Podcasts about stablecoins

Conor Ryder is CFA, Head of Research & Data at Ethena, the crypto infrastructure company building USDe, the first-ever global internet bond and stablecoin not reliant on existing banking institutions. Prior to joining Ethena, Conor built his career in the traditional finance industry and pivoted into the crypto sector in 2022 as a research analyst at Kaiko, a leading crypto data provider. Conor is CFA-certified and a seasoned expert in crypto markets and industry events, and his industry insights have been featured in CNBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters, CoinDesk, and more.In this conversation, we discuss:- Solving the stablecoin trilemma- How stablecoins or synthetic dollars can help maintain US dollar dominance- Lack of yield incentive is holding back stablecoin adoption- Difference between 'stablecoins' and 'synthetic dollars'- Stability and decentralization- Current crypto market trends- Stablecoin use cases/adoption around the world- Internet bonds- The importance of liquidity in crypto markets- USDeEthenaWebsite: www.ethena.fiX: @ethena_labsDiscord: discord.gg/ethenaConnor RyderX: @ConorRyderLinkedIn: Connor Ryder, CFA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is brought to you by PrimeXBT.  PrimeXBT offers a robust trading system for both beginners and professional traders that demand highly reliable market data and performance. Traders of all experience levels can easily design and customize layouts and widgets to best fit their trading style. PrimeXBT is always offering innovative products and professional trading conditions to all customers.  PrimeXBT is running an exclusive promotion for listeners of the podcast. After making your first deposit, 50% of that first deposit will be credited to your account as a bonus that can be used as additional collateral to open positions.  Code: CRYPTONEWS50  This promotion is available for a month after activation. Click the link below:  PrimeXBT x CRYPTONEWS50 

Vivek Ramaswamy is a Republican candidate for President in 2024. In this episode we sit down to dig into his crypto policy proposals:  Vivek's keynote in Ft Worth Vivek's crypto platform and how that derives from his convictions Vivek's view on Bitcoin mining Is Choke Point 2.0 real? Is banking a utility? ‘Choke Point 6.0' and how it goes beyond just crypto and banking Does the suppression of speech have a technological solution? Can public blockchains actually be supportive of the US Dollar? Further resources: Vivek2024.com Vivek's Speech in Ft. Worth: “Three Freedoms of Crypto Policy”

Matt and Nic return for a Thanksgiving episode. In this edition:  Fidelity files for an ETH spot ETF The SEC sues Kraken Javier Milei wins – and prospects for dollarization Stablecoins versus dollar liabilities in emerging markets Prediction markets do well in the Argentine election We digest the OpenAI scandal and reflect on corporate governance Do we need a new McCarthyism directed at effective altruists? CZ settles with the DoJ and the CFTC over BSA and OFAC violations Binance appears to be solvent thanks to their Proof of Reserve Where the Binance settlement leaves the industry Tether supply hits $88b Bhutan is mining bitcoin Sponsor notes: Coin Metrics STATE OF THE NETWORK— Checking On-Chain Indicators for Green Shoots in the Digital Assets Market In Coin Metrics State of the Network Issue 234 we present a selection of indicators that offer us insights against the backdrop of a recent surge in valuations within the digital assets ecosystem.

In this episode we talk about Glo Dollar, a revolutionary stable coin project that turns profits into a force for good, fighting global poverty with every holder's contribution.

We explore Parth's remarkable transition from dental entrepreneurship to the high-stakes world of decentralized finance. As the founder of Root Labs and a significant contributor to the Beanstalk protocol, Parth provides invaluable insights into the challenges and rewards of navigating the crypto realm. We delve into the evolution of Root Labs, its critical role in the recapitalization after Beanstalk's significant exploit, and the vision Parth holds for the future. Whether you're a crypto enthusiast or simply intrigued by unconventional career paths, Parth's story is sure to inspire.

Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska joins me to discuss:- Holding the SEC & Gary Gensler accountable - Crypto regulations bills in the House- Stablecoin regulation- Wall Street entering the crypto market - CBDCs and our rights

The surge in gas fees on Ethereum's Layer-2 solution, Polygon, proved to be a significant event, experiencing an extraordinary increase of over 1,000% and reaching a peak of 10 cents. This surge was primarily attributed to heightened transaction activity related to the minting of tokens known as POLS, inspired by the Ordinals protocol. Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal expressed his surprise at the heightened network activity.~This episode is sponsored by iTrust Capital~iTrustCapital | Get $100 Funding Reward + No Monthly Fees when you sign up using our custom link! ➜ https://bit.ly/iTrustPaul00:00 intro00:16 Sponsor: iTrust Capital00:59 Polygon Activity Explodes02:27 ESPN BET & Draft Kings Launch03:11 OKX Launches on Polygon03:43 Coinbase Commerce03:59 Amazon Grab Wallet05:19 Stablecoin Yields in App06:36 ChainGPT on Polygon07:49 Polygon Revenue Skyrockets08:43 TVL on zkEVM09:27 Tokenized Treasuries10:20 $POL Launch Soon11:05 Polygon & Avalanche Gaming11:30 outro#Polygon #Ethereum #Crypto~Polygon Transactions Skyrocket To Record High!

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Stablecoins zählen zu den besten Business-Modellen der Web3-Welt. Allerdings konnten Außenstehende lange Zeit nur dabei zusehen, wie die Firmen dahinter Kohle ohne Ende scheffeln. Doch damit könnte bald Schluss sein. Denn glaubt man der Gerüchteküche, plant Circle, die Firma hinter USDC, im kommenden Jahr an die Börse zu gehen. Was da dran ist und wie lukrativ die ganze Nummer werden könnte, besprechen Julius Nagel und Florian Adomeit in dieser Folge von Alles Coin, Nichts Muss. Außerdem geht's um die Krypto-Ambitionen der Commerzbank, die Trennung von FTX und Solana, einen unerwarteten Geldregen bei Celestia und wie Sling Money das internationale Payment-Game revolutioniert. Und als wäre das nicht schon genug, gibt's auch noch einen Deep Dive zu Chainlink, die das traditionelle Bankwesen auf den Kopf stellen und dabei Hilfe von überraschender Seite bekommen: Dem traditionellen Bankwesen.

We delve into the complexities of stable coins, distinguishing between convertible ones like USDC, which are backed by tangible assets, and non-convertible types that rely on on-chain values. Highlighting the importance of stable coins in on-chain commerce and the evolving crypto landscape, we also talk about the challenges faced by algorithm-based coins, using the Luna peg crash as a case study. 

