Since stablecoins have started to receive scrutiny by US federal regulators, it’s been increasingly popular to compare them to other types of nonbank digital dollars such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo balances. This comparison makes intuitive sense because (centralized) stablecoins are a dollar-denominated corporate liability that can be used on a proprietary payments network. If the products are very similar, there exists a nice template for regulation, provided a “like for like” standard is applied. In this post, I compare and contrast PayPal balances with USDC and provide preliminary thoughts on regulatory steps.

These are my independent thoughts and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer.

PayPal is a proprietary digital payments network. Consumers buying things and merchants selling things use PayPal to transfer value using Paypal’s internal settlement network. While users can choose to pay with ACH or card, for the purposes of this comparison, we’re primarily interested in situations in which a user makes a transaction using his PayPal balance. A PayPal balance is a liability that PayPal issues to the user, and it is convertible to private bank money at any time. When a user makes a payment, he directs PayPal to transfer dollars from his account to the merchant’s account, a transfer that occurs entirely on PayPal’s internal ledger.

USDC is a stablecoin, which is a tokenized dollar liability that circulates on a public blockchain. Consumers use USDC to transact on public blockchains, whether for trading or other purposes. Users hold USDC in a third-party wallet and then settle USDC transactions on a blockchain such as Ethereum. US consumers that wish to convert their USDC liability to private bank money have a two-step process which involves converting USDC to USD via an exchange (free on Coinbase, at least) then converting the exchange liability to private bank money. USDC issuer Circle does not offer redemption or issuance services to consumers.

Some have pushed back against the idea that a stablecoin such as USDC is just another proprietary payments network such as PayPal, likening one’s choice of stablecoin to one’s choice of email client. Respectfully, I don’t think the analogy holds. Your choice of email client is more analogous to your choice of crypto wallet than it is to your choice of stablecoin. The asset is like the email protocol, and both rely on network effects for value. Wallets and email clients plug into the common network; they are not the network. Email clients can build nice features that allow you to use different email protocols (like using a web service or a desktop client with the same email address), but that would be analogous to a digital wallet allowing you to seamlessly switch between stablecoins (like how FTX treats all stablecoins and US dollar deposits as a single asset). On the backend, though, the clients are switching networks on your behalf.

I likewise think it’s most sensible to think of USDC on different blockchains as separate products. It is possible to transfer USDC across blockchains, but it is a multi-step process, at least for consumers. While the products may be very similar, i.e., because the credit and liquidity risk of Solana USDC vs Ethereum USDC don’t differ significantly, they seem similar to, e.g., PayPal vs Venmo balances. PayPal and Venmo are not natively interoperable, and neither are Solana- and Ethereum-based USDC.

Someone I know is fond of saying about new payments products, “it’s all about the interchange, baby” (this applies to most fintechs, too). Interchange is the fee that the card networks charge merchants for payments using cards. According to research by the Kansas City Fed, merchants in the US pay on average 1.5–2% for the service of accepting card payments. In practice, this figure may be higher because of card processing fees layered on top of interchange costs. Interchange revenue is split between the card networks, card-issuing banks, and other parties involved in the transaction.

Just like the card networks, PayPal’s primary source of revenue is fees on transactions settled via PayPal. While they appear to be pursuing a more diverse revenue base by building out a general purpose financial services experience, 90% of PayPal’s revenue came from transaction fees in Q3 2021. The more people transact on PayPal, the more money PayPal makes.

USDC issuer Circle, by contrast, is not involved in transactions settled with USDC, so they take no transaction fee. Instead, Circle revenue comes primarily from interest earned on reserve custody. Market competition and regulatory scrutiny has pushed Circle into a very conservative investment portfolio, but since it is full reserve, its assets under management is very large. For Circle, the more USDC in circulation, the more money Circle makes. Additional revenue models are available to Circle as well, especially if they can acquire a banking license in the next few years.

