molly0xfff , to random
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

How will recent Supreme Court decisions affect the crypto world? Also, more absurdity from the crypto lobby, and some new regulatory actions. Catch up in my latest newsletter: https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-61/

DemocracyMattersALot , to random
@DemocracyMattersALot@mstdn.social avatar

It seems to me noteworthy that Steve Bannon, in his live-streamed, pre-surrender martyr show, identified a totally new enemy--the Federal Reserve.

Bannon wants to topple the federal goverment, and the dollar. He's probably all in on crypto futures.

molly0xfff , to random
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

Coinbase's "Stand With Crypto" PAC website is now confirming what I reported earlier.

More than 99% of the amount they claimed was raised by this supposedly "grassroots" PAC is in fact massive corporate contributions to the FairShake super PAC.

https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff/112577192621582156

Screenshot: "$179,349,664 Donated by crypto advocates". Hovering over the ⓘ shows a tooltip: "$177.88M donated to FairShake and $1.47M donated to Stand With Crypto"

molly0xfff , to random
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

The two candidates in today's primaries that received substantial backing from cryptocurrency PACs both won their primaries.

  1. John Curtis defeated Trent Staggs in the Republican Utah Senate primary, with the help of $5 million in crypto industry funding.

  2. George Latimer defeated Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary for NY H-16, with the help of $2 million in crypto industry funding.

#USpolitics #crypto #cryptocurrency #CryptoLobby

molly0xfff OP ,
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

Ads run by these PACs made no mention of crypto or technology. In the NY race, ads from Fairshake seemed to align very closely with AIPAC's aggressive campaign against Bowman, echoing their messaging accusing him of antisemitism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIXvp_zJD6I

#USpolitics #crypto #cryptocurrency #CryptoLobby

molly0xfff OP ,
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

"Defend American Jobs" was the PAC splashing out in the Utah race. They're the Republican-focused crypto super PAC; "Protect Progress" is the Democrat counterpart.

Though Fairshake (nominally nonpartisan, and by far the highest fundraiser of the crypto PACs) previously made identical donations to both, they've just made another $5M donation to DAJ without a corresponding donation to PP.

DAJ has raised $14.7M so far this cycle; PP $10.3M.

#USpolitics #crypto #cryptocurrency #CryptoLobby

molly0xfff OP ,
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

Here's a glimpse at the spending in each race.

Other outside spending for Curtis mostly came from a super PAC called Conservative Values for Utah, with Defend American Jobs pitching in $5M last minute.

And as I mentioned, Bowman's other opposition primarily came from AIPAC's UDP.
#USpolitics #crypto #cryptocurrency #CryptoLobby

Charts showing amounts raised by each candidate, and amounts spent by outside groups to support or oppose. Jamaal Bowman raised around $4.3M, $1.9M was spent to support him, and $12M was spent to oppose him, $2.1M of which came from the crypto industry. George Latimer raised $5.8M. $5.6M was spent to support him, and $1.1M was spent to oppose.

Charts showing amounts raised by each candidate, and amounts spent by outside groups to support or oppose. John Curtis raised around $3.8M, $9.2M was spent to support him, and $3.5M of that support came from the crypto industry. Brad R. Wilson raised $5M. Trent Staggs raised $1.25M, $900k was spent to support him, and $1.9M was spent to oppose him, $1.5M of which came from the crypto industry. Jason Walton raised $2.9M.
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    • + Npars01
    molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    Newsletter: The crypto industry jumps on the Trump train, and other recent events in the crypto world.

    https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-60/

    #newsletter #cryptocurrency #crypto #CitationNeeded #USPolitics

    molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    PSA: Paying for a subscription on the crypto version of OnlyFans using a public blockchain does not give you "true privacy", regardless of what the models there might say.

    #cryptocurrency

    The allure of Only1 extended beyond a different option for sharing exclusive, gated content. Jaylene highlighted the platform's unique features compared to traditional platforms like OnlyFans. "I like the fact that Only1 being on-chain allows the customer to have true privacy," she said. "From a creator's perspective, the biggest issues with traditional platforms such as OnlyFans are issues with payment processing. Only1 solves this issue as the payments go directly to your wallet, providing creators with peace of mind and full control over their earnings."
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    • molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    The cryptocurrency industry Super PAC Fairshake is now #1 out of all Super PACs by total funds raised.

