Unchained This Week
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US Crypto Bills
Embracing Innovation or Entrenching State Oversight?
The US House has passed legislation regulating stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the dollar—alongside bills for broader crypto market structures and a ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). We applaud the push to legitimize digital assets through voluntary markets rather than stifling enforcement, but remain cautious: any regulation risks distorting free exchange and empowering the state, echoing the inefficiencies of historical interventions from fiat monopolies to trade barriers.
From a macroeconomic lens, stablecoins represent a voluntary innovation that could democratize finance. By mandating reserves and anti-money laundering compliance, the bill aims to build trust without banning the asset outright, potentially growing the market to $3.7 trillion by decade's end, as noted by US Treasury officials. Yet, this introduces inefficiencies: required reserves mimic fractional banking's distortions, where government-backed guarantees historically fueled moral hazard, as seen in the 2008 crisis. Sociologically, stablecoins foster decentralized communities, reducing reliance on centralized banks, promoting voluntary cooperation and personal responsibility in transactions—contrast this with Europe's MiCA framework, which imposes stringent EU-wide crypto licensing since 2024, harmonizing rules but risking over-centralization that could stifle smaller innovators. READ MORE
European consumer protection laws push firms to offshore havens, underscoring how regulation can inadvertently export innovation.
Unchained Macroeconomics
Transatlantic Tariff Tango
Why Protectionism from Both Sides Harms True Economic Freedom
The latest U.S.-EU tariff spat is a mutual dance of protectionism that ultimately steps on the toes of consumers and global prosperity. Trump's 30% levy on EU imports, effective August 1, has jolted European markets southward, yet, let's be fair: the EU has its own storied history of tariffs, from retaliatory duties on American bourbon and motorcycles in 2018 to broader barriers that have long skewed transatlantic trade. This isn't just Trump's doing; it's a cycle of government intervention where both sides erect walls under the guise of fairness, ignoring how free markets naturally balance through voluntary exchange. READ MORE
In the long run, tariffs distort resource allocation, stifling innovation over time, even if immediate effects are muted by market adaptations.
Unchained Climate Politics
Europe's Green Deal Fizzles
Why Government Mandates Can't Cool the Planet
As Europe swelters under intensifying heat waves—claiming over 2,300 lives in a recent 10-day scorcher across Spain and France—its leaders are retreating from ambitious climate policies like the European Green Deal. Rather than doubling down on emission cuts amid wildfires and shutdowns, politicians are scaling back investments and regulations promised just years ago. This pivot underscores a timeless truth: state-imposed "green transitions" distort markets, breed inefficiencies, and ultimately falter under economic realities, far better addressed through voluntary innovation and free enterprise than bureaucracy. READ MORE
Climate regulations hike production costs by up to 20% in heavy industries, eroding competitiveness and inviting offshoring to less-regulated locales.
Unchained Sports Economics
Central Planning Sidelines Player Welfare in the Global Game
FIFA's purported consensus on player rest periods, forged without input from the global players' union FIFPro, exposes the authoritarian underbelly of football's governing body, prioritizing short-term economic expansion over human sustainability. This is a classic case of centralized control distorting voluntary exchange, where FIFA's monopoly mirrors statist interventions that ignore individual rights and market signals in pursuit of profit. READ MORE
Studies show high acute workloads spike injury risks for affected players, far outpacing uninjured peers.
Unchained Geopolitics
Europe's Defense Spending Surge
Doubts Despite the Need
Europe's NATO countries are promising to boost their military budgets to 5% of their total economy (measured by GDP) by 2035. They're doing this mainly for better security, not to jumpstart economic growth—and that's a smart call, since history shows that pouring government money into defense doesn't usually lead to big economic wins.
We like that Europe’s Nato countries are being honest about increasing security without direct economic incentive, because when governments decide where to spend, it often messes with free markets and pushes aside private businesses and ideas. Still, while stronger defenses are crucial in today's shaky world, this big spending push could bring waste, unfair trade practices, and long-term harm to the economy. READ MORE
For every euro that goes to tanks or training, there's less left for families to spend, businesses to invest, or new inventions to take off.
Unchained Markets
France's Fiscal Reckoning
Austerity as Symptom, Not Cure, of Statism's Grip
France's new prime minister, Francois Bayrou, has unveiled a belt-tightening blueprint aiming to slash the 2026 budget deficit by 43.8 billion euros through spending freezes, job cuts, and productivity tweaks like axing two public holidays—all while flirting with protectionist "European preference" in procurement. We applaud any effort to curb runaway debt, but this plan reeks of half-measures: it trims the branches of statism without uprooting the tree, perpetuating government overreach, distorting markets and eroding individual liberty. READ MORE
Top-down efficiency gains often burden the vulnerable, breeding alienation in a society already divided by political paralysis.
Unchained Snapshots
Unchained History
On July 14, 1789, the Storming of the Bastille in Paris ignited the French Revolution, symbolizing the overthrow of monarchical tyranny and inspiring democratic movements across Europe.
On July 15, 1099, Christian forces captured and plundered Jerusalem during the First Crusade, a pivotal religious and military conflict that influenced European-Middle Eastern relations for centuries.
On July 16, 1054, the Great Schism began, dividing Christianity into Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic branches after the excommunication of the Patriarch of Constantinople, profoundly affecting European religious and cultural unity.
On July 17, 1453, the Battle of Castillon saw French forces defeat the English, effectively ending the Hundred Years' War and reshaping the balance of power in medieval Europe.
On July 18, 1936, a military uprising led by General Francisco Franco initiated the Spanish Civil War, a conflict that drew international involvement and foreshadowed World War II in Europe.
On July 19, 1870, France declared war on Prussia, sparking the Franco-Prussian War, which led to German unification and redrew the map of Europe, influencing future alliances and conflicts.
On July 20, 1969, NASA's Apollo 11 mission achieved the first human Moon landing, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepping onto the lunar surface—a global scientific triumph that boosted European-American collaboration in space exploration.
The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves.
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