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Spending

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

Rich Bitcoiners Seem to be Spending BTC on Luxury Holidays. Is This Really a Good Idea?

by admin August 31, 2025

Bitcoin’s latest rally is spilling over into the luxury holiday market.

The Financial Times (FT) reported earlier today that private jet firms, cruise lines and boutique hotels are increasingly accepting crypto payments.

Flexjet-owned FXAIR, for instance, now takes tokens for transatlantic trips costing about $80,000, while cruise operator Virgin Voyages sells annual passes worth $120,000.

SeaDream Yacht Club and boutique hotel groups including The Kessler Collection have also added crypto checkout options, according to the FT.

High-end travel is a natural niche for crypto spending. On six-figure invoices, fees and volatility matter less, and merchants can instantly convert payments into fiat.

For customers, paying in bitcoin carries status value, echoing earlier bull-market splurges on Lamborghinis and watches. This time, the indulgence is time-saving private jets and one-of-a-kind cruises.

Still, whether it makes financial sense is another matter. Bitcoin’s most famous cautionary tale comes from 2010, when Florida programmer Laszlo Hanyecz spent 10,000 BTC on two pizzas, a purchase now worth over $1 billion in hindsight. Today’s jet bookings could invite the same regret if bitcoin keeps climbing.

Yet others see logic in cashing in.

With bitcoin recently hitting a record $124,128 on Aug. 14, some wealthy holders may view the present rally as a window to lock in gains before macro shocks send prices lower.

Inflationary pressures tied to the new U.S. import tariffs, along with wider economic uncertainty, could easily knock BTC back below $100,000, turning today’s holiday splurges into a rational hedge.

There are also tax complications.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), for instance, treats crypto as property, meaning that spending BTC counts as a taxable disposal and can trigger capital-gains liabilities. The U.K.’s HMRC applies the same principle, taxing disposals when coins are sold, swapped or spent.

The bigger backdrop, according to McKinsey data cited by the FT, is that younger affluent travelers are driving a luxury travel boom projected to nearly double spending between 2023 and 2028. For that generation, crypto is not just an investment vehicle but also a way to pay for experiences that promise freedom and exclusivity.

Bottom line: Crypto hasn’t taken over coffee shops, but at the top end of the market it is showing up. Whether that’s smart wealth management or another billion-dollar pizza mistake depends on how long this bull cycle lasts.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

US House Slips CBDC Ban Into Defence Spending Bill

by admin August 24, 2025

In brief

House Republicans have attached anti-CBDC measures to an upcoming Defense Bill.
The U.S. remains the only major economy to halt retail CBDC development.
Stablecoins have gained traction in the U.S. as lawmakers cite fears over the privacy and control of CBDCs.

House Republicans have added a provision banning central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) into a 1,300 page bill which lays out defense spending and priorities for the next financial year.

The amendment, included in bill H.R. 3838, would prohibit the Federal Reserve from testing, developing or implementing a CBDC under any label.

It adds an exception for “any dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private, and fully preserves the privacy protections of United States coins and physical currency.”

“Attaching our Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to the NDAA will ensure unelected bureaucrats are NEVER allowed to trade Americans’ financial privacy for a CCP-style surveillance tool,” GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer said last month, referring to the bill.

Attaching our Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to the NDAA will ensure unelected bureaucrats are NEVER allowed to trade Americans’ financial privacy for a CCP-style surveillance tool. @POTUS has made it clear: our legislation is a key piece of our America First agenda, and we…

— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) July 17, 2025

The charge to stop CBDCs in the U.S. is a largely Republican-led effort. Emmer himself attempted to introduce a CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in 2023 but it failed to gain momentum. It was reintroduced upon Trump coming to office and is currently making its way through the Senate.

CBDCs around the world

Globally, however, CBDCs are advancing rapidly. According to the Atlantic Council, 137 countries are exploring digital versions of their currencies, up from just 35 in 2020, and with 72 already in advanced stages of development. The U.S. remains an outlier after President Trump’s executive order earlier this year to halt all retail CBDC work.

The opposition to CBDCs in the U.S. reflects competing visions of the future of money. Critics of CBDCs fear government overreach, surveillance and disruption to the banking sector.

The American Bankers Association (ABA), which backed the House measure in July, argued that a CBDC “would fundamentally change the relationship between citizens and the Federal Reserve, undermine the important role banks play in extending credit, exacerbate economic and liquidity crises, and impede the transmission of sound monetary policy.”

Nanak Nihal Khalsa, Co-Founder of human.tech by Holonym, told Decrypt that he hoped the senate bill against CBDCs passed because he feared “sleepwalking into surveillance money.”

“The fears are definitely justified,” he said, calling CBDCs “programmable money controlled by the state.” He added that, “Once every transaction runs through a state ledger, privacy is gone by default and the question isn’t if it gets abused, it’s when.”

