Line Goes Up - The Problem With NFTs

Still laughing about "and butthurt warlock main" hehehehehe

Fractos

"releasing it makes me super nervous, I get a bit vulnerable in places, but I guess here we are" According to public stats on YouTube: one year after release, "Line Goes Up" is overwhelmingly the most popular video he's posted so far. (10M vs 3.6M for "Art & Editing of Suicide Squad" which is 6 years old.)

Tom

Dan Olson for US Senate.

Tom

Incredible video! I especially enjoyed the psychological analysis of NFT and cryptobro groups. Just subscribed to you on Patreon.

Quinton Ashley

Can anyone tell me if the video has always been 2:18:23 long? I could've sworn the runtime was different at one point, but maybe I'm tripping.

Parth Mishra

From the tone of this patron post I get the impression that Dan isn't enthused to further debate NFT's - I can imagine that he's said all he wants to in that hour-long video

Jakob van Klinken

Amazing. I knew I hated NFTs but I had no idea how much I should be hating NFTs. This video got me to sub to your patreon. The only downside of it being 2 hours is I've yet to convince my friends and family to watch it. If I could just get youtube to lie about the length for the first 5 minutes, I'm pretty sure they'd be hooked for the remaining 2 hours...

Lanth

Been a subscriber for a while, I have upgraded to patron. I think what ties it together is the earnest emotion of cold rage and contempt that bubble beneath the surface before that last 5 minutes just blows it open. Watched the whole thing twice now.

Chris Morgan

This vid was my introduction to your work. 2h18m, and I was gripped the whole time.

Mike Lee

Great Stuff. Really loved the video, and nice to get some independent thoughts confirming what i thought, but going so much deeper. Great work Dan. Keep it up :)

Thank you for making this! I'm a web developer and this video really made me feel sane after a few years of feeling like I'm "taking crazy pills" witnessing the ascent of "crypto" against all logic and good sense.

Stephen Marsh

Amazing video, was the first thing I've seen of yours. I was blown away by the production value and articulate explanations. Keep making great content!

Bank Holiday

This is the first video i have seen from you and i am very inspired by the way you analyze different topics. Keep up the good work, i love it!

I'd be willing to help with Russian translation

same!

This video inspired me to finally subscribed here!

Michael

I would love to add subtitles in my language to make it accessible to non English speakers. This video is super important and there aren't many critical resources like this available in other languages. Does anyone know Dan's stance on people adding subtitles to his videos? (full disclosure: I am not a professional translator, nor am I posturing as one. Just an interested individual willing to donate my time)

Hi - Since you singled out Camila, why don’t you make an appearance on her team’s podcast - here is their reply, https://youtu.be/LbC_EuvBnAw

This is a truly masterful piece of work. Timely and hard-hitting, it's far more than enough to bring me humbly to your direct support. I wish I had discovered your channel sooner. I know that this video is not your regular fare, and I respect that, for a variety of reasons, you may not produce anything quite like it again. I also know that it can feel like a lot of pressure, to which I do not intend to contribute, but I want to tell you: This kind of socioeconomic criticism, based on absolutely comprehensive research and centered around a comprehensible narrative, is what the world needs right now. We are in a time of unprecedented exploitation and alienation; at a crossroads for economy, society, and environment; and we need voices like yours to help clarify complex topics and to contextualize them in their material human impacts. I know your focus is art, and there are others whose focus is more direct. But you demonstrate here a monumental tour de force, the capability to render a truly humanist perspective on an almost incomprehensibly complex topic in an accessible and engaging presentation. We need your help to remind and to convince people that there is a better path forward, for all of us, together, if we focus on the material conditions, needs, and aspirations of the majority.

Hell yes! It is that kind of quality.

delighted to see it's now the most viewed video on his channel

Anthony

Absolutely brilliant work! I just had to up my contribution after this stunning piece of documentary filmmaking! I don't know if this wil mean anything to you, but over here in Europe this video could easily run on ARTE, at prime time! You raise the level for all of YouTube, Dan!

user no. g_{64}

I was introduced to your YouTube channel when my son, a software engineer and principal at his firm, forwarded your show on NFTs with the comment, "It's long, but I know you will appreciate this". So, I watched the video in two sittings after which I called my son and we had a long conversation as he explained some of the more arcane areas of technology to me. After which, I subscribed to your channel, have been almost binge watching your videos and discovered your Patreon page. Happy to be on board.

