Role of Crypto/Cybercurrencies in the PTB's loss of control?

Good article on how PTB is going to move forward with cryptocurrencies. Here's summary:
This article by former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis warns of severe financial risks posed by the Trump administration's promotion of stablecoins through the recently Senate-passed GENIUS Act.

Key Arguments

What Are Stablecoins? Varoufakis describes stablecoins as a "bastard child" of libertarian cryptocurrency ideals and dollar-centric finance - blockchain-based digital currencies pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. While originally beneficial for unbanked populations and cross-border payments, they're now being weaponized for political purposes.

Current Market Scale
  • Stablecoins currently represent $250 billion in circulation
  • Issuers purchased $40 billion in US Treasury bills in 2024
  • Transactions jumped 84% to $752 billion
  • Crypto wallets holding stablecoins increased from 27 million to 46 million
  • Standard Chartered predicts growth to $2 trillion by 2028
Trump's Strategic Motivation The administration sees stablecoins as serving dual purposes:
  1. Personal enrichment for Trump and allies
  2. Economic strategy to devalue the dollar and reduce trade deficits while maintaining dollar dominance through increased Treasury bill purchases by stablecoin issuers
Systemic Risks Identified
  1. Reserve Instability: As stablecoins grow beyond $2 trillion, risks from inadequate backing could exceed those of 2007 subprime mortgages
  2. Banking System Disruption: The Treasury predicts $6.6 trillion in bank deposits migrating to stablecoins, creating dangerous interest rate wedges and yield curve distortions
  3. Market Concentration Risk: When securities trading moves to blockchain, whichever stablecoin dominates could threaten the entire $29 trillion Treasury market if it fails
  4. International Contagion: Non-US stablecoin crashes could spread globally, with foreign institutions lacking access to Federal Reserve rescue mechanisms
The GENIUS Act's Flaws Varoufakis argues the legislation:
  • Creates regulatory loopholes (state regulation for issuers under $50 billion)
  • Provides inadequate oversight for systemically important stablecoins
  • Crucially prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing its own digital dollar to compete with China's digital yuan
  • Leaves the Fed responsible for cleanup without proper tools
Global Implications Developing countries face a "trilemma": ban stablecoins (losing benefits), create alternatives, or accept deeper dollarization. China wisely banned stablecoins while developing its digital yuan, but most economies remain vulnerable.

Conclusion Varoufakis concludes the GENIUS Act essentially privatizes money creation and outsources dollar dominance to "Trump-friendly tech lords" while maximizing financial meltdown risk. He calls for immediate opposition to prevent what he sees as an inevitable crash caused by inadequate regulation and institutional capture of monetary policy. The article presents stablecoins as a ticking time bomb that could trigger a financial crisis larger than 2008, enabled by misguided legislation that prioritizes political and personal interests over systemic stability.
Click to expand...
unherd.com

The stablecoin time bomb hidden in Trump’s GENIUS act

unherd.com unherd.com
 
Yes, it's pretty much a choice between central bank CBDCs (in EU and many other places) or "private CBDC's" (in US). Which one is worse is hard to say.

Taking some power away from the central bankers and their "bosses" is not a bad thing, but giving that power to the technocrat gang instead kind of amounts to the same end result - a digital slavery system.
 
I've recently watched Shawn Ryan's podcast with the Cardano creator and was a bit stunned by his remarks about El Salvador. It just feels like El Salvador is a model country for how the control grid should be introduced.

The first thing I wasn't aware of is that the state wallet citizens use is a custodial wallet. This means that the state owns the Bitcoin, and citizens can conduct transactions in a centralized manner, can be locked out, etc. This system is managed by a private US company.

Next, the chaos caused by organized crime and the government's actions to eliminate it led citizens to accept the novelties introduced under the guise of restoring order. What hit me hard is yesterday clairvoyant Jackowski's vision on a Lublin, a Polish city in 2050. He saw that the city will be privately owned... Well, that's exactly what happens in El Salvador, where there's a lot of new real estate being built for "BitCoin expats". This kind of reminds me of when I was on a tour in Limassol, Cyprus, and the guide told us that the city is basically owned by foreigners because real estate there is now too expensive for native citizens.