The reserve allocation (and counterparty credit risk) of stablecoin issuers has received a lot of attention in the past year, perhaps because of Tether’s missteps in the past. In February 2021, as part of its settlement with the New York Attorney General, Tether agreed to provide a breakdown of its reserve composition. The result, first published in May 2021 was… disappointing, revealing that just 5.1% of Tether was backed by cash or US treasuries. In response, Circle expanded its May 2021 reserve attestation to include a breakdown of its reserve allocation. No good deed went unpunished. Competitor Paxos came out with a blog post that blasted Circle for being purportedly “unregulated” and backed by shoddy reserves. Next, a Bloomberg article in August 2021 pointed out that Coinbase’ claim that USDC was backed 1:1 by dollars “in a bank account” was not true. Soon after, Circle announced that the entire USDC reserve would be held in cash and short-term treasuries, which remains the case today. This reserve mix, arrived at due to market competition (and, perhaps, a fear of regulatory scrutiny), is safer than what is required by Circle’s state money transmitter licenses.

PayPal also operates under a state money transmission license but has not been subject to the same level of public scrutiny or competitive pressure regarding reserve reinvestment. According to industry participants, nationwide money transmitters conventionally follow the liquidity and credit risk guidelines of the strictest state, apparently Texas, which requires that 50% of account holders’ assets be held in “permissible investments” [1]. The result is that PayPal likely uses a higher yielding, more risky asset allocation than what Circle maintains. PayPal does not disclose its reserve allocation, but it is a public company subject to public reporting and independent audits.

As I pointed out in November, USDC recently passed PayPal in two significant, and roughly comparable, usage metrics. In Q3 2021, PayPal’s Total Payment Volume was $310b while USDC users settled $348b of transactions in the same period. Additionally, at the end of Q3 2021, PayPal reported $37.8b in outstanding consumer balances, and USDC had approximately $38b in total supply at the same time. [2]

Of course, the use of PayPal vs. USDC may be different. Consumers regularly use PayPal for everyday purchases, and PayPal reported an Average Purchase Value of $63 at the end of Q3 2021. Meanwhile, the average transfer value for USDC was $96,665 (the median transfer value was $2,079). [3] And PayPal certainly has a bigger network: as of Q3 2021, PayPal reported 416mm accounts worldwide whereas ~0.5mm addresses had USDC balances in excess of $10. [4]

The comparison of USDC with PayPal balances is apt because both are assets that establish proprietary payments networks. However, the networks do differ in two important ways which, in my opinion, reveal the new paradigm created by public blockchains. First, use of USDC is permissionless whereas all users wishing to use PayPal must register. Second, the services required for consumers to use USDC are disaggregated whereas in PayPal they are consolidated.

Public blockchains are so named because they are publicly readable and writable by anyone, with no prior qualification. USDC, therefore, can be used by anyone in a permissionless way, whether as a consumer or merchant or developer. This contrasts with PayPal, which requires account registration prior to any use of its platform. Additionally, some PayPal privileges, such as the ability to authorize transactions on behalf of another party, are restricted to paid customers. Finally, PayPal implements US KYC and AML regulations which require network participants to provide sensitive identifying information, subject funds to withholding or audit, and increase UX friction.

The second important difference is that the service stack to facilitate USDC use is disaggregated whereas for PayPal it is wholly contained. Circle issues USDC, but wallet services and transaction validation are provided by third parties. In contrast, PayPal serves as the issuer, wallet, network, and custodian for all PayPal funds. Wallet services is a good example of the different ecosystems: Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire reported recently that 223 digital wallets on iOS and Android support USDC. For PayPal, there is just one digital wallet, and it is the PayPal app.

The cumulative effect of permissionless access and disaggregated services is that innovation built on top of USDC thrives. New PayPal features must be created by PayPal, and developers must work within the confines of PayPal’s API. Consumers, businesses, and developers working with USDC, on the other hand, are free to use USDC in any way that they can imagine and make work technically. The burden to experiment is lower because potential network participants don’t have to go through a lengthy onboarding and vetting process. And public blockchains’ internet native, cross-border nature allows wide discussion & collaboration with “strangers” that people have only met on Twitter, Telegram, or Discord. Finally, because USDC implementation is open source, anyone can fork the contract and improve the service if they believe there is a substantive improvement to be achieved and significant market demand to meet.

