The Washington, D.C. townhouse owned by Guarding Against Pandemics was listed as “contingent” on a real estate website, suggesting the party handling the deal has accepted an offer.
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Officials in Washington D.C. said they will hold a listening session to understand the experiences of workers and the usage of AI surveillance in the workplace.
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The archdiocese of Washington, D.C. of the Roman Catholic Church will begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency as part of an effort to grow its ministries.In a Tuesday announcement, crypto platform Engiven said it would be facilitating donations to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. for fundraising efforts and to increase the church’s “digital stewardship initiatives.” According to the archdiocese’s website, the funds will be used to directly support 139 D.C.-area parishes as well as local programs including providing food to those in need.”The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. seeks to leverage technology to engage parishioners in new and exciting ways, making it easier for the faithful to fulfill the mission of the Church,” said Joseph Gillmer, executive director of development for the archdiocese. Engiven is proud to partner with The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. Why do organizations choose Engiven? ✅ Second-to-none security ✅ Unparalleled features + customization✅ World-class support#cryptocurrency #nonprofit #philanthropyhttps://t.co/AelIxnc1fq pic.twitter.com/W4HWZ24gfb— engiven (@engiveninc) August 2, 2022Engiven’s page for the archdiocese included the option to send donations anonymously in many cryptocurrencies, from Bitcoin (BTC) to 0x (ZRX). According to the platform, funds designated for individual parishes receive 100% of the net proceeds of donations.Cointelegraph reported in November that Engiven had facilitated crypto donations for more than 400 faith-based organizations, including processing a single BTC donation for $10 million. Founder James Lawrence said at the time that “no faith-based organization, church or non-profit can afford to neglect its online audience, donors and seekers” with crypto becoming a part of that ecosystem.Related: Pro-Russian groups raised only 4% of crypto donations sent to UkraineWhile certain dioceses within the Roman Catholic Church seem to be open to using the latest technology, the Russian Orthodox Church said in February 2021 that it was not planning to accept cryptocurrency for donations, nor create its own digital currency. A spokesperson suggested at the time that church members send money over the phone rather than crypto. Russian President Vladimir Putin has since signed a bill into law prohibiting digital financial assets as payments in the country.
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Beijing-based Bitmain has partnered with a United States-based sustainable Bitcoin miner, Merkle Standard, which will contribute capital investment, expertise and parts. As part of the joint venture, Bitmain will contribute to the development of up to 500 MW of clean digital mining infrastructure at Merkle Standard’s hydro-powered facilities in Eastern Washington. Bitmain is a household name in the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem, famed for the Antminer brand, the name behind popular Bitcoin ASIC miners the S9 and S19. Merkle Standard claims to be a carbon-conscious BTC miner, keen to become net carbon negative by year-end. Merkle Standard will install up to 150,000 Bitmain mining machines thanks to the venture.Ruslan Zinurov, CEO of Merkle Standard, told Cointelegraph that the partnership with Bitmain will “catapult our growth plan of building one of North America’s largest sustainable digital asset mining platforms.” In a further commentary, Josh Zappala, chief strategy officer at Merkle Standard, underlined the benefits BTC mining brings to the social fabric of local communities. With aspirations to become one of the area’s largest employers, the joint venture will introduce “35–50 full-time jobs to the site,” while “supporting local business.” He told Cointelegraph:“Due to the flexible characteristics of the data center’s power load, we are suited to be the ideal power consumer for our power providers and look forward to providing additional support to the community.”No strangers to scrutiny, Merkle Standard’s move reflects the trend of BTC miners worldwide upping their ESG credentials. The Bitcoin Mining Council boasted a sustainable energy mix of 58.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021, while miners in Norway are even using waste heat to dry out lumber. Related: Intel to reveal new energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC at next ISSCCAccording to the press release, data center development has entered the first phase of production at the Merkle Standard mothership in Eastern Washington. The 225MW site will expand to 500MW by the second quarter of 2022. The new equipment, including Bitmain’s S19J Pro, S19 XP, and S19+ hydro miners will come online in Eastern Washington, although Merkle Standard nods towards “various expansion locations” in 2022. Ultimately, the joint venture is one part of CEO Zinurov’s vision to “achieve industry-leading power efficiency.”
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The biggest regulatory story of the week was a United States House Committee on Financial Services hearing squarely focused on crypto. Even the event’s title — “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States” — conveyed a different vibe than countless previous Congressional meetings that had been first and foremost about investor protection or security risks or threats to financial stability. Judging from reactions from many industry participants and experts, the exchange has been received as an overwhelming net positive, with legislators asking informed questions and otherwise acting like their goal was to understand this new thing rather than act on preconceived notions. Of course, there were tired questions about Bitcoin’s environmental footprint and Representative Brad Sherman’s anti-crypto rants, but the entire thing finally looked a lot like a constructive dialogue between the digital asset industry and lawmakers that we’ve been longing to see for a while.Below is the concise version of the latest “Law Decoded” newsletter. For the full breakdown of policy developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below.Hearing the industryThe hearing, called by the Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters, centered on the role of crypto exchanges, the growth of the stablecoin sector, and general issues around overarching digital asset regulation. Several top crypto CEOs were summoned to represent the crypto space.Some of the salient themes discussed on the House floor included the crypto-powered decentralization of the digital ecosystem — a politically advantageous angle at the time when many U.S. lawmakers are uneasy about Web 2.0-era tech giants’ power grab — as well as U.S. regulators’ reluctance to give way to certain crypto investment products that could be seen as a symptom of a fragmented approach to regulation. The relationship between the U.S. dollar’s global role and the growing demand for stablecoins also received much attention.BIS: Terrified of DeFi?Just not to get too carried away by what feels like a win on the Congress floor, a note on the Bank of International Settlements’ latest report on decentralized finance is in order. The “bank for central banks” took a deep dive into the sprawling DeFi space and came up with a handful of alarmist slogans such as “decentralization illusion” to describe it.BIS analysts are concerned with some structural aspects of the DeFi landscape, such as liquidity mismatches and the lack of shock absorbers such as banks. The authors of the report maintain that the protocols governing DeFi activity carry risks of centralization, potentially leading to a concentration of power within these systems at the hands of the few. These assertions are sure to raise many eyebrows, especially among those closely familiar with the DeFi space.CBDC watchThe BIS’ taste for a more controlled financial innovation can be seen in the news about its specialized department, BIS Innovation Hub, being actively engaged in trials of the digital euro-based cross-border settlement, along with the central banks of Switzerland and France. The experiment was deemed a success, but the parties involved made a point to state that it does not warrant the ultimate issuance of a European CBDC.In other centralized digital currency news, a two-year-long investigation by the Reserve Bank of Australia concluded with a report that highlighted the potential for a wholesale central bank digital currency to improve the efficiency of financial market transactions.
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