Cryptocurrency & Free Speech Finance

A16z-Backed OpenReserve Gets Approval for Full-Service National Bank

In brief The OCC granted OpenReserve Bank preliminary conditional approval on September 2 to charter a national bank in Salt Lake City, Utah, just under five months after the company filed its application. OpenReserve must raise at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital and hold a 12% Tier 1 leverage ratio for three years before it can open. OpenReserve plans a separate subsidiary to issue and custody dollar-backed stablecoins, though that application hasn’t been filed with the OCC yet. OpenReserve Bank, backed by Andreessen Horowitz among other VC heavyweights, received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller…

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Maltese tycoon Yorgen Fenech, accused of being the mastermind behind the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, was cleared of charges of complicity and criminal conspiracy. Index’s CEO Jemimah Steinfeld gives her reaction, as Daphne’s family continue to call for justice. Malta Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered by a bomb planted under her car on 16 October 2017. She was 53. I was relatively new to Index at the time, and I remember the day well. It isn’t every day that a journalist is brutally murdered in Europe. Thus began years of protests, first outside Malta’s High Commission in London then online following Covid restrictions, ultimately morphing into a sustained campaign for justice for Daphne and her family. In the years since, I have had the privilege of meeting several members of her family. I’ve always been struck, humbled even, by their unwavering determination in their quest for justice – the energy and fortitude this demands – and by their ability to get on with life, refusing to let Daphne’s murder define them. Yorgen Fenech leaves the courthouse following his acquittal (AP Photo/Kevin Schembri Orland) Daphne was a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother, and so many future memories were stolen from her and her family on that fateful day in 2017. Daphne was also a fearless journalist. She was killed because she asked uncomfortable questions, because she dared to expose and confront abuses of power and authority in Malta. Yesterday, when Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech was acquitted of complicity in Daphne’s murder, that message rang throughout the court and beyond. She was killed because she was seeking out the truth. We at Index are all devastated for her and her family. They have spent years in search of answers, and thought they would get this, finally, after nine long years. They didn’t. Daphne was not the only one denied justice this week. Another face familiar to us at Index is that of Joshua Wong, the Hong Kong democracy leader who has been in prison since 2020. Reader, what were you doing in your 20s? Joshua, who turns 30 next month, was first arrested when he was 17 and has spent a large chunk of his 20s in jail. And he might remain imprisoned for longer. He was due to be released in January 2027, after serving out his most recent term of imprisonment, for subversion. But this week he pleaded guilty to collusion with foreign entities – which could lead to a life sentence under China’s National Security Law. Hong Kong Joshua’s friend and fellow protester Frances Hui wrote about him for Index. She reminded us of the person, not the name. “He was sharp, stubborn, and unapologetic. Most importantly to those of us who were younger, he seemed entirely unconvinced by the idea that being young meant we should remain quiet.” She added that Hong Kong’s government have done all they can to make Joshua “disappear from everyday life”. The authorities in Hong Kong and Malta would rather that these names disappeared, that we move on and forget about the past. But we can’t, and we won’t. Not until we’ve achieved justice for Daphne and freedom for Joshua.   READ MORE

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