Thursday Mailbag Explores Cypherpunk Concerns Over Crypto Contributions to Treasury Companies
Worldcoin Launches in the US
- Worldcoin, which uses an iris-scanning orb for identity verification, is now available in the US.
- Critics raise concerns about privacy and surveillance technology.
- Advocates argue it offers a decentralized solution to proving human identity amidst AI-generated content.
- Data from scans are converted into hashes and stored on a blockchain, ensuring privacy.
Interest Payments on Stablecoins
- Debate arises over whether stablecoins should pay interest, with some viewing it as narrowing banks.
- Tether reported a $2.3 billion dividend to owners last quarter, raising questions about profit distribution.
- Circle declined a $5 billion acquisition offer from Ripple, indicating strong market positioning.
USD1 Stablecoin Transaction Announcement
- A $2 billion deal between Binance and Emirati investment firm MGX was announced, involving USD1, a stablecoin linked to Donald Trump.
- The transaction could generate $80 million annually for the issuer.
- Conflicts of interest are highlighted in the announcement's details.
SPAC Trading Concerns
- CEP SPAC trades at $50, suggesting overvaluation based on speculative expectations.
- A recent deal with Tether and SoftBank aims to create a bitcoin-focused company, Twenty One.
- Current pricing implies investors believe $100 million in bitcoin is worth $500 million post-IPO.