The US Treasury is exploring whether identity checks should be built directly into decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts, a move critics warn could rewrite the very foundations of permissionless finance.

Last week, the agency opened a consultation under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), which was signed into law in July. The Act directs the Treasury to evaluate new compliance tools to fight illicit finance in crypto markets.

One idea was embedding identity credentials directly into smart contracts. In practice, this would mean a DeFi protocol could automatically verify a user’s government ID, biometric credential, or digital wallet certificate before allowing a transaction to proceed.

Supporters argue that building Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks into blockchain infrastructure could streamline compliance and keep criminals out of DeFi.

Fraser Mitchell, Chief Product Officer at AML provider SmartSearch, told Cointelegraph that such tools could “unmask the anonymous transactions that make these networks so attractive to criminals.”

“Real-time monitoring for suspicious activity can make it easier for platforms to mitigate risk, detect and ultimately prevent money launderers from using their networks to wash the proceeds from some of the world’s worst crimes,” Mitchell said.

Related: GENIUS Act to spark wave of ‘killer apps’ and new payment services: Sygnum

DeFi ID checks: protect data or risk surveillance?

Mitchell acknowledged the privacy tradeoff but argued that solutions exist. “Only the necessary data required for monitoring or regulatory audits should be stored, with everything else deleted. Any data that is held should be encrypted at row level, reducing the risk of a major breach.”

However, critics say the proposal risks hollowing out the core of DeFi. Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, CEO of Ubuntu Tribe, compared the plan to “putting cameras in every living room.”

“On paper, it looks like a neat compliance shortcut. But you turn a neutral, permissionless infrastructure into one where access is gated by government-approved identity credentials. That fundamentally changes what DeFi is meant to be,” Toure told Cointelegraph.

He warned that if biometric or government IDs are tied to blockchain wallets, “every transaction risks becoming permanently traceable to a real-world person. You lose pseudonymity and, by extension, the ability to transact without surveillance.”

For Toure, the stakes go beyond compliance. “Financial freedom relies on the right to a private economic life. Embedding ID at the protocol level erodes that and creates dangerous precedents. Governments could censor transactions, blacklist wallets, or even automate tax collection directly through smart contracts.”

Related: GENIUS Act yield ban may push trillions into tokenized assets — ex-bank exec

Who gets left behind?

Another concern is exclusion. Billions of people globally still lack formal identification. If DeFi protocols require government-issued credentials, entire communities, migrants, refugees and the unbanked risk being locked out.

“It may restrict access for users who prefer anonymity or cannot meet ID requirements, limiting DeFi’s democratic nature,” Toure said.

Data security is also a flashpoint. Linking biometric databases to financial activity could make hacks more catastrophic, exposing both money and personal identity in a single breach.

Critics stress that the choice isn’t binary between crime havens and mass surveillance. Privacy-preserving tools like zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and decentralized identity (DID) standards offer ways to verify eligibility without exposing full identity.

With ZKPs, users can prove they are not on a sanctions list or over 18 without revealing who they are. DID frameworks allow users to hold verifiable credentials and selectively disclose them. “Instead of static government IDs, users hold verifiable credentials they selectively disclose,” Toure said.

Magazine: Scottie Pippen says Michael Saylor warned him about Satoshi chatter

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/us-treasurys-defi-id-plan-is-like-putting-cameras-in-every-living-room/feed/ 0 54863 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/got-an-android-flip-phone-these-are-my-favorite-ways-to-make-the-most-of-their-cameras/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/got-an-android-flip-phone-these-are-my-favorite-ways-to-make-the-most-of-their-cameras/#respond Sat, 21 Jun 2025 18:44:21 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/got-an-android-flip-phone-these-are-my-favorite-ways-to-make-the-most-of-their-cameras/

There’s a lot to like about modern flip phones, but one of the biggest draws, at least for me, is the more versatile ways that you can utilize your cameras. With more traditional candybar-style smartphones, taking photos and selfies is a pretty standard experience. But thanks to the flip phone form factor and their ever-growing cover screens, that experience gets a unique upgrade.

Having reviewed a variety of Android flip phones for the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that people are always very elated to see how I use the cameras and cover screen. It’s one of the best ways to showcase what flip phones can do, so here are the ways I like to take advantage of the flip phone form factor to capture better photos and videos.

Taking the best selfies

With traditional smartphones, taking selfies typically involves the front-facing camera. While this is generally fine, front-facing cameras usually have inferior quality when compared to the primary rear cameras. Smaller sensors and lower resolutions sometimes can result in noisier images that just don’t look as good.

Flip phones still have front-facing cameras on the display, but to be honest, I rarely ever use them, and if I do, it’s to hop on a video call. But if I ever want to take a selfie, I close the phone and turn on the camera. This way, not only can I view myself using the cover screen, but it lets me take selfies with the superior quality of the primary camera.

What’s great is that you don’t need an expensive flip phone to make it happen; even the cheaper ones with smaller cover screens normally provide a selfie preview. Of course, it’s just better with a larger cover screen so you can get the full effect.

The Razr also has a fun Photobooth feature that automatically takes four photos after a short countdown. Once it’s done, it’ll stitch them into a fun 4×4 collage.

Capturing your best angles

One of the worst things is to have your picture taken by someone else, only for it to come out badly or show you at an awkward angle. You’re pretty much at the mercy of whoever is capturing the photo, and you just have to hope that at least one of the voters that they’re taking comes out good enough to post on Instagram.

