Snippings

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On his daily newsletter a few days later, Naughton pointed towards an entertaining assessment of the DAO phenomenon by David Birch, who is something of an expert on digital identity and payments systems.

From 24 March 2022. Web3 | Heat (again) – Just Two Things:

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The Bank of Ghana (BOG) is to pilot a two-tier token-based retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) that can be used with either a digital wallet app managed by a financial institution or a physical hardware wallet such as a contactless smart card that can be used offline and by unbanked consumers.

From Bank of Ghana lays out core design principles for CBDC pilot • NFCW:

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Criminal use of privacy-enhancing technologies has not been lost on regulators. Regulators have generally been content to permit trading in transparent cryptoassets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum with few restrictions. But where privacy-enhancing technologies are involved, regulators expect firms to take account of the increased risk of illicit activity.

From Ensure Regulatory Compliance With Enhanced Privacy Tech:

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The “centralized anything is evil by default, use defi and self-custody” ethos did very well this week, but remember that it too has risks: bugs in smart contract code.

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Cryptocurrencies are dangerous “Ponzi schemes” that put billions of dollars at risk every year, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon declared in a scathing review of the volatile digital assets.

From JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon: Crypto is a ‘decentralized Ponzi scheme’ | Fortune:

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According to a report published by Europol, the use of cryptocurrency as part of criminal schemes is increasing and the uptake of this payment medium is increasing. However, the overall number and value of cryptocurrency transactions related to criminal activities represent a limited share of the criminal economy when compared to cash and other transactions.

From The European Union is considering banning privacy coins – ThePaypers:

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We believe a token on the blockchain should hold these two properties:
A token cannot be taken away from its owner.
The owner can transfer the token to anyone else, without requesting permission.

From Reputation vs Tokens. The topic of decentralized governance… | by Adam Levi | DAOstack | Medium:

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Small groups of wealthy participants (“whales”) are better at successfully executing decisions than large groups of small-holders. This is because of the tragedy of the commons among small-holders: each small-holder has only an insignificant influence on the outcome, and so they have little incentive to not be lazy and actually vote. Even if there are rewards for voting, there is little incentive to research and think carefully about what they are voting for.

From Moving beyond coin voting governance:

This isn’t actually what the “tragedy of the commons” is but the point is taken.

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Meta Platforms Inc. META -2.14%decrease; red down pointing triangle has fired or disciplined more than two dozen employees and contractors over the last year whom it accused of improperly taking over user accounts, in some cases allegedly for bribes, according to people familiar with the matter and documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Some of those fired were contractors who worked as security guards stationed at Meta facilities and were given access to the Facebook parent’s internal mechanism for employees to help users having trouble with their accounts, according to the documents and people familiar with the matter.

The mechanism, known internally as “Oops,” has existed since Facebook’s early years as a means for employees to help users they know who have forgotten their passwords or emails, or had their accounts taken over by hackers.

As part of the alleged abuse of the system, Meta says that in some cases workers accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from outside hackers to access user accounts, the people and documents say.

From Meta Employees, Security Guards Fired for Hijacking User Accounts – WSJ:

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The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBB) launched the Sand Dollar just over two years ago. Despite the archipelago nation’s small size – its total population is only about 400,000 – its status as a CBDC pioneer means its experience is being closely followed digital currency developers and policymakers worldwide.

In a speech via video-link to a conference in Brussels, the CBB’s governor John Rolle described four factors that the Bahamas’ experience suggests are particularly important – and that remain important to its own efforts to encourage CBDC adoption. Those factors are: building a network of merchants that accept and encourage CBDC use; achieving interoperability with the traditional banking system; enlisting participation from the traditional banking sector and credit unions; and the importance of “user education” and “inspiring user confidence”.

From Bahamas central bank shares CBDC lessons from Sand Dollar’s first two years:

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