Digital currencyes

(February 11, 2021) Bitcoin hits record as US financial giants embrace cryptocurrency
The bitcoin price hit a record high on Thursday after two major US financial institutions announced new cryptocurrency projects,
edging digital assets closer to mainstream use in ordinary purchases and as an investment. Mastercard
said on Wednesday that later this year it would begin moving cryptocurrencies directly across its card payments network.
Previously, the company had only worked with crypto wallets and exchanges to move funds
after they had been converted from digital coins into fiat currency. And on Thursday, BNY Mellon,
the custody bank, announced that by the end of the year it would provide custody services for digital assets
on the same platform that clients use for traditional securities and cash.
The announcements helped to push the price of a single bitcoin above $48,000 for the first time.
bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2021/02/11/financial-times-bitcoin-record-cryptocurrency.html

(February 18, 2021) Google Ventures backs Blockchain.com $120 million funding
Today Blockchain.com, the cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider, announced a $120 million fundraising that includes Google Ventures
alongside Moore Strategic Ventures (Louis Bacon), Kyle Bass, Access Industries, Lightspeed Venture Partners and others. Total funding to date exceeds $120 million.
The company shared some eye-popping figures. It has 65 million wallet users and claims that more than 28% of all Bitcoin transactions have used its wallet.
Bitcoin maximalists might latch on to the presence of Google. But Google Ventures has also invested in the likes of Uber and Slack.
Google Cloud is actively interested in public blockchains and distributed ledger technology (DLT),
as first highlighted when it joined the governance board of Hedera.
However, the company emphasized one of its main interests was hosting nodes on Google Cloud.
That has been the driver behind some of its other relationships, including with EOS.
ledgerinsights.com/google-ventures-backs-blockchain-com-120-million-funding/

(February 17, 2021) 'Dr. Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini says 'the Flintstones had a better monetary system than bitcoin' and the token should not be considered a currency
The NYU professor argued bitcoin and other digital tokens shouldn't even be considered currencies because they lack many of the basic traits currencies must possess.
When asked why bitcoin's price continues to surge, Roubini responded by saying "its surging because there is a massive amount of manipulation,
pump and dump schemes, spoofing, wash trading, and front running." "I think it's a bubble," the economist added.
Roubini also noted transaction costs and limits on the speed of transactions per minute could be an issue for the scalability of bitcoin.
Roubini isn't the only bear to question bitcoin's recent rise either, JPMorgan analysts highlighted the digital asset's volatility
and argued the price may fall from here in a note to clients on Tuesday.
markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/nouriel-roubini-economist-bitcoin-analysis-outlook-flintstones-cryptocurrencies-2021-2-1030093345

Adam Tooze
@adam_tooze

Bitcoin mining electricity usage is now above that of Sweden

twitter.com/adam_tooze/status/1379448817511186436

Jackson Palmer
@ummjackson (July 14, 2021)

Despite claims of “decentralization”, the cryptocurrency industry is controlled
by a powerful cartel of wealthy figures who, with time, have evolved to incorporate many of the same institutions
tied to the existing centralized financial system they supposedly set out to replace.

twitter.com/ummjackson/status/1415353986392072196

Jackson Palmer
@ummjackson (July 14, 2021)

After years of studying it, I believe that cryptocurrency is an inherently right-wing,
hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents
through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity.

twitter.com/ummjackson/status/1415353985406406658

Elizabeth M. Renieris
@hackylawyER (October 19, 2021)

I was in Palo Alto in 2017 when I realized that #crypto was backed by the same #VCs as #Facebook etc.
and that the industry wouldn't disrupt but cement the status quo.
Case in point

twitter.com/hackylawyER/status/1450556116669186050

Elizabeth M. Renieris
@hackylawyER[/b] (November 30, 2021)

Thinking about how the loudest & most aggressive crypto promoters
are going to be the new tech "whistleblowers" in about 10 years.