With the recent developments in Poland, where the country is flooded with immigrants, government officials are now turning away from Ukrainians living and working here, and the same chaos seems to be spreading in this region of Europe. There are recent news about arsons, and the unspoken notion is that Ukrainians are doing this. A lot of anti-Ukrainian and anti-immigrant sentiment is present in the news, making Poles even more divided.

Lastly, one can observe how stablecoins are becoming popular, with the new Australian dollar being issued as a stablecoin. There are also a handful of technologies being used for this purpose which, under the guise of cryptocurrencies, are essentially accounting systems, or as Cardano's founder said, "financial stem cells." Extrapolating that, C's notion of BitCoin being a "road to nowhere" makes sense because of its lacking capability in that field and its pure Ponzi-like nature.

Just look at Hedera, which I value the most because of its technical sophistication. For most people, cryptocurrencies are meme coins, but look how far they have gone in regard to the control grid:
Hedera Hashgraph Usages: Current and Planned Implementations

Hedera Hashgraph has evolved from a conceptual distributed ledger technology into a comprehensive enterprise-grade platform with numerous real-world applications across various industries. The network demonstrates significant adoption through established partnerships, active use cases, and ambitious roadmap initiatives for the future.


Enterprise Partnerships and Governance

Governing Council Members

Hedera's unique governance model centers around a council of globally recognized organizations that oversee network direction and operate consensus nodes. The current governing council includes major technology corporations and financial institutions[1][2][3]:

  • Google Cloud - Joined in February 2020 as a preferred cloud provider and network node operator[4][5]
  • IBM - Became a member in August 2019, focusing on hybrid blockchain solutions through Hedera Consensus Service integration[6][3]
  • Boeing - The world's largest aircraft manufacturer joined in August 2019 but announced its departure in February 2025[2][7]
  • ServiceNow - Joined in November 2021 to integrate distributed ledger technology into digital workflows[8][9]
  • Shinhan Bank - South Korea's largest bank joined in April 2021 for digital transformation initiatives[10][11]
  • Hitachi America - Added in January 2024 to develop industrial solutions and supply chain applications[12]
This governance structure demonstrates Hedera's commitment to enterprise-grade stability and legitimacy, with Fortune 500 companies representing diverse industries and geographies[13][1].


Current Real-World Applications
Supply Chain and Sustainability Solutions

One of Hedera's most significant implementations is through Avery Dennison's atma.io platform, which manages over 30 billion physical items with unique digital identities[14][15]. The platform enables:
  • End-to-end supply chain transparency through digital product passports
  • Carbon emissions tracking at the item level using Hedera Consensus Service
  • Real-time product authentication and anti-counterfeiting measures
  • Integration with major brands including 6 of the top 20 global apparel companies and 4 of the top 10 quick-service restaurants[16]
Carbon Markets and Environmental Solutions
Hedera has become a leader in digitizing carbon markets through several initiatives[17][18]:
  • Verra Partnership - The first standards body to integrate with Hedera Guardian for carbon credit digitization[19][20]
  • Guardian Platform - Open-source solution for environmental asset tokenization and monitoring[21]
  • B4E Partnership - Blockchain for Energy joined the council to standardize emissions tracking for oil and gas companies[22]
Financial Services and Stablecoins
The network supports various financial applications[23][24]:
  • PHPX Stablecoin - Philippine banks are launching a multi-issuer peso stablecoin for cross-border remittances in 2025[23][24]
  • Shinhan Bank CBDC Pilots - Testing central bank digital currency infrastructure with Standard Bank for international transfers[25][26]
  • Stablecoin Studio - Open-source platform for compliant stablecoin issuance with proof-of-reserve capabilities[27][28]
AI and Computing Infrastructure
Hedera is pioneering the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence[29][30]:
  • Verifiable Compute - Partnership with Nvidia, Intel, and EQTY Labs to create auditable AI decision-making systems[31][32]
  • Autonomous Vehicles - AI training data management systems using Hedera for reliable autonomous vehicle development[30]
  • Deep Learning Security - Securing neural network parameters through hashgraph technology[29]

