{"id":22754,"date":"2022-05-15T16:24:18","date_gmt":"2022-05-15T16:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=22754"},"modified":"2022-05-15T20:22:31","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T20:22:31","slug":"news-ust-fallout-central-african-republic-fallout-coinbase-custody-not-safe-in-bankruptcy-catalonia-and-russian-bitcoins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/05\/15\/news-ust-fallout-central-african-republic-fallout-coinbase-custody-not-safe-in-bankruptcy-catalonia-and-russian-bitcoins\/","title":{"rendered":"News: UST fallout, Central African Republic fallout, Coinbase Custody not safe in bankruptcy, Catalonia and Russian bitcoins"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Please do sign up for the Patreon \u2014 your $5 or $20 a month really does help a lot. Patrons also get a couple of \u201cBitcoin: It Can\u2019t Be That Stupid\u201d stickers \u2014 just send me your postal address. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/posts\/for-patrons-free-63317340\"><em>Patreon<\/em><\/a>]<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019d like to get the books signed by the author (with stickers too), I have both in stock \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/11\/26\/get-signed-copies-of-libra-shrugged-and-attack-of-the-50-foot-blockchain\/\">go to this post.<\/a> \u00a325 the pair, plus postage \u00a36 UK, \u00a310 Europe or \u00a312 rest of the world.<\/li>\n<li>Get this newsletter sent to you by email, live in real time! [<a href=\"#byemail\"><i>scroll down, or click here<\/i><\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Terra signs are still up in MLB stadiums. \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/B4fUSdQgR5\">pic.twitter.com\/B4fUSdQgR5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; eric.eth (@econoar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/econoar\/status\/1525348329931960320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 14, 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>History always repeats, but only the dumb stuff<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/05\/10\/terras-stablecoin-does-a-2008-crisis-ust-crashes-and-takes-bitcoin-with-it\/\">The UST algorithmic stablecoin collapsed, and took Bitcoin with it!<\/a> The crypto markets were a sea of red this week. While it&#8217;s true that overleveraged nonsense crashes in crypto all the time \u2014 a sort of perpetual motion revolving dumpster fire \u2014 this one made the papers.<\/p>\n<p>What happened to the &#8220;$3.5 billion&#8221; of bitcoins that was in the Terra reserve, and was supposedly used to prop up UST when it was failing? Blockchain analysis company Elliptic follows the bitcoins. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.elliptic.co\/blog\/what-happened-to-the-3.5-billion-terra-reserve-elliptic-follows-the-bitcoins\"><i>Elliptic<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Izabella Kaminska has left the Financial Times and struck out on her own with her newsletter, The Blind Spot. Izzy explains the problem with stablecoins \u2014 the inexorable temptation to ever-more-precarious financial engineering in the interest of bigger returns, until you get to UST and it&#8217;s all intricate cleverness and no foundation at all. The Blind Spot Discord\u2019s #crypto channel is pretty good \u2014 you\u2019ll find me in there, along with a lot of the crew from the now much less active <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/11\/20\/ftav-unofficial-tech-chat-david-gerard-answers-your-crypto-market-questions\/\">FT Alphaville unofficial channels.<\/a> [<a href=\"https:\/\/the-blindspot.com\/why-financial-engineering-has-gone-full-circle-with-terra\/\"><i>The Blind Spot<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Do Kwon, creator of the UST stablecoin disaster, was the pseudonymous\u00a0 \u201cRick Sanchez\u201d who created the failed stablecoin Basis Cash. CoinDesk spends a couple of paragraphs apologising for doing journalism by revealing his name, and not keeping to their previous <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/07\/03\/coindesks-new-scammer-identity-protection-rule\/\">scammer identity protection rule.<\/a> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/tech\/2022\/05\/11\/usts-do-kwon-was-behind-earlier-failed-stablecoin-ex-terra-colleagues-say\/\"><i>CoinDesk<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>An upset investor got into Do Kwon\u2019s apartment building and rang his doorbell to talk to him. Kwon has called the police. [<a href=\"https:\/\/news.mt.co.kr\/mtview.php?no=2022051308574726920&amp;MT_T\"><i>Money Today<\/i><\/a><i>, in Korean<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>Euronews: Terra Luna stablecoin collapse: Is this the 2008 financial crash moment of cryptocurrency? With quotes from me. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2022\/05\/12\/terra-luna-stablecoin-collapse-is-this-the-2008-financial-crash-moment-of-cryptocurrency\"><i>Euronews<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing more quintessentially libertarian than expecting a government bailout. It&#8217;s apparently a news story in crypto when the financial regulators don&#8217;t give a hoot about bailing out UST holders when the crypto market sets itself on fire. I expect the regulators are delighted that crypto got on with self-immolating before they had to do something. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/policy\/2022\/05\/11\/ust-meltdown-hasnt-spurred-us-financial-stability-council-meeting-sources\/\"><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\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cryptocrash?