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David Z. Morris, PhD Profile
David Z. Morris, PhD

@davidzmorris

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2,346
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72,113
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Financial Fraud Theorist. 👁Dark Markets: Fringe Finance and Tech Fraud Crypto OG. X-CoinDesk, Fortune. @WestHamgc Crypto Crooks creator 'Hardcore' - NYMag

Bushwick, Brooklyn
Joined April 2009
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Pinned Tweet
@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
3 months
If you haven’t closely followed the Sam Bankman-Fried #FTX case, here’s your chance to catch up on a scandal that goes far deeper than traditional media has reported. The Five Revelations of Sam Bankman-Fried I’m transitioning from 18 months of
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@thechosenberg Literally psychotic (sociopathic) behavior, btw
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
3 months
@HCLPO When it's impossible to know whether you're honestly this stupid, or simply think your target audience is this stupid, something has gone awry
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
30 days
@rasputinboneym Nationality Nationality Nationality Nationality ETHNICITY Nationality Nationality
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
7 months
@rickrudescalves She fucking annihilated him, casually. Lol
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
11 months
@drvolts What does the Ministry of Happiness do to keep the homeless off the street WHAT DO THEY DO
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@thechosenberg Incredible genetic outlier. I saw him at a conference LAST YEAR and yes, he looks exactly like that photo.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
Somebody hired a VERY expensive "boutique reputation management" firm to try and get us to pull this piece. Enjoy!
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
BREAKING: At SBF trial, #FTX / Alameda co-founder Gary Wang just testified that Alameda's liquidation engine allowed it to go more than $100m in the negative as early as late 2019, effectively tapping customer funds. He brought this to Sam Bankman-Fried . . . 1/2
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
SBF interview is just staggeringly deceitful. He says he was surprised by the size of Alameda's margin losses, neglecting to mention it was FTX exempted them from getting liquidated sooner. He talks about a "run on the bank," neglecting to mention he wasn't running a fucking bank
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
I’ve been working on this story for two months. It is extremely disturbing, but important. Bottom line: Russian authoritarianism has created a serious gap in global efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of children. That gap is called Yandex. 1/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
More evidence that will definitely come up in the Coinbase trial, and seems very bad for SEC. (NAL) “We went through a 16-month process with the SEC staff trying to register ... we were pretty summarily told in March that that process was over"
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
The new SEC charges against @stablekwon include more detailed new information than I have seen in similar documents. They clearly lay out the case that @terra_money was a calculated fraud - and that Kwon has cashed out ~$100m in stolen #BTC . @CoinDesk
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
So, I spent some time looking into @coinbase 's latest acquisition, Neutrino. What I found, just by reading existing reporting, is insanely dark, and could/deserves to become a massive scandal for Coinbase. Thread. /1
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
27 days
@thechosenberg FWIW this is a long, grand tradition. Lots of houseboats in and around the bay. I think one of the big docksites was featured in Inherent Vice? not sure about that tho
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
Jaso Calacanis deleted all his panicky mad-max tweets
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 month
@bust_bob Not because it's brutal or inhumane, simply because it's submental
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@bigblackjacobin I love that the "everything is science" people decided to beat their kids because they saw a tiger do it once, almost certainly on TV.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
So is Mike Novogratz' career over? You get got by a ponzi, I don't think you get to run money anymore.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
13 days
@SMTuffy Not just teetotalers, but 1) an infamous dry drunk, 2) a guy who could probably use a drink, and 3) a Catholic disciplined by guilt
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
These are terrible facts. But these facts teach us something even bigger. We live in a world of rising authoritarianism. Its consequences are not limited by borders. Those living in unfree societies pay the highest price. But none of us is free when any are in chains.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
Low-key wild story from late last week, relevant to #SEC case against Coinbase. In appeal of a crypto-focused bank's application for Fed access, a U.S. District Judge wrote it seemed "plausible" that the Fed interfered as part of an anti-crypto agenda.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
11 months
Reading through this now. For a start: "As Bankman-Fried’s parents, Bankman and Fried exploited their access and influence within the FTX enterprise to enrich themselves, directly and indirectly, by millions of dollars, and knowingly at the expense of the debtors". #FTX
@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
11 months
Here's the #ftx estate clawback filing against Bankman and Fried parentis. Sure to be a great read.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
The SEC documents against @stablekwon confirm what had been widely rumored: that there was a secret bailout in May of 2021. This means every subsequent representation of TerraUSD's stability was an act of fraud. The likely counterparty, IMO: Jump.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
@nktgill WHY IS EVERYONE SUDDENLY POSTING INCREDIBLY SAD AND BEAUTIFUL POETRY
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@thechosenberg "How do I answer this question" is an act of terrorism
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
Sam directed Gary to add all of Alameda's balances of #FTT token to the calculation of Alameda's overall losses, effectively initiating the use of FTX equity as collateral for the illicit lending of customer funds. 2/2
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@thechosenberg And I'm totally with him until the last couple beats
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
This is perhaps the most nihilistic, mechanistic, money brained, and soullessly expressed idea of the creative process I've ever seen. No wonder he longs for machines to replace you. To him, you are nothing but needless chaos.