Industry-Specific Use Cases
Healthcare and Digital Identity
  • Decentralized Identity Solutions - One governing council member reports a use case with over 30 million potential users expected to launch within 12-18 months[33]
  • Boeing's Digital Identity Platform - Aviation industry applications for secure credential management[34][35]
Gaming and Entertainment
  • Karate Combat - Low-friction Web3 gaming platform demonstrating mass user adoption without technical barriers[36]
  • NFT Marketplaces - Carbon-negative NFT creation and trading platforms[37][38]
IoT and Automation
  • Neuron World - Decentralized infrastructure for drone operations, with UK Civil Aviation Authority implementation at three airports[36]
  • Smart Energy Systems - SEALSQ partnership for quantum-resistant IoT device security[39][40]

Planned and Upcoming Projects
2025 Roadmap Priorities

Under new CEO Charles Atkins, Hedera has outlined ambitious plans for 2025[41][42]:

AI Integration Expansion
  • Enhanced verifiable compute solutions for enterprise AI applications
  • Deeper partnerships with Nvidia and Intel for AI governance frameworks
  • Real-time AI decision auditing and compliance tools
Tokenization Infrastructure
  • Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization at scale through enhanced Guardian platform
  • Integration with Chainlink for improved oracle services and proof-of-reserve functionality[43]
  • Enterprise-grade tokenization tools for various asset classes[44]
Developer Experience Improvements
  • HIP-632: Hedera Account Service - Simplified account management for developers[45]
  • Modularized testing environments - Faster deployment and troubleshooting tools
  • EVM compatibility enhancements - Better Ethereum ecosystem integration[45]
Financial Infrastructure
  • Expansion of stablecoin ecosystems beyond PHPX
  • Enhanced DeFi capabilities with improved smart contract services[46]
  • Cross-border payment solutions for emerging markets

Strategic Technology Partnerships

Google Cloud Integration
Google's partnership extends beyond governance to active infrastructure support[47][48]:
  • Network node operation and maintenance
  • Integration with Google Cloud public datasets for analytics
  • Preferred cloud provider status for Hedera ecosystem development
IBM Blockchain Platform
IBM's collaboration focuses on hybrid blockchain solutions[6][49]:
  • Hedera Consensus Service integration with Hyperledger Fabric
  • Enterprise blockchain platform development for Standard Bank and other institutions
  • Private-public ledger bridging solutions
Chainlink Oracle Network
Recent integration provides[43]:
  • Decentralized oracle services for accurate off-chain data
  • Proof-of-reserve capabilities for tokenized assets
  • Enhanced DeFi protocol development tools

Future Market Positioning
Enterprise Adoption Drivers
Several factors position Hedera for continued enterprise growth[50]:
  • High transaction throughput - Over 10,000 transactions per second capability
  • Predictable costs - Fixed fee structure averaging $0.001 per transaction
  • Energy efficiency - Carbon-negative network operations through quarterly offset purchases[51]
  • Regulatory compliance - Built-in KYC/AML capabilities and governance oversight
Emerging Use Cases
The roadmap includes exploration of[41][36]:
  • Quantum-resistant security through SEALSQ partnership for future-proofing critical infrastructure
  • Cross-ledger interoperability with state proof mechanisms for blockchain communication
  • Community governance platforms for transparent grant management and project funding
  • Social impact applications addressing global challenges through blockchain technology
Hedera's comprehensive approach to real-world blockchain adoption, combining established enterprise partnerships with innovative technology development, positions it as a leading platform for practical distributed ledger applications across multiple industries. The network's focus on compliance, sustainability, and enterprise-grade performance continues to attract significant business adoption while maintaining technical innovation through strategic partnerships and ongoing development initiatives.
Click to expand...

I know that many of us are aware of this, but boy, this realization struck me deeply today. It's happening so fast, with the Trump family on board with this...
 
Recent Crpto Jumps


Chycho offers some possible reasons behind the recent jump in Crypto Markets: suggesting as per the Epstein Case of flip-flopping between wether a list exists or not. Trust in government is at an all time low; therefore people expect their countries economies to fall/ collapse; even anticipating more War. These people move their money to where they believe they can maintain the value of their money. Chycho suggests the CIA and Mossad are also likely moving money around.
 
