Snippings

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney talks the metaverse, crypto, and antitrust
After all the hype about the metaverse, it was good to talk to someone who’s actually built one.

The field of zero knowledge proofs–the idea that you can verify that something happened without receiving any private details about it–that powers a number of the cryptocurrencies in protecting privacy while running a decentralized system, I think that’s going to be the backbone of a large part of the next century in technology.

From Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney talks the metaverse and crypto:

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Chinese regulators have held an emergency meeting with domestic and foreign banks to discuss how they could protect the country’s overseas assets from US-led sanctions similar to those imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussion.

From China meets banks to discuss protecting assets from US sanctions | Financial Times:

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Suitcases filled with cash from taxpayer-backed Covid loans were seized at the border as people tried to smuggle them out of the country, a Times investigation reveals today.

Border force officials have stopped people at airports across Britain “carrying large amounts of money suspected from coronavirus bounce-back loans”, a Home Office source said.

From Suitcases of Covid loan cash seized at UK’s borders | News | The Times:

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Over the past 10 years, swipe fees have more than doubled to $137.8 billion in 2021, according to the Nilson Report. The fees, which average 2.22% of transaction amounts for Visa and Mastercard credit cards, are most vendors’ highest operating cost after labor, according to the NRF.

The card companies say merchants get valuable services in exchange, including safer ways to transact compared to options like Zelle, and protection from online fraud, which has spiked.

From Visa, Mastercard are upping merchant fees — Quartz:

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Music fans, investors and collectors who purchase exclusive limited edition vinyl albums released by US company Vinylkey can authenticate their purchase, register proof of ownership and link to unique digital assets by tapping an NFC tag embedded in the physical album with their smartphone.

From US record label uses NFC to authenticate and link vinyl albums to digital NFT assets • NFCW:

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The startup, which has moved out of stealth mode, aims to give customers the ability to conduct low-value payments ($20 or less) by significantly reducing fees associated with such transactions.
Jeremy Light, former vice president of strategic accounts at Ripple, and Richard Bell, a former senior director at the payments network, founded pingNpay on the belief the network will be a good fit for Web 3.0 infrastructure and ecosystems.

From Former Ripple Execs to Launch Micropayments Platform to Tackle Transaction Fees.

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In my mind, when using a social network, the only opinion I ask the social network to render is whether particular content was published by a particular person. I have no interest in practically any other opinion the social network has about the world. The “blockchain” piece, if any, should be relegated to providing a register of usernames and associated public keys, and very little else.

From Legal Design Considerations for Decentralized Social Media Applications – Preston Byrne:

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The definition of “electronic money” under Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs) will be extended to include fiat-linked stablecoins. As a result, holders of such stablecoins will be given a statutory right to redeem their coins on demand and at par value — as is currently the case for holders of electronic money (e.g., prepaid card or electronic wallet account holders). However, the proposals recognize that the holder of a stablecoin may not always have a relationship with the issuer. The holder’s relationship may instead be with a third party such as an exchange or wallet provider.

Accordingly, the UK government considers that holders should generally be able to make a claim against either the issuer or the customer-facing entity as appropriate. The legal requirement to allow the redemption of stablecoin on demand and at par value will remain with the issuer, but the issuer may not always be required to fulfill such requests directly. However, the Consultation Response notes that a direct obligation on the issuer may be imposed where the stablecoin carries systemic risks and direct redemption is necessary to address financial stability risks (see further below).

From UK to Regulate Fiat-Linked Stablecoins – Lexology:

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The IMF has this one backwards. Crypto doesn’t fuel corruption. Rather, whatever underlying malaise is fueling corruption is probably also fueling crypto adoption.

From Don’t Blame Crypto for Corruption:

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The median user reports no ATM withdrawals, and no payments sent or received in bitcoin in a given month

From El Salvador’s Bitcoin bit struggles as Salvadorans ignore the Chivo wallet | Fortune:

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