@sama
Sam Altman
1 year
everything 'creative' is a remix of things that happened in the past, plus epsilon and times the quality of the feedback loop and the number of iterations. people think they should maximize epsilon but the trick is to maximize the other two.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@thechosenberg This is the first time I've ever seen this form of question posed and the answer is "uh, definitely not"
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
8 months
@JSTOR You are murderers
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@thechosenberg You need to be ready. For anything, at any time. Otherwise, you're already dead
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@becomingcry He's got that insane Young Brando energy (and talent). Hope it winds up less ... complicated
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@ettingermentum Georgia will never be defeated (in a logo bracket)
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@edzitron holy shit, this just gets more insane
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
Bitcoin book status: 36,000 words, almost 150 pages. Just some edges to tuck and a conclusion to write. I might finish this weekend. Raise your hand if you're interested in an advance read and willing to put your name to a blurb (assuming you like it).
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
3 years
I'm sorry but crypto bros being like "college is overrated" then spending $3mil to buy a book because they don't have even the faintest understanding of copyright law is absolutely uproariously funny to me
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
6 months
@IwriteOK Did he do a fucking barrel roll
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
23 days
@goofxist So ... it's the temperature of moderately air conditioned apartment
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
The CEO of Hacking Team said Julian Assange is “a criminal who by all means should be arrested" . . . Edward Snowden “should go to jail, absolutely.” Most of Hacking Team's leadership is now part of @coinbase .
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
Huge day in court, one highlight: Caroline testified that when she first started work at Alameda, both she and Sam had "luxury cars" paid for by Alameda. Sam later had them swapped for a Toyota Corolla and a Honda Civic, explicitly to create an image of modest living. #FTX
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
Michael Lewis wrote an entire #ftx book sympathetic to SBF and said he considered it a "letter to the jury." That's unethical, but regardless, I have a letter for the jury as well. It's one sentence long: *Sam Bankman-Fried's defense firm also represented Ghislaine Maxwell.*
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
8 months
So, uh, yeah, Michael Lewis just compared Sam Bankman-Fried's trial by a jury of his peers to a *lynching.* "It reminded me of accounts I've read of families packing up their picnic baskets and going to see the lynching ... Their spirits are high, they're enjoying everything,
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
NGOs focused on helping vulnerable people have been ruthlessly suppressed, along with the rest of civil society, ultimately in service of one man’s avarice. 9/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
According to experts, that has turned Yandex into a sort of training ground for pedophiles who aren’t tech-savvy enough to navigate the dark web. On Google or Bing, a search for terms associated with child exploitation returns warnings. On Yandex, it returns results. 4/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
3 months
If I'm reading it right, the Samourai indictment gives the game away. Justice claims $2 billion in "illegal transactions" - illegal because Samourai isn't a registered transmitter. But only $100 million in "criminal proceeds" - that is, actual money laundering. In other
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
But Vladimir Putin doesn’t like international nonprofits. And he doesn’t like the West’s vision of the Internet. So his government appears to have prevented Yandex from joining this effort. 3/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
Many victims are also in Russia itself. The same Kremlin policies that have prevented Yandex from joining global efforts to fight child exploitation have made human trafficking – of both children and adult women – rampant in Russia. 8/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
6 months
@EPM106 Hearing this answer would break Kojima's heart, unintentionally
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