Exploring the impact of living near a Bitcoin Mining Center.

We went to a small Texas town where one Bitcoin mining facility uses as much power as the entire city of Austin.Everyone is town is affected by the constant noise from the crypto facility, even the animals.One resident told us: "Every person here is sick."
Click to expand...


Not only do the residents and their doctors trace the ailments that now plagues the community to the nearby Bitcoin Mining Center. They expand on its wider impact beyond health. For instance, some of the residents aren't able to move elsewhere because they cannot sell their homes anymore; not unless at great loses. The value of their homes reduced due to proximity to the Bitcoin Mining Centre. Even though the Bitcoin Mining Centre utilises alot of electricity and water in order to carry out their operations. The company manages to broker deals which enable them to not pay their fair share for electricity usage; meanwhile the electricity of local residents remains high and continues to rise. The Bitcoin Mining companies have been found to sponsor/ finance the campaigns of politicians. An account of how the Company behind the Bitcoin Mining Center profited during a natural disaster in the area is also shared (They simply resold electricity access to the local residents at even greater prices/ it's executives bragging about profits made during this time). The communities fresh water sources have to be shared with a mammoth company; in an area that experiences drought from time to time. Should drought impact the area once again (on record every 5 years); who will get priority access to the water, its residents or the Bitcoin Mining Center?
 
So it looks like not only is Trump pushing stablecoin-like tokenization, but it's a general trend.

(14 May 2025)
Project Pine explores if and how central banks can continue implementing monetary policy operations in a tokenised world.

The project team successfully built a toolkit prototype using smart contracts. The prototype has the capability to pay interest on reserves and create facilities that temporarily exchange reserves for collateral (and vice versa), swap assets, and execute asset purchases and sales.

It was tested using hypothetical scenarios based on past market events (like interest rate tightening and easing cycles, quantitative easing and tightening cycles, and periods of strained market liquidity or broader disruptions in markets).

The project demonstrated that central banks could use this new technology to carry out their existing roles if tokenisation is widely adopted. If payments and securities are tokenised, the benefit to central banks would differ based on circumstances and existing operations. Yet Project Pine found that central banks could use smart contracts to easily and quickly create new facilities or adjust existing ones to optimize the implementation of monetary policy in a tokenised environment.

Project Pine's results offer central banks a starting point for better understanding the opportunities, risks, and requirements of adopting tokenisation in their respective jurisdictions. Technical experimentation is still at an early stage and there are more areas for future research and collaboration.
Click to expand...
www.bis.org

Project Pine: central bank open market operations with smart contracts

Project Pine explores if and how central banks can continue implementing monetary policy operations in a tokenised world.
www.bis.org www.bis.org
 
Equinox said:
Its not really about the money aspect to it, but rather about the inner constitution of those who partake in this particular money-making format and why they're drawn to making money this way. Sure, I guess all economic systems eventually go beyond the traditional economic measures of labour, national resources yielded and goods produced from those resources, along with the value of intellectual rights and advancing economic sophistication for the benefit of all, but instead to eventually surpass all that to become quite the vampiric monster in approach to human recourses bound in its monetary value and further more to breed and encourage its native users of that same economic system to themselves become parasitic within it, and when combined with technology making for far greater a prospect for an easy living before long is a perfect synergy for creating an emasculated nation. Crypto is another jump in that direction IMO.
Essentially the economic models we operate under today, certainly in the more developed nations, is about eating as much of the Earth as you can, while you can, before the next man eats it before you do. While sitting in front of a screen. And yes, we are born into this framework so we must learn to work within the system in order to live in it. So ultimately then, it depends on how deep into it you are willing as an individual to ensconce yourself in said system and to what extend you choose to partake in 'taking more from the world than you give back to it'. The real problem is thriving in this system becomes all the more pertinent if you have children, which most of us end up having.
Speaking of children...