With most flip phones, this becomes a thing of the past. With their expansive cover screens, phones like the Motorola Razr and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip allow you to turn on a preview of the viewfinder. That way, when you’re taking a photo of someone, they can see themselves and angle themselves appropriately, ensuring that you’re capturing their best side.

I use this anytime I take photos of friends, and they always comment on how cool and useful it is that they can see themselves.

This one’s for the TikTokers

If you’re a TikToker or content creator, this one’s for you. Instead of buying a tripod or another accessory to prop your phone up while recording a video, you can just take a flip phone, set it down somewhere, and fold it at an angle. With the cover screen viewfinder, you’ll be able to see yourself while you record your videos. And again, since you’re not using the front camera, the quality should be much better than with a traditional smartphone.

This is one of my favorite ways to take hands-free “selfies” that don’t look like selfies and appear to have been taken by someone else. This works great when paired with Air Gestures, which activate a short countdown when you hold your hand up at the camera. And for video, the Razr Ultra also lets you control videos in a similar fashion, letting you start, pause, or end video recording by showing your palm or fist.

However, it can also be a great way to capture footage of not just yourself, but also of other things. Android Central’s Nicholas Sutrich recently took a Motorola Razr Plus 2025 with him while he was paddleboarding on a lake. He set the phone down in front of him on the board and just started recording. It’s nice because he was able to capture video of his time on the lake with the Razr while his hands were focused on navigating the paddleboard (with the Razr secured to the board, of course).

And if you have a Galaxy Z Flip 6, you can take advantage of a cool auto zoom feature. While using the cover screen viewfinder, the camera will automatically zoom in or out depending on how close you are to the camera, something you would normally need to do manually.

Bring out the filmmaker in you

Recent Razr and Galaxy Z Flip models introduced a pretty cool feature that makes it easier to record videos, particularly if you’re holding the phone. Camcorder Mode essentially turns your phone virtually into a camcorder when you fold the device at a 90-degree angle while the camera is turned on.

With Camcorder Mode, the UI transforms so the viewfinder is on the forward-most portion of the device while the half of the phone that you’re holding is simplified with little to no buttons and a large touch pad. While you’re recording, you can drag your thumb across this touchpad to zoom in and out with ease. You can also flip the video vertically or horizontally, depending on the type of video you’re taking.

The benefit of Camcorder Mode is that you have a much firmer grip on the phone, which allows for smoother movements when compared to how you would normally hold the phone. And of course, you can still utilize the cover screen so that anyone being recorded can see themselves in the viewfinder.

Making funny faces so you don’t have to

Taking photos of small children can be a challenge. It’s not always easy to get them to look directly into the camera, especially babies. Fortunately, this is something Motorola has thought of with what it likes to call the camera cartoon.

This feature uses the cover screen to display a colorful series of animated faces that it cycles through in order to grab a child’s attention. That way, you can grab the perfect shot without constantly having to flail around behind the camera, and the faces should hopefully get a smile or laugh out of the kid.

Fewer cameras, more versatility

One of the main complaints about flip phones is that they often come equipped with only two cameras. Compare that to similarly priced Android flagships that normally have at least three cameras, and it may seem like flip phones aren’t worth it for the “gimmick” of a folding display and cover screen. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

In fact, thanks to their foldable form factor and cover screen, flip phones manage to make their dual camera systems more versatile than traditional smartphones, and in ways that their non-folding counterparts can’t really replicate. It’s part of what makes them so unique, and a key reason why you should consider buying a flip phone.

What you need to need to know

• Google really wants more people to use Palm Timer, as evidenced by two new references to the feature this month.
• There’s a new community post that reminds Pixel owners that Palm Timer can be used on both the front and rear cameras.
• This comes shortly after Pixel Camera 9.8 rolled out with tweaked wording for the Palm Timer setting.

This month, Google has taken multiple steps to let Pixel phone owners know that the Palm Timer in the Camera app works with both the front and rear cameras. First, the company updated the Pixel Camera app with version 9.8 to include that distinction in the settings menu. Google also created a new community post this week to explain the feature and reinforce the point that it works with multiple cameras.

For those unfamiliar, Palm Timer is a Pixel-exclusive feature that can automatically start a photo timer when you show your palm to the camera. It was originally introduced with the front-facing camera and the Pixel Fold in mind, but now works with the Pixel 6 and newer, and with both cameras.

It’s easy to see that Palm Timer works with the front-facing camera, since users get visual confirmation in the viewfinder. Even though there’s no visual cue that a Palm Timer photo was taken using the rear cameras on a non-foldable, Google wants to point out that it does indeed work.

“Say goodbye to awkward selfie sticks and the stress of racing to beat the timer. With Google Pixel’s Palm timer, you can easily capture everyone in your selfies or your group from a distance,” the community post explains. “Not only does it work with the front camera, but you can also use it with the rear camera. When you’re ready, simply raise your palm to start the countdown. Easy peasy!”

Google says that to start a Palm Timer, simply hold up your hand toward the camera. A waving motion will do the trick, and when you’re ready, lower your hand to start a timer. This is a way to initiate a photo on your Pixel phone without physically pressing the shutter button, so it’s great for when your Pixel is set on a flat surface or tripod far away.

Palm Timer is enabled by default, but it can be disabled by opening the Pixel Camera app. From there, navigate to Settings > More settings > Palm timer. There, you can turn it off if you’d like.