Number Go Up cover art

Number Go Up

Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall

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Number Go Up

By: Zeke Faux
Narrated by: Dan Bittner
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About this listen

BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR WIRED | LA TIMES | FINANCIAL TIMES | WASHINGTON POST | GLOBE AND MAIL

USED IN EVIDENCE IN THE TRIAL OF SAM BANKMAN-FRIED

In 2021, cryptocurrency goes mainstream. Giant investment funds are buying it. Politicians endorse it. TV ads hail it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knows how it works - who cares when everyone is getting rich? But financial crime reporter Zeke Faux cares: even in fraud, there are standards.

In the Bahamas, schlubby billionaire wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried tells him how he will use his fortune to save the world. In Cambodia, a spam text unearths a horrifying slavery ring fuelled by crypto. Faux buys a $20,000 cartoon of a mutant ape to gain access to a festival headlined by Snoop Dogg, and talks his way onto the yacht of a riddling crypto founder/former child actor (The Mighty Ducks, 1992) who was among the first to see the power of imaginary treasure. In search of an elusive cash reserve at the foundation of the whole system, the incredulous Faux finds himself crossing three continents, as well as the boundaries of law, taste and economic rationality. Shocking and uproarious, Number Go Up is the essential chronicle of a $3 trillion delusion, the greatest bubble in history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Zeke Faux (P)2023 Orion Publishing Group Limited
Economic History Investing & Trading White Collar & Corporate Crime

Critic Reviews

Funny, enraging, racy and profound. We were waiting for the first great crypto book and Zeke Faux has written it (Oliver Bullough, author)
Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the mass delusion that was crypto (Bethany McLean, bestselling co-author)
Both a serious financial investigation and incredibly entertaining ... Faux seems to be the only one asking uncomfortable questions (Sara Frier, FT/McKinsey award-winning author)

What listeners say about Number Go Up

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Good listen

I have been following the crypto story in real time and yet I was still caught off guard about pig butchering and other sections. It was great to have the whole saga collated like this. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get the whole picture!

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entertaining listen

can imagine both people who already know or have no idea about the events described in this book finding it an enjoyable listen

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A friend telling a ripping yarn

It was like an old trusted friend telling a ripping yarn.
Because if the crazy irrational nature if the story there is a risk the storytelling gets caught up in the confusion.
Never fear Zeke is steering the story.
Masterful story telling, held up by the Dan Bittner’s performance.

I enjoyed Michael Lewis book as well. I recommend both. A better story will not come align while you read (listen) them.

I look forward to Zeke’s next story.

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Excellent

Comprehensive. Compelling. Objective. Entertaining. Highly recommended.

It's an amazing real-time documentary of our own tulip bubble and the main characters involved.

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I lived through this

I have been in cryptocurrency since 2018. I have won and lost. I haven't made a fortune. but this work explains why. the most important bit of advice is don't bet against Bitcoin. this is all I invest in now. number go up. waiting for those trillions in government bonds to go belly up.

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crypto book in search of a story

zekes thesis that tether is fake goes nowhere so he talks to sbf, goes to Cambodia and makes of bored apes. not a ton of insight and this is from a crypto sceptic.

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Superb book

This is a fascinating account not just of FTX but the entire crypto circus. A witty, well narrated story that I highly recommend. And no, I will not ever be buying a crypto.

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Even more interesting than I'd imagined!

Years of investigation into the fascinating, delusional and tragic world of crypto are laid out in this must read/listen. Zeke's style is detailed where necessary but always clear and easy to follow. He cuts through the crypto jargon and makes sense out of the nonsense.

Absolutely fantastic, I'd recommend it to anyone.

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Entertaining and informative

An exceptional book which teaches a layman everything they need to know about crypto, the characters, ridiculousness and the victims in an entertaining way. I couldn’t put it down!

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Great way to understand what Crypto is

Zeke seems to have actually been in the middle of this for a few years. great story. Thanks

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