{"id":9338,"date":"2021-10-05T11:35:06","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T15:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=9338"},"modified":"2021-10-05T19:08:22","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T23:08:22","slug":"when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand","title":{"rendered":"What it\u2019s like when the banks collapse: Iceland 2008 firsthand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Many Bitcoiners look forward to the day in the future when the banking system collapses and hyper-Bitcoinization occurs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Jared Bibler \u2014 an American who experienced the most dramatic banking and share market collapse in living memory in Iceland in 2008 \u2014 says the reality is something no one would ever want to experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt&#8217;s a deep nausea in the pit of your stomach that does not go away over many months, that feeling of ill-being persists,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause it doesn&#8217;t happen all in one day. It happens slowly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like many in the crypto community today, in the lead up to the crash, Bibler felt as if he was the only one to notice the ever-widening cracks in the financial system. When it finally happened, he admits to a sense of misplaced pride.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was like, \u2018Hey, guys, the crash is happening now! I was trying to warn you about this for a couple years\u2019,\u201d he recalls thinking. \u201cSo, I was feeling a bit arrogant or something. But I didn&#8217;t realize like, \u2018Hey, in two days, pal, you&#8217;re going to be worrying if you can buy food.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">3 October 2008 \u2014 a run on the banks<\/p>\n<p>Prof. Gylfi Magn\u00fasson goes on national news at noon, says the banks are bankrupt, we don\u2019t have enough foreign currency for everyday goods. Icelanders respond by withdrawing 5.5 billion ISK in cash, 27x the normal amount for a Friday.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jared Bibler (@jared_bibler) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jared_bibler\/status\/1444582494767099904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bibler, who later joined the Fjarmalaeftirlitid (FME) investigation into the collapse, had quit his stressful Wall Street job in 2004 and moved to the tiny country after vacationing there. He ended up working at one of the largest banks, Landsbanki, and in a stroke of bizarre timing, quit his job just days before all three major banks collapsed in October 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each was the size of Enron, and the impact of the collapse on the 350,000 residents has been likened to 300 major banks collapsing in a country the size of the United States. The stock market plunged 97% from its 2007 high and the value of the national currency, the Krona, halved. People began to stockpile goods from supermarkets and many were forced to line up for food aid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9363\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9363\" style=\"width: 596px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-9363\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/bank-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"596\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/bank-1.jpg 720w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/bank-1-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9363\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jared Bibler amassed piles of evidence during the investigation. (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cImagine if the money that you have in your bank account now would suddenly buy you 1\/10th of what it had? That happened in a week. How would you feel? \u2018I can&#8217;t travel abroad anymore, I can&#8217;t buy a car.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bibler recalls the head of the central bank warning: \u201cIf we don&#8217;t get on top of this, we&#8217;re looking at 30 years of anarchy in this country. And I think he was right, I think we were a week away from a kind of a Mad Max,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>&#8220;In the kind of crash that we had with supermarket shelves going bare, and you&#8217;re not sure where your next meal is going to come from, and you&#8217;re not sure if the money in your wallet can buy anything the next morning, I think you&#8217;re pretty close to a real breakdown in society.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the months that followed, inflation hit 14% annually, interest rates hit 15% while GDP fell 10% in real terms and plunged the country into a depression. The unemployment rate quintupled. Ranked as the world&#8217;s most peaceful nation by the Global Peace Index, things turned ugly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe mood on the streets of Iceland was vengeful and kind of scary,\u201d he says. \u201cI was a bit afraid of it. People were down in front of the Parliament every day screaming and yelling and banging pots and pans, lighting fires and making noise \u2014 really super angry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, how did the three major banks in this tiny nation manage to grow their assets to 11 times the size of the economy, to the point where their collapse sent the country to the brink of anarchy? As Bibler details in his new book Iceland\u2019s Secret: The Untold Story of the World\u2019s Biggest Con, it was a mixture of greed, incompetence and outright fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9341\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9341\" style=\"width: 493px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-9341\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-flor-asef-5180020.jpg\" alt=\"Reykjav\u00edk\" width=\"493\" height=\"656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-flor-asef-5180020.jpg 605w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-flor-asef-5180020-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9341\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Reykjav\u00edk is home to 120,000 people and is the capital of Iceland (Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>The most peaceful country<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Iceland is a very unusual place. Despite having just 350,000 people, it has everything a larger nation has including its own government, customs service, share market and industry. For years, the economy was built around fishing and aluminum smelting, but after the banking sector was deregulated in 2001, huge amounts of foreign money poured in. The banks went on a debt-fueled spending spree acquiring foreign real estate, fashion brands and soccer teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSuddenly, there was a huge market for Icelandic (debt), especially commercial debt, which was high yielding,\u201d Bibler explains.