Number Go Up

Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall

By: Zeke Faux

Narrated by: Dan Bittner

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The “rollicking” (The Economist), “masterfully written” (The Washington Post) account of the crypto delusion, and how Sam Bankman-Fried and a cast of fellow nerds and hustlers turned useless virtual coins into trillions of dollars—hailed by Ezra Klein in The New York Times as one of the “Books That Explain Where We Are”

FINALIST: the Edgar Award (Fact Crime), the Porchlight Business Book Award • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times DealBook, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, The Globe and Mail, Irish Examiner, Morningstar, The Verge, Wired

In 2021 cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked—but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”?

As he observed this frenzy, investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game of epic proportions? What started as curiosity—with a dash of FOMO—would morph into a two-year, globe-spanning quest to understand the wizards behind the world’s new financial machinery. Faux’s investigation would lead him to a schlubby, frizzy-haired twenty-nine-year-old named Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF for short) and a host of other crypto scammers, utopians, and overnight billionaires.

Faux follows the trail to a luxury resort in the Bahamas, where SBF boldly declares that he will use his crypto fortune to save the world. Faux talks his way onto the yacht of a former child actor turned crypto impresario and gains access to “ApeFest,” an elite party headlined by Snoop Dogg, by purchasing a $20,000 image of a cartoon monkey. In El Salvador, Faux learns what happens when a country wagers its treasury on Bitcoin, and in the Philippines, he stumbles upon a Pokémon knockoff mobile game touted by boosters as a cure for poverty. And in an astonishing development, a spam text leads Faux to Cambodia, where he uncovers a crypto-powered human-trafficking ring.

When the bubble suddenly bursts in 2022, Faux brings listeners inside SBF’s penthouse as the fallen crypto king faces his imminent arrest. Fueled by the absurd details and authoritative reporting that earned Zeke Faux the accolade “our great poet of crime” (Money Stuff columnist Matt Levine), Number Go Up is the essential chronicle, by turns harrowing and uproarious, of a $3 trillion financial delusion.

©2023 Zeke Faux (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Journalism schools will be able to use Going Infinite, Michael Lewis’ new book about the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and the fall of its boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, as a textbook. . . . Fortunately, readers interested in the story of the cryptocurrency scam and Bankman-Fried’s rise and fall can turn to a much more convincing (and more entertaining) book. That’s Number Go Up. . . . In telling this story, Faux has one major advantage over Lewis: Almost from the start, he had crypto’s number.”—Los Angeles Times

“Faux’s boisterous, masterfully written book is worth a read. . . . Faux’s cast of misfits and con artists never fails to entertain.”—The Washington Post

“Number Go Up offers a shrewdly skeptical view of crypto where Going Infinite is stubbornly credulous.”—The New York Times

A Crypto Journey

I enjoyed the gonzo journalism style as the author trekked around the planet looking for answers to a question he didn't know how to ask. I follow the daily scams and hacks in "Web3", and still found this book enlightening about many aspects of its seedy underbelly.

I don’t feel so dumb now

Well, written, well, narrated, and entertaining. I have always considered myself fairly intelligent, yet felt like an ignorant fool when talking to anybody about crypto. It seemed to me that they were just creating imaginary money. Apparently, I wasn’t that far off the mark.

Compelling cautionary tale of BS masquerading as “money”

I have never invested in crypto because I never quite got the point of it. After a particularly good episode of the Prof G podcast, I finally understood that it is just another asset class being sold everywhere as “currency”. This is such an excellent book that should serve as a cautionary tale for those thinking of putting their money in it. It is also very darkly funny and the author captures the absurdity of the whole thing very nicely. Excellent narration too.

Phenomenal story

This is a far better book than any others I’ve read (ie: Michael Lewis…) and correctly views the subject with objectivity and skepticism. When authors (Michael Lewis) get too close with their subjects they become incapable of writing the truth. Zeke is able to get close to certain crypto luminaries without losing his credibility, something most other books about crypto cannot say.

NOT TO BE MISSED if you live in the 21st century!!

Crypto turns out to be not a dry subject after all! There are many facts, details and character profiles that make this book a great read; written in a way that won’t let you forget to pick it up again to finish the saga of the greatest scam ever.

Very entertaining even with zero crypto knowledge

This was very well written, researched and entertaining to read. I thought it would be difficult to keep up and understand the topics surrounding crypto but Zeke did a great job of breaking down and making it palatable. Recommend to anyone curious about crypto.

A fantastic book on crypto!

This book was a great exploration and explanation of the crypto markets. I really appreciated how the author discussed some of the ancillary effects and enablement of crime syndicates. This is my first book from the author, but I'll definitely be back for more.

Much More Comprehensive and Interesting Than I Expected

I bought this after finishing "Going Infinite" by Michael Lewis and feeling like there were still too many unanswered questions about SBFs role in the crypto ponzi schemes. Zeke does an excellent job providing more insight into the overall crypto economy while also providing arguably better information from his facetime with SBF. Instead of just listening to the hype men, he actually takes the time to address important questions about the "businesses" operate. Definitely recommend reading this in addition to Going Infinite to get a more balanced and critical perspective on the whole story. The video "Line Goes Up - the Problem with NFTs" by Dan Olson (Folding Ideas on YouTube) is also worth watching.

Fabulous book.

Faux gives us a look inside of the world of crypto revealing the scam and the scammers. This is so fascinating that I listened start to finish twice.

Good story

The author did a lot of leg work meeting key players and really trying to get to know crypto. I think he's probably a little too harsh on the whole thing because it makes for a better narrative- but it is a very compelling narrative. He also did a good job of painting a picture of the crypto community, even if I do also think he was a little harsh there too.