June 22, 2021       /       Unchained Daily       /       Laura Shin

Daily Bits ✍️✍️✍️

What Do You Meme?

With the latest drop in the crypto markets, it looks like a few of our favorite cryptopians might have to take new jobs:

What’s Poppin’?

The People’s Bank of China released a statement on Monday that not only reiterated previous crypto bans, but additionally asked Chinese institutions to investigate, identify, and cut off any user accounts associated with over-the-counter crypto exchanges.

The Block reports that four institutions, including AliPay, issued a similar notice, warning that any users found dealing in crypto transactions would find their account terminated and reported to the relevant authorities.

The PBOC had recently interviewed five domestic banks, along with fintech giant Alipay, on financial institutions providing cryptocurrency transactions.

According to the statement, the banks were asked to strictly implement the “Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risks” and “Announcement on Preventing Token Issuance Financing Risks,” which were implemented in 2013 and 2017, respectively. Based on the document, the PBOC believes that the hype surrounding cryptocurrency has disrupted its financial system, bringing undo risk associated with money laundering and illegal capital outflows across borders.

The PBOC’s words come shortly after a similar May notice from the National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association, and the Payment and Clearing Association of China, which also reiterated the 2013 and 2017 crypto bans on Bitcoin transactions and ICOs.

Nathaniel Popper, a reporter at the New York Times, noted on Twitter:

Later in his tweet thread, Popper added, “Each Chinese intervention has taken largely the same form, with bank regulators stepping in to say that banks cannot move money to crypto exchanges. This is rich, given that it is almost the same restrictions put in place anew each time — restrictions that Chinese regulators slowly stop enforcing between booms, allowing new bull runs to form, before stepping in again.”

Additional reading: 

China Restricts Banks’ Use of Bitcoin (2013 NYT) How China’s Stifling Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies: QuickTake (2018 Bloomberg) Overview of China’s Cryptocurrency Regulation (Library of Congress 2021)

On a related note, a crackdown on mining in China has prompted a Chinese logistics firm to decide to ship 6,600 lbs. of mining equipment to Maryland, according to a tweet by China-based CNBC reporter Eunice Yoon.

Recommended Reads

  • David Hoffman on building wealth during a bear market:

 

  • NFT research on “play-to-earn,” the future of gaming:

  • Vitalik on Verkle trees:

On The Pod…

Is Quadriga’s Gerald Cotten Still Alive? The ‘Exit Scam’ Podcast Aims to Answer

Aaron Lammer, author and host of the Exit Scam podcast, recounts the mysterious and controversial death of QuadrigaCX’s founder Gerald Cotton. Show highlights:

  • A quick recap of QuadrigaCX
  • why Aaron felt compelled to create a series on QuadrigaCX
  • how Gerald Cotton, a lifelong Ponzi-addict, came to be the CEO of Canada’s largest crypto exchange
  • what Ponzi-schemes Gerald ran before starting Quadriga CX
  • why customers trusted QuadrigaCX and what red flags were readily apparent looking back
  • the sketchy tactic Gerald used to single-handedly boosted QuadrigaCX’s trading volume by 30%
  • a new wife, empty wallets, a hastily written will, and the circumstances surrounding Gerald’s shocking death
  • how Gerald’s dark web background might have prepared him to fake his own death
  • what the chances are that Canadian authorities exhume Gerald’s body
  • why Aaron is skeptical Gerald’s wife was “in” on the QuadrigaCX fiasco

Book Update

My book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze, is now available for pre-order now.

The book, which is all about Ethereum and the 2017 ICO mania, comes out Nov. 2nd. Pre-order it today!

You can purchase it here: http://bit.ly/cryptopians