Snippings

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In November 2023, the European Commission published a press release about the final agreement on the EDIW together with a Q&A. The press release states that “the Wallet will allow users to make payments” and that large-scale pilots “have started testing the EDIW in a range of everyday use-cases, including digital payments”. In the press release, no specific definition of the payments use case is given. In the Q&A, however, it is mentioned that users will be able to use the EDIW “to authorise online transactions, in particular where strong user authentication is required”. Additionally, “initiating a payment” is mentioned as one of the examples. This Q&A suggests that authorising payments would be in scope of the EDIW.

From: Demystifying the payment scope related to the European Digital Identity Wallet | INNOPAY.

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Greater reserve transparency can increase run risk when stablecoin holders believe the quality of reserves backing the stablecoin is low or when transaction costs of conversion to fiat are low. However, transparency can lower run risk when beliefs about the quality of reserves are strong or transaction costs are high. When reserve assets are highly volatile, as in the case of many crypto-backed stablecoins, par convertibility is resilient to small shocks but collapses under large negative shocks, even for high initial reserve values. Drawing on several case studies, we find empirical support for the testable implications of the model.

From: Public information and stablecoin runs.

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An Amazon spokesman said: ‘We have content guidelines governing which books may be listed for sale, including not allowing AI-generated content that creates a poor customer experience.’

From: Bogus AI books claim Kate Middleton took drugs and MI6 killed Princess Diana… after computer-generated books about King Charles’s cancer diagnosis were sold on Amazon | Daily Mail Online.

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After months of resisting, Air Canada was forced to give a partial refund to a grieving passenger who was misled by an airline chatbot inaccurately explaining the airline’s bereavement travel policy.

From: Air Canada must honor refund policy invented by airline’s chatbot | Ars Technica.

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Google rather brilliantly accepts takedown notices without checking if the person filing it exists.

From: The epidemic of fraudulent DMCA takedowns.

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Filing a bad faith takedown notice is a breach of the DMCA; in principle those affected could sue for damages (probably very small) plus attorney fees (potentially large). More seriously, attempting to gain a financial benefit through a fraudulent filing may amount to a criminal offence in the US (wire fraud) and the UK (false representation fraud and/or a breach of the Computer Misuse Act). In both cases, criminal liability could extend to the individual paying for the takedown service, if they were aware that the takedown would be fraudulent (and how could it not be?).

From: The epidemic of fraudulent DMCA takedowns.

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For the international role of the dollar, a widely accessible U.S. CBDC at the margin is likely to enhance the appeal of the dollar. A U.S. CBDC that could be held by foreign residents would offer a means of holding dollars without the challenges of holding physical banknotes such as potential loss or damage, or the risks of Eurodollar deposits, including possible local authorities’ interference and a lack of deposit insurance or emergency lending facilities for issuing banks. However, the distribution mechanism would matter. If CBDCs were only available through U.S. banks, then access to nonresidents could be limited by U.S. banking system access policies. Generally, the more broadly a well-designed U.S. CBDC would be made available, the more scope there would be for the dollar to gain favor as a transaction medium, unit of account, and store of value.

From: The Fed – Implications of a U.S. CBDC for International Payments and the Role of the Dollar.

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While an individual’s digital identity is comprised of several data points or signals, the phone number has globally cemented itself as the key personal identifier, especially with number portability enabling people to keep their phone number for life. One report shows that this year mobile phone numbers will become the primary source of identity for more than 3 billion people.

From: With Digital Identity and Fraud Set to Take Center Stage at Mobile World Congress 2024, The Mobile Phone Number is Having its Moment | Business Wire.

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According to a February 12 press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Reserve-CFPB OIG, the CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank has been formally charged formality charged with orchestrating a $47 million embezzlement scheme from the bank to purchase cryptocurrency for personal gain.

From: Heartland Tri-State Bank CEO Faces 30 Years for $47 Million Embezzlement via Crypto Purchases – Crypto Daily.

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The caller ID said it was Amazon.

From: How I Fell for an Amazon Scam Call and Handed Over $50,000.

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He told me to go to the FTC home page and look up the main phone number. “Now hang up the phone, and I will call you from that number right now.” I did as he said. The FTC number flashed on my screen, and I picked up.

From: How I Fell for an Amazon Scam Call and Handed Over $50,000.

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According to a February 12 press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Reserve-CFPB OIG, the CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank has been formally charged formality charged with orchestrating a $47 million embezzlement scheme from the bank to purchase cryptocurrency for personal gain.

From: Heartland Tri-State Bank CEO Faces 30 Years for $47 Million Embezzlement via Crypto Purchases – Crypto Daily.

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Though specifics have not been disclosed, investigators suspect the CEO’s actions were part of a ‘pig butchering’ scam – a scheme involving fake cryptocurrency investment opportunities where victims are referred to as ‘pigs’. The transactions to cryptocurrency exchanges increased over time during the period in question, suggesting involvement in such a scam.