In Going Infinite, Michael Lewis’s account of the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire published late last year, one of its footnotes seeks to explain the workings of cryptocurrencies to the general reader. There can be few better authors to structure an annotation that illuminates and informs than Lewis, who has turned them into an art form.
Think of the show-stopping digressions that made their way into the film version of his 2010 book The Big Short, including the one featuring Anthony Bourdain decoding collateralised debt obligations via preparing a fish stew or Margot Robbie describing mortgage bonds in a bubble bath while sipping champagne.
But not even Lewis can simplify crypto in Going Infinite – and he ends up doing something akin to giving up.
In the book’s main text, Lewis briefly reviews the 2008 paper published by the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto – the person behind the electronic coin known as Bitcoin – before deciding that “how Bitcoin worked was interesting chiefly to technologists; what it might do was interesting to a much broader audience”, and applying an asterisk. But what the reader finds further down the page is an admission rather than an explainer.
Lewis footnotes that so many have tried to unpack crypto in layperson’s terms that there is little point in attempting to crack the same nut in Going Infinite. “What is curious is how elusive Bitcoin is as a thing to understand,” he writes.
He then adds that “Bitcoin often gets explained but somehow never stays explained. You nod along and think you are getting it but then wake up the next morning needing to hear the explanation all over again” – thereby thoroughly skewering the confusing nature of crypto by confessing he has no idea how to make it clear whatsoever.
Many mainstream financial instruments are also difficult to explain and several unusual asset classes – not just crypto – can and do lose money
It’s a memorable moment in an engaging book that has been criticised for being too easy on SBF – who awaits sentencing in the US after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy last year – but which also offers a gripping inside-the-machine account of the implosion of a multi-billion dollar entity.
That footnote also speaks to something else about crypto.
I suspect many people don’t fully understand Bitcoin or even use it (or any other cryptocoin for that matter) to settle transactions in their daily life, despite the obvious appeal that a decentralised payment system theoretically offers. But that doesn’t stop them being crypto curious.
Some do use crypto as currency, of course, including an entrepreneur who told The National recently that he’d paid for his wedding using Bitcoin, but he may be an exception. The majority only seem to consider it as a speculative instrument rather than as a token or coin.
I am one of the many who can’t completely pin down how crypto works, but who has also spent a few dollars over the years on buying tiny fractions of cryptocoins, which have almost all lost money in the time that I’ve held them. It’s up to you whether you see that as me being crypto curious or a fear-of-missing-out fool.
In mitigation, many mainstream investment vehicles and financial instruments are also difficult to explain and several unusual asset classes – not just crypto – can and do lose money. Just ask a sample of people who may have made a speculative play on classic cars or any other unconventional market. Some will have done well, others not so much.
I’ve also taken losses on nominally safe and regular investment funds before, and on the shares of individual companies, so very little is guaranteed, either in the mainstream or at the so-called fringes, where you will find crypto. The opaque nature of many financial instruments has also helped Lewis sell vast quantities of books over the years.
The fervour that surrounds crypto does not seem to have been dimmed by SBF’s conviction last year, nor by the “mistakes and misguided decisions” that Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, admitted to, and the settlement it reached with the US Department of Justice. Respected economist Nouriel Roubini has, for many years, been crypto’s critic-in-chief, labelling it with a variety of unflattering names.
Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission gave the go-ahead to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds – or ETFs – which experts believe will make it “easier, cheaper and safer” to invest in crypto by removing the complexities and obstacles associated with buying and storing the asset safely. Others say the ETFs will bring credibility and legitimacy to crypto and that the decision represents a big-bang moment for the industry.
So, what are you really meant to think when presented with all these strands? In all likelihood, what you thought beforehand. Most people have predetermined views when it comes to risk and personal finance, meaning they are more likely to shape the latest news to match their existing viewpoint.
Returning to Lewis’s point about “what it might do”, that also means many will remain crypto curious, particularly if the entire industry continues to give off strong and exciting frontierland vibes.
But if you do roam around that space – and don’t forget this is an opinion piece rather than representing any form of investment advice – keep your eyes wide open, especially if the explanatory footnotes leave you just as confused as you were before you started reading them.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
The%20specs
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Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
