime. Planet Money’s 800th Episode, North Korea’s Capitalists, covers just that — the coaching of North Korean entrepreneurs by outside professionals.

How’d that end? Some of those profits went on to fund NK’s nuclear program… probably not the ideal outcome for most. If the conference goes through, we figure any takeaways could be used for similar purposes.

One possibility? Upgrading the talents of Lazarus Group, North Korea’s infamous hacking group with connections to the WannaCry ransomware attacks. They used Mac0S malware to breach an Asian crypto exchanges’ IT system last week.

(2) The Reserve Bank of India created a task force to monitor emerging technologies. Mind you, the development is by no means an endorsement of blockchain tech or digital currencies. RBI took a firm stance against the industry last month, banning financial institutions from providing services to crypto businesses and individuals.

However, it’s a step in the right direction. RBI needs to get their bearings to understand what aspects of the unregulated industry are worth integrating into Indian laws.

And if they haven’t already, other central banks should follow in RBI’s wake. Quoting a person close to RBI, “A central bank has to be on top to create regulations”.

Brain Fuel