In this episode of Tangents, Peter and Jerry discuss the recent decision in the SEC v. Ripple case. They explain that the decision follows the same interpretation of the securities laws that Coin Center has longe advocated, namely that commodity tokens can be the subject of securities offerings without being securities themselves. Jerry and Peter also address misreadings of the opinion that have led some to conclude that it implies that sophisticated investors will get protection of the securiti...
Jul 17, 2023•58 min•Ep. 34
In this episode of Tangents, Peter and Jerry discuss the Tornado Cash sanctions list designation by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. As they explain in a legal analysis of the case, they believe that OFAC has overstepped its legal authority by adding certain Tornado Cash smart contract addresses to the SDN List, that this action potentially violates constitutional rights to due process and free speech, and that OFAC has not adequately acted to mitigate the foreseeable ...
Aug 15, 2022•54 min•Ep. 33
In this episode of Tangents, Peter and Jerry discuss the SEC's proposed rulemaking on the definition of ‘exchange’ and Alternative Trading Systems. Bottom line: The Commission’s proposed redefinition of “exchange” violates the First Amendment by requiring a license to speak–even of open source developers. It’s unconstitutional and they should change it. We explain why the First Amendment arguments against the proposed rule are strong and why the Supreme Court is poised to rule against the SEC sh...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 32
In this episode of Tangents, Peter, Jerry, and Neeraj discuss the narrative and substance how cryptocurrency is implicated in the sanctions on Russia, as well as the Biden executive order on digital assets.
Mar 10, 2022•50 min•Ep. 31
In this episode of Tangents, Peter and Jerry discuss a new backgrounder just published by Coin Center that explains what is "staking" to policymakers who sometimes are confused about how that word is used in different cryptocurrency contexts.
Jan 24, 2022•37 min•Ep. 30
In the second part of their discussion of the crypto tax provisions in the infrastructure bill, Jerry, Peter, and Robin recount what happened after the Senate passed it and bring us up to date on efforts to fix the provisions in the House and elsewhere.
Nov 01, 2021•38 min•Ep. 29
Jerry, Peter, and Robin discuss the crypto tax provisions in the infrastructure bill that passed the Senate and is now stuck in the House. They recount what's in the bill, why it's bad, and the efforts in the Senate to stop it. In the next part they'll discuss what's happening now in the House and what's being done to fight it.
Oct 22, 2021•46 min•Ep. 28
Jerry and Peter discuss the stablecoin regulation and the forthcoming report from the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets on that subject. Are stablecoins securities? Are they systemically risky? Is any of this graven in stone? Find out in this episode.
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 27
Jerry and Peter discuss the third comment letter that Coin Center has filed in FinCEN’s ongoing crypto rulemaking. Topics include privacy issues surrounding currency transaction reports and why the current CTR proposal is not tech-neutral and prejudices cryptocurrency technologies.
Mar 16, 2021•43 min•Ep. 26
In the wake of the WSB/GameStop saga, Jerry and Peter discuss the intersection of DeFi and regulation, plus an update on FinCEN’s now unfrozen crypto rule making.
Feb 01, 2021•57 min•Ep. 25
We discuss FinCEN extending the comment period in its crypto rule making, which is a bit of a victory, though we’re not out of the woods yet. We also discuss crypto in the NDAA and Gary Gensler appointed to chair the SEC. FinCEN Extends Comment Period for Rule Aimed at Closing Anti-Money Laundering Regulatory Gaps for Certain Convertible Virtual Currency and Digital Asset Transactions Coin Center files second comment in FinCEN rulemaking challenging its authority to make the surveillance rule Wh...
Jan 19, 2021•54 min•Ep. 24
Jerry and Peter discuss FinCEN's proposed new crypto midnight regulation, as well as the President's Working Group on Financial Markets statement on stablecoins, and FinCEN's announcement that it will develop rules applying FBAR requirements to cryptocurrency accounts.
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 23
The second in a mini-series within Tangents in which Robin asks the same three questions of different guests. Today’s answers by Michale Casey lead to a discussion of changing narratives dating back hundreds of years, reporting on cryptocurrency, the use of blockchain technology in enabling community-owned energy economies, and the future of media.
Dec 09, 2020•47 min•Ep. 22
Dan is executive director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and previously worked at the American Enterprise Institute and the R Street Institute. They discuss how think tanks’ traditional role in developing policy ideas has evolved as politics and the media environment have changed over the last decade.
Nov 25, 2020•45 min•Ep. 21
Abe’s research has spurred Coin Center to advocate for different tax treatment of block rewards. The IRS issued guidance in 2014, explaining that cryptocurrency was property and should be taxed as income when received by a miner. As Abe has pointed out, no other newly created property is taxed at the moment it is made by the taxpayer. A farmer owes taxes when she sells her corn, not when it appears in her fields. Abe first developed his analysis in the context of proof of stake cryptocurrencies ...
Nov 18, 2020•52 min•Ep. 20
Robin tries out a new format where she asks three basic questions of her guests. Today’s answers by @Bitcoinmom Brooke Mallers and her husband, and partner in everything, Bill Mallers leads to a discussion of the value of Bitcoin, the importance of having a de minimis tax exemption, some of the shared policy challenges faced by cryptocurrency businesses and marijuana-related businesses, and the future promise of the cannabis industry.
