While the bitcoin community seems fully absorbed by the daily ups and ATHs of bitcoin, it seems that most people have missed what might well be the biggest and most impactful news of the year 2021 for the crypto sector.

Yesterday´s BIG news was that the US bank regulator OCC issued an opinion letter in which it allows US banks to use blockchain infrastructure and stablecoins.

I posted this yesterday but it seems that — with a few exceptions — the crypto community did not fully register the importance of such an event. This is not simply important, it is HUGE. It is like banks saying “OK we´ve criticized bitcoin and the crypto sector for 10 years until yesterday…but sorry we were wrong, now we like it and we will start using your infrastructure and even crypto assets like bitcoin and USDC, USDT for our payments”. …

The BoE´s refusal to return Venezuela´s gold shows how even governments need a truly independent, decentralized, not coercible and censorship resistant digital store of value

There are three key maxims in the world of crypto, “Not your keys, not your bitcoin”, “Not your node, not your rules,” and more generally “Don´t trust, verify”. Those three mottos summarize the key foundations of the Bitcoin protocol. While the last two refer to the decentralized nature of the blockchain and the way the consensus is created and transactions are added to the blockchain in a trustless manner, the first one sums up bitcoin´s resistance to coercion and its lack of counterparty risk. Somehow, that last one should also apply to gold. Likewise, gold is worth only if you physically hold it. Physical possession is 100% of its value. …

Supply chains are probably the weakest link in complex business architectures. The “just in time” inventory needs of modern consumption, the rampant consumerism, the extreme globalization and connectivity, made supply chains all too complex, fragile and more than ever exposed to sudden shocks. Then came Covid-19 which put supply chains under considerable strain and made their weaknesses and lack of resilience all too apparent.

But technology in the form of DLTs/Blockchains and IoT devices can save the day. They can dramatically improve supply chain management, make them more efficient and more resilient.

In una recente intervista, Paolo Savona, presidente della Consob, ha parlato anche di bitcoin, di criptomonete e di valute digitali.

L´intervista e´da un lato interessante, per capire come le autorità ragionano su questi temi e quali misure regolamentari intendono adottare e cosa percepiscono come una minaccia alla propria sovranità monetaria.

Dall’altro e` preoccupante, perché il livello di cripto-alfabetismo delle autorità (almeno ai vertici) e`talmente basso che viene da chiedersi come possono questi pensare di regolare qualcosa che comprendono così poco.

Via il contante dentro l’euro digitale

Di blockchain e digitalizzazione in Italia non se ne parla molto. Tra i politici poi molto poco. Chi lo fa di più e´ Beppe Grillo. Sul suo blog appaiono di tanto in tanto i suoi pensieri sulla blockchain e le cryptomonete.

A volte lo fa con superficialità e poca competenza, come quando afferma che Bitcoin “… non è pubblica né tanto meno democratica, perché i bitcoin sono fabbricati (sic! — come fossero oggetti) in soli 4 o 5 posti al mondo e tre di questi sono in Cina.”

O utopisticamente, dicendo che con una blockchain democratica “sparirebbero le banche, gli intermediari, la BCE e la moneta unica, via i dollari e le monete…

Invariably, as bitcoin spikes and defies gravity, either up or down, the attention of institutional investors, central bankers and prominent financiers is suddenly awaken. Always then, I write something to debunk the all too common flawed narrative and misunderstandings. Whether it was Warren Buffet before or Ray Dalio today, their comments simply indicate ignorance of what Bitcoin is and what it stands for (please take note of the capital B because they do not).

One would suggest investing a couple of highly entertaining and educating hours to watch these two excellent award winning movies filmed by Untitled-Inc fellow Torsten Hoffman, Bitcoin the end of money as we know it and Cryptopia the Film. …

That 2020 US Presidential elections would be tight and a nail biter was to be expected. At least by those who had a real feel for American politics and who took critically the mainstream media propaganda and the sponsored polls for a blue landslide.

The day that the Italian borders were reopened after the lockdown — on June 3rd — I drove across the Brenner Pass with an overwhelming joy. I could finally rejoin my family and my old friends. I could fill again my heart and eyes with the beauty of my homeland. Since that day, I have spent most of the summer in Italy — enjoying the unique beauties of the Dolomites, Lake Garda, Tuscany, Umbria, the Marche, all the way down to the Gargano Peninsula in the Apulia region. I became fixated with the idea of coming back to live in my beloved homeland and started to look at the grants and incentives that the government was planning. The recent Law n.34 of 2020 — known as “Decreto Rilancio” — grants tax incentives for the restructuring of real estates aimed at improving both the building´s energy consumption and its structural stability. …