In recent years, blockchain surveillance (BS) companies have become increasingly important players in the cryptocurrency industry. Their business model consists in developing proprietary software that collects and interprets public data available on public blockchains and in selling their services to governments, banks, exchanges, and others that need access to this data. Usually, governments are interested in collecting information about financial crimes, while other institutional players use BS companies for compliance, especially with regard to customer due diligence.

Caitlin Long tweeted over the July 4 weekend, “BIG NEWS for #fintech! A sixth US state—Idaho—is willing to charter uninsured, non-lending, 100% reserve banks that are eligible for Fed master accounts (the other states are CT, ME, NE, VT & WY). This trend could turn the ‘bank-as-a-service’ (#BaaS) model on its head!!!!!”

My article “The Education of the Modern Socialist” deserves a follow-up. The first part showed that a change has occurred in the definition of “socialism”—a necessary change in view of the failures of this ideology during the last century. Socialism today is based on the ideology of “statism”—the conviction that the state must play a fundamental role in society.

The Mexican Peso (MXN) has been perhaps the strongest currency in the post-pandemic era, going from $4 US Dollars per $100 Mexican Pesos as the crisis started in March 2020 to shy under $6 US Dollars per $100 Mexican Pesos in the present, which is a 50 percent increase in three years, or around a 15 percent increase per annum. Around half of this increase was due to a stabilization of trade during the summer of 2020, as Mexican manufacturers regained productivity and exports flowed north as they did before.

A recurring theme in American politics is the cynical use of federal power by those who simultaneously pretend to favor “states’ rights” or “local control.” We see this today when Republicans one minute say they favor local control with gun laws or Obamacare—and then demand the federal government impose nationwide drug prohibitions.