Sound Money Project
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FinCEN and Fed Proposal Means Less Privacy, More Exclusion
“It could very well be that the benefits of reducing the threshold from $3,000 to $250 exceed the costs, defined as the sum of the administrative expenses, lost privacy, and increased financial exclusion. But all of these costs must be included in the final calculation. Not just some of them. As it is, FinCEN and…
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Two Types of Postal Banking
“It is possible that these prepaid card providers aren’t competing very hard, and thus unbanked households face abnormally high fees. If so, the unbanked population could benefit by having the USPS enter the market. On the other hand, if the market for prepaid cards is already competitive, a USPS card may have problems gaining a…
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Bitcoin Financial Literacy and Crypto-Twitter
“It is sad to see an excited gambler sell their house to go all-in on a longshot, whether that be on lottery tickets or on cryptocurrencies. It is shameful to encourage such behaviors. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are a game. Play responsibly.” ~ J.P. Koning
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Citibank’s $900 Million Mistake and the Finality of Payments
“Cases like Citbank’s $900 million mispayment and $846,000 bank drafts stuck in financial limbo make for interesting stories. But keep in mind that the participants in these transactions are the accidental victims of a payments system that provides hard finality. What is unseen is the huge amount of trade that the certainty of hard finality…
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AMPLs and YAMs aren’t Monies; They are Gambling Technologies
“It’s hard to see why AMPL or YAM could ever replace a dollar. While the price of these tokens is relatively benign, their quantity fluctuates wildly. So the total purchasing power of AMPLs (or YAMs) held in one’s wallet is quite volatile despite the purchasing power of a given AMPL (or YAM) being stable. Put…
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So-Called Stablecoins
“Regular consumers are slowly becoming more interested in financial privacy. But they shouldn’t have to rely on systems that ignore the law. A more durable solution is to work towards changing those laws.” ~ J.P. Koning
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What Can Be Done to Remedy the Coin Shortage?
“The US Mint could focus all of its resources on producing dimes and quarters, not silly pennies. This would put an end to the US’s coin shortage, almost immediately.” ~ J.P. Koning
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Should Those Passing Counterfeits be Treated like Counterfeiters?
“It seems odd that the crime of uttering currency is considered to be so grave an offense in this day and age. Reducing the punishment might cause law enforcement officers to approach cases of uttering as they do other less serious, non-violent offenses.” ~ J.P. Koning
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It’s Time for a Taxpayer Debit Card
“Distributing EIP cards instead of checks should reduce the government’s costs of paying relief, speed up the payments pipeline, and provide Americans with a cheaper way of accessing funds than going to check cashing outlets.” ~ J.P. Konig
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The Thin Green Line
“The Fed has again taken unprecedented action to respond to a crisis. Unfortunately, it has gone further towards erasing the separating monetary and fiscal policy, to the detriment of both.” ~ Scott Burns
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•
FinCEN and Fed Proposal Means Less Privacy, More Exclusion
“It could very well be that the benefits of reducing the threshold from $3,000 to $250 exceed the costs, defined as the sum of the administrative expenses, lost privacy, and increased financial exclusion. But all of these costs must be included in the final calculation. Not just some of them. As it is, FinCEN and…
-
•
Two Types of Postal Banking
“It is possible that these prepaid card providers aren’t competing very hard, and thus unbanked households face abnormally high fees. If so, the unbanked population could benefit by having the USPS enter the market. On the other hand, if the market for prepaid cards is already competitive, a USPS card may have problems gaining a…
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•
Bitcoin Financial Literacy and Crypto-Twitter
“It is sad to see an excited gambler sell their house to go all-in on a longshot, whether that be on lottery tickets or on cryptocurrencies. It is shameful to encourage such behaviors. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are a game. Play responsibly.” ~ J.P. Koning
-
•
Citibank’s $900 Million Mistake and the Finality of Payments
“Cases like Citbank’s $900 million mispayment and $846,000 bank drafts stuck in financial limbo make for interesting stories. But keep in mind that the participants in these transactions are the accidental victims of a payments system that provides hard finality. What is unseen is the huge amount of trade that the certainty of hard finality…
-
•
AMPLs and YAMs aren’t Monies; They are Gambling Technologies
“It’s hard to see why AMPL or YAM could ever replace a dollar. While the price of these tokens is relatively benign, their quantity fluctuates wildly. So the total purchasing power of AMPLs (or YAMs) held in one’s wallet is quite volatile despite the purchasing power of a given AMPL (or YAM) being stable. Put…
-
•
So-Called Stablecoins
“Regular consumers are slowly becoming more interested in financial privacy. But they shouldn’t have to rely on systems that ignore the law. A more durable solution is to work towards changing those laws.” ~ J.P. Koning
-
•
What Can Be Done to Remedy the Coin Shortage?
“The US Mint could focus all of its resources on producing dimes and quarters, not silly pennies. This would put an end to the US’s coin shortage, almost immediately.” ~ J.P. Koning
-
•
Should Those Passing Counterfeits be Treated like Counterfeiters?
“It seems odd that the crime of uttering currency is considered to be so grave an offense in this day and age. Reducing the punishment might cause law enforcement officers to approach cases of uttering as they do other less serious, non-violent offenses.” ~ J.P. Koning
-
•
It’s Time for a Taxpayer Debit Card
“Distributing EIP cards instead of checks should reduce the government’s costs of paying relief, speed up the payments pipeline, and provide Americans with a cheaper way of accessing funds than going to check cashing outlets.” ~ J.P. Konig
-
•
The Thin Green Line
“The Fed has again taken unprecedented action to respond to a crisis. Unfortunately, it has gone further towards erasing the separating monetary and fiscal policy, to the detriment of both.” ~ Scott Burns