la liberté avant tout
Cabinet confirmation hearings began in Washington last week for several of President Trump’s picks for top jobs in government. While Marco Rubio passed the gauntlet, we’re still waiting on word of a scheduled hearing for Trump’s most controversial picks: Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health…
Yaël Ossowski is a consumer and technology advocate, policy analyst, and writer. He is deputy director at the Consumer Choice Center and a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. In this webinar we discuss privacy, financial surveillance, debanking, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and other recent policy developments.
In this episode, Nik welcomes back Yaël Ossowski of the Consumer Choice Center and the Bitcoin Policy Institute to discuss the major themes shaping Bitcoin’s future. They begin with the push for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and its potential to redefine Bitcoin’s role in the U.S. financial system. Next, they address key regulatory developments, including…
One of the most complicated tort trials in history continues to unfold in a Texas bankruptcy court. The cases against Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and its alleged link to illnesses caused by asbestos-contaminated talc have ground on for the better part of a decade. Finally, after years of legal wrangling, the case is poised…
The IRS is cracking down on noncustodial services with two new rules finalized between the years. Call it the 2024 Christmas Crypto Regulatory Shock. In a manner of days, the Internal Revenue Service has provided clarity on two separate regulations that will have an intimidating impact on anyone who uses what the government deems digital assets. Both of…
Bitcoin’s potential to thrive as a medium of exchange has been unnecessarily hindered by its current tax treatment in the U.S. Introducing a de minimis exemption could help address this issue. With a new administration coming into office next month, and a slew of Bitcoin-related policy proposals on the table for Day One, it is…
Through my work as a consumer advocate, both as the deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center and a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, I’ve contributed to various model policies that can be enacted at a state-level in the United States to help advance Bitcoin. Working with state lawmakers, policy organizations, and fellow passionate…
In this episode, Nik Bhatia speaks with Yaël Ossowski of Consumer Choice Center and Bitcoin Policy Institute to explore the intersection of Bitcoin and U.S. banking laws. They dive into how regulations like the Bank Secrecy Act have shaped Bitcoin’s evolution, the impact of financial surveillance on privacy, and the growing issue of debanking for…
Driving past Lake Norman over Thanksgiving weekend, I was once again struck by the fact that this body of water helps power millions of homes across the region and in the state of North Carolina. Using water from the lake to feed the towering condensers, the two nuclear reactors at McGuire Nuclear Station generate over…
In line with common law tradition, the class action system was set up in Australia to address wrongs and deliver justice for ordinary people. But because of a lack of action from politicians and policymakers, it has instead funnelled rivers of gold to faceless foreign investors with a stake in gaming the system. It’s become…
The Town Council of Carrboro has filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy, alleging the utility misled the public about fossil fuel emissions and the timeline for renewable energy adoption. Supported and funded by NC WARN, the suit seeks damages for climate-related harms, pointing to Hurricane Helene’s impact as an example. The suit was filed in…
Reforming the Bank Secrecy Act would empower Bitcoin innovation, protect user privacy, and foster a better balance between regulatory compliance and financial sovereignty. Though Bitcoin was born in the world of computers and code, it was destined to eventually face-off with the legacy banking system. The first block ever mined on the blockchain, Satoshi’s Genesis…
This week, I received a letter from an employer of mine from when I was in high school, a local car wash. It turns out there was a “data breach” that resulted in “unauthorized access” to my social security number. Millions of Americans receive letters like this each year. Usually, the company will offer free access to…
After Texas trial attorney Tony Buzbee took to a podium in October to reveal he had gathered 120 victims to sue Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, it unleashed a flood of more allegations against the billionaire rapper and record executive. There are now close to two dozen civil lawsuits pending against Combs in both federal and state courts, along with…
If you’ve heard anything from the swanky flag-draped corner offices in Brussels, you know the EU wants “in” on the AI arms race. It’s been an obsession of the Commission and related bodies. Now that the AI Act is at least partly in force, and the European AI Office is beefing up its staff to help implement the regulations…
Consumer Choice Center Deputy Director Yaël Ossowski is interviewed on Schwab Network to discuss the looming bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines, and how the Biden administration’s antitrust and competition policies have precipitated its downfall. If we want more airline competition, we should look to repealing cabotage laws and boosting the ability for global airlines to serve…
Last week, an investigation by Reuters revealed that Chinese researchers have been using open-source AI tools to build nefarious-sounding models that may have some military application. The reporting purports that adversaries in the Chinese Communist Party and its military wing are taking advantage of the liberal software licensing of American innovations in the AI space,…
“Something that we’ve lost as American consumers is financial privacy,” Yael Ossowski, Consumer Choice Center, told Channel 2 Action News. “Essentially, we have financial surveillance.” My comments on the Saving Privacy Act on WSB-TV and syndicated to various local TV markets.
In the corridors of power in board rooms, lecture halls, and legislative chambers, Bitcoin is no longer an enigma resigned to just technology or economics enthusiasts. After a decade of gradual adoption, Bitcoin is an innovation invoked in political debates, presidential speeches, quarterly earnings reports, and is now the most recognized “crypto” by anyone with…
It’s perplexing that Australian policymakers would roll out the red carpet for those who oppose the resources sector — the very industry that drives and powers national prosperity. Why kneecap your own champions that fund your successful industry? The single most egregious example of this economic self-harm is so-called “lawfare”; the gaming of the legal…