Scam Economy

By Matt Binder

What's Scam Economy about?

Bitcoin, the Blockchain, Web3, NFTs...welcome to the Scam Economy. Host Matt Binder (The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder, DOOMED) dives into the world of cryptocurrency in order to reveal the frauds, grifts, and scams. And there's plenty because, really, the whole thing is a scam. It's the Scam Economy.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Scam Economy episodes:

05.30.2024
58: Her: OpenAI v. Scarlett Johansson
Scam Economy host Matt Binder breaks down the latest OpenAI scandal: an AI Voice Assistant that its CEO Sam Altman not so subtly tweeted "Her" about, resulting in a cease and desist from actress Scarlett Johansson. Is this just a...
03.07.2024
57: Crypto Number Goes Up + The AI Hype Bubble (w/ Ed Zitron of Better Offline)
Ed Zitron of the new podcast Better Offline joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies getting some a new life and pumping in recent weeks, what's going on with crypto lately? We also discuss the...
02.05.2024
56: How MrBeast Inadvertently Revealed X / Twitter Monetization is Rigged
MrBeast made a quarter of a million dollars by uploading a video to Elon Musk's X and in doing so revealed just how rigged the monetization system is. Scam Economy host Matt Binder walks through all the details of X...
11.08.2023
55: Sam Bankman-Fried Guilty!: The FTX Fraud Trial (w/ Molly White)
Molly White of Web3 is Going Great joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the Sam Bankman-Fried trial. Molly brings us her first hand account from the days she spent at the court about the FTX founder's testimony and...
07.31.2023
54: The Tech Hype Bubble: VR Edition (w/ Paris Marx)
Paris Marx of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss one of the current big tech industry hype bubbles: VR or Virtual Reality. We break down Apple's entry into the field with the...
07.07.2023
53: Meta Launches Threads by Instagram as Elon Musk Wrecks Twitter
The battle between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg officially began on Wednesday, July 5th as Meta launched Threads by Instagram, it's Twitter competitor app. On this DOOMED and Scam Economy livestream crossover episode, Matt Binder breaks down the Threads app,...
06.13.2023
52: Unregistered Securities: SEC Sues Coinbase & Binance...Is This the End of Crypto in the U.S.? (w/ Molly White)
Molly White, the creator of Web3 is Going Great, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the SEC's lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance for selling unregistered securities. Molly and Matt break down the lawsuit against Coinbase, how the suit...
05.24.2023
51: Worldcoin Wants to Scan Your Eyeballs & Give You Crypto in Return: What Could Go Wrong? (w/ Leo Schwartz)
Leo Schwartz, reporter at Fortune, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss Worldcoin, the project that wants to scan the eyeballs of everyone in the world and give them cryptocurrency in return. Why do they want your biometric data?...
05.09.2023
50: Elon Musk and the Twitter Blue (Check)Mark of Shame
It's a DOOMED / Scam Economy crossover episode! Host Matt Binder breaks down what he's been so busy with over the past few weeks: a series of reports on Twitter that drove Elon Musk to gift/punish him with the Twitter...
04.06.2023
49: Orange is the New Blockchain: Crypto Crime ft. Kwon, Sun, SBF, & CZ (w/ Jacob Silverman)
In honor of the indictment and arrest of Trump Card NFT founder Donald J. Trump, Scam Economy takes a look at four of the (other) biggest crypto founders who recently got in trouble with the law. Host of CBC's The...
03.27.2023
48: Bitcoin Miners Are Making Bank...But Not From Mining Crypto (w/ Jackie Sawicky)
What happens when one of the biggest cryptocurrency mining companies in the world sets up shop in your small rural American town? Jacky Sawicky, founder of the Concerned Citizens for Navarro County and a member of the NCAC: National Coalition...
03.15.2023
47: The Fall of Silicon Valley Bank & the Crybaby Tech VCs (w/ Edward Ongweso Jr.)
Edward Ongweso Jr., writer of the Tech Bubble newsletter and co-host of This Machine Kills podcast, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the collapse of the tech industry's favorite financial institution, Silicon Valley Bank. Edward and Matt break...
03.09.2023
46: No Banking. No Staking. No Crypto Services? (w/ Bennett Tomlin)
Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics Corner and Protos joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss what a horrible years it's already been for crypto. Bennett and Matt focus on two specific areas that have hit cryptocurrency exchanges hard: traditional...
02.09.2023
45: Crypto Conspicuously Absent From This Year's Super Bowl. Wonder What Happened? (w/ Brandon Sutton)
One year after the Crypto Bowl, which saw many crypto companies spend big money to advertise during the Super Bowl...crypto is totally absent from this year's big game. Brandon Sutton of The Discourse joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to...
01.26.2023
44: Genesis, Gemini, and the Winklevi (w/ Ed Zitron)
Ed Zitron joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss Gemini Earn, the latest crypto lending program to go under and screw over customers. Ed and Matt discuss Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins, its business with...
01.24.2023
CES 2023: The Good, The Bad, The Dystopian Tech (w/ Eoin Higgins) (Scam Economy BONUS episode)
Scam Economy BONUS CES 2023 Special Edition episode: Eoin Higgins, reporter with Morning Brew, joins Matt Binder on a special DOOMED / Scam Economy combo episode to discuss what they saw at CES 2023. The Metaverse! Web3! Robotics! Electric Vehicles!...
01.18.2023
43: The Weirdest Frauds, Grifts, & Rug Pulls of Crypto's Hellish 2022 (w/ Molly White)
