David Z. Morris

David Z. Morris was CoinDesk's Chief Insights Columnist. He has written about crypto since 2013 for outlets including Fortune, Slate, and Aeon. He is the author of "Bitcoin is Magic," an introduction to Bitcoin's social dynamics. He is a former academic sociologist of technology with a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Iowa. He holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and small amounts of other crypto assets.

David Z. Morris

Latest from David Z. Morris


Opinion

We Can Vote Away Your Money for Free: The Implications of Juno Prop 16

The proposal appears to be the first major instance of a blockchain community potentially voting tokens out of the hands of a fellow holder.

(Robert Couse-Baker / Creative Commons)

Opinion

Elizabeth Warren and the Mysticism of the Crypto-Skeptics

What Jean-Paul Sartre can teach doubters who continue to poo-poo this technology based on limited reasoning.

(Rachel Sun/CoinDesk)

Opinion

Why Russian Sanctions Could Push Corporations Towards Crypto

The sudden disconnection of Russia from the global financial system is a moment for reflection. But economic fragmentation has a cost.

(Patrick Meinhardt/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Layer 2

‘How Can Information Be Free but Expensive?’: Holly Herndon on Web 3, Art and the Future of IP

Artists Herndon, Mat Dryhurst and Dan Keller discuss where they see Web 3 taking culture, why weirdos thrive in a Web 3 world, and what makes Berlin a nexus for art and technology.

From left: Mat Dryhurst, the author, Holly Herndon and Dan Keller at ETHDenver (photographer unknown)

Opinion

Ukraine Fundraisers Bring Out the Best, and Worst, in Crypto

If you tried to make money off Ukraine’s fundraising efforts, your soul is just as broken as your brain.

"A Saint Triumphant Over the Devil," by an unknown 18th century German artist. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Opinion

Bitcoiners Were Right: Weaponized Finance Just Created a Post-Dollar Planet

A wave of sanctions hitting Russia highlights the complex web of connections that make up contemporary global society – and its ultimate fragility.

A sign displays forex rates to the ruble at an exchange bureau in Moscow on Monday. (Getty Images)

Layer 2

How Tax Protesters Set Off the Bitcoin Revolution

Hardline U.S. libertarians laid some of the most important conceptual foundations for the cryptocurrency explosion we’re living through today. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Tax Week.

(Yunha Lee/CoinDesk)

Opinion

Apolitical Crypto Networks in Times of Sanction and War

If blackballed from the global financial system, will Russia turn to bitcoin?

Customers queue to use automated teller machines (ATM) inside a shopping mall in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian banks are facing a wave of international sanctions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Opinion

Trudeau Proved Bitcoin's Value, so Why Is It Trading Sideways?

Financial censorship in Canada is creating new crypto converts. But BTC's price isn't following - yet.

Truckers line up their trucks on Albert Street as they honk their horns on February 5, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. The trucker blockade has since been dispersed - in part through the use of financial seizures and censorship. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Opinion

ETHDenver Shows Not All Crypto Communities Are the Same

In a day focused on reforming economics and society, ETHheads discussed "public goods," Schelling Points and how DAOs can return power to the people.

The registration line for ETHDenver stretches down the block on Thursday, February 17, 2022 (David Z. Morris/CoinDesk)