Tigran Gambaryan

Heads up, this episode has a few curse words in it.

Heads up, this episode has a few curse words in it.

Heads up, this episode has a few curse words in it.

There is this video that I've not been able to stop thinking about since I first saw it. It's a short video, just 39 seconds long, of a bearded man with a tight haircut, a white t-shirt, and a gold chain. And he is filming himself selfie style, but he seems to be holding the phone at this weird angle. As if he's trying to hide it from someone.

There is this video that I've not been able to stop thinking about since I first saw it. It's a short video, just 39 seconds long, of a bearded man with a tight haircut, a white t-shirt, and a gold chain. And he is filming himself selfie style, but he seems to be holding the phone at this weird angle. As if he's trying to hide it from someone.

There is this video that I've not been able to stop thinking about since I first saw it. It's a short video, just 39 seconds long, of a bearded man with a tight haircut, a white t-shirt, and a gold chain. And he is filming himself selfie style, but he seems to be holding the phone at this weird angle. As if he's trying to hide it from someone.

If this is ringing a bell, it first made the rounds last spring.

If this is ringing a bell, it first made the rounds last spring.

If this is ringing a bell, it first made the rounds last spring.

Then the video just ends. It's haunting. I first heard about this guy and this video from legendary reporter Dina Temple Raston. Hey, Dina.

Then the video just ends. It's haunting. I first heard about this guy and this video from legendary reporter Dina Temple Raston. Hey, Dina.

Then the video just ends. It's haunting. I first heard about this guy and this video from legendary reporter Dina Temple Raston. Hey, Dina.

Dina, you've been following this story, the story of Tigran Gambarian, since day one.

Dina, you've been following this story, the story of Tigran Gambarian, since day one.

Dina, you've been following this story, the story of Tigran Gambarian, since day one.

Yeah, and that saga is our episode today. Hello and welcome to Play the Money. I'm Nick Fountain.

Yeah, and that saga is our episode today. Hello and welcome to Play the Money. I'm Nick Fountain.

Yeah, and that saga is our episode today. Hello and welcome to Play the Money. I'm Nick Fountain.

Tigran's story is about more than one man in a notorious Nigerian prison. It's about how people in places without stable economies have found refuge in cryptocurrency, how crypto can undermine state power, and how that state power fights back.

Tigran's story is about more than one man in a notorious Nigerian prison. It's about how people in places without stable economies have found refuge in cryptocurrency, how crypto can undermine state power, and how that state power fights back.