Project Glitch Newsletter

Hello and welcome back. Many Glitchy things are afoot. Today we take a look at the strangeness of the UK’s social media ban, then ponder a future where our collaborative software will be fully private and encrypted. Plus much more, as usual. Enjoy, and let us know what you think! When I was too young to drink or go clubbing, a boy in the year below me at school devised an ingenious way to fool bouncers’ ID checks.

A license to kill… online anonymity? Good afternoon from Blighty! The British government already has a penchant for snooping on its citizens. But some of the actions it has taken lately go further, threatening to make online anonymity off limits. Here’s a closer look at a few recently introduced policies that could change the internet as we know it in the UK.

Hello! We’re back in your inboxes with a look at a hunky actor’s flawed crypto crusade, then we examine the questions raised after Circle zapped its Zama stablecoin. We close with a smattering of Glitchy happenings guaranteed to delight. Just a heads up as well, in case you missed it during your busy spring-time schedule: we recently ran a detailed breakdown of the novel security challenges that come with AI agents. Take a moment for it.

Hello, and welcome. I’m Peter Hall. As a PhD candidate at NYU, I’ve worked on theoretical cryptography, and as a tech and science journalist, I’ve written about AI’s unique security vulnerabilities, agent-agent communication, and more. Today, I’m excited to write for Project Glitch about the challenge of securing AI agents—an increasingly important issue as agents make their way into wider use. Researchers are figuring out how to make sure agents don’t short circuit.

Hello and welcome to another episode of Glitchy Things. For your delectation and enjoyment today, we’re looking at how VPNs have become a flashpoint in the battle to regulate life online, the rise of crypto money in UK electoral politics, and the cybersecurity implications of the rise of AI agents. This week, Utah became the first US state to enact legislation targeting people who use virtual private networks (VPNs) to get around online age verification checkpoints.

Hey there! Earlier this month, we held our third in-person event, the Stablecoin Privacy Summit, in Washington, DC. This issue delves into some of the key takeaways. by Mike Orcutt Stablecoins are about to go mainstream. Are they, though? The prediction, prevalent in the crypto world since the United States passed the first-ever regulatory framework for stablecoins last year, faces a challenge.

The year is almost completely in the rearview, but one 2025 event I can’t stop thinking about is the 2nd-ever DC Privacy Summit in October. (In case you missed the event, here are all the videos, and here’s a Glitch newsletter that summarizes each session.) I tried to unravel all of my thoughts below. But in short: Technology is changing the world quickly, in contradictory and disorienting ways. The DC Privacy Summit was about focus, communication, and clarity of purpose.

Hello again! In case you missed it, our 2nd annual DC Privacy Summit was earlier this month. At the risk of being immodest, it was awesome—we tapped into a deep, urgent conversation around cryptographic privacy thanks to an amazing lineup of speakers. Our attendees were super engaged, with great questions throughout the day. Below, you’ll find a roundup that’ll catch up anyone who wasn’t able to attend.

We're thrilled to announce that the Second Annual DC Privacy Summit returns to Washington, D.C. on October 16, 2025, at the USC Capital Campus. Following the success of our inaugural event, this year's summit explores the idea that in many cases, privacy is security. The summit reflects a critical recognition that new approaches to managing illicit finance risks in decentralized systems are needed—and that emerging cryptographic privacy tools can help.

Hello! We’re delighted to have Veronica Irwin, a crypto regulation and policy journalist based in Brooklyn, back with us today. Shortly after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order on crypto. Trump’s order called for a report on several key topics to be completed by … today.