If two products are the same, they should be regulated the same. And if they are different, they should be regulated differently. This is not just equal treatment under the law but also an intuitive conception of what is right, as Aristotle explained in the Ethics. Based on the similarities and differences between PayPal balances and USDC, then, there seem to me to be some clear regulatory implications.

First, USDC issuance should not be confined to depository institutions. PayPal is not a depository institution, yet it has the same quantity of customer liabilities as Circle does (or it did; USDC supply has grown an additional $12b since the end of Q3 2021). In fact, because USDC issuance is limited to businesses — which generally require fewer protections than consumers — PayPal balances could be considered more risky than USDC.

Second, the federal consumer protection regulations that PayPal follows should be followed by financial institutions working with USDC. For example, CFPB regulations require PayPal to refund consumers when they are hacked or defrauded. Likewise, custodial digital wallets facilitating USDC transactions should probably follow these regulations as well. As I explained above, because the USDC service stack is disaggregated, Circle only issues USDC, and this particular regulation likely does not apply to them.

I don’t think there are any regulatory implications for reserve requirements. Both Circle and PayPal follow state money transmission guidelines, which require at least 50% of customer liabilities to be held in very safe, very liquid assets. It doesn’t seem particularly compelling to require a full asset reserve, either. Separately, though, if there is market competition that demands a full reserve of low-risk assets, that seems perfectly reasonable to me.

The last point I’ll make is that the primary federal regulator of PayPal is the CFPB, not the SEC or the CFTC or one of the banking agencies. The CFPB implements consumer financial protection regulations; for example, the regulations that require refunds for defrauded or scammed consumers. So far, the CFPB has not made any moves in crypto, but it looks like that may change under its ambitious new Director.

Want to know more about what the CFPB could do in crypto? Subscribe, I’m writing about that next.

These are my independent thoughts and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer.

[1] If anyone who has helped companies set this up wants to weigh in on reserve management requirements & common market practices, please DM or comment! I am not an expert on this.

[2] Data from Coin Metrics/The Block and PayPal earnings. PayPal TPV is a headline figure reported in a number of places. For PayPal customer balances, I’m using the “funds payable and amounts due to customers” liability on pg. 8 of its earnings release.

[3] Data from Glassnode, retrieved 1/30/22: https://i.imgur.com/IN1N9qk.png. 90 day simple moving average.

[4] Data from Coin Metrics, https://coinmetrics.substack.com/p/coin-metrics-state-of-the-network-a0e. I’m not sure what the best, comparable figure for “accounts” would be for USDC, so I just use what Coin Metrics reports in their free weekly update. If anyone has any thoughts on what would be better, please leave a comment or send me a DM on Twitter.

Gold and the dollar both portend bad days for stocks. BTC/USD bounced at $37,600 overnight, according to data from TradingView, before tracking around $1,000 higher.The pair had been under pressure before into the weekly close, reaching its lowest level this month amid reports that Western sanctions against Russia may be expanded to include an oil embargo.Thus, an already anxious environment aided gold’s performance, which returned to $2,000 per ounce for the first time since August 2020 on Monday.

The US dollar followed suit, surging against its rivals to see the US dollar currency index (DXY) hit a two-year high.Other major foreign currencies, such as the euro, took a hit, with EUR/USD plunging below $1.09 to levels not seen since the March 2020 Covid meltdown.