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Cryptocrash<\/a> is hilarious cuz the bros went from &quot;have fun staying poor,&quot; to &quot;it&#39;s not funny to laugh at people&#39;s misery.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Maxwell Power (@maxwellpower) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/maxwellpower\/status\/1524514862616903680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 11, 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>La Chute<\/h3>\n<p>COBAC (Commission Bancaire de l&#8217;Afrique Centrale) sets regulations across the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) for banks dealing in central CFA francs.<\/p>\n<p>COBAC met on 6 May 2022 to discuss cryptocurrencies with some urgency \u2014 because the <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/04\/28\/the-central-african-republic-adopted-bitcoin-last-week-full-text-of-the-law\/\">Central African Republic had just declared Bitcoin to be legal tender,<\/a> without warning anyone else first. [<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/finances_cg\/status\/1525551465938427905\"><i>Twitter<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>COBAC has prohibited banks in the zone from performing any transaction in relation to crypto-assets:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Holding cryptocurrencies on account, for yourself or third parties;<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Converting between cryptocurrencies and CFA francs;<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Using Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency as a unit of account.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>COBAC will be setting up a system for identifying and reporting operations related to cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n<p>The Central African Republic is a sovereign nation, so they can declare that bitcoins are currency. They can even force banks in the CAR to accept bitcoins, or risk a jail term \u2014 but the banks may then have problems exchanging CFA francs with the rest of the zone.<\/p>\n<p>Quite a lot of banking in the CAR is apparently done in rubles, and banks across the zone are delighted to get into a spot of money laundering. But bitcoins seem to be just that step too far.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">can\u2019t believe pointless invention \u201cmoney but even more fake\u201d has turned out to be a scam, who could\u2019ve seen that one coming<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Laurie Charles (@thestuffofmemes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thestuffofmemes\/status\/1524545493715591169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 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>According to the postman, it&#8217;s like the bleeding Bank of England<\/h3>\n<p>In April, the SEC put forward new accounting rules for holding cryptocurrencies on behalf of a customer: <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/04\/05\/news-royal-mint-nft-europe-requires-crypto-transaction-traceability-vcs-drop-the-eth\/\">you should account these as liabilities.<\/a> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/oca\/staff-accounting-bulletin-121\"><i>SEC<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>So Coinbase duly stated in their quarterly 10-Q SEC filing that: [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/ix?doc=\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/1679788\/000167978822000048\/coin-20220331.htm\"><i>SEC<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>because custodially held crypto assets may be considered to be the property of a bankruptcy estate, in the event of a bankruptcy, the crypto assets we hold in custody on behalf of our customers could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings and such customers could be treated as our general unsecured creditors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Not just cryptos on deposit for trading \u2014 but cryptographic private keys that customers gave Coinbase to look after, because keeping your keys safe turns out to be super-hard.<\/p>\n<p>Proper banks <i>cannot<\/i> rifle through the safe deposit boxes to pay their bills \u2014 but Coinbase isn\u2019t a bank, it just wants to pretend it\u2019s as safe as one, when it absolutely isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Coinbase put on its \u201cno risk of bankruptcy\u201d shirt, which promptly raised a lot of questions answered by the shirt. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/50c1e24d-4b28-42fe-bb29-e9d13aa01909\"><i>FT<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/brian_armstrong\/status\/1524233480040710144\">Twitter<\/a><\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>The 10-Q filing also revealed that Coinbase had <em>somehow<\/em> managed to lose buckets of money running a casino. Shares in Coinbase fell 23%. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-05-10\/coinbase-plunges-after-first-quarter-revenue-misses-estimate?sref=1kJVNqnU\"><i>Bloomberg<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cBitcoin is like the early Madoff\u201d. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vhZoDxrm5S\">https:\/\/t.co\/vhZoDxrm5S<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Trolly McTrollface \ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Tr0llyTr0llFace) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tr0llyTr0llFace\/status\/1520473677833416707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 30, 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\u2019m going to Spain<\/h3>\n<p>In 2017, Catalonia held a referendum over whether it should declare independence from Spain \u2014 and it turns out to have had a bizarre tale of Russian bitcoins attached.