BitDigest April 10 · Issue #634
- Crypto markets fall following first two bitcoin halvings (BCH and BSV); miners fleeing from BCH
- French regulators recommend that regulations for digital currencies separately address coins that qualify as securities and those that do not
- Visa has announced a new card program paying rewards in bitcoin
Verified Fake News
In writing BitDigest, I am constantly reminded that I have the ability to shape the message I am sharing. It’s a lot like the question of whether the glass is half full or half empty. I actively try to report on both sides of the story, but must admit that I knowingly take a more optimistic approach to digital currency stories. To compensate for this, I provide links to all the stories I write about and do try to share news that speaks against the need for a central bank digital currency or the latest statement from bitcon-haters Peter Schiff and Nouriel Roubini.
On Wednesday, I shared an article on a blockchain-based news tracking system developed by the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA) a global wire service run by the publishers of leading Italian newspaper. ANSA’s 24 members publish 43 major Italian newspaper. Their idea in developing the new platform was to allow readers to verify the truth by validating the source content on a blockchain. As ANSA explained, the platform allows readers to “track the origin of the news and at the same time – support the professionalism of [its] journalists.”
The platform uses a smart contract which verifies if the source content is available on the blockchain. If the article matches a record on the distributed ledger, the article receives a digital sticker verifying the origin. If the source of the article is not verifiable, no sticker is provided and the reader can automatically identify the story to be questionable.
In our current political environment as daily cries of fake news are a constant, I think the large US wire services like the Associated Press, United Press International, and Reuterscould really benefit from establishing a similar platform for English speaking news sites.
Weekend Reading
I received several emails about my recent commentary about Ross Ulbricht and the movie Deep Web. Over the long weekend, you may wish to read the first recognized article on the Silk Road. In June of 2011, Gawker published an article on Silk Road, titled “The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable.”
Describing the dark web site as “Amazon—if Amazon sold mind-altering chemicals” author Adrian Chen explains how the sites reputation-based trading system helped drive the online marketplace. He stressed the positive aspects of the platform explaining that Silk Road bans the sale of “anything who’s purpose is to harm or defraud, such as stolen credit cards, assassinations, and weapons of mass destruction.” Chen also openly explains that the site uses bitcoin, instead of other forms of payment that can be traced or blocked, and tells the reader that the digital currency can be purchased on the Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange.
If you prefer to stream, rather than read, A&E produced their own version of the Silk Road story. “Silk Road: Drugs, Death and the Dark Web” is a 90 minute televised crime story on the rise and fall of the marketplace. I started watching this last night and plan to continue.
Happy Passover and Easter.
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