Sam Venis

Reporter at The Block

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Articles

Crypto “regulation by prosecution” hasn’t stopped under Trump

1 week ago | open.substack.com | Sam Venis

Happy Thursday! We are once again asking you to consider what “pro crypto” actually means. Donald Trump has promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the world,” and there’s been plenty of activity that would appear to be evidence that he’s following through. He has, for example, staffed the executive branch with outwardly “pro-crypto” individuals, from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Paul Atkins, the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Crypto “regulation by prosecution” hasn’t stopped under Trump

1 week ago | projectglitch.xyz | Sam Venis

Happy Thursday! We are once again asking you to consider what “pro crypto” actually means. Donald Trump has promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the world,” and there’s been plenty of activity that would appear to be evidence that he’s following through. He has, for example, staffed the executive branch with outwardly “pro-crypto” individuals, from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Paul Atkins, the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the age of the algorithm, bodies mimic the machine

1 week ago | documentjournal.com | Sam Venis

For Document’s Spring/Summer 2025 issue, Sam Venis examines how the human body is being reshaped in the image of the machines it once controlled I’m home in Toronto for a visit, and my parents agree to drop me off on the other side of the city. It’s a place they’ve been before many times, a city they’ve driven in for three decades.
Turbo America | The Point Magazine

2 weeks ago | thepointmag.com | Sam Venis

It was a crisp March morning in Austin, and just outside the Texas Capitol a swarm of protesters large enough to fill a sports arena had gathered to wave signs and shout into megaphones. Packs of bureaucrats who worked in the building stood together with clipboards and whispered among themselves. It was unclear exactly what was being protested.
How Samczsun is bridging the old web to the dark forest

1 month ago | projectglitch.xyz | Sam Venis

A white hat hacker and a journalist walk into a bar. It’s been said before, but Samczsun is like Batman. He dwells quietly in the shadows, hiding his identity behind a mask. If trouble is brewing in crypto’s Gotham City, its denizens expect him to speed to the rescue. In place of a bat signal, he’s got a Telegram hotline. Hacked? Wallet drained? Message SEAL 911. A team of experts called the Security Alliance (SEAL), which Samczsun founded last year, is ready to respond.
And the tech shall set you free

2 months ago | projectglitch.xyz | Sam Venis

Happy Friday! Glitch is back. Tell a friend. “Freedom tech.” That was the theme of the latest edition of the MIT Bitcoin Expo, a long-running and well-loved annual gathering focused on the technology that powers the world’s original cryptocurrency. I couldn’t make it in person, so I caught the livestream of the proceedings earlier this month.
How the US could sleepwalk into a dystopian digital ID system

Mar 24, 2025 | projectglitch.xyz | Sam Venis

Hello again! Today we continue our quest into the wilderness of digital identification. And once again: all the news that’s fit to Glitch, from Tornado Cash to World Liberty Financial. Jay Stanley isn’t a crypto guy. But the longtime American Civil Liberties Union policy watcher and privacy advocate is aware of the novel capabilities crypto folks have invented to get privacy on blockchains. And he thinks we should use them to escape a “nightmare” he sees unfolding.
I have seen the future of identity, and it is weird as hell

Mar 10, 2025 | projectglitch.xyz | Sam Venis

Greetings! We’re excited to be back in your inbox. In this edition we’ve got a reflection on digital identity from ETH Denver, and an acknowledgment of North Korea’s growing crypto money laundering skills. Plus all the news that’s fit to Glitch. The question of how to best identify ourselves in digital spaces is as old as the internet. The rise of artificial intelligence is making how we try to answer that question weirder and weirder.
Has crypto lost the plot?

Mar 1, 2025 | projectglitch.xyz | Sam Venis

Greetings from ETH Denver, where things have changed a lot since last year. Exciting projects still abound, to be sure. But it’s impossible to deny that the atmosphere has shifted—no longer can the crypto industry lay claim to the mantle of insurgent outsiders held down by oppressive regulators. The halls of power in the US ring with pro-crypto messaging. But is this the promised land? As we contemplate these big questions, we also have a look into the limits of ZK proofs.
Matthew Gasda's "Doomers" Asks, Is A.I. the Future? Or a Sign of the Apocalypse?

Feb 7, 2025 | airmail.news | Sam Venis

About halfway through the second act of Doomers, Matthew Gasda’s new play, inspired by the ousting of Sam Altman from OpenAI, a camo-wearing think-tank blogger (played by Ira Gamerman) asks the corporate board a question: “Have you heard about the gardener of Babylon?” “His pride was a tree that bore fruit of pure knowledge,” the blogger continues. “But the tree began to grow uncontrollably, its branches reaching the heavens....