Molly White of Web3 is Going Great joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the (best? weirdest? most interesting?) worst of crypto / blockchain / Web3 in the year 2022. We break down the failed crypto companies, Seth Green's...
12.22.2022
42: From Sam Bankman-Fried to Sam Bankman-Jailed: The FTX Saga Continues (w/ Molly White)
Molly White, creator of Web3 is Going Great, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss a week jam-packed with FTX and SBF news. Molly discusses the Twitter Spaces chat she was in where she grilled Sam Bankman-Fried along with...
12.12.2022
41: So Many Hacks! The Myth of Blockchain Security (w/ Domingo Flores)
If the blockchain is so secure...why are there so many crypto hacks? Infosec expert Domingo Flores joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to dispel the myth of blockchain security. Domingo brings us back to the very basics and breaks down...
12.05.2022
40: BlockFi BankruptcyFi: A Bizarre FTX "Bailout" Story (w/ Nikhilesh De of CoinDesk)
Nikhilesh De of CoinDesk joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down the fall of another crypto lending company, BlockFi. This one has a twist though. BlockFi was actually bailed out by Sam Bankman-Friend of FTX this year when...
11.21.2022
39: FTX Conspiracies About Ukraine & Democrats Don't Add Up (w/ Sergey Vasylchuk)
Sergey Vasylchuk of Aid For Ukraine and CEO of Ukrainian crypto company Everstake joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to explain why the conspiracy theories being spread by right wing media outlets and influencers about FTX and its ties to...
11.14.2022
38: Scam Bankrupt-Fraud: The Death of FTX (w/ Ed Zitron)
Ed Zitron joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss one of the craziest weeks in crypto. FTX goes bankrupt, billions gone, hundreds of millions possibly hacked and/or stolen. Matt and Ed discuss all the details, breaking down the timeline...
11.07.2022
37: Sam Bankman-Fried is Known as Crypto's Bailout King. Is His Own Empire Broke? (w/ Mike Burgersburg)
Mike Burgersburg of Dirty Bubble Media joins Scam Economy to talk Sam Bankman-Fried aka SBF, founder of the crypto exchange FTX and the crypto hedge fund Alameda Research. Burgersburg explains to host Matt Binder his recent investigations into SBF's interesting...
10.31.2022
36: Inside Yuga Labs: Bored Ape Yacht Club Behind-the-Scenes (w/ Yasmin Gagne and Connie Lin)
Fast Company's Yasmin Gagne & Connie Lin join Scam Economy to discuss their latest piece: a sit-down with Yuga Labs to discuss the history of how the Bored Ape Yacht Club came to be. Yaz and Connie share with Matt...
10.21.2022
35: Crypto is the Future...Just Like Google Glass (w/ Quinn Myers)
Quinn Myers, freelance writer and author of the new book Remember the Internet: Google Glass joins the show to discuss Google's new partnership with Coinbase to accept crypto payments for Google Cloud services, crypto evangelists basking in acceptance from Big...
10.14.2022
34: RIP CNN's NFT Vault But Media's Terrible Crypto Coverage Lives On (w/ Parker Molloy)
Parker Molloy of The Present Age newsletter joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the death of CNN's little known NFT project, the CNN Vault. Parker and Matt take a look at how bizarre it was, the NFT collectors...
10.07.2022
33: Who'll Stop Celebrities From Unlawfully Shilling Shady Crypto & NFTs to Their Fans? (w/ Bonnie Patten)
Bonnie Patten, executive director of Truth In Advertising (TINA), joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the scourge of celebrity crypto and NFT endorsements. We discuss Kim Kardashian getting fined $1.26 million by the SEC for pushing a pump-and-dump...
09.29.2022
32: GiveCrypto and the Real Goal of "Crypto Charity" (w/ Leo Schwartz)
Leo Schwartz, reporter at Fortune, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss his report on GiveCrypto, a crypto charity set up by the crypto exchange Coinbase, the broader realm of crypto philanthropy and the ulterior motives behind it, how...
09.24.2022
31: One Year of Bukele's Bitcoin Law: Chaos in El Salvador (w/ Domingo Flores)
This month marks the one year anniversary of El Salvador's historic Bitcoin Law, cementing the Central American country the very first country to mark the cryptocurrency as legal tender. So, how's it going? Not good! Salvadoran infosec specialist Domingo Flores...
09.15.2022
30: The Ethereum Merge is Here. What It Means, Who's Getting Rich, & Why It Won't Be You (w/ Bennett Tomlin)
It's finally here...Ethereum Merge Day. Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics Corner and Protos.com joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down exactly what the Ethereum Merge is, why the crypto world is celebrating its arrival, the difference between the...
09.09.2022
29: Binance and the Mystery of Who is Guangying Chen? (w/ Jacob Silverman)
Journalist Jacob Silverman joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange...who is Guangying Chen? Silverman breaks down Binance's huge role in the crypto space and its founder Changpeng Zhao...
09.02.2022
28: Crypto's Summer From Hell (w/ Molly White)
Web3 Is Going Just Great creator Molly White returns to Scam Economy to break down crypto winter aka crypto's summer from hell with host Matt Binder. Matt and Molly discuss some of the crypto and Web3 failures, controversies, and scandals...
08.26.2022
Immutable and the Push to Force NFTs on Gamers (Scam Economy Live Post Show BONUS Clip)
Another BONUS teaser of the Scam Economy Livestream Call-In Post Show! Jon from Australia calls BACK into the Scam Economy Livestream Post Show in early August to talk to host Matt Binder about crypto in the video game space, TikTok...
08.18.2022
27: All Your Coinbase Are Belong To Us (w/ Ed Zitron)
