{"id":6017,"date":"2018-04-02T12:52:58","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T12:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=6017"},"modified":"2018-04-12T07:01:13","modified_gmt":"2018-04-12T07:01:13","slug":"news-me-at-intelligence-squared-mailchimp-bans-crypto-icos-suing-over-ad-bans-reddit-drops-bitcoin-bitfinex-avoids-petro-sichuan-demolishes-hydro-bad-blockchain-laws-wall-street-not-so-blockch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/04\/02\/news-me-at-intelligence-squared-mailchimp-bans-crypto-icos-suing-over-ad-bans-reddit-drops-bitcoin-bitfinex-avoids-petro-sichuan-demolishes-hydro-bad-blockchain-laws-wall-street-not-so-blockch\/","title":{"rendered":"News: Me at Intelligence Squared, MailChimp bans crypto, ICOs suing over ad bans, Reddit drops Bitcoin, Bitfinex avoids Petro, Sichuan demolishes hydro, bad blockchain laws, Wall Street not so blockchain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Crypto Fools&#8217; Day is, of course, January 9. In cryptocurrency, every day is January 9.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I&#8217;m doing an Intelligence Squared event in July: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intelligencesquared.com\/events\/blockchain-quantum-leap-forward-or-digital-snake-oil\/\">Blockchain: Quantum leap forward or digital snake oil?<\/a> It&#8217;s on Monday 2 July at 7:00pm at the Emmanuel Centre, SW1P 3DW. Other speakers are blockchain researcher\u00a0<a class=\"ProfileHeaderCard-nameLink u-textInheritColor js-nav\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/yaoeo\">Primavera De Filippi,<\/a> author <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JamieJBartlett\">Jamie Bartlett<\/a> and the founder of Liberland, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/V%C3%ADt_Jedli%C4%8Dka\">V\u00edt Jedli\u010dka.<\/a> Moderator is BBC economics editor <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bbckamal\">Kamal Ahmed.<\/a> Tickets are \u00a330 full price, \u00a315 student.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>MailChimp, a bulk email sender, is <a href=\"https:\/\/futurism.com\/mailchimp-is-shutting-down-ico-and-blockchain-related-emails-and-people-are-freaking-out\/\">shutting down mass mails for ICOs and crypto offerings.<\/a> Not listed is the likely actual reason \u2014 a lot of these are blatant spam that wasn&#8217;t asked for, and MailChimp would quite like GMail to still accept mail from it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Aggrieved ICO traders are going to sue Facebook, Google, Twitter and Yandex for &#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/russian-chinese-korean-associations-to-sue-internet-giants-over-banned-crypto-ads\/\">banning crypto ads.<\/a> &#8220;A special cryptofund will be created to finance the legal action, which can be supported through donations.&#8221; Good luck, guys!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In further <em>good news<\/em> for Bitcoin, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/reddit-drops-bitcoin-payment-option-for-gold-membership\/\">Reddit isn&#8217;t taking Bitcoin for Reddit Gold,<\/a> its paid membership programme, any more. Apparently this is because Coinbase are deprecating their old merchant accounts for a <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@coinbasecommerce\/upgrading-the-merchant-experience-d97679274c71\">new system<\/a> that involves the merchant holding crypto balances on Coinbase, rather than converting it straight to actual money for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Venezuelan Petro is so bad that <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.bitfinex.com\/announcements\/statement-venezuelan-petro-token\/\">even Bitfinex is steering clear of it.<\/a> Furthermore, &#8220;all contractors and employees of Bitfinex, wherever situated, are prohibited from transacting in the PTR.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Sichuan Province is not only\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/01\/06\/bitcoin-mining-being-pushed-out-of-china-whats-happening-and-how-the-shutdowns-being-managed\/\">pushing out the miners<\/a> \u2014 it&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sixthtone.com\/news\/1001995\/energy-rich-sichuan-demolishes-dams-to-protect-parks\">demolishing a lot of the overbuilt hydroelectric power<\/a> that they were using, because the local residents want their rivers back.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Laws written to facilitate &#8220;blockchain&#8221; or &#8220;distributed ledger technology&#8221; tend to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2018\/3\/29\/17176596\/blockchain-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-state-law-legislation\">hastily cobbled-together and incoherent trash.<\/a> This should surprise no-one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Told you so \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-banks-fintech-blockchain\/wall-street-rethinks-blockchain-projects-as-euphoria-meets-reality-idUSKBN1H32GO\">Wall Street rethinks blockchain projects as euphoria meets reality.<\/a> In particular, Depository Trust &amp; Clearing Corporation trying out Hyperledger at the behest of Digital Asset Holdings \u2014 &#8220;Basically, it became a solution in search of a problem.&#8221; Per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/view\/articles\/2018-03-29\/elon-musk-might-control-tesla\">Matt Levine:<\/a> &#8220;Yes! The blockchain project worked! But also so would a database run by a trusted central counterparty such as, just to throw one name out there, DTCC.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Binance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-03-28\/crypto-s-billionaire-trading-king-has-suddenly-run-into-problems\">sounds like the dodgiest exchange yet.<\/a> I&#8217;m surprised the guy let them run a photo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Nicholas Weaver posts a five-minute talk as to why cryptocurrencies are trash, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ncweaver\/status\/980485587827224577\">in four slides.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/ncweaver\/status\/980486064514068481<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/book\/\">The book<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.ca\/dp\/B073CPP581\/\">$3.49 on Kindle Canada this month!<\/a> I&#8217;m <a href=\"https:\/\/news.vice.com\/en_us\/article\/a3ykjz\/criminals-are-hijacking-your-computer-to-mine-cryptocurrency\">quoted in Vice<\/a> about crypto miner malware. Rob Rogers posts a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.longhighway.com\/attack-of-the-50-foot-blockchain.html\">blog review<\/a> of the book. Jonathan Pinnock has posted a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jonathanpinnock.com\/2018\/03\/update-on-the-day-i-went-viral\/\">followup<\/a> about his <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/03\/12\/everything-to-do-with-cryptocurrencies-and-blockchains-is-the-domain-of-fast-talking-conmen\/\">viral tweet in my favour.<\/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\">yesssss i&#39;m excited to get into &quot;Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain&quot; &#8211; thanks <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidgerard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@davidgerard<\/a>! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iijYGc1dnM\">pic.twitter.com\/iijYGc1dnM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ali Alkhatib (@_alialkhatib) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_alialkhatib\/status\/978729671620624385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 27, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Reading Attack of the 50ft Blockchain by David Gerard <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kCZiENRz4k\">pic.twitter.com\/kCZiENRz4k<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Pumpkin Spite Latte (@likecrazypaving) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/likecrazypaving\/status\/973851519408885760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>And, of course, the weather.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Lightning Network is straightforward and simple! Here&#39;s how it works <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qff2Ijsqq4\">pic.twitter.com\/qff2Ijsqq4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/979650845888471040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/fhuysmans\/status\/979004755459657728<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This morning&#39;s musings on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/blockchain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blockchain<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/innovation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#innovation<\/a> and &quot;creative&quot; job titles &#8211; blockchain sages and evangelists. cc: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NancyNakamoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NancyNakamoto<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/izakaminska?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@izakaminska<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GhelaBoskovich?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GhelaBoskovich<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LedaGlyptis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LedaGlyptis<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LizLum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LizLum<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OQ9X50ojeW\">pic.twitter.com\/OQ9X50ojeW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Virginie O&#39;Shea (@virginieoshea) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/virginieoshea\/status\/976403392330420224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 21, 2018<\/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\">When someone assembles a list of the &quot;top people in cryptocurrency&quot; and it contains a fair bit of overlap with the people you&#39;d also include in a list of &quot;top convicted criminals now working in cryptocurrency&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tom Morris  \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@tommorris) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tommorris\/status\/978211872649498624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2018<\/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 \u201cBitcoin is still early days, adoption is right around the corner!\u201d argument reminds me of the infamous Itanium sales forecast chart <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/U91cJ9BhUp\">pic.twitter.com\/U91cJ9BhUp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/979776825407754240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 30, 2018<\/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\">Every day, helpless graphics cards are purchased by cryptocurrency miners and put in mining rigs when they should be used for gaming systems.<\/p>\n<p>Donate now to stop GPU abuse. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GPURescue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GPURescue<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qTTn2ShJfa\">pic.twitter.com\/qTTn2ShJfa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CORSAIR (@CORSAIR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CORSAIR\/status\/979730340808769536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 30, 2018<\/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>Crypto Fools&#8217; Day is, of course, January 9. In cryptocurrency, every day is January 9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[568,38,74,100,9,564,533,6,565,459,421,566,569,567,536],"class_list":["post-6017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-binance","tag-bitfinex","tag-blockchain","tag-china","tag-ico","tag-intelligence-squared","tag-jonathan-pinnock","tag-links","tag-mailchimp","tag-nicholas-weaver","tag-petro","tag-reddit","tag-rob-rogers","tag-sichuan","tag-vice"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6017","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=6017"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6268,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6017\/revisions\/6268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}