On HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight,’ host John Oliver discussed the risks and benefits of cryptocurrency while slamming EOS and Bitconnect
John William Oliver is an English comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor and television host of popular TV Show “Last Week Tonight,” which recently aired a fascinating segment on Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrencies have been grabbing headlines lately thanks to the surprisingly dramatic rise in the value of Bitcoin. While that has dropped in value recently, cryptocurrencies are engendering a “cult-like devotion” among enthusiasts who see the bank-free currency as the key to “financial freedom, bro.” For his part, Oliver seems to think of cryptocurrency as akin to collecting Beanie Babies in that they are valuable if people agree they have value.
It’s “everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers,” says Oliver and, “the vast majority of people buying these coins are not paying much attention to the details of the startups they are attached to, they are responding to the huge fervour,” he observed.
The biggest contribution Oliver’s segment made wasn’t the advice or the jokes, though, but a baseline for nuance when talking about cryptocurrencies in the mainstream. Watch the video, and you decide while being entertained.
