⚯ Michel de Cryptadamus ⚯
@cryptadamist@universeodon.com replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago
@molly0xfff i know i'm just a smooth brained crypto sceptic but investing any amount of money in #CryptoCom's bullshit #CRO token and a blockchain that literally no one uses (not even money launderers use #Cronos!) strikes me as completely unhinged.

they want to put more cash into their #CRO treasury than any "digital asset treasury" company other than MSTR w/the bitcoins.

wtf?

https://x.com/Cryptadamist/status/1960723981960667296
Mark Reid
@mdreid@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago
@molly0xfff I know that you understand this all very well already but just cannot get my head around just how little sense their proposal makes.

The only real value of a blockchain is to create shared consensus in a distributed system in the absence of a trusted authority. When it comes to publishing GDP statistics, a) who else is or wants to publish or edit those stats? and b) isn’t the US government supposed to be the trusted authority here?

🫠
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
crazyeddie
@crazyeddie@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago
@molly0xfff Where does Tether fit in this?

I know they're in El Salvador doing stuff. I know they're coming back to the US now that Trump is back and fraud investigations have stopped. I know they want to at least add USDT as an alternative to USDC.

I have a feeling they're in El Salvador because they're trying to implement Yarvin's ideas of bringing back the City States, which would be largely implemented by crypto governance.

How in with Trump are they and where would they be in this map?
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Bloomberg published a great story about a plan by Tether co-founder and some other guy to pitch bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver on paying $30 million for a pardon. It didn't work out, and Ver is apparently paying (much less) for Roger Stone instead.

(Bloomberg article: bloomberg.com/news/articles/20)

Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The revolving door flung former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines into an advisory role at stablecoin issuer Tether, after he helped back the stablecoin regulation that will largely dictate Tether's operations in the US going forward.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Commerce Secretary Lutnick has announced plans to "put out GDP on the blockchain". I am a little concerned they hope to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”