 In this episode of Web3 Innovators Perspectives, we dive deep into the core value of 'Being Useful,' inspired by the life mantra of the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger. Join us as we uncover the profound connection between Arnold's wisdom and the fundamental principles of Web3, exploring how this mindset shapes the decentralized future.Episode Highlights: Introducing Arnold Schwarzenegger's mantra: "Be Useful" and its relevance to the Web3 community. The importance of being useful in the context of decentralized protocols and projects. Addressing misconceptions and challenges faced by blockchain due to bad actors and scams. Stablecoin issuance and its global financial accessibility. Decentralized lending protocols and exchanges fostering global financial inclusion.NFTs revolutionizing the relationship between artists, brands, and fans.Exploring practical ways individuals can contribute to the Web3 ecosystem. Discussing strategies to engage new users in blockchain networks Spotlighting Web3 Labs' commitment to building useful infrastructure.Stay tuned for more inspiring discussions and insights into the future of Web3. Remember, being useful is not just a mantra; it's a guiding principle for shaping a better, decentralized world.Connect with Us Join the Web3 Innovators community and engage with like-minded individuals passionate about the potential of blockchain technology.Contact Web3 Labs:Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | Discord | Tiktok • Explore Web3 Labs: Web3 Labs specialise in web3 solutions for enterprise. • Email Web3 Labs • Get Conor's latest thoughts on Web3 and where we're headed.

As tokenized U.S. treasuries continue to skyrocket, a groundbreaking entrant has emerged — Midas. Midas is a stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries and is planning to unleash its stUSD token on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms like MakerDAO, Uniswap and Aave in the coming weeks. The Midas stablecoin project intends to buy Treasuries via asset manager BlackRock and use Circle Internet Financial's USDC stablecoin as an on-ramp. ~This episode is sponsored by iTrust Capital~iTrustCapital | Get $100 Funding Reward + No Monthly Fees when you sign up using our custom link! ➜ https://bit.ly/iTrustPaul00:00 Intro00:24 Sponsor: iTrust Capital00:56 This week in Congress01:54 JP Morgan doubts about BTC ETF effects on BTC03:27 Tokenized Treasuries04:14 Midas05:37 Uniswap opportunity06:17 USDC & USDT06:48 Tether issues $4B in USDT Tokens07:03 Circle considers going public07:36 Uniswap chart08:02 Outro#stablecoin #bitcoin #ethereum~Massive Stablecoin Catalyst!

Raft suffers a $3.3 million exploit. Obol Network will launch to mainnet open beta on December 1st. Aragon introduces a plugin for multichain governance. And an EtherRock NFT sells for 100 ETH.

In dieser Folge geht es weiter mit einer neuen Ausgabe der Rubrik “To Infinity and Beyond”. Daniel Höpfner und Jan Thomas sprechen heute über die Neuigkeiten der letzten Woche in der Blockchain, Web 3.0, Krypto und NFT-Welt:Market:Coinbase's Q3-Umsatz übertrifft  Erwartungen, aber Aktie fälltStablecoin-Issuer Circle Internet erwägt Börsengang 2024Robinhood will trotz Verlusten im Q3 nach Europa expandierenEther übersteigt zum ersten Mal seit Juli die Marke von 2.000 US-Dollar - BlackRock registriert iShares Ethereum Trust in DelawareVenture Funds:Standard Chartered Unit und SBI Holdings investieren gemeinsam 100 Millionen US-Dollar in Krypto-StartupsFaction lanciert 285 Millionen US-Dollar Frühphasen-KryptofondsStartups:Euro-Stablecoin-Startup erhält 3,3 Millionen Euro Seed-RundeVon Temasek unterstützte Menyala führt  4-Millionen-US-Dollar-Startkapital Runde für  Authentifizierungsunternehmen NFT durchNFT / Gossip:Assassin's Creed-Macher Ubisoft baut mit Immutable ein Krypto-Spielerlebnis" aufDeutsche Post bringt erste Krypto-Briefmarke heraus The Sandbox hofft, die LAND-Verkäufe mit "Black Mirror" und "Walking Dead" ankurbeln zu könnenMicroStrategy mit 1,2 Milliarden US-Dollar im Plus, während der Bitcoin sich erholt

This is our Friday show, and we're talking about the week's biggest startup and tech news. This time 'round we had Kirsten Korosec, Mary Ann Azevedo, and Alex Wilhelm on the job to chat through a massive pile of news:For everyone who listened to our fintech deep-dive, here are Affirm's results.Deals of the Week: $105 million for May Mobility, $3.6 million for Mogul Club, and Microsoft's latest startup wooing trend.WeWork is bankrupt, and we are Not Shocked.All things from OpenAI's developer day, and how its latest news is a good example of platform risk.It's raining IPOs! Here, there, everywhere!And with that, we're going to go rest for the weekend and come back Monday at full steam!For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity's Simplecast website.Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more!

Lex chats with Guy Young - the CEO and Founder of Ethena Labs, the crypto infrastructure company building USDe which is the first-ever scalable stablecoin not reliant on existing banking institutions alongside a permissionless 'internet bond'. They discuss Ethena, a new protocol for the synthetic dollar, and the market dynamics around Ethereum and the concept of the internet bond. Young explains his background in distressed investing and the risks and mistakes commonly seen in financial services. They also delve into the mechanics of the perpetuals market and the funding rates, as well as the scalability and risks associated with Ethena. Young highlights the potential for the synthetic dollar to replace bonds in traditional bank accounts and the value of a crypto-native solution with different risk profiles. MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION Ethena's Website: https://bit.ly/3MDR1TdGuy's LinkedIn profile: https://bit.ly/46gDDM4 Topics: crypto, blockchain, defi, ethereum, perpetual swaps, stablecoin, synthetic dollar, steth, usde Companies: Ethena Labs, Ethena, Cerberus, BitGet, Binance, ByBit ABOUT THE FINTECH BLUEPRINT 

Do stablecoins live up to their name and can they serve as a reliable means of payment and store of value? Senior Economist Anneke Kosse discusses these questions based on the BIS paper “Will the real stablecoin please stand up?” She also highlights how significant data gaps regarding the users and uses of stablecoins make it difficult to ascertain the risks they pose to the smooth functioning of payment systems and financial stability.

