OT: Bitcoin, Altcoins, NFT's & All Things Crypto

[RUBlackout]

Looks like FTX has it. I’m wondering if @bob-loblaw was talking about buying the Helium (HNT) coin versus going the route of mining, staking, etc (https://www.helium.com/). Interesting looking project, I need to keep reading up on it.

Yeah I want to look into this also as I was reading about helium last night after seeing his post and was likening the idea of the wifi mining aspect and earning tokens. At least that is how I read it.

that said, I would like to hear more of someone else already did the research. Again I have only bought NFTs that were two separate projects with roadmaps but really about the picture moreso than what the actual project does.
I am trying to really figure out if this is legit use cases or just a fad.

a guy works for me is studying crypto now(he has had a FX background for 30yrs) and trying to expand what we can sell(fintech) and where we need future product development in this space.

too bad I won’t be going to the Bahamas with him to meet FTX

 

[bob-loblaw]

Looks like FTX has it. I’m wondering if @bob-loblaw was talking about buying the Helium (HNT) coin versus going the route of mining, staking, etc (https://www.helium.com/). Interesting looking project, I need to keep reading up on it.

Yeah I want to look into this also as I was reading about helium last night after seeing his post and was likening the idea of the wifi mining aspect and earning tokens. At least that is how I read it.

that said, I would like to hear more of someone else already did the research. Again I have only bought NFTs that were two separate projects with roadmaps but really about the picture moreso than what the actual project does.
I am trying to really figure out if this is legit use cases or just a fad.

a guy works for me is studying crypto now(he has had a FX background for 30yrs) and trying to expand what we can sell(fintech) and where we need future product development in this space.

too bad I won’t be going to the Bahamas with him to meet FTX

Ya, sorry for the vague reply. I have a godo crypto friend who has been earning extra income (in Helium) by running nodes or antennae's at his properties. He has one on his home, one at his pizzeria and one at another property i believe.

I like the idea of it. I just havent dug into the electricity cost + hardware cost, relative to ROI. He's been happy with it, but YMMV. I know there's some good plays there, I just havent had the time unfort to dive in.

Also, look into staking coins for passive income. My biggest rule of staking is not to use a major crypto asset (BTC ) to stake to return a non-btc token/coin. Any stakeing I do is for the same coin in return. I've witnessed staking wrapped tokens (you take a major coin and wrap it in another coin native to whatever chain youre on) The problem is when you create the wrapped coin/token, if the non major coin-token loses value, you can lose a halthy amount of value. Sorry that was very vague. I can go into more detail later.

You can minimize risk by staking (or earning interest) on a single coin. The APY/R's arent as high but you can do well if your patient. For example, I have a third of a bitcoin stake on a major exchange. While I dislike not having self-custody of the coin, there's a 5 day wait to withdraw or cash out on the staked asset. I like this because god forbid your account gets compromised, you just bought yourself an extra 5 days before anyone can steal your coins.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Russia crypto regulations moving forward (sorry, no ban for the haters). They are making a play to become a market leader. China is out and the US is stuck in the mud trying to figure out regulations.

 

[Rutgers Chris]

Ya, sorry for the vague reply. I have a godo crypto friend who has been earning extra income (in Helium) by running nodes or antennae's at his properties. He has one on his home, one at his pizzeria and one at another property i believe.

I like the idea of it. I just havent dug into the electricity cost + hardware cost, relative to ROI. He's been happy with it, but YMMV. I know there's some good plays there, I just havent had the time unfort to dive in.

Also, look into staking coins for passive income. My biggest rule of staking is not to use a major crypto asset (BTC ) to stake to return a non-btc token/coin. Any stakeing I do is for the same coin in return. I've witnessed staking wrapped tokens (you take a major coin and wrap it in another coin native to whatever chain youre on) The problem is when you create the wrapped coin/token, if the non major coin-token loses value, you can lose a halthy amount of value. Sorry that was very vague. I can go into more detail later.

You can minimize risk by staking (or earning interest) on a single coin. The APY/R's arent as high but you can do well if your patient. For example, I have a third of a bitcoin stake on a major exchange. While I dislike not having self-custody of the coin, there's a 5 day wait to withdraw or cash out on the staked asset. I like this because god forbid your account gets compromised, you just bought yourself an extra 5 days before anyone can steal your coins.

Thanks @bob-loblaw, definitely going to read some more on the Helium network.

I am staking a few smaller coins that I own and based on the low availability, the APR has been amazing (35 and 125). I considered yield farming with one but that got too complicated for me.

 

[JFP3]

Bump.

Also, I’m enjoying the ride this morning, but the inevitable tumble after the fed raises rates in March is making it less fun.

One other thing - are any of you staking ethereum on Coinbase? If so, how do you do it? Please explain it to me like a child as I can’t figure it out on my app.

 

[Scangg]

I've been mining Helium for a long time. Amazing project. Creating a network for internet of things (IoT) devices which costs 1/100th of current fees. Recent article in the new york times about it being a crypto with a real world use case. Over 500k hotspots in the network now and would be much higher if it wasn't for the global supply chain issues delaying production

The cost is the miner plus about 8 bucks a year in electricity. It's mining system is different than Bitcoin and proof of work mining that uses a ton of electricity.

You can check out Heliumpassiveincome.com if you're interested to mine and potentially get a free hotspot in exchange for profit sharing if you don't want to put in the financial risk of purchasing the hotspot.

Typically the hotspot will pay for itself in a few months and its all profit from there

If you're taking the long long term approach and believe in the project the token could reach 1k or more in a multi multi year time frame since they are now expanding into 5G and not just IoT devices

It also recently ranked 3rd in actual revenue from a blockchain so it is moving from a concept to actual adoption and use

 

[Scangg]

Ya, sorry for the vague reply. I have a godo crypto friend who has been earning extra income (in Helium) by running nodes or antennae's at his properties. He has one on his home, one at his pizzeria and one at another property i believe.

I like the idea of it. I just havent dug into the electricity cost + hardware cost, relative to ROI. He's been happy with it, but YMMV. I know there's some good plays there, I just havent had the time unfort to dive in.

Also, look into staking coins for passive income. My biggest rule of staking is not to use a major crypto asset (BTC ) to stake to return a non-btc token/coin. Any stakeing I do is for the same coin in return. I've witnessed staking wrapped tokens (you take a major coin and wrap it in another coin native to whatever chain youre on) The problem is when you create the wrapped coin/token, if the non major coin-token loses value, you can lose a halthy amount of value. Sorry that was very vague. I can go into more detail later.

You can minimize risk by staking (or earning interest) on a single coin. The APY/R's arent as high but you can do well if your patient. For example, I have a third of a bitcoin stake on a major exchange. While I dislike not having self-custody of the coin, there's a 5 day wait to withdraw or cash out on the staked asset. I like this because god forbid your account gets compromised, you just bought yourself an extra 5 days before anyone can steal your coins.

