{"id":26284,"date":"2026-03-03T06:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T06:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=26284"},"modified":"2026-03-03T06:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T06:55:15","slug":"is-the-media-anti-tech-or-just-anti-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=26284","title":{"rendered":"Is the media anti-tech\u2014or just anti-crypto?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The New York Times<\/em> has long had an implacable animus towards all things blockchain, and last week decided to double down by publishing a stupid and dishonest op-ed titled \u201cCrypto is pointless. Not even the White House can fix that.\u201d Authored by a pair of economists from the Biden administration, the piece seized on Bitcoin dipping below $70,000 to make the case that this time<\/em> the crypto industry is truly cooked, and that blockchain technology is just a glorified database that even Big Tech firms won\u2019t touch. The authors top this off by claiming the previous administration made a good faith effort to work with the crypto industry, but had to take a tougher approach in the wake of the Sam Bankman-Fried scandal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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All of this is nonsense, and comes across as a last gasp for relevance by a dwindling band of Biden apologists. If you doubt it, go ask financial giants like BlackRock and Fidelity, which this year accelerated their embrace of digital assets. Or poll the likes of Stripe, Shopify, or Meta about whether they agree blockchain is just another database. As for the claims of commonsense regulation, the authors fail to mention how federal judges repeatedly decried Biden-era crypto investigations as \u201carbitrary and capricious.\u201d They also conveniently ignore that Bankman-Fried had deep ties to the Democratic party and committed his crimes on Biden\u2019s watch.<\/p>\n

This sort of mendacity informs the rest of the piece, and reflects the sort of motivated reasoning found in so much of the Times\u2019 <\/em>crypto coverage, and in other corners of the media as well. The question is why<\/em> pieces like this get published in the first place. Does it simply reflect a backlash by media outlets against the grotesque crypto grifting of the Trump administration? Or does it reflect something broader\u2014a contempt for new technology in general?<\/p>\n

There is certainly evidence of a creeping anti-tech worldview in the media, one that even extends to the technology bible WIRED. Om Malik, my former mentor and one of the shrewdest observers of Silicon Valley, has lamented that WIRED used to be a \u201cshiny beacon of light\u201d but that tales of technology are now getting crowded out by stories about achieving the best-smelling scrotum (really). Malik is not alone. In February, former WIRED executive Keith Grossman pointed to a story about crypto and human trafficking to decry the publication\u2019s excessive focus on politics and negativity\u2014a position that received support from a former WIRED editor-in-chief among others.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not black and white, of course. Stephen Levy, godfather of tech journalism, rightfully pointed out in response to Grossman that politics is<\/em> a big part of technology right now. Others noted that, unlike 15 years ago, tech and crypto CEOs can no longer credibly portray their firms as upstarts and underdogs. And that, even as they amass great power in Washington, D.C., they show little interest in the great responsibility that goes with that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible, however, to report on all this while also staying optimistic about the underlying technology\u2013whether it be crypto, AI, self-driving cars, or the many other marvelous inventions that can improve our lives. Unfortunately, it feels that expressing views on technology has become yet another way to declare allegiance with one side or the other in our interminable culture wars. This is a shame. New technology, whether in the form of electricity or antibiotics or the internet, has always brought cause for excitement and the promise of a better future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crypto is no different. This is clear from Digital Gold<\/em>, a 2015 book about the early history of Bitcoin whose back cover promises: \u201ca brilliant and engrossing account of this new technology.\u201d The book, probably still the best crypto work to date, is by a former New York Times<\/em> journalist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeff John Roberts<\/strong>
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts<\/p>\n

DECENTRALIZED NEWS<\/h3>\n

Circle\u2019s stock soared 35% <\/b>to around $83 after the firm reported USDC supply increasing 72% year-over-year, though its shares are still well below their IPO price. (<\/span>Bloomberg<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

The fever swamps of Crypto Twitter are <\/span>blaming Jane Street for suppressing the price of Bitcoin<\/b> by manipulating the ETF process, but market veterans are dismissing the allegations as an uninformed conspiracy theory. (<\/span>Fortune<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

In what has become a recurring feature of geopolitical conflicts, blockchain analytics firms identified <\/span>Polymarket wallets<\/b> that likely used inside information to profit handsomely from the <\/span>Iran strikes<\/b>. (<\/span>Bloomberg<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

In the latest sign of <\/span>crypto\u2019s tilt towards institutions<\/b>, a Bermuda-based startup called STS Digital, which serves as a <\/span>market maker for options, raised $30 million<\/b> from Kraken, CMT Digital, and others. (<\/span>Fortune<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

JPMorgan Chase<\/b> analysts said the long-awaited <\/span>crypto market structure bill could pass<\/b> mid-year, and that they maintained long-term price targets of $266,000. (<\/span>The Block<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

MAIN CHARACTER OF THE WEEK<\/h3>\n
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Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.<\/figcaption>

Michael M. Santiago\u2014Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Crypto conman Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s pardon campaign is in tatters as the White House reiterated to <\/span>Fortune<\/span><\/i> he won\u2019t get one, and Senator Cynthia Lummis made clear the GOP is not buying his born-again MAGA campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

MEME O’ THE MOMENT<\/h3>\n
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Bitcoin’s immaculate resurrections.<\/figcaption>

@Bfaviero<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Bitcoin is dead (again).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#media #antitechor #anticrypto<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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