Yaya Fanusie

Yaya Fanusie, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, dives into the complexities of crypto security and regulation. He discusses North Korea's sophisticated cyber heists targeting cryptocurrency, and the partisan divide in U.S. regulatory approaches. Fanusie also explores how stablecoins can empower nations with unstable currencies and warns about the risks of memecoins. The conversation highlights the challenges of embracing digital currencies while navigating the blurred lines between innovation and security.

Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, have captured the attention of thousands over the past few weeks and months. This technology's use has encompassed various forms of digital art such as the popular depictions of cartoon apes. But, one country has begun looking beyond NFT’s use as a digital asset toward using it for the creation of a more centralized and restrictive internet ecosystem.Lawfare fellow in cybersecurity law Alvaro Marañon sat down with Yaya Fanusie, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, to speak about the China government’s vision for the next iteration of the internet. Yaya is an expert on the national security implications of cryptocurrencies and recently has written Lawfare posts analyzing China’s NFT and national digital currency initiatives. They broke down an NFT and the other technical acronyms, what the Chinese government’s aspirations are with its national blockchain project, and what the strategic risk to nation-states is if China can implement its technological vision. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter McCormack, a journalist and podcaster focused on human rights and cryptocurrencies, joins Yaya Fanusie, a senior fellow with deep expertise in cryptocurrency's national security implications. They dive into El Salvador's bold move to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, discussing its potential to bank the unbanked. The conversation touches on economic barriers, the skepticism surrounding crypto's effectiveness, and ethical dilemmas related to Know Your Customer regulations. Their dynamic debate emphasizes the promise and peril of cryptocurrencies in emerging economies.