    They've raised more than $175 million to influence upcoming elections in the US, and have more than $100 million of it still waiting to deploy.

    #CryptoLobby #Fairshake #USPolitics #cryptocurrency

    Despite the relatively small size of the cryptocurrency industry, cryptocurrency-focused super PACs are among the most well-funded this election cycle. All super PACs Name Description Receipts Cash on hand 1 Fairshake supports cryptocurrency interests $177,877,738 $106,996,176 2 Never Back Down Inc. supports Ron DeSantis $145,482,418 $6,956,298 3 SMP supports Senate Democrats $122,904,784 $92,396,317 4 Make America Great Again Inc. supports Donald Trump $109,741,526 $34,459,354 5 Senate Leadership Fund supports Senate Republicans $63,887,538 $59,510,912 6 Democracy PAC George Soros' super PAC, supports Democrats $60,240,533 $38,980,191 7 United Democracy Project ('UDP') AIPAC-backed super PAC, supports Israel $53,274,582 $19,036,330 8 Club for Growth Action supports small-government conservatives $52,047,665 $10,024,220 9 LCV Victory Fund supports environmental issues $26,655,513 $19,078,389 10 Best of America PAC supports Doug Burgum $24,148,569 $183,181 11 Keystone Renewal PAC supports Pennsylvania Republicans $21,468,424 $17,965,490 12 Working for Working Americans - Federal United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners' super PAC $20,083,557 $4,785,234 13 Restoration PAC Dick Uihlen-backed super PAC, supports Republicans $15,783,790 $3,578,225 14 Fight Right Inc supports Ron DeSantis $14,739,207 $335,572 15 Defend American Jobs supports cryptocurrency interests $14,675,000 $97,800
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    • + mastodonmigration, Npars01
    molly0xfff OP ,
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    This month alone:
    $25M from Andreessen Horowitz
    $25M from Coinbase
    $25M from Ripple
    $10M from Jump Crypto

    #CryptoLobby #Fairshake #USPolitics #cryptocurrency

    Committee: FAIRSHAKE Contributor's Name Contributor's Address Employer/Occupation Memo/Description Memo Text Date Amount ($) Aggregate ($) Limits AH Capital Management 2865 Sand Hill Rd Suite 101 Menlo Park, California 940257022 See Attribution Below 05/30/2024 25000000.00 25000000.00 Marc Andreessen 2865 Sand Hill Rd Suite 101 Menlo Park, California 940257022 AH Capital Management / Partner MEMO 05/30/2024 12500000.00 12500000.00 LIMITS Ben Horowitz 2865 Sand Hill Rd Suite 101 Menlo Park, California 940257022 AH Capital Management / Partner MEMO 05/30/2024 12500000.00 12500000.00 LIMITS Bernay Box 201 McKinney Ave Dallas, Texas 75201 Bonanza Capital, Ltd / Investor 05/21/2024 1000.00 1000.00 Coinbase 248 3rd St Suite 434 Oakland, California 946074375 24,999,995 USDC received, not liquidated 05/30/2024 24999995.00 25000000.00 Mike Dudas 237 Greens Farms Rd Westport, Connecticut 068806224 6th Man Ventures / Venture Capitalist 05/30/2024 2500.00 2500.00 Jump Crypto 60
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    • molly0xfff OP ,
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    Total spending this election cycle:
    Andreessen Horowitz: $48.9M
    Coinbase: $52M
    Ripple: $44.8M
    Jump Crypto: $15M

    #CryptoLobby #Fairshake #USPolitics #cryptocurrency

    Nonilex , to random
    @Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

    Money Is Poised to the

    , a exec, was eating dinner at Mar-a-Lago last month when he got an unexpected invitation: wanted him to come to the stage & say a few words.

    , who runs the crypto data firm , was at an event for Trump’s .

    “There’s 50 million crypto holders in the US. That’s a lot of voters,” Selkis declared.