Seconded! My husband is Deaf and so many of the video essays I adore are inaccessible to him.

Marissa Collins

Beautifully structured and presented. Inspiring work!

Such a great video! Also congrats on 2.5M views in only 5 days, very well deserved

Another absolute triumph. Thanks so much for such incredible work--it was such a delight to watch.

William Cooper

I've subscribed after watching this today, between this and the flat earth video, they are the best YouTube videos I've watched, genuinely incredible insight and explanation. Something that has emerged in the UK in the last week is kinda related,if you're interested. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jan/26/premier-league-and-uefa-taking-legal-advice-over-john-terrys-nft-ape-tweets This is a case of a former player/legend of a football club possibly running up against the copyright of his former club and the competitions he took part in. He also recently joined twitter (seemingly for this purpose) so there is speculation if someone is pushing him behind the scenes. Anyway, loved the video, thanks!

Peter McPhillips

I joined Patreon after watching this on Youtube. I work in tech and for years have struggled to enumerate precisely what's wrong about crypto and have lost many arguments (and friendships!) because of it. Thank you for this incredibly well-reasoned and accessible piece. Work like this is sorely needed.

This video is a masterpiece! Thank you so much for this, Dan. For months and years I have been troubled by the impression that the is no exposure or traction for good analysis of our political dilemma and you have proven that it can be done.

Came straight here after watching this video. Insightful analysis and informative explanation combined, really enjoyed it, especially as related to the abuse of working class people the gig economy has become.

Excellent work.

Trace

I have to say that the video is... scary. Just scary. I was already familiar with most of the details as independent ideas, but having them tied together really shows that the future cryptobros want is a future we might actually get, and that is a worse future than what we have now (which is already bad).

Mate. I saw a 2h+ video pop up on my subscriptions feed, instantly cancelled my evening to watch it, then realised that I should have joined your Patreon years ago. Thank you making such thorough, thought-provoking videos for us to engage with. Moreso in this case specifically, finally helping me to understand this ubiquitous yet maddeningly opaque behemoth that I've repeatedly failed to grasp.

This was a great video essay in form and content. In my opinion, the genuine vulnerability is a feature rather than a bug. Kudos!

I have been opening a conversation about this and I admit, I’ve been trying to find some way that this technology could in fact be empowered to increase equity and access for people who were left out of web 2.0. This video makes that seem unlikely, but it also feels depressing that the entrenchment of power can just happen because the people with money and power can lead the tech world over the cliff. Maybe it will burn itself out without any intervention- but if not, what can we do to offer alternatives?

LX Cast

This is the context I needed. NFTs are obscured by so many layers of technical jargon and propaganda that understanding them well enough to meaningfully denounce them has been difficult.

Jo

i'm only half way through and already decided to patreon you up. amazing work, amazing research and coverage of everything in such a succinct way.

Dean Herbert

Fantastic. Honestly this has so much content in it. I want to extra thank you for putting in subtitles.

I loved your flat earth video, and this new video is the reason I'm now a patron. Incredible, essential work. I really admire how talented you are at presenting information in a concise and intelligent way. Thank you for all this hard work, and good luck for whatever comes next!

Antoine Leblanc

I am not through the video yet. And its already much more informative than any other I've found. You may have a new magnum opus.

3C273

I became a patreon because this video was so fantastically researched and information dense. After watching it last night, this morning while eating my breakfast cereal, I noticed an ad on the milk jug for a chance to win a "signature NFT"... no thanks...

Tom Dunbar

I joined the patreon because I feel you need to be compensated fairly for the amount of work this must've taken. I will try and spread this around to the best of my ability, thank you so much for the amount of information and presenting it as succinctly as possible.