<\/p>\n<p>Nikolai Sadovnikov, a Russian diplomat, visited Barcelona in 2017. He met with Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont, and offered the independence movement $500 billion \u2014 with a \u201cb\u201d \u2014 to turn independent Catalonia into a haven for cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n<p>The Russians sent the Catalonians photos of suitcases full of cash and of a certificate of deposit worth $500 billion \u2014 though the only money-like thing Sadovnikov ever ended up sending them was one single bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>Puidgemont\u2019s associate Victor Terradellas thought these guys were the Mafia, or the political equivalent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCombining both parts, it sounds like we\u2019re looking at covert, intelligence-backed support for a separatist movement with a scam or fraud component on the side,\u201d said Christopher Nehring from the University of Potsdam.<\/p>\n<p>Sadovnikov also offered Puigdemont 10,000 Russian soldiers if Catalonia became independent. I\u2019m sure that would have worked out just <i>fine.<\/i> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.occrp.org\/en\/investigations\/fueling-secession-promising-bitcoins-how-a-russian-operator-urged-catalonian-leaders-to-break-with-madrid\"><i>OCCRP<\/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 do hope the crypto crash wipes out all the investor guys so crypto can return to its roots: using 10 bitcoin to buy a bag of white powder from china with a \u201cnot for human consumption\u201d sticker<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Venom Lord (@aniceburrito) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aniceburrito\/status\/1524499768642318336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 11, 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>Fol de rol<\/h3>\n<p>Coinbase has opened its shiny new NFT marketplace to the world! The site had 110 transactions total on its first day of operation, and no day has had more than 200 transactions since. Coinbase, of all people, forgot that the NFT market was fake. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-05-04\/coinbase-s-nft-marketplace-opens-to-all-but-users-don-t-show-up\"><i>Bloomberg<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/web3isgoinggreat.com\/?id=coinbases-new-nft-marketplace-hasnt-had-more-than-200-transactions-in-a-day-since-its-public-launch\"><i>Web 3 Is Going Great<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Amy Castor has two stories on the NFT market\u2019s apparent decline \u2014 the polite version in Artnet, and the opinionated version in her own blog, cataloguing the arrant lies and BS of the largely-fake market. The NFT market hasn\u2019t crashed \u2014 it was never not crashed. [<a href=\"https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/market\/powerful-forces-run-faltering-nft-markets-wont-let-prices-crash-just-yet-2113751\"><i>Artnet<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/amycastor.com\/2022\/05\/14\/the-nft-market-hasnt-crashed-it-was-never-not-crashed\/\"><i>Amy Castor<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Instagram is adopting NFTs \u2014 what does it mean for Web3 adoption? With a quote from me about how the NFT market is basically fake, and if Facebook ever start an NFT marketplace, they&#8217;ll need to do a pile of fake trading to make this look like it&#8217;s working. [<a href=\"https:\/\/mpost.io\/instagram-is-adopting-nfts-what-does-it-mean-for-web3-adoption\/\"><i>Metaverse Post<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>NFTs: Why people are paying $100,000 for a shoe they cannot wear \u2014 with a quote from me. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/2022-04-29\/nfts-paying-100000-for-a-shoe-you-cannot-wear\"><i>ITV<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">luckily last week i printed out all my apes<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sebastiaan van Liempd (@sebvanliempd) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sebvanliempd\/status\/1524687115757490176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 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 fought the law<\/h3>\n<p>The Department of Labor <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/03\/16\/news-no-crypto-in-401k-retirement-plans-more-bitcoin-etf-rejections-nfts-on-instagram-jamaican-cbdc\/\">warned investment advisors<\/a> that promoting crypto for retirement plans meant their license was on the line. Fidelity\u2019s 401(k) platform for employers now lets employees put up to 20% of their retirement savings into Bitcoin-based investments \u2014 if the employer enables it.