The problem with proving liquidity to "stake" (not actually staking) is impermanent loss. Google that term and read up before you try if unfamiliar.

Its a bit tough to explain if you are new to crypto. Say you provide liquidity for FTM-USDT pair. You get LP tokens that represent this and it is 50% of each token in the pair. The value of FTM goes up a bunch... you will now have less FTM and more USDT than what you initially put in bc you provide 50% of each. You may have made more if you held 100% FTM instead of providing the liquidity if the APY you are getting from providing liquidity doesn't offset the gains of the token itself

I am a believer in FTM Fantom and am generating passive income on it through reaper.farm using the FTM-TOMB pool. TOMB is a token pegged to the price of FTM so it essentially becomes a single sided staking pool without impermanent loss... as long as TOMB continues to maintain its peg to FTM

APY has gone down recently but I was getting about 250% for a while. It's at about 100% right now

This is likely over the head of many here, but if you're more advanced in crypto this is a strong play for me if you are bullish on Fantom

 

[Scangg]

Not on COIN. What exchanges have access to it?

If you ever want to know where any crypto is available go to coingecko and search it then click the markets tab

Helium is on Binance crypto.com ftx kucoin gate.io hotbit

Coinbase listing is probably coming at some point

 

[Scangg]

Looks like FTX has it. I’m wondering if @bob-loblaw was talking about buying the Helium (HNT) coin versus going the route of mining, staking, etc (https://www.helium.com/). Interesting looking project, I need to keep reading up on it.

Price is down about 50% from all time high in November. If you want to make a significant investment you probably want to buy. It'll take a while to get going mining with a hotspot and earning any significant number of tokens. You'll likely earn a few HNT a month per hotspot

Yeah I want to look into this also as I was reading about helium last night after seeing his post and was likening the idea of the wifi mining aspect and earning tokens. At least that is how I read it.

that said, I would like to hear more of someone else already did the research. Again I have only bought NFTs that were two separate projects with roadmaps but really about the picture moreso than what the actual project does.
I am trying to really figure out if this is legit use cases or just a fad.

a guy works for me is studying crypto now(he has had a FX background for 30yrs) and trying to expand what we can sell(fintech) and where we need future product development in this space.

too bad I won’t be going to the Bahamas with him to meet FTX

So much legit use case. There are billions of IoT devices and the growth in them is expected to only increase quite significantly. The cost is 1/100th of the current standard so its hard for the current system to try to compete once the network and project becomes more mature

They are now also branching into 5G which just gives another revenue stream and use case. They signed a deal with Dish Network.

Initially you provide covere with the hotspot and in return for "proof of coverage" you get rewarded in HNT. As the network starts being used the rewards will be shifting from proof of coverage to rewards for actually sending data through your hotspot

For those worried about bandwidth speed the data is the size of text messages and has no impact on your personal internet speed

 

[Rutgers Chris]

I've been mining Helium for a long time. Amazing project. Creating a network for internet of things (IoT) devices which costs 1/100th of current fees. Recent article in the new york times about it being a crypto with a real world use case. Over 500k hotspots in the network now and would be much higher if it wasn't for the global supply chain issues delaying production

The cost is the miner plus about 8 bucks a year in electricity. It's mining system is different than Bitcoin and proof of work mining that uses a ton of electricity.

You can check out Heliumpassiveincome.com if you're interested to mine and potentially get a free hotspot in exchange for profit sharing if you don't want to put in the financial risk of purchasing the hotspot.

Typically the hotspot will pay for itself in a few months and its all profit from there

If you're taking the long long term approach and believe in the project the token could reach 1k or more in a multi multi year time frame since they are now expanding into 5G and not just IoT devices

It also recently ranked 3rd in actual revenue from a blockchain so it is moving from a concept to actual adoption and use

I read the NY Times article last night and was headed in the direction of not going this route. You've got me second guessing. The two things that swayed me that way were 1. the initial capital investment to get started. It also seems like it is taking months for the units to ship. And 2. it seemed like it was in a bit of a grey area with using these based on Xfinity's ISP agreement. Seems like it is worth a third look.

 

[Scangg]

Sorry for the spamming but I love Helium!

Another option to try to get a free hotspot in exchange for profit sharing besides Heliumpassiveincome.com is internetofwe.net (crypto scangg as referral) if you want to help me out won't effect your earnings but I'll get a small referral fee

 

[ScarletNut]

More validation, interesting that they bough ethereum along with bitcoin:

KPMG Follows in Tesla's Footsteps, Buys Bitcoin and Ethereum in Canada - TheStreet

KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, invests in bitcoin and ethereum in Canada

www.thestreet.com

 

[T2Kplus20]

More validation, interesting that they bough ethereum along with bitcoin:

KPMG Follows in Tesla's Footsteps, Buys Bitcoin and Ethereum in Canada - TheStreet

KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, invests in bitcoin and ethereum in Canada

www.thestreet.com

ETH is becoming crypto #1b. Also, as a smart contract blockchain, it is a nice compliment to BTC. Makes sense to always buy both!

 

[Scangg]

ETH is becoming crypto #1b. Also, as a smart contract blockchain, it is a nice compliment to BTC. Makes sense to always buy both!

Yea Ethereum is beyond an alt coin at this point. It's really BTC ETH then the rest are alts. If you don't know or want to learn much about crypto just buy those 2

They also don't compete with each other at all since ETH is a smart contract platform type crypto

 

[ScarletNut]

Yea Ethereum is beyond an alt coin at this point. It's really BTC ETH then the rest are alts. If you don't know or want to learn much about crypto just buy those 2

They also don't compete with each other at all since ETH is a smart contract platform type crypto

Agreed, but don't count out Solana and Cardano. Check out these latest Cardano stats:

And there’s even more positive news for the ADA crypto of late. On Feb. 3, Cardano reported adding more than 12,000 wallets per day since December, for 20.1% growth. This reflects the addition of more than 500,000 ADA wallets since Christmas, and 1,200% wallet growth since December 2020.

 

[ScarletNut]

Another interesting article on Cardano:

Key Points​

• The Cardano blockchain aims to enable mainstream adoption of dApps and DeFi products.
• The Cardano developer team introduced smart contract functionality in September 2021.
• The Ouroboros Hydra solution could go live in 2022, dramatically boosting Cardano's scalability.

