Individuals who make less than $125k/yr will get up to $10k of student debt forgiven, and up to $20k if they are Pell Grant recipients.Biden is also proposing a new income-based repayment program that will cut payments on undegraduate loans in half from 10% to 5%.The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.crfb.org/blogs/new-student-debt-changes-will-cost-half-trillion-dollars">Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calculates</a> the budget impact at somewhere between $440 billion and $600 billion over a decade. The University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model estimates <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2022/8/26/biden-student-loan-forgiveness">just over $600 billion</a> over 10 years.

Biden Announces Student Loan Debt Relief of up to $20k for Individuals Making Less Than $125k/yr

Ethereum Merge scheduled for September 15-16th

Hi I'm Jeremy. I'm building this site because I'm not satisfied with other online community type websites and their lack of innovation (see the /about page). The goal is to make a superior, more open, and more decentralized online community.

The site is still in early stages in active development (see the dev masterthread here: https://zsync.xyz/p/zsync-dev-update-masterthread)

Join us if this sounds interesting! Feel free to send me any feedback or reach out directly!

This comes days after the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0916">U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash</a>

Suspected developer of crypto mixer Tornado Cash arrested

The different types of ZK-EVMs - Vitalik Buterin

Nomad bridge drained of $150m due to coding mistake

Post all site feedback here. Unfiltered honest feedback welcome(fyi here is the dev update thread: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://zsync.xyz/p/zsync-dev-update-masterthread">https://zsync.xyz/p/zsync-dev-update-masterthread</a>)

ZSync Site Feedback Thread

Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2022 (Advance Estimate) - 0.9% decline

Alameda Research Leads $3.25M Seed Round for Trustless Media, a company that lets creators tokenize TV productions with NFTs

Biggie Smalls’ Estate Goes Crypto With Music License NFTs

Central African Republic’s Sango Coin sales go live, records only $1.09 million in 24 hours

Federal Reserve raises interest rates 75 basis points

"WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday filed for an injunction to block Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, from buying a virtual reality company called Within, potentially limiting the company’s push into the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/technology/facebook-meta-name-change.html">so-called metaverse</a> and signaling a shift in how the agency is approaching tech deals.The antitrust lawsuit is the first under <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/technology/lina-khan-ftc.html">Lina Khan</a>, the commission’s chair and a leading <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/technology/monopoly-antitrust-lina-khan-amazon.html">progressive critic of corporate concentration</a>, against one of the tech giants. Ms. Khan has argued that regulators must stop competition and consumer protection violations when it comes to the bleeding edge of technology, including virtual and augmented reality, and not just in areas where the companies have already become behemoths.The F.T.C.’s request for an injunction puts Ms. Khan on a collision course with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/26/technology/zuckerberg-meta-facebook-earnings.html">Mark Zuckerberg</a>, Meta’s chief executive, who is also named as a defendant in the request. He has poured billions of dollars into building products for virtual and augmented reality, betting that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/technology/personaltech/metaverse-gaming-definition.html">the immersive world of the metaverse</a> is the next technology frontier. The lawsuit could crimp those ambitions.“Meta could have chosen to try to compete with Within on the merits,” the F.T.C. said <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-yywogo" href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/ftc-injunction-request/632c7794cc9ff0a8/full.pdf">in its lawsuit</a>, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. “Instead, it chose to buy” a top company in what the government called a “vitally important” category...."