It fixes many of the problems in the existing financial system such as high costs and speed of transaction. Simon Dingle, founder of the ZARP rand-backed stablecoin, explains why stablecoins are the real killer use case for crypto, and why Old Mutual is backing it. Moneyweb Crypto news articles

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Cathie Wood previously chose Bitcoin as her top asset for the next decade, calling it "digital gold." She appreciates Bitcoin because it's free from institutional control. However, during her recent podcast she begins to question the validity of claims of the Bitcoin Lightning Network and its capabilities of scaling Bitcoin transactions. ~This episode is sponsored by iTrust Capital~iTrustCapital | Get $100 Funding Reward + No Monthly Fees when you sign up using our custom link! ➜ https://bit.ly/iTrustPaul00:00 Intro00:16 Sponsor: iTrust Capital00:55 Crypto Inflows02:35 ETH Breakout?03:15 Hong Kong Lauches BTC & Crypto ETF04:29 ETH FUD Article05:23 Cathie Wood talks Stablecoins on Lightning Network06:51 Cathie Wood talks about Lightning Network adoption08:48 Brian Armstrong: On-chain is the New Online10:15 SEC Struggle to hire crypto experts11:11 Cathie Wood talks about developers13:41 Cathie talks ETH & SOL14:40 Chris Burniske: Repeat of 2019 Bullrun16:11 Bitcoin Maxis17:17 Arthur Hayes: Institutional Bitcoin Control19:22 Outro#bitcoin #ethereum #Crypto~Cathie Wood Questions Bitcoin

Austin Campbell is the founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting. In this interview we discuss:- Austin's background & testimony before Congress - Austin's time at JPMorgan and their adoption of Blockchain - The future of Stablecoins and how they will coexist with CBDCs - SEC's losing to Crypto & restructuring the agency - #SEC PayPal Subpoena - Will Coinbase beat the SEC?- Crypto regulation bills and when they may be signed into law - BlackRock and Wall Street's race for a Bitcoin Spot ETF https://www.zeroknowledge.consulting/

Speaking at the recently finished Cardano Summit 2023 in Dubai, Hoskinson provided a fascinating overview of the history of Cardano and a forward-looking look at the novel technologies and community governance that will be a part of the Cardano ecosystem.00:00 intro00:25 Cardano in Dubai00:58 $ADA Explodes01:14 Last 7 Years02:08 Hydra a Failure?04:48 Cardano Governance05:52 Cardano Lacks Collabs06:37 Cardano Community is Fed Up07:51 Interoperability Update09:32 Cheap Whiteboard09:49 Midnight Reveal11:25 Stablecoin Coming12:26 Wyoming Stablecoin12:56 Dubai Citizen Tracker14:19 Cardano Ecosystem Updates16:56 Nothing Memorable17:21 Charles Fired From Ethereum18:11 Steve Jobs on Cardano19:17 Crypto A Players19:55 outro#Cardano #crypto #ethereum ~Cardano Summit Was Embarrassing

✨About Shade Protocol ✨Shade protocol operates a DEX, ShadeSwap, on Secret Network. One of its killer features is asymmetric liquidity. Its multi-collateral backed reflexive stablecoin, SILK, is pegged to a basket of global currencies and commodities. You'll learn about how Shade utilizes Secret Network's secure enclaves to shield transactions and possibly even mitigate MEV, an existential threat to DEX UX.

In crypto news today I billion USDT has been minted in the Tether treasury, will this be moved to the crypto market soon? Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and SEC Gary Gensler at DC Fintech.

In dieser Episode spricht Philipp Sandner mit Thomas Pecha, Sales Director bei Metaco. Thomas erzählt von seiner Arbeit bei Metaco und seine Einblicke in die aktuellen Entwicklungen im Blockchain-Ökosystem. Wie steht es aktuell um den Eintritt von Institutionellen in den Markt? Und in welchen Ländern können die größten Entwicklungen erwartet werden? Thomas gibt seine Einschätzung dazu, welche Assets im nächsten Jahr relevant sein werden - Kryptowährungen oder tokenisierte Werte? Philipp und Thomas unterhalten sich auch über den aktuellen Stand der Regulatorik im institutionellen Blockchain-Bereich und die Rolle der Regulatorik für zukünftige Trends im Markt. Final diskutieren Thomas und Philipp über Sinnhaftigkeit und Anwendungsfälle von Stablecoins.

Online payment system company PayPal announced plans to bolster its market value by $4 billion, seeking to streamline operations to appease investors. However, investor optimism was tempered by disclosing a subpoena from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD.~This episode is sponsored by Tangem~Tangem ➜ https://bit.ly/TangemPBNUse Code: "PBN" for Additional Discounts!00:00 Intro00:21 Sponsor: Tangem Wallet01:19 FOMC Recap05:22 SEC Subpoena's PayPal08:27 SEC in trouble10:47 SEC goes after Safemoon12: 09 Microstrategy advantage over ETF13:53 PayPal Marketcap14:47 outro#Crypto #Ethereum #Bitcoin~Gensler Targets PayPal Stablecoin

In crypto news today the SEC served PayPal a subpoena over its new stablecoin. Swiss bank launches bitcoin and ether custody and trading services.

In crypto news today Senator Lummis and Congressman French Hill call for DOJ investigation into Binance and Tether USDT over illicit activities. SBF takes the stand to testify and it goes bad.

