📊 EV’s Charts of the Week #112
What does the huge amount of American lawyers say about regulation?
Hi, I’m Azeem Azhar. I convene Exponential View to help us understand how our societies and political economy will change under the force of rapidly accelerating technologies. Every Wednesday, I do this in Charts of the Week.
CHART OF THE WEEK
After analysing over $230 million worth of blockchain activity, Elliptic found that pro-Ukrainian fundraising campaigns received substantially more cryptoassets ($212.1m) than pro-Russian wallets ($4.8m). They also showed that $0.7m had been received by anti-government entities in Belarus, a key ally of Russia.
Interestingly, only 1.8% of crypto donations towards Ukraine seemed to come from illicit sources, against 10.2% for Russia.
Given the sanctions that were rapidly imposed upon Russia, I’m surprised that we’re not finding more on-chain activity supporting it. This might be because sanctions are not airtight enough to warrant cryptocurrencies. It might also mean that Putin is increasingly isolated, even amongst crypto holders, and simply can’t gather much support for his violent skulduggery1.
WEDNESDAY SURVEY
“[I]t ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, then to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.”
In Charts of the Week #106, we asked who was the author of the following quote: “My calculations are all prior to the $88m hack; so as of today, maybe things are $88m worse.” 47% of readers selected the correct answer: Sam Bankman-Fried.
DEPT OF LAWYERS
Doctor who?
In the United States, 1 out of 251 people is a lawyer, but only 1 out of 385 is a doctor. Since the 1970s, the US has seen an increase in the growth rate of lawyers. What led to such a rapid rise?

The rest of the edition is open to paying members only. Here’s what’s behind the paywall 🔒:
What does the amount of lawyers in the United States mean for regulation?
Which country is the winner of doughnut economics?
How does alcohol follow the Pareto Principle?
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