Snippings

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Stablecoins are having a moment [and] All of this attention has left large banks with a very bad case of FOMO. The fear may be justified.

From: From Bank Cards to Stablecoins: Let’s Learn from History, not Repeat It.

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One approach to this challenge is the development of privacy-protecting “personhood credentials” (PHCs). PHCs are envisioned as a means for users to voluntarily prove that they are real or unique non-AI individuals without revealing personal information. This is potentially a promising model for enhancing trust in digital interactions.

From: Lessons from National Digital ID Systems for Privacy, Security, and Trust in the AI Age | TechPolicy.Press.

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We have to fix this problem, and soon, because in the connected world, if you don’t know who IS_A_PERSON and who IS_A_DOG and who is neither, you cannot interact online in a functional way.

From: Identity at the sharp end – by David G.W. Birch.

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It would be on companies to find a way to convince customers to hold enough stablecoins to fund their purchases

From: Why retailers like Amazon and Walmart are looking into stablecoins.

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Cash transactions cost a retailer nothing.

From: Why retailers like Amazon and Walmart are looking into stablecoins.

This is simply not true of course.

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A new cryptocurrency token designed to allow cross-border payments in spite of western sanctions on Russia, launched by a fugitive Moldovan oligarch and a Russian defence sector bank, has moved some $9.3bn on a dedicated crypto exchange in just four months since it was launched, the FT has found.

Billed as the first stablecoin pegged to the Russian rouble, the A7A5 token was officially launched in Kyrgyzstan in February and aims to facilitate large-scale financial flows into and out of Russia, which have been severely complicated by western restrictions.

From: Crypto coin for Russian shadow payments moves $9bn.

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When I asked ChatGPT, “can a queen jump a knight?” it correctly told me no, with a perfect, detailed explanation… But in an actual game, ChatGPT will sometimes do exactly that, failing to integrate what it can parrot with what it actually does,

From: Generative AI’s crippling and widespread failure to induce robust models of the world.

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“The hype around the entertainment part has subsided,” said Andy Lee, partner at law firm Jones Walker who specializes in privacy, data strategy, artificial intelligence and the metaverse. Instead, Lee said there’s a “pragmatic recalibration” happening, where enterprise companies and even entire industries are starting to use immersive 3D worlds for uses like upskilling and scenario planning. Venture funds like Intel Capital and Venture Reality Fund are taking a close look at the metaverse for all its purposes.

From: The metaverse as we knew it failed, but it’s resurrecting in new ways.

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The BIS annual economic report (24th June 2025) says that “stablecoins often trade at varying exchange rates, undermining singleness. But what is this is a feature, not a bug, that shows us something important about the future of money.

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The Senate legislation contains a conflict-of-interest provision that would “prohibit any member of Congress or senior executive branch official from issuing a payment stablecoin product during their time in public service.” However, legal experts say this restriction, like other ethics laws, wouldn’t apply to the President or Vice-President, an exemption that is far from trivial.

From: Why Passing the Stablecoin GENIUS Act Might Not Be So Smart | The New Yorker.

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To be clear, I am not against stablecoins, but they do have to meet the test of singleness of money. I am not against Central Bank Retail Digital Currency, but I question why it is needed if innovation proceeds as I think it should.

That said, you may detect from what I have said that I do think commercial banks need to step up to the challenge of digital money provision.

From: Central Banking in extreme adversity – speech by Andrew Bailey | Bank of England.

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