<\/p>\n<p>The Department is not happy, and will be asking employers what the hell they\u2019re thinking if they switch this on. Nor are Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith, who have written a letter to Fidelity asking them to explain themselves, the risks, and the company\u2019s conflicts of interests. [<a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2022\/04\/26\/success\/fidelity-bitcoin-401k\/index.html\"><i>CNN<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/labor-department-criticizes-fidelitys-plan-to-put-bitcoin-on-401-k-menu-11651197309\"><i>WSJ<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/amp\/articles\/sen-elizabeth-warren-questions-fidelitys-plan-to-put-bitcoin-in-401-k-s-11651714649\"><i>WSJ<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smith.senate.gov\/senators-smith-warren-question-fidelity-plans-allow-bitcoin-investments-401k-plans\"><i>Senate<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2022.05.04%20Send%20letter%20to%20Fidelity%20re%20401(k)%20Bitcoin%20investments.pdf\"><i>Senate<\/i><\/a><i>, PDF<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>FinCEN has previously prosecuted operators of crypto mixers \u2014 but, for the first time, a mixer has been directly sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Asset Control: blender.io, which North Korea has been using. [<a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy0768\"><i>Treasury<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The other obvious thing to do is to sanction Tornado Cash. Nicholas Weaver writes up an interesting way this could be done. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawfareblog.com\/ofac-dprk-and-tornado-cash\"><i>Lawfare<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The New York State Assembly has passed a bill imposing a moratorium on &#8220;proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions&#8221; at old fossil fuel plants. The idea is that you can\u2019t start new crypto mining installations powered by fossil fuel. [<a href=\"https:\/\/news.trust.org\/item\/20220422084924-go6kr\/\"><i>Thomson-Reuters Trust<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/05\/05\/new-york-bitcoin-mining-moratorium-proceeding-through-state-house.html\"><i>CNBC<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Anchorage is a Bitcoin custody company that got itself a shiny new Wisconsin bank charter! It turns out they didn\u2019t quite get their backsides into gear about anti-money-laundering compliance. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency just slapped a consent order on them. The order\u2019s very gentle \u2014 not even a fine, Anchorage just has to follow these detailed instructions on getting its AML into bank-quality order. Expect future OCC consent orders not to be this gentle. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.occ.gov\/static\/enforcement-actions\/ea2022-010.pdf\"><i>OCC<\/i><\/a><i>, PDF<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>A new Bitcoin ETF has launched in Australia \u2014 on the day that Bitcoin went down $4,000 in step with NASDAQ. It&#8217;s not getting a lot of volume as yet. The Commonwealth Bank&#8217;s CommSec securities trading app has a splash screen warning of the special risk of the new ETF, and a warning page that&#8217;s much longer than their regular ETF warning page. [<i><a href=\"https:\/\/blockworks.co\/first-spot-crypto-etfs-in-australia-underwhelm-traders-amid-market-downturn\/\">Blockworks<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commsec.com.au\/support\/help-centre\/About-the-sharemarket\/investing-in-crypto-ETFs.html\">CommSec<\/a><\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the world of crypto muggings \u2014 when idiots flash around their phones with CoinBase apps in the pub, and are forced to transfer their coins to an attacker. \u201cA third victim said he had been vomiting under a bridge when a mugger forced him to unlock his phone using a fingerprint, then changed his security settings and stole \u00a328,700, including cryptocurrency.\u201d No chargebacks! With quotes from me. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2022\/apr\/30\/crypto-crimewave-forces-police-online-to-pursue-ill-gotten-assets\"><i>Guardian<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2022\/may\/08\/crypto-muggings-thieves-in-london-target-digital-investors-by-taking-phones\"><i>Guardian<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Over CAD$2.6 million was lost to cryptocurrency frauds in less than four months in Richmond, British Columbia \u2014 just one city of 200,000 people. Remember, it\u2019s about the community: \u201cPolice also urge investors to do considerable homework before handing over their money and warn that if a new online friend avoids invitations to meet in person but frequently discusses \u2018investment opportunities,\u2019 it might be best to end the relationship.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/canada\/article-over-26-million-lost-to-cryptocurrency-frauds-in-less-than-four-months\/\"><i>Globe and Mail<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/gKNc1\"><i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">(my phone number is on the band&#39;s domain registration, he&#39;s a friend of the family) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/d53vLcEFkF\">pic.twitter.com\/d53vLcEFkF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; elden ringpiece (@_r_o_n_e_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_r_o_n_e_\/status\/1524462022192103424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 11, 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>New facts emerge<\/h3>\n<p>David Marcus, co-founder of Facebook\u2019s Libra, unveils his new payments startup, Lightspark \u2014 which is focused on Bitcoin and the <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2021\/06\/27\/bitcoin-myths-immutability-decentralisation-and-the-cult-of-21-million\/\">Lightning Network.<\/a> He has venture capital backing from a16z and Paradigm. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblockcrypto.com\/post\/146633\/david-marcus-unveils-new-startup-focused-on-bitcoin-and-lightning-backed-by-a16z-and-paradigm\"><i>The Block<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>GitHub is a site where programmers store computer code. Co-Pilot is an AI-based tool to generate code based on GitHub\u2019s archive. The model sometimes just regurgitates existing code fragments \u2014 including private keys to Ethereum addresses that have ether in them. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2022\/05\/03\/openai_copilot_cryptocurrency\/\"><i>The Register<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Tether&#8217;s tech chief Paolo Ardoino says that providing specifics on the company\u2019s vast holdings of US debt would divulge the \u201csecret sauce\u201d of its arbitrage skills with international reply coupons. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/5887ef43-d43a-4608-a1ac-aacc99f076b9\"><i>FT<\/i><\/a><i>, paywalled<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>Having lost their Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to sanctions, Chelsea Football Club reliably finds an even shonkier backer: some crypto bozos called WhaleFin, who are paying \u00a320 million a year to put their logo on players\u2019 shirts. [<a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/chelsea-to-unveil-20m-a-year-shirt-deal-with-cryptocurrency-brand-whalefin-12610660\"><i>Sky News<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Sam Bankman-Fried of crypto exchange FTX is spending his money on trying to buy elections. His first move is to parachute Carrick Flynn, one of his fellow weird LessWrong rationalists, into an Oregon Congressional seat \u2014 flooding local television with ads for Flynn. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wweek.com\/news\/2022\/05\/04\/how-oregons-new-congressional-district-could-become-a-colony-ruled-by-a-distant-crypto-prince\/\"><i>Willamette Week<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/oregoncapitalchronicle.com\/2022\/04\/25\/the-curious-case-of-crypto-as-a-player-in-oregon-politics\/\"><i>Oregon Capital Chronicle<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Fabio Panetta from the European Central Bank is just straight-up calling cryptos Ponzis now. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecb.europa.eu\/press\/key\/date\/2022\/html\/ecb.sp220425%7E6436006db0.en.html\"><i>ECB<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Wikimedia Foundation has decided to discontinue direct acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of donating.&#8221; [<a href=\"https:\/\/meta.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Talk:Requests_for_comment\/Stop_accepting_cryptocurrency_donations&amp;oldid=23231055#Update_from_Wikimedia_Foundation\"><i>Wikimedia<\/i><\/a><i>; <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/donate.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Ways_to_Give&amp;diff=37498&amp;oldid=36670\"><i>Wikimedia<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Instead of cashing out your cryptos and incurring capital gains tax, why not use them to back a mortgage? Nothing can possibly go wrong here! For the bank, anyway \u2014 you secure the mortgage by putting up the entire value of the property. \u201dTo account for the volatility, Milo will ask the borrower to put up more crypto or cash if the crypto-to-loan amount drops below 65%. If that figure drops below 30%, the company liquidates the assets and stores them in U.S. dollars.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-04-27\/buying-real-estate-with-crypto-new-mortgages-are-backed-by-coins\"><i>Bloomberg<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The actual Wall St hedge fund Jane Street is hitting crypto and DeFi hard, and will absolutely clean up. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-05-03\/jane-street-steps-into-decentralized-finance-with-crypto-loans\"><i>Bloomberg<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Things that surprise me as foreigner in the US: I don&#39;t really understand how this kind of advertisement is allowed.<\/p>\n<p>Big print: &quot;Invest in a Bitcoin ETF&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Very small print: &quot;We actually don&#39;t have an ETF&quot;<\/p>\n<p>After googling the ETF: &quot;The ETF doesn&#39;t touches Bitcoin at all&quot;<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\ude44 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/79PJerESAs\">pic.twitter.com\/79PJerESAs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \ud83d\udd25 \ud83c\udf37 \u2620\ufe0f Mario G\u00f3mez :: \u03b3 \u2620\ufe0f \ud83c\udf37 \ud83d\udd25 (@mxgxw_gamma) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mxgxw_gamma\/status\/1520490541854691328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 30, 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>Guest informant<\/h3>\n<p>A crypto group named a new frog species, and people aren\u2019t thrilled: Experts are concerned that promoting cryptocurrency is counterproductive to conservationist and environmentalist goals. With quotes from me. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/environment\/dao-glass-frog\/\"><i>Popular Science<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>I went on Jason Ingber\u2019s legal podcast to talk about cryptocurrency and blockchain. It was fun. A lot of the discussion presaged what just happened to UST and Luna. [<a href=\"https:\/\/outofthecourtroom.libsyn.com\/david-gerard-crypto-is-not-decentralized\"><i>LibSyn<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cAll me apes gone\u201d is one of those things that never gets old and seems to get funnier over time as more and more people experience the acquisition and loss of apes all over the world<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ed Zitron (@edzitron) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/edzitron\/status\/1520863353261854721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1, 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\">The cost of a kidney on the black market is around 46,000$. Theres approximately 8 billion people in the world each with 2 kidneys. From this we can imply the market capitalization of kidneys is 736,000,000,000,000$<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; widmit \ud83c\udf4a (@widmit) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/widmit\/status\/1521682821483577344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 4, 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 is a beautiful thing. instead of designing &amp; engineering a product,  you just make a landing page that takes people\u2019s money and tweet about it.<\/p>\n<p>literally eliminates 99% of the risk of starting up. you\u2019re an idiot if you try to make money on the internet in any other way.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nikita Bier \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@nikitabier) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nikitabier\/status\/1522740949616529409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 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\">It\u2019s called web3 because the hype lasted exactly 3 months<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tomasz \u0141akomy \ud83c\udf29 cloudash.dev \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@tlakomy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tlakomy\/status\/1522942252099715072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 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\">This thread is great because the replies are all dorks going \u201cTell me another way to send a quarter gas token via non-distributional slack network that provides trustless back-math at half the cost of a netthrow channel while also sliplining twice the hash rate. I\u2019ll wait. \ud83d\ude0f \u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2bUXNsMvu2\">https:\/\/t.co\/2bUXNsMvu2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Butt \u201cno coiner\u201d coin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/1523673587613270016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 9, 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\">watching the tether price crash with all my friends like it&#39;s the 4th of july and there are fireflies out<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; danny &quot;disco&quot; mcClanahan (@hipsterelectron) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hipsterelectron\/status\/1524655786164723712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 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=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iefkpTK5ZK\">pic.twitter.com\/iefkpTK5ZK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; the thicc husband &amp; father (@lukeisamazing) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lukeisamazing\/status\/1524739579198201859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 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\">you&#39;re telling me this coin was a bit?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; jason shevrin (@jasonshevrin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonshevrin\/status\/1524771584761810944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 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\">lmbo <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Rt8DjVPoSj\">pic.twitter.com\/Rt8DjVPoSj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Butt \u201cno coiner\u201d coin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/1524938078430736389?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 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\">I said something about cryptocurrency, now my mentions are like a kindergarten with a meth problem.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BriannaWu\/status\/1525241327461482503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 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>History always repeats, but only the dumb stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22769,"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":[1624,138,2951,2957,951,2955,2960,2953,2940,2959,2952,288,2019,1346,2816,2949,1457,2500,1047,2568,2062,876,2958,2821,29,2963,2964,2965,6,2948,2962,1717,594,2020,2954,1829,2326,2961,722,1510,137,2491,33,636,2946,39,2950,2501,2947,2956,609],"class_list":["post-22754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-anchorage","tag-australia","tag-basis-cash","tag-blender-io","tag-canada","tag-carles-puidgemont","tag-carrick-flynn","tag-catalonia","tag-central-african-republic","tag-chelsea-fc","tag-cobac","tag-coinbase","tag-commonwealth-bank","tag-david-marcus","tag-department-of-labor","tag-do-kwon","tag-ecb","tag-elizabeth-warren","tag-etf","tag-fabio-panetta","tag-fidelity","tag-fincen","tag-github","tag-instagram","tag-izabella-kaminska","tag-jane-street","tag-jason-ingber","tag-lightspark","tag-links","tag-luna","tag-milo","tag-mining","tag-new-york","tag-nft","tag-nikolai-sadovnikov","tag-occ","tag-ofac","tag-oregon","tag-paolo-ardoino","tag-podcast","tag-russia","tag-sam-bankman-fried","tag-sec","tag-spain","tag-terra","tag-tether","tag-the-blind-spot","tag-tina-smith","tag-ust","tag-victor-terradellas","tag-wikimedia-foundation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/terra-baseball.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22754","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=22754"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22792,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22754\/revisions\/22792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}