The AI boom meets a new kind of crypto scam

Issuance of crypto-enabled credit and debit cards is surging. These cards connect crypto wallets to payment terminals used by ordinary businesses. They allow people in poor countries with unreliable currencies to transact in stablecoins pegged to less flaky foreign monies, notably the dollar. But crypto cards have other big customers, too. Many card providers do not make serious attempts to verify the identity of their cardholders. That has left them open to abuse by criminals and sanctions evaders. They also let people in places like China buy subscriptions to American frontier AI models, circumventing the model-builders’ restrictions on sales to…