The Frontier

New York Mayor Zoron Mandani proposes five government grocery stores at a cost of $70 million over three years, with the first East Harlem store estimated at $30 million. Peter St Onge argues this is four times the cost and eight times the delay of private alternatives.

Peter St Onge recounts Kansas City's failed 2018 experiment with a government grocery store, which involved $17 million to buy and $7 million to renovate a facility. It failed, requiring another $29 million, still losing nearly $1 million annually before closing, with Peter St Onge noting a typical store costs $3 million.

Peter St Onge states at least ten blue states, including California and New York, are exploring exit or wealth taxes. California proposes a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of 200 billionaires, plus a 1.5% annual tax, hitting unrealized gains and potentially reducing state revenue by $3 billion.

Peter St Onge argues California's wealth tax could lead to companies employing 1 to 2 million Californians leaving, resulting in $10 billion in lost revenue. He reports an estimated $700 billion in assets, equivalent to Switzerland's GDP, has already fled the state due to tax policies.

Peter St Onge notes New York is proposing a 9% exit tax and a 4% annual wealth tax on second homes, while Washington and Michigan have hiked their top tax rates to nearly 10%. New York City's top rate is already 11%, with plans to raise it to 17%.

Preston Bryne asserts the UK is no longer a free country due to extensive legal restrictions on non-violent expression, a realization he gained after moving there in 2003.

Preston Bryne's commitment to free speech stems from witnessing a 16-year-old receive a criminal summons from City of London police in 2008 for holding a sign criticizing Scientology.

Preston Bryne represents controversial clients like 4chan, Kiwi Farms, and Gab pro bono, explaining that he fights the UK's censorship scheme, the Online Safety Act, when other lawyers are unwilling or clients cannot pay.

Ofcom, the UK's content regulator, issues binding information demands to American companies, dictates content hosting, and operates as a British internet regulator with a global policing mandate that Preston Bryne argues violates the First Amendment.

Preston Bryne developed a "British free speech bill" since 2019, proposing to transpose US First Amendment principles into UK law by repealing inconsistent legislation and replacing it with speech-protective rules tailored to British constitutional traditions.

The "Granite Act" (GuAranteeing RIghts aNti-International Tyranny and Extortion), a censorship shield law authored by Preston Bryne and Colin Crossman, passed the Wyoming House 46-12.

The Granite Act enables US entities to sue foreign governments for statutory damages equal to threatened fines, with potential judgments enforceable against foreign assets held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, such as the UK's approximately £46 billion.

Ofcom reopened its investigation into the controversial "sanctioned suicide" website, threatening a £1 million fine despite the site's geoblock of the UK, after activist groups used VPNs to circumvent the block and pressure the regulator.

A recent "shadow bank run" resulted from unregulated financial firms lending to other shadow banks that subsequently failed, highlighting the system's inherent fragility.

Shadow banks, unlike traditional banks, are not FDIC insured and lack capital reserves, enabling them to halt redemptions on funds, as seen with firms like Morgan Stanley and Blackrock.

Despite doomer narratives, over half of recently announced data center projects have been halted or stalled, demonstrating significant success in local and state-level efforts against their construction, such as new laws in Maine.

Paul from Godcaster reports App Store approvals are taking longer, especially for "wrapper" apps; his last Android app release took over a week. Dave recounts Apple rejecting his functional recruiting app as a "promotional advertisement," despite its utility.

Sachs argues that the US has waged an "economic war" against Iran since 1980, arming Saddam Hussein, assassinating leaders, and using financial sanctions to destroy its economy for over 46 years.

Sachs asserts that Iran has not pursued nuclear weapons, as confirmed by US intelligence, but sought a 2015 UN Security Council-backed treaty, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), for monitoring in exchange for sanction relief.

Sachs highlights Congress's failure to uphold its Article 1 constitutional duty to declare war, observing that most Republicans and Democrats have voted against exercising oversight over current conflicts.

Morgan Stanley's investment management arm launched the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio, a government money market fund, to store stablecoin reserves for issuers, ahead of potential regulation requiring such backing.

David Bennett states that the "GENESIS Act" (potentially referring to the Clarity Act) could legally require stablecoin issuers to back their tokens with high-quality liquid assets held in regulated vehicles.

Army Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke was arrested for using classified military information to make $409,000 profit on Polymarket bets related to a Venezuelan raid, leading to charges including commodities fraud.

Spanish police seized two crypto cold wallets containing approximately €400,000, hidden in a wall thermometer, during a raid on an illegal Spanish-language manga distribution platform that generated over €4 million.

Apple's services business grew to roughly $100 billion under Cook. Kevin Roose notes this growth also led to antitrust issues, while Casey Newton argues it undermined public trust due to subscription models and unfair competition, impacting rivals like Spotify.

Andrew Yang observes a resurgence of Universal Basic Income (UBI) interest, with Elon Musk, OpenAI, and politician Alex Boros advocating for various forms. Yang proposes a $1,200 monthly UBI for every American, funded by an AI tax, to quickly distribute innovation benefits.

Reuters reports Meta will implement a 'Model Capability Initiative' to capture U.S. employees' mouse movements, keystrokes, and screen snapshots for AI training data. Kevin Roose predicts a class action lawsuit within five years, highlighting employee outrage and privacy concerns.

Roman Storm's legal team filed a Rule 29 motion to dismiss his conviction for operating an unlicensed money service business, arguing the evidence does not legally support the verdict.

The defense in the Roman Storm case highlighted that illicit funds constituted a maximum of 15% of Tornado Cash's total transaction volume over the charge period, a critical figure for the prosecution's argument.