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>\u201cAnd these newly privatized banks, they were hungry to grow, they were super aggressive. So they grew almost like a pumpkin, overnight.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The banks grew 20-fold in the space of just seven years and by the second quarter of 2008, the national debt had grown to 50 billion euro, equating to 160,000 euro worth of debt for every man, woman and child.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the economy booming and the stock market jumping up to 4% a month, no one paid much mind to warning shots fired in ominous 2006 reports from the IMF and Merrill Lynch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt had been the poorest country in Europe for like 1000 years,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I think people were like now we&#8217;ve made it, it&#8217;s okay while the sun shines.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div  class=\"jeg_postblock_carousel jeg_postblock_carousel_3 jeg_postblock jeg_col_8 jnews_module__0_61687b40b2496    \">\n                    <div class=\"jeg_carousel_post\" data-nav='' data-autoplay='true' data-delay='4500' data-items='3' data-margin='20'>\n                        <div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Fan tokens\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\">Fan tokens: Day trading your favorite sports team<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 7, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Icelandic Bank Collapse\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\">What it\u2019s like when the banks collapse: Iceland 2008 firsthand<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 5, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\">Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 1, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\">Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> September 27, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\">Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> September 16, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>A most peculiar bank<\/h4>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9365\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9365\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9365\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-1-770x1155.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-1-750x1125.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-1.jpg 864w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9365\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jared Bibler hard at work. (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While he\u2019d been drawn to the laid-back attitude and values, he was horrified by the incompetence and laissez-faire attitude of his coworkers and Landsbanki.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The whole place ran on manual data entry and few understood even basic concepts like T+3 settlements (settling a securities trade within three days).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cInternally, my view was it was kind of a complete chaos,\u201d he says. Bibler was asked to look after a 200 million euro hedge fund, even though the bank didn\u2019t have any way to track the amount of cash the fund held on any given day. \u201cThe only way we could do that is to create an Excel spreadsheet, and then go and look up in five or six places and copy-paste these numbers,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In another incident, he recalls the sales guys using find and replace to change all the references from Icelandic Krona to Euros in a fund brochure to attract German investors, despite the fact the only reason it made high returns was because it used Krona.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>\u201cIt was just the Wild West.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last straw was when he was instructed by his manager to wire 5 million euro to an unknown bank account with no documentation on three separate occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs soon as I did it, within a few days, they asked to send another five and then another five. So altogether, we sent 15 (million euro) with no documentation to some random account in Norway.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When he heard second hand that his manager\u2019s boss had started asking questions about the unusual transfers and that his manager had blamed him, Bibler decided to quit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMy last day was Friday, October 3, and my bank collapsed the next Tuesday, the seventh.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">3 October 2008 \/6<\/p>\n<p>IMF calls Iceland: we want to send a team there next week.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile Kaup\u00feing transfers ISK 10B ($88m) offshore to Marple.<\/p>\n<p>And I work my final day at Landsbanki \u2014 the day of the cakes.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jared Bibler (@jared_bibler) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jared_bibler\/status\/1444583676717801472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>The crisis unfolds<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In mid-September 2008, the financial world was shocked by rapidly spreading contagion in financial markets. On Sept. 15, Lehman Brothers \u2014 the fourth-largest Wall Street bank \u2014 collapsed along with old school stockbroker Merrill Lynch. The next day, U.S. insurance giant AIG went under, the following day the largest U.S. mortgage lender HBOS fell.