Posts
Taking a bite out of MiCA, the EU’s comprehensive crypto legislation challenging the nature of decentralisation
To much fanfare, European Union legislators and commissioners last year negotiated the final framework of the bloc’s cryptocurrency regulation, known as the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). On June 30 of this year, Titles III and IV came into force, stipulating the requirements for issuers of “asset-referenced tokens” (commodity basket tokens) and “e-money tokens” (stablecoins). The rest…
The FTC should throw out its ‘junk fees’ rule and start over
Everything feels more expensive right now, and that’s because it is. Despite a notable decline from its peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022, inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. Since January 2021, prices have surged by an astonishing 17.6 percent. Grocery prices today are 21 percent higher than in January 2021, and while gas prices…
Trial Lawyer Marketing Machine Needs a Reboot
If you ask most Americans when it’s time to call a lawyer, the answer is no mystery: after a law has been broken, you’re forced to do so. Just as we don’t ask doctors to prescribe medicine before we’re sick, most people don’t pay for lawyers and then go commit crimes. Trial lawyers, however, might…
BTC Prague Panel: Investment in Over Regulated Environment
Our excellent panel from BTC Prague 2024 is now live on Youtube. Investment in Over Regulated Environment — lessons for bitcoiners from the EU, the US, and highly regulated industries that have persevered. Featuring Leon Wankum, James Putra & Yves Choueifaty. Enjoy!
Schwab TV: FTC and DOJ succumb to “Tall Poppy Syndrome” on tech and antitrust
On 360 Round with anchor Nicole Petallides on Schwab Network, I discussed recent antitrust actions by the FTC and the DOJ, and how this is harmful not only to American innovation, but also to the choices and well-being of consumers.
Elizabeth Warren Ditches Consumer Welfare In Support of Big Banks
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) loves to cast herself as the ultimate public defender of consumers and the arch-nemesis of bankers on Wall Street. However, with her recent record opposing popular mergers and shutting down regulatory reform for Bitcoin and its crypto-offspring, Warren has sided more with the major banks rather than new players that stand…
In Pursuit Of “Corporate Transparency,” A Mass Doxxing Of LLCs Puts Financial Freedom And Privacy At Risk
Beginning this year, any individual with shares in an American domiciled company will be required to submit identifying information to FinCEN. This record collection from the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is intended to “curb illicit finance” by requiring a national database of every “beneficial owner” of an LLC. As stipulated by the Corporate Transparency Act, passed by Congress in…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau May Be Legal, but It’s Past Its Prime
The Supreme Court recently delivered a decision on the constitutionality of one of the federal government’s most peculiar and least understood agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Unlike the Fifth Circuit Court, which earlier ruled that the agency’s unique funding model violates the Constitution, Justice Clarence Thomas argued in the majority opinion the government’s funding of the CFPB “satisfies…
Open Source Arrests: US Officials Sour on Biden’s War on Privacy
Biden is waging war on financial privacy, and not everyone is happy. The last several weeks have weighed heavily on those in Bitcoin who use privacy tools and software. Between the ceremonious arrests across two continents, Justice Department press releases, FBI warnings, and souring mood in Washington, many popular services for both sovereign and private…