Rescheduling Cannabis in the United States – Yael Ossowski at The News Forum
I’m interviewed on Forum Daily, on Canadian TV, to discuss the potential re-scheduling of cannabis in the United States.
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Amazon vs FTC & US Government, How Regulation Affects Consumers, Antitrust, & more w/ Yael Ossowski
The Great Argentine Central Bank Smash
Latin America is a messy, culturally-rich, and prickly place. Though it is blessed with bountiful resources in its sprawling jungles, deserts, and jagged mountains, it has for most of its history been caught in the oscillating winds of colonial powers and external forces. While the 19th century saw the withering influence of Spanish colonialism against…
Split up Amazon, Prime and AWS? If Biden’s FTC breaks up Bezos’ company, consumers lose
FTC and Lina Khan think consumers need to take one for the team when it comes to sacrificing their savings, in both time and money, that Amazon creates. Lina Khan is not tired of losing. Fresh off her latest defeat in court in pursuit of antitrust enforcement against Microsoft, President Joe Biden’s Federal Trade Commission…
Yaël on the Steve Gruber Show: Why we should care about CBDCs in Russia, the US, and beyond
CCC Deputy Yaël Ossowski is invited on the Steve Gruber Show to discuss the launch of the central bank digital currency in Russia, similar plans in the US, and why CBDCs would be harmful to both individual freedom and financial privacy. Also, why real cryptocurrency innovations like Bitcoin render these plans moot. https://stevegruber.podbean.com/e/yael-ossowski-putin-s-new-digital-currency-launched-tuesday/ August 2,…
Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin & No-KYC Practices (BTC Prague 2023 Panel)
At BTC Prague in June 2023, I moderated a panel with Marek Palatinus of Satoshi Labs, Anna of Hodl Hodl, and cyberpunk author Juraj Bednar on peer-to-peer Bitcoin practices and no-KYC practices.
Australia’s own media law isn’t helping news consumers either
In a news conference in Ottawa earlier this month, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez sought to provide context for the tech industry’s reaction to the recently passed C-18, which outlines a process for media organizations to arrange deals with tech companies for ad revenue. Since the bill was enacted, both Meta and Google have taken steps…
Checking in on Michael Bloomberg’s multi-million dollar global crusade against harm reduction
For years, we’ve covered the extent of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s multi-million dollar campaigns to try to shape the lives of ordinary consumers. What began as an erstwhile nanny state campaign on Big Gulps in New York City has ballooned into a massively funded operation that uses grants and NGO funding on…
The Dynamist Podcast: Europe’s Tech Tug of War
This week I was invited on the Foundation for American Innovation’s The Dynamist podcast, hosted by Evan Swarztrauber. We discuss the delta between American and European approaches to technology regulation, and how those policies and cultural differences impact Big Tech, startups, venture capital, and artificial intelligence. Listen on Apple, Overcast. From Evan’s description: The question…
The EU’s ‘regulate first, innovate later’ mantra will sink U.S. tech firms
Last week, a bespeckled white-haired Frenchman strolled the streets of San Francisco in between high-profile meetings and uncomfortable photo ops. With his horn-rimmed round glasses, wavy hair, and tailored suit, as well as a full entourage of slickly-dressed Europeans, the European Union Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, made his rounds in Silicon Valley….
What Is CBDC – Niko Jilch, Bill Wirtz & Yaël Ossowski (BTCPrague 2023)
At BTCPrague in June 2023, I was able to moderate a discussion with my friends Niko Jilch and Bill Wirtz on the future of Central Bank Digital Currencies. Check it out here:
Canada’s news cartel and social media link tax breaks an open internet and harms digital journalism
My appearance on The News Forum in Canada to discuss Bill C-18, which allows a media cartel to force social networks to pay a “link tax” for allowing articles on their platforms. We also discuss the future of journalism and what consumers expect from their news sources.
RFK Jr. is batshit insane, but happens to get Bitcoin
The modern Kennedy has some pretty whacko authoritarian anti-prosperity ideas, but he somehow gets why Bitcoin matters. Historically, we all know cypherpunk Bitcoin, nerd Bitcoin, lambo Bitcoin, and finance Bitcoin. Now, we’re in the age of political Bitcoin. At this early juncture in the 2024 US Presidential campaign, we’ve already had three candidates explicitly mention…
Hey bro, get your hands off my hardware wallet
The razor-thin balance between seeking mass adoption of Bitcoin and keeping it a tool of sovereignty is now playing out among hardware wallet producers. Conjuring complicated threat scenarios and thought experiments of hypothetical attacks on your Bitcoin stack: that’s just a typical Tuesday for today’s generation of Bitcoiners. Whether it’s about reverse shotgun KYC, malicious…
Would Lina Khan’s real-life FTC break up Succession’s fictional Waystar RoyCo?
The truth is often stranger than fiction. In this season of the hit HBO show Succession , viewers are subjected not just to the business antics of the troubled Roy family but also to politicians and regulatory agencies using their power to rein in the firm’s activities and acquisitions. Though it is a work of…
Rabbit Hole Stories
Had a great time discussing my own Bitcoin origin story with the fellows from Rabbit Hole Stories in the UK. check it!
Why Bitcoin privacy matters in the real world
Avoiding financial surveillance on-chain isn’t just a paranoid pursuit. For many, it’s a matter of life and death. The early adherents of Bitcoin were drawn to the technology because it offered a digitally native monetary alternative that was decentralized, pseudonymous, and a represented a borderless value network. With that came radical on-chain transparency, a major…
Crypto Voices Episode 148: Fix The Money
This week I appeared on the Crypto Voices podcast w/ madmen Matthew Mežinskis and Alec Harris. We talked about Bitcoin and the Uniform Commercial Code, the Catawba Digital Economic Zone, bank money apps, Operation Choke Point 2.0, the events in France, and the Fix The Money newsletter. https://porkopolis.io https://twitter.com/crypto_voices
The Fiat Federation Seeks Total Annihilation of Bitcoin On-Ramps
Parts of the $1 million ‘Bitcoin Balaji Bet’ and ‘Operation Chokepoint 2.0’ seem to be coming true everyday. US banks that catered to cryptocurrency exchanges and Bitcoin firms? Obliterated. Popular Bitcoin payment app used by millions of Americans? Short seller hitjob. Your ability to wire money to a crypto exchange in the UK? Denied. The second-biggest global exchange…
In Attempt to Stop CBDCs, States Are Rejecting Ostensibly Pro-Bitcoin Legislation
The backlash against the UCC’s Article 12 has led to a firestorm among politicians who believe they are rejecting CBDCs. But these reforms represent a boon to Bitcoin, protecting self-custody and giving Bitcoin legal clarity in commerce and lending. In dramatic fashion earlier this month, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem wielded her red-hot branding iron…