Mike Orcutt
MIT Tech Review
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Mike:
We just glimpsed how a “digital dollar” might work, thanks to coronavirus
A proposal for a new kind of government-run payment platform didn’t make it into the US Congress’s coronavirus relief plan. But it won’t be the last we hear of the idea. → Read More
Coronavirus is forcing fans of Bitcoin to realize it’s not a “safe haven” after all
The latest economic downturn has exposed the 10-year-old cryptocurrency as just another financial asset. For now. → Read More
Three things central bankers can learn from Bitcoin
In a recent panel discussion, experts highlighted some practical lessons from the original cryptocurrency. → Read More
No, coronavirus is not a good argument for quitting cash
Though it’s theoretically possible, there is no evidence that physical money—or any inanimate surface, for that matter—helps the virus spread. → Read More
This is how North Korea uses cutting-edge crypto money laundering to steal millions
Hackers working for Kim Jong-un have become experts at covering their tracks on the Bitcoin blockchain. → Read More
How Texas’s wind boom has spawned a Bitcoin mining rush
Is the Lone Star State the new promised land for Bitcoin miners? → Read More
Sweden is now testing its digital version of cash, the e-krona
The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, has announced the launch of a year-long pilot project of its proposed e-krona. → Read More
Michael Bloomberg has taken Andrew Yang’s place as the cryptocurrency candidate
Michael Bloomberg has unveiled a stance on cryptocurrency policy, making the businessman and former mayor of New York the only active Democratic presidential candidate to directly address the topic. → Read More
Japan should launch a digital yen to counter China’s digital currency, say lawmakers
Influential lawmakers in Japan’s ruling party are concerned about China’s plan to launch a sovereign digital currency, and have called on the nation to prepare to issue its own in response. → Read More
North Korea appears to have expanded its crypto-mining operation
Kim Jong-un's North Korean regime is mining cryptocurrency to get around sanctions. → Read More
A crypto project to make internet names censorship-proof is now live
The Handshake Network, an ambitious public blockchain project whose developers want to reinvent how internet domain names are assigned, has finally launched its main network after months of testing.Meet the DNS: When you enter a website name into your browser, you make a request of a network of computers called the domain name system, or DNS, which keeps track of all the names on the internet. → Read More
A new money-laundering rule is forcing crypto exchanges to scramble
Global financial institutions use their own secure messaging system called SWIFT to exchange information about financial transactions and comply with money-laundering rules. → Read More
Millions of people fell for crypto-Ponzi schemes in 2019
Cryptocurrency scammers raked in $4.3 billion worth of digital money in 2019, more than triple 2018’s haul. → Read More
How the North Korean hackers behind WannaCry got away with a stunning crypto-heist
The so-called Lazarus group has used elaborate phishing schemes and cutting-edge money-laundering tools to steal money for Kim Jong-un’s regime. → Read More
Vodafone is the eighth company to quit Facebook’s digital currency project
British telecommunications firm Vodafone has pulled out of the Libra Association, raising further doubt that the digital currency will get off the ground this year as planned.Another one bites the dust: Facebook unveiled the vision for Libra, which it has promised will promote “financial inclusion” around the world, in June. → Read More
Criminals laundered $2.8 billion in 2019 using crypto exchanges, finds a new analysis
Criminals appear to be laundering an increasing amount of cryptocurrency by moving it to reputable exchanges, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. → Read More
Don’t attend North Korea’s blockchain conference, warn UN sanctions experts
A forthcoming report from sanctions experts at the United Nations warns people not to attend a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea next month, since it might violate sanctions.The news: The confidential report will be submitted to the UN Security Council later this month, according to Reuters. → Read More
An NBA star plans to turn his contract into digital tokens and sell them
It appears that Spencer Dinwiddie, who plays guard for the National Basketball Association’s Brooklyn Nets, may get the chance to be the first professional athlete to “tokenize” his contract after all. → Read More
Baidu’s “Xuperchain” launch is just the beginning of China’s blockchain rush
Baidu, the search engine often called the Google of China, has launched a public beta version of its blockchain service for businesses, called Xuperchain, according to a local report.What is it? → Read More
An elegy for cash: the technology we might never replace
Who will run the payment systems of the future? Will they look like Libra, the digital renminbi, or Bitcoin? → Read More