Riding The Wave News Summary #9

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News

Table of Contents

1. Bill Seeks to Ban Fed From Issuing Digital Currency to Consumers

2. Arkansas to Lure Remote Tech Workers With ‘Bitcoin and a Bike’ Sweetener

3. Rio de Janeiro Eyes Treasury Investment in Crypto and Discounts for Taxes Paid in Bitcoin

4. Most Jamaicans Will Be Using Digital Money by 2027, Prime Minister Says

5. Going meta: Disney, Second Life and K-pop

6. Crypto airdrop season: Why people are making thousands for 'free'

7. Battle of the bots: WTF token launch drains 58 ETH

Bill Seeks to Ban Fed From Issuing Digital Currency to Consumers

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) proposed a law on Wednesday that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals.

Emmer's bill comes at a time when central banks across the world, including the Fed, are considering whether to introduce digital versions of their currency or—in the case of China—have done so already.

In a press release describing the bill, Emmer warns that a digital currency issued by the Fed could be a slippery slope in which consumers could one day be forced to register with the central bank to access money, which could in turn lead to mass surveillance of their financial activity.

Emmer's concern is not purely hypothetical given that China's despotic government is already using the country's new digital yuan to monitor its citizens.

It should be noted, however, that there is no indication that the Biden Administration of the Federal Reserve is seriously considering central bank accounts for individual Americans.

While creating a CBDC that Americans could access via the Fed could offer new convenience and efficiency—especially when it came to paying tax or receiving stimulus payments—some lawmakers have raised concerns that those benefits would be outweighed by the privacy threats such a system would pose.

Meanwhile, offering CBDCs directly to consumers could lead to a situation where Americans transfer their deposits to the Fed, leaving commercial banks without capital to lend—a scenario that the powerful banking lobby would vigorously oppose.

The text of Emmer's bill is very brief, and it calls for adding a paragraph to the Federal Reserve Act that states "a Federal reserve bank may not offer products or services directly to an individual, maintain an account on behalf of an individual, or issue a central bank digital currency directly to an individual.’’

While this law wouldn’t be groundbreaking, it would help protect US citizens by adding a clear buffer between the government and individual consumers. As the article mentions, this would help prevent us from going the route China went where all transactions are traceable, and all transactions lose privacy. Having banks as a buffer would add steps to this process, making the amount of privacy more similar to our current system.

Full Article

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Arkansas to Lure Remote Tech Workers With ‘Bitcoin and a Bike’ Sweetener

The Northwest Arkansas Council is offering a sum of $10,000 worth of Bitcoin to attract remote tech professionals to move to the region, per local media outlet KNWA. The region includes the cities of Fayetteville, Rogers, Bentonville, and Springdale.

In addition to the Bitcoin, tech professionals descending on Arkansas would also receive a street or mountain bike.

If, however, Bitcoin and a bike don’t quite impress a prospective Arkansas tech professional, cash and an annual membership to an art or cultural institution can be offered instead.

Many cities have offered programs like this in the past targeting tech (Example) but they have typically offered tax breaks, better deals on houses, or cash. This addition of Crypto to deals shows they are starting to warm up to the wave of new projects we are seeing within the crypto space.

Full Article