blockchain tipsheet

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mining – under the microscope

In a 5,000 word article, The New York Times takes a critical look at Bitcoin mining and identifies 34 Bitcoin mining operations across the United States which it says is putting “immense pressure on the power grid and most finding novel ways to profit from doing so. Their operations can create costs – including higher electricity bills and enormous carbon pollution – for everyone around them, most of whom have nothing to do with Bitcoin.” Read more.

Ben Hertz-Shargel of energy research firm Wood Mackenzie which helps aggregate data for the NYT’s piece says that bitcoin mining is a “a massive financial burden to Texans.” It was only two years ago, in April 2021, that Wood Mackenzie penned “How bitcoin mining can support the energy transition.”

The article’s critique leans more toward additional cost burdens absorbed by consumers adjacent to crypto mining operations versus criticism of mining’s environmental impact. But, both are featured.

more tips:

It would not be surprising to see Senator Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) use the substance of this article to reignite her criticism of bitcoin mining. See her July 2022 letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Secretary of Energy which raised concerns about mining operations’ environmental impact. Continue reading “Mining Impacting Energy Prices, Environment Says NY Times; China’s Blockchain Platform”

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FedNow and CBDCs

The U.S. Federal Reserve slid out an “FAQ” on Friday regarding its new FedNow payment system. Among the brief series of questions and answers, the Fed tries to debunk the idea that FedNow is replacing cash or has anything to do with a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It’s an “instant payment system” launching this July.

In the FAQ, the Fed reiterates previous statements on its CBDC strategy saying, “The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a [CBDC] and would not do so without clear support from Congress and the executive branch, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law. A CBDC would not replace cash or other payment options.” Read the FAQ.

Circle’s Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte tweeted about the FAQ saying it was “a useful myth busting FAQ from the @federalreserve.” Read more.

Meanwhile, on the Unchained podcast last week, Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R, MN) remains skeptical about FedNow and CBDCs. On FedNow, Emmer said, “Let the private sector do this stuff. This  is our government once again trying to compete with the private sector. This is our government once again, I believe, controlling all finance. You control the money, you control the water -and you control the people. This is literally what defines our freedom, our financial system in our country – our ability to create an idea and then go out and solicit startup  capital. By the way, I should not need my government’s permission or oversight to go out and seek that. That’s the definition of freedom in this country.” Hear the podcast. Continue reading “FedNow Is Not A Cash Replacement Or CBDC Says The Fed”

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dark DeFi report

A new publication released Friday from the U.S. Treasury takes a dark look at  Decentralized Finance or DeFi. Touting itself as “the first illicit finance risk assessment conducted on decentralized finance (DeFi) in the world,” Treasury’s press release on the report tries to tackle a definition of DeFi saying, “…the term broadly refers to virtual asset protocols and services that purport to allow some form of automated peer-to-peer transactions, often through use of self-executing code known as ‘smart contracts’ based on blockchain technology. This term is frequently used loosely by the private sector, often for services that are not functionally decentralized.” Read the release.

Get the report: Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of Decentralized Finance (PDF) – U.S. Treasury

The 42-page report lists 6 recommendations to address the threat it sees with decentralized finance:

• • Strengthen U.S. AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism)  Supervision of Virtual Asset Activities
  • Assess Possible Enhancements to the U.S. AML/CFT Regulatory Regime as Applied to DeFi Services
  • Continue Research, Private Sector Engagement to Support Understanding of Developments in DeFi Ecosystem
  • Continue to Engage with Foreign Partners
  • Advocate for Cyber Resilience in Virtual Asset Firms, Testing of Code, and Robust Threat Information Sharing
  • Promote Responsible Innovation of Mitigation Measures

more tips:

“THIS IS WHY Biden Admin’s anti-crypto strategy to push crypto into the shadows makes no sense: They want compliance w/ AML/CFT laws, but crypto is just code–so compliance can only be assured at the very connection points that they’re actively choking.” – Caitlin Long, CEO, Custodia on Twitter

TradFi, CeFi, DeFi: A Balance Sheet Journey Through Financial Alchemy – Gordon Liao, Chief Economist, Circle

Continue reading “New US Treasury Report On DeFi Risk Assessment; India Scaling CBDC”

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states – Maine blockchain voting

A new bill titled “LD 1070: An Act to Increase Ballot Transparency with Blockchain Technology” by Maine State Senator Eric Brakey, a Republican, aims to bring blockchain to the voting process. Brakey explained on Twitter, “This bill would build upon our existing system of paper ballots — requiring the digital images of those ballots be uploaded onto a publicly viewable Blockchain. This would ensure that anyone who would like to count the votes for themselves can do so. Full transparency.” Yesterday, during a hearing of the Maine Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee which included public comment, Senator Brakey presented the legislation.

more tips:

An Act to Increase Ballot Transparency with Blockchain Technology (PDF)- MaineLegislature.org

State of Maine Legislature, Summary of LD 1070 – MaineLegislature.org

states – Maine and Custodia

Another bill pulsing in the Maine Senate and also driven by State Senator Brakey is a digital assets bill “which would authorize certain financial institutions in Maine to accept virtual currency deposits while maintaining 100% in reserves,” according to new testimony submitted by crypto advocate John Deaton.” See his testimony (PDF).

The bill received a hearing from the state’s Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services on Tuesday and appears to echo previous legislation from Wyoming on Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDI).

The Federal Reserve’s recent rejections of Custodia Bank’s master account and member bank applications centers on Custodia’s SPDI status received in October 2020.  Read a brief summary from law firm Poyner Spruill. Continue reading “Maine Ramps Up Blockchain Legislation; Senator Hagerty Blames Biden Administration”

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Congress needs digital assets

On the World of DaaS podcast, former Undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker discusses crypto’s transformative potential and crypto rule-making challenges in the U.S. government today.

Mandelker believes a hurdle for effective crypto legislation is the inability for members of government to own and interact with crypto technology due to current laws. She says, “[In] order to make smart rules about this particular set of problems, people in the government need to understand what the h*ll this is. And there are massive restrictions today that are ethical restrictions that completely block the ability of the people who have to make the decisions to actually interact with the technology. It’s crazy.”

Mandelker continues, “If you’re in any kind of policy role overseeing crypto, you can’t actually go online and see what Solana is, you can’t send Bitcoin, you can’t have Bitcoin. (…) The rules are massively onerous. (…) People in the government today who are making policy/regulatory decisions about crypto can’t own it/access it.” She worries that this will lead to the United States “disadvantaging itself globally.” Hear more.

Mandelker is a part of Ribbit Capital, a fintech and crypto investment firm.

digital assets help

Bermuda publication The Royal Gazette reports that Bermuda Premier David Burt “used his first official visit to Washington DC since before the Covid pandemic to discuss Bermuda’s digital asset industry ambitions.”

Continue reading “Crypto Rulemaking Requires Crypto Ownership Says Former US Treasury Undersecretary”