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div  class=\"jeg_postblock_carousel jeg_postblock_carousel_3 jeg_postblock jeg_col_8 jnews_module__1_61687b40b8123    \">\n                    <div class=\"jeg_carousel_post\" data-nav='' data-autoplay='true' data-delay='4500' data-items='3' data-margin='20'>\n                        <div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Fan tokens\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\">Fan tokens: Day trading your favorite sports team<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 7, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Icelandic Bank Collapse\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\">What it\u2019s like when the banks collapse: Iceland 2008 firsthand<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 5, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\">Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 1, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\">Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> September 27, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\">Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> September 16, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Iceland\u2019s banks toppled like dominos: Glitner on Oct. 6, Landsbanki on Oct. 7 and Kaupping on Oct. 9. In a single week, 90 percent of the financial sector defaulted, and, unsurprisingly, there was a run on the banks with 20 times the normal amounts withdrawn. With the krona dropping like a stone, Bibler made an emergency trip to France to get as many euros from ATMs in cash as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quitting his job days before the collapse meant he wasn\u2019t eligible for social security payments and his savings were tied up in a high-interest fund that was frozen. It took six months to regain access to the money.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>&#8220;So we just didn&#8217;t even have access to the cash that we thought we had even in the local currency. So I only had maybe, in my regular bank account, maybe like 1000 bucks worth of local currency. So that was super scary.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Iceland, the principle in a mortgage is adjusted upward with inflation, which saw the 20% equity he\u2019s built up in his home with partner Hulda becoming worth less than nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<script>(function() {\n\twindow.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || {\n\t\tlisteners: [],\n\t\tforms: {\n\t\t\ton: function(evt, cb) {\n\t\t\t\twindow.mc4wp.listeners.push(\n\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\tevent   : evt,\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcallback: cb\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t);\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t}\n})();\n<\/script><!-- Mailchimp for WordPress v4.8.6 - https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/mailchimp-for-wp\/ --><form inert id=\"mc4wp-form-1\" class=\"mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-5517 mc4wp-ajax\" method=\"post\" data-id=\"5517\" data-name=\"JNEWS style form\" ><div class=\"mc4wp-form-fields\"><div class=\"jeg_mc4wp_heading\">\r\n  <h3>The best of blockchain, every Tuesday<\/h3>\r\n  <p>Subscribe for thoughtful explorations and leisurely reads from Magazine.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>\r\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"EMAIL\" placeholder=\"Email address...\" required \ placeholder="disabled" disabled="disabled" title="form boxes are disabled in cached version of the site" value="Disabled" style="opacity:0.3;" />\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n    <input type=\"submit\" value=\"SUBSCRIBE\" \ placeholder="disabled" disabled="disabled" title="form boxes are disabled in cached version of the site" value="Disabled" style="opacity:0.3;" />\r\n<\/p><br>\r\nBy subscribing you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/terms-and-privacy\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Service and Privacy Policy<\/a><\/div><label style=\"display: none !important;\">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type=\"text\" name=\"_mc4wp_honeypot\" value=\"\" tabindex=\"-1\" autocomplete=\"off\" \ placeholder="disabled" disabled="disabled" title="form boxes are disabled in cached version of the site" value="Disabled" style="opacity:0.3;" /><\/label><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_mc4wp_timestamp\" value=\"1634237248\" \ placeholder="disabled" disabled="disabled" title="form boxes are disabled in cached version of the site" value="Disabled" style="opacity:0.3;" /><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_mc4wp_form_id\" value=\"5517\" \ placeholder="disabled" disabled="disabled" title="form boxes are disabled in cached version of the site" value="Disabled" style="opacity:0.3;" /><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_mc4wp_form_element_id\" value=\"mc4wp-form-1\" \ placeholder="disabled" disabled="disabled" title="form boxes are disabled in cached version of the site" value="Disabled" style="opacity:0.3;" /><div class=\"mc4wp-response\"><\/div><\/form><!-- \/ Mailchimp for WordPress Plugin -->\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSuddenly, that 80% loan value was now 110% or 120%,\u201d he says, adding that they were forced to find someone willing to take over the house and mortgage for nothing. \u201cWe just gave them both. We handed them the keys, the house, the mortgage \u2014 they took the whole thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the book, Bibler describes being so poor they resorted to eating bjugur &#8211; horse-meat sausages boiled in water.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOnce done, I tried to smile at her across the dinner table but the smell, the taste and especially the texture of the giant white gobs of horse fat that popped out of the sliced casing were too much. For me, this is the sign that we have hit the bottom of the barrel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9343\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9343\" style=\"width: 505px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-9343\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-benjamin-suter-3617500.jpg\" alt=\"Iceland (Source: Pexels)\" width=\"505\" height=\"632\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-benjamin-suter-3617500.jpg 1053w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-benjamin-suter-3617500-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-benjamin-suter-3617500-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-benjamin-suter-3617500-770x963.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-benjamin-suter-3617500-750x938.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 505px) 100vw, 505px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9343\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Iceland offers amazing views of the Northern Lights and runs on almost 100% geothermal and hydro power. (Source: Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>The investigation<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After six months of unemployment, he found a job on a team of 16 at financial supervisory authority FME, investigating the collapse. He spent the next two years following a trail of excel spreadsheets to piece together what had happened. Along with his time at the Office of the Special Prosecutor in Reykjav\u00edk, he and his team investigated 30 criminal cases. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It soon became clear that the banks had been engaged in massive market fraud for a decade or so. All three were buying their own shares on the stock market to prop up the price. On many days, they were the largest buyer in the market. Kaupping, the largest bank, bought $1.25 billion worth of its own shares in the year before it collapsed. Its market cap was only $5B.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was shocked. I didn&#8217;t believe it. I didn&#8217;t want to believe it,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>\u201cWhen I just saw these guys going in every day, buying up like literally sometimes 100% of the daily trading volume\u2026 and then going back years and seeing that behavior, this kind of shook my worldview quite a bit.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To hide the enormous piles of shares, the banks created fake shell companies which they then lent even more money to, to purchase the shares.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt was a brilliant scam really, as long as they continued to borrow money from abroad and grow, they could continue to buy their own shares to keep the price set really wherever they liked.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9374 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/iceland.jpg\" alt=\"Iceland's Secret\" width=\"231\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/iceland.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/iceland-192x300.jpg 192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/>The collapse became a major international incident due to the large amounts of foreign investment in Iceland. Around 300,000 people in the United Kingdom were affected, with U.K. local councils alone tipping in 840 million pounds. The U.K. government applied terrorism provisions to recoup billions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sadly, but predictably, given how small Iceland is and how well connected the architects of the schemes were, there wasn\u2019t much appetite to bring the culprits to justice. By 2011, Bibler\u2019s staff had been cut to just three people. The Icelandic general counsel told him:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe don\u2019t need you or this kind of team anymore. Don\u2019t be na\u00efve, the financial crime that happened here, that was all back in 2008. It won\u2019t ever happen again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bibler quit. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Justice denied<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He\u2019d naively expected the traders responsible would face long jail periods as he assumed the maximum six-year penalty would apply for each incident.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m like these poor guys were doing this market abuse like 50 trades a day, 220 trading days a year and five years, I was thinking multiply each one of those by six years and they&#8217;re gonna be in prison for 1000 years or something.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He was astonished to find prosecutors that thousands of incidents would be covered by a single charge \u2014 with a maximum penalty of a handful of years for the lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9364\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9364\" style=\"width: 582px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-9364\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"582\" height=\"290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2.jpg 1180w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2-1024x511.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2-770x384.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2-360x180.jpg 360w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2-750x374.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Jared-Bibler-2-1140x569.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9364\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bibler believes the punishments handed out were not enough to act as a deterrent. (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Kaupping prosecution was typical of the trials. Nine executives were charged with market abuse and the evidence clearly showed they were guilty of buying up 42% of all volume in its own shares in Iceland between 2007 and 2008 and 31% of the volume in Sweden.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the scale of the crimes, and the fact 30,000 bank investors were wiped out, just seven of the nine were convicted in 2015 in the Reykjavik District Court and received sentences ranging between zero jail and four and a half years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All told 29 men and two women \u2014 CEOs and execs from the three big banks and related institutions \u2014 were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/business\/iceland-seeks-closure-on-financial-crash-with-last-prosecution-of-banker\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sentenced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to a combined total of 99 years in prison. That works out to an average of 3.2 years each person for crimes ranging from insider trading to market manipulation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most were released within a year after serving time in Iceland&#8217;s spectacular white collar prison at Kviabryggja. Bibler writes:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThrough changes in the law, already short sentences became comically short \u2014 and within mere months, they were back to flying helicopters and dining out with their spouses at the best restaurants in Reykjavik.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Iceland\u2019s Prime Minister was also found guilty of negligence by a special court, but was spared prison. He later became Iceland&#8217;s ambassador to the United States. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bibler doesn\u2019t believe the punishments fit the crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI don&#8217;t get excited about putting people in jail. You know, I&#8217;m not into punishing people. But at the same time, the message that that sends is horrible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9367\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9367\" style=\"width: 609px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-9367\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Bibler-mag-small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"609\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Bibler-mag-small.jpg 921w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Bibler-mag-small-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Bibler-mag-small-770x437.