gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This Week:

• Manta Network launches the 4th edition of Privatize to Maximize, a MantaPay Incentive Program

• Secret Network introduces upcoming integration with Andromeda’s aOS

• US Senate’s amendment to tackle anonymous transactions and illegal activities could implicate privacy coins

• Various governments investigate the impact of Worldcoin’s system on user data privacy, including Germany, France, UK, and Kenya – the latter has suspended Worldcoin until further notice

• Mind Network and Arweave join hands to provide Web3 storage focused on user data privacy

• Rise of Telegram crypto trading bots raises security and privacy concerns

• Decentralized privacy solution Iron Fish announces Grants Program to fund like-minded BUIDLers, creators, and researchers

Op-Ed Feature:

• CoinMarketCap shares about differentiating roles and regulations in Web3 privacy

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

An amendment to the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, a bill first proposed by Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis and New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, was approved earlier this week. The reintroduction of the landmark bill adds momentum for consumer protection, and seeks to bring regulatory clarity around digital assets. While the crypto conversation on Capitol Hill is far from over, privacy coins and crypto mixers could face a fresh crackdown given its obfuscation around user funds.

Telegram trading bots have taken the industry by storm. Dune analytics reveals that top trading bots and their namesake tokens have attracted over 69K unique users with over $175M in trading volume. Trading bots tout convenience and a seemingly high rate of return for traders, but experts flag security and privacy concerns.

Crypto traders hand over the generation and control of their private keys to unregulated, unaudited bots, and the assumption - a flimsy one -  is that there is no breach of trust. It’s also worth noting that messages exchanged between users and bots are not end-to-end encrypted, and user privacy can be compromised. The overall philosophy of “Not your keys, not your coins” is more than just a fun rallying cry when it comes to self-custody of funds.

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This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.