David Z. Morris

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.

Social

Recent

"Requiring a small payment for all submissions would reduce low-quality submissions," says David Z. Morris of the problem of linguistic spam.
To Survive the New Era of Robot Spam, Look to Crypto’s History
Human communication systems are under threat from linguistic robots (AI). But the same spammy problem helped lead to the creation of Bitcoin.
"Requiring a small payment for all submissions would reduce low-quality submissions," says David Z. Morris of the problem of linguistic spam.
old timey car (Wikimedia Commons)
‘Get a Horse!’: What Crypto Can Learn From Early Automakers' Struggle for Acceptance
Automotive pioneers were surrounded by fraudsters, hated by banks and attacked by trolls. Sound familiar?
old timey car (Wikimedia Commons)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies about the Libra (Diem) project before the House Financial Services Committee on October 23, 2019. The hearings helped expose just how shallow Facebook's first claims of "decentralization" were. Now, with Threads, they're trying again. (Getty Images)
Threads Is Libra and Meta All Over Again
With his Twitter clone’s decentralized architecture, Mark Zuckerberg is yet again borrowing from crypto’s best ideas. Third time’s the charm?
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies about the Libra (Diem) project before the House Financial Services Committee on October 23, 2019. The hearings helped expose just how shallow Facebook's first claims of "decentralization" were. Now, with Threads, they're trying again. (Getty Images)
Uh oh. Bored Ape NFT values have declined dramatically over the past year. But why? (Yuga Labs, Modified by CoinDesk))
The Broke Ape Yacht Crash: Lessons for Justin Bieber and Other NFT Collectors
Why has Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape universe collapsed in value?
Uh oh. Bored Ape NFT values have declined dramatically over the past year. But why? (Yuga Labs, Modified by CoinDesk))
John J. Ray III, CEO of FTX Group, has spent huge sums taking the failed exchange through bankruptcy. Is FTX simply that much more complex than Ray's last big unwind - Enron? (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
How Much Is Too Much to Spend on FTX's Bankruptcy?
Are Sam Bankman-Fried’s victims being ripped off a second time?
John J. Ray III, CEO of FTX Group, has spent huge sums taking the failed exchange through bankruptcy. Is FTX simply that much more complex than Ray's last big unwind - Enron? (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
New FTX CEO John J. Ray III (C-Span)
The Second FTX Asset Recovery Report Is Packed With Bombshells
New claims put Sam Bankman-Fried and his friends even closer to the center of a brazen conspiracy.
New FTX CEO John J. Ray III (C-Span)
View of Ljubljana from a canal, under a bright blue sky (Eugene Kuznetsov/Unsplash)
Ljubljana: It’s a Beautiful Life in This Crypto Payments Hotbed
This unsung Central European success story features famous philosophers, a striking landscape and a high quality of life. And the No. 14 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 ha...
View of Ljubljana from a canal, under a bright blue sky (Eugene Kuznetsov/Unsplash)
The HASH Podcast Graphic
Headlines | Top Stories of the Week 06-19-23
A roundup of the week’s most valuable crypto stories for Saturday, June 24, 2023.
The HASH Podcast Graphic
(Wesley Tingey/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)
SEC Sought Freeze Order Despite ‘No Evidence’ That Binance Was Moving U.S. Customer Funds
The SEC’s “pre-crime” litigation strategy seemed to annoy Judge Amy Jackson.
(Wesley Tingey/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)
Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino at Paris Blockchain Week on April 14, 2022. There are signs tether (USDT) has become an object of increased short-seller interest as a U.S. regulatory crackdown accelerates. (Bitfinex)
Why Short Sellers May Have a Hard Time Betting Against Tether
Crypto’s most controversial financial instrument enjoys some notable insulation from skeptical bets.
Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino at Paris Blockchain Week on April 14, 2022. There are signs tether (USDT) has become an object of increased short-seller interest as a U.S. regulatory crackdown accelerates. (Bitfinex)