Motley Fool Issues Rare “All In” Buy Alert

The cryptocurrency market has plunged roughly 40% since reaching a high in early November, shedding $1.2 trillion in less than three months. But Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA) has been hit even harder. The price of the ADA coin has fallen about 60% from its all-time high. Even so, it still ranks as the sixth-most-valuable cryptocurrency, with a market cap of almost $40 billion.
More importantly, Cardano's evidenced-based approach to blockchain development has won the project a loyal fan base, and many enthusiasts see significant upside after the recent sell-off. In fact, some investors are calling for ADA to hit $25 by 2025, a forecast that implies a 2,200% gain from its current price. Is that realistic?
Let's dive in.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Cardano's innovative blockchain​

In 2015, Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson left the project and started Input Output Global (IOG), a blockchain research and engineering company. In doing so, he hoped to advance the industry by improving upon Ethereum's lack of scalability and its energy-intensive proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism. In 2017, Hoskinson took the first step in realizing that vision when IOG launched the Cardano blockchain.
Cardano's key innovation is the proof of stake (PoS) consensus protocol Ouroboros. In addition to being more energy-efficient than PoW solutions, Ouroboros is also the industry's first peer-reviewed and verifiably secure consensus protocol. In other words, it has been rigorously examined in an academic setting.

Since then, evidenced-based development has become a core part of Cardano's DNA. IOG frequently publishes academic research regarding technical updates to the blockchain, and the Cardano project itself is divided into five distinct phases, each focusing on a different set of features. In order, those phases address Cardano's foundation, decentralization, smart contracts, scalability, and governance.

Cardano's roadmap​

Cardano is currently in the third phase of development, as smart contract functionality went live on Sept. 12, 2021 . That means developers can now build decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) services on the blockchain. And because those products require transaction fees paid in the native cryptocurrency, the resulting demand for ADA should drive its price higher as Cardano becomes more popular.
Of course, Ethereum is the clear leader in the industry, with more than 2,900 dApps deployed and $150 billion invested in DeFi products on the blockchain. But some 4,000 developers have worked with Cardano's test network in the past, according to CoinMarketCap.com, and CardanoCube lists over 280 dApps and smart contracts that are already live. Cardano is also gaining momentum in the DeFi space, as investors have already poured $74 million into financial products on the blockchain.
Looking forward, the next phase in Cardano's development is particularly important, as it involves an upgrade to the Ouroboros consensus protocol. Specifically, Hydra is a scaling solution that will enable multiple side chains -- additional blockchains that will connect to the core chain -- thereby dividing the network load more efficiently. Ultimately, Ouroboros Hydra could boost throughput to 1 million transactions per second (TPS), while allowing for instant confirmation of those transactions.

For context, Ethereum currently handles a maximum of 14 TPS, and those transactions take six minutes to reach finality. That lack of scalability has been a significant problem, because network congestion has caused transaction speeds to slow and fees to rise. For that reason, Ouroboros Hydra is critical to Cardano's future, and the upgrade could take place sometime in 2022, according to IOG software engineer Sebastian Nagel.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Cardano's price target​

Price targets are inherently speculative, and that's especially true in the crypto market. Stocks have been around for centuries, but cryptocurrencies are a new asset class, and they don't generate revenue or profits like publicly traded companies. Also noteworthy, if ADA does indeed hit $25 by 2025, Cardano's market cap would exceed $830 billion. Only Bitcoin has ever achieved a higher valuation.
However, Cardano promises much more utility than Bitcoin, and it is certainly possible for ADA to hit that price target. After all, meme tokens like Shiba Inu have generated much greater returns in much less time. That being said, a lot of things would need to go right for Cardano to achieve a market value of $830 billion.
First and foremost, the implementation of Hydra must be successful. If Cardano can distinguish itself in terms of scalability, more developers would be incentivized to learn Plutus, the programming language used to create smart contracts on Cardano. At that point, those developers would need to build an engaging ecosystem of dApps and DeFi products, and those products would have to go viral with consumers and investors. Assuming all of those stars align, demand for the ADA token could drive its price to $25.

However, even if that doesn't happen, Cardano is an interesting blockchain project with a lot of potential, and this cryptocurrency could still be a rewarding long-term investment.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Another interesting article on Cardano:

​

Key Points​

• The Cardano blockchain aims to enable mainstream adoption of dApps and DeFi products.
• The Cardano developer team introduced smart contract functionality in September 2021.
• The Ouroboros Hydra solution could go live in 2022, dramatically boosting Cardano's scalability.

Motley Fool Issues Rare “All In” Buy Alert

The cryptocurrency market has plunged roughly 40% since reaching a high in early November, shedding $1.2 trillion in less than three months. But Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA) has been hit even harder. The price of the ADA coin has fallen about 60% from its all-time high. Even so, it still ranks as the sixth-most-valuable cryptocurrency, with a market cap of almost $40 billion.
More importantly, Cardano's evidenced-based approach to blockchain development has won the project a loyal fan base, and many enthusiasts see significant upside after the recent sell-off. In fact, some investors are calling for ADA to hit $25 by 2025, a forecast that implies a 2,200% gain from its current price. Is that realistic?
Let's dive in.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Cardano's innovative blockchain​

In 2015, Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson left the project and started Input Output Global (IOG), a blockchain research and engineering company. In doing so, he hoped to advance the industry by improving upon Ethereum's lack of scalability and its energy-intensive proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism. In 2017, Hoskinson took the first step in realizing that vision when IOG launched the Cardano blockchain.
Cardano's key innovation is the proof of stake (PoS) consensus protocol Ouroboros. In addition to being more energy-efficient than PoW solutions, Ouroboros is also the industry's first peer-reviewed and verifiably secure consensus protocol. In other words, it has been rigorously examined in an academic setting.

Since then, evidenced-based development has become a core part of Cardano's DNA. IOG frequently publishes academic research regarding technical updates to the blockchain, and the Cardano project itself is divided into five distinct phases, each focusing on a different set of features. In order, those phases address Cardano's foundation, decentralization, smart contracts, scalability, and governance.

Cardano's roadmap​

Cardano is currently in the third phase of development, as smart contract functionality went live on Sept. 12, 2021 . That means developers can now build decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) services on the blockchain. And because those products require transaction fees paid in the native cryptocurrency, the resulting demand for ADA should drive its price higher as Cardano becomes more popular.
Of course, Ethereum is the clear leader in the industry, with more than 2,900 dApps deployed and $150 billion invested in DeFi products on the blockchain. But some 4,000 developers have worked with Cardano's test network in the past, according to CoinMarketCap.com, and CardanoCube lists over 280 dApps and smart contracts that are already live. Cardano is also gaining momentum in the DeFi space, as investors have already poured $74 million into financial products on the blockchain.
Looking forward, the next phase in Cardano's development is particularly important, as it involves an upgrade to the Ouroboros consensus protocol. Specifically, Hydra is a scaling solution that will enable multiple side chains -- additional blockchains that will connect to the core chain -- thereby dividing the network load more efficiently. Ultimately, Ouroboros Hydra could boost throughput to 1 million transactions per second (TPS), while allowing for instant confirmation of those transactions.

