I’m not an old man, but when it comes to crypto, I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been involved with cryptocurrencies since 2010 and have taught a course on digital currencies at NYU for nearly a decade. Over that time, I’ve seen booms and busts, scandals and arrests, and an ever-rotating cast of crypto heroes and villains. Bitcoin is now at an all-time high—$120,000 as of this writing—but price isn’t the real story. The real story is that bitcoin changed the nature of money forever. None of the wild stories—from the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried to the shutdown of drug market Silk Road—alter the fundamental dynamics that ... (full story)