USBC’s approach to digital identity | #343

Also, what we can learn from the Wright Brothers

Our newsletter covers news, industry perspectives, and updates from the USBC ecosystem. Check out our last report here.

This week:

1. USBC’s approach to digital identity

2. What we can learn from the Wright Brothers

3. USBC athlete Brennan Wertz wins Huffmaster Hopper (again)

4. Stuff happens

1. USBC’s approach to digital identity

Last week, we sat down with USBC co-founder and CEO to discuss digital identity and USBC’s unique approach that enables fair access, compliance, and user control over data, covering a few key topics:

• Proof of Personhood—a digital identity tied to who you are rather than a password

• Individual control over biometric data—rather than governments or corporations

• Delegated Authority—the power of programmable credentials

Here’s Greg on Proof of Personhood:

…on a model of digital identity without government or corporate control:

…on how Vaulty enables individual control over encrypted/private biometric data:

…on the potential of Delegated Authority:

2. What we can learn from the Wright Brothers

Photos courtesy of wright-brothers.org

When it comes to financial services, the stakes are high—this is people’s money we’re talking about. As a result, innovation in financial services often stalls under the weight of risk processes designed to eliminate uncertainty before a product ever reaches the market.

Instead, we should learn from how the Wright Brothers approached innovation, according to Greg:

Greg:

Folks, the Wright brothers were successful because they didn’t work back to front to build an airplane. Instead they worked front to back on the more modest goal of “controlled flight”—starting with kites and then moving progressively to gliders. Once they figured all that out, then it was only a secondary challenge to attach a motor to a controlled flight glider. And thus the world was forever changed.

Further reading:

• Wright Brothers Kites and Gliders from 1899-1911

3. USBC athlete Brennan Wertz wins Huffmaster Hopper (again)

A big congrats to USBC athlete Brennan Wertz, who once again kicked off his season with a win at the Huffmaster Hopper—making it 3 wins in a row over in Maxwell, California.

ICYMI, check out our interview with the 2024 U.S. national gravel champion.

4. Stuff happens

• Binance Fired Staff Who Flagged $1 Billion Moving to Sanctioned Iran Entities

• Private transactions are coming to Ethereum

• OCC issues proposal to implement GENIUS Act, seeking public feedback

• Via Anze Loviscek—The Complete Guide to WhatsApp Pay: 2026 Edition

• Via Anej Mehadzic—Stripe co-founder John Collison: “torrent” of agentic commerce in future

• Via Mitja Simcic—Payments Processor Stripe Expresses Interest in PayPal

• Via Can Akkus—Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is planning stablecoin comeback in the second half amid U.S. regulatory shift

• Via Anej Mehadzic—Payoneer has applied for an OCC National Trust Charter

• Via Mitja Simcic—9% of the banks plan to invest in or implement tokenized deposits in 2026

• PayPal attracts takeover interest after stock slide, Bloomberg News reports