Follow 1000x On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/45htDli Follow 1000x On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3Kz0Bpw Follow 1000x On YouTube: https://bit.ly/3DNc5C6 -- In today's episode of 1000x Jonah and Avi welcome Anatoly Yakovenko to the show for a discussion on Solana's end game. After a tweet from Jonah questioning the future of Solana, we thought why not invite Anatoly himself to the show to explain Solana's ultimate vision. We deep dive into finding crypto's perfect use case, disrupting legacy financial rails, the challenges of building through a bear market & crypto's killer use case. To hear all this & more, you'll have to tune in! -- Follow Anatoly: https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyz Follow 1000x: https://twitter.com/1000xPod Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (3:23) Solana's Ultimate Vision (7:57) Value Within A PoS Chain (10:25) Running A Solana Validator (13:03) Firedancer: Boosting Solana's Scalability (17:21) TVL & Volume On Solana (21:56) Crypto's Perfect Use Case (25:10) Stablecoins (31:05) The Future Of Solana (38:01) The Waves Of Adoption In Crypto (43:54) Building Community In Solana (48:06) Solana's Perfect Product Market Fit (54:47) What Solana Has Learnt From Ethereum -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on 1000x is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Avi, Jonah and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:What is the Taproot Asset Protocol (TAP)?How can the TAP be used with Bitcoin?What impact will sending Dollars over the Bitcoin Network have for people needing fiat stable coins?What does the competition look like for fees and settlement speeds on this network relative to other protocols?What does it take to run this software on a Bitcoin full node?What are Ryan's thoughts about altcoins potentially being used on Bitcoin?What are Ryan's thoughts on securities being tokenized on the TAP?How could stock certificates be managed on TAP?What are some of his concerns and highlights with the TAP use?BOOKS AND RESOURCESThe Coinshares Article explain the Taproot Asset Protocol.The Congo Mining Article.The River Lighting Report.The River review of the Taproot Asset Protocol.Ryan Gentry's Twitter.NEW TO THE SHOW?Check out our We Study Billionaires Starter Packs.Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool.Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services.Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets.Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts.Help us understand our audience better so we can create a more intentional user experience by answering this survey!SPONSORSInvest in Bitcoin with confidence. Get $5 in Bitcoin when you invest $100 with River.Start, run, and grow your business without the struggle. Be in control of every sales channel with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period today.Invest in some of the top private, pre-IPO companies in the world with Fundrise.Learn how Principal Financial can help you find the right benefits and retirement plan for your team today.Experience real language learning for real conversations with Babbel. Get 55% off your Babbel subscription today.Beat FOMO and move faster than the market with AlphaSense.Choose Toyota for your next vehicle - SUVs that are known for their reliability and longevity, making them a great investment. Plus, Toyotas now have more advanced technology than ever before, maximizing that investment with a comfortable and connected drive.Get the benefits of portfolio diversification AND optimize your retirement strategy by minimizing your tax burden with funds from tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Start investing in alts with Alto today.Be confident that you'll be small businessing at your best with support designed to help you reach your goals. Book an appointment with a TD Small Business Specialist today.Earn more where your business spends the most with American Express Business Gold Card! Enjoy 4x Membership Rewards points, Up to $395 in annual statement credits on eligible business purchases, flexible spending capacity, and access to 24/7 support!Reach the world's largest audience with Linkedin, the place to B2B. Plus, enjoy a $100 credit on your next ad campaign!Get a customized solution for all of your KPIs in one efficient system with one source of truth. Download NetSuite's popular KPI Checklist, designed to give you consistently excellent performance for free.Feed your body the nutrients it craves with Ka'Chava, an all-in-one, plant-based superblend made up of superfoods, greens, plant proteins, antioxidants, adaptogens, and probiotics! Get 10% off on your first order today!Send, spend, and receive money around the world easily with Wise.Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reed Smith's Hagen Rooke (Singapore) and Soham Panchamiya (Dubai) are joined by Samson Leo, co-founder and Chief Legal Officer of Fazz, to discuss stablecoin regulation in various jurisdictions, including Singapore and the UAE. How will these regulations affect stablecoin issuers and projects? What do they signal about the state of play for stablecoins in the future? Also, there is general debate around the regulatory framework affecting crypto in this increasingly maturing landscape.

Join Alex Tapscott as he decodes the world of DeFi and Web3 with special guest Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Listen in as they discuss the Human Rights Foundation's purpose, the initial bridging of the HRF and Bitcoin in 2017, the number of charitable organizations leveraging it, reasoning for the lopsided mainstream media narrative surrounding Bitcoin, similarities and differences between Bitcoin and stablecoins, Bitcoin's future mass adoption, Alex's 2021 Time Magazine op-ed, resources to learn more about Alex and the HRF, and more!

Stablecoins are enabling stability & financial inclusion#stablecoins #fintech #payments #tokenization #financialincusionDescription: A great panel discussion on the current use cases for stablecoins, from the recent CV Summit in Zug. You will hear from Maike Hornung, Head of Crypto VISA in Europe,  Patrick Hansen, Director EU Strategy & Policy at Circle, Jan-Oliver Sell MD at Coinbase Germany, and Dr. Mattia L. Rattaggi, Senior Advisor at Edelcoin.  Dr. Efi Pylarinou is the No.1 Global Woman Influencer in Finance & the Data conversation by Refinitiv, a Top Thought Leader by Onalytica, and a Top Digital Futurist, Linkedin and Twitter Voice, by Engatica. A seasoned Wall Street professional & a recognized technology thought leader on innovation topics. Founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory servicing Big Tech, Financial Services and Fintech clients. She strongly believes in building bridges between the old and the new economy. She shares her passion of content creation with her 190,000+ followers on Linkedin and 18,000+ on Twitter.  Join her on the social platforms https://linktr.ee/Efiglobal

In this episode, Austin is joined by Amira Valliani (Solana Foundation) to chat with Dante Disparte (Circle) about stablecoin adoption, regulation, and more. Dante envisions a promising future for stablecoins as he explores fundamental questions about their ultimate objectives and distinct applications in the world of payments.  DISCLAIMERThe content herein is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, options, futures, or other derivatives related to securities in any jurisdiction, nor should not be relied upon as advice to buy, sell or hold any of the foregoing. This content is intended to be general in nature and is not specific to you, the user or anyone else. You should not make any decision, financial, investment, trading or otherwise, based on any of the information presented without undertaking independent due diligence and consultation with a professional advisor.  Solana Foundation Foundation and its agents, advisors, council members, officers and employees (the “Foundation Parties”) make no representation or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information herein and expressly disclaims any and all liability that may be based on such information or any errors or omissions therein. The Foundation Parties shall have no liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to any person arising from or related to the content or any use of the information contained herein by you or any of your representatives. All opinions expressed herein are the speakers' own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of any entities.  