After they've taken profits, of course.

twitter.com/hackylawyER/status/1465720925853261826

Elizabeth M. Renieris
@hackylawyER (December 1, 2021)

This is what I have been shouting about - #crypto isn't all fun and games and you actually don't even have a choice to opt out.
This stuff is rolled into pension funds & other investments that touch almost everyone (often without their knowledge)

twitter.com/hackylawyER/status/1466038200040935424

Ben Norton
@BenjaminNorton (December 9, 2021)

The director of the CIA said the spy agency has "a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency,"
calling it an "important priority"

twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1468974664244465664

CoinDesk
@CoinDesk (December 11, 2021)

Yes, it’s a Ponzi scheme.
But who cares? So are the dollars in your pocket.

twitter.com/CoinDesk/status/1469677423423799302

Black Star ✪
@hijodelcuervo (December 8, 2021)

Satoshi’s Kabuki Theater and the Birth of Digital Lawfare | Part I

siliconicarus.org/2021/11/23/satoshis-kabuki-theater-and-the-birth-of-digital-lawfare-part-i/
twitter.com/hijodelcuervo/status/1468377529522089985

Black Star ✪
@hijodelcuervo (December 11, 2021)

Satoshi’s Kabuki Theater and the Birth of Digital Lawfare | Part II

siliconicarus.org/2021/12/07/satoshis-kabuki-theater-and-the-birth-of-digital-lawfare-part-ii/
twitter.com/hijodelcuervo/status/1469471879756800002

Black Star ✪
@hijodelcuervo (December 11, 2021)

More questions than answers. Part III of Satoshi's Kabuki Theater

siliconicarus.org/2021/12/10/satoshis-kabuki-theater-and-the-birth-of-digital-lawfare-part-iii/
twitter.com/hijodelcuervo/status/1469464045040267270

Black Star ✪
@hijodelcuervo (December 19, 2021)

Good morning. The digital multi-currency paradigm system is almost in place.

"HSBC and IBM announced the successful test of an advanced token and digital wallet
settlement capability encompassing [...] central bank digital currencies (CBDC)..." >>
helpnetsecurity.com/2021/12/19/hsbc-ibm/

twitter.com/hijodelcuervo/status/1472575581493424129

(December 20, 2021) Bitcoin’s ‘One Percent’ Controls Lion’s Share of the Cryptocurrency’s Wealth
It’s good to be the bitcoin 1%. The top bitcoin holders control a greater share of the cryptocurrency
than the most affluent American households control in dollars,
according to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The study showed that the top 10,000 bitcoin accounts hold 5 million bitcoins, an equivalent of approximately $232 billion.
With an estimated 114 million people globally holding the cryptocurrency, according to crypto.com,
that means that approximately 0.01% of bitcoin holders control 27% of the 19 million bitcoin in circulation.
wsj.com/articles/bitcoins-one-percent-controls-lions-share-of-the-cryptocurrencys-wealth-11639996204?redirect=amp

Cory Doctorow
@doctorow (January 4, 2022)

This is fucking wild. Norton "Antivirus"
now sneakily installs cryptomining software
on your computer, and then SKIMS A COMMISSION.

twitter.com/doctorow/status/1478479483585933312

GUMBY
@gumby4christ (January 31, 2022)

In 2019, Zarate gave a presentation to BlockChainge DC
in which he beamed about using cryptocurrency to destabilize
the Maduro government by subverting the local currency system.
"The crypto economy can actually serve...national security goals."


https://twitter.com/gumby4christ/status/1488035886751272968?cxt=HHwWkMC-ramwyKYpAAAA

Elizabeth M. Renieris
@hackylawyER (February 1, 2022)

Odd to see #crypto fanatics celebrating government-backed #CBDCs
that enable financial surveillance at a whole new scale.

twitter.com/hackylawyER/status/1488611889085038596?cxt=HHwWiICylYmozqgpAAAA