“If Bitcoin were decoupled from the stock market, it would be performing similarly to gold since December,” analyst Matthew Hyland argued in a Sunday overview. “Bitcoin is inversely proportional to the stock market. It has not’separated.’ Perhaps it will eventually decouple, but until that occurs, there is no way to infer it has or will.” Such a “decoupling” was perhaps more necessary than at any point in recent history, as stocks confronted the prospect of a mix of surging commodity prices and government-led inflation-control measures.Prior to the opening of Wall Street, S&P 500 futures were edging closer to a 2% fall, while Germany’s DAX was already down nearly 4%.Blankfein, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, believes cryptocurrency should be “having a moment.”Meanwhile, the degree of Bitcoin’s poor performance has attracted the attention of the traditional finance world.Lloyd Blankfein, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, questioned why cryptocurrency in general was not experiencing greater inflows in light of government control over money.“While I’m keeping an open mind on crypto, given the inflated US currency and the sharp reminder that governments can and will freeze accounts and stop payments in certain circumstances, wouldn’t you think crypto is having a moment right now? So far, I’m not seeing anything in the pricing “Monday, he tweeted.MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor responded by blaming conflicting investment profiles active in Bitcoin in particular, but forecasting that the current quo will eventually be shattered, allowing it to fulfil its role as a long-term investment.“There is a conflict between conventional traders who view bitcoin as something to buy or sell based on their present risk assessment and interest rate forecasts and fundamental investors who just want to buy it all and hold it forever,” he said.“In the long run, the HODLers will prevail.” Visit our website:- https://bitcoinsupports.com/Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.

They are the first to admit that two billion people worldwide are completely excluded from the financial system. That’s a little under a third of the global population. And what they mean is that these people are completely excluded from all banking and financial transactions. When we speak of finance, we are speaking of financial markets, which is something way more rarefied still.

Let’s look at one of the better known financial operations that go beyond day-to-day bank account usage: owning stock.

Only 56% of American citizens own stock. In most European countries, that number’s much lower. One third in the UK, and between 15 and 20% in the Netherlands or Italy.

If that’s the usage of financial services in the countries with the lowest percentages of unbanked and underbanked people in the world, you can imagine what the numbers will look like elsewhere.

So how can we improve upon this?

The core promise of Decentralised Finance is that anyone should be able to access the financial services of their choice. Whether that means investing in assets that go well beyond traditional stocks and can include digital art or tokenised properties or signing futures contracts, the promise of DeFi is that all financial services that would formerly depend on an intermediary should be available to everyone with a smartphone.

And let us say this again: pretty much everyone is getting a smartphone. By January 2022, 84% of the world’s population had at least one smartphone on them. That’s up from 49.4% just six years ago, and there’s no indication that this is stopping.

When you are using DeFi, the security is provided by the technology, not by a governing institution. This means you don’t need anyone to approve your access to financial services or markets.

DeFi removes these barriers to access that institutions keep in place to maintain control over who can participate in the economy.

One of the greater barriers to access for those new to the markets is that things change constantly. Fraud is a constant, and you need to know what you’re doing. Financial fraudsters have become celebrities and folk heroes. Classic movies have been made about how tricking investors and the markets is profitable and fun.

The consequences of these predatory practices, of course, can sometimes be quite dire.

DeFi, however, runs on the blockchain.

Of course we are not saying that fraud is impossible in DeFi. DeFi is, after all, about personal responsibility. You can make mistakes. You can be misled.

There is no technological remedy for that.

What DeFi does do is give you every single tool to always know exactly what you are doing. With DeFi, every transaction, every contract, every move, is recorded in an immutable ledger. No one can alter the information or the terms of a contract. Not you, not a bank, not a financial institution, no one. All pieces of information will always be available to you at all times, and no one will be able to renege on the deals they made.

In traditional finance, you give your funds over to someone you must trust, whether it’s a broker, a banker, an investor, or… someone. In DeFi, you don’t need to trust anyone. The system itself will ensure agreements are fulfilled.

The ultimate goal for DeFi is simple: everyone gets to use financial tools and services.

Everyone gets access to loans. Everyone gets access to savings. Everyone gets access to investment opportunities. Everyone gets access to making educated decisions about their own financial future.

Traditional banking and traditional institutions are not only uninterested in making this happen, they are actively raising barriers to democratizing access to this.

Fortunately, blockchain technology has given us the chance to take the future into our own hands.

Utrust is working to provide global, near-instant, payments at a trivial cost. This can only be done using the same principles that guide the DeFi pioneers.