The House Financial Services Committee has been investigating the possibility of the Federal Reserve creating a Central Bank Digital Currency. In this episode, hear experts unpack the nuances and implications of this idea during three hearings, and discover how you can play a part in shaping the future of American currency. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes Operation Choke Point Frank Keating. November 7, 2018. The Hill. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Staff. May 29, 2014. U.S. House of Representatives. Digital Asset Glass-Steagall James Rickards. August 27, 2012. U.S. News & World Report. Audio Sources September 14, 2023 Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Witnesses: Yuval Rooz, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Digital Asset Paige Paridon, Senior Vice President and Senior Associate General Counsel, Bank Policy Institute Christina Parajon Skinner, Assistant Professor, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Dr. Norbert Michel, Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute Raúl Carrillo, Academic Fellow, Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School Clips 27:35 Rep. French Hill (R-AK): Look, the Constitution is clear. Only Congress has the authority to coin money and regulate the value of such money. And we've heard the same from Fed officials, right before this committee, and most recently from Vice Chair for Supervision, Michael Barr, who last week told an audience in Philadelphia and I quote, "The Federal Reserve would only proceed with the issuance of a CBDC with clear support from the executive branch and authorizing legislation from Congress." The Biden Department of Justice agrees, saying, quote, "there would be substantial legal risks to issuing a CBDC without such legislation." 32:05 Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA): CBDC is just one type of publicly issued digital dollar and would be issued, backed, and regulated by the Federal Reserve and have the full faith and backing of the US government. This could serve as an alternative to existing forms of payments and have a benefit, including instant payment settlement, provide a medium for cross border transactions, and foster greater financial inclusion. More than 130 countries have begun to explore their own government backed digital currencies. China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and India have already commenced pilot programs, and a digital Euro pilot could be launched as early as 2028. Meanwhile, the US remains far behind amid increasing and blatant information about features of digital currency. While concerns about data privacy and government surveillance are real, especially in countries that do not respect human rights and privacy, a CBDC does not have to be designed that way. We could employ an architecture that would protect personal data while including anti-money laundering and terrorist financing features. 33:15 Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA): It is counterintuitive that my colleagues should be raising concerns about data privacy while thousands of private companies, domestic and foreign, are surveilling, aggregating, and selling consumer data each and every day. 33:45 Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA): I'm announcing and inviting my colleagues to join the Congressional Digital Dollar Caucus. This forum will educate members on critical issues relating to the development, design, and potential implementation of a government issued digital dollar. I plan to invite innovators, technologists, academics, and other experts to share their findings and development. I hope my colleagues will join me in this exploration. 34:15 Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA): The use of anonymous cash has plummeted and more of our transactions are occurring online and under surveillance, tracked and aggregated by financial services companies. Indeed China has turned that fact into a tool of full spectrum surveillance of its citizens. This is why I've introduced the Ecash Act. This bill directs the Treasury to design and pilot a digital version of cash and would complement the Fed-issued CBDC. It would allow individuals to make instant peer to peer payments with no consumer data or transaction tracking and without the use of a bank account. 36:10 Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN): The need to protect Americans' right to financial product privacy is at an all time high. That's why I introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act with over 50 of my colleagues. This bill prevents unelected bureaucrats from creating a tool for financial surveillance if not open, permissionless, and private, like cash, a CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that will oppress the American way of life and we're not going to allow that to happen. 38:20 Dr. Norbert Michel: In my testimony, I argue that the United States should not launch a Central Bank Digital Currency, a CBDC. Advocates for a CBDC tout many potential benefits, but there's nothing unique about the technology that would provide those supposed benefits. 39:00 Dr. Norbert Michel: A CBDC in any form would be a direct liability of the central government, a digital tether to its citizens such that it would radically alter the existing public-private relationship that already exists in our monetary arrangement. 39:25 Dr. Norbert Michel: First, issuing a CBDC would not help preserve the status of the United States dollar, it would likely damage it. Proponents argue that because China has launched a CBDC, the United States must keep up by launching its own. Others make the narrower claim that the US must launch a CBDC to keep up with broader technological changes in the payment sector. But anyone who chooses to do so can transact digitally in U.S. dollars right now. The CBDC does not take us from a world with zero or a few digital transactions to one filled with digital transactions. Moreover, the dollar's renowned status is owed to the strength of the American economy and its legal protections for private citizens relative to many other countries. Unlike in many other places, Americans do not have to live in constant fear that the government will take their money. However, if the US creates a CBDC, anyone who wants to use the dollar would lose a layer of protection from that type of government abuse. 40:30 Dr. Norbert Michel: The second myth is that a CBDC would expand financial inclusion by providing a new source of financial services for America's unbanked and underbanked populations. Again, though, this is not a technological problem. In other words, the CBDC itself does not accomplish this goal. The private sector already enables us to transact digitally, and it has been steadily shrinking the number of Americans without financial services for years. We also know, because the FDIC asked them, that unbanked and underbanked Americans primarily are in that situation because either they don't have enough money to have an account, or they don't want to give their personal information to a bank or the government. And what should be obvious is that a lack of sufficient income is a much broader economic problem than a CBDC or financial service technology. While some proponents argue that a CBDC lowers the cost of providing financial services, that's true only if the government subsidizes those costs or chooses to waive the same level of regulatory scrutiny it requires of private firms. And that level of scrutiny, it turns out is more than just a costly mandate that the government has placed on private firms. It's also the one that causes those unbanked Americans to say they don't trust banks. It's also the same one that requires people to hand over their personal information to private companies, and as a result potentially to the government. If the government removes that mandate for all financial service providers, there would be no cost advantage to a CBDC. 42:05 Dr. Norbert Michel: That brings me to my last myth, the idea that a CBDC could somehow enhance financial privacy. Currently, Americans are forced to hand over personal information to financial institutions. Those institutions are required to track transactions, and the government can access that information without a warrant. The fourth amendment is supposed to protect Americans from the government gaining access to this kind of information, unless they show probable cause and obtain a warrant. But it no longer protects Americans when it comes to financial information. And the only buffer left is that the government must go through the financial institution to obtain that information. Introducing a CBDC would remove this last layer of protection. It would place all financial transactions either in a government database or leave them a keystroke away. 44:15 Paige Paridon: We believe that at this point there is little evidence that a CBDC would bring measurable benefits to the US economy or consumers. Furthermore, a CBDC could upend the commercial banking system and create financial instability. 