F.T.C. Sues to Block Meta’s Virtual Reality Deal as It Confronts Big Tech

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1551281069202083840.html">https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1551281069202083840.html</a>Author: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/TaschaLabs">@TaschaLabs</a><hr>Note: 1. These aren’t the only ways to do web3/tokenization. They’re example ideas. 2. Some of these are already being implemented. Others are harder to execute. But use these as inspiration if you’re a founder.<hr>1. Amazon logistics Instead of having large distribution centers, Use decentralized mini warehouses (e.g. your backyard) for storage &amp; drivers pick up merchandises from closest storage location. Delivery fees paid in warehouse tokens are earned by warehouse owners.2. Meta / Facebook Users earn the platform token by posting and commenting. Amount earned is based on popularity of content posted. Advertisers pay for ads in the platform token.3. Google If the search engine / browser records any user data—e.g. demographic, behavioral— into its database, user earns the platform token. Advertisers pay in platform token to access the database.4. Costco Customers purchase store membership in NFT. They can rent out the NFT on 2ndary mkt to others who want access to Costco discounts but don’t shop frequently. Members get rental incomes. Costco gets more customers.5. Pepsi Pepsi owns dozens of food &amp; beverage brands &amp; regularly acquire new ones. A PepsiCo utility token— which customers can earn when buying from one brand &amp; spend on another brand— could help Pepsi grow new brands by leveraging customers from existing brands it owns.6. Comcast / Xfinity Comcast operates a public WiFi network, which consist of hotspots in public locations, businesses &amp; home gateways. A utility token supported by network revenue, which users can earn when providing hotspot service would improve WiFi coverage &amp; user loyalty.7. Netflix Airdrop Netflix tokens to users-&gt; Let users “stake” tokens on pilot shows they like-&gt; Users earn partial streaming revenue from those shows. Now users have more incentive to help promote their favorite shows which attract more subscribers.8. American Electric Power Company User tokenization to incentivize development of distributed renewable power generation from small hydro, biomass, solar, wind &amp; geothermal generators, w/o upfront cash investment from the company.9. PayPal PayPal already lets users buy crypto in their app. Next step is to evolve into KYC-ed DeFi. E.g. let users contribute their crypto balances to liquidity pools hosted on PayPal to facilitate token swaps &amp; earn a txn fee.10. Mercado Libre Use tokenization to drive traffic &amp; give marketplace vendors more incentive. Vendors earn tokens when the customers they attract to platform make purchases. Vendors can then give the tokens to customers as discount or use tokens to pay for platform commissions.11. Zoom Switch the video transcoding process from centralized servers to allow individuals to transcode from their own computers. Instead of paying subscription fee, users pay in tokens directly to transcoders when they have a video call.12. Airbnb Hosts &amp; guests earn Airbnb tokens when they receive good reviews. They can use tokens to pay for future booking fees, or lower commission charges, or sell tokens on 2ndary mkt to monetize their rewards of being good participants on the platform.13. Lululemon Athletics Social media influencers post pictures in Lululemon outfits &amp; earn Lulu tokens according to popularity of their post. They can give tokens to their audience to redeem for products. Part of company revenues are used to buy their own tokens on 2ndary mkt.14. Starbucks Allow customers to monetize their loyalty by earning Starbucks points in tradable token format. Customers can stake tokens to get tiered discounts in future.15. DocuSign Users earn utility tokens when the person they send a document to also signs up for a DocuSign account. The utility token can be used to pay for subscription fee at small discount.16. McDonald’s A franchise DAO where the DAO token represents pooled resources from members, allows members to vote on new franchise locations &amp; receive yields from profits of the DAO’s portfolio of franchises.17. Disney Customers earn upgradable Disney NFTs whenever they make purchase or interact w/ the brand’s array of products. Different tiers of NFTs in wallet unlocks different future perks &amp; discounts.18. Nike NFTs matched one-to-one w/ limited-edition shoes maintain rarity even after physical shoes are worn out &amp; gone. A collection of rare sneaker NFTs becomes a store of value, which gives more incentive for customers to buy rare sneakers &amp; allows higher price premium.19. Illumina Anyone that has their genome sequenced &amp; contributes to the global DNA database gets an airdrop of DNA token. Medical companies &amp; research orgs pay to access database. Revenues are used to market-buy the DNA tokens.20. Activision Blizzard Gamers earn the platform token whenever they play the company’s portfolio of games or participate in player communities. Earn rate is higher for new games. Part of revenues from all game sales are used for token buyback.21. Fidelity Create a marketplace for mutual funds of tokenized assets. Anybody can set up a fund &amp; anybody can invest in fund tokens. Performances are transparent w/ data tracked on blockchain. The platform curates, filters &amp; helps users discover funds.22. Monster Beverage Energy drink is a commodity. 90% of company value is intangible brand equity. Many ways to use DAO &amp; NFT to encourage participation in brand. E.g. Monster DAO to let customers vote on new flavors / designs &amp; earn tokens, which are used to redeem products.23. Digital Realty Trust Use token sales to finance investments in new data centers. Customers of the data centers need to pay for usage in the said token.24. Visa Inc. Interchange fees on credit card txns are high partly to cover fraud/chargeback costs. Blockchain wallet txn data is open &amp; free. Analyze the data to determine credit worthiness of a user &amp; offer cards w/ lower interchange fees to quality users.25. Equifax Inc. Equifax collects &amp; sells consumer credit data to b2b customers. A web3 competitor can give tokens to individuals it collects data from &amp; buy tokens on 2ndary mk w/ revenues from data sales. Token incentive encourages self reporting &amp; help build database quickly.26. Southwest Airlines Tokenize airline miles to allow 2ndary mkt exchanges. Token price serves as “automatic stabilizer” of airline demand. When demand drops-&gt; token price is lower-&gt; encourage more token redemption for plane tickets-&gt; increase demand. Vice versa.27. Ulta Beauty Create a governance token that lets customers vote on which brands to introduce / kick out of Ulta stores. Voting customers get perks &amp; discounts from brands they chose. Organic marketing &amp; increased customer engagement.28. Estée Lauder Companies Instead of paying Kendall Jenner top advertising $, give customers tokens to try new products &amp; buy tokens back w/ product profits. P.S. Cosmetics biz disrupter of future would be customer-owned to share high biz margin w/ users to grow faster.29. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Match.com">Match.com</a> / Tinder Incentivize users to input personal data w/ token airdrops. Data is used to improve platform algorithms to increase chances of matches. Additional airdrops if user invites friends. Tokens can be applied towards paying subscription fees. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://match.com/">Match | Start Something GreatMatch has created millions of stories. Start yours today.</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Match.com">http://Match.com</a>30. Etsy Inc. Merchants earn Etsy utility tokens when they attract new customers to the platform. Tokens can be used to pay future platform fees. Staking tokens gives merchants rights to vote on certain operation decisions of platform.31. Planet Fitness Gyms make $ by having members who don’t go to gym. Industry disruptor would do opposite. Charge higher fee. Reward members w/ tokens for actually working out. Partner w/ health agencies &amp; insurance companies to support token price.32. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Booking.com">Booking.com</a> Use tokenization to increase repeat customers &amp; lower advertising cost. Grant users tokens when booking hotels through the site. Tokens can be used to get discounts on future bookings. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Booking.com">Booking.com</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://booking.com/">: The largest selection of hotels, homes, and vacation rentalsWhether you’re looking for hotels, homes, or vacation rentals, you’ll always find the guaranteed best price. Browse our 2,563,380 accommodations in over 85,000 destinations.</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Booking.com">http://Booking.com</a>33. Public Storage Instead of running centralized self-storage service, create mkt place to match storage demand w/ users who have extra space in home/office. To bootstrap growth, users on both sides get token allocations, the value of which is supported by platform txn fees.34. Zillow Advertisers pay partial fees in Zillow tokens. If users end up renting / buying a property they found via the platform, they get a rebate in tokens. Creating listings also earns tokens. I.e. tokenization supports growth of both sides of mkt place.35. DoorDash Restaurants earn tokens when they direct customer traffic to the platform &amp; use platform for payment processing. The higher a merchant’s token balance, the lower commission they pay. Use savings on ad spending to reduce fees for both merchants &amp; customers. • <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/TaschaLabs">@TaschaLabs</a>'s newsletter: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://taschalabs.com/newsletter">taschalabs.com/newsletter</a>

