NOTE: You’ll want to read the entire newsletter today. There is a lot going on.

Before I get into this week’s news curation, I’d like to make an announcement. Cryptocracy is going to make a transition in the next few weeks. The new direction will be focused on where Web3 meets the content economy. So, what does that mean?

As I use “Web3,” it describes the next phase of the World Wide Web where decentralization is the order of the day, projects are tokenized, and technology is used to facilitate an ownership economy. For more on these concepts, you can read my book Web3 Social: How Creators Are Changing the World Wide Web (And You Can Too!).

In essence, Web3 is about making the internet and its benefits more accessible to more people.

The content economy, a $104.2 billion economy, is that part of the internet powered by the creation of entrepreneurs who parlay their skills and abilities into income through a content vehicle. That includes businesses as well as individuals. Anyone who creates content for a living is a content creator and the aggregate of economic activity surrounding that ecosystem is what I call “the content economy.”

Naturally, with the advent of Web3, which promises to empower content creators to own more of their digital assets and content rights, a portion of that $104.2 billion will flow into Web3 projects. Of course, right now, that portion is small. However, as Web3 grows, I expect the Web3 content economy to grow with it. Plus, there is a lot of great stuff going on this space.

My aim with Cryptocracy going forward will be to catalog that growth and highlight some of the emerging content creators—in a variety of media—who utilize Web3 tools to earn income, either full-time or part-time. This isn’t so much a departure from what I’ve been doing as it is a natural progression toward what has interested me all along.

I hope you’ll stick around, because things are going to get interest.

Oh, and don’t forget to take my one-question survey.

Crypto News Today

Do Kwon has found a way to get himself back in the news. He may have been arrested in Montenegro. The funny thing about this is the tentative nature of the announcement. Every news report I’ve read so far says he appears to have been arrested, or was reportedly arrested. In other words, it hasn’t been confirmed that the person arrested is actually him. Of course, if you were an international fugitive and trying to avoid capture, you’d want to carry fake identification, so let’s not accuse law enforcers of incompetence—yet.

The President of the United States has issued an economic report that contains an entire chapter on cryptocurrencies. A MUST-READ. As one would expect, the chief executive is not friendly toward digital assets. He says crypto assets are “speculative” investments (true) and that cryptocurrencies do not serve as a useful medium of exchange in the U.S. (false). The reason for this, he says, is because it isn’t as popular as government-backed dollars. Okay, fair enough, but let’s compare apples to apples. If cryptocurrencies were used as often and by as many people as the U.S. dollar, would it still be a useful medium of exchange? The report doesn’t address this question. What it does address is the tension between referring to cryptocurrencies as both an investment asset and a form of money. But if we narrow our scope to bitcoin, we should recognize that BTC was intended to be a cash alternative—a medium of exchange. Speculators turned it into something else, which isn’t bitcoin’s or its founder’s fault. Sometimes, the market takes on a life of it own and market players use a product for something other than that which it was intended. Anyone familiar with synthetic cathinones understands that truth all too well. The president’s report goes on to discuss the harmful effects of stablecoins, the “limited economic benefits” of distributed ledger technology, and the “risks of financial innovation.” If you really want to know what the most powerful law enforcement executive in the world thinks about your interest in crypto, you should read this report.

Analyst says bitcoin is one week away from confirming a bull market. On the other hand, some doubt that it makes a good hedge. Why? Because liquidity is at a 10-month low.

Binance is investigating employees who assisted Chinese citizens in getting around KYC verification.

Ripple CTO David Schwartz blasts the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for lack of clarity in crypto regulations. More leaders in the crypto space should be vocal about the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation. Anticipation bristles throughout the crypto sector as the court nears a decision in the SEC-Ripple case to finally decide whether XRP is a security. Even while shrinking its expansion efforts in the U.S., Ripple has expanded around the globe. For me, that’s a good sign. Even a loss in the court case is a win for Ripple as it will continue to expand globally. In fact, XRP is now the largest trading token in South Korea. Fortune predicts XRP will succeed, despite the SEC’s efforts. Ripple discusses crypto liquidity and the future of tokenization. ChatGPT predicts XRP’s price.

Coinbase: We asked the SEC for reasonable crypto rules and got legal threats instead. You’ve got to read this. The SEC issues a Wells notice to Coinbase. It’s all about the staking. Subsequent to receiving notice from the SEC, Coinbase shares fall. This is an all-out war on crypto administered by the banking cabal. The SEC is simply a beard, a way for bankers to manipulate government agencies to do their bidding, which is to destroy the competition.

Amazon confirms the existence of digital tokens in an email. It will be interesting to see how Amazon makes use of NFTs.

SushiSwap total value locked has fallen 93 percent since November 2021.

Is Ethereum destined to lose its DeFi dominance to Solana?

The IRS plans to tax NFTs by as much as 28 percent. That’s at a higher rate than other investments. The IRS is looking at NFTs as collectibles. Get ready for the great big cash grab.

How Proof-of-Learn is a way to move from Web2 to Web3.

Where the U.S. went wrong in regulating crypto.

An NFT investor accidentally burns $135,000 CryptoPunk.

Mike Novogratz wants BTC and ETH communities to declare a truce.

Sculptor Maya Lin is introducing her first NFT project.

Pennsylvania man loses $160,000 in crypto scam.

5 common uses for NFTs.

Crypto has a big role to play in the Ukraine war.

Snark and commentary are in italics. Inclusion of an item doesn’t mean I agree or endorse the ideas presented. Of course, it also doesn’t mean I don’t.

Cryptocracy is a decentralized newsletter published several times a week. I curate the latest news and crypto analysis from some of the brightest minds in crypto, and sometimes offer a little insightful and snarky commentary. Always fresh, always interesting, and always crypto. Original articles on Fridays.

First published at Cryptocracy. Not to be construed as financial advice. Do your own research.

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