44:30 Paige Paridon: CBDC can take one of two general forms: a wholesale CBDC, which would be used only by financial intermediaries, and a retail CBDC, which could be used by consumers and businesses. To date, most research and attention has been focused on a retail, intermediated, account-based model in which consumer's CBDCs would be held in an account at a bank or another financial intermediary, like an asset held in custody. The CBDC could not be used by the bank to make loans in the way that dollar deposits are used today. Any transfer of $1 deposit from a bank to a CBDC is $1 unavailable for lending to businesses or consumers. By attracting deposits away from banks, a CBDC likely would undermine the commercial banking system in the United States and severely constrict the availability and increase the cost of credit to the economy. 46:30 Paige Paridon: With respect to financial inclusion, a review of the reasons why certain individuals are unbanked makes it clear that a CBDC would be unlikely to meaningfully increase financial inclusion. For example, FDIC data reveals that many respondents are unbanked because of privacy concerns, and intermediated CBDC is unlikely to mitigate those concerns, given that it would presumably come with the same know-your-customer requirements that currently apply to banks. 54:35 Christina Parajon Skinner: So privacy rights are the clearest place to start. Today, individuals can enjoy comprehensive privacy in their payments transactions by using cash. Now, although most central banks have suggested that CBDC is not going to replace cash, that near-term promise can't be guaranteed over the longer term, and the insinuation that CBDC is necessary or inevitable seems motivated by a view that cash will eventually become obsolete. But because central banks don't have the technology presently to offer cash-like privacy, a digital currency -- unless it's radically redesigned -- will bring with it the ability for the state to monitor or surveil its citizens' payments activity. 55:20 Christina Parajon Skinner: I'd like to focus on the impact of a CBDC on the Federal Reserve. Certainly since 2010, the power and authority of the Fed has grown considerably, and Congress's responsibility to oversee the Fed requires it to understand how a CBDC could further empower the central bank but also how it might weaken it. On the one hand, CBDC could result in a larger central bank balance sheet. Issuing CBDC would increase the liability side of the Fed's balance sheet if the total of bank reserves, repos, and cash balances largely remained unchanged. So if the liabilities with CBDC increase, so too much the Fed's assets. The Fed could buy more Treasury securities to match CBDC, but that could possibly invite pressure on the Fed to issue more CBDCs to in turn absorb more government debt. And overall, that dynamic could further erode the limited fiscal discipline that we have remaining. A CBDC could also affect the Fed's independence in the way that it would establish a direct relationship between the central bank and the real economy for the first time in history. One result of that relationship would almost certainly be the further erosion of the line between monetary and fiscal policy. When central banks begin to issue liabilities directly to the people, it will become much more difficult for the central bank to justify their provision of liquidity to banks and the financial system, as opposed to households, especially during a crisis. And effectively this could open the door to political pressure on the Fed to provide liquidity assistance to households during turbulent economic times. But these sorts of household level interventions would radically transform the central bank and its purpose and role within society. 57:40 Christina Parajon Skinner: So it does not inherently improve financial inclusion unless it's paired with accounts for all citizens, which the central bank itself has already recognized as infeasible. 59:15 Raúl Carrillo: Today, I support the call for a digital dollar system, including CBDC, Fed accounts, and Ecash. 1:02:15 Raúl Carrillo: Indeed, the only way to evolve beyond the surveillance status quo is to establish a direct digital dollar interface with consumers where the Fourth Amendment and other protections may actually apply. If we truly care about privacy, we should treat the banking and blockchain industries' appeals to partnership as suspect, based on legal and technological grounds alone. We can build a retail CBDC and Fed account system with superior protections compared to what exists now and superior protections to the systems that are being built around the world currently. 1:02:50 Raúl Carrillo: So today I also advocate for the inclusion of digital cash, as detailed in the Electronic Cash and Hardware Security and Secured Hardware Act, the Ecash Act, re-introduced by Representative Lynch. Today, Ecash devices available on a smart card or a phone card would serve as digital counterparts to cold hard American cash. These devices would not make payments over the internet. Instead, they would store Treasury issued digital dollars on card hardware to enable everyday small dollar transactions for everyday people. These transactions would be subject to the BSA/AML regime, and as a boon to law enforcement, we can set privacy-sensitive security controls and caps on transactions and usage. However, the cards would in no instance be capable of generating data that companies and agencies can abuse. We preserve a place for privacy within public infrastructure. The Ecash Act harkens back to the past to the days when President Lincoln established the banking and cash system that we still use today. And it also harkens to an exciting, inclusive, safe digital future. 1:08:05 Paige Paridon: CBDC, because it would be a direct liability of the central bank, it would be perceived as the ultimate safe asset. So from that perspective, particularly during times of economic stress, it could attract depositors to pull their money out of the banking system to flee or run to a CBDC if there was perceived concern about the banking system or the financial system overall. So every dollar that currently resides in a bank account can be deployed for useful purposes in the economy, primarily through lending. Every dollar that is pulled out from the banking system and put into a CBDC is one less dollar that could be put to good economic use. And that is why we have a fundamental concern with a retail CBDC, given the flight-to-quality risks. 1:09:35 Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA): 130 countries, representing 98% of the global economy, are now exploring digital versions of their currencies, including the United States. Almost half of these countries are in advanced development pilot or launch stages of their CBDCs. Can you discuss how CBDCs may shape the future global financial landscape? What would it mean for the United States if we instead chose to stay on the sidelines of this race? Raúl Carrillo: Thank you very much for the question, Representative Waters. My opinion is that it is incumbent upon the United States to provide leadership with respect to an inevitable process that is going to occur across the world. It is clear that we're all moving to digital fiat currency. The question is what sort of protections are going to attend digital fiat currency? 1:12:35 Raúl Carrillo: I hear a lot of concern across the political spectrum in this committee about the power of Silicon Valley. And if you do not create an alternative to the corporate systems that collect data, or promise to protect it and then collect it en mass, which is even worse and common in the blockchain industry, then what is going to happen is that Silicon Valley is going to win. And frankly, I don't think anybody here wants that. But in order to preserve the space that we have for public money and not make it a big tech enterprise, we, in fact, have to move forward with digital fiat currency. 