[Community Post] Long Reads Sunday - Issue #58

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Nathaniel Whittemore - August 4, 2019

There are a lot of places you could dive in this week.

In the mood for some regulatory intrigue? Check out a recap of the latest salvo in the NY Attorney General vs. Bitfinex. Or go review the Senate Banking Committee’s hearings on cryptocurrencyregulation. Spoiler alert: they’re still all about Libra.

If instead you’re interested in the global macro narrative that sees Fed rate cuts, negative yields, and money printing as the perfect storm for Bitcoin and provable scarcity, there are a number of threads and podcasts for you.

Power and privacy caught your fancy? Read this essay about why digital privacy is the political issue of our time, then watch video of Hong Kong protestors using lasers to avoid facial recognitionsoftware to get a look at what that means in practice.

Sick of the narratives and just want the data? Q2 research reports from Delphi and Circle (or a video summary of them both) should do the trick.

Just want to kick back and celebrate the 2 year anniversary of UASF, a battle for control of the Bitcoin network? Well, there’s something here for you as well.

Thanks and happy long reads. -NLW

LRS58

Long Reads Sunday #58! We’ve got regulatory intrigue, bitcoin declarations of independence, lasers to avoid facial recognition technology, and a convergent macro narrative. Yep, that’s right - it’s Long Reads time!

2/ Remember the whole saga between the NY Attorney General and Tether, where the NYAG is investigating Bitfinex for allegedly borrowing money from Tether reserves to cover up $1B in losses? Well, on Monday a Judge heard a case to determine if they could even proceed.

3/ Tether v NY was not the only regulatory drama for the week, as the Senate Banking Committee held it’s second crypto-related hearing in 3 weeks. The day kicked off with @melt_dem and @Apompliano on @SquawkCNBC.

4/ One of the witnesses was Circle leader @jerallaire who argued that the company’s recent move to Bermuda was driven not by regulatory arbitrage but by a lack of regulatory clarity. @BrianBrooksCB explains.

5/ For me, there were three themes that stuck out. 1) This is still all about Big Tech and Libra; 2) calling BS on “banking the unbanked” and; 3) the emerging sense of inevitability.

6/ That sense of inevitability is two sided. First, that Bitcoin and what it unleashed are an unstoppable force. Second, that Zuckerberg and Facebook are likely to do whatever the hell they want, so we better adapt.

7/ When it comes to Bitcoin, part of that sense of inevitability stems from the convergence between a larger macro narrative looking uncomfortable to a world of rate cuts, negative yields, and money printing, and the hedge represented by Bitcoin’s provably scarcity.

8/ On that point of the Macro-Crypto convergence, do yourself a favor and do the mini binge of @RaoulPal podcasts this week. Start with @HiddenForcesPod for the wider view then zoom in to Bitcoin specifically with this.

9/ I also recommend this thread from prominent hedge fund manager @hussmanjp that makes an argument why the economy is “overvalued, overbought, overbullish.“

10/ The macro conversation also wasn’t just theoretical this week either. The Fed cut interest rates for the first time since 2008 - in other words, for the first time since Bitcoin was born. @Kevin_Kelly_II sets the context.

11/ One more macro tweet before we move on. Much has been made of the growth of negative yield government debt. For the sake of great debate, check out @TheStalwart’s argument for why that might actually be natural.

12/ Okay, now let’s move to something less contentious (lol) - the 2 year anniversary of UASF! Nominally about block sizes, as @kyletorpey shows, in many ways the battle was more about whether the distributed network of nodes or concentrated mining and other corporate interests would control Bitcoin.

13/ For the full history of the block size war and UASF, I highly recommend this episode of “To The Moon” from @stacyherbert @maxkeiser, featuring @lopp @TraceMayer @theonevortex and more.

14/ Or, if you want to go *really* deep, check out this great compilation of @AaronvanW’s coverage of all the shenanigans, courtesy of @BitcoinMagazine.

15/ The question of power in crypto networks is playing out elsewhere, as well. Over in the Zcash community, the discussion around what to do when the founders reward ends in Oct 2020 ratcheted up with @zooko’s letter to their community.

16/ Part of what makes questions like the one facing the Zcash community so challenging is that we’re still trying to figure out just what decentralized governance looks like, as @AriDavidPaul explores here.

17/ When it comes to questions of power, however, not everything is just debates on Twitter. The standoff between protestors and authorities in Hong Kong continues to intensify. Faces and identities have become a weapon. See this and this

18/ In many ways, Hong Kong right now feels like ground zero in the global battle against surveillance. In a poignant essay, @jbrukh calls this the “political issue of our time”

19/ Here’s another China related crypto story I thought was fascinating. In her piece for @CoinDesk, @baidakova write how Chinese importers in Russia are buying up to $30m Tether each day as a way to get around strict capital controls.

20/ This capacity that crypto provides to get around economic policies is one of the main reasons that governments continue to eye crypto warily. This article was notable particularly in the fact that Zero Hedge is covering crypto again.

21/ Still, for as much chatter as there is around the idea that regulatory pressure might make it so that Libra never launches, @NelsonMRosario argues that they may decide it’s a better horse to bet on than an uncontrollable public network.

22/ Interestingly, in the US regulators seem to currently be operating with the idea that while Libra is a threat to the USD, Bitcoin is too small scale and too SoV focused to make a dent. Maybe they want to check Square’s Cash App sales of Bitcoin.

23/ Seriously, on their earnings call, Square (and Twitter) CEO @jack said “We love you bitcoin.”

24/ Alright, with that exciting note, let’s look at a few more before we break. Let’s start with your quintessential New Yorker style long read - in this case literally from the New Yorker.

25/ For a different type of long read, the last couple weeks have been chock full of data. Let’s start with @Delphi_Digital, whose Q2 Quarterly Macro Outlook argues that “The Perfect Storm for Bitcoin is Brewing.”

26/ For a broad look across the industry from network activity trends to the rise of DeFi and derivates, @ResearchCircle’s Q2 report by @riabhutoria @WilsonWithiam is fantastic.

27/ Both of these reports cover IEO performance, and @lawmaster goes even deeper on the phenomenon. The whole thread is worth a read, but definitely spend some time with #6.

28/ @crypto_voices just put out its great quarterly look at the global monetary base. According to their numbers, Bitcoin currently sits as the 11th largest money in the world!

29/ For Friday’s Crypto Daily 3@3, I did a quick, 20-minute rip through some of the data I found most interesting across all of this awesome research. For those of you who want the highlights on the go.

30/ If you’re in the opposite position, however, and want the full firehose of community insight, this month’s @_cryptowords of the best essays in Bitcoin and crypto reprinted in one place hits 170 minutes!

31/ Alternatively, if you’re in the mood for some good old fashion discussion and debate, check out the conversation kicked up about “feel good stories in crypto” by @twobitidiot.

32/ Okay okay, one more similar ponderous “what if” thread - this time, from @udiWertheimer - and this one involved TIME TRAVEL!

33/ Finally, for those who are well and truly over the overly-politicized rhetoric around tech, I can’t recommend enough @allenf32 piece for @AreoMagazine. The Internet is dead! Long Live the internet.

34/ Before we wrap, one quick announcement. To make it easier on folks, I’m now sending out the Video, Podcast, and Summary of the Crypto Daily 3@3 via email.

35/ As always, you can also get LRS delivered via email by signing up here

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