An insightful and deep discussion — On June 13, 2022, former acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks and law professor Saule Omarova participated in a panel hosted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) titled “Discerning a Regulatory Approach to Crypto Currencies and Digital Assets.” Given the panelists, I thought this would be an enlightening…

Lessons on Privacy and Policy from Steven Levy’s “Crypto” — The practice (of preserving anonymity) was crucial in the formation of the United States itself, and was arguably as American as apple pie. As cypherpunk historians loved to point out, the model for the Ender’s Game debate may have been the Federalist Papers, with parts written by James Madison, John…

Breaking down the Treasury risk assessments regarding crypto’s use in money laundering & terrorist financing — Following tweets on the subject, I was invited to write the following column for Bitcoin Magazine. I think it’s important to explain DC goings-on to cryptonative audiences, so I accepted the invitation. I’ve republished the piece (with my original title, syntax, and conventions) below. The U.S. Treasury Confirms That We Can Remove "Illicit Activity" From The Bitcoin FUD Dice It's time to take "illicit activity" off the FUD dice. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury…bitcoinmagazine.com

The Cryptonative’s Guide to US Financial Regulators — If asked to describe who regulates cryptocurrency at the federal level, I suspect most cryptonatives would only be able to name the SEC and the CFTC, and maybe the Fed. In some ways, that’s no surprise because builders are focused on building, and crypto sometimes feels like a whole different…

A Web 2 asset provides a template for regulating Web 3 — For if the people are not equal, they will not have equal things. Rather, from this arises fights and accusations, either when people who are equal have or are distributed unequal things, or when people who are unequal have or are distributed equal things… Nicomachean Ethics, 1131a, trans. …

Reactions to the CBDC obsession — These are my independent thoughts and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer. Earlier today, the Federal Reserve Board released its much-anticipated discussion paper on central bank digital currency. To be frank, little was new: Chair Powell has already said that the Fed will not develop or deploy…

Go to Twitter for policy hopium. Come here for rehab. — Several prominent crypto firms recently released proposals for how the US government should regulate cryptocurrencies and other related products. [1] While the proposals created buzz on Twitter and traditional media, I think it’s unclear to most people — to put it generously — what the actual effect of such policy…

I love the United States of America. For all of its faults, it’s continuously beautiful and romantic and quirky and inspiring. But our capital is a nasty place. Federal politics and policymaking is even worse. I got into crypto because it seemed to combine a new financial system with a…