{"id":21729,"date":"2022-02-07T18:23:32","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T18:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=21729"},"modified":"2022-02-07T23:51:32","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T23:51:32","slug":"news-world-wildlife-nft-diem-sale-details-eccb-dcash-offline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/02\/07\/news-world-wildlife-nft-diem-sale-details-eccb-dcash-offline\/","title":{"rendered":"News: World Wildlife NFT, Diem sale details, ECCB DCash offline"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>It&#8217;s been a busy week &mdash; I&#8217;ve been helping a relative in hospital, stuck on flaky NHS wifi. (You&#8217;d almost think hospitals weren&#8217;t constructed with a view to wireless connectivity.) There&#8217;s a pile of stupid blockchain tricks still to get to, but here&#8217;s a quick update.\n<li>You can support my work by signing up for the Patreon \u2014 $5 or $20 a month, or what you have. It really does help. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/davidgerard\"><i>Patreon<\/i><\/a>]<\/li>\n<li>Sign up to get these newsletters, and all other blog posts, by email the moment they go up. [<a href=\"#byemail\"><i>scroll down, or click here<\/i><\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Silence, greenwashing hexagon<\/h3>\n<p>The World Wide Fund for Nature, <i>a.k.a.<\/i> the World Wildlife Fund, announced an NFT. This met with the standard reaction of absolute horror from everyone who\u2019d ever supported WWF for their environmental work. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2022\/02\/02\/wwf-uk-faces-backlash-plan-sell-nfts-fund-conservation-work\/\"><i>Climate Change News<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the WWF Non-Fungible Animals page. You could only buy the NFAs with the USDC stablecoin. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwf-nfa.com\/\"><i>WWF NFA<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/G6yxD\"><i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>WWF backed down from NFTs two days later: \u201cWe have now agreed with our partners to bring this trial to a close this evening.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwf.org.uk\/updates\/nft-statement\"><i>WWF<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The WWF NFA page lists the blockchain partners who promoted this great idea to them &mdash; Robin Hellmann (Blockchain Advisory &#038; Consulting), Max Penk, Polygon, MoonPay, Unifty and Moonwolf. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwf-nfa.com\/en\/partners\"><i>WWF NFA<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.fo\/xQ5e1\"><i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>WWF UK claimed that the Polygon chain was proof-of-stake, so didn\u2019t have the carbon footprint of Ethereum \u2014 but Polygon is a sidechain of Ethereum, so that doesn\u2019t really work out. Digiconomist has some numbers \u2014 Polygon\u2019s share of Ethereum\u2019s CO<sub>2<\/sub> production turns out to be around 430 grams per transaction, or 2200 times what WWF claimed. [<a href=\"https:\/\/digiconomist.net\/the-carbon-footprint-of-polygon\/\"><i>Digiconomist<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Admittedly, NFTs are not as bad as that time the WWF ended up funding mercenaries to rape, torture and kill suspected poachers. Whoops! [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_Wide_Fund_for_Nature#Human_rights_abuses_by_paramilitaries\"><i>Wikipedia<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">yeah we think <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NFTs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NFTs<\/a> could be the next big thing <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1yRBy6bjLI\">pic.twitter.com\/1yRBy6bjLI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Greenpeace EU (@GreenpeaceEU) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GreenpeaceEU\/status\/1488912297527582727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>An artist dies a hero or lives long enough to pump an NFT<\/h3>\n<p>NFTs are immutable, until the Premier League brings legal action. English footballer John Terry made an NFT featuring a Premier League Trophy \u2014 which happens to be trademarked. They were not happy, and the NFT was <i>updated.<\/i> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/football\/2022\/01\/26\/premier-league-could-take-legal-action-nfts-promoted-john-terry\/\"><i>Daily Telegraph<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Cracked: Honest Ad for NFTs. [<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sG_v4bb2e4k\"><i>YouTube<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Nike sues online sneaker reseller StockX for selling NFTs of Nike shoes. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/nike-cries-foul-over-virtual-shoes-suing-retailer-that-sells-sneaker-nfts-2022-02-04\/\"><i>Reuters<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>New York Post: \u201cHow retired Tom Brady could become NFL\u2019s first billionaire player\u201d \u2014 with a quote from me warning that fans tend to react badly to NFTs. [<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/02\/05\/retired-tom-brady-could-become-nfls-first-billionaire-player\/\"><i>New York Post<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an extension for the Chrome browser that changes <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/01\/28\/news-twitter-hexagons-binance-plays-at-compliance-bitcoin-widow-tour-russia\/\">Twitter NFT hexagons<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jared_Fogle\">Jared Fogle<\/a> when he was representing Subway. I wonder if Fogle ever got into cryptos. [<a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/virginteen\/replace-nft-avatars\"><i>GitHub<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">(hop in my time machine to 2010)<br \/>Past me: newspapers are dying, websites barely pay, cartooning is looking bleak.<br \/>Me: In 2022 there will be widespread interest in cartoons! They&#39;ll be the hot new commodity!<br \/>Past me: That sounds great!<br \/>Me: er yes well, there&#39;s a catch<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; That Tom Tomorrow guy (@tomtomorrow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tomtomorrow\/status\/1487449048634253312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 29, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Carpe Diem<\/h3>\n<p>Here\u2019s Diem\u2019s press release on <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/01\/26\/facebooks-libra-is-still-dead-diem-to-be-sold-off-for-spare-parts\/\">selling their assets to Silvergate Bank.<\/a> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/statement-by-diem-ceo-stuart-levey-on-the-sale-of-the-diem-groups-assets-to-silvergate-301471997.html\"><i>PR Newswire<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Silvergate paid $50 million in cash and 1,221,217 shares to buy Diem\u2019s \u201cintellectual property\u201d \u2014 Silvergate wants to do a stablecoin running on the Diem blockchain. &#8220;Through its close partnership with Diem, Silvergate has gained deep familiarity with the network and developed strong appreciation for its potential to enable a Silvergate-issued stablecoin that will power the future of global payments.&#8221; [<a href=\"https:\/\/ir.silvergate.com\/news\/news-details\/2022\/Silvergate-Purchases-Blockchain-Payment-Network-Assets-from-Diem\/default.aspx\"><i>Silvergate<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Apparently Diem had some blockchain patents that might be worth something to Silvergate. Facebook (Meta) joined Jack Dorsey\u2019s Crypto Open Patents Alliance \u2014 but it\u2019s not clear if Diem\u2019s portfolio is included. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/business\/2022\/01\/31\/meta-joins-blocks-crypto-open-patent-alliance-as-diem-reportedly-winds-down\/\"><i>CoinDesk<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>There have been various forks of the Libra\/Diem codebase. <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2019\/10\/15\/facebook-and-libras-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-week\/\">OpenLibra started quite early on<\/a> \u2014 and in the form of 0L Network (zero-L), they\u2019ve just been joined by engineers from Mysten Labs, funded by Diem Association member Andreesen Horowitz, to work on the Move smart contract language. I wonder if they have a version of the blockchain that does more than <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/12\/14\/news-coinbase-key-holders-leave-ethereum-2-0-slashing-libra-may-not-become-diem-regulatory-clarity\/\">24 transactions per second<\/a> yet. [<a href=\"https:\/\/blockchainreporter.net\/mysten-labs-partners-with-0l-network\/\"><i>press release<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">They should make a new application for blockchain technology that sucks ass and pisses me off<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; dinner genius (@gloomfather) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gloomfather\/status\/1489270347375521798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Central banking, hopefully not on the blockchain<\/h3>\n<p>Leaving aside for the moment whether a US dollar CBDC even has a use case, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and MIT\u2019s Digital Currency Initiative are working out how technically feasible a CBDC would be. There\u2019s a pile of fancy speculative ideas in there, and some test code \u2014 but even as programmable money, such a CBDC wouldn\u2019t use a blockchain: \u201cDespite using ideas from blockchain technology, we found that a distributed ledger operating under the jurisdiction of different actors was not needed to achieve our goals.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/bostonfed.org\/publications\/one-time-pubs\/project-hamilton-phase-1-executive-summary.aspx\"><i>Boston Fed<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no reason to presume that when a central bank puts a blockchain into place, it\u2019ll be any less clown-shoes than any other blockchain endeavour. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/09\/11\/central-bank-digital-currency-bahamas-sand-dollar-eastern-caribbean-dcash\/\">DCash CBDC pilot<\/a> has been out of commission since 14 January. This turned out to be due to an expired certificate in Hyperledger. The fix: upgrade Hyperledger, which they\u2019re currently trying to do. The future of legal tender! [<a href=\"https:\/\/stluciatimes.com\/eccb-reports-region-wide-service-interruption-of-dcash-platform\/\"><i>St. Lucia Times<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.centralbanking.com\/central-banks\/currency\/digital-currencies\/7926696\/eccb-says-pilot-cbdc-failure-due-to-expired-certificate\"><i>Central Banking<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Imagine if big banks were getting hacked for tens or hundreds of millions of $$ each week but also nothing was insured, there were no systems in place to mitigate fallout, and half of the hacks were inside jobs. That&#39;s basically DeFi.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jacob Silverman (@SilvermanJacob) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SilvermanJacob\/status\/1489044950322925571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>I know nothing! Nothing!<\/h3>\n<p>More reviews of <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2021\/12\/23\/jennifer-robertson-bitcoin-widow-quadriga-i-know-nothing-nothing\/\"><i>Bitcoin Widow<\/i><\/a> by Jennifer Robertson, of failed Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Toronto Star: &#8220;The first part of her book, leading up to husband Gerry Cotten\u2019s death, is a very specific accounting of their joint wanderlust \u2014 not the best optics considering the Ponzi scheme involving his company Quadriga.&#8221; [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/entertainment\/opinion\/2022\/02\/04\/jennifer-robertsons-bitcoin-widow-is-like-a-travelogue-from-the-twilight-zone.html\"><i>Toronto Star<\/i><\/a>]<\/li>\n<li>Winnipeg Free Press: \u201cToo often it reads like a wistful romance novel penned by a betrayed, and self-absorbed, heroine.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/arts-and-life\/entertainment\/books\/chain--of-events-576140702.html\"><i>Winnipeg Free Press<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/0oEvu\"><i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stephen Kimber is the Halifax, Nova Scotia author who ghost-wrote <i>Bitcoin Widow.<\/i> He talks to CBC Nova Scotia about the process. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/player\/play\/1997325379672\"><i>CBC<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The Sun does an \u201cexclusive\u201d puff piece interview with Robertson. [<i>The Sun, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/RaEZC\"><i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin Widow was Globe &amp; Mail No. 8 best seller in non-fiction for the week ending 29 January 2022. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/arts\/books\/bestsellers\/article-the-globe-and-mail-bestsellers-for-the-week-of-jan-29-2022\/\"><i>Globe &amp; Mail<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/ncIW7\"><i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Amy Castor\u2019s review of the book was reprinted in the Nova Scotia papers, or on their Saltwire site anyway. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saltwire.com\/atlantic-canada\/business\/review-bitcoin-widow-love-betrayal-and-the-missing-millions-100688020\/\"><i>Saltwire<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>That time Michael Patryn from QuadrigaCX s<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/01\/27\/michael-patryn-of-quadrigacx-is-back-as-0xsifu-from-defi-protocol-wonderland\/\">howed up running DeFi Ponzi scheme Wonderland.<\/a> Founder Daniele Sestagalli tells CoinDesk what on earth he was thinking. &#8220;Sestagalli admitted that the circumstances surrounding Cotten\u2019s death did give him pause.&#8221; [<a href=\"https:\/\/coindesk.com\/tech\/2022\/01\/27\/how-did-a-former-quadriga-exec-end-up-running-a-defi-protocol-wonderland-founder-explains\/\"><i>CoinDesk<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">working on a theory <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ob893MDONy\">pic.twitter.com\/Ob893MDONy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Cain Maddox (@ctrlshifti) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ctrlshifti\/status\/1489118158573424642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>It turns out cryptos aren\u2019t very good as money<\/h3>\n<p>Sharp price swings in cryptocurrencies are causing \u201cdestabilising\u201d capital flows in emerging markets, and the use of crypto in place of traditional currencies poses \u201cimmediate and acute risks\u201d, according to Tobias Adrian at the IMF. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/45ca2229-485e-4043-b709-deda943e9ddb\"><i>FT<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>Adrian has followed cryptocurrencies at the IMF for a few years now. \u201cCrypto is being used to take money out of countries that are regarded as unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Breaking capital controls was an explicit stated aim of Facebook&#8217;s Libra, a dream of bitcoin bros for many years (<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/libra\/\"><i>Libra Shrugged<\/i><\/a>, chapter 7).<\/p>\n<p>The one thing not in this article: which countries this is happening in. Large Bitcoin holders in El Salvador, for example, would, I&#8217;m sure, <i>like<\/i> to move all their money out in Bitcoin &mdash; but the Chivo interface between dollars and bitcoins works so badly that it&#8217;s not clear this is happening in practice.