For context, Ethereum currently handles a maximum of 14 TPS, and those transactions take six minutes to reach finality. That lack of scalability has been a significant problem, because network congestion has caused transaction speeds to slow and fees to rise. For that reason, Ouroboros Hydra is critical to Cardano's future, and the upgrade could take place sometime in 2022, according to IOG software engineer Sebastian Nagel.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Cardano's price target​

Price targets are inherently speculative, and that's especially true in the crypto market. Stocks have been around for centuries, but cryptocurrencies are a new asset class, and they don't generate revenue or profits like publicly traded companies. Also noteworthy, if ADA does indeed hit $25 by 2025, Cardano's market cap would exceed $830 billion. Only Bitcoin has ever achieved a higher valuation.
However, Cardano promises much more utility than Bitcoin, and it is certainly possible for ADA to hit that price target. After all, meme tokens like Shiba Inu have generated much greater returns in much less time. That being said, a lot of things would need to go right for Cardano to achieve a market value of $830 billion.
First and foremost, the implementation of Hydra must be successful. If Cardano can distinguish itself in terms of scalability, more developers would be incentivized to learn Plutus, the programming language used to create smart contracts on Cardano. At that point, those developers would need to build an engaging ecosystem of dApps and DeFi products, and those products would have to go viral with consumers and investors. Assuming all of those stars align, demand for the ADA token could drive its price to $25.

However, even if that doesn't happen, Cardano is an interesting blockchain project with a lot of potential, and this cryptocurrency could still be a rewarding long-term investment.

I own Cardano. Great plan and promise, painfully slow execution due to lack of developers. ETH has a HUGE lead and is evolving quicker than ADA.

My bet is that ETH will continue to be #1 in smart contract blockchains, ADA will become a solid #2 option, and probably DOT will be #3. Not sold on SOL yet.

 

[Scangg]

I own Cardano. Great plan and promise, painfully slow execution due to lack of developers. ETH has a HUGE lead and is evolving quicker than ADA.

My bet is that ETH will continue to be #1 in smart contract blockchains, ADA will become a solid #2 option, and probably DOT will be #3. Not sold on SOL yet.

There were some delays on cardano going live initally but they are ahead of schedule with Hydra.

They are working faster than ETH actually who has moved back ETH 2.0 year after year now

Hydra may actually arrive before ETH 2.0 since it's been pushed back so many times

 

[Scangg]

Agreed, but don't count out Solana and Cardano. Check out these latest Cardano stats:

And there’s even more positive news for the ADA crypto of late. On Feb. 3, Cardano reported adding more than 12,000 wallets per day since December, for 20.1% growth. This reflects the addition of more than 500,000 ADA wallets since Christmas, and 1,200% wallet growth since December 2020.

Oh I'm not... they will all be around most likely. Many platforms will succeed to varying degrees. I got into Cardano in 2017... unfortunately I had almost no money to invest with at the time or I'd be retired

I'm still mad I passed on SOL under a dollar. I should have trusted my instincts and evaluation but there was no "buzz" at the time

In terms of platforms I own the most Cardano and Fantom

 

[RU Golfer]

Bitfinex money recovered.

Couple arrested in alleged $4.5 billion cryptocurrency laundering scheme

Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan are accused of conspiring to wash the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin.

nypost.com

 

[T2Kplus20]

DC working on crypto regs:

Crypto, China, stocks and more: Democrats and Republicans are actually working together on some crucial issues

Voters and Washington are bitterly divided. But Democrats and Republicans in Congress have found some common ground on crypto, China, stocks and other issues.

www.cnbc.com

Blockchain buddies
Another potential area for bipartisan policy partnership is on cryptocurrency regulation.

Democrats and Republicans are both eager to develop a framework in which the nation’s many crypto investors, issuers, miners and exchanges can market digital assets. The market is like the “Wild West,” according to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who has has repeatedly asked lawmakers for legislation.

Better guidelines, codified rules and regulations could at the very least work to protect investors from the price volatility that has thus far dogged many digital assets. Even bitcoin, one of the world’s most popular digital assets, isn’t immune: Its value has declined by more than 33% over the last three months.

All signs point to a major piece of legislation from Lummis, a Republican freshman senator from Wyoming and a crypto-industry supporter, in the coming weeks. While the details of the draft are not yet available, her legislation is expected to include input from a range of government agencies and tackle many currently unanswered questions faced by the industry.

The industry and regulators have asked Congress to offer guidance on which assets belong to varied asset classes, protections for retail investors and clarity on the jurisdiction of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Reserve.

It’s likely that progressives like Warren will want to make their own changes to the Lummis bill given well-documented disagreements about how much regulation the industry needs and how much risk it poses to investors. Still, such a massive piece of legislation is likely to be debuted with the support of at least one moderate Democrat.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, stressed the bipartisan desire for more legislation over digital assets on Tuesday during a hearing to assess the Biden administration’s recent report on stablecoins.

“We need legislation. We agree on that,” he said in prepared remarks. “Currently, there is no federal law to address digital assets. With nearly a quarter of American adults now invested in crypto, we must move quickly to put in place a framework that clearly defines the rules of the road.”

 

[Scangg]

DC working on crypto regs:

Crypto, China, stocks and more: Democrats and Republicans are actually working together on some crucial issues

Voters and Washington are bitterly divided. But Democrats and Republicans in Congress have found some common ground on crypto, China, stocks and other issues.

www.cnbc.com

Blockchain buddies
Another potential area for bipartisan policy partnership is on cryptocurrency regulation.

Democrats and Republicans are both eager to develop a framework in which the nation’s many crypto investors, issuers, miners and exchanges can market digital assets. The market is like the “Wild West,” according to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who has has repeatedly asked lawmakers for legislation.

Better guidelines, codified rules and regulations could at the very least work to protect investors from the price volatility that has thus far dogged many digital assets. Even bitcoin, one of the world’s most popular digital assets, isn’t immune: Its value has declined by more than 33% over the last three months.

All signs point to a major piece of legislation from Lummis, a Republican freshman senator from Wyoming and a crypto-industry supporter, in the coming weeks. While the details of the draft are not yet available, her legislation is expected to include input from a range of government agencies and tackle many currently unanswered questions faced by the industry.

The industry and regulators have asked Congress to offer guidance on which assets belong to varied asset classes, protections for retail investors and clarity on the jurisdiction of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Reserve.

It’s likely that progressives like Warren will want to make their own changes to the Lummis bill given well-documented disagreements about how much regulation the industry needs and how much risk it poses to investors. Still, such a massive piece of legislation is likely to be debuted with the support of at least one moderate Democrat.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, stressed the bipartisan desire for more legislation over digital assets on Tuesday during a hearing to assess the Biden administration’s recent report on stablecoins.

