BLUF*

On Sept 25, 2 Tech Titans enter the ring.

Plasma launches with zero-fee USDT transfers.
Cloudflare drops NET Dollar for AI agents.

Love Island (UK)

2 NEW CONTENDERS

_*_B_ottom_L_ine_U_p_F_ront

Good afternoon,

GENIUS Act opened a path that's been frozen since 2011. Gold rush psychology tells you - pave over the old path, grab trillions.

Global flows of USD opens one of the most highest-stakes arms races that the world has ever seen.

But GENIUS giveth, GENIUS taketh away.

Stablecoin Regulatory Compliance Committee (SCRC) requires approval for all the players.

Break the rules? Boo hoo (we told you so)

🍿🍿🍿

Bye bye bye,
Austin Campbell

Teaching Blockchain & DeFi at NYU
Talking to institutions at Zero Knowledge

ZERO IN

2 NEW CONTENDERS

PLASMA

"Zero-Fee Fighter"

TYPE: SEXY

POWER: 0 FEE

PARTNER: TETHER

WEAK: PRIVACY

Aave and Euler for lending, plus a neobank offering 20% APY. But here's what they're not telling you: off-chain verification checks cost you your privacy—in DeFi, a touchy tradeoff.

CLOUDFLARE

"AI Wallet Warrior"

TYPE: STEALTHY

POWER: AI to AI

PARTNER: ?????

WEAK: POLICY

As a public company, Cloudflare needs SCRC approval or a compliant partner. Otherwise? It's illegal. Either they have a partner they haven't announced, or SCRC will take them to school.

⚔

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

PLACE YOUR BETS

Who Wins? Why?

2 SNEAKY SPECTATORS

PANIC MODE

🏦

BANK LOBBYISTS

Lobbying Congress to unpass Genius rewards provision they agreed to last month.

Betting for billionaires needs bank deposits, bonuses, bailouts!

DENIAL MODE

🇪🇺

EUROPEAN UNION

Considering crippling regulations (MICA : 65%+ reserves in non-interest bearing bank accounts)

Better slow them before they can stand against the system

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

☁️

💥 Plasma vs Cloudflare vs Everyone 💥

STADIUM SEATS

🌍 💰 🚀 ✨

EVERYONE ELSE

3 billion people escaping weak currencies.
Global South sending remittances without 6% fees.
Citizens getting a fair APY vs 0.01%.
Anyone who wants to save dollars without a bank.

Cheering loudly.

SCOREBOARD

🚀

WINNERS

Plasma if decentralized, Cloudflare if approved, 3 billion people escaping weak currencies, USD, USA leadership (Genius bill)

⚡

AT RISK

Offshore players, "old school" banks late to this party

💀

LOSERS

Non-compliant operators, "Break Things" startups

❝

For all the gory details

1. Committee that's supposed to approve Cloudflare doesn't exist.

2. Congress dealing with lobbyists trying to walk back the law.

Read this weeks Zero Insights 👀

Zero Knowledge

ZERO INSIDER

AUSTIN

Officially, I moved Zero Knowledge into its new Brooklyn office.

Yes. Physical space for teams + meetings, strategy sessions sans my little ones spontaneously, bursting through my home office doors (like the Kool-Aid man).

DAVID

Tapped for an Octant grant to produce TORNADO, a documentary podcast series on the Roman Storm trial and the broader issues at stake.

ZERO OUT

HATE US IF YOU AIN’T US

Stablecoin wars starts a messy, competitive, geopolitically important process.

Sides have to chosen - build or back the winners.

For incumbents: Sides have to be chosen so build or back a winner.

For governments: Side? Good governance. Authoritarians ban vs regulate.

For everyone else: See the paradigm shift. Stay tuned.

1 More on the players of the Stablecoin wars? Plasma, Cloudflare? Get the long form from this weeks’ Zero Insights.

2 Missed out? Read letters 007 on WLF + Justin Sun, 006 on DATs & MicroStrategy, 005 on Tornado Cash + Roman Storm

STABLECOIN WARS