Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is an American production for the HBO network, in the popular late night talk-show concept. The episode that aired on March 11th featured an extended part (over 25 minutes) about all our favorite topics:
Beyond this, Oliver also educated on a lot of common sense topics connected to virtual currencies, which all of us should know about, things that however often remain at “should” as in “should have taken the kids to school“, but at this time the kids are already 24 years old.
There is just so much value in this episode of the show, that it is absolutely fantastic. The memes, the entire production value of the show, and the knowledge that John Oliver presents. Well-polished, a perfect balance between humor and reality, and a well-deserved dose of common sense.
Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in other talk shows
This is not the first time popular talk show hosts have done a section on Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, and Blockchains. Ellen DeGeneres had a similar piece last month. It didn’t fare as well as John Oliver’s episode did, as this short bit focuses a lot more on humor than education, but still, it collected more than one million views.
If you want to know what bitcoin is, I learned about it. A bit. pic.twitter.com/txICiTXYgi
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) February 15, 2018
Crypto Responsibility
It is easy for us to get accustomed to the regular hand-holding that banks give us, and John Oliver is doing a very specific piece on responsibility and the financial risk that we are undertaking when dealing with cryptocurrencies.
Like it or not, it is a very real thing that, however unlikely, there is a possibility where Bitcoin and other currencies end up having no value. This is highly improbable, due to the sheer amount of value invested in the sector, but a rogue magnetic storm could put an end to all of our electronic possessions.
Beyond these supernatural events, there is a very natural lack of common sense when investing in currencies, due to FOMO, FUD, sheer excitement, and blind trust. People do not educate themselves about these currencies and therefore they suffer a slap from the hard hand of deceit.
There is no hand-holding in crypto, and it is your responsibility to do the research necessary to prosper and avoid unnecessary loses (or at least manage risk, so that losses do not hurt as much).
Feature Image and Video via Last Week Tonight and HBO.