A fake Ledger app on the Apple App Store drained $9.5 million in crypto from dozens of victims over a week-long phishing campaign, with one victim losing 5.9 Bitcoin.

There was no pre-existing protocol for the military occupation of a nuclear plant, as such an event was previously considered unthinkable. Serhii Plohi advocates for a new international convention to protect nuclear sites during wartime, as the IAEA currently lacks a mandate for such situations.

Kevin Warsh, a probable incoming Fed chair with an 82% chance of confirmation by June, predicts AI will cause a structural decline in prices and a productivity boom, contrasting with the Fed's 1978 models.

A $280-$300 million exploit of KelpDAO's LayerZero bridge implementation, attributed to Lazarus Group, caused $200 million in bad debt for Aave, marking the first large economic exploit involving the protocol.

Arbitrum's Security Council, a 9-of-12 multi-sig, froze and recovered $70 million of the stolen ETH from the KelpDAO exploit, an unprecedented asset seizure on a Layer 2, done in communication with law enforcement.

David attributes blame for the KelpDAO exploit to LayerZero's infiltration, KelpDAO for using a vulnerable one-of-one validator setup, and Aave for inadequate risk parameters, advocating for DeFi redesign using 'aeronautics industry' principles where individual failures don't collapse the system.

Ryan notes KelpDAO must decide how to distribute the $200 million loss: a 15% haircut for all rSETH holders (mainnet and L2s) or a 70-75% loss exclusively for L2 rSETH holders.

Polymarket and Kalshi are launching perpetual futures platforms, expanding into a vertical separate from prediction markets; Kalshi's platform will be regulated in the United States.

Tether froze $344 million in USDT on Tron in coordination with OFAC and U.S. law enforcement, marking the largest stablecoin freeze ever; David speculates the funds belong to Iran’s IRGC.

Ryan is concerned about potential U.S. government legislation for device-level KYC, which would require government ID and a photo via third parties like Persona for setting up operating systems on internet-connected devices, creating massive honeypots and surveillance risks.

Recent cabinet firings were driven by Trump's desire for loyalty and to quickly advance his agenda of investigating institutions like the Fed and prosecuting political enemies. (Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swann)

The Trump administration eased legal restrictions on medical marijuana, reclassifying it to be treated more like ketamine than heroin for research and treatment purposes. (Michael Barbaro)

Ezra Klein announced a forum on California housing affordability, co-hosted by The New York Times, Housing Action Coalition, and other organizations on Friday, May 8th.

Stewart Brand argues that true ownership extends beyond legal possession to include the knowledge of how an item functions, how to diagnose problems, and how to fix it, making maintenance an act of "taking ownership."

Brand supports right-to-repair legislation, noting its progress in states like Massachusetts and Colorado. He highlights John Deere as a "poster child" for corporate resistance that necessitates government intervention.

Kevin Warsh advocates for significant reforms at the Fed, proposing to eliminate forward guidance and dot plots, and to enhance economic analysis for more accurate inflation measures.

Quinn argues excessive Fed communication creates policy lock-ins, citing 2021 QE continuation despite high inflation. Tyler believes balance sheet reduction is idealistic and will likely revert to expansion during systemic shocks.

High yield spreads are near historical lows at 317 basis points over Treasuries, suggesting corporate financial health. However, Tyler posits that much of the riskier debt may now reside hidden within private credit markets.

Tyler highlights how Austin's expansion of housing supply has lowered home values, boosting affordability and attracting workers. This contrasts with San Francisco's restrictive policies, which perpetuate unaffordability and hinder growth.

ESG popularity plummeted with inflation's return in 2022, indicating it was a "zero-rate phenomenon." This shift highlights a reversal in priorities, with energy security now prioritized over environmental mandates by institutions previously shunning oil and gas.

The initial minimal market reaction to the Strait of Hormuz closure was short-lived, with oil prices rapidly exceeding $110 a barrel before policy interventions.

Secretary Bessant unsanctioned Russian and Iranian oil in sequence after prices surged past $110, an action Gromen describes as a desperate attempt to loosen supplies despite strategic conflicts.

Gold limits government and central bank power, an insight famously shared by Alan Greenspan before his tenure as Fed Chair, as gold prevents unlimited debt and financialization.

Harry Halpin notes Palantir holds contracts with international entities, including the British healthcare system and European countries. He likens this to creating a privatized NSA with reduced accountability.

Harry Halpin argues that relying on laws to protect against state overreach is futile, citing how laws are weaponized against figures like Roman Storm. He advocates for creating anti-surveillance and privacy-enhancing technologies like NIM and DarkFi.

Christopher Cialone explains that the Southern District of New York is redefining privacy by separating anonymity from privacy. Prosecutors claimed legitimate users' Tornado Cash funds were illegitimate for strengthening privacy pools, stifling innovation.

Christopher Cialone highlights legal challenges faced by privacy developers, including Roman Storm’s Rule 29 hearing and the Bitcoin Fog developer's five-year imprisonment. He advocates for robust "parallel systems" to resist technocratic feudalism.

Vlad states that the arrest of Samurai wallet developers created a chilling effect, leading to the shutdown or unfashionability of privacy projects like Wasabi Wallet and Mercury Wallet. Only custodial eCash on Lightning gained acceptance.

A Polymarket bettor manipulated a weather market by using a hairdryer on a single temperature sensor at the Paris airport, making $35,000 before being arrested by French police for market interference.

Tether froze over $344 million in USDT across two Tron wallets in coordination with OFAC and US law enforcement, bringing its total frozen assets to over $4.4 billion from more than 340 agencies.

Amazon was exposed for secret price manipulation, monitoring competitors like Walmart in real-time and contacting brands like Levi's to enforce higher prices or de-rank sellers not complying with their pricing demands.