March 2022 - cypherpunks@lists.ogf.org

APster permits smart contracts & crypto-whizbangery
by professor rat 05 Mar '22

05 Mar '22

What forbids us running prediction-markets on people with smart-contracts and triple-encryption? And if it means more work then let the strong AI do it. Welcome to the revolution.

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Cryptocurrency: Exchanges Under Russia FUD Assault, JPMorgan Hypocrites and Rapists
by grarpamp 05 Mar '22

05 Mar '22

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/wall-street-is-already-p… JPMorgan Dimon caught buying up distressed Russian assets while prohibiting its brokerage clients from investing in Russia stocks, and prohibiting them from buying crypto asset stocks, and freezing/stealing Russia[ns] access to their own money, and getting criminally prosecuted and settling for $Billions by US regulatory for manipulation and fraud multiple times. Kraken fighting the good freedom fight in public first, with Binance and now Coinbase etc in the wings, against calls to mass censor millions of innocent civilians in regions, parties and other entities without any evidence, justification, jurisdiction, judicial or other due process. Astounding all those calling for censorship, foolish be they laying out tools that will be used to censor themselves and their own monetary freedom in turn. Coinbase CEO: "Ordinary Russians Are Using Crypto As A Lifeline" https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1499621509651787782 As we reported earlier this week, most popular crypto exchanges have declined requests by western officials to cut off all Russian customers, as crypto trading volume soared as investors appeared to front-run expectations for massive capital outflows as sanctions bite. While most trading denominated in Russia rubles has been taken place on Hong Kong-based Binance, even popular US exchanges like the publicly traded Coinbase have refused to cut off all Russian users - at least, for the moment. And for the first time since this "controversy" first emerged, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has spoken up to offer an explanation. And that explanation is that millions of ordinary Russians are now using crypto "as a lifeline" to preserve their hard-won assets during a time when the Russian ruble, and other Russian assets, are being mercilessly devalued. "Some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed. Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too," Armstrong said. As Armstrong pointed out, Coinbase is obligated to comply with US sanctions, like any other US-based business. But until sanctions stipulate otherwise, the exchange will continue providing services to the Russian people (excluding those whose names have wound up on the US Treasury's sanctions list). And bitcoin's public blockchain, a feature of most cryptocurrencies, makes it an ill-suited avenue for Russian oligarchs looking to protect their billions, he added. See the full thread below: 1/ We've been seeing some questions/discussion around whether crypto can be used to avoid sanctions. A few thoughts... — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 2/ Every US company has to follow the law - it doesn't matter if your company handles dollars, crypto, gold, real estate or even non financial assets. Sanctions laws apply to all US people and businesses. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 3/ So it would be a mistake to think crypto businesses like Coinbase won't follow the law. Of course we will. This is why we screen people who sign up for our services against global watchlists, and block transactions from IP addresses that might... — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 4/ ...belong to sanctioned individuals or entities, just like any other regulated financial services business. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 5/ That being said, we don’t think there’s a high risk of Russian oligarchs using crypto to avoid sanctions. Because it is an open ledger, trying to sneak lots of money through crypto would be more traceable than using U.S. dollars cash, art, gold, or other assets. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 6/ This is not just my opinion btw — experts at the US Treasury and NSC agree. For example: https://t.co/OVEKkMTCRO — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 7/ In addition, we are not preemptively banning all Russians from using Coinbase. We believe everyone deserves access to basic financial services unless the law says otherwise. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 8/ Some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed. Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too. That said, if the US government decides to impose a ban, we will of course follow those laws. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 9/ Sanctions are a complex issue, and the situation is changing fast, so we’ll keep working with law enforcement and governments, and will take more steps as needed. We'll also of course keep working to enable crypto services for the people of Ukraine who are in need of help. — Brian Armstrong - barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 4, 2022 Armstrong's Twitter comments reflect those from Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who said on Wednesday that it would be "unethical" for his exchange to restrict all Russians. "It's not our decision to make whether to ban Russians...we just follow rules, we don't make them. Also, just from an ethical point of view, many Russians don't support this war." Does this leave crypto on the "wrong side" of the norms? Not necessarily, CZ said. "We're doing exactly what their recommendations are." Just like all major banks and any other financial institutions. And as strategists from Citi explained earlier this week, while the potential for capital flight from Russia remains high, trading volumes (although impressive-looking on the chart) have been relatively small in absolute terms so far (around 210 bitcoin per day on average). This suggests that the price action is more due to investors positioning for an expected uptick in demand from Russia, rather than Russian demand itself, and furthermore, it underlines the reality that bitcoin and crypto more broadly are being treated like a 'boogeyman' by Western officials. JP Morgan, Goldman Scoop Up Distressed Russian Assets As Analysts Fret About Economic Collapse A couple of days ago, as Russia-linked ETFs plunged following a battery of US and European sanctions against Russia designed to isolate its economy and cut its people off from the global financial system, we asked ourselves: who is buying all these Russian assets? The notion that American distressed investors would pass up the opportunity to pick up Russian assets on the cheap seemed, well, counterintuitive. And while China was likely one source of capital, would western investors really allow the sanctions threat to scare them away from an obvious opportunity to buy? Fast forward to last night, and a team of reporters at Bloomberg have produced an answer: at risk of potentially violating US sanctions (which have imposed strict limits on secondary market transactions involving certain types of Russian debt), JP Morgan and Goldman are already scooping up Russian corporate bonds, either for their own book, or on behalf of waiting clients. Here's more from BBG: Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase have been purchasing beaten-down company bonds tied to Russia in recent days, as hedge funds that specialize in buying cheap credit look to load up on the assets, according to people with knowledge of the private transactions. Banks routinely scoop up debt because clients asked them to, or because they expect to find ready buyers. While scooping up distressed debt is a time-testing Wall Street business strategy, buying Russian securities presents "unique risks", as western leaders seek to crack down on Russian companies, not just the government. Already, western firms have been cutting ties with Russian giants like Gazprom. As a reminder, here's a rundown of major firms that have cut ties with Russia (selling their assets or shares, likely at a steep loss). The whole point of the sanctions is to make them and their instruments untouchable. Sanctions have already supposedly cut off Russia's central bank from roughly half of its foreign currency reserves held in accounts abroad. Of course, megabanks like JPM already have a Russian securities business in London. The losses over the past five days have been steep, coming in at 78%, according to Bloomberg. Representatives for Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan declined to comment.