“We need legislation. We agree on that,” he said in prepared remarks. “Currently, there is no federal law to address digital assets. With nearly a quarter of American adults now invested in crypto, we must move quickly to put in place a framework that clearly defines the rules of the road.”

Need the rarely seen bipartisan efforts in crypto regs. People on both sides for and against. Hopefully it doesn't become hyper partisan like most everything

Also, let's keep this thread focused on crypto and not turn it into the CE board pleaseeee

 

[bob-loblaw]

Pretty great watch if you want to learn more about the Bitcoin network vs Bitcoin the asset. Jack is a arrogantly bold 20-something CEO of Strike.


If you dont feel like watching the whole thing, I highly recommend starting a 13:55 and listening through 18:30 or 24:00

 

[ashokan]

Canada invokes ‘Emergencies Act’ targeting crowdfunding and crypto​

The broadened scope of the Terrorist Funding rules includes crypto transactions to protesters and gives the government the power to freeze bank accounts.

Canada invokes ‘Emergencies Act’ targeting crowdfunding and crypto

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau activated emergency powers through the Emergencies Act. He is using this power to stop donated funds from reaching protesters, including those made with cryptocurrency.

cointelegraph.com

 

[Caliknight]

Canada invokes ‘Emergencies Act’ targeting crowdfunding and crypto​

The broadened scope of the Terrorist Funding rules includes crypto transactions to protesters and gives the government the power to freeze bank accounts.

Canada invokes ‘Emergencies Act’ targeting crowdfunding and crypto

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau activated emergency powers through the Emergencies Act. He is using this power to stop donated funds from reaching protesters, including those made with cryptocurrency.

cointelegraph.com

Sort of kills the crypto narrative. That blackface wearing Canada PM is a dictator.

 

[ashokan]

Sort of kills the crypto narrative. That blackface wearing Canada PM is a dictator.

A lot of governments let things take root and develop and then they make their move. Some states were like that with sports gambling. NY didn't want it and now it wants a 50% cut. They'll come in on crypto with the right excuse at the right time. In Canada its the new "terrorists."

 

[T2Kplus20]

Crypto pumping today! Up on news that Russia is working on reasonable regs for the market.

 

[ScarletNut]

Sort of kills the crypto narrative. That blackface wearing Canada PM is a dictator.

Actually it doesn't. If you read the article its free advertising FOR crypto since the govt can't access the bitcoin involved.

 

[Caliknight]

Actually it doesn't. If you read the article its free advertising FOR crypto since the govt can't access the bitcoin involved.

We will see.

 

[ScarletNut]

We will see.

Here's an article from someone I subscribe to and follow which I posted on another thread. He is well versed in all things financial and crypto. This article is just food for thought and an interesting point of view:



There have been a plethora of rumors about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Russia over the last few months. The country sits in a unique geopolitical position — they are frienemies of the United States and have a deepening relationship with China, another frienemy of the western superpower.

As a refresher, the mainstream media has been pushing the narrative of a pending Russian invasion of Ukraine. The response by the United States in an attempt to deter the invasion is financial sanctions, including potentially the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT payment system.

It is important to caveat that no one actually knows what is going on between Russia and Ukraine. Americans have nearly zero appetite for another invasion or war. The average citizen couldn’t even point Ukraine out on a map, while they have little concern about their safety due to actions that Russia may or may not take halfway around the world. That doesn’t mean that the United States shouldn’t be paying attention, but there are major questions about the narrative being pushed by the mainstream media.

Additionally, the threats of financial sanctions on a large country like Russia are noteworthy. More than a decade ago, these sanctions carried significant weight. The United States could cut you off from the global financial system and essentially sentence you to financial system purgatory.

These sanctions are likely to be less effective in the current time period though. Let me give you two examples — China and bitcoin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hadn’t met with a foreign leader in person since the start of the global pandemic in 2020 until he recently sat down face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few days ago. The two countries issued a 5,000+ word joint statement following that meeting. Here is the opening paragraph:

“Today, the world is going through momentous changes, and humanity is entering a new era of rapid development and profound transformation. It sees the development of such processes and phenomena as multipolarity, economic globalization, the advent of information society, cultural diversity, transformation of the global governance architecture and world order; there is increasing interrelation and interdependence between the States; a trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world; and the international community is showing a growing demand for the leadership aiming at peaceful and gradual development. At the same time, as the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection continues, the international and regional security situation is complicating and the number of global challenges and threats is growing from day to day. Some actors representing but the minority on the international scale continue to advocate unilateral approaches to addressing international issues and resort to force; they interfere in the internal affairs of other states, infringing their legitimate rights and interests, and incite contradictions, differences and confrontation, thus hampering the development and progress of mankind, against the opposition from the international community.”

This new interest in collaboration between Russia and China creates the potential for bi-lateral trade to be settled outside the US dollar regime. Obviously, if these countries begin to conduct trade without using the global reserve currency, the sanctions from the issuer of that global reserve currency will be significantly less effective. It is unclear how much of this is tough talk compared to committed action, but it is an important development.

Second, the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies provides an open, decentralized payment system that is not controlled by anyone. This may seem like a wild idea theoretically, but we are watching bitcoin gain adoption globally at an insane pace.

It is important to highlight that sanctions is just another name for censorship. The creator and distributor of the global reserve currency is attempting to censor who uses their currency and payment system. There may be good reason for the censorship. There may not be. Either way, sanctions are just a different terminology for censorship.

Bitcoin is censorship-resistent money. No one can shut down the system. No one controls it. Anyone in the world can send monetary value to anyone else in the world. There are no middlemen. There are no rent seekers. The peer-to-peer system is unique in design and powerful in application. So it is weird that the central bank of Russia started to question bitcoin’s relevance in the country at the same time that it may become incredibly important to the nation state.

To explain further, the Bank of Russia recently floated the idea of banning bitcoin and cryptocurrencies within the country. This led to a heated debate internally and externally of the country. Last night, it appears that the Russian government and the central bank reached an agreement on digital assets. They will not be banning them, but rather treating them like other foreign currencies.

There are other aspects to the agreement (read statement here), such as regulatory frameworks, proper licensing for crypto exchanges, increased taxation, submission of various information to a state-run surveillance tool, and more. Ultimately, the important takeaway is that Russia is not going to ban bitcoin or crypto assets, but rather they are going to increase the usage and adoption within the country by creating frameworks and rules that everyone understands.

Many people may not know this, but Russia is already one of the largest crypto countries. They are the third largest country in terms of bitcoin’s hash rate, there are more than 12 million crypto accounts held by Russian citizens, and it is estimated that those people hold more than $26 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. Not exactly something that is easy to ignore for the government or central bank.

So let’s take this one step further.

