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


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The Privacy Boom Is Going to Change Everything

The public is wising up to the harms of surveillance. Investors see opportunity, but activists say fixing privacy requires more than new widgets. This article is part of CoinDesk's Privacy Week.

(Rachel Sun/CoinDesk)

Opinion

Bukele's Bitcoin Is Not What Turkey Needs

El Salvador's President didn't mention bitcoin in his meeting with Erdogan - but it's not a cure for Turkey's monetary woes anyway.

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele this week. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

Opinion

Meta Leans In to Tracking Your Emotions in the Metaverse

Meet the new world, same as the old: Horizon Worlds, where you will be bagged, tagged and mercilessly monetized.

We have such sights to show you ... (And also we'll be stealing your face.) (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Opinion

Nayib Bukele Is Not the Bitcoin Hero We Need

Evidence that El Salvador's president has targeted journalists and suppressed free speech contradicts Bitcoin's core values.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has reportedly targeted journalists with spyware. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Opinion

Bitcoin, Inflation and the Expectations Game

For stocks, new data is often already "priced in." For bitcoin, it seems, things are different.

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Opinion

DeSo Wants Your Seed Phrase. Let Them Come and Take It

Private key security is a fundamental building block of Web 3. One project seems a little too eager to compromise.

Sterling Hayden (left) as Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper and Peter Sellers as Captain Lionel Mandrake in the 1964 film "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." (John Springer Collection/Getty Images)

Layer 2

The Mnuchin Files: New Documents Shed Light on Trump-Era Crypto Policy

Jared Kushner advocated behind the scenes for a U.S. digital currency, among other revelations in a 250-page trove from Steven Mnuchin’s tenure at Treasury.

Steven Mnuchin (Illustration: Melody Wang/Photo: Getty Images)

Opinion

How to Stay Sane During a Crypto Crash

Crypto longtimers are unfazed by bitcoin’s recent 38% drop. Here’s why they’re so zen – and how to find your own happy place.

Things are getting rough out there, but remember: it can't rain all the time.

Opinion

Facebook, Walmart and How Companies Shouldn’t Set Up in the Metaverse

Facebook’s “pivot to video” destroyed businesses that went along. The metaverse could be a repeat act.

A WalMart demo of virtual-reality shopping, first produced in 2017, has been making the rounds again as an example of the Metaverse. (WalMart/YouTube)

Opinion

What Crypto Can Learn From Elizabeth Holmes’ Fraud Conviction

There’s a surprisingly clear line between “fake it ‘til you make it” and just plain faking it.

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, left, departs from federal court after her conviction on fraud charges. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)