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Defector

Patrick Redford

US President Donald Trump (L) meets with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of their visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)

Politics

Donald Trump Is Stealing Your Money

Capital

Let Your Buyers Become Your Criers When You Pull The Rug Out From Beneath The Table Of Success

Former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao arrives at federal court in Seattle, Washington, on April 30, 2024. Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former chief executive of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced today to four months in prison after he pleaded guilty to violating laws against money laundering. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)

Donald Trump’s Crypto Corruption Machine Is Whirring Along At A Stunning Pace

Brandy Jensen

Shakira Austin #0 of the Washington Mystics shoots the ball against Maria Kliundikova #77 of the Minnesota Lynx in the first quarter at Target Center on August 08, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WNBA

Why A Bunch Of Real Dicks Keep Throwing Fake Ones

Albert Burneko

AI-Powered Robot interacts with People during the Italian Tech Week 2024 at OGR Officine Grandi Riparazioni on September 26, 2024 in Turin, Italy.

Toward A Theory Of Kevin Roose

A large bitcoin guy regards the world they will take over

What World Does Bitcoin Want To Build For Itself?

Israel Daramola

Welcome To The Scam Century

A stock graph shows the value of the $TRUMP meme coin displayed on a mobile screen in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto)

Donald Trump Has Finally Come Up With A Use Case For Crypto

Welch, who might soon need to Talk Tuah lawyer

Life's Rich Pageant

The Hawk Tuah Memecoin Rug Pull Is The Apotheosis Of Bag Culture

Ohio State Graduates Subjected To Commencement Speaker’s Cryptobabble And Bad Singing

A Bored Ape Yacht Club, uh, ape, whose eyes I have crudely blacked out, with blood running in rivulets from his empty eyesockets.

The Machines

When Blindness Hits A Hundred Bucks A Share, Then Who Will Be Laughing, I Ask You, “Doctor”

Samuel Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, testifies during a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing about "Examining Digital Assets: Risks, Regulation, and Innovation," on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2022. The photo is stylized. His big poofy hair is mostly what the photo is of, plus the top half of his face. The canvas behind him is ugly and Brown, kind of in a gradient.

Arts And Culture

Michael Lewis’s ‘Going Infinite’ Goes In Circles

NEW YORK, USA - JUNE 15: FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at Manhattan Federal Court for a court appearance in New York, United States on June 15, 2023. (Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Oh, So It’s Illegal To Email Your Son About How To Do Financial Crimes Now?

Steph Curry carves a Bored Ape ice sculpture.

The NBA’s New Social Justice Champion Has A Few Demerits

Lisbon , Portugal - 1 November 2022; Changpeng Zhao, Co-founder &amp; CEO, Binance at Centre Stage during the opening night of Web Summit 2022 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images)

Binance Crackdown Reveals How Rigged The Crypto Game Is


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

A menorah on a "happy Chanukah" plate. In front of it are dreidels and CRYPTO GELT: Chanukah Coins for the new age.

Hanukkah Doesn’t Need A Hip Rebrand

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 8: Chief Executive Officer of FTX Trading Limited Sam Bankman-Fried speaks during a House Committee on Financial Services | Full Committee Hearing titled Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Dec. 08, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested As FTX Bankruptcy Team Beefs With Bahamian Authorities

ROME, ITALY - MAY 10: Founder and CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as "CZ", attends the "CZ meets Italy" at Palazzo Brancaccio on May 10, 2022 in Rome, Italy. Changpeng Zhao is the founder and CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume as of April 2018. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

Binance Lawyer: Do Not Tickle Me! I’m At The Base Of This Human Pyramid!

MIAMI, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 21: An exterior view of FTX Arena prior to a game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat at FTX Arena on October 21, 2022 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

So Much For FTX Arena

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 23: Sam Bankman-Fried speaks onstage during the first annual Moonlight Gala benefitting CARE - Children With Special Needs - hosted by Michael Cayre, Roy Nachum and MegaMoon Museum at Casa Cipriani on June 23, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for CARE For Special Children )

Crypto Is Running Out Of Dominoes

BANGKOK, THAILAND - MAY 14: A woman poses with a Bitcoin mascot during the Thailand Crypto Expo 2022 on May 14, 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand. Cryptocurrency Enthusiasts attend Thailand Crypto Expo 2022, the largest cryptocurrency exposition in Southeast Asia, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center. Visitors learn about blockchain projects, exchanges, mining, NFT production, and gamefi technology. The exposition comes during a global market crash. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

The Crypto Collapse Gets Worse


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

The Sixers Season Is Over, But At Least I Got This Playoff NFT

Former world welterweight king Floyd Mayweather speaks on stage during the crypto-currency conference Bitcoin 2021 Convention at the Mana Convention Center in Miami, Florida, on June 4, 2021. (Photo by Marco BELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

Boxing

Floyd Mayweather Is Also The Floyd Mayweather Of Shady Crypto Shit

David Roth

Juan Soto after hitting a home run against the Marlins in September of 2021, also seemingly looking at the Distraction logo.