If Russia becomes sympathetic to the bitcoin and crypto industry, including putting the digital currency on their balance sheet or mining with state resources, it will force the hand of the United States. There is a global competition underway that has a decentralized, open system at the heart of it. Anyone can plug into the system. The game theory is that no one wants to start the cascade, but once your adversary does it, you are forced to adopt the technology or risk being left behind.

El Salvador was a great first step. The smaller country doesn’t have any enemies though. The largest superpowers could simply ignore the strategic move and carry on with normal operations. If Russia was to make a move on the chess board, it would be impossible for global superpowers to look the other way.

Eventually every country is going to adopt bitcoin and the open payment system. The question is not whether it will happen, but rather the sequence of events that will play out. As with most innovative technology, those who have courage and conviction to invest earliest are rewarded with the largest benefit. This situation is no different.

Russia’s decision to treat bitcoin and crypto as currencies is a step down this path. It will be interesting to see how far, and how quickly, they go. The United States can’t afford to fall behind. We must be the leader on the global stage. We must act. The stakes are too high.

 

[Scangg]

Here's an article from someone I subscribe to and follow which I posted on another thread. He is well versed in all things financial and crypto. This article is just food for thought and an interesting point of view:



There have been a plethora of rumors about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Russia over the last few months. The country sits in a unique geopolitical position — they are frienemies of the United States and have a deepening relationship with China, another frienemy of the western superpower.

As a refresher, the mainstream media has been pushing the narrative of a pending Russian invasion of Ukraine. The response by the United States in an attempt to deter the invasion is financial sanctions, including potentially the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT payment system.

It is important to caveat that no one actually knows what is going on between Russia and Ukraine. Americans have nearly zero appetite for another invasion or war. The average citizen couldn’t even point Ukraine out on a map, while they have little concern about their safety due to actions that Russia may or may not take halfway around the world. That doesn’t mean that the United States shouldn’t be paying attention, but there are major questions about the narrative being pushed by the mainstream media.

Additionally, the threats of financial sanctions on a large country like Russia are noteworthy. More than a decade ago, these sanctions carried significant weight. The United States could cut you off from the global financial system and essentially sentence you to financial system purgatory.

These sanctions are likely to be less effective in the current time period though. Let me give you two examples — China and bitcoin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hadn’t met with a foreign leader in person since the start of the global pandemic in 2020 until he recently sat down face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few days ago. The two countries issued a 5,000+ word joint statement following that meeting. Here is the opening paragraph:

“Today, the world is going through momentous changes, and humanity is entering a new era of rapid development and profound transformation. It sees the development of such processes and phenomena as multipolarity, economic globalization, the advent of information society, cultural diversity, transformation of the global governance architecture and world order; there is increasing interrelation and interdependence between the States; a trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world; and the international community is showing a growing demand for the leadership aiming at peaceful and gradual development. At the same time, as the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection continues, the international and regional security situation is complicating and the number of global challenges and threats is growing from day to day. Some actors representing but the minority on the international scale continue to advocate unilateral approaches to addressing international issues and resort to force; they interfere in the internal affairs of other states, infringing their legitimate rights and interests, and incite contradictions, differences and confrontation, thus hampering the development and progress of mankind, against the opposition from the international community.”

This new interest in collaboration between Russia and China creates the potential for bi-lateral trade to be settled outside the US dollar regime. Obviously, if these countries begin to conduct trade without using the global reserve currency, the sanctions from the issuer of that global reserve currency will be significantly less effective. It is unclear how much of this is tough talk compared to committed action, but it is an important development.

Second, the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies provides an open, decentralized payment system that is not controlled by anyone. This may seem like a wild idea theoretically, but we are watching bitcoin gain adoption globally at an insane pace.

It is important to highlight that sanctions is just another name for censorship. The creator and distributor of the global reserve currency is attempting to censor who uses their currency and payment system. There may be good reason for the censorship. There may not be. Either way, sanctions are just a different terminology for censorship.

Bitcoin is censorship-resistent money. No one can shut down the system. No one controls it. Anyone in the world can send monetary value to anyone else in the world. There are no middlemen. There are no rent seekers. The peer-to-peer system is unique in design and powerful in application. So it is weird that the central bank of Russia started to question bitcoin’s relevance in the country at the same time that it may become incredibly important to the nation state.

To explain further, the Bank of Russia recently floated the idea of banning bitcoin and cryptocurrencies within the country. This led to a heated debate internally and externally of the country. Last night, it appears that the Russian government and the central bank reached an agreement on digital assets. They will not be banning them, but rather treating them like other foreign currencies.

There are other aspects to the agreement (read statement here), such as regulatory frameworks, proper licensing for crypto exchanges, increased taxation, submission of various information to a state-run surveillance tool, and more. Ultimately, the important takeaway is that Russia is not going to ban bitcoin or crypto assets, but rather they are going to increase the usage and adoption within the country by creating frameworks and rules that everyone understands.

Many people may not know this, but Russia is already one of the largest crypto countries. They are the third largest country in terms of bitcoin’s hash rate, there are more than 12 million crypto accounts held by Russian citizens, and it is estimated that those people hold more than $26 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. Not exactly something that is easy to ignore for the government or central bank.

So let’s take this one step further.

If Russia becomes sympathetic to the bitcoin and crypto industry, including putting the digital currency on their balance sheet or mining with state resources, it will force the hand of the United States. There is a global competition underway that has a decentralized, open system at the heart of it. Anyone can plug into the system. The game theory is that no one wants to start the cascade, but once your adversary does it, you are forced to adopt the technology or risk being left behind.

El Salvador was a great first step. The smaller country doesn’t have any enemies though. The largest superpowers could simply ignore the strategic move and carry on with normal operations. If Russia was to make a move on the chess board, it would be impossible for global superpowers to look the other way.

Eventually every country is going to adopt bitcoin and the open payment system. The question is not whether it will happen, but rather the sequence of events that will play out. As with most innovative technology, those who have courage and conviction to invest earliest are rewarded with the largest benefit. This situation is no different.

Russia’s decision to treat bitcoin and crypto as currencies is a step down this path. It will be interesting to see how far, and how quickly, they go. The United States can’t afford to fall behind. We must be the leader on the global stage. We must act. The stakes are too high.

Excellent post. A lot of information there that has a huge impact that most don't know about or understand in regards to sanctions and global reserve currency. Mass adoption / country adoption of crypto gives a work around and lessens the US ability to financially pressure bad world actors with sanctions

Overall, can't get too caught up in countries being pro or anti crypto. India flip flops constantly for example. China FUD seems to come out when they want the market to drop. They all will get there though. Can't be left behind

 

[RUBlackout]

I think someone on this board should create a NFT project that would help support current athletes through NIL.