Nov 11, 2020•55 min•Ep. 19
Neeraj talks with Jerry and Peter for a cryptocurrency policy update. Topics include the recent travel rule rulemaking from FinCEN, privacy and CBDCs, and a de minimis tax exemption.
Nov 04, 2020•54 min•Ep. 18
Because the cryptocurrency space is still relatively nascent, there haven’t been that many patents filed. And many of the patents that have been granted are held by innovative firms that understand that crypto is meant to be open source and open network, permissionless and unowned. If all crypto firms banded together now, at this early stage, they could not only protect each other from offensive use of patents today, they could prevent those patents from ever falling in the hands of trolls in th...
Oct 28, 2020•43 min•Ep. 17
When Twitter was recently hacked, hundreds of popular accounts started tweeting out misleading advertisements for cryptocurrency scams. The problem was not cryptocurrency itself, but rather the broken centralized identity systems that Twitter (alongside all modern internet services) relied upon. The solution, as discussed in this podcast, may actually be cryptocurrency technology itself. Peter and Daniel define decentralized identity, review how it can solve problems like the Twitter hack, and h...
Oct 21, 2020•53 min•Ep. 16
While many may know how a bill becomes a law, fewer may understand the important precursor of how a bill becomes a bill. Following the recent introduction of the Digital Commodities Exchange Act (DCEA), Robin and Paul talk a bit about that process as well as what it is like to work on Capitol Hill.
Oct 14, 2020•32 min•Ep. 15
Taken as a whole, the internet is a resilient platform for free speech. However, individual platforms are increasingly being targeted by government and activist groups demanding censorship. Will and Neeraj discuss the recent history of this trend and how censorship might look at different levels in the internet infrastructure stack. Read: A History of Crowdfunding in the Wake of Violence by Will Duffield
Oct 07, 2020•38 min•Ep. 14
Jerry and Alex discuss what is lobbying and what lobbyists do, the differences between the House and Senate, why Congress is dysfunctional and what can be done about it.
Sep 30, 2020•53 min•Ep. 13
Ian Mier’s graduate work in cryptography pioneered the integration of zero-knowledge proof systems and cryptocurrency blockchains. Along with co-authors, he published the Zero-Coin and Zero-Cash research papers that eventually informed the creation of the Zcash blockchain and cryptocurrency. Peter and Ian discuss the importance of privacy in cryptocurrency technology, the tradeoffs made within different cryptocurrency projects, and the potential for future, fully private stablecoins and other us...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 12
FIRE focuses on campus free speech issues. It may be most well known for its work on guest speaker controversies but threats to speech in academia run much deeper than that. Sarah McLaughlin focuses on tracking how colleges and universities grapple with issues caused by some of their curriculum being illegal to discuss in parts of the world, particularly China. This issue has been complicated further by the recent transition to remote learning. She also tracks issues like blasphemy crimes and le...
Sep 09, 2020•30 min•Ep. 11
A pinch-hitting Peter Van Valkenburgh discusses what is Coin Center and what exactly we do in DC. Who do we represent and for what do we advocate? Find out as we address some common misconceptions about lobbying for crypto.
Sep 02, 2020•47 min•Ep. 10
Ivor’s background is chemical engineering, but three years ago, unsatisfied with answers he was getting from his physician about heart disease risk, he dedicated himself to researching nutrition. Now he has a popular podcast and YouTube channel where he applies his own brand of meticulous root cause and statistical analysis to questions about diet, diseases of civilization (e.g. diabetes and heart disease), as well as the public health response to the recent novel coronavirus. We discuss how he ...
Aug 26, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 9
Neeraj Agrawal is well known on crypto twitter but perhaps less known for his home cooking. Robin and Neeraj discuss Neeraj’s journey from “bro cook” to home chef, including the role of history, youtube and Instagram in his self education. Enjoy this narrative on 17th and 18th century cooking, a bit about food and policy and how lessons learned from cooking can apply to your day job.
Aug 19, 2020•46 min•Ep. 8
Saku is a fixture on Twitter who has crossed over into several smart communities with her consistently insightful commentary and writing. Her perspectives on the world are informed by a mix of rationalism and “tech optimism”--the idea that it’s indisputable that technology has and will continue to make the world a better place. We discussed today’s discourse around technology through that lense. Read more from Saku at https://saku.substack.com/ and @asteroid_saku...
Aug 12, 2020•30 min•Ep. 7
Former CIA analyst Martin Gurri discusses with Jerry the ideas in his prescient book, “The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium.” His thesis is that the explosion of information in the last two decades has exposed and undermined elites and led the public to revolt. In their discussion Jerry and Martin apply the framework to events in the time of Covid, Black Lives Matter, and Trump.
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 6
Why is it important for digital money systems to protect user privacy? Are cryptocurrencies networks like Bitcoin truly public goods? Is the open source software model still free and open or has it been co-opted by corporate interests? What does it mean for money to be “public?” These questions and more are discussed by Peter and Rohan, who agree on the need for privacy-protecting digital cash, but have some significant disagreements about who should build it and how.
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 5
