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In the eyes of many in Beijing, including one prominent economist, “the reliance of RMB cross-border infrastructure on SWIFT still has profound implications on China’s monetary sovereignty.” Xi Jinping’s call for China to actively participate in the setting of international digital currency standards indicates Beijing’s desire to replace financial messaging standards and payments systems with ones less susceptible to U.S. policy pressures.

From What Will Be the Impact of China’s State-Sponsored Digital Currency? – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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While e-CNY hardware wallets will be offered by big tech companies, PBOC Deputy Governor Fan Yifei wrote in late 2020 that according to Chinese regulations, only commercial banks can facilitate the purchase of e-CNY. So it seems likely that commercial bank issuers of e-CNY will end up existing alongside—through a “2.5 tier” structure—custodians of e-CNY (entities that offer the ability to store e-CNY either through mobile apps or hardware wallets but which do not directly issue e-CNY).

From What Will Be the Impact of China’s State-Sponsored Digital Currency? – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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COVID-19 Update: Global Online Porn Market was Estimated to be US$ 35.17 Billion in 2019 and is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 15.12% Over the Forecast Period, Says Absolute Markets Insights

From COVID-19 Update: Global Online Porn Market was Estimated to be US$ 35.17 Billion in 2019 and is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 15.12% Over the Forecast Period, Says Absolute Markets Insights.

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“I transferred the money to Wells Fargo then I left, and I called the title company,” Henkel said. “They told me that they had not essentially asked for anything. They said, go back to the bank immediately.”

By then the family’s life savings — the $49,400 needed to close on the new house — was gone.

From FBI: Largest fraud in US cost Americans $1.8 billion in 2020.

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a repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal

From Russian court fines Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms | Reuters.

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The pilot program is open to a limited number of people in the US, Stephane Kasriel, head of Meta’s cryptocurrency and fintech unit, Novi tweeted.
Kasriel officially announced on Wednesday that Meta’s messenger subsidiary, WhatsApp, has started testing transactions through the wallet.
According to the executive, the new feature is available for a “limited number of people” in the US, allowing users to send and receive money on WhatsApp “instantly and with no fees.”

From Meta’s Novi payments now available through WhatsApp:

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The pilot program is open to a limited number of people in the US, Stephane Kasriel, head of Meta’s cryptocurrency and fintech unit, Novi tweeted.
Kasriel officially announced on Wednesday that Meta’s messenger subsidiary, WhatsApp, has started testing transactions through the wallet.
According to the executive, the new feature is available for a “limited number of people” in the US, allowing users to send and receive money on WhatsApp “instantly and with no fees.”

From Meta’s Novi payments now available through WhatsApp:

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In the note to employees, which was obtained by The New York Times, Andrew Bosworth, who will become Meta’s chief technology officer next year, laid out a vision for the social network to adopt and work with various blockchain or cryptocurrency technologies that have collectively become known as web3.

From Meta aims for ‘deep compatibility’ with blockchain, according to an internal post. – The New York Times.

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Data from 22 central banks and 130 denominations shows lifespan increased with central bank denomination value, most likely because these banknotes are used as a store of value rather

From Higher-denomination banknotes have longer lifespans – Central Banking.

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A number of digital rights organisations have called on the federal government to abandon its plan to require social media firms to verify the age of their users, saying this would undermine privacy and has “failed comprehensively” in other countries.

From Govt urged to drop online age verification push:

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Digital Rights Watch said the age verification proposal is “deeply concerning” and would be privacy-invasive, undermining the intent of the bill. Requiring users to verify their age would mean that these big tech companies collect, use and store even more personal data, the organisation said.

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The group’s speakers also predicted that age-based transactions that use mDL ID would go beyond alcohol. They predict self-drive rental cars being available without the need for staff to verify the renter’s driving license, for instance.

A spokesperson for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) told the event that its phased rollout using Apple Wallet would begin a pilot test at two airports from February. TSA intends to add two more states “around March 2022.”

From 30 states working on digital drivers licenses, TSA will allow them soon | AppleInsider:

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