35 Business Ideas of How Web3 Could Improve or Disrupt the Most Successful Companies

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1546473254927433731.html">https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1546473254927433731.html</a>TLDR: Net Liquidity (Fed balance sheet - Treasury General Account - Reverse Repo) delayed 2 weeks has had an extremely high correlation (R=0.95) with the S&amp;P 500 over the last 2 yearsChart: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/maxjanderson/status/1546473254927433731/photo/1">https://twitter.com/maxjanderson/status/1546473254927433731/photo/1</a>Thread by: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/maxjanderson">@maxjanderson</a>

Net Liquidity has had a 0.95 correlation to the S&P 500 over the last 2 years (with 2 week lag)

"The percentage of 25-34y old living with parents or relatives in the US1970: 11%2020: 29%Says something about wealth was distributed.Very little upside in real wages, and a lot in financial assets and house prices."

The percentage of 25-34y old living with parents or relatives in the US has almost tripled since 1970

HN thread: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32160703">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32160703</a>

“No convincing evidence” that depression is caused by low serotonin levels

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://zapper.fi">https://zapper.fi</a>

Zapper V2 Launched

Tesla Sold $936M Worth of Bitcoin in Second Quarter

Three Arrows Founders Break Silence Over Collapse of Crypto Hedge Fund

"Ok, two more charts and some thoughts...this time on crypto.... Is the accepted narrative of the BTC Halving cycle what drives the BTC cycle (and all crypto) or is it the macro? I'm starting to think it's all about the macro This is global M2 YoY vs Crypto market cap <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="entity-hashtag" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/hashtag/Bitcoin">#Bitcoin</a>That suggest that liquidity and currency debasement are the predominant drivers, as opposed to supply. I have always erred on the side of demand being more important than supply in market prices of all goods. It is the demand ebb that causes the outflow and the denominator.Those macro cycles occur within the exponential secular crypto up trend and drive the market from overbought to oversold and back again to overbought, while the slope of adoption still persists...leading to higher lows every cycle...Note that global M2 growth is turning. Early days but crypto is forward looking in nature and turns earlier than most assets as its such long duration."