    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/technology/-crypto-influence-election.html

    molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    Newsletter: Are US legislators and regulators warming to crypto? Also, someone lights himself on fire to promote a memecoin. https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-59/

    molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    Cryptocurrency companies have raised over $115 million to influence US elections this cycle, and they’re just getting started. We need to closely watch how cryptocurrency companies are influencing US politics. https://www.citationneeded.news/2024-cryptocurrency-election-spending/

    molly0xfff OP ,
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    Fairshake, a crypto-focused super PAC, is #3 on the list of super PACs by the amount of money raised. Coinbase and Ripple are both in the top ten companies by amounts donated to outside spending groups. This is far out of proportion when you look at the size of the industry.

    molly0xfff OP , (edited )
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    Meanwhile, cryptocurrency companies like Coinbase have been aggressively recruiting their customers to donate and vote along pro-crypto lines, with in-app calls-to-action and flashy websites that rate politicians based on their perceived pro- or anti-crypto stances.

    molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    FTX's Ryan Salame has returned to Twitter for the first time since FTX collapsed — hours after he was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for his role in the FTX fraud and for his illegal campaign contributions 💀

    Ryan Salame @rsalame7926 · 18m Yah terrible tweet, like the worst. I get it, I've cringed reading it nearly every day since I found out half of ftx customers money was somehow missing. Quote Ryan Salame @rsalame7926 · Nov 6, 2022 It’s so powerful learning who your friends are! Very excited to grow with them in the long term. It’s not hard to genuinely figure out who cares about customers and who doesn’t if you look past the insanity Ryan Salame @rsalame7926 · 39m Who should I do the first public interview with? Top vote wins. Ryan Salame @rsalame7926 · 2h hot damn, this is going to get interesting quickly Ryan Salame @rsalame7926 · Nov 6, 2022 It’s so powerful learning who your friends are! Very excited to grow with them in the long term. It’s not hard to genuinely figure out who cares about customers and who doesn’t if you look past the insanity Ryan Salame reposted SBF @SBF_FTX · Nov 6, 2022 1) A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us--we're excited to keep climbing together. And especially to those who stay level headed during crazy times. We deeply appreciate it.
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    • molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    We must protect privacy, even in the face of cryptocurrency crime. As governments crack down on one of the most notorious tools for criminal money laundering in the cryptocurrency world, I’m worried about the ramifications.

    https://www.citationneeded.news/tornado-cash/

    #crypto #cryptocurrency #privacy #TornadoCash #newsletter #CitationNeeded

    molly0xfff OP ,
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    Some who know me as a cryptocurrency critic may find these opinions surprising coming from me.

    But if you are surprised, I have failed. And I think I have, because I think some of you will be.

    Alexey Pertsev, one of the developers and operators of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixing service, has been sentenced to 64 months (over five years) in prison in the Netherlands. The service he helped to create enabled criminals to launder billions of dollars in illicit funds connected to massive hacks perpetrated by sophisticated cybercrime groups, ransomware operations that have decimated businesses, and pig butchering schemes that have ruined people. As someone who rails against the abuses by the cryptocurrency industry, why then am I so worried about his conviction, and about the parallel case in the United States against two Tornado Cash co-founders? Some who know me as a cryptocurrency critic may find these opinions surprising coming from me. But if you are surprised, I have failed. And I think I have, because I think some of you will be.
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    • + saddestrobots
    18+ molly0xfff OP ,
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    In a perfect world, what is moral and what is legal would exactly align. We don’t live in a perfect world, and strong privacy protections are essential for human rights.