1:13:50 Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): One of the key characteristics of sound money is that it facilitates permissionless, peer-to-peer transactions like cash. Currently, of the 100+ countries developing a central bank digital currency, none of them are developing a permissionless system. Every one of them is developing a permission system, including the United States Federal Reserve. So when we talk about permissions, we can kind of get something from the Federal Reserve's own report of that. They said in their report that it should be privacy-protected, intermediated, widely transferable, and identity-verified. Mr. Michel, Professor Skinner, in your view, is it possible to be both privacy-protected and identity-verified? Dr. Norbert Michel: No, in my view, it's not. Once the information is in a system, it's in a system and somebody is going to get it and it's going to get out. And I just quickly really want to say I'm very happy to hear everybody here on the panel is pro-Fourth Amendment. The problem, of course, as you know, is that the Bank Secrecy Act, and the anti money laundering regime runs right over the Fourth Amendment. So that's what needs to be fixed. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): It's already a problem in third party hands, but this wouldn't even be in third party hands. But, you know, Professor Skinner, what's your view? Christina Parajon Skinner: My view is no, that that's not possible right now, and central banks have essentially admitted as much. And to the extent such technology is or could be under development, it's extremely immature. And I think the point to emphasize here is that inherently there will be a tradeoff to the extent central banks create CBDC, between identity verification and privacy. And more than likely central banks will always choose identity verification because they will never feel comfortable sacrificing the national security goals that they see as accompanying robust identity verification. 1:24:35 Rep. John Rose (R-TN): Decisions in United States v. Miller and Maryland v. Smith gave us the third party doctrine. Under that doctrine. if you voluntarily provide information to a third party, the Fourth Amendment does not preclude the government from accessing it without a warrant. Dr. Michelle, can you explain how the third party doctrine has impacted Americans' financial privacy? Dr. Norbert Michel: Yes, they practically have none at the moment partly because of this. But I also want to clarify, because of something that was just said on the panel. The Fourth Amendment is the one that amends the Constitution to the United States, which protects American citizens from the government. So this is exactly the issue and it was brought up in the cases in the 70s, when the Bank Secrecy Act was challenged. If the Bank Secrecy Act were not there, the banks and financial institutions that we have would not be required by the government to collect the data that they are, that is a requirement in the Bank Secrecy Act. And everybody can go back and look at those cases, that was always an issue as to whether this was constitutional and in violation of possibly the Fourth Amendment. So between the combination of the Bank Secrecy Act, the Fourth Amendment issues, and the third party doctrine, Americans, although many of them don't realize it, have very little financial privacy at the moment. 1:26:05 Rep. John Rose (R-TN): How would the adoption of a CBDC further erode Americans' reasonable expectation of financial privacy? Dr. Norbert Michel: I believe it would remove the last layer that we have, quite simply, instead of having to go through the financial institution, the government would have that information either in a central database or a keystroke away. 1:31:05 Raúl Carrillo: We envision hardware devices. So those can be cards, similar in size to an existing debit or credit card, or they can be secured SIM cards, or something like it, on a phone that would enable hardware based transactions and for people to make payments as they do today with paper cash for everyday things without fear of government or corporate surveillance, which occurs in tandem when we use digital payments today. 1:32:20 Raúl Carrillo: I would clarify that the point of Ecash is that it does not operate online. It is actually open, permissionless, and private, in the sense that you don't need a blockchain or a banking intermediary. 1:35:45 Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI): In your testimony you wrote, "any transfer of $1 deposit from a commercial bank or credit union to a CBDC is $1 unavailable for lending to businesses or consumers." Can you expand a little bit on that statement about how an adoption of an intermediated CBDC would impact credit availability and the cost of banking services? Paige Paridon: Sure. Happy to, thank you. So I think there's a misconception generally, that $1 transferred from a deposit account to a CBDC would mean that CBDC would still be able to be used for lending and investment in the economy the way that dollar deposits currently are now. And that is not the case of CBDC, even if intermediated. In other words, even if the services including onboarding and other services that commercial banks currently provide, even if those services were provided by banks with respect to a consumer's CBDC, the fact is the bank would really only hold that CBDC in the same manner it holds an asset in custody. So it would have to essentially keep that CBDC under the proverbial mattress and it would not be able to be redeployed in the form of loans. 1:41:20 Paige Paridon: If it was an intermediated CBDC, banks would essentially hold CBDC as a custodian. That's right, they wouldn't be able to lend out some portion of the CBDC as they do deposits. 1:42:10 Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL): If you had 100%, CBDCs was all the money supply, you'd have no lending, right? So doesn't any proportional increase in the amount of a CBDC in an economy shrink the economy? Paige Paridon: Well, there could be shifts to other forms of ways to fund lending. Banks could borrow in the wholesale markets, they could potentially borrow from the Federal Reserve. So I'm not necessarily sure it's a one-to-one relationship. 1:46:25 Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE): Ms. Skinner, in your testimony, you mentioned how a CBDC could lead to the Federal Reserve's independence being threatened. Can you speak more on that? Christina Parajon Skinner: Yes, certainly. Thank you for the question. So in the first instance, to the extent the Federal Reserve doesn't change the composition of its balance sheet otherwise, issuing a CBDC will increase its liabilities, which means that it has to match that increase in liabilities by purchasing more assets. So the first thing that we would think about when the Fed would purchase more assets would be buying more Treasury securities. That being said, with the potential for the Fed to issue more CBDC, thereby giving it more headroom to buy more Treasury securities, would be likely to put some pressure on the Fed at some point down the line from the Treasury to issue that CBDC to absorb more government debt, which we call monetary finance or monetizing the deficit. Before World War Two, the Fed essentially operated under the thumb of the Treasury so that during wartime and otherwise, the Fed could effectively monetize the deficit. And really today, that's anathema to an independent central bank. There were other things that the Fed could also be pressured to buy to match an increase in CBDC, like corporate bonds. Now our recent experimentation in corporate bonds has put some question around whether this too could politicize a central bank because inevitably if central banks buy corporate bonds, they are picking winners and losers in the economy. Now, the Fed has been pretty neutral in its approach, but there has been a lot of pressure on the central bank to, for example, buy green bonds in order to facilitate a transition to a low carbon economy and certainly other central banks do actively green their corporate bond portfolios. 2:23:05 Dr. Norbert Michel: I believe this is a question of centralization versus decentralization. And if you have a CBDC, you ultimately have one major point of failure. One way of doing this would be to have the Fed have a database. Well, we know the Fed's been hacked. Even if the Fed has multiple databases, it's the Fed being hacked, as opposed to having multiple private companies all across the country. If Capital One, for example, has a hack or a cybersecurity problem, everybody in the country is not immediately at risk, only their customers, and that's a problem for them. 2:25:25 Rep. William Timmons (R-SC): Based on your research, can you explain what, if any, technological advantage a CBDC has over the private sector? Dr. Norbert Michel: None. And this should be this is properly viewed as a government reaction to a private innovation. We can call it Bitcoin or you could just call it distributed ledger technology in general. That's what this is about. This is about the government seeing an innovation that possibly threatens their control over the payment system and it is a movement to come up with something that takes that back and it just so happens that what they're coming up with here is something that goes even further than where we are without the CBDC. 2:26:45 Christina Parajon Skinner: The status of the dollar is undergirded by our commitment to the rule of law, democratic institutions, having a judiciary that enforces property rights, and perhaps most importantly, maintaining the dollar as a stable store of value. So for there, it's important that the Fed maintain its fight against inflation and with the issuance of the CBDC, there will absolutely be a propensity to over-issue, to for example, monetize the deficit and if that were to happen that would undermine the status of the dollar. 