Alexander Ainslie

r3.com/blog/identity-… [@iang_fc @AAinslie 2017]

@izakaminska @izakaminska MPGA / Make Pegging Great Again

To whom it may concern. It is with a degree of reluctance that I find myself compelled to draw attention to a rather serious wrong that has, of late, afflicted the monetary world. It is a wrong that bears significant systemic consequences for all of us, albeit mostly for me. It relates to the unfortunate usage of the term “pegging” by parties operating outside financial and monetary contexts. This "appropriation" is now giving rise to a degree of stigma, with negative digital externalities, for those of us who still primarily associate the term with its original financial usage. I would respectfully remind readers that such usage — leaving aside carpentry, camping, and clothes-hanging — has a long-standing heritage dating back to at least the 1930s: a rightful original claim, if ever there was one. This is why I have decided, as of today, to launch an unofficial campaign to reappropriate the term for its rightful monetary application. Why now? In what can only be described as a fairly profound display of innocence, when I decided to rebrand my stablecoin publication to ThePeg.co (formerly Cash Equivalence), I was not aware that the term had, in recent years, been… err, repurposed to denote what might be put mildly as an expression of female empowerment. I realised something wasn't quite right while at lunch with a male bank equity analyst late last year, specifically when he began to chuckle awkwardly upon the reference. I have since educated myself on the term’s “other” meaning, which (as far as I can tell) has a rather less illustrious pedigree, emerging only around 2001. The proper financial usage, I should point out, was chiefly popularised in the aftermath of Bretton Woods, when the dollar was famously pegged to gold and other currencies to the dollar. This is why the name seemed a perfect fit for a publication focused not just on stablecoins, but on the broader rewiring of the global financial system. Central bank archives, I would stress, are jam-packed with pegging references — currencies pegged, rates pegged, regimes pegged, etc. Pegs everywhere. Given this rather weighty heritage, it seemed difficult to justify retreat upon familiarisation with the more salacious application. On reflection, in a supposedly female-empowered era, there was really only one option: lean into the faux pas. It is not the first time, after all, I’ve been caught out by my naivety (famous Virgin Atlantic story, IYKYK). Moreover, as a long-time James Bond fan, I decided it was about time that the finance industry loosen its tie, ditch the stiff demeanour, and indulge in a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour like they used to in the good old eurodollar days. Alas, the real trouble began when I set up my new email: @thepeg.co It turns out that corporate email filters, now the vigilant defenders of professional decorum in an increasingly no-fun-allowed environment, preemptively block even entirely respectable emails if they originate from an outfit called thepeg.co. This is, understandably, a problem for a journalist who needs to engage in overt solicitation to land stories. For now, I have resorted to my other "safe for work" domain, the-blindspot.com (ironically named, given this story). But this is proving suboptimal. This is why, after yet another pingback, I decided today something more proactive needs to be done. Hence, the woeful publicisation of my story in the hope of stimulating an organic, widespread reappropriation campaign — one that may yet compel corporate filters the world over to open up to The Peg. At this point, I would gently remind readers that it's not just the most powerful central banks and publications in the world that boast ample references to pegging. There are 7,263 references to things being "pegged" in the Financial Times alone. I attach pictorial evidence of such respectable historic usage, in the hope it might assist those wishing to lobby their web managers on my behalf that pegs should not, in fact, be blocked. Thank you for your attention to this matter. The destigmatisation of “pegging” is no laughing matter. We must work together to restore the term to its rightful place in monetary discourse.

@BrianRoemmele ‘#VoiceFirst 3.0’ for AI has arrived from @NVIDIAAI’s #PersonalPlex