    A graph from legal to illegal, moral to immoral, of various types of communications. In the legal/moral quadrant are “sending a meme to a friend” and “gossip”. Ranging from legal to illegal but moral are “helping someone get an abortion” and “coordinating humanitarian aid”. Illegal but moral include “sharing a copy of a copyrighted book” and “whistleblowing classified information”. Legal but immoral contains “sharing misinfo”, “bullying”, and “hate speech”. Crossing from legal to illegal in the immoral section are “revenge porn” and “spam”. In the illegal/immoral quadrant are “phishing”, “death threat”, and “sharing CSAM”.
    But, as with messaging, it’s easy to come up with a broad spectrum of legal and not-so-legal, moral and immoral reasons people might not want a government or other entity snooping on their finances. A graph from legal to illegal, moral to immoral, of various types of transactions. In the legal/moral quadrant is “buying a snack”. Covering all four quadrants is “buying drugs”. Ranging from legal to illegal but moral are “paying for an abortion” and “aiding refugees”. Illegal but moral includes “humanitarian aid to people in sanctioned regions”. Legal but immoral contains “purchasing goods from exploitative companies”, “tax avoidance”, and “predatory lending”. In the illegal/immoral quadrant are “illegal campaign contributions”, “running a Ponzi scheme”, and “hiring a hitman”.
    Unlike with encrypted messaging, the balancing act with money has generally gone the other way. Under the law, the benefits of enabling law-abiding citizens to privately move their money around have generally not been seen to outweigh the potential costs of terrorist financing, organized crime, and the many other nasty things people do with money. As a result, although law enforcement may need to obtain a search warrant before a financial institution will turn over financial data,h there are strong requirements that that data must be collected. This is very different from encryption: firms are allowed to use end-to-end encryption for their users’ data, even though it means they can’t reveal that underlying data even if law enforcement tries to compel it. This is something I’ve really struggled with, in large part because it all seems so arbitrary. I think people have a general right to privacy, and I do think that people ought to have financial privacy — certainly more than they have today. It’s not that I don’t see the potential harms of allowing potentially substantial amounts of money to move hands with no oversight, but the ability for governments and law enforcement to peer in on ordinary citizens is also incredibly harmful. And I think the amounts that have been determined to constitute “suspicious activity” are arbitrary and far too low, and in a digital world, incredibly challenging to reimplement.

    Privacy is a human right If we go back to the Crypto Wars analogy, I firmly believe that people should have every right to write strong cryptographic code that allows them to, say, send an encrypted message to a friend. I also strongly believe that organizations need to be allowed to operate services that use such code — for example, Signal and its end-to-end encrypted messaging — without being held liable for criminal activity that happens on their platforms. As with most things, there are pros and cons to such a thing existing: just as these encryption algorithms allow me to protect my own, benign and perfectly legal communications from outside snooping from anyone ranging from my internet service provider to the provider of the messaging software I’m using to some government agent who might be surveilling my activities, they also protect criminals who are sending — say — child sexual abuse material (CSAM). When put this way, it might seem absurd. Shouldn’t I be okay with someone snooping on the memes I send to my friend if it means that law enforcement can thwart horrific crimes?d But there’s a massive spectrum of activities, ranging from legal to illegal, moral to immoral, that must be considered.
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    • + saddestrobots
    timbray , to random
    @timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

    It’s nauseating that the hyperscalers are crankin’ the carbon to inflate the AI bubble like there’s no tomorrow (which there won’t be, for my children, if we don’t cut back) but hey, don’t forget that Bitcoin is still in the running for the single most dangerous-to-the-planet use of computers.

    https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/15/24157496/microsoft-ai-carbon-footprint-greenhouse-gas-emissions-grow-climate-pledge

    j2bryson , to random
    @j2bryson@mastodon.social avatar

    Please don’t call #genAI “#ai”. Hopefully generative AI’s days are numbered, but AI and both the advantages and the problems of automating behaviour and discovery will be with us for at least the duration of the digital era. #aiethics #aiact #aia #digitalGoverance https://chaos.social/@HonkHase/112435548946270854

    j2bryson OP ,
    @j2bryson@mastodon.social avatar

    Also note that last I knew #genAI uses less energy than #cryptocurrency and a lot less water than #golf , not that any of those are okay. (Original Scottish golf without watering is if course fine :) #aiethics #sustainability

    molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    The Justice Department worries about the stability of Ethereum, DCG tries to bilk their subsidiary's creditors, and Biden threatens a crypto veto. Catch up with https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-58/

    #newsletter #CitationNeeded #crypto #cryptocurrency

    molly0xfff , to random
    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

    I had such a great chat with @mike on his Dot Social podcast, where we talked about the future of the web and why I'm a web optimist, why everyone should be a blogger, digital ownership, and decentralized social media.

    The full episode is available here https://about.flipboard.com/inside-flipboard/molly-white/ and on PeerTube/YouTube/the usual podcast feeds!

    travisfw ,
    @travisfw@glammr.us avatar

    @molly0xfff @mike you lost my at "crypto"
    Please use this term only to refer to . If you mean call it that. If you mean call it that.
    is not a meaningful term in public media.

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