Washington is spooked by crypto banking’s rapid rise
A big New York Times story underscores rising interest in crypto among U.S. regulators. Meanwhile, more welcome signs of mainstreaming abound elsewhere.
Re-sharing below the latest edition of #Web3 Weekly, my regular newsletter about decentralization. This installment covers Aug. 29 to Sept. 4, 2021. If you’d like to get #Web3 Weekly in your inbox every Sunday, please subscribe here.
The latest headlines about decentralization — and its rapid mainstreaming right now:
- Washington is full-on worried about crypto banking. The New York Times ran a front-page story with several accompanying sidebars describing the rising attention being given to the issue by U.S. policymakers. The Times’ lead story focused prominently on BlockFi as an exemplar of companies offering crypto services as an alternative to conventional banking, the risks therein, and the general lack of regulation for such activity. The Times also ran a general explainer of how decentralized finance works and, of course, a graphic visualization of the Bitcoin’s network’s energy consumption. (Hey, why not?) Separately, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler appeared before the European Parliament to discuss global crypto regulation.
- Nevada police seized $87,000 in cash from an ex-Marine’s car during a stop that uncovered no actual crime, the Washington Post reports. Now he’s suing to get it back. Maybe. You know, because using government-issued currency gives people such airtight protections. Plus you can touch it with your hands!
- MetaMask adoption is exploding. Developers of the popular wallet for Ethereum-based tokens said it topped 10 million monthly active users in July, good for a 12-month growth rate of 1,800%. A new mobile app and strong adoption in Asia have led the growth spurt, CoinDesk reports.
- Twitter appears to be on the verge of adding bitcoin tipping. MacRumors reports that a beta update of Twitter’s mobile app cointains code that would add bitcoin as an option in its Tip Jar feature that enables users to make small payments to their favorite content creators.
- Latin America still ❤️ bitcoin as well. El Salvador, which recently recognized bitcoin as legal tender, created a new $150 million fund to enable BTC-dollar conversions. Meanwhile, Cuba said its central bank will allow crypto payments, with some regulations attached.
- An Illinois woman was arrested for trying to pass off a fake COVID vaccine card that specified she’d received the “Maderna” shot. You can’t make this stuff up, folks…
That’s it for now. Thanks for spending some time with the newsletter today! A full revision history of it, including earlier drafts, is available here. If you’d like to get updates like this in your inbox every Sunday, please join our email list here.
As ever, a quick disclaimer: This newsletter is intended for journalistic purposes only, not as investment advice. For the latter, please DYOR and consult appropriate financial pros to make the most suitable choices for your needs.
