Joon Ian Wong
Quartz
United Kingdom
Contact Joon
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Joon:
Elon Musk's problem with journalism can be solved with—you guessed it—a blockchain
Maybe Elon Musk won't have to go to all the trouble of building his "Pravda" website for rating journalists' credibility, because, it turns out, there's already a blockchain for that. It's called Civil, which touts itself as a "decentralized marketplace for sustainable journalism." Civil, which is the name of both the company and... → Read More
Coinbase bought a “decentralized” crypto exchange. How does that work?
Last week, the major cryptocurrency startup Coinbase acquired a company called Paradex. This company is known as a "decentralized exchange" (or a "DEx," if you want to be down with the crypto cool kids). This new type of exchange is said to be a safer way to trade crypto coins—which is pretty useful, given that... → Read More
Bitcoin traders are being investigated for market manipulation, and bitcoin is up 3%
News broke today (May 24) that the US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into market manipulation of bitcoin prices. It's working with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to bring bad actors to justice. Bitcoin—in keeping with its reputation for being volatile and unpredictable—promptly rose 3%. What exactly is going on?... → Read More
Every cryptocurrency’s nightmare scenario is happening to Bitcoin Gold
Bitcoin Gold is a fork, or spin-off, of the original cryptocurrency, bitcoin. It shares much of the same code and works in a similar way to bitcoin, with Bitcoin Gold miners contributing computational power to process new transactions. That also means it faces the same vulnerabilities as bitcoin, but without the protections that come from the large,... → Read More
Is bitcoin being manipulated by traders? The US government has opened a criminal probe
The US Justice Department has started a criminal investigation into market manipulation of bitcoin prices, Bloomberg reported today. The probe will look for evidence of practices like spoofing and wash trading, both of which involve creating false orders to create the impression of genuine market activity, the report said, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of... → Read More
There’s only one untainted “Big Four” accounting firm left to audit Malaysia’s scandal-ridden wealth fund
Malaysia's new finance minister today appointed the accounting firm PwC to audit the finances of 1MDB, a scandal-hit state wealth fund—but he never really had much choice. It's the only remaining "Big Four" accounting firm that isn't tainted by the allegations of corruption engulfing 1MDB, the news site Malaysiakini reported. The Big Four comprise the Dutch enterprise... → Read More
Eight years ago today, someone bought two pizzas with bitcoins now worth $82 million
Today is Bitcoin Pizza Day. Eight years ago, on May 22, 2010, a programmer purchased two large Papa John's pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins, worth about $30 at the time. It's widely believed to be the first purchase of a product with bitcoin, proving the then-nascent cryptocurrency's potential as a means of payment. Bitcoin was less... → Read More
The two-year-old company that makes Nokia phones is now worth over $1 billion
The Finnish company that sells Nokia-branded phones isn't named Nokia. It's a startup called HMD Global founded two years ago to license the Nokia brand for its handsets. Yesterday (May 21) it announced that it's valued at over $1 billion, after raising $100 million from investors. HMD says the funds will be used to scale... → Read More
There’s a good reason why the ousted Malaysian PM’s wife bought 284 luxury handbags
Malaysian police last week seized 284 boxes of luxury handbags from residences linked to the ousted Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. The bags are believed to be owned by Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, who is known for her predilection for a particular brand and style: the Hermès Birkin. Rosmah is unpopular in Malaysia because her lavish... → Read More
Zuckerberg's testimony to the European Parliament will now be livestreamed
Originally scheduled to take place behind closed doors, a public outcry reportedly brought about the change in plans. → Read More
Britain is using simple tax errors as a reason to deport migrants
Filling out tax returns can be complicated, and it's easy to make a mistake. But for 33-year-old Nisha Mohite, one simple mistake resulted in her losing her job, her home, and her right to remain in the UK. And she's not alone. At least 1,000 migrants—including doctors, engineers, and scientists—are being denied settled status for... → Read More
Jack Dorsey joined a company hackathon to get bitcoin in Square
The tech CEO is a closet cypherpunk. → Read More
The biggest bitcoin miner is turning into a venture-capital juggernaut
Bitmain is the world's biggest maker of bitcoin mining rigs, earning a reported $4 billion in profits last year. Now it's using that cash to become a major force in venture capital investing, announcing today (May 15) that it led a $110 million round in Circle, a Boston-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet business. The mega-round,... → Read More
A bitcoin believer would bet anything that “blockchain tech” won’t last five years
Onstage at the blockchain world's biggest conference, bitcoin developer Jimmy Song said today that he'd be willing to take on Joseph Lubin's proposed bet that "blockchain tech"—the use of a decentralized ledger without a cryptocurrency—won't have any significant users in five years. Lubin, a co-founder of ethereum who is worth between $1 and $5 billion according... → Read More
Malaysians are routing cash and logistics support through Facebook so they can go home and vote
As Malaysia heads to the polls today (May 9 local time), some voters will have beaten long odds to cast their ballots. Malaysians around the world have used social media in recent days to spontaneously form volunteer networks to generate funds, transport postal ballots, pool car rides, and otherwise go to extraordinary lengths to cast their... → Read More
How to value cryptocurrencies—in theory, anyway
Buy, sell, or hold? Those are the eternal questions confronting traders, and they are particularly urgent in volatile crypto markets. There are a number of ways that analysts are trying to apply something resembling financial analysis to these newfangled digital assets, in hopes of arriving at recommendations for when to load up and when to... → Read More
Is ethereum a security? The answer could upend the crypto world
Securities issues must follow strict requirements on registration, disclosure, and accreditation of investors. Most coin offerings don't satisfy these rules. → Read More
The internet’s core infrastructure was hacked to steal ethereum from a popular wallet service
After logging in, a 10-second timer appeared, counting down to the wallet's funds being transferred out to the attacker. → Read More
The Kraken crypto exchange responds to a New York legal inquiry with snark
Cryptocurrency traders don't need—or even want—to be protected from market manipulation, according to the chief executive of the Kraken crypto exchange. That is one of the statements made by Jesse Powell in response to an inquiry by New York's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman. Last week, the state prosecutor asked Kraken and 12 other exchanges for more... → Read More
The UK regulator charged with investigating Cambridge Analytica says it needs a much bigger budget
Although it is gaining a host of new powers, the agency is struggling to pay enough to attract staff from the private sector scrambling to meet the new rules. → Read More