Evan Abrams

Partner @SteptoeLLP. Emerging technology and national security law. AI | Chips | FinTech | Crypto. Not legal advice. Opinions are my own.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

In the era of #ArtificialIntelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace. #MagnificaHumanitas
https://t.co/6i9MWs6LJl

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness. #MagnificaHumanitas
https://t.co/6i9MWs6LJl

[a16z @a16z]

Mounting evidence of productivity lift across high-AI industries

Charts of the Week: https://t.co/nVVf3gIw3U

[CSIS @CSIS]

"Open [AI] models typically lag frontier systems for about 8–12 months, suggesting a narrow window for governments to act before powerful vulnerability detection models become commonplace," writes @csis_ai.

More: https://t.co/P9CNVnWgVY

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

What you need to know about the CLARITY Act.

[Treasury Department @USTreasury]

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control today alerted financial institutions to the sanctions risks associated with independent “teapot” oil refineries in China, which import Iranian oil to ultimately benefit the Iranian regime, military, and weapons programs. Financial institutions should be on notice that Treasury will leverage its full range of tools and authorities to hold accountable financial institutions that facilitate these transactions.

[Luiza Jarovsky, PhD @LuizaJarovsky]

🚨 BREAKING: Stanford's 423-page AI Index Report 2026 is out! [Bookmark it below]. These are its key takeaways:

1. AI capability is not plateauing. It is accelerating and reaching more people than ever.

2. The U.S.-China AI model performance gap has effectively closed.

3. The U.S. hosts the most AI data centers, with the majority of its chips fabricated by one Taiwanese foundry.

4. AI models can win a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad but cannot reliably tell time, an example of what researchers call the jagged frontier of AI.

5. Robots still fail at most household tasks, even as they excel in controlled environments.

6. Responsible AI is not keeping pace with AI capability, with safety benchmarks lagging and incidents rising sharply.

7. The U.S. leads in AI investment, but its ability to attract global talent is declining.

8. AI adoption is spreading at historic speed, and consumers are deriving substantial value from tools they often access for free.

9. Productivity gains from AI are appearing in many of the same fields where entry-level employment is starting to decline.

10. AI’s environmental footprint is expanding alongside its capabilities.

11. AI models for science can outperform human scientists, though bigger models do not always perform better.

12. AI is transforming clinical care, but rigorous evidence remains limited.

13. Formal education is lagging behind AI, but people are learning AI skills at every stage of life.

14. AI sovereignty is becoming a defining feature of national policy, but capabilities remain uneven, even as open-source development helps to redistribute who participates.

15. AI experts and the public have very different perspectives on the technology’s future, and global trust in institutions to manage AI is fragmented.

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👉 Download the full document below.

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[Stanford HAI @StanfordHAI]

Introducing the #AIIndex2026: Our most comprehensive, independently sourced data analysis of AI’s trajectory, with a clear-eyed assessment of the critical gaps that remain. As AI advances rapidly, can the systems built around it keep up? Explore the data: https://t.co/WqRGeRZIjA

[miles jennings @milesjennings]

Huge win for DeFi today.

The SEC's guidance on DeFi frontends makes one thing abundantly clear –– securities laws don't apply just because users are transacting in securities.

Rather, what matters is whether the frontend is exposing users to the same types of intermediary risks that securities laws were designed to address.

The SEC's guidance explains exactly what that means –– providing a roadmap for developers and addressing ambiguities in broker-dealer regs that were inappropriately weaponized against the industry by the prior admin.

Critically, order routing isn't prohibited. But where it is done, apps need to be completely transparent so users aren't subjected to conflicts of interest risk. That makes sense and is an honest application of existing law.

This is what effective policy looks like. Huge thanks are owed to the SEC CTF for advancing this and bringing clarity for developers.

[Cody Carbone @CodyCarboneDC]

I don’t think I could have retweeted this more emphatically.

Protect devs. Pass the BRCA.

[Financial Services GOP @FinancialCmte]

Earlier this week, the FDIC released its proposal to implement the GENIUS Act. As it is implemented, the GENIUS Act will position the United States as the global leader in digital asset innovation while reinforcing the strength of the U.S. dollar.

[Cody Carbone @CodyCarboneDC]

Huge move by Treasury.

Bringing real-time, institutional-grade cybersecurity intel to digital asset firms is recognition that crypto is core to the U.S. financial system.

Here to stay.

[Treasury Department @USTreasury]

Today, @USTreasury OCCIP announced a new initiative to strengthen cybersecurity across the digital asset industry.

Eligible U.S. digital asset firms and industry organizations that meet Treasury’s criteria will be able to receive, at no cost, the same actionable cybersecurity information Treasury regularly shares with traditional U.S. financial institutions. Interested firms should contact OCCIP at [email protected]

[FDIC @FDICgov]

Today, our Board of Directors approved a proposed rule that would establish requirements under the GENIUS Act for FDIC-supervised stablecoin issuers.

https://t.co/VAnMhwyGo5

[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) @FinCENnews]

Today, FinCEN issued a proposed rule intended to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden by allowing financial institutions to focus resources on higher-risk areas in their programs to counter money laundering and terror financing. https://t.co/fCctk2xl3b

[Americans for Responsible Innovation @americans4ri]

BREAKING: Trump recommends doubling the budget for the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in its FY27 proposal.

To enforce export controls on AI chips, regulators need the resources to keep up with chip smugglers. Additional $215 for BIS would be a huge step forward.

[IMF @IMFNews]

Tokenization is reshaping regulated finance by moving assets onto programmable ledgers, delivering efficiency gains but requiring strong policy and trust anchors to protect stability. Read our new IMF Note on the issue: https://t.co/JnpWurNJos

[Cody Carbone @CodyCarboneDC]

Good. A patchwork of state-by-state rules will undermine market integrity and consumer protection.

We need clear, federal rules and the CFTC is the right cop on the beat.

[Brendan Pedersen @BrendanPedersen]

News: The Treasury Department has officially kicked off the effort to implement the GENIUS Act with the release of a notice of proposed rulemaking. 60 day comment period, 87-page rule

[U.S. Department of Justice - International @USDOJ_Intl]

10 Foreign National Executives and Employees of Four Different Cryptocurrency Financial Services Firms Are Charged by @USAO_NDCA With Orchestrating Fraud Schemes to Artificially Inflate the Trading Volume and Price of Cryptocurrencies. Three defendants, including 2 CEOs, were arrested and extradited from Singapore to the United States. https://t.co/3yna8THtTS