@izakaminska @mir_btc @giacomozucco @Excellion @gaborgurbacs @CryptoHayes

I was at Tether’s Lugano conference last week. I returned with a new appreciation for the scale of their footprint. It’s really not just about stablecoins. Arguably, if you still think of them as a stablecoin company you’re missing the story. And if you’re not aware of the bigger story, you’ll arguably miss the bigger stablecoin agenda. Tether is focusing on allocating the group’s mega windfalls into what might be described as “effective investment” strategies. Especially in emerging markets, deep tech and resilience initiatives. Even energy and commodities finance. Not to mention its commitment to funding decentralized AI and media. All this is easier said than done, for sure, but it’s a fascinating twist on the classic billionaire foundation mentality. What they’re doing is not charity. It’s high risk lending of the variety most banks won’t do in some quarters, hedged by investments in extreme safe assets elsewhere (notably gold, bitcoin and land). Was also fascinated to discover that one of CEO Paolo Ardoino’s favourite books is Asimov’s Foundation series. No coincidence then that their entire Lugano op is called the “Plan B” Foundation. Fans of the books will get what I mean. (Especially if you think of Elon Musk and the Mars mission as Plan A). An often repeated phrase throughout was: “‘Number go up’ is the Trojan Horse. ‘Freedom go up’ is the mission”. Tether, it was also frequently said, aims to be a “stable company” rather than just a stablecoin. You could think of it as a type of private sector-led stabilization program for the world. Deeply ironic, given how much central banks fret about the instability potentially stemming from stablecoins. Sticking to the Asimov theme, I was also struck by how many times Ardoino described Tether as a hedge against the “darkness” rising in the world. Many will be deeply cynical about all these developments due to Tether’s shadowy beginnings in the world of crypto and beyond. There’s also the fact Tether has recently made headlines for cozying up to the Trump administration, and even for donating to Trump’s new ballroom. Scepticism is as ever warranted. But if you’re betting the Genius Act will unleash the sort of competition that will eat Tether’s lunch, it’s important to understand just how substantial their first mover moat is. I have written up my wider thoughts at the Blind Spot’s stablecoin pop up 👇 thepeg.co/p/the-weekly-p…

@izakaminska @paoloardoino

@avtarsehra @Prime_Ox_ 💯 spot on, and as elaborated by @sytaylor re @Stripe’s #Tempo intentions in his recent thread: x.com/sytaylor/statu…

Agree that most dApps won’t be able to sustain a custom security layer, so they’re better suited to shared infrastructure like Ethereum or Solana. But large-scale market infrastructure projects can justify a custom layer—similar to how consortia in financial services have launched clearing systems, depositories, and exchanges. For such initiatives, a custom setup with dedicated governance and a native security token can be well-aligned.

Most people think “one chain to rule them all” is the future. They’re wrong. The real endgame is a blockchain of blockchains — sovereign appchains as persistent networks, linked by a TCP/IP for Web3. And that interchange protocol? It might not be a basic chain at all… but a network of agents. Thread ahead:

THE FED MASTER ACCOUNT FIGHT just ratcheted up, as several large #fintechs just formed a new lobbying group to push for Fed master accounts for non-depository institutions. The law doesn't permit that, of course, but the Fed hasn't complied with the law (for example it gave Reserve Trust a master account despite Reserve Trust being a trust company & thus not legally eligible facially). More here: asapalliance.org

@dimabuterin Vulnerability, is the mortar of life fe. Dare, greatly.

vulnerability is the greatest power. few.

@AriDavidPaul @ipopflop @cburniske @AriDavidPaul now *that* last sentence, is the money quote 😅

Continue to believe there are high odds we break the simplistic four-year cycle that $BTC has honored the last ~12 years. If that happens, most people will realize they over-traded what's to come, with too short-term a view. But to buy that thesis, you have to believe blockchains are foundational to our digital future, not some "get rich quick" scheme. Anyone approaching cryptoassets like lottery tickets, has the same odds of getting rich as someone buying an actual lottery ticket. With a supportive US administration, crypto could be entering a goldilocks period over the next many years, where returns aren't as parabolic, but instead we see steadier growth, not to mention majors stop suffering 85-95% drawdowns. In Carlota Perez's framework (see image), we would be entering the "Deployment" period, after what was a very nasty 2022/23 on all fronts. On drawdowns: I'm not saying they'll stop, I'm saying it's possible they get less extreme for the majors, which could whiplash people that overtrade with too much aggression. That said, I don't believe in "up only" unless you take an infinite view on Capitalism. But the 85-95% drawdowns come when there's too much unrealized profit in the market structure, combined with fear that the asset may never rise again. It's dawning on the world that BTC and quality cryptoassets are here to stay, and so the "this is dead" pricing is likely behind us for the majors (not for memecoins). I also think BTC and $ETH both having ETFs, and perhaps SOL+ soon, will provide more consistent buying pressure for these assets. If you ever want to see the % drawdown BTC could be exposed to, look at the 200W SMA, which has been our most reliable technical support each bearish period. Right now at ~$40K that suggests a 60% drawdown is possible, which is a far cry from 80%+ (has to drop another 50% from 60% down, to hit 80% down). As BTC rises, so too will the 200W SMA. And despite always entertaining this number as a possibility, I continue to believe 2025 is a volatile but great year for us. If there were two major sicknesses I could cure CT of, it would be 1) pessimism and 2) short-termism. Both of these will strip you of the opportunity to hone your investment skills and build significant wealth. Sure, I raise cash in frothy periods from extended assets, but I always stay net long because I firmly believe blockchains are key to our future.