For over half a century the United States has been the best place for entrepreneurs to create, build, and grow businesses. Fueled by American exceptionalism, we established a financial system that enabled more capital creation and more startups to flourish than any other nation. As we look to establish rules of the road for digital assets, these experiences should inform how we create a long-lasting policy framework that fosters growth and stability, helping ensure the United States continues to be a leader now and in the future. Cryptocurrencies hold immense promise for Americans, enabling them to fulfill their financial goals with fewer intermediaries and gatekeepers. The United States must act now to unlock crypto’s full potential.

Crypto on Capitol Hill

Congress is deliberative and not known for moving with great speed when new industries or niche markets pop up. As two of the first staffers working on cryptocurrency, what we didn’t fully realize then was the amount of education needed to guide both staff and members through the most basic of terms and concepts surrounding cryptocurrency — all while also needing to spotlight the immense opportunities that lay ahead.

To begin that process, we created the bipartisan Financial Innovation Caucus in the Senate and the Congressional Blockchain Caucus in the House. Our first briefings for staff and members focused on the incredible strides in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology that have taken place in a relatively short time. We emphasized with caucus members how crypto is revolutionizing the way we pay for products, transact at lightning-fast speed with others, and ensure privacy. The overall impression we sought to leave was this: the development and advancement of crypto undoubtedly represents a major turning point in our society and a defining time for American leadership to shine on the global stage.

We need to communicate the promise of cryptocurrency and establish rules of the road that safeguards crypto as a catalyst for innovation, economic growth, and financial opportunity for all. The only way to change this reality is by taking a new approach, one focused on advocacy and education. Identifying stories and compelling narratives that demonstrate how the builders’ vision can be enjoyed by many.

Crypto’s Winning Playbook

Reputational and regulatory risks are greatest when people don’t understand your business model or what you are trying to accomplish. Many in the mainstream media remain skeptical of cryptocurrency, while centralized (and well-funded) competing interests continue to raise concerns about this new industry. Many fledgling ventures have learned the hard way what can happen if you don’t get out ahead of your challenges. As the crypto community continues to navigate its path in the policy and regulatory environment, here are some things they should consider:

· Crypto is not a red or blue issue but is a battle between those who have a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. We need to harness the power of those who are creating new products and services that enable more people to have financial autonomy.

· Engaging in Washington, DC is not enough. The industry needs a robust local communication effort to move the needle outside of Washington to educate and activate a broader community.

· It is time to build. The crypto community needs to go local — on the ground and online — to articulate how crypto is enabling new opportunities on Main Street, across a diverse number of communities.

Crypto represents a unique opportunity to mobilize an ideologically diverse set of advocate supporters in communities across the country, but that support must be built from the ground up. If policymakers hear from innovators and other trusted voices in their own communities, they will be much more likely to engage in this issue in a positive and constructive way.

The Path Forward

We can’t afford to miss the opportunity to lead on the advancement of cryptocurrency. If the US does not establish a policy framework that allows for innovators to still innovate, it will trigger oppressive regimes in China and Russia to establish the rules for which this new financial system will operate. If there’s one thing that Congress should focus on protecting, it is the absolute freedom and efficiency cryptocurrencies offer. This future will fundamentally transform the way we transact with family, friends, and businesses.

It’s not only here in the US where crypto can disrupt the global financial industry and open more opportunities for investment and advancement by those who have been pushed out of traditional banking systems. The hope that lies in cryptocurrency is truly an international one. We don’t have to leave people behind when it comes to financial gain — the hopeful mother in Afghanistan, the aspiring student in Africa, and the young entrepreneur looking for a way out of poverty in Vietnam can unleash their dreams because of the decentralized and secure nature of cryptocurrency.

We joined Targeted Victory because they are the first firm that understands the cryptocurrency industry and what is needed to take it to the next level in the United States. What we can bring to this critical moment in the debate over crypto is unique digital engagement products, a dedicated team of actual practitioners, and the tools to amplify the needs and activism of the crypto community.