The creeping normalization of pedophilia impacts every society on Earth. But many victims of commercial child exploitation are in unstable and impoverished places including sub-Saharan Africa. 7/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
Most major technology platforms rely on a shared database maintained by a nonprofit to block sexual images of children. These images have proliferated on the clearweb in a soul-crushing way, but it is a problem that major internet companies HAVE combated head-on. 2/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
8 months
@thechosenberg Motorcycles are terrible, god
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
This is literally *a program created by the law*. The person in the picture is collecting cans to be turned in for the deposit. They're keeping the city clean and reducing waste, while earning income. It's a stellar policy that's a win-win-win unless you're an utter psycho.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
Those results include sexual images of children. They also include links to forums where pedophiles can learn how to hide from law enforcement. By spreading this information, Yandex is helping normalize child exploitation by creating the impression that it is widespread. 5/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
It is also helping to create a market for commercialized child exploitation, a growing trend enabled by the darkweb and cryptocurrency. 6/10
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
9 months
I have so many thoughts about SBF in court today. Above all, this man understood *nothing* about finance. He has become obsessed with the idea of "hedging." Everything would have been fine if they had hedged. Hedge what? Like $3 billion dollars in *VENTURE INVESTMENTS*. 🤪🤪🤪
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
8 days
@evisdrenova I think the number we should be paying attention to here is the $2.5, not the $1.8. You need the domain. But how are you doing hardware for two million dollars regardless
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
Just to be clear, Martin Shkreli is 100% actually going back to prison, we're not just doing bants to dunk on him
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
This #CelsiusNetwork filing is absolutely bonkers. Analysis incoming, but the long and short: state investigators believe it was a Ponzi scheme as early as 2020.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
Remember when Martin Shkreli conned that Bloomberg reporter into leaving her husband of ten years, had sex with her while in prison, lied about his intention to marry her, then ended their "relationship" with a statement that he "wished [her] the best of luck in the future?"
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
13 days
@amdiazart @Keitsune_ Somehow Storm being okay with just a *little* evil in the pursuit of national self-determination totally scans and makes her character instantly more interesting
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
Holy fuck this is LITERALLY EVIDENCE FOR THE PROSECUTION. I will be sorely disappointed if it doesn't end up in evidence. LOL Lmao, even #ftxtrial
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
3 months
@bigblackjacobin We would have a lot to talk about
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 months
The government also submitted a LARGE document of DMs sent to Sam Bankman-Fried's Twitter account in the days after the #FTX collapse. They're a tough read.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 month
@consequence @limpbizkit I think they're gonna make it
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
It's very effective to talk about employees and founders and yes, they would be hurt by an SVB unwind. But remember that ultimately the vast majority of that money comes from, and would return to, guys who own jets
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
29 days
The AI boosters are absolutely FREAKING OUT over a newsletter, definite sign of strength and optimism
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
4 months
The real dirty little secret of the cryptocurrency industry is, this is really supposed to be a thing for like 300 assorted academics, freaks, and dorks for another two decades, but because it's directly monetizable, everything got fucked up
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
This is the god damn @TheAtlantic , describing FTX's collapse as a result of panicky customers withdrawing their money, in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty three. WHY are elite media consistently running interference for a fraudster? WHY?
