First, an update on Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s embattled District Attorney. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the wealthy donors trying to get him recalled include several tech investors, most notably Ron Conway. They have been pouring money to the extent that the pro-recall camp has a ridiculous war chest of $2.7 million.
Remember this is an off-year, midterm election with only one issue on the ballot — whether or not to recall Boudin.
The young DA has been able to raise $1.05 million in his defense, much of it in the form of small donors contributing an average of $74 each, as he explained at the event I covered last Saturday. He also has a couple large tech contributors of his own.
One factor behind the tech figures opposing Boudin is his department’s lawsuits against two of the gig economy companies — DoorDash and Handy — seeking to reclassify their workers as employees with benefits rather than independent contractors. If those lawsuits succeeded, the massive profits enjoyed by the gig economy companies would be trimmed, adversely affecting their hyper-wealthy backers like Conway.
But the Chronicle piece also reported some better news for Boudin. Recent polling by his campaign has the public evenly split on his recall despite the funding disparity — 44 percent for, 44 percent against, an 12 percent undecided.
***
On to today’s main topic. So what exactly is cryptocurrency? Recently, the New York Times tried to help answer that question with “The Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto.”
Among its findings:
“Crypto” refers to the entire universe of technologies that involve blockchains — shared databases that store and verify information in a cryptographically secure way. Blockhains power digital currencies like Bitcoin, but also serve as the base layer of technology for things like NFTs, web3 applications and DeFi trading protocols.
Another major feature of blockchains is that they’re typically public and open source, meaning that unlike a Google spreadsheet, anyone can inspect a public blockchain’s code or see a record of any transaction.
Many blockchains still perform cryptocurrency transactions, and there are now roughly 10,000 different cryptocurrencies in existence, according to CoinMarketCap.
The crypto market is currently valued at about $1.75 trillion or roughly the size of Google. Much of the crypto market consists of overvalued, overhyped and possibly fraudulent assets.
Most merchants still don’t accept crypto payments, and hefty transaction fees can make it impractical to spend small amounts of cryptocurrency on daily living expenses.
Nevertheless, crypto wealth and ideology is going to be a transformative force in our society in the coming years.
Right now, many of the successful applications for crypto technology are in finance or finance-adjacent fields. For example, people are using crypto to send cross-border remittances to family members abroad and Wall Street banks using blockchains to settle foreign transactions.
The crypto boom has generated vast new fortunes at a clip we’ve never seen before — the closest comparison is probably the discovery of oil in the Middle East.
The divide between the world’s pro-crypto and no-crypto zones could end up being at least as big as the divide between the Chinese internet and the American one, and maybe even more consequential. El Salvador is going full-crypto; China has outlawed all crypto trading.
Crypto is an organized technological movement, armed with powerful tools and hordes of wealthy true believers, whose goal is nothing less than a total economic and political revolution.
If all of this is just too weird for your taste, I can recommend another article, which is an annotated guide to the Timespiece. In it, a dozen or more experts attempt to translate the Times piece into something more closely resembling English — and common sense.
Good luck with both of these.
Today’s Headlines (56):
Bodies of 'executed people' strewn across street in Bucha as Ukraine accuses Russia of war crimes (CNN)
Sec. Blinken says we cannot become 'numb' to Putin's war crimes, vows 'accountability' (Fox)
In Ukraine, New Reports of War Crimes Emerge as Russians Retreat From Kyiv Area (WSJ)
Zelenskyy accuses Russia of genocide; missiles slam into port city of Odesa. (CNBC)
Ukraine accuses Russia of civilian 'massacre'; Russia denies this (Reuters)
Here's what a CNN team on the scene of a mass grave in the Ukrainian town of Bucha saw (CNN)
EU prepares more sanctions against Russia after apparent atrocities near Kyiv (Financial Times)
Russia in Broad Retreat From Kyiv, Seeking to Regroup From Battering (NYT)
Russia pulls back from Kyiv in major shift — The move shows Russia can’t achieve its original targets, analysts say. (WP)
Secret intelligence has unusually public role in Ukraine war (AP)
Images show thick plumes of smoke over Odesa as Russian sea and air missiles strike Ukraine's most important port city (Business Insider)
Russia hits an oil processing plant near the port city of Odesa (NPR)
Video shows Russian missile strike on Ukrainian fuel depot (CNN)
How Putin could be prosecuted for Ukraine war crimes (Reuters)
How Kyiv Has Withstood Russia’s Attacks — Russia has more troops and more firepower. Why has it failed to seize the capital? (NYT)
Across US, faith groups mobilize to aid Ukrainian refugees (AP)
Blasts heard in Russian city of Belgorod near border with Ukraine (Reuters)
Drug shortages persist in Russia after start of Ukraine war (AP)
Hungary’s hard-line leader faces tough election as war rages in neighboring Ukraine (NBC)
Putin Reminds the World He Still Wields a Powerful Economic Weapon (NYT)
Is Putin banking on an endless war? (CNN)
Ukrainian Reuters contributor Maksim Levin killed covering war (Reuters)
Hungarians vote on giving pro-Putin PM Orban a 4th term (AP)
With Ukraine Invasion, Hungary’s Leader Softens His Embrace of Russia (NYT)
Russia war could further escalate auto prices and shortages (AP)
Russia steps up offensive in eastern Ukraine (NHK)
Why Russia is trying to encircle Ukraine's east (BBC)
The War in Ukraine Is Also a Climate Problem — Russia’s invasion threatens to unravel decades of scientific collaboration in the Arctic. (Atlantic)
Taliban bans drug cultivation, including lucrative opium (Reuters)
Taliban clamp down on drugs, announce ban on poppy harvest (AP)
Jamie Raskin: Gap in Jan. 6 White House logs of 'intense interest' to select committee (Politico)
New laws let visitors see loved ones in health care facilities, even in an outbreak (NPR)
Shanghai asks entire city to self-test for COVID as frustration grows (Reuters)
Covid cases rise in Shanghai as millions remain in lockdown (Guardian)
How long covid is accelerating a revolution in medical research (WP)
Masks Come Off, Mandates Loosen as Firms Relax Covid Protocols (WSJ)
Pakistan in political turmoil as leader dissolves parliament (AP)
Garland Faces Growing Pressure as Jan. 6 Investigation Widens (NYT)
6 people dead, 12 injured in Sacramento mass shooting (CBS)
April's sky brings dance of 4 morning planets: See Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn. (Space.com)
The handshake in space that brought hope to the world (BBC)
Russian space chief: Sanctions could imperil space station (AP)
Why isn't Earth perfectly round? (LiveScience)
New U.S. Census Records Reveal a Time Capsule of Life in 1950 (WSJ)
Native American tribe gets its land back after being displaced nearly 400 years ago (CNN)
Whatever You Write, There You Are — These nine nonfiction authors set out to investigate the outside world and ended up finding themselves. (Atlantic)
The Latecomer’s Guide to Crypto (NYT)
An annotated guide to “The Latecomer’s Guide. (various)
Art Museum Guard Bravely Throws Body In Front Of Camera Flash (The Onion)
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