World domination is usually the chief obsession of fictional characters — like the signature villains and delusional generals you see in Bond films.

In the real world, few came close to achieving it.

See, the problem with world domination is that calls for control at scales that are hard to manage.

But new details concerning world governments’ plans for DeFi could suggest that a real-world dystopia could soon become a frightening reality.

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Espresso Shots

☕️ SEC Accepts BlackRock Application for Review 🪨 📝

BlackRock’s application for spot Bitcoin ETF has now been formally accepted and will undergo 21 days of review.

In addition to BlackRock, the SEC has also scheduled the review of an additional four spot ETF applications.

Those potential ETFs include the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust, Van Eck Bitcoin Trust, and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF.

And despite apparently applying before any of these entities, ARK Invest has yet to be mentioned on the docket.

Now that the SEC has formally accepted BlackRock’s review, Blackrock hopes the SEC will offer its white-gloved hand for a firm, but not lingering, kiss, and formally accept this dance.

☕️ Armstrong’s Banking Query 🏛 ❓

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong conducted a Twitter poll asking Coinbase users if Bank of America had ever shut down their accounts because of transactions with Coinbase.

This trend of BoFa shutouts may be tied to crypto activity, since roughly 9% of the 14,000 respondents replied “Yes.”

Armstrong seems to be doing his own research, but these anecdotes could be the first signs of an institutional cold war on crypto.

Though many victims may have been afraid to speak out, fearing that Armstrong’s poll was somehow a setup for “BoFa Deez Nuts.”

☕️ How to Program a Soul 🖥 👻

If AI had a soul, would that prevent the almost inevitable AI apocalypse?

That’s the thinking behind programs like Open Souls and Singularity.net, organizations dedicated to figuring out AI’s alignment problem.

Alignment in this case refers to imbuing AI with compassion and empathy, rather than creating a robotic overlord that eventually renders humans obsolete.

“If you build the first AGI to do elder care, creative arts and education, as it gets smarter, it will be oriented toward helping people and creating cool stuff,” said Ben Goertzel, founder of Singularity.net, remarked in an interview with Magazine by Cointelegraph. “If you build the first AGI to kill the bad guys, perhaps it will keep doing those things.”

And once the programmers have outfitted AI with a soul, they can begin giving it the kind of mental illness that creates compelling art.

Spilling the Beans

Could Crypto Take Over the World? 🚀 🌎

George Orwell’s “1984” is always going to be invoked when citizens feel their government is going way beyond its reach.

Whether that’s the American government tapping phones to look for communists or… the American government tapping phones to look for terrorists…

There’s a constant, well-grounded fear of living in a surveillance state.

Crypto is an answer to that fear. It offers anonymous, decentralized trading with equal opportunity for all.

But new details have emerged concerning that dream, and a global surveillance state may no longer be the stuff of Orwellian fiction or the paranoid ramblings of your stoned roommate.

CoinDesk gained access to a leaked EU document that details regulations concerning the future of DAOs and the Metaverse.

The paper, which will be made available to the public in the coming weeks, writes that “[v]irtual worlds bring unprecedented opportunities in many societal areas. This technological shift also involves new forms of global governance.”

On one level, the paper apparently advocates for lax regulation, to fuel greater innovation in these brave, new worlds.

Naturally, scaling industry is always foremost on the minds of global superpowers. Privacy, or the banishment of it, is also one of them.

Enter the surveillance state.

The leaked document also calls for international engagement on digital standards for identity management, censorship, and surveillance, so that the digital future is “shaped as an open, secure space, respectful of EU values and rules,” the document reads.

Having the hands of big government in future digital spaces doesn’t bode well for users’ privacy.

These are the same minds that devised phone taps and facial-recognition software at national borders.

Much of Web3, or as these future spaces are referred to in the document, “Web4,” is founded on users’ right to privacy and anonymity.

It’s not paranoid hysteria to predict that being “respectful of EU values and rules” means a lack of respect for user privacy.

It’s a mixed bag. On one hand, governmental recognition of “Web4” speaks to stability and security for the space.

But on a philosophical level, the future of DeFi, despite the countless tech companies honed in on the space, was supposed to be a digital and bohemian paradise.

Crypto is founded on the free exchange of funds, ideas, and art, free of monolithic institutions.

If the British government announced that it was regulating the next Banksy installation, we could safely say it wasn’t going to be a masterpiece.

And on a financial level, this development doesn’t bode well for the price of crypto, which has slowly been clambering up to pre-FTX levels.

Sadly, cultural events this large don’t go unnoticed by the watchful eye of big government.

But we’ll know more when the leaked document becomes available to the public, and the EU inevitably issues statements to defend it.

Government regulation and control were always going to rear their ugly heads. It was never an “if” question, but a “when.”

Premium Market Report

Meme of the Day

Gamers will naturally have an advantage against the metaverse authorities thanks to practice running from police in Grand Theft Auto. 🚗🚓🚓

Crypto 101

Web4: Naturally, everyone loves and is bullish on Web3. But what exactly is “Web4?”

Web4, as defined by the European Commission, is the “blend between artificial intelligence, the internet of things, blockchain, virtual worlds, and extended reality capabilities.”

And you better believe they want to regulate it.

The Last Sip

We’ve all heard of the “Surveillance State,” but what about the Surveillance Steak? We took some dystopian concepts and made them into delicious dishes.

3. Listening Devi-chyssoise. No that’s not a wiretap. It’s a cold, French soup of potatoes and leeks.

2. Freedom of the Press-ciutto. Journalists will be “disappeared” into this dish of delicious, cured pork.

1. The Flan-opticon. An observatory prison made of cremé caramel.

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.