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Illicit addresses account for 23% of funds sent to mixers so far in 2022, up from 12% in 2021.

From Mixer Usage Reaches All-time Highs in 2022 – Chainalysis:

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As J.P. Koening points out, if you are a fan of anonymity and have perfectly good legitimate reasons for keep your transactions away from the prying eyes of your spouse, co-workers, mom or tax authorities then sending your crypostash through a mixer virtually guarantees that your perfectly legitimate pile of coins will be commingled with the proceeds of crime.

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However, in the United States, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has clarified that mixers are money transmitters under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and therefore have an obligation to register with FinCEN; to develop, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering compliance program; and to meet all applicable reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Given that increased privacy is the whole point of using a mixer, it seems unlikely that one could implement those compliance procedures and still retain its user base.

From Mixer Usage Reaches All-time Highs in 2022 – Chainalysis:

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But the online consignment store for used luxury goods—from rare $57,000 Hermès crocodile handbags to $40 T-shirts—has been losing more and more money, in part because of its labor-intensive process for authenticating items and its opening of a string of posh bricks-and-mortar retail stores.

From Inside The RealReal, Cost-Cutting Was a Tough Sell Even as Losses Mounted — The Information:

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“Regulatory arbitrage” is in fact one of the more significant potential benefits of crypto, noting that not everyone in the crypto space wants to come out and say that.

From Marginal REVOLUTION – Small Steps Toward A Much Better World:

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The stentrode reads the signals when neurons fire in the brain, and the computing device amplifies those signals and sends them out to a computer or smartphone via Bluetooth.

From Brain Computer Interface Company Implants New Type of Device – Bloomberg:

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Google has announced it is deploying its new and improved Google Wallet in 39 separate markets. Now, the new digital wallet is making its way to Android and Wear OS devices with the new update replacing the existing Google Pay app where applicable. Google Wallet has evolved and is now tasked with holding other valuable information such as IDs, loyalty cards, boarding passes, transit cards, hotel keys, and more.

From Google Wallet launches in 39 countries:

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As a consequence of the ubiquitous use of number 8 wire in New Zealand, remote farms often had rolls of number 8 wire on hand, and the wire would often be used inventively and practically to solve mechanical or structural problems other than fencing.[5] Accordingly, the term “number 8 wire” came to represent the ingenuity and resourcefulness of New Zealanders,[6][7] and the phrase “a number 8 wire mentality” evolved to denote an ability to create or repair machinery using whatever scrap materials are available on hand.[8] New Zealand hardware and DIY store franchise Mitre 10 have adopted “Number 8” as their in house brand for generic hardware supplies and tools.[9]

From Number 8 wire – Wikipedia:

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Zimbabwe has launched new gold coins to be sold to the public in a bid to tackle chronic hyperinflation.

The gold coins – called Mosi-oa-Tunya – will have “liquid asset status”, meaning they can be converted to cash, traded locally and internationally, and used for transactions, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said.

People can only trade the coins for cash after holding them for at least 180 days.

From Zimbabwe launches gold coins as legal tender to tackle hyperinflation | Business News | Sky News:

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They Thought ‘Crypto Banks’ Were Safe, and Then Came the Crash
Crypto firms such as Celsius and Voyager pitched themselves as good alternatives to traditional lenders

From They Thought ‘Crypto Banks’ Were Safe, and Then Came the Crash – WSJ:

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TikTok will surpass Meta Platforms’ Facebook when it comes to the amount of money advertisers spend on influencer marketing in the U.S. by the end of this year and will beat out YouTube by 2024

From Where are influencer marketing dollars going? — The Information Forum:

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