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Cryptocurrency: Slimy Third Party Processors Sneaking In The Middle
by grarpamp 05 Mar '22

05 Mar '22

https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2022/ava-labs-avalanche-smart-… Crypto is P2P cash and freedom for everyone. All these companies, governments, exchanges all trying to insert themselves as profit raking control freak censorious and regulatory middlemen and FUD spewers in every transaction, they're all straight up frauds. Reject them. Go P2P, for freedom, instead.

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Crowdfunded armaments procurement or " APster " for short
by professor rat 04 Mar '22

04 Mar '22

Everyone an assassin is here - finally! " . . . crowdfunding armament procurement with donations from around the world, demonstrating not only crypto’s global capacity for peer-to-peer fund transfers but also the power of decentralized action as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and other crypto communities swiftly mobilized. . . ." https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/03/04/if-ever-there-were-a-time-for-fi… ARREST PUTIN - MUSSOLINI STYLE!

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A Call from Russia to Demonstrate against the Invasion of Ukraine
by professor rat 04 Mar '22

04 Mar '22

The following call to action originally appeared in Russian on avtonom.org, the platform that emerged from the Russia-wide anarchist network Autonomous Action. https://anarchistnews.org/content/spring-coming-take-streets-against-war Global Warnie - Reposts are not always endorsements

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The NFT surveillance nightmare
by professor rat 04 Mar '22

04 Mar '22

The metaverse may have only recently entered mainstream consciousness, but the concept has been kicking around in tech circles since Neal Stephenson introduced it in his 1992 novel, "Snow Crash." But though Stephenson imagined a network in which people gather in a virtual world via avatars—and Ernest Cline combined that idea with pop culture sensibilities in "Ready Player One"—neither author conceptualized NFTs, the blockchain-based assets that signify a deed of ownership over digital or real-world assets. https://decrypt.co/94413/polygon-metaverse-lead-anything-can-become-nft-wil… Not to belabor the obvious but the potential is here for NFT tagging to beat Govt Shitcoins as a dystopian surveillance mechanism. The ' Dossier Society " spread like ' Grey Ooze " nanotechnology.

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Stone is sinking
by professor rat 04 Mar '22

04 Mar '22

Damning evidence surfaces against Roger Stone https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/44272/44272/ Better arrest him before he seeks asylum somewhere; yeah?

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Tired of the govpropanga mails of government licks?
by professor rat 04 Mar '22

04 Mar '22

Stop pumping corrupt WL shitcoins here then "... Mr Assange agreed that some level of privacy was necessary for the successful operation of the military ..." http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/assange-i-can-rule-from-… JULIAN " ‘[The military] protects the sovereignty of Australia. It protects the independence of Australia.' ASSANGE July, 2013

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jewnazi dictator of ukraine
by Punk-BatSoup-Stasi 2.0 04 Mar '22

04 Mar '22

can't make this shit up https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-comic-who-plays-ukraine-president-on-t… aaannnddd then "The October 2021 Pandora Papers revealed that Zelenskyy and his chief aide and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov operated a network of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, and Belize." that's the boss of non-human scum on this like like professor turd and grancrap =)

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Graham becoming cypherpunk
by professor rat 04 Mar '22

04 Mar '22

LindseyGrahamSC Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country - and the world - a great service. https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1499574209567199235?ref_src=twsr…

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