Devil Takes Bitcoin

The wild, true story of cyber-era commerce, crime, cold-hard cash, and one of the greatest heists in history.

Even in hell, Bitcoin talks. This modern take on an old Japanese saying still holds true. Cryptocurrency was supposed to do for money what the internet did for information, but it didn't work out that way. Its virtual existence unleashed real-world chaos - especially in the homeland of its mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Tokyo was the centre of the world's largest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, until that company collapsed with nearly half a billion dollars' worth of bitcoin gone missing. It might be the greatest heist in history. If it was a heist.

So what really happened? Here's the true story of the humble-to-hot commodity, from the former geek website that launched the boom to an inside world of absent-minded CEOs, hucksters, hackers, cybercrooks, drug dealers, corrupt federal agents, evangelical libertarians, and clueless techies. You'll discover Bitcoin's connection to the infamous Silk Road, learn why hell has nothing on Japan's criminal justice system, and get the lowdown on the high cost of betting with the Devil's dollars. All of this for less than the price of a single bitcoin.


'A whirlwind account of crypto's rise and rot. Reading Adelstein's tale is like listening to the best storyteller at the pub, full of outrageous anecdotes, pithy takedowns, and a clear-eyed account of how crypto's true lifeblood was always crime ... The Devil Takes Bitcoin< is a weirdly successful vibe check from what may be the internet's last Wild West- funny, chaotic, horrifying, and deeply revealing of how belief and greed blur until they're indistinguishable ... If you want to be entertained, informed, and a little appalled, pull up a bar stool.'
-Amy Gray, The Saturday Paper

'The Devil Takes Bitcoin is a wild ride through the glitchy, glorious mess that is crypto history. Jake Adelstein connects the dots like a conspiracy theorist with actual receipts. Read it. Laugh. Cringe. Maybe even HODL (Hold on for dear life).'
-Tigran Gambaryan, former IRS Special Agent also known as 'The Crypto Wizard'

'It is, of course, brilliant. A twisting, complex, international true-crime thriller involving Bitcoin, The Silk Road, and the cutting edge of Cryptocurrency malfeasance.'
-David Hayter, award-winning screenwriter