The language you used here gives a flavour of what I mean:



Where I have bolded, "games", "playing". This is what children and teenagers do, people who haven't grown up. Or men (big boys) who have grown up physically but would rather learn how to 'manipulate' for their own gain, probably at the expense of others even if it does not appear evident (never is evident if you don't want it to be). With that, I believe its very unlikely any really sincere self-development, knowledge-building or creativity - certainly of the kind which could lead to enlightenment, either for oneself or for others - could come about from the free time availed to individuals inclined to make money this way. I'd wager any such self-development and creativity is likely to be rather superficial and/or self-centred, despite good intentions.
This is not to say don't hustle the system, to the contrary please do, and again, especially pertinent if you have children. But lets not kid ourselves, it doesnt inspire an 'honest living' in the classical sense, to ourselves or to others, to become productive members of society whether mindfully, bodily or spiritually. If you do crypto and you are a valued member of society, its not because you do crypto.
Just my opinion of course, happy to be wrong.
Click to expand...
Session 10/02/2018
(Pierre) What I understand from this discussion is that the healthy beliefs are the unlimiting beliefs, but...

(L) Why believe anything?

(Pierre) Yes; beliefs by definition ARE limiting. If you don't believe this, then you believe that. So, I guess unlimited beliefs is sort of a transcending of the very notion of belief. It's going beyond beliefs.

A: Become like little children...

Q: (Artemis) Inquisitive, but without bias or beliefs.

(L) And adventurous, open to experience, and not formed up with any beliefs. And one hopes that it's a little child that has not been developmentally traumatized! [laughter]
Click to expand...
 
Scottie said:
I grow food. You make mud bricks. We both do work to create something, requiring time and energy. We then exchange mud bricks for food. DONE!

But wait, what if we each sold our product for a piece of Official Paper? We would need a source of Official Paper, hence banks.
Click to expand...
I thought as such at first, then I noticed that money could actually be useful as third-party for when the brick maker needs food, but the farmer doesn't need bricks.

KJS said:
I've recently watched Shawn Ryan's podcast with the Cardano creator and was a bit stunned by his remarks about El Salvador. It just feels like El Salvador is a model country for how the control grid should be introduced.

The first thing I wasn't aware of is that the state wallet citizens use is a custodial wallet. This means that the state owns the Bitcoin, and citizens can conduct transactions in a centralized manner, can be locked out, etc. This system is managed by a private US company.

Next, the chaos caused by organized crime and the government's actions to eliminate it led citizens to accept the novelties introduced under the guise of restoring order. What hit me hard is yesterday clairvoyant Jackowski's vision on a Lublin, a Polish city in 2050. He saw that the city will be privately owned... Well, that's exactly what happens in El Salvador, where there's a lot of new real estate being built for "BitCoin expats". This kind of reminds me of when I was on a tour in Limassol, Cyprus, and the guide told us that the city is basically owned by foreigners because real estate there is now too expensive for native citizens.
Click to expand...
Fwiw, interestingly enough, I've been practicing Spanish using an AI teaching app (Langua), which I've been discussing this case with.
You bring evidence to the following.

Using it for it's pattern recognition ability, proper to AI technology, and inspired by Laura in her discussions with Grok, we came to a pretty good analysis of what could be happening in El Salvador...

For context, the country used to be run by an "elite" of 14 families that controlled almost all land and wealth, whereas the majority lived in poverty. This created extreme inequality and brutal repression in the 70's, when leftist groups and the Catholic church started to organise themselves to propose social reforms.
Until the murder of archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980, that launched a civil war that lasted till 1992.

At the end, the economy was destroyed, the institutions weakened, and thousands of ex-fighters became workless.
While I was prompting a recap saying that both sides had lost, the AI answered that :
The elites never really lost their economic power, the state remained weak, and inequality persisted.
Click to expand...

That's in the 90's that people emigrated to the US, and the ones who formed part of gangs got deported back, bringing the gang culture to El Salvador and filling the void left by the weak state.

It is very likely that the elites still in place negotiated with the gangs. Following this logic, Langua answered :
The gangs could have served the interests of the elites in various manners - they maintained the population terrorized and desorganised, they justified the weak state, and created chaos that impeded whatever real social movement against the elites. Now Bukele eliminates the gangs but keeps the structures of the economic power intact. It's like changing the control method from chaos and fear to authoritarian order.
Click to expand...
...or more of a "golden prison" in this case.

