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Web3 foreign service
A Foreign Service Officer named Brandon Poussin who works at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo reached out to Politico about its February coverage of Web3 momentum in Japan and the country’s desire to become a “Web3 leader.” “Possin believes that countries like Japan are wise to embrace it and that the U.S. government — too focused on the risks and scams that plague existing crypto applications — is missing the bigger blockchain picture,” reports Politico’s Ben Schreckinger. Read more.
anti-crypto army
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) has come out with a new ad for her campaign which promotes joining the “anti-crypto army.” Bitcoin.com reports on her campaign as well as her appearance on “Meet The Press.” CBDCs appear to be of interest to the Senator: “During her interview with [NBC’s Chuck] Todd, she expressed her belief that, while banks are not perfect, it is time for the government to move towards a central bank digital currency.” Read more.
Cointelegraph covers two crypto-sponsored surveys which say voters do not agree with the Senator about her position crypto. Read that one, too.
CBDC armies
The Block’s Stephanie Murray reports on a trend among conservatives who decry the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and warn against the state’s intrusion in a U.S. citizen’s personal business (i.e. knowledge of all of your transactions via a CBDC). Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R, MN) (1), Sen. Mike Lee (R, UT) (2) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R, TX) (3) with co-sponsors Sen. Charles Grassley (R, IA) and Sen. Mike Braun (R, IN) all have come out with anti-CBDC bills recently.
But, not everyone agrees including Rep. Steven Lynch (MA), a Democrat, who is also Ranking Member on House Financial Services’ Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Subcommittee. According to Murray, Rep. Lynch “plans to reintroduce a bill he filed last year to develop a digital dollar that would ‘incorporate key security and functionality safeguards into the e-cash system.'” Read more.
Former CFTC Chair Chris Giancarlo, a Republican and co-founder of the Digital Dollar Project, also backs a CBDC and believes a U.S. version could “take over the world.” Read more about it.
more tips:
H.R.7231 – ECASH Act (117th Congress) – Congress.gov
H.R. 7231, the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act (PDF) – Rep. Stephen Lynch
Digital Dollar Project – website
crypto lobbying
Blockworks takes a look at crypto lobbying investment aggregated from publicly available information by Sudhir Khatwani. Coinbase, Blockchain Association and Robinhood take the top three slots of spenders with crypto industry players overall having “shelled out roughly $25.6 million on lobbying last year, a year-over-year increase of 121%.” Read more.
more tips:
Crypto Lobbying Expenditure Skyrocketed by 922% in Last 6 Years, New Study Reveals – Sudhir Khatwani, The Money Mongers
blockchain-based bonds
Keeping track of climate impact continues to be a strong use case for blockchain technology and digital assets. CoinDesk reports, “Paris-based CIB and Stockholm-based SEB are using a validation protocol called ‘Proof of Climate awaReness,’ which they say encourages users to minimize their environmental footprint.” Read more.
podcasts
Legal Liability for DAO Members (52 min) – Law of Code
Is this the beginning of the end for Binance? (1 hr 5 min) – Unchained
Is AI the next great computing platform? (1 hr 24 min) – All-In Podcast
more tips
SEC Charges Crypto Trading Platform Beaxy and Its Executives for Operating an Unregistered Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency – SEC.gov
UK Data Protection Reform: who would want to be a “Senior Responsible Individual”? – National Law Review
Elon Musk’s Twitter changes logo to Doge, pushing the memecoin up 20% – Fortune
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