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
6 months
Speaking as a former staff reporter, when Fortune Magazine refers to you as "fake Satoshi," in a headline, brother you are fuuuukt
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
9 months
Major highlight from #ftxtrial today: AUSA Sassoon led Sam Bankman-Fried to describe efforts to *personally steal* $650 million dollars worth of Robinhood shares. Gov: "And you transferred those shares to yourself?" Sam: "I'm not sure what you mean." The receipts 🧵: 1/5
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
8 months
@bigblackjacobin That's cinema, baby
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
9 years
Wow, RZA just said "All lives matter" to Bloomberg, reminded people that he's a vegetarian, and said black youth should dress better. WTF
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
4 years
@Whatapityonyou Like 79% of my soul is like lol good luck dumbfucks The other 21% is like this is clearly a major vector for catastrophic community spread and we're all doomed
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
I'm now on page 71 of Michael Lewis' #FTX SBF book and I am still in a world where Bankman-Fried is a world-saving genius who did nothing of note wrong
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@thechosenberg It's increasingly my belief that every truly happy couple's story is some variation on "we met at a naked punk hot tub party now we own a house and have two kids"
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
Listening to Caroline Ellison talk about how she created a fake balance sheet to Genesis Trading in June of 2022 is like learning the details of your own murder. (Genesis was a DCG company and its collapse led indirectly to my downsizing at CoinDesk.) #FTX
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@keplyq My god, it's full of stars
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
Let's clarify one thing: it's perfectly logical to be both overjoyed that Do Kwon's delusional farce collapsed before it got worse, AND deeply saddened and disturbed by the loss and suffering the collapse has caused. They are, in fact, the same emotion.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
7 months
I am inclined to go full tinfoil on this one. There's a very linear sequence of events that led to what looks like a kibosh on what would have been politically sensitive material. But it's all pretty convenient, including for Barbara Fried.
@innercitypress
Inner City Press
7 months
Crypto Crimes - and cover up? On SBF, just now DOJ wrote to Judge (6 pm on Fri Dec 29) "to provide notice to the Court and the defendant that it does not plan to proceed with a 2d trial" - dropping campaign finance and China bribe counts. Who took the money?
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@thechosenberg Somehow when it's a man in a button-down my "why would you ever post this and not just talk to actual friends about it" response is much stronger. Doing continuing battle with my own sexism, I guess
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
10 months
Michael Lewis' "Going Infinite" is a metatextual work of autofiction in which the unreliable narrator, after a long career as a near-revered financial journalist, is seduced by a sociopath and publicly destroys his career. Through this lens, it is a work of genius. #FTX
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
4 months
@lessin So the workers don't know what's best for workers ... I guess the best people to make decisions on their behalf are enlightened management? Investors maybe?
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
7 months
@RonFilipkowski @jbenton Having reported from Judge Kaplan's courtroom before, I'm really enjoying imagining exactly how much he likes this (Not much)
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
@thechosenberg Spiritual weakness
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
This is a guy reared on utilitarian ethical philosophy, who presented himself as deeply thoughtful about altruism, and he doesn't have the ethical intuition God gave a llama
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@BettyBowers @NoCapFights Because these people are all noodles, returning aggression simply melts them
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
The great thing about Crypto Twitter in 2019 is there are only like 400 of us and we all know each other so we're basically free to act like children.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
1 year
Considering I just got fired, maybe not
@andyboyan
andy ⬛️
1 year
Is it possible to be consistently productive and also regularly smoke weed/vape/edibles (thc in general)? what do you think?
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
3 years
Getting rich people to actually pay their taxes - which they avoid at a rate much higher than the rest of us - would have produced three times more revenue than the broken crypto language that just passed the Senate.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
You should make your own decisions. For my part, I agree with the advice of @pierre_rochard : “Sell your bitcoins on Coinbase, buy a jetpack and GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE”. /end
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
3 years
Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag, so: I'm ecstatic to announce that as of today I'm joining @CoinDesk as its Chief Insights Columnist. What the hell does that mean, you are certainly asking? More details and nuance incoming.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
It's going to zero, probably today. It's programmed that way. I genuinely think Jump may have fully screwed the pooch on this one. Worth noting they're not a crypto native firm, and their portfolio is about $40b. We might see a crypto collapse take down a tradfi firm.
@laurashin
Laura Shin
2 years
Yikes — UST at $0.75 😱😱😱
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 months
@dieworkwear @XGavinMcInnes I see you've been *lowers glasses* called a slur before
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
People keep asking if I'm back. And I haven't really had an answer. But yeah, I'm thinking I'm back. Today I joined @FortuneMagazine as a staff writer.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
If you seriously think Ethereum can replicate or supplant Bitcoin's role in a future decentralized financial system: Stop it. Get some help.
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
2 years
@stevanzetti Can we please god somehow goad him into announcing his intention to acquire Wikipedia for $44 billion
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@davidzmorris
David Z. Morris, PhD
5 years
Before you get too into the bull market, you should know: BSV is now worth more than $1B. This is all still pretty dumb
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