So the gangs could have been used as distraction for the real culprits.
Now that the gangs got dismantled, the current strategy would be to give people the illusion of freedom, compared to what was before, while the elites are actually building more control, harder to recognise, notably through Bitcoin.
Langua:
Today, the traditional elites are still controlling many sectors - banks, telecommunications, energy, medias. Families like the Salaverría, Dueñas, and others, keep a big economic power.
Click to expand...
But Bukele doesn't come from this traditional elite and has been in conflicts with some of these groups (medias and companies). He has also needed the support of the private sector for his policies, though. It's hard to find the balance between confronting and negotiating.
Click to expand...
It seems that Bukele has achieved a certain independance and has improved the security, but if the economical elites keep the real power, there are always limits to how much can change.
Click to expand...
There was also some contradiction in its reasoning:
Bukele seems to have renegotiating as such : He controls the security, the foreign policy (like Bitcoin), and has a massive popular support, whereas the elites keep their traditional economic sectors but with less direct political influence than before.
Click to expand...
That is, he's got the political and social, they have the economic.
But then if the elites are still controlling the banks, wouldn't Bitcoin be in opposition to them by being decentralised ?
Answer:
[...] Bukele may be playing a bigger strategy - using Bitcoin to create a parallel system that would eventually defy this banking power. Or maybe the elites calculated that it is better to adapt and find ways to benefit from Bitcoin than resisting it completely.
Click to expand...

I then shared that if btc is allowed to be developed, it probably means that the banks agree with it and may have interests in the process unfolding.
What could these interests of the banks in developing btc be ?
1) diversify towards new financial markets - if you can't beat something, you better unite and counter it from inside. 2) attract foreign assets and investment in crypto that they can channel through their institutions. 3) they may see opportunities in related services - exchanges, cutody, conversion between btc and dollars.
Click to expand...
They could also calculate that it's better to allow it in a controlled manner, than to risk losing any influence without opposition.
Click to expand...

Prompting that for them to accept and unite with btc could be a way to digitalise all currencies, and reach more control and power over people, Langua agreed then said :
That's ironical because Bitcoin got originally created to be decentralised and escape the traditional banking control, but if the elites succeed to control it through their institutions, it could be converted into the most powerful control tool that they've ever had.
Click to expand...

Finally, I asked what would the ways by which the elites could control btc from inside be... :
1) Controlling the principal exchanges where people buy and sell btc. 2) Creating traditional financial products based on btc (ETFs, futures) that allow them to influence the price without directly possessing btc. 3) Buying massive quantities to influence the market. 4) Pressuring for regulations that favorise big institutions over individual users. 5) Controlling the infrastructure - the banks processing the conversions between btc and fiat
Click to expand...
It looks like the previous comments brought evidences to most of the above, if not all...

Not to bad for a mere language learning application...
I hope it wasn't too much of a noise, I thought it was worth sharing here.
 
So, we sometimes hear that quantum physics could be used to bypass current blockchain cryptography, through quantum computing.
But it reversely seems to allow the development of a stronger encryption method, quantum cryptography...
www.sott.net

Quantum scientists have built a new math of cryptography

In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern encryption. A new proof shows how. Hard problems are usually not a welcome sight. But cryptographers love them. That's because certain hard math problems...
www.sott.net www.sott.net
Despite recent progress, quantum computing technology is not yet mature enough to put their ideas into practice. Meanwhile, other researchers have devised quantum cryptography methods that could be used sooner, though more work will be needed to establish that they're truly secure.

Quantum cryptography has already proved full of surprises, and researchers have only recently begun exploring the possibilities. "We're just trying to understand this new landscape that really existed the whole time," Zhandry said.
Click to expand...
 
Can the title of this thread finally be changed to

Role of Crypto/Cybercurrencies in the PTB's GAIN of control?​

Every time I see this current thread title, my brain rolls its eyes.

How much more data and analysis of the trends is needed to see where the train is heading? The original title is reflective of a kind of hopium that existed back in the day. Those Pollyanna fantasies should be about dead by now, shouldn’t they? How many more years before cash is banned and converted into programable JP Morgan stable coins? How many speeches by that fat slug Carstens do we need to hear to know what the plan is? The financial Death Star is proceeding on schedule, lord Vader.
 
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