Everything you always wanted to know about crypto

Plus: Adidas and Ye split. [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a whole textbook of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Your [crypto education]( starts now. - Adidas finally [ditched Ye](. - Rishi Sunak is [calming the markets](. - Austin is a case study on [housing prices](. People Are Worried About Crypto Matt Levine wrote [40,000 words about crypto in Businessweek](, which is equivalent to: - 1.7x Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis - 8.8 US constitutions - 11.6x Satoshi’s Bitcoin white paper - Your entire weekend To simply call it a “magazine issue” would be a disservice. It’s giving … manifesto. It’s giving … Virgil’s Aeneid, but for DeFi enthusiasts and haters alike. Matt often likes to ask his [newsletter audience](: “Is there a Harvard Business School case study on [insert hilarious yet concerning corporate finance thing] yet?” But this time, he doesn’t have to ask. He already wrote the whole textbook! When your grandchild takes “Reimagining Capitalism: Big Business and Bigger Blockchains” at Wharton in 2034, Mr. Levine’s work may be the top item on her syllabus. “[The Crypto Story](” tackles one of the most complex and divisive topics of our time: digital tokens. There are illustrations. There’s self-actualization. There are [a bajillion footnotes]([1](#footnote-1) (duh). Matt starts with the origins of Bitcoin, when Satoshi realized that “if a bunch of people decide that something should be valuable, that’s enough to make it valuable.” It’s truly a classic lesson in finance: Illustration: C.W. Moss Now, you might be wondering: Why crypto? And why now? Sure, Matt could have written 40,000 words [about Elon Musk](, but that would have risked his sanity ([and vacation days](). As it stands, crypto is not doing too hot... … which is exactly why we need to be talking about it. The monkey jpeg fanatics have quieted down, and “whatever is left in crypto is not just speculation and get-rich-quick schemes,” [Matt explains](. The thing about crypto is that it’s divisive. It’s us vs. them, and they are telling us to “have fun staying poor.” But Matt comes at the subject in a way your nail-polish-wearing Hinge date from Bushwick might address female armpit hair: “I don’t have strong feelings either way.” It’s a glorious dive into the mechanics and follies of modern-day money, written by the Taylor Swift of finance writers. No, seriously: Just [read it](, please. I’ll leave you with this Venn diagram I made for myself: Bonus Crypto Stuff: - Read: [10 Takeaways From Matt Levine’s ‘The Crypto Story’]( — Angela Moon - Listen: [What is Crypto For? Matt Levine Wants To KnowÂ](— Stacy-Marie Ishmael - Watch: [Matt Levine Talks Crypto, Trust and the Metaverse]( — Tim Stenovec and Katherine Greifeld Ye Over, Ye Done So it’s come to this: Is there a Harvard Business School case study on what happens when an antisemitic rapper blows up your business? No? Maybe there should be. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has behaved so atrociously lately that companies associated with him have had no choice but to denounce his actions and toss their collabs in the garbage bin. Gap, Balenciaga, his talent agency CAA, and [most recently Adidas]( have ditched the musician after his social-media tirades against Jewish people. For Adidas, a company that has been working with Ye for nearly a decade, the decision to cut ties was difficult but necessary, Andrea Felsted writes. Adidas took a minute to come to this determination, which certainly made matters worse. “By acting so belatedly, [Adidas made Ye its problem, risking a consumer backlash](,” Andrea explains. Roughly 4-8% of Adidas’s revenue is derived directly from its Yeezy partnership. When the split was announced, shares for the sportswear company spiraled down while Yeezy prices shot up: Chart and Image via Ale Lampietti Also falling: Ye’s wealth. “Without Adidas, Ye is worth $400 million,” according to [Forbes magazine](. Stripping the artist of his billionaire badge is nice and all, but it won’t take back the [damage his rhetoric]( has unleashed on the world. Telltale Charts British investors are no longer walking on eggshells now that [Rishi Sunak]( is in power. “With the government no longer playing fast and loose with fiscal policy, [traders have scaled back their expectations]( for how much tightening the UK central bank will feel is needed,” Marcus Ashworth writes. But don’t count on [Sunak’s “dullness dividend”]( sticking around. Bloomberg’s editorial board argues the calmness might be fleeting. Austin, once the hottest housing market for zillennial tech bros, [is suddenly awash in inventory](. This is likely the result of homeowners trying to bail before prices crash, Jonathan Levin writes, evidence the “lock-in effect” of mortgage-rate protection isn’t the “ironclad defense against home-price declines that some investors and homeowners think it is.” Further Reading I am a [die-hard renter]( in New York City, but [I may buy because the rent is just too damn high](. — Erin Lowry We’re all going to need [to relearn how to use the internet]( once AI arrives. — Tyler Cowen [The sudden exit of HSBC’s CFO]( only adds to the UK’s impending sense of doom. — Paul J. Davies Offices are best for [coffee and camaraderie](, not concentration. — Sarah Green Carmichael [The right-wing’s new hero is Christopher Rufo](, who is basically a less-angry version of Steve Bannon.   — Adrian Wooldridge China’s tech titans aren’t exactly thrilled by [Xi Jinping’s new leadership lineup](. — Tim Culpan The Video Store [The rise and fall of Adidas](, by Ale Lampietti [Who is Rishi Sunak?]( starring Bobby Ghosh ICYMI Elon Musk [talked to his bankers](. The St. Louis school shooter had [600 rounds of ammo](. Daylight saving [could doom Europe](. Shutterstock wants you to buy [AI images](. Kickers [Pet names]( are are too human. NYC doggos [dressed up for halloween](. The perfect avocado [does not exis—](. Notes:  Please send perfect avocados and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. [1] Matt Levine famously [loves footnotes]( so in honor of that, here's some nice things people have said about his essay: - "Matt has just taken over an entire edition of BW to write about crypto. He wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t important and interesting; this is in no way a takedown. But it is the most clear-eyed explanation of what crypto is and how it works that has ever been written." — [Felix Salmon]( - "This is SO good. Best level-headed explainer of crypto I've seen." — [Callie Cox]( - "I'm about 1/3 of the way through this *excellent* cover story by @matt_levine. Will likely circulate to my students." — [Eric Talley]( - This is the best thing @matt_levine has ever written, and that’s really saying something. I’ve read it and learned a lot and I think you will too." — [Max Abelson]( Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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