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Biden Says "No Deal" That Protects Rich Crypto Traders

Plus Indonesia to start mining Bitcoin

Author

Nathaniel Whittemore
May 22, 2023

The Breakdown First Five - Monday May 22, 2023

5. Eye of the Tornado

Tornado Cash DAO governance was hijacked over the weekend. Then, in a bizarre twist, the attacker proposed to undo the attack. The attacker had given themselves a boatload of extra votes and effectively has complete control over governance, although no protocol funds were touched. As if sanctions weren’t enough to deal with.

4. Zug wants more Bitcoin

The Swiss Canton of Zug has announced a massive expansion of its Crypto acceptance program. In 2021, Switzerland’s “Crypto Valley'' started accepting Bitcoin for tax payments and has now expanded the program, accepting payments as large as 1.5 million Swiss Francs ($1.6M). There will even be a QR code Bitcoin payment option right there on tax payment slips, promoting the service to all residents.

3. Couple more Liquidations

Three Arrows Capital’s NFT collection is going under the hammer as Sotherby’s clears $2.4M in liquidation auctions. Several high value NFTs including a Fidenza and an Autoglyph were included in the sale which Sotherby’s called "some of the most significant digital artworks ever assembled”. The artwork sold way above reserve so maybe there’s some hope Arthur Hayes will see his money again. More 3AC auctions to follow if you’re in the market for a grail.

2. Indonesia will mine Bitcoin

Governor of the Indonesian Province of West Java, Ridwan Kamil,announced at Bitcoin 2023 that the province would be mining Bitcoin. Indonesia is incredibly energy rich, with an abundance of sites suitable for the generation of geothermal and hydroelectric power, all it needs is the capital for infrastructure. In addition the nation’s young population are on the fast track to Crypto adoption, with 12M investors and rapidly growing. Could Indonesia leapfrog traditional financial rails using Bitcoin?

1. Biden won’t accept deal protecting Crypto traders

The slow motion Debt Ceiling debacle rolls on as Biden rejects a deal that he says would protect Crypto traders. While Crypto bros weren’t talked about as tax cheats this time around, the implication was that scrapping IRS funding would benefit wealthy traders. Very little progress seems to have been made to ensure the global reserve issuers avoids a voluntary default but talks will resume today.

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Thanks for reading -NLW