We can use the NFTs as an exclusive membership to create a community of people that will help support paying the players.

Just look at what Notre Dame is doing as the example: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dam...elping-team-mick-hank-assaf-nic-weishar-yoke/

I would certainly pay to be in this club

 

[Ash_Hole]

Here's an article from someone I subscribe to and follow which I posted on another thread. He is well versed in all things financial and crypto. This article is just food for thought and an interesting point of view:



There have been a plethora of rumors about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Russia over the last few months. The country sits in a unique geopolitical position — they are frienemies of the United States and have a deepening relationship with China, another frienemy of the western superpower.

As a refresher, the mainstream media has been pushing the narrative of a pending Russian invasion of Ukraine. The response by the United States in an attempt to deter the invasion is financial sanctions, including potentially the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT payment system.

It is important to caveat that no one actually knows what is going on between Russia and Ukraine. Americans have nearly zero appetite for another invasion or war. The average citizen couldn’t even point Ukraine out on a map, while they have little concern about their safety due to actions that Russia may or may not take halfway around the world. That doesn’t mean that the United States shouldn’t be paying attention, but there are major questions about the narrative being pushed by the mainstream media.

Additionally, the threats of financial sanctions on a large country like Russia are noteworthy. More than a decade ago, these sanctions carried significant weight. The United States could cut you off from the global financial system and essentially sentence you to financial system purgatory.

These sanctions are likely to be less effective in the current time period though. Let me give you two examples — China and bitcoin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hadn’t met with a foreign leader in person since the start of the global pandemic in 2020 until he recently sat down face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few days ago. The two countries issued a 5,000+ word joint statement following that meeting. Here is the opening paragraph:

“Today, the world is going through momentous changes, and humanity is entering a new era of rapid development and profound transformation. It sees the development of such processes and phenomena as multipolarity, economic globalization, the advent of information society, cultural diversity, transformation of the global governance architecture and world order; there is increasing interrelation and interdependence between the States; a trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world; and the international community is showing a growing demand for the leadership aiming at peaceful and gradual development. At the same time, as the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection continues, the international and regional security situation is complicating and the number of global challenges and threats is growing from day to day. Some actors representing but the minority on the international scale continue to advocate unilateral approaches to addressing international issues and resort to force; they interfere in the internal affairs of other states, infringing their legitimate rights and interests, and incite contradictions, differences and confrontation, thus hampering the development and progress of mankind, against the opposition from the international community.”

This new interest in collaboration between Russia and China creates the potential for bi-lateral trade to be settled outside the US dollar regime. Obviously, if these countries begin to conduct trade without using the global reserve currency, the sanctions from the issuer of that global reserve currency will be significantly less effective. It is unclear how much of this is tough talk compared to committed action, but it is an important development.

Second, the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies provides an open, decentralized payment system that is not controlled by anyone. This may seem like a wild idea theoretically, but we are watching bitcoin gain adoption globally at an insane pace.

It is important to highlight that sanctions is just another name for censorship. The creator and distributor of the global reserve currency is attempting to censor who uses their currency and payment system. There may be good reason for the censorship. There may not be. Either way, sanctions are just a different terminology for censorship.

Bitcoin is censorship-resistent money. No one can shut down the system. No one controls it. Anyone in the world can send monetary value to anyone else in the world. There are no middlemen. There are no rent seekers. The peer-to-peer system is unique in design and powerful in application. So it is weird that the central bank of Russia started to question bitcoin’s relevance in the country at the same time that it may become incredibly important to the nation state.

To explain further, the Bank of Russia recently floated the idea of banning bitcoin and cryptocurrencies within the country. This led to a heated debate internally and externally of the country. Last night, it appears that the Russian government and the central bank reached an agreement on digital assets. They will not be banning them, but rather treating them like other foreign currencies.

There are other aspects to the agreement (read statement here), such as regulatory frameworks, proper licensing for crypto exchanges, increased taxation, submission of various information to a state-run surveillance tool, and more. Ultimately, the important takeaway is that Russia is not going to ban bitcoin or crypto assets, but rather they are going to increase the usage and adoption within the country by creating frameworks and rules that everyone understands.

Many people may not know this, but Russia is already one of the largest crypto countries. They are the third largest country in terms of bitcoin’s hash rate, there are more than 12 million crypto accounts held by Russian citizens, and it is estimated that those people hold more than $26 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. Not exactly something that is easy to ignore for the government or central bank.

So let’s take this one step further.

If Russia becomes sympathetic to the bitcoin and crypto industry, including putting the digital currency on their balance sheet or mining with state resources, it will force the hand of the United States. There is a global competition underway that has a decentralized, open system at the heart of it. Anyone can plug into the system. The game theory is that no one wants to start the cascade, but once your adversary does it, you are forced to adopt the technology or risk being left behind.

El Salvador was a great first step. The smaller country doesn’t have any enemies though. The largest superpowers could simply ignore the strategic move and carry on with normal operations. If Russia was to make a move on the chess board, it would be impossible for global superpowers to look the other way.

Eventually every country is going to adopt bitcoin and the open payment system. The question is not whether it will happen, but rather the sequence of events that will play out. As with most innovative technology, those who have courage and conviction to invest earliest are rewarded with the largest benefit. This situation is no different.

Russia’s decision to treat bitcoin and crypto as currencies is a step down this path. It will be interesting to see how far, and how quickly, they go. The United States can’t afford to fall behind. We must be the leader on the global stage. We must act. The stakes are too high.

Excepttttt that CCP and Russia are most definitely not going to push crypto projects that are popular in America…

Hence why CCP is developing their own tracking currency that will turn the blockchain into Big Brother 2.0. Ironically making the world even more centralized.

And why does Russia have such a huge footprint in crypto? um, because for years now (especially in the early years) most of the bitcoin hacks came from Russia. Bitcoin powered the dark web.

Russia and CCP are only into it for 2 reasons: 1) control and manipulate their own crypto monetary supply 2) continue to money launder

But again, it all reverts to the most important question of all::
Why do only a few thousand (if that) own the majority of bitcoin in the world?

Oh, and I guess you guys missed the big news today?

FBI to form digital currency unit, Justice Dept taps new crypto czar

The U.S. Justice Department has tapped a seasoned computer crimes prosecutor to lead its new national cryptocurrency enforcement team and announced on Thursday that the FBI is launching a unit for blockchain analysis and virtual asset seizure.

www.reuters.com

 

[ScarletNut]

Another interesting POV:

The invention of blockchain technology solved a decades-long computer science problem and unleashed a monetary revolution in the form of bitcoin. This decentralized, digital currency has taken the world by storm. It has been adopted by hundreds of millions of people globally and is worth approximately $1 trillion in market cap based on daily fluctuations in US dollar price.

