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This week, Briahna speaks to Tribune staff writer and author Grace Blakeley about the role cryptocurrencies are playing in the the Ukraine/Russia conflict. On one hand, it's being used to raise money for Ukrainians, and to provide liquidity for blameless Russian citizens who are being impacted sanctions. But it also provides an opportunity for the Russia to transact around sanctions and potentially receive support from allies, like China. Grace walks us through from A to Z -- explaining to Briahna what crypto is and how it works, before digging into bigger picture questions: Is it really possible that this conflict could mark the end of the dollar as a reserve currency? Does the rising influence of China create an incentive for the US to not come down so hard on crypto markets, given that it might want to take advantage of crypto backchannels once China is the global hegemon? Also, what is a reserve currency, why does it matter, and if finance is just which craft, why is it never used to solve any problems for the poor and working classes? Briahna had questions. Grace had answers.

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Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).