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Cryptocurrencies: Fad or the future?
The Real Story
Feb 5, 2021

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been back in the news this week after the endorsement of SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk. His comments prompted the price of bitcoin to rise sharply. It’s thought that a perfect storm of inflationary coronavirus stimulus spending by governments, plus eroding trust in financial markets is pushing investors towards the volatile investments. Hundreds of so called ‘alt-coins’ have followed Bitcoin into the highly unregulated cryptocurrency marketplace and worthless coins are being marketed on social media with prices rocketing hundreds of percentage points in minutes. It all has institutional investors wondering whether to dip their toes in for fear of missing out - and regulators scratching their heads about what to do next. New US treasury secretary Janet Yellen says cryptocurrencies are of ‘particular concern’ and the Indian government is now seeking to prohibit private cryptocurrencies altogether. So what are they and how have they evolved since the early days of Bitcoin a decade ago? Ritula Shah and a panel of guests discuss cryptocurrencies and what should be done about them.

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Bonus: Sam Bankman-Fried's multibillion dollar FTX fraud

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast.

Sam Bankman-Fried was the golden boy of cryptocurrency. He was dubbed the king and saviour of the industry. But this week he will be sentenced to possibly decades in prison for fraud and money laundering, and his firm, FTX, went bankrupt.

Joe Tidy, the BBC's cyber correspondent tells us about SBF - the man he interviewed before his trial. And Erin Delmore, our North America business correspondent explains what his downfall means for the future of crypto.

The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. #TheGlobalStory

The Global Story is part of the BBC News Podcasts family. The team that makes The Global Story also makes several other podcasts, such as Americast and Ukrainecast, which cover US news and the war in Ukraine. If you enjoy The Global Story, then we think that you will enjoy some of our other podcasts too. To find them, simply search on your favourite podcast app.

This episode was made by Peter Goffin, Neal Razzel, Beth Timmins and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Matt Hewitt. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.


26min 39sec

Cryptocurrencies: Fad or the future?

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