"The claimed functionality and the actual functionality are both bad." -- Everything you always wanted to know about NFTs but were afraid to ask

And I do mean everything. This video by Dan Olson is basically two hours and change of a guy sitting at a desk talking, but it's good talk -- well written and smoothly delivered -- and given the complexity of the topic and the depth and insightfulness of the analysis, there's almost no fat to be trimmed here.  After it gets going, it's also surprisingly involving. Though I had other things to do, I kept telling myself "just one more chapter."

I first heard of this from Stephen Diehl. (I first heard of Stephen Diehl from the Financial Times. I already knew about the Financial Times.) With anything crypto related, Diehl's opinion carries a lot of weight.

The amount of research that went into this crypto criticism video essay is impressive. I can barely research these weird subcultures without feeling like I'm taking crazy pills. This deserves some Youtube-version of a Pulitzer for level of public service.https://t.co/pDTx2MYjue

— Stephen Diehl (@smdiehl) January 24, 2022

The final chapter to this video is the coup de grâce
against the NFT cryptocult and weaves the entirety of the argument together. It's a masterpiece of form and argument.https://t.co/dgD8zgjjaZ

— Stephen Diehl (@smdiehl) January 28, 2022

Here's one of many sharp quotes from Olson:

"The one market crypto currency has successfully disrupted is the market of fraud. ... A big population of people have willingly self-identified that they have substantial disposable income, poor judgement, low social literacy, a high tolerance for nonsensical risk and are highly persuadable." 

If you're just not a video person, Olson provided a reading list. I'd add Jemima Kelly and Jamie Powell of FT Alphaville.

https://web3isgoinggreat.com/ https://tante.cc/2021/12/17/the-third... https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/... https://amycastor.com/2021/03/14/meta... https://www.stephendiehl.com/blog/cry... https://blog.mollywhite.net/blockchai... https://www.motherjones.com/politics/... https://twitter.com/davetroy/status/1... https://davidgolumbia.medium.com/cryp... https://marker.medium.com/fintech-is-... https://naavik.co/business-breakdowns... https://www.gawker.com/culture/the-fu... https://twitter.com/NFTtheft https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/arc... https://www.gamesindustry.biz/article... https://www.technollama.co.uk/platfor... https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/... https://twitter.com/Bitfinexed