Not bad for a technology that is completely open-source. Bitcoin has no CEO, no marketing department, and raised no venture capital dollars as it was being built or scaled. Decentralization means that no one individual or group controls the product. Any major changes need the agreement of a large portion of the community, including software developers to miners to node operators, in order to be implemented for users.

As you can imagine, the legacy system has watched the rise of bitcoin with a combination of admiration and fear. Many of the traditional institutions, especially central banks, are impressed with the creation of truly digital currency, along with how quickly people have adopted this technology in every economy. These same people are watching in fear as they realize that their organizations have zero control of the money supply in this new digital financial system.

The control and production of money has historically been reserved for central banks, but this monopoly on money is directly tied to the central bank’s close relationship with government. The government has a monopoly on violence, so they are able to ensure that central banks will continue their singular control and production of money. Any attempt to circumvent the central banking structure has been met with a swift and ruthless response.

This is why the decentralization of bitcoin is so important. Without a single point of failure, including a CEO or corporation or centralized servers, there is a much smaller attack surface for governments and their violent monopoly. Since central banks can not rely on governments to shut down this new entrant to the system, central bankers have been forced to consider how they can compete in the free market.

Central bankers aren’t known for being innovative. In fact, I would argue that central bankers are successful because they move at a glacial pace and make systemic bets on the world changing very slowly. But bitcoin has forced these institutions to consider digitizing their fiat currencies in a way that emulates bitcoin’s technology, but contains some key differences.

Digitizing the dollar/euro/peso/etc is merely a technology upgrade. The monetary policy of these fiat currencies are unchanged. Similar to how physical currencies were transitioned to electronic CUSIPs in centralized databases, central banks are considering a technology upgrade to token-based fiat currencies that are compatible with digital wallets.

So why are they considering this transition?

The optimistic person would argue that the incorporation of new technology is an attempt at modernization for an antiquated system. Individual users of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would be able to send any amount of money 24/7/365. The thought of hours of operations would be a thing of the past. The payment rails that CBDCs would be built on would be more efficient - faster settlement times, cheaper transaction fees, etc. Lastly, there would be an increased transparency in the system which theoretically could decrease crime and increase the safety of the market.

That is the positive perspective. But we have to be very careful here. Central bank digital currencies will likely be one of the greatest violations of human rights in history.

Central bank digital currencies remove the privacy and decentralized nature of physical cash. It creates an environment where central banks have complete control over every aspect of a citizen’s financial life. Here are a couple of examples of the nasty shit that we can expect to see in the coming decades:

Personalized inflation — Central banks currently have the ability to manipulate interest rates and expand/contract the supply of money. Any changes that they make are applied to all citizens equally. Individual market participants may make decisions to benefit or suffer from these decisions, but the dollars that I hold are subject to the same monetary policy as the dollars that you hold. This is going to change with CBDCs. The central bank will be able to personalize the monetary policy to the individual. Just as your newsfeed, search results, and music playlists are personalized based on vast amounts of data, the same is coming to money. Maybe I get a higher inflation rate in an attempt to get me to spend money, while you receive a lower inflation rate. The differentiation of monetary policy can be cut a million ways, including where you live, who you are, your wealth status, your occupation, your purchase history, and much more.

Financial censorship — Once a central bank digital currency is in the hands of a population, the central bank has solidified complete control. They will no longer have to go to the court system or invoke emergency powers to tell you who you can transact with. This can all be implemented through remote, digital technologies. These central bankers will be able to see what is in your bank account, who you transact with, what you purchase, and anything else they are curious about in your financial life. That full transparency with the state removes all elements of privacy, while also giving the institutions the ability to censor any and all transactions, regardless of whether they have a legitimate reason or not.

Social credit system — When central banks and governments gain complete control over the financial system, they have the ability to reward or punish individual citizens for the actions they take. Have you been eating too much candy? You can’t buy candy anymore. Have you been gambling? Now you can’t use public transportation that heads in the direction of the casino. This all sounds like crazy talk until you realize that the Bank of England is openly talking about this in public now. China already has one in place. Canada is implementing one in real time right now. Are you fat? Only healthy food can be purchased. Do you associate with people the central bank doesn’t like? No entertainment for you. This is a slippery slope that is approaching quickly.

Expiration of money — If you’re a central banker, you are constantly trying to incentivize people to spend money in the economy so that you can increase the velocity of money. Without the velocity of money, the system starts to break down. So what better way to increase velocity of money than to have people’s money expire if they don’t spend it in certain period of time. The US already has a version of this through SNAP benefits and EBT cards, where the money expires one year after it is issued unless it has been used. The expectation is that the government will expand this idea of expiration of money to include shorter timelines and a larger number of programs in the future.

These are just four examples of various activities that I anticipate central banks will engage in once they are successful in creating and distributing central bank digital currencies. As the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The dream of every dictator or authoritarian leader globally is to have full control over every aspect of their citizens’ lives. If the government can not only censor your financial transactions based on a social credit system, but they can also personalize the monetary policy and give you money with an expiration date, then we are headed to a dystopian future that no one will want to live in.

The basic human right is that we are all born free people. The creation of central bank digital currencies will completely eliminate that premise. Every human born will be starting off in an authoritarian state that requires them to be a digital slave to a central bank that has total control over their life. If you don’t have the freedom to transact, you don’t have freedom.

Central bank digital currencies are the next frontier for the battle of freedom. Every human should have the right to financial privacy and independence. This is an important conversation that must start now. Without global awareness, central banks will pull off the greatest violation of human rights we have ever seen and citizens will cheer them on while they do it.

 

[bob-loblaw]

Quick note--- Trudeau's actions the last week have been a wonderful commercial for BTC. If freezing bank accounts in Canada doesnt frighten people in the US, I'm not too sure what will.

 

[Scangg]

I think someone on this board should create a NFT project that would help support current athletes through NIL.

We can use the NFTs as an exclusive membership to create a community of people that will help support paying the players.

Just look at what Notre Dame is doing as the example: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dam...elping-team-mick-hank-assaf-nic-weishar-yoke/

I would certainly pay to be in this club

Could also create a DOA that's goal is to give NIL money for the purpose of landing Rutgers athletic recruits

 

[T2Kplus20]

Bought a ton more ADA yesterday at $0.88 and for the first time a small amount of DOT today! My portfolio is expanding. :)

 

[ScarletNut]

I’m actually fully invested, no dry powder. I would add to bitcoin and ethereum at these prices

 

[T2Kplus20]

I’m actually fully invested, no dry powder. I would add to bitcoin and ethereum at these prices

My next priority is to finished recreating my ETH position (after selling out of ETHE). I am at 50% and bought just below $2500 last month. I'm hoping for it to dip below this level again! Very close today.

 

[RU in IM]

Crypto not holding up well, with altcoins really getting beat up.