optimism

The Tightrope of Regulation

In a significant move at the recent G20 meeting in India, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) released a joint paper outlining a framework for the global regulation of cryptocurrencies. While the proposals mostly tread familiar territory, what’s new is their conviction in crypto’s unstoppable growth and success. A flurry of optimism greeted the G20’s endorsement of the report because it advocates that countries don’t ban crypto. Hidden in its text, however, are some worrying signs. For example, on the first page, they state, “Widespread

Bridging Real and Virtual Economies

In an era where decentralized finance (DeFi) promises revolutionary, permissionless, and credit-check-free access to financial services, the limitations to its application lie in the narrow range of digital assets it encompasses. But industry pioneers are working to widen its scope by introducing real-world assets (RWAs) to the digital realm. For instance, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Ripple is embarking on a research project to try and tokenize real estate. This venture was made public about seven weeks ago as part of a broader initiative, the digital

The Central Problem

The black swan events of LUNA and FTX that have so far characterized crypto in 2022 left many in the space wondering how we got here. What began as a quiet revolution focused on decentralization and financial sovereignty has been corrupted by greed and the centralization of power and control. If crypto has any hope of a future it can only be found in reaffirming the central tenets of decentralization and financial sovereignty. While the media claim these problems are the fault of a lack of regulation it’s worth considering

A DeFi Drought Crisis

Just when we thought it was safe to breathe a sigh of relief from all the crypto liquidity contagion, another one started to appear last week with BendDAO, an NFT borrowing, and lending platform. Due to structural faults in the way the protocol had been created there came a point when it was perched on the brink of insolvency. What we’ve witnessed over the past few months has been a clash between the overconfidence of some project founders and the realities of the emerging crypto market. It’s an unusual dynamic