Cat Herder

Increased my pledge after this video. Always loved your videos and God damnit you need to keep doing what you do. As someone with an IT background, this was so well researched, but you also framed Blockchain against the global recession which I never really thought about. Excellent video

Snakeinthegarden

I never watch long form YouTube, but I watched this avidly, then recommended it on all my socials, and will remain a patron for a while until I feel I've paid you a fair price.

Like a lot of other commenters I became a patron because of this video. Thank you for the amazing research and technical accuracy.

Kobold

I had to become a patron after this. thank you for all the countless hours you spent on this. I am so glad i have a reason to have an opinion for what seems to be sweeping around me.

Mark “Fonts” Davis

Thank you. It's hard to watch - because it shows the world as it is (the quality is great). But I needed to watch it

First time seeing your work, and I actually watched the whole thing. Liked, subscribed, and became a patron because of this masterpiece. Based and dare I say cryptopilled.

Thank you, Dan. That was really well done.

Tod Kurt

Brilliant work Dan! I’ve tangentially been aware of crypto and NFTs through other producers like Coffeezilla but detailing the history behind it and the world state that the most powerful of proponents want to see was a great education. Thanks so much for your efforts in pulling together such a huge piece of work.

Shaun Baker

Just joined as a patreon after watching this video. I've watched a bunch of Dan's videos before this, but this one was a tour de force. Really impressive stuff and you have every reason to be proud. Well researched and referenced. I can't even begin to comprehend the work that went into a project of this size but you've nailed it.

Became a patron because of this video. Thank you for making and sharing it. It has been frustrating seeing friends, family members, associates shilling crypto and related tech. Part of that frustration was trying to penetrate the complexity of the mechanics involved. I’m a software developer by trade but the financial instruments/patterns were and largely still are foreign to me. Pulling all the threads together in such a long video must have been gruelling, but hugely appreciated. 🙏

Darren Reid

This is getting a lot of attention and for sure not all attention is going to be positive, but it's all still a testament to the amazing work you've done. It's also been pretty cool to watch you edit this on Twitch :) thanks for all the content you make, Dan.

Marco M.

This is absolutely fantastic work, on par with or surpassing "In Search of a Flat Earth". You have an incredible talent for understanding incredibly complex technical, AND social topics and synthesizing a narrative that offers remarkable clarity, context, and depth. Then you somehow manage to film and edit all that to boot. Your shift from film criticism to tackling some of the deepest, most complex, and most troubling challenges humanity has ever faced has been an unexpected and welcome turn. I've been trying to explain bits of this to my brother, who is active in crypto communities. This is much better at laying out these issues (including ones I hadn't thought of) than I have been. The blunt assessment of everyone involved, including community members, means he'd likely not be receptive...but he's also not the audience. Your direct, zero-bullshit approach is refreshing, and the only way to actually assess these spaces intentionally filled with noise. Rather than being a video for my brother to learn from, it actually gave *me* more perspective on *him* and what he's going through.

There are so many deep cut computer gamer nerd jokes in this video, like "horse armor" or "steam trading cards" that just made me laugh out loud.

Mel Vitta

Exceptional work, made me a patron. I've always liked your videos but this was next level (although I obviously don't expect every video to be this long!).

This is the first explanation of crypto/NFTs that I've been able to understand whatsoever! You really have a talent for breaking down complicated and confusing concepts into terms that are accessible and easy to understand. So, sincerely thank you for that - I've tried and failed to understand crypto so many times before this. But also, holy hell, it's so much worse than I imagined.

Evelyn Alvarado

Like many others in these comments, I found you through this video. I'm in awe of the thoroughness of the research and the quality of the writing. There's not many two hour videos that I would watch from beginning to end, but you captured my attention throughout.

And then the moment comes when an artist you like drops not a new single but an entire concept album, right before the weekend starts...

5099 5618

A phenomenal piece of culture criticism. But more that also just great reporting. The link to the financial crisis of '08 is not coincidental. I got a similar feeling watching this as I did listening to "The Giant Pool of Money" or reading Michael Lewis' work back then. Brilliant work.

