Cryptocurrencies have been in the news a lot these days with the rise of Bitcoin, and while you’ve likely had a friend, co-worker, or random stranger corner you and describe it as a radical and revolutionary innovation, the truth is it’s a confusing trend to navigate. As John Oliver described it in yesterday’s Last Week Tonight, it’s “everything you don’t understand about money…with everything you don’t understand about computers.”
The show addressed everything from Trump’s offhanded comment that he’d meet with Kim Jong Un to some of the worst promotions of International Women’s Day, but the main story of the night gave a simplistic and general overview about the rise of cryptocurrency and the internet communities that adore it. It took a look at some specific companies, and broke down terms like “blockchain,” a recent buzzword that’s being adopted in completely unrelated brands for its buzziness.
Throughout the segment, it’s clear that Oliver isn’t a huge bitcoin fanboy—his running joke is making fun of Dan from the office who just won’t shut up about how cryptocurrency is going to bring the world “financial freedom, bro.” He acknowledges that the volatile market does have potential, though. “I could be wrong. I’m absolutely not, but I could be,” he says about Eos possibly becoming the next Google.
The general takeaway, he concludes, is that he hopes people will try not to fall into the traps of cryptocurrency schemes or buzzwords. “The point is, if you choose to invest in the cryptocurrency space, just know that you are not investing: you’re gambling. Which is fine, but you should know what you’re doing,” says the host. “The important thing to remember here is that this is a brand-new, very complicated space and literally nobody knows how it’s going to develop so you need to be careful.”
“Be careful”, he admits, is not the most exciting or glamorous take-away. However, that’s why he enlisted Keegan Michael Key for a thrilling and inspiring conclusion inspired by BitConnect’s Carlos Matos:
Thanks to @KeeganMKey for reminding us all to stay craeful out there! #craefulgang pic.twitter.com/P7k7OFaBDB
— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) March 12, 2018
(image: screencap)
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