Coinbase is America's #1 crypto exchange. Coinbase has also had a very, very bad couple of weeks. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the Coinbase insider trading case, how a former Coinbase product manager was able...
08.12.2022
Crypto Yield Rates Were Always a Red Flag (Scam Economy Live Post Show BONUS Clip)
A BONUS teaser of the Scam Economy Livestream Call-In Post Show! Listener of the show, Jon from Australia, called into the Scam Economy Livestream Post Show back in June to talk to host Matt Binder, right after an episode on...
08.05.2022
26: Dune and Done: The Spice DAO Saga (w/ Adi Robertson)
Adi Robertson, senior reporter at The Verge, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to bring us on the epic journey that is Spice DAO, the decentralized autonomous organization that raised around $12 million in cryptocurrency in order to bid on...
07.30.2022
25: Helium is Touted as the Web3 Gold Standard. Is It All Just a Bunch of Hot Air? (w/ Liron Shapira)
Angel investor Liron Shapira joins Scam Economy host Matt Binder to discuss his viral Twitter thread about the decentralized wireless network Helium, often viewed as the gold standard of Web3 uses cases. We discuss what Helium is and how does...
07.23.2022
24: PayWrecked: The People Who Took Their Paychecks in Crypto Regret It Now (w/ Quinn Myers)
Quinn Myers, author of the upcoming book Remember the Internet Vol. 3: Google Glass, joins Scam Economy to discuss his piece for MEL Magazine about the workers who decided to take their paychecks in crypto. Quinn and host Matt Binder...
07.15.2022
23: Elon Musk Loves Cryptocurrency (But Elon and Crypto Don't Love You)
Just like crypto, Elon Musk is all hype. So, they're a match made in heaven. Scam Economy host Matt Binder takes a look at Elon Musk's history of promoting cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and, his favorite, Dogecoin, whether or not he's...
07.08.2022
22: Bon Voyager! Your Crypto Loan Cash is Gone (w/ Ed Zitron)
Yet another crypto lender, Voyager Digital, has frozen its customers' funds, pausing withdrawals, and just filed for bankruptcy. But this time, it's even more looney than usual. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on the show to discuss how Voyager claimed...
07.01.2022
21: Coinspiracy: How QAnon Influencers Conned Their Followers with Crypto (w/ Ernie Piper & Nick Backovic of Logically.ai)
Logically.ai UK editor Ernie Piper and Senior OSINT Analyst Nick Backovic join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the tech-based anti-misinformation firm's report on the QAnon influencers scamming their followers with crypto pump-and-dump schemes. We discuss the QAnon conspiracy...
06.24.2022
20: Damn, the Torpedoes: The Story of Celsius (w/ Mike Burgersburg/Dirty Bubble Media)
Mike Burgersburg of Dirty Bubble Media joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to breakdown his reporting on the crypto lender Celsius, how they contributed to the crypto crash, why they've frozen all of their customers accounts, its founder Alex Mashinsky...
06.17.2022
19: Crypto Jenga Tower Collapse: Celsius & the Crypto Time Bombs (w/ David Gerard & Amy Castor)
Crypto critics David Gerard & Amy Castor join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to talk about the "Jenga stack of interconnected time bombs" that is this week's cryptocurrency crash. David and Amy breakdown how the entire crypto space is like...
06.10.2022
18: They Lost Everything: How the Terra Crypto Crash Ruined Lives Around the World (w/ Leo Schwartz)
Leo Schwartz, reporter at Rest of World, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss his recent piece interviewing people from around the world who had invested in the stablecoin Terra and lost everything they had in the crash. We...
06.03.2022
17: Bitcoin Nazis, Ethereum Grifters: A Tale of Two Communities (Scam Economy LIVE in Brooklyn w/ Michael E. Hayden)
Michael Edison Hayden of the Southern Poverty Law Center joined Matt Binder for a LIVE episode of Scam Economy as part of the Digital Void Festival: Brooklyn on May 26 at Littlefield's. Matt takes a look at the two biggest...
05.20.2022
16: How Wikipedia Cancelled Crypto (w/ Molly White)
Longtime Wikipedia editor and Web3 is Going Great creator Molly White joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss why Wikipedia stopped taking cryptocurrency donations, how the Wiki community came together to make it happen, what happened when crypto advocates...
05.12.2022
15: Terra, Luna, & The Crypto Crash: Everything You Need to Know (w/ Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics' Corner)
EMERGENCY POD! The crypto market is in a free fall. What is happening?! Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics' Corner joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down what stablecoin Terra (UST) is, why it lost its peg and what...
05.06.2022
14: Crypto Bad Ideas: Abortions on the Blockchain!? + Bored Apes Break Ethereum (w/ Molly White)
Creator of Web3 is Going Great, developer Molly White joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the insanely high Ethereum gas fees from over the weekend where people were being charged thousands in fees for transactions as low as...
04.29.2022
13: Arrested for Protesting Bitcoin (w/ Mario Gomez)
Salvadorian developer Mario Gomez joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss his arrest over his activism against El Salvador's Bitcoin laws, why El Salvador is going all in on Bitcoin and making it an official currency, how it all...
04.22.2022
12: A/S/L/Crypto?: The Dating App Crypto Scam Scourge
Looking for love? Have you been targeted by a crypto scam on a dating app? Scam Economy listeners recently called into the live post-show to share their experiences with host Matt Binder. There's plenty of twists, turns, and swerves! Here...