I have now finished watching the video, and I just want to say it is truly fantastic. It's a hard watch that is well worth watching, and I am thankful you put what is clearly an incredible amount of work into producing this. I am a tech person who already understood many of the technical limitations of crypto, and therefore that there is no feasible way for them to actually be useful (but I bought in anyway, because hey might as well ride the wave). But your analysis of not just the technical design flaws but also the implied outcomes in terms of power are incredibly insightful. So I hope you feel all the work was worth it, because what you produced here is incredible.

Andrey Kurenkov

Holy crap, every minute of that was packed with quality. It's never occurred to me to link the NFT stuff back to the 2008 bubble, but of course it makes sense to. Bravo and extremely well done, sir.

Michael Chui

Oh for the days when RMT was our biggest problem. Those were better days indeed.

Michael Chui

I get so excited every time you upload, especially ever since the Flat Earth / Qanon video debuted. Given the quality of the work, I am happy to wait however long it takes in between uploads. Even if I can't contribute much, I'm proud to support.

This was just… unbelievably good. I have gotten several other people to watch it already, and I plan to watch again with friends once I’ve finished digesting my first run-through. Dan, your videos are always some of my favorites on any platform and frequent rewatches for their thought provoking content but this… was just next-level. I did not realize how dangerously unaware I was about this. We needed this out there, we needed someone to do the research and put it to us plainly and be willing to take the time to research and present in a way that is organized, clear, cogent, and unapologetically direct, and although I know this project has been a tremendous amount of work for you, I am so thankful you took this on.

This video made me a patron. Thank you for bringing to life all the ideas that I'm not talented enough to express!

Same! Dan, thank you for you, you are talented in ways I aspire. Stonks content. I love you. GM/GN.

abravamiga

became a patron because of this video. thanks!

walt m

I just watched a 2-hour video of a guy talking at me and it was riveting, one of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen. The research, the conceptual work, the sheer eloquence of this are dumbfounding. It will overwhelm a lot of people, but that doesn't matter; much of that audience isn't reachable and for those who are, there will be other opportunities. Bravo, Dan. I've watched every YouTube video you've made since 2011: this is your masterpiece.

This is one of the best-thought-out, most well-prepared and well-presented analyses I've ever seen of anything, in any domain. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. It should be loaded onto some sort of weird self-playing TV and put on the shelf next to Walter Benjamin. It's hilarious, clear, insightful, comprehensive, careful yet light on its feet, and (would that it weren't) politically vital, perched as we are at the edge of the New Shittening that is "Web 3." It's so damn good, Dan. Congratulations.

GC

I feel like when I look around at the world everyone is calm and It all seems crazy to me. Thank you for letting me feel sane, if still terrified. Also I had to pause when you virtually threw gray in the river again to finish my hard snort laughing fit.

This is really exceptional work. I have no idea how much time it took to make this, especially given how many reshoots you would have had to do to include the very stupid things that kept happening since the first time you said the video would be finished soon, but it has paid off. Trying to explain all of the problems with a system that is flawed on every level all the way down and sometimes on purpose is so overwhelming, and being able to just refer someone to a completed version of that is genuinely reassuring.

Patrick Gallagher

Amazing video. Well done

Thank you for the work you do. The writing and production quality are incredible. I hope you're enjoying a well deserved break for the next few days!

Dylan Sowers

Seminal stuff, yet again an authoritative and illuminating voice on an inherently obfuscating issue

Dan, you have no idea who the hell I am, and that's entirely OK. But you just saved me hours and hours from composing a video like this to give this level of explanation - and for that you have my undying gratitude.

Jason Scott

Incredible work. I didn't think a video this long could feel so succinct and focused. It all builds to a clear conclusion. Given that these people seem to have not experienced the Gold Farmer days of WoW, I'm sure many viewers won't know what "Scrip" means. That could warrant a whole video to itself. Thank you for your service, sir.

Jeff Good

THIS WAS INCREDIBLE WORK. Subbed.

Great analysis, Dan. Mission accomplished: I'm angrier and more informed than before I watched this video.

It's fantastic! I don't know how you do it every time. I work in software and was aware of how much of a bigger fool grift it all is, but seeing it all laid out like this is both validating and scary.

This video is magnificent. I feel like I actually understand this shit now.

Thank you for this.

Wow, that felt cathartic! Thank you!

Why is crypto crashing around the time this video was uploaded?

