--- title: "Boomers Rejoice: RadioShack is Making Crypto for Old People" description: "After an extremely sad online-only relaunch, RadioShack is gasping for relevancy by launching a cryptocurrency exchange for rich old people." date: "2021-12-22" modified: "2021-12-22" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/radioshack-crypto" categories: - "Cybersecurity" - "Future Society" - "Hacking" tags: - "blockchain" - "crypto" - "cryptocurrency" - "the digest" --- # Boomers Rejoice: RadioShack is Making Crypto for Old People ![After an extremely sad online-only relaunch, RadioShack is gasping for relevancy by launching a cryptocurrency exchange for rich old people.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Crypto for the Rest of Us After an extremely sad [online-only relaunch](), RadioShack is gasping for relevancy by launching a cryptocurrency exchange for customers who, in the company's own words, are on average "age 68." The husk of what was once known lovingly as "The Shack" [announced this week]() that it's creating a new decentralized finance (DeFi) exchange called RADIO, with bespoke tokens of the same name. They say it's going to — get this, folks — make crypto go mainstream. "RadioShack, and RadioShack alone, can bridge the gap and ‘cross the chasm’ of mainstream usage for cryptocurrency," the company boasted, invoking the braggadocio of 80s nerds with a brand-new Tandy "Too many \[cryptocurrency companies\] focused on speculation and not enough on making the ‘old-school’ customer feel comfortable." ## Bitcoin Youth The thing keeping crypto from becoming widely-accepted and used currency is, according to RadioShack, that decision-makers don't trust it — and those movers and shakers are generally older than the "average crypto buyer" in their 20s or 30s. It's not a terrible argument on its face — traditional business types aren't exactly gunning to shovel their wealth into the voraciously deregulated crypto system. But the fact that it's *RadioShack*, a company most people presumed died at least a decade ago, makes this feel like comeback tour no one asked for. Unfortunately, we do again have to hand it to the good ole 'Shack in the wording of this announcement, which sounds every bit like it was written by and for a boomer uncle. "The older generation simply doesn’t trust the new-fangled ideas of the Bitcoin youth," the statement reads. Yes, seriously, it really says that, and goes on to add that "*RadioShack is perfect*" \[emphasis theirs'\] as the leader of the charge to get rich old people to invest in the blockchain. If nothing else, this longshot bid is an extremely crypto wager to make. **More terrible crypto adoption:** [*The Staples Center Will Be Renamed the “Crypto.com Arena" Because We Are Condemned to Eternal Damnation* ]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()