A Secret Meeting in Suite 412: Inside the European Parliament Corruption Scandal – DER SPIEGEL

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According to the results of the investigation thus far, Panzeri’s group was shockingly amateurish: They apparently received payment in cash, which they then stashed in private apartments; they held a conspiratorial meeting in a hotel that was full of surveillance cameras; and they made hundreds of telephone calls using unencrypted connections.

From A Secret Meeting in Suite 412: Inside the European Parliament Corruption Scandal – DER SPIEGEL:

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Russia and Iran explore launch of joint cryptocurrency backed by gold

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In light of the advancements in digital assets and the pressures exerted on states, Russia and Iran are now exploring the development of a joint stablecoin that would be backed by gold.

The executive director of the Russian Association of the crypto industry and blockchain, Alexander Brazhnikov, revealed that the Central Bank of Iran is considering the creation of a stablecoin with the Russian Federation as a means of payment in transactions involving international trade, according to the local Russian news outlet Vedomosti.

Brazhnikov said that the coin’s value would be tied to gold (i.e., a stablecoin). Astrakhan is a free-trade zone where Russia has started accepting Iranian merchandise; therefore, the coin would be usable there.

From Russia and Iran explore launch of joint cryptocurrency backed by gold.

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Eurogroup statement on the digital euro project, 16 January 2023 – Consilium

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To succeed, the digital euro should ensure and maintain users’ trust, for which privacy is a key dimension and a fundamental right. At the same time, the Eurogroup also considered that the design of a digital euro should comply with other policy objectives such as preventing money laundering, illicit financing, tax evasion, and ensuring sanctions compliance.

From Eurogroup statement on the digital euro project, 16 January 2023 – Consilium.

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Tech Trends

The accounts Deloitte, in their report on “Tech Trends 2023”, talk about the “immersive internet for the enterprise” and an end to “an ever-shrinking series of rectangular screes” rather than the metaverse, but the point is well made: we are shifting from virtual worlds for the entertainment of individuals to enterprise tools for communication, interaction and (of course, hence my interest) transactions. They also talk about web3 as means to deliver trust in “a more decentralized internet”.

Bringing these points together suggests to me that a good way to think about the metaverse is as a more secure, immersive internet.

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