Echoes from Elsewhere

Anyone else get an ad to "build your own crypto empire with Gemini"?

DK Jones

I remember seeing him put out feelers for someone being able to ape (nyuk nyuk) the NFT Art Style on short notice and spent the entire video trying to suss out which ones were real and which were parody. The Alpacas seemed like the most likely suspect but I would be 0% surprised if they were not.

Marty Crenlon

Fuck yes, Dan, this is great. Fantastic work, thanks, and congrats!

Marty Crenlon

Another thought --- I think it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that the crypto world is currently full of scams and ugly art. But what this video illustrated for me better than anything else I've seen is that even the best case scenario -- the decentralized future these evangelists are hoping for -- is, itself, pretty horrific.

Quinn Freedman

Holy shit, this is fantastic.

Cheucher Herdelle

This helped me understand these concepts more as I barely understood it before your video. I absolutely want nothing to do with this stuff even more now.

Molly Brown

I'm a software engineer and I've watched as a lot of my community-- but especially the tech-curious but not literate, and the tech-literate but finance-illiterate-- have become obsessed with bitcoin, etherium, coinmonks and more. It's like a cult. This feels like a breath of fresh air.

Jess

Absolutely fantastic. The clarity you achieve despite the density of content is a thing of beauty (even if the content itself is a horror story).

Colin Murphy

Brilliant work. You should be proud of this definitive guide to NFTs.

Alistair Struck

Twitter just added NFT verification to their pfps, this timing is impeccable

the latter imo

Anthony

Honestly and genuinely, a remarkable piece of work. I didn't think you'd ever top In Search of a Flat Earth (not a criticism - that watermark is high enough to contain a lot of "brilliant" below it), but this is exceptional.

John Nolan

This is fantastic! Well worth becoming a patron to see this early!

Sam Croote

George Orwell was an optimist.

James Rule

Great work!

Björn Apel

Finally, after 14 years, I understand the 2008 financial crash. Thanks, Dan!

Liz Jackson

Ahhh I'm excited to watch this!

Louis Pilfold

So... will this video crash some NFT markets or are people in NFT far too resilient to skepticism for this to cause much of an impact?

Echoes from Elsewhere

Wow this is some exceptional work. Your ability to explain complex topics in a digestible way is really impressive. Good work!

ThreeKeyFighting332

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!!

Cheucher Herdelle

Incredible work.

Jamin Shih

Well that was a harrowing watch. I feel like I aged one hundred years and turned to dust. Truly I understand what it is to gaze into the Torment Nexus. Thank you for your service. I hope you have something light and fun and not actually psychologically harmful to think about lined up for your next project, because if you're anything like me then keeping the technology and practices of NFT aficionados in your brain for more than a few minutes at a time causes physiological distress.

Martin

Finally decided to subscribe to your Patreon because I didn't want to wait for this one.

Holy sh*t Dan. I honestly am so happy to give you money every month. Truly. I hope you have a GREAT day and enjoy some leisure time after the absolute monster of a video you made. Can't wait to watch it 20 more times over the next two weeks.

AllironTalks

I don't think I ever mentioned during the work streams but that opening montage gives me heavy Jim Henson's Time Piece vibes which is always a good thing

Thomas Hartwell

This is amazing work. It's given me a much better idea of what crypto is all about. The image you paint of a world where getting into crypto tokens is as necessary as getting into social media is pretty scary. I hope the bubble pops before more people get hurt.

Alice

I've been waiting for this video for months. There goes my sleep schedule and honestly, there's nothing I'd rather throw it away for.

Max Miller

I watched you editing chunks of this monster of a video on twitch, and I still can't believe how long it is. It's all a strong treatise on the gelatinous horror cube the tech industry has given birth to, that many of us will wind up having to deal with in some grotesque form or another at some future date. I genuinely hope it helps people when they're faced with the reality-defying crypto evangelist in their lives.

Andrew

Enjoyed this immensely. Thank you for putting words and analysis to my vague feelings of dread when I see crypto bros doing their thing.

If you told me a few years ago that I would have spent months excited for the release of a feature length examination of crappy jpegs, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet here we are.