Our team is a group of disrupters. We are unconventional doers with a drive for radical success. We will continue to grow our team to attract the best and the brightest from the House, Senate, and regulatory bodies, because we know that true change occurs when there’s a groundswell of outside voices, not a few insiders with power.

If you share this approach and want to join our effort, please let us know. Our cryptocurrency practice is open for business, and together we will lead a revolution.

About the authors: Josh Arnold is the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Lummis (R-WY). Josh has been a leader in the crypto space and helped launch the Financial Innovation Caucus. Tiffany Angulo has a decade of policy experience in the House of Representatives and helped establish the Congressional Blockchain Caucus.

Special Thanks Proofreading: Checkmate

Disclaimer: This is not an audit of any kind. Please do not call my code review an audit. These reviews are for entertainment & education purpose only and are not financial advice.

Contract Address: https://snowtrace.io/address/0x1a856f6ae07c9bd58303ba853f0752784566107f#code

Owner/DAO Address (Deprecate Gnosis Multi-Sig Contract): https://snowtrace.io/address/0x197123d62a2252c0ac668a72baae39af333843e0#code

dZRST Token Address: https://snowtrace.io/address/0xbfd44c6feb91dbf3c84228be65e844968567fcc2#code

ZRST Token Address: https://snowtrace.io/address/0x7b2d03e8e569042b91750ab32c544894c726a712

Note: The presale is not started yet. The contract was provided by ZeroShift DAO from the project’s discord announcement

*Owner = DAO Address and is multi-sig

1-. The presale contract ownership is not renounced.

2. There are constant values that can not be changed:- dZSRT token(dZeroShift) = 0xbfd44c6feb91dbf3c84228be65e844968567fcc2- ZRST token (zeroShift) = 0x7b2d03e8e569042b91750ab32c544894c726a712- USDC.e token (USD) = 0xa7d7079b0fead91f3e65f86e8915cb59c1a4c664- DAI token (DAI) = 0xd586e7f844cea2f87f50152665bcbc2c279d8d70- DAO Address (DAO) = 0x197123d62a2252c0ac668a72baae39af333843e0- Price for Whitelist User (price) = 5x10⁶ or 5 USDC.e per dZSRT- Price for Whitelist Team Member (priceDai) = 5x10¹⁸ or 5 DAI per dZSRT- Max Cap for Whitelist User (cap) = 500x10⁶ or 500 USDC.e- Max Cap for Whitelist Team Member (capDai) = 500x10¹⁸ or 500 DAI

3. There are 2 types of whitelist users in this presale throughout the contract: NORMAL and TEAM users.

4. addWhitelist, addMultipleWhitelist and removeWhitelist function can be used by the owner before the presale starts. This allow the owner to add(single/batch) and remove(single) normal whitelist user.

5. Note that only addWhitelist and addMultipleWhitelist function can be used if the owner paused the contract with togglePause function.

6. addTeam and removeTeam function can be used by the owner before the presale starts. This allow the owner to add(single/batch) and remove(single) team whitelist user along with how many whitelist number they get.

7. Note: addTeam function can also be used if the owner paused the contract with togglePause function.

8. Team whitelist user can get multiple number of whitelist, which make the max purchase cap for team user larger than normal user.

9. deposit function can be use by the normal user to exchange USDC.e for dZRST.

10. The user can only buy if- Presale has started by the owner- Presale has not ended by the owner- user is a normal whitelist- the amount bought doesn’t exceed the max cap

11. When the user deposit, the set amount of USDC.e is sent from the user to the owner(DAO). The contract then mints dZRST to the user at the rate of 5 USDC.e per dZRST. The contract then records the amount of USDC.e that the user purchased for and the amount of dZRST received.

12. depositTeam function can be use by the team user to exchange DAI for dZRST. The rate is 5 DAI per dZRST.

13. All process is the same as normal user except- team user use DAI instead of USDC.e- team user can have multiple whitelist spot, meaning they can buy more than the normal user depending on the multiplier

14. For example, the team with 2 whitelist spot can buy 1000 DAI as a max cap (500x2).

15. start and end function can only be used by the owner to start the presale at anytime and end the presale at anytime after it started.