What's Scam Economy about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Scam Economy episodes:

58: Her: OpenAI v. Scarlett Johansson

57: Crypto Number Goes Up + The AI Hype Bubble (w/ Ed Zitron of Better Offline)

56: How MrBeast Inadvertently Revealed X / Twitter Monetization is Rigged

55: Sam Bankman-Fried Guilty!: The FTX Fraud Trial (w/ Molly White)

54: The Tech Hype Bubble: VR Edition (w/ Paris Marx)

53: Meta Launches Threads by Instagram as Elon Musk Wrecks Twitter

52: Unregistered Securities: SEC Sues Coinbase & Binance...Is This the End of Crypto in the U.S.? (w/ Molly White)

51: Worldcoin Wants to Scan Your Eyeballs & Give You Crypto in Return: What Could Go Wrong? (w/ Leo Schwartz)

50: Elon Musk and the Twitter Blue (Check)Mark of Shame

49: Orange is the New Blockchain: Crypto Crime ft. Kwon, Sun, SBF, & CZ (w/ Jacob Silverman)

48: Bitcoin Miners Are Making Bank...But Not From Mining Crypto (w/ Jackie Sawicky)

47: The Fall of Silicon Valley Bank & the Crybaby Tech VCs (w/ Edward Ongweso Jr.)