John Sherman

Really incredible stuff Dan. This easily some of your best work.

Chris Hamlin

I've now finished a slow (lots of pauses to read text) watch-through and ... sustained applause at your conclusion. This is the response to cryptocurrency that I needed to see, the reaction that I'm relieved to see somebody else share and articulate far more clearly than I ever could. Thank you.

C J Silverio

I loved this! A small point that really stood out was when you talked about technical complexity as a barrier to entry and a force for the consolidation of power. As a software engineer, I spend a week and a half of skilled labor making a little alert pop up sometimes -- something that would have taken me 10 seconds in 2004 -- because our product is built on top of so many levels of technological complexity, which it needs to be in order to interact with all the other complex system out there. You are right in your assessment that this rise in complexity is what gave power to services like WordPress and later platforms like Facebook/Instagram. The exact same thing is happening in crypto, except we skipped all the way to just one step before endgame. The blockchains are so slow/expensive and also technically complex that 99% of the population can only interact with them through middlemen -- both technical and financial. These third parties are becoming the AWS of crypto. Even if the blockchain is decentralized, access to it isn't, and will only continue to get less so.

Quinn Freedman

So striking and insightful - as always. After finishing and getting the sense of the big picture, the first thing I wanted to do was watch it again and see how all the different threads were developed and linked together.

This is a must watch for any and everyone that has felt alienated from family members in recent years from having to deal with the evangelism of said family members shilling uncritically for NFT’s.

Andrew Duck

This was brilliant. Well researched, no bullshit. Great job!

This is absolutely fantastic. You took on a truly intimidating amount of material and came out on top. Really well explained, really well argued. The graphics and animations are great. The Ahegao Alpacas are exactly as horrifying as they should be.

Robby Blum

Oh god, I've been waiting for this eagerly but I have to go to bed, oh no

Patrick Grant

This is gold! Thank you a tonne for making this.

Oliver 'Kannik' Bollmann

This was wonderful, Dan. I learned a lot. Thanks for taking the time to research all this and share.

A masterful achievement of research, editing, animation, rhetoric, and bitter invective. The last 5 mins are incredible. Well done

Echoes from Elsewhere

Just adding to the congratulations. Been excited about this for months!

muddlewait

This is incredible - nice work.

Well, thank you for inspiring me to be better as an animator.

FoldableHuman

Post-watch thoughts: absolutely incredible. Standing ovation. I really like how you added the bit where you tied in the theme of the 2008 crash at the end and made that analogy explicit. I hope you’re able to get some rest after this.

Anastasia

The second shot of Grey going into the river made me cackle.

era

It's silly the amount of delight I get from hearing the voices of creators I like reading various quotes. I'm enjoying this behemoth of a video immensely.

Daniel Floyd

You keep outdoing yourself every time, thank you for this Dan!

perfect timing on the release with the twitter thing

Anthony

Thanks for doing the work Dan!

40 minutes in, and it's already a banger video. Congrats!

Emmanuele Bassi

Dan keeps getting better

Congrats Dan!

StormTemplar

I’m so excited! Thank you!

RebeccaC

That intro was somehow an even better primer on 2008 then all of the Big Short.

Nick Desrosiers

Well done getting it over the line! Looking forward to watching it this weekend.

Shaun Baker

My husband and I are so excited for this!!!

Madegeeky

Oh my god, I am so excited.

Jamin Shih

Heck yeah! I've been looking forward to this one.

C J Silverio

Gratz Dan!! Hope your rest after all that recording, editing, etc is satisfying as all hell.

Nemrex

Thank you Dan!

Lupin Chevalier

Congratulations on the big release!!!

coeur_de_liqueur

setting the bar high for best video of the year already, Dan

Oh hell yes

Adam Gunn

Thank you Dan!

Sam Kaplan-Goland

Just starting the video, but that's a really nice sweater.

Natalie Smyk

Yes Dan! Been looking forward to this for time

Congrats on wrapping this up! Very much looking forward to watching it (saving it as an after-chores treat)!

HaeWon

So excited to watch this. Been waiting

Quinn Freedman

WOOOOO so excited for this!

Anastasia