16. Once started, no whitelist user of any type can be added, deposit will be open and owner can initiate end presale at anytime manually.

17. After ending is triggered by the owner, whitelist user can no longer deposit and owner can then trigger claiming using claimUnlock later.

18. All process from starting, ending and open claiming is manual without indicated timeframe. Each process can not be reverted and must go in succession.

19. claimUnlock function can only be called by the owner anytime but only once the end presale has been called.

20. This function allows the owner to open claim for the whitelist user to swap dZRST to ZRST using withdraw function.

21. When the user use withdraw function, the dZRST is burn from the user’s wallet and the contract sends ZRST to the user. The exchange rate for dZRST to ZRST is at a 1:1 rate.

22. Note that if there is no ZRST exist in the presale contract, withdraw will not work. This means that the owner of the ZRST token contract will need to mint to the presale contract at the same dZRST amount before opening claim (claimUnlock function).

23. adminWithdraw function can only be use by the owner at anytime. This allows the owner to withdraw any token at full amount at anytime with no constraint.

24. togglePause function can only be use by the owner at anytime. This allows the owner to pause the contract which disables the following ability- deposit for both normal and team whitelist- withdraw (swap) of ZRST using dZRST

25. This means that the owner can pause withdrawal(swapping for ZRST) at anytime while the owner can withdraw any token without this restriction.

26. Owner and DAO Address is the same. The address is a deprecated Gnosis Multi-Sig Contract, deprecated version means that the contract is no longer officially support with the introduction of Safe Multi-sig since 2019.

27. The multi-sig policy is 4/6 meaning that meaning 3 signer out of 5 signer address need to confirm the transaction.

28. 6 Signer Address consist ofWallet #1 :–0x6635515d11ab778bfb781e749a581a12270dd4cb (~17 days old, 13 txn)Funded by Tornado Cash Protocol

29. Wallet #2 :–0x941df11c97182263a2103cec49e383ad3967fbb8 (~30 days old, 7 txn)Funded by 0x3a26c271cd9be1bc96a1b636f124007af9b91069 which funded by Binance Hot Wallet

30. Wallet #3 :–0x722970e5c9099e3b93cb1e09ccb62b56ebfa344b (~27 days old, 6 txn) Funded by 0x7ed53f6e3de6b2b4156fa8e618506e60d8e65843

31. Wallet #4 :–0x95290be82fcd524eb759c1b0b1ee2e369bbc1460 (~32 days old, 1 txn)Funded by 0x32855ec5680956f3b6db54d24babf29bb6b360fb which somehow doesn’t have AVAX funds origin in snowtrace

32. Wallet #5 :–0x201f6bd429a7b97fe27c3221d3a1b336eb363568 (~17 days old, 1 txn) Funded by Tornado Cash Protocol

33. Wallet #6 :–0xead16e57a35a16f3b4ed3a34033ccff1f8c39a65 (~17 days old, 1 txn)Funded by Tornado Cash Protocol

34. In short, total of 3 wallets: Wallet #1, Wallet #5, and Wallet #6 is transactionally anonymous and funded by Tornado Cash. I would highly suggest user to always confirm if the wallet is the designated party, to avoid 4 wallet control by 1 person scenario which is just enough for this 4/6 multi-sig policy.

35. User should always check, confirm and identify with the project on who is holding the multi-sig to avoid ruggable scenario.

36. dZRST is a customized token contract but is implemented similarly to vault-based minting ERC20 token. This means the the owner can assign who mints the coin which can means 2 things: 1) Allow the presale to mint and work properly in the presale contract when user deposit2) Allow the owner to assign anyone to mint the token using setPresale which include allowing the owner themselves to unlimited minting.

37. ZRST is a vault minting token contract where the owner can unlimited minting ZRST token. No treasury is set at the time of writing this, this suggests that the complete dApp is not setup for public or it doesn’t exist yet.

