Opinion


Policy

Bitcoin Is Aiding the Ransomware Industry

We are living in a world where the second-order effects of permissionless money – like the greater use of ransomware – are already evident.

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Policy

The US Can Make Bitcoin Mining Greener

With companies like Square announcing environment-focused mining initiatives, the U.S. can take the lead in reducing bitcoin's carbon impact.

Krasyuk/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Markets

Fixing Crypto's Silos

Our fragmented status quo – thousands of tokens, hundreds of dapps – will not work indefinitely without interoperability.

wheat, silos

Policy

Money Reimagined: Bitcoin's Warning for Central Banks

Bitcoin's rising price reflects declining faith in the existing financial system. Will central bankers like Christine Lagarde take notice?

Illustration: Moe Na/CoinDesk

Policy

What Crypto Can Expect From Gary Gensler at the SEC

A ex-CFTC official on how Biden's rumored pick to head the SEC might treat crypto-related issues.

CFTC Chair Gary Gensler before the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, 2013

Finance

Twitter, Trump and the 'Private Company' Fallacy

Defending deplatforming as the right of private companies assumes that truly private companies are possible. They may not be.

Cancel culture, erasing a member of community, social media censorship, new ethics

Markets

The Downside of Crypto Donations

Nonprofits and their supporters are turning to crypto to avoid taxmen, middlemen and restrictive lawmakers. Unless they do their homework, nonprofits face restrictions of a different kind.

ALS charity fundraiser at Major Tom in Vancouver.

Policy

FinCEN's Crypto Surveillance Rule Violates the US Constitution

Proposals requiring crypto companies to report transactions amount to "mass surveillance" and flout the Fourth Amendment.

telescope surveillance

Policy

How the OCC Is Building Crypto America (and Saving Banks From Extinction)

Three interpretative letters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency lay the groundwork for banks to become crypto custodians, payment companies and miners in blockchain networks.

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Policy

FinCEN's Crypto Rules Aren't as Unfair as Jack Dorsey Says

Crypto companies complain about FinCEN's new "unhosted wallets" proposal. But the rules aren't unreasonable, says our columnist.

KYC, anti-money laundering images are ineffective. (Getty Images)