“If the US takes a stand against CBDCs, it opens up space to build alternatives that are open, permissionless, and actually preserve privacy, the things that made digital money worth caring about in the first place,” Khalsa said.

Khalsa added that stablecoins issued by private companies also carried some of the same risks. “Private companies have the same incentives to track, exclude, and monetize,” he said. “The only difference is who you’re forced to trust, the state or a corporation. Without privacy guarantees built into the protocol itself, you’re choosing which empire you want to live under.”

Europe-based financial non-profit Finance Watch told Decrypt it believed concerns about surveillance are about “design, not about the concept of a CBDC itself.”

“It is entirely possible to create a CBDC that is open, permissionless, and preserves the same privacy protections as cash,” a spokesperson said. “That requires privacy by design and by default, strict limits on data collection, and offline functionality for small payments.”

“The real question is whether money should be run by private companies or issued by the central bank, as with cash,” they added, arguing that the digital Euro being developed in the EU is being designed as “a public alternative to established, privately controlled means of payment, reasserting citizens’ control of money and payments.”

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August 24, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The government’s spending review: Citizen data and digital identity projects need high security by default

by admin August 21, 2025

The UK government’s spending review in June set out its plans to invest in Britain’s renewal: its security, health and economy.

Digital technologies featured heavily in the review with government pledging that it will provide “funding directly to departments to build strong digital and technology foundations, modernize public service delivery, and drive a major overhaul in government productivity and efficiency.”

One of the ways it has done this is by introducing a GOV.UK Wallet and a GOV.UK App, which aims to deliver more personalized customer experiences and verifiable digital credentials for citizens.

The pros and cons of centralizing data

Centralizing citizen data and digital identities has clear benefits. It enables more joined up services, reduces duplications allows for more seamless, personalized user experiences and could improve access and efficiency across the NHS and other public services.

For the NHS, for example, a single patient record could help doctors and specialists deliver better, more consistent care across the health service. For citizens interacting with government departments, a unified app and wallet could simplify administrative tasks and improve digital inclusion.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has said in recent interviews that, “People’s private data will not be shared outside of government.” However, despite the Technology Secretary’s assurances, this approach does come with significant risks. Centralized citizen data represents some of the most sensitive information any organization could hold. Health records, identity details and government interactions, combined in a single system, are a goldmine for cybercriminals.

And no doubt there will be some concerns from the public regarding its security – particularly in light of recent, very public, high profile cyber-attacks. Over the last 18 months, the UK has seen a series cyber attacks on both public and private sector organizations, including health authorities and councils, as well as the recent M&S and Qantas data breaches.

These incidents have highlighted the vulnerability of critical services and the real-world impact of compromised data, from patient safety to public confidence.

As these services become more integrated and reliant on shared data infrastructure, the risk of a breach also grows. A single point of access to multiple datasets can become a high-value target for threat actors. The more data an attacker can obtain from one place, the more appealing, and damaging, a breach can be.

A proactive approach to information security

With these very real threats, a proactive, systems-led approach to information security must be embedded from the outset.

The government needs to ensure that privacy by design and security by default is in every digital service developed. This means applying rigorous access controls, encryption, and secure development practices across every data touchpoint. That said, it is crucial that continuous monitoring for vulnerabilities and suspicious activities happens throughout the system lifecycle – and not just after deployment.

Similarly, the systems need to ensure that they comply with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act and other relevant standards.

These requirements must be seen not as a burden by the government but as the bedrock of responsible digital innovation.

Building a high-security posture

To meet these heightened security demands, following the guidance provided by internationally recognized security standards, such as ISO 27001, can be a logical place to start to get ahead of the increased risks to highly personal data this approach represents.

Standards such as ISO 27001 offer a structured, repeatable framework for managing risk, protecting information assets and demonstrating compliance. But it’s more than a tick-box exercise, it is a cultural shift in how risk is understood, communicated, and mitigated across every layer of an organization.

If the government embeds the principles of ISO 27001 into its delivery of these new services from the outset, rather than retrofitting them post-launch, it can design services that are both secure and scalable. It can ensure that it is identifying and evaluating new and emerging threats as digital services evolve.

It will also mitigate risks through policy, controls and continual improvement. But it will also be able to demonstrate accountability and transparency to the public – which is key.

Transparency is key to building public trust

Security isn’t just about systems, it is also about perception. The government’s digital strategy must be underpinned by public trust. Clear communication about how data is used, who has access, what safeguards are in place and what recourse citizens have in the event of a breach is essential.

Publishing high-level information security policies, adopting standards like ISO 27001 and engaging with the public on data protection issues will help foster the confidence needed to make digital services work.

Public sector leaders must ensure that information security is not treated as an afterthought. That means prioritizing risk management now – not waiting for a breach to expose the consequences of delay.

We list the best identity management solution.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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August 21, 2025 0 comments