38. Here we demonstrate a possible way to hard-rug with this contract

39. Here we demonstrate a possible way to soft-rug with this contract

40. Here we demonstrate a possible way to stuck-rug with this contract

41. If this helpful to you, you can tip me here

42. [ERC20/BSC/AVAX(C-chain)/Polygon/FTM]0xC1f2154ea0B0E5779Ff84bb11A5ed209Fd0741DF

43. Follow me in Twitter: https://twitter.com/indyza_

44. 
    

Key facts:

The political stance on crypto is certainly changing. The news of the upcoming Presidential Elections in South Korea and the fact that the high-ranking presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum for campaign donations were welcomed by the crypto community both inside and outside of South Korea.

The progressive Democratic Party plans to attract both the younger voters and the fresh capital by accepting BTC, ETH, and three other cryptocurrencies (yet to be disclosed) as donations. The party plans to convert the crypto donations to fiat with the help of a local cryptocurrency exchange. At the time of writing the exchange’s identity is not disclosed, but there should be plenty of options, considering the high level of crypto development that South Korea has already achieved.

Lee Jae-myung stance on crypto was already benevolent before his official run for president.

While giving a lecture at Seoul National University, he said that he wants South Korea to be a global leader in crypto, calling it an “undeniable reality”. [3] He also supported delaying the taxation of crypto. [4]

It will be interesting to see if the rest of the political elite will embrace crypto for their upcoming elections. Politicians are keen on receiving as many donations as possible, oftentimes turning a blind eye to the business model behind the cash source. As the voting body inevitably goes through the generational transition, crypto will become an increasingly important topic both in political speeches engineered to attract the voting body and in the economy behind the campaign financing. Accepting crypto means running the campaign with more money, so it is reasonable to assume that the trend will continue.

According to data provided by BitInfoCharts, Bitcoin’s hash rate has reached a new record peak of 203.5 exahashes per second.

Key facts:

At a new record of over 203 exahashes per second, the Bitcoin network is the strongest it has ever been.

Bitcoin mining difficulty is expected to jump to 24.98 trillion later this week, which is just a hair’s breadth away from the 25 trillion mark that was recorded back in May prior to the China ban. Mining difficulty automatically adjusts every two weeks based on Bitcoin’s hashrate. The more saturated the network becomes, the more coins are getting produced, which is why a positive adjustment is needed in order to avoid overproduction (and vice versa). [7]

Bitcoin hashrate fell during the China mining ban, but it recovered as the miners migrated to other countries. In October, the U.S. became the largest Bitcoin mining hub in the world, surpassing China.

Not long ago, the majority of the super-rich either ridiculed or completely ignored crypto. Some went so far as to publicly trash it. But the times are changing for the super-rich as the fear of fiat inflation grows amidst the seemingly unstoppable cash printing.

The number of institutional investors is on the rise. This encouraged some of their billionaire buddies, as they are now actively transferring a portion of their wealth to crypto.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Most of the long-time crypto investors always believed that the next financial crisis will prove the true value of crypto. The covid pandemic and the relentless printing of money have caused fiat inflation. It is difficult to estimate if the worst part is behind us or not.

Thomas Peterffy, a Hungarian-born billionaire, took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal in 2017 warning of the dangers that bitcoin futures posed to capital markets. Today, Peterffy, worth $25 billion, said it’s prudent to have 2% to 3% of one’s personal wealth in cryptocurrencies, just in case fiat currency goes to “hell.”

Ray Dalio, the founder of The Bridgewater Associates, views the crypto investments as the alternative money in a world where “cash is trash’’ and inflation erodes buying power. [8] This comes just months after he questioned crypto’s utility as a store of wealth.

Paul Tudor Jones, an American billionaire hedge fund manager, disclosed he’s invested in crypto as a hedge against inflation.

According to a recent bank survey, almost half of the family offices that Goldman Sachs Group does business with were interested in adding digital currencies to their portfolios.

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References:

Related Post: Is Bitcoin Is A Right Investment Option? Check Out These Points

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