2:29:45 Paige Paridon: A so-called flight to quality is something that we fear would be almost inevitable. Were a retail CBDC to be issued by the Federal Reserve, in times particularly of financial stress or instability, a CBDC would be viewed likely as the ultimate safe asset and depositors would likely be incentivized to pull the deposits out of the banking system and put them into CBDCs as a safe asset, which would reduce the availability of deposits available to lend out, and moreover, increase the cost of credit. 2:31:10 Raúl Carrillo: President Lincoln created cash after the Civil War in order to help everybody have day to day transactions throughout our economy. Today we have cutting edge technology in various other sectors in the government, including in the US military where they use stored value cards known as Eagle Cash in order to make offline payments. 2:33:15 Yuval Rooz: If the US government were to decide to issue a retail CBDC, unlike wholesaled CBDC, I think that it is going to be critical for the government to show an evidence that there is no ability for the government to see transactions of citizens. I personally would be against such an act. 2:35:05 Yuval Rooz: If we wanted to have privacy included in the smart contract of the money, it would state that any movement of money would only be visible to the sender of money and the receiver of money for example, and the issuer of money would be blinded. So all that the issuer would see is the overall balance, but would not see any underlying movements of the money, for example. March 8, 2023 House Financial Services Committee Witnesses: Jerome Powell, Chair, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Clips 53:50 Rep. French Hill (R-AK): Turning to a topic that's been a subject here for nearly four years: Central Bank Digital Currencies. Article One of the Constitution, reserves coins and money issuance to the Congress and we've in turn delegated that to the US Treasury, which has since 1912 engaged the Federal Reserve as their fiscal agent. You've testified here many times before that to issue a Central Bank Digital Currency that would be have to be authorized by statute by Congress. Is that still your testimony? Jerome Powell: So that is absolutely the case as it relates to a retail CBDC. There are potential forms of a wholesale CBDC that you would need to look at, it's less clear. But we've always been talking about retail CBDC and that's something we would certainly need Congressional approval for. Rep. French Hill (R-AK): What would be a parameter on something that's not a retail CBDC where you think that could be issued in some form or fashion without Congress's direct statutory authorization? Jerome Powell: It would be, for example, something between banks, so it would look an awful lot like a bank reserve. And you might ask, Well, why would we need it? And that's a really good question, too. But just something that's literally within a wholesale market. Rep. French Hill (R-AK): But that speaks that you might have a blockchain between banks and the Fed using a Central Bank Digital Currency token to settle transactions institutionally inside the US. 1:15:40 Jerome Powell: We did go out for comment in general on a CBDC a year or so ago and I do expect that we'll go out, I can't give you a date, but we'll certainly go out and we engage with the public on an ongoing basis. We're also doing research on policy and also on technology. That's what we're up to. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA): The Boston Fed has a partnership over there with the folks from MIT Media Lab, they're doing a great job, but it says here that the discussions would include technical experimentation. I was just wondering, at what level are you talking about making decisions on architecture for a retail CBDC? Jerome Powell: We're not at the stage of making any real decisions. What we're doing is experimenting, in kind of early stage experimentation. How would this work? Does it work? What's the best technology? What's the most efficient? We're really at an early stage but we're making progress on sort of technological issues. The policy issues are equally important though. You know, we haven't decided that this is something that the financial systems in the country want or need. So that's going to be very important. 1:18:15 Jerome Powell: A CBDC is going to be years in evaluation. 1:18:30 Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA): You know, before the greenback, everybody had their own currency. You know, you had rail rail companies, you had coal companies, you had, you know, state banks that were authorized to issue their own currency. But when the greenback came out, all of those various currencies went to zero, because the greenback had the full faith and credit of the United States behind it. I'm worried about a lot of these Stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies. Do they go to zero when we come up with a CBDC that has the full faith and credit of the United States behind it? We've got 1000s of these out there, and you've got people investing millions and millions of dollars, well trillions right now. And I'm just thinking if we had those advantages built into a CBDC? Wouldn't those alternatives go to zero, if they did not have the transparency and the full faith and credit that we enjoy? Jerome Powell: So certainly, unbacked cryptocurrencies that don't have any intrinsic value, but nonetheless, trade for a positive number, I've never understood the valuation of those. Stablecoins, many of them are really drawing on the credibility of the dollar. They're dollar denominated mainly, dollar-based reserves, although we don't know what's in the reserves because there's no regulation. 2:16:05 Jerome Powell: What we say about permissionless blockchains is that they have been vehicles for fraud -- Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): 0.24% if you follow your own report on fraud. It's a fraction of what it is with the US dollar. May 26, 2022 House Financial Services Committee Witness: Lael Brainard, Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Clips 2:08:30 Rep. John Rose (R-TN): Vice Chair Brainard, we saw how dangerous it can be when the government weaponizes the financial system for political purposes under the Obama administration's Operation Choke Point. More recently, the Canadian government instructed banks to freeze accounts linked to the trucker protests over vaccine mandates. Vice Chair Brainard, without appropriate safeguards, would a CBDC make it easier for the federal government to block individuals it disagrees with from accessing the financial system? Lael Brainard: So I really don't see CBDC as raising questions that are different from deposits and bank accounts, for instance. And the paper that was released in January, in particular, talks about an intermediary model, akin to what we see with commercial bank deposits, where the central bank doesn't have any direct interaction with consumers, doesn't see transactions by consumers, but there are intermediaries and, very importantly, including banks that would be responsible for both identity verification and for keeping that transaction data private. So in that sense, I don't see it it's as really any different than the issues that are raised with commercial bank deposits. June 16, 2021 Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy Witnesses: Eric B. Lorber, Senior Director, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Clips 43:33 Eric Lorber: The number of transactions which are elicit that use Bitcoin or blockchain technology is actually fairly low percentage wise it's in I believe, below 1% or somewhere around there. So it's fairly small. Music by Editing Production Assistance

Philipp Hoenisch is the founder of 101010: a project which aims to create synthetic bitcoin-backed stablecoins on top of the Lightning network. These stablecoins aim to minimize trust, as there's no central issuer or institution in the middle.