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Bibler-mag-small-750x426.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 609px) 100vw, 609px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9367\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jared Bibler has written a book about the fallout from the GFC on Iceland.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Bitcoin emerges<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bitcoin emerged not long after the collapse of Iceland\u2019s banking industry, and cryptocurrency mining became a sizable industry thanks to dirt cheap rent and 100% renewable energy from geothermal and hydroelectricity. By some accounts, 8% of all Bitcoin has been mined in Iceland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bibler thinks it\u2019s too early to tell if the radical transparency of blockchains can help mitigate against corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>\u201cI think crypto is really in its infancy. I don&#8217;t know what it&#8217;s going to lead to. But I think there&#8217;s a lot of fascinating ideas and developments that will come out that I think we can&#8217;t predict. We&#8217;re in the era like when Netscape went public in 1994.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;I think there&#8217;s something there, but I&#8217;m not sure what it is yet,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>But he is sure <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/03\/how-to-prepare-for-end-of-bull-run-part-1-timing\">another collapse is coming<\/a>. He concludes the book with a warning that Iceland\u2019s financial collapse\u00a0 was the result of turning a blind eye to corruption to keep the financial machine pumping out money. He concludes the book by writing:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Despite the devastating events of 2008 the dragon of deeply corrupt financial markets has still not been slain&#8230; Iceland in 2004-08 is a preview of coming attractions for the world&#8217;s big markets. Today we find ourselves back in the equivalent of the 1930s thinking the Great War is over and done with&#8230; We naively refer to 2008 as the Global Financial Crisis as if there will only ever be one, when GFC II almost certainly looms on the horizon. We are sitting on a time bomb.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just before we finish up the interview, we share a joke that the looming financial collapse might see us both eating horse meat sausages again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOh Jesus, I hope not,\u201d he laughs. \u201cOne time in my life was enough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/icelandssecret.com\/\">ICELAND\u2019S SECRET<\/a>:\u00a0 The Untold Story Of the World\u2019s Biggest Con is out October 5.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div  class=\"jeg_postblock_carousel jeg_postblock_carousel_3 jeg_postblock jeg_col_8 jnews_module__2_61687b40ba7ae    \">\n                    <div class=\"jeg_carousel_post\" data-nav='' data-autoplay='true' data-delay='4500' data-items='3' data-margin='20'>\n                        <div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Fan tokens\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-sports-fan-tokens-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\">Fan tokens: Day trading your favorite sports team<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 7, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Icelandic Bank Collapse\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/magazine-Iceland-firsthand-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\">What it\u2019s like when the banks collapse: Iceland 2008 firsthand<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/05\/when-banks-collapse-iceland-2008-firsthand\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 5, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAG-crypto-city-Tokyo-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\">Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/01\/crypto-city-guide-to-tokyo\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> October 1, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MAGAZINE-Before-NFTs-Surging-interest-in-pre-CryptoPunk-collectibles-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\">Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/27\/before-nfts-surging-interest-pre-cryptopunk-collectibles\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> September 27, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class=\"jeg_post_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"jeg_post format-standard\">\n                    \n                    <div class=\"jeg_thumb\">                        \n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\" ><div class=\"thumbnail-container animate-lazy  size-1000 \"><img width=\"75\" height=\"75\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/themes\/jnews\/assets\/img\/jeg-empty.png\" class=\"attachment-jnews-75x75 size-jnews-75x75 lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-75x75.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/magazine-Crypto-isnt-a-good-tool-for-ransomware-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"overlay_content\">\n                        <div class=\"jeg_postblock_content\">\n                            <h3 class=\"jeg_post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\">Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware<\/a><\/h3>\n                            <div class=\"jeg_post_meta\"><div class=\"jeg_meta_date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/16\/bitcoin-ledger-as-a-secret-weapon-in-war-against-ransomware\" ><i class=\"fa fa-clock-o\"><\/i> September 16, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Imagine if the money that you have in your bank account now would suddenly buy you 1\/10th of what it had? That happened in a week.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[157],"tags":[3207,3206,3209,3204,3205,3210,3208,3211,3212],"yst_prominent_words":[725,1549,842,1668,1497,168,1935,688,1676],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9338"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9375,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9338\/revisions\/9375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9338"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=9338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}