Let Them Eat Crypto

A shocking exposé of the huge social, political and environmental costs of cryptocurrencies

The subject of immense hope, hype, and confusion, crypto has amassed countless headlines in recent years. With cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and metaverse markets crashing, the underlying blockchain technology is still promising to solve global development challenges and revolutionize every industry. But is the technology a silver bullet?

Peter Howson cuts through the jargon and bluster to tell an alarming story of how right-wing libertarian crypto entrepreneurs – often aided by charities, politicians, and philanthropists – seek out and exploit poverty, oppression, corruption, and conflict conditions. Their goal? A new front of ‘crypto-colonial’ extractivism. Let Them Eat Crypto reveals the alarming truth: far from ‘banking the unbanked’, saving the gorillas, or freeing people from oppressive governments, blockchain offers only false solutions, surveillance, and hi-tech snake oil.

Peter Howson is a technology writer, researcher, and Assistant Professor in International Development at Northumbria University. His work has appeared in Reuters, The Independent, The Conversation, Novara, Jacobin, and Coindesk. He investigates the green-washing, aid-washing, and crypto-shenanigans in Silicon Valley and the lesser-known tech hubs of the Global South.

‘An essential resource. Howson strikes not just at cryptocurrency, but the frauds who promote blockchain technology as a solution to any social problem’ David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain

‘A merciless takedown of attempts to apply blockchain to the world’s biggest problems ... If you are thinking of using blockchain for good, read this first’ Professor Villi Lehdonvirta, University of Oxford