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">oh dude you like crypto? sick! i&#39;m mining crypto rn. let me show you my setup. it&#39;s in the cellar, in this little opening in the brick wall,<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; julie \u273f (@wellsbering) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wellsbering\/status\/1488890276005429249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Good news for Bitcoin<\/h3>\n<p>Frances Coppola goes through all the Bitcoin ETFs that the SEC keeps rejecting \u2014 mostly because the applicants just don\u2019t bother addressing the issues raised in previous failed applications. \u201cPerhaps they want the SEC to disapprove everything. After all, if the SEC disapproves all applications, the problem isn&#8217;t the applications, it&#8217;s the SEC \u2014 isn&#8217;t it?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coppolacomment.com\/2022\/01\/the-secs-bitcoin-etf-standoff.html\"><i>blog post<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>US Senator Ted Cruz has been talking up cryptocurrency and blockchains \u2014 and is now a Bitcoin hodler. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/02\/05\/sen-ted-cruz-discloses-a-bitcoin-purchase-worth-up-to-50000.html\"><i>CNBC<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Mike Novogratz from Galaxy Digital is launching an ESG programme to deal with Bitcoin\u2019s image. Apparently, Bitcoin is perceived as \u201cdirty\u201d! Novogratz blames \u201cmisinformation\u201d for the environmental concerns over the most inefficient payment system in human history \u2014 and not, <i>e.g.<\/i>, that Bitcoin mining in the US and Canada <i>overwhelmingly<\/i> uses fossil fuels, and even incentivises previously closed fossil fuel plants to reopen. Who are you going to believe \u2014 Mike, or your lying eyes? [<a href=\"https:\/\/ft.com\/content\/8792aed1-703a-4427-b534-865d540f5bea\"><i>FT<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">the us is performing drone warfare to slaughter thousands of civilians including their own citizens via police without holding anyone accountable and the way to solve this is to buy my coin to wrest control from the fiat petrodollar and that&#39;s worth spending 1% of global wattage<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; danny &quot;disco&quot; mcClanahan (@hipsterelectron) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hipsterelectron\/status\/1488113363972415491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 31, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Regulatory clarity<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2017\/12\/23\/why-you-cant-cash-out-pt-2-bitcoin-and-know-your-customer-anti-money-laundering-laws-kyc-aml\/\">Why you can\u2019t cash out, part 2<\/a> \u2014 banks, especially in the UK, regard crypto as inherently fraudulent. \u201cI made $4m profit on crypto, but the bank won\u2019t let me spend it.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/investing\/gold\/made-4m-profit-crypto-bank-wont-let-spend\/\"><i>Daily Telegraph<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/J7x85\"><i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, cryptocurrency exchanges located in San Francisco filed more Suspicious Activity Reports than all securities firms and casinos combined. [<a href=\"https:\/\/securitiesanalytics.com\/2021-cryptocurrency-exchanges-suspicious-activity-reports\/\"><i>Securities Analytics<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The US Treasury is gunning for money laundering in the high-value art market \u2014 and they\u2019re treating NFTs as part of that. [<a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy0588\"><i>press release<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/system\/files\/136\/Treasury_Study_WoA.pdf\"><i>study<\/i><\/a><i>, PDF<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>Bloomberg update on <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/01\/28\/news-twitter-hexagons-binance-plays-at-compliance-bitcoin-widow-tour-russia\/\">the status of cryptocurrency in Russia:<\/a> The central bank can see what a pile of toxic waste this crypto garbage is \u2014 though a CBDC might be useful \u2014 the finance ministry sees tax revenue, and the big guys see only the money. And we wait on the verdict of the one man with the one vote. Also quoted: TON Labs, maintainers of Free TON \u2014 the last vestige of the <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2019\/10\/13\/sec-blocks-the-telegram-ico-what-this-means-and-what-happens-now\/\">Telegram ICO!<\/a> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-02-01\/russia-values-local-crypto-market-at-200-billion-as-rules-near\"><i>Bloomberg<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>What happens if a crypto exchange files for bankruptcy? Cryptos or money held by the exchange are not yours \u2014 they belong to the exchange, and the exchange had a liability to you for the cryptos or the money. Bank deposits work the same way \u2014 but bank deposits are insured, and crypto deposits generally aren\u2019t. So if the exchange fails, you\u2019re just another creditor. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.creditslips.org\/creditslips\/2022\/02\/what-happens-if-a-cryptocurrency-exchange-files-for-bankruptcy.html\"><i>Credit Slips<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Guys, are you sure it&#39;s a good idea to bring up proof of ownership? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZxtSvOUuV0\">pic.twitter.com\/ZxtSvOUuV0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Josh Glendinning (@joshglendinning) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joshglendinning\/status\/1489979610066530313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Craigness<\/h3>\n<p>Craig Wright is suing the developers of Bitcoin SV \u2014 the Bitcoin fork he leads \u2014 to give him a pile of bitcoins he claims rightfully belong to him, but were stolen. UK court costs work on a loser pays system, so Wright was asked to put up a surety.<\/p>\n<p>The court has ruled that bitcoins are too unstable in value \u2014 and Wright will have to put up actual cash:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It would expose them to a risk to which they would not be exposed with the usual forms of security: namely of a fall in value of Bitcoin, which could result in their security being effectively valueless.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The case is Tulip Trading Ltd v Bitcoin Association for BSV &amp; Ors (Rev 1) [2022] EWHC 141 (Ch). Yes, Wright called his company \u201cTulip Trading.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.civillitigationbrief.com\/2022\/02\/01\/security-for-costs-cannot-be-given-by-bitcoin-hard-cash-rules-the-day\/\"><i>Civil Litigation Brief<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bailii.org\/ew\/cases\/EWHC\/Ch\/2022\/141.html\"><i>BAILII<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Cryptocurrency is impenetrably secure, in large part because the community defines all security issues outside of \u201csomeone broke prime numbers\u201d as user error.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Actually, (@eaton) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eaton\/status\/1487233006309883906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 29, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Things happen<\/h3>\n<p>The \u201cDAO\u201d to buy a golf course! Also features Mike Dudas, original founder of crypto news site The Block. Looks like a perfectly reasonable crowdfunding \u2014 and good luck to them \u2014 though it\u2019s another example of how \u201cDAO\u201d now seems to mean any collective enterprise whatsoever that collects its capital as a pile of cryptos. [<a href=\"https:\/\/cnb.cx\/3zqXfhD\"><i>CNBC<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Tether has a new accountant to issue its attestations! It\u2019s the old one. Moore Cayman has merged with MHA Cayman \u2014 which had the same owners and the same employees. MHA Cayman\u2019s UK parent company, MHA MacIntyre Hudson, just happens to be in trouble with the FCA over some of its audits. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2022\/01\/26\/tethers-new-accounting-firm-is-the-old-one-with-baggage\/\"><i>CoinDesk<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/e86f8d72-918c-4a80-a4bf-de3110316076\"><i>FT<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>How are <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2021\/11\/13\/news-craig-wright-in-court-mt-gox-settlement-bitcoin-futures-etf-reddit-community-points-miners-still-cant-sell-their-bitcoins\/\">Reddit Community Points<\/a> going? McGillby, a moderator on \/r\/cryptocurrency, netted $10,000 by selling Moon tokens on Uniswap. This is against Reddit\u2019s terms of service \u2014 but who cares about Reddit\u2019s statist jackboot, eh. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/SubredditDrama\/comments\/sir6lv\/rcryptocurrency_mod_profits_10k_by_selling\/\"><i>Reddit<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Real estate coin Realux paid influencers to promote the idea that it could help close the racial \u201cwealth gap&#8221; by \u201cdemocratizing real estate.\u201d Then it rug pulled. Redistributing wealth! From you to me. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/wxdzvy\/real-estate-cryptocurrency-takes-peoples-money-then-shuts-down-and-vanishes\"><i>Vice<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has launched cases against Facebook in Australia and the US. He alleges that the company failed to prevent scam ads that used his image, and breached Australian anti-money laundering laws over the spread of cryptocurrency fraud. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-australia-60238985\"><i>BBC<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">i really don&#39;t think NFT and crypto people have any realization at all about how successfully they&#39;ve been mobilizing people against them. i&#39;ve never seen something that feels like it&#39;s everywhere be received so universally negative by basically everyone outside the bubble.