@janehk @VoltCapital Congratulations and all the best!

After 3 & a half incredible years at a16z crypto, I'm heading back into the trenches of early stage venture by joining Soona & the exceptional team at @VoltCapital 👾

@WBrettWilson 💯 — No politician, in any country.

Fact.

@brettharrison How wonderful Brett!

For Christmas my family and I brought three new cats home from our local shelter. Alice, Daphne, and Vera, all sweet and maniacal.

@WBrettWilson YES

Yes. Yes. Yes.

The motto of every monopoly is, We don’t care because we don’t have to. And government is the ultimate monopoly.

The orchestrated advertiser boycott against X and popular podcasts must end immediately. Conspiracy in restraint of trade is a prosecutable crime.

@prestonjbyrne @ArkhamIntel Congratulations! All the best with it Preston.

Pleased to announce today that I've joined @ArkhamIntel. I’m excited to start this new phase of my career on the first morning of a new era for American tech: one in which the government doesn’t fight technology and its makers, but embraces them. prestonbyrne.com/2024/11/06/why…

The internet was supposed to empower the masses by decentralizing and distributing power, but for the most part it's just turned everyone into both cops and surveilled suspects, all centralized under a few govt-tied platforms & tech oligarchs. twitter.com/josephfcox/sta…

DarkIRC is the world's strongest anonymous chat. There is no identity. Messages have no link. Free society means free speech. That means all speech. Without limits. We made this chat because of the brutal censorship of crypto devs by authoritarian regimes. The power regime puts devs who work on freedom tech in jail. We are under attack. Devs are pushed into secret spaces with their back against the wall. But enough is enough! We want to freely organize in public spaces with our community. Fear is the mind-killer. We want all free people to stand up for truth and justice. DarkFi is your shield! Identity is a huge danger in today's world. It's how they attack us. They arrest people for making posts online that don't fit the official narrative. During the Tornado Cash case, prosecutors got their internal chats on Signal. The court went "you said this" and put the devs in jail. DarkIRC has no identity. You can change your nickname at any time. No other chat system has this feature. All the other apps make you register or generate keys. This then becomes your ID. All your messages are linked to this ID. But DarkIRC has NO identity. You just send messages into an anonymous p2p network running over Tor. DarkIRC full node running over Tor We have a few ways to avoid spam. First we use rate-limit nullifiers on the network level. This stops the network being flooded. (Right now it's disabled for this version.) Each channel can set its own posting policy. And users can also add optional moderation. DarkIRC nodes are completely anon. The p2p network runs smoothly over the Tor anonymity network. Node visualizer tool showing the p2p network running over Tor Our chat works on both the phone and the desktop - for every platform! You can use our native UI. Or you can use any IRC frontend. You can run the node on the phone through Termux and connect with Revolution IRC. The EU has forced Telegram to hand over all chat data to them. This is the new normal. But enough is enough. A free society must have free speech. Free speech means **all speech**. Yes, we are free speech extremists. Uncensored free zones are full of life, vitality and creation. Our aim is to rewild the internet with the thick dense dark forest of encryption. This dark forest provides cover and protects freedom. It is the internet with mass usage of strong cryptography everywhere, impenetrable to surveillance. Let there be dark. Expect us. ▽

This is so wrong. Either AB or PQ should just leave Canada. And I suggest PQ take the lead.

@JosephJacks_ @Matthew_C_Beck Know what you don’t know that you don’t know.

@Matthew_C_Beck Know what you know!

Know what you hold

@patrickc Psycilocybin 🍄?

Reading books/accounts from the 1920s and thereabouts, otherwise high-functioning people regularly seem to have had nervous breakdowns that necessitated months of recuperation in a restful sanatorium. What happened to that? Better treatment? Less stress?