Benjamin Powers

Powers is a tech reporter at Grid. Previously, he was privacy reporter at CoinDesk where he focused on data and financial privacy, information security, and digital identity. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, and the New Republic, among others. He owns bitcoin.

Benjamin Powers

Latest from Benjamin Powers


Technology

New Research Sheds Light on the Front-Running Bots in Ethereum’s Dark Forest

The report outlines how the researchers identified and isolated generalized front-running bots while evaluating their efficiency.

Front-running bot in Ethereum forest

Finance

SkyBridge Capital Has Already Invested $182M in Bitcoin

“Bitcoin is digital gold,” SkyBridge said in its pitch to investors. “It is better at being gold than gold.”

SkyBridge Capital. founder Anthony Scaramucci

Policy

Japanese Internet Giant Licensed to Issue First JPY-Pegged Stablecoin in New York

The charter makes GMO one of only 27 companies licensed in New York to engage in virtual currency activities.

Close- up on 1000 YEN banknote.

Finance

From SIM-Swaps to Home-Invasion Threats, Ledger Leak Has Cascading Consequences

The incident shows the variety of ways data can be used to hurt people, and raises questions about how and if certain data should be retained at all.

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Learn

New to Bitcoin? How to Stay Safe and Avoid Common Bitcoin Scams

Welcome to the world of bitcoin, where you are your first and last line of defense against scammers and fraudsters.

Mousetrap

Technology

Secret Network Launches Bridge to Bring Transactional Privacy to Ethereum

The bridge will also give users access to Secret DeFi, privacy-preserving decentralized finance apps built on the Secret Network.

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Technology

Google Down: The Perils of Centralization

It was a jarring reminder of the hidden costs of the easy-to-use, centralized systems that permeate the web, and just how taxing or debilitating they can be.

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Policy

FinCEN Encourages Banks to Share Customer Information With Each Other

The guidance is apt to chafe privacy advocates, inside and outside the crypto space, who are already uneasy about the honeypot that FinCEN’s suspicious activity report database has become.

FinCEN director Kenneth Blanco

Policy

Privacy Coin Advocates Persevere Amid Multiple Crypto Exchange Delistings

As delisting for privacy coins spreads, advocates argue that not only should regulators want them on exchanges but they should tell exchanges what they need to do to be compliant.

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Policy

How FinCEN Became a Honeypot for Sensitive Personal Data

Financial data records collected by FinCEN are a valuable tool for law enforcement. They’re also a trove of personal data on people who have not committed a crime.

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