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; vibe-free lifestyle purveyor (@ellaguro) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ellaguro\/status\/1490036106393526277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Hot takes<\/h3>\n<p>Ryan Dsouza podcast with me: \u201cScams, Scavengers and the false Promise of Crypto \u2014 Conversations: David talks about his motivations to cover crypto, bitcoin etc, Shortcomings of blockchain, NFT boom and much more.\u201d Please excuse the first two minutes of technical issues! [<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/5NwsEx89XVD1REHthq8fas\"><i>Spotify<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/ryandsouza\/episodes\/61-David-Gerard--Scams---Scavengers-and-the-false-Promise-of-Crypto-e1dla8d\"><i>Anchor<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/player.fm\/series\/conversations-3295530\/ep-61-david-gerard-scams-scavengers-and-the-false-promise-of-crypto\"><i>Player<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Molly White of Web 3 Is Going Great, in the Wikipedia Signpost: \u201cOpinion: Should the Wikimedia Foundation continue to accept cryptocurrency donations?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost\/2022-01-30\/Opinion\"><i>Wikipedia<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Cory Doctorow: \u201cThe Inevitability of Trusted Third Parties\u201d \u2014 the search for a crypto use-case continues. \u201cDid you know that 87% of all conversations about blockchain technology are nonconsensual?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/onezero.medium.com\/the-inevitability-of-trusted-third-parties-a51cbcffc4e2\"><i>Medium<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Antiques Roadshow: NFT Edition <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3kPgiDGY8L\">pic.twitter.com\/3kPgiDGY8L<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Se\u00e1n Burke (@SeanBurkeShow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SeanBurkeShow\/status\/1487048290277408770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Web3 speak: &quot;We&#39;re building a community!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Translation: &quot;We have a Discord server.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Andres Guadamuz (@technollama) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/technollama\/status\/1488781334592077825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NFTs are work from home Scientology<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ham Elliot (@r0wdy_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/r0wdy_\/status\/1487211439735537669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">once upon a time we were funging in love<br \/>now we&#39;re only funging ape art<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Crowsa Luxemburg (@quendergeer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/quendergeer\/status\/1488084812216819716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 31, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<br><br><div align=\"center\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\"><img src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/become_a_patron_button.svg\" alt=\"Become a Patron!\" title=\"Become a Patron!\" width=217 height=51><\/a><br><p style=\"align:center;\" class=\"patreon-badge\"><i>Your subscriptions keep this site going. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\">Sign up today!<\/a><\/i><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Admittedly, NFTs are not as bad as that time the WWF ended up funding mercenaries to rape, torture and kill suspected poachers. Whoops!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[460,612,2718,2695,21,2610,74,2704,1474,2646,2720,146,2691,479,1988,2713,1552,2085,1984,1047,444,1515,580,64,902,1142,2708,1328,6,2705,2716,948,1164,1134,2685,1699,2707,2204,2712,2020,2709,1502,1510,2359,938,2717,566,2703,137,2719,33,1545,2609,2710,2715,2714,2711,2706,745,403,209,2689,2702],"class_list":["post-21729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-amy-castor","tag-andreessen-horowitz","tag-andrew-forrest","tag-bank-of-russia","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitcoin-widow","tag-blockchain","tag-blockchain-advisory-consulting","tag-cbdc","tag-copa","tag-cory-doctorow","tag-craig-wright","tag-daniele-sestagalli","tag-dao","tag-dcash","tag-dci","tag-defi","tag-diem","tag-eccb","tag-etf","tag-facebook","tag-federal-reserve","tag-frances-coppola","tag-hyperledger","tag-imf","tag-jennifer-robertson","tag-john-terry","tag-libra","tag-links","tag-max-penk","tag-mha","tag-michael-novogratz","tag-michael-patryn","tag-mike-dudas","tag-molly-white","tag-moonpay","tag-moonwolf","tag-moore-cayman","tag-mysten","tag-nft","tag-nike","tag-openlibra","tag-podcast","tag-polygon","tag-quadrigacx","tag-realux","tag-reddit","tag-robin-hellmann","tag-russia","tag-ryan-dsouza","tag-sec","tag-silvergate-bank","tag-stephen-kimber","tag-stockx","tag-ted-cruz","tag-tobias-adrian","tag-tom-brady","tag-unifty","tag-united-states","tag-us-treasury","tag-wikipedia","tag-wonderland","tag-wwf"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ctrlshifti-theory.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21729"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21769,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21729\/revisions\/21769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}