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


Finance

Twitter’s New Crypto Features Are a BFD

The social network’s new tip wallet and forthcoming NFT verification are game-changers - and a bulwark against attempts to co-opt a movement.

Close up of coworkers using mobile phones in bar, sharing payment, finance, millennial, paying

Policy

Who Watches the Chain Watchers?

Chainalysis works within the bounds of the law, exploiting the real privacy issues for public blockchains. That’s not an invitation for blanket, legislative surveillance.

(Chris Yang/Unsplash)

Markets

Fear Is Good (For Your Wallet)

Dismissing negative signals as nothing but FUD is a great way to lose money.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Markets

With Evergrande on the Brink, the ‘China Hustle’ Comes Home to Roost

Evergrande’s problems are part of a much larger pattern in Chinese equities. One overlooked documentary was a stark warning that needs revisiting.

An electronic screen displays the Hang Seng Index in the Central district of Hong Kong, China Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Growing investor angst about China's real estate crackdown rippled through markets, pummeling Hong Kong developers and adding pressure on Beijing authorities to stop financial contagion from destabilizing the economy. Photographer: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Markets

Evergrande and China’s Looming Risk to Tether

Tether says it doesn’t hold short-term debt from the struggling developer. But that doesn’t mean tether holders aren’t at risk.

Evergrande Real Estate Group founder and Chairman Hui Ka Yan in March 2014. He's likely a bit less bouyant today - Evergrande is on the verge of default. (Getty)

Markets

The Upside of a Gensler-Led Crackdown

Crypto players are expecting more aggressive regulation from the SEC. That has some potential benefits.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 14: Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,  testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing on the SEC on September 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images)

Finance

How Media Fell for a Lucrative Lie About Walmart

A series of failures by news services and gatekeepers sent Litecoin, an early altcoin, on a wild, fraudulent ride.

Fake news keyboard (Getty Images/Dazeley)

Finance

Bukele’s MS-13 Double Bind

The Salvadoran President has had to operate in secret while negotiating with gangs. That has raised suspicions and lent aid to his critics.

SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR - MAY 20:  MS-13 gang members languish in one of the three 'gang cages' in the Quezaltepeque police station May 20, 2013 in San Salvador, El Salvador. These overcrowded, 12x15 cages were designed to be 72-hour holding cells for common criminals and the two rival gangs, but many of the individuals have been imprisoned for over a year.  (Photo by Giles Clarke/Getty Images.)

Finance

Do NFTs’ Crazy Valuations Make Them Art? A Leading Collector Says No

The cultural cachet that makes fine art such a good investment will take years to build up around NFTs.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: Highlights from Sotheby's auctions of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern and African Art at Sotheby's, featuring The Visitor by South African artist Gerard Sekoto on March 20, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Sotheby's)

Finance

Coinbase Has Words for the SEC. Is It Listening?

The crypto exchange says a surprise legal warning came after months of transparency about its lending plans.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 09:  (L-R) Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Gary Gensler, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew share a moment during a Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) meeting December 9, 2013 at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC. Members of FSOC met to discuss cybersecurity and receive a presentation from the Office of Financial Research on financial market developments.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)