46: No Banking. No Staking. No Crypto Services? (w/ Bennett Tomlin)

45: Crypto Conspicuously Absent From This Year's Super Bowl. Wonder What Happened? (w/ Brandon Sutton)

44: Genesis, Gemini, and the Winklevi (w/ Ed Zitron)

CES 2023: The Good, The Bad, The Dystopian Tech (w/ Eoin Higgins) (Scam Economy BONUS episode)

43: The Weirdest Frauds, Grifts, & Rug Pulls of Crypto's Hellish 2022 (w/ Molly White)

42: From Sam Bankman-Fried to Sam Bankman-Jailed: The FTX Saga Continues (w/ Molly White)

41: So Many Hacks! The Myth of Blockchain Security (w/ Domingo Flores)

40: BlockFi BankruptcyFi: A Bizarre FTX "Bailout" Story (w/ Nikhilesh De of CoinDesk)

39: FTX Conspiracies About Ukraine & Democrats Don't Add Up (w/ Sergey Vasylchuk)

38: Scam Bankrupt-Fraud: The Death of FTX (w/ Ed Zitron)

37: Sam Bankman-Fried is Known as Crypto's Bailout King. Is His Own Empire Broke? (w/ Mike Burgersburg)

36: Inside Yuga Labs: Bored Ape Yacht Club Behind-the-Scenes (w/ Yasmin Gagne and Connie Lin)

35: Crypto is the Future...Just Like Google Glass (w/ Quinn Myers)

34: RIP CNN's NFT Vault But Media's Terrible Crypto Coverage Lives On (w/ Parker Molloy)

33: Who'll Stop Celebrities From Unlawfully Shilling Shady Crypto & NFTs to Their Fans? (w/ Bonnie Patten)

32: GiveCrypto and the Real Goal of "Crypto Charity" (w/ Leo Schwartz)

31: One Year of Bukele's Bitcoin Law: Chaos in El Salvador (w/ Domingo Flores)

30: The Ethereum Merge is Here. What It Means, Who's Getting Rich, & Why It Won't Be You (w/ Bennett Tomlin)

29: Binance and the Mystery of Who is Guangying Chen? (w/ Jacob Silverman)

28: Crypto's Summer From Hell (w/ Molly White)

Immutable and the Push to Force NFTs on Gamers (Scam Economy Live Post Show BONUS Clip)

27: All Your Coinbase Are Belong To Us (w/ Ed Zitron)

Crypto Yield Rates Were Always a Red Flag (Scam Economy Live Post Show BONUS Clip)

26: Dune and Done: The Spice DAO Saga (w/ Adi Robertson)

25: Helium is Touted as the Web3 Gold Standard. Is It All Just a Bunch of Hot Air? (w/ Liron Shapira)

24: PayWrecked: The People Who Took Their Paychecks in Crypto Regret It Now (w/ Quinn Myers)

23: Elon Musk Loves Cryptocurrency (But Elon and Crypto Don't Love You)

22: Bon Voyager! Your Crypto Loan Cash is Gone (w/ Ed Zitron)

21: Coinspiracy: How QAnon Influencers Conned Their Followers with Crypto (w/ Ernie Piper & Nick Backovic of Logically.ai)

20: Damn, the Torpedoes: The Story of Celsius (w/ Mike Burgersburg/Dirty Bubble Media)

19: Crypto Jenga Tower Collapse: Celsius & the Crypto Time Bombs (w/ David Gerard & Amy Castor)

18: They Lost Everything: How the Terra Crypto Crash Ruined Lives Around the World (w/ Leo Schwartz)

17: Bitcoin Nazis, Ethereum Grifters: A Tale of Two Communities (Scam Economy LIVE in Brooklyn w/ Michael E. Hayden)

16: How Wikipedia Cancelled Crypto (w/ Molly White)

15: Terra, Luna, & The Crypto Crash: Everything You Need to Know (w/ Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics' Corner)

14: Crypto Bad Ideas: Abortions on the Blockchain!? + Bored Apes Break Ethereum (w/ Molly White)

13: Arrested for Protesting Bitcoin (w/ Mario Gomez)

12: A/S/L/Crypto?: The Dating App Crypto Scam Scourge

Other shows like Scam Economy: