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Diamonds and the Treasury Debt Ceiling: Why Nothing Has ‘Intrinsic Value’ in Economics
15.7.2019
The U.S. Treasury Department has just issued an urgent letter requesting a lift on the debt ceiling, warning Congress of imminent financial collision in September as federal cash is running out. Though this scenario has played out many times before, it takes on special significance now in light...
What Are Dollars Used for, President Trump? – The Gun Money Known as USD
12.7.2019
Donald Trump has taken to Twitter yet again, and this time he’s talking about bitcoin and the superiority of the United States dollar. Bashing lack of regulation and potential for criminal activity inherent to crypto, Trump claims the U.S. fiat will always be the strongest currency in...
JP Morgan Chase Ship Busted: Cocaine, Banks and the Failed Drug War
11.7.2019
A ship seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency in June carrying over 15,000 kilos of cocaine has now been tied to JP Morgan Chase’s asset management unit. Officially the company does not exercise any operational control of the vessel, but some serious questions are raised when...
A History of Violent Intervention: John McAfee to Help Cuba Resist US Sanctions With Crypto
10.7.2019
Former antivirus software guru and 2020 Libertarian presidential “hopeful” John McAfee is a controversial figure, polarizing opinion in politics and culture, and taking a bold stand against the U.S. federal government. Most recently this has involved offering to help the Cuban state...
Money and Democracy: Why You Never Get to Vote on the Most Important Part of Society
10.7.2019
It’s very odd that citizens never get to vote or have any say in regard to society’s money, even though it’s one of the most important aspects of everyday life. In fact, in developed countries, most central banks are institutions that are privatized from political interference...
Who Are the Real Thieves? Danish Authorities Seize 3 Ferraris in Tax Evasion Crackdown
8.7.2019
Last week Danish authorities seized three Ferraris belonging to a large Copenhagen-based business allegedly seeking to avoid VAT. With the largest bank in Denmark—Danske Bank—also being embroiled in a tax avoidance scandal last year, it seems timely to explore the common libertarian...
Why Bitcoin Maximalists Ignore the Value Proposition of BCH
7.7.2019
Some crypto companies keep wilfully ignoring BCH. Let’s compare the coins and see if BCH haters rail against Bitcoin Cash on purpose or simply due to a lack of understanding. Also read: Bitcoin and Black Market Fiat: Hyperinflation Crushes Venezuela as Global Devaluation Ramps Up Bitcoin...
‘Don’t Worry We Can Just Print More Money’ – Swedish Central Bank Ponders -1.5% Interest Rate
6.7.2019
At a press conference on Wednesday, the head of the Swedish Central Bank admitted that interest rates could potentially go as low as -1.5%, and quipped that Swedes likely wouldn’t even protest. Other countries implementing negative interest rate policies are producing lukewarm results that...
The Swiss Are Onto Something: Facebook, Libra and the Case for Decentralization
4.7.2019
A recent letter from the U.S. House of Representatives to social media giant Facebook has crypto users speculating feverishly. The implications of the letter, and Calibra CEO David Marcus’ recent response, will inform the future of money not only in America, but worldwide. House Chairwoman...
Side Effects of Economic Growth: Is Snowden Right to Say Bitcoiners Shouldn’t Be Bankers?
1.7.2019
Growth is a goal that’s worth achieving, in most cases, and the current economic paradigm favors it. But when central banks start undermining their fiat economies and crypto companies begin to mimic financial institutions in its name, growth becomes an end in itself with self-destructive...
Flowery V20 Talk and Government Terror: Why Darknet Crime Is the Least of Our Worries
1.7.2019
Governments and central banking regulatory bodies continue to express concern about crypto being used for criminal purposes and terror. The terror campaigns of these very same governments continue unabated, however. In the wake of the V20 summit it might seem that lawmakers actually care about...
Why Bitcoiners Are Turning to Unschooling for Decentralized Education
29.6.2019
Unschooling is an alternative education movement quickly gaining popularity and currency worldwide. Like Bitcoin, it is an individualist approach to an area of human action long thought to be established beyond question―education. Both cryptoeconomics and unschooling seek to provide autonomy...
The Politicization of Money: Crypto as a Safeguard Against Economic Propaganda
27.6.2019
Money has come a long way since its origins. From cowry shells to crypto, transferable, divisible, and economically sound means of exchange have been adopted by market actors everywhere. Modern history has brought us to a dangerous place, however, a cultural climate where politics and bad economics...
Enforcement of Updated Crypto Guidelines From FATF Has Far-Reaching Implications
25.6.2019
The FATF (Financial Action Task Force) has revealed updated guidelines that would require cryptocurrency and digital asset exchanges—and potentially independent business owners and crypto holders—to share sensitive customer information as VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers)...
Facebook Is a Threat to Governments Not Crypto
20.6.2019
The moment Facebook released the whitepaper for its planned Libra coin, social media was flooded with claims about Zuckerberg’s new drive to take over the cryptocurrency market, with some even calling it a Bitcoin killer. However, looking at the actual details of the plan, it has little to...
Privacy Is Paramount: How KYC Makes Us All Less Free
19.6.2019
KYC (Know Your Customer) policies and endless private data collection, coupled with force-backed, violent legislation compromise the utility and ethics of crypto trading. An uncompromising stance on user privacy is critically important to crypto traders and peer-to-peer transaction. It’s...
Why Bitcoin’s ‘Culture War’ Matters
3.6.2019
Michael J. Casey is the chairman of CoinDesk’s advisory board and a senior advisor for blockchain research at MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative. Let’s talk about bitcoin, toxicity and inclusiveness. (Boy, my Twitter feed is going to have fun over the next few days.) To start with, let me take...
BCH vs. BTC: Which Offers Greater Privacy?
30.5.2019
Do you want every person you ever transact with to know how much is in your wallet and your net worth? Of course not. That’s why you need and want to mix your coins to hide where they came from before you use them. The degree of privacy you can expect by default, however, varies […]
The...
Zuckbucks or Bust: How SEC Rulemaking Hurts Startup Cryptos and Favors Big Tech
23.5.2019
SEC guidance has created a more attractive environment for regulated tech firms like Facebook to offer proprietary cryptoassets integrated into their existing products that can be legally traded on existing crypto-exchanges as non-securities. Meanwhile, the SEC has targeted startup cryptos...
Bitcoin Payments Are Being Bulldozed for Political Reasons
19.5.2019
Bitcoin Core wants to distance itself politically from the former project leader Gavin Andresen, the payment protocol BIP070 he was involved with, and from the BCH-friendly Bitpay payment processor company. The attempts to remove software associated with Gavin Andresen are now having real-world...