Espionage, innovation and undermining the world

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(Edited)

I got an email last night from Ledger about he breach saying that my details were leaked - which is pretty disappointing from a company who specializes in data protection. But, I think that the higher the price goes, the more this is going to happen as not only are there massive financial incentives to hack wallets, there are massive incentives to hack wallets and destroy rivals in the process. With the "big boys" entering into an unregulated arena, they have a lot of resources at their disposal and they are up against what could be considered quite a disorganized and unprofessional collection of targets. Who knows, the password to get into the servers may have been:

Ledger2020!

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I think a lot of us see the value of crypto in the long term, but we also tend to underestimate the resources of the large institutions and corporations and their willingness to use them. The anti-trust cases against Facebook for example, where they have denied access to the APIs and bought up rivals and the like, is an indication of what kinds of people are making the decisions. And it should be remembered, that where they play is in regulated industries that have laws and jail time, as well as some level of global oversight - albeit, not very good.

The market cap of Bitcoin at 425B and the entire cryptosphere at about 650B is a tiny, tiny, tiny fragment of the world's wealth, but what it represents is far more valuable than what the value indicates. That 600B is generated, innovated and supported by a group of strangers spread across the earth, with no formal government or corporate intervention, other than those who are willing to participate in this "rogue" industry also. This organization of people at this level has never happened before, nor has it been technologically possible before.

Not only this, what it targets is the foundation of control itself, the economic platform and the players that direct the flow of finance across the system through their own gateways. Up until this point of the modern world, history has required us to use middlemen as we were unable to do this ourselves, but with the introduction of the internet, mobile technologies, artificial intelligence and computing power in general - the reliance on centralized institutions will continue to slip, at all levels.

And herein lies the problem. Because the current world is so heavily centralized and monopolized at the local level by corporation and governments, that he disruption being caused is a monumental threat to their way of existence to the point where many of their functions could be scaled back significantly, or made entirely obsolete. This is true even though the market cap is a minute slice of their overall wealth, because it opens the potential for others to do the same, ad infinitum.

The decentralized beast cannibalizes the centralized model, but doesn't rule-out centralized organization through collaboration and consolidation of resources. The difference being that if there is a centralized level of control, it can be disbanded or abandoned at any point, something that is very difficult currently, since so much of our living transactions are handled through the managed gateways and there is little option for an alternative. But, that can change quickly.

For example, I have been reading over the last few months how Toyota have been developing solid state batteries, that are smaller, lighter and cheaper - while extending the range and cutting down charging time to the point where it is insignificant. While these aren't quite on the market yet, how long until almost every argument against full-electric cars are irrelevant? How long until there is a breakthrough in energy production that reduces the cost and potential environmental impact to power the cars?

While we impatiently wait for mass adoption of crypto and know that it can take some time, industry innovations can change the speed of adoption enormously and in a decentralized environment where groups are competing for the underlying layer of the new economy, there can be a great deal of not only evolution in the technological layers, but also the simplification of process required to empower the average at the social layers. This means that there can be leaps and bounds forward and at each step, more people become accustomed to the processes of change, making the next step a shorter distance in front.

I think while Moore's Law of doubling doesn't quite apply to cultural change, I do think that the more we accept change, the faster we can accept the next change, in a process similar to stretching, lifting weights or the desensitization or normalization through the exposure to conditions and ideas. How long will it be before people start waking up to the risks of the centralized world of convenience, but innovate themselves a decentralized world that is not only just as convenient, but also more secure and personally valuable by expanding the distribution model?

It is hard to predict which projects will survive and thrive, but due to the nature of the technological advancements and direction so far, it is pretty certain that the industry itself will thrive, as it puts value up for grabs again. This will effectively see a "gold rush" fever in the industry but unlike the past that potential was tied to location and the resources required to get to the veins and stake a position, many people around the world will be able to stake their little slice of digital ground and start mining, in all the ways now and the future ways to come.

As said, crypto strikes at the heart of control and as such, it is going to bleed into every corner of transactional life in time. While the focus is obviously on Bitcoin and a handful of others currently, there is just not enough bandwidth for those to be the only gateways, plus, with the move away from centralization, people are going to want a wider range of options for how and where they store and shift their wealth across the globe. And because of these things, the competition for development is going to intensify at both the technological level and as always, for the attention of the users themselves. No matter what economy it is, it is the consumers who are the ones who drive utility and value and it will be us who either empowers ourselves or resigns us to a fate similar to the one we already live.

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And you thought all this mining was for tokens.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]

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32 comments
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That seems like a pretty decent password to me. It ticks all the boxes for complexity that they usually require! As I was reading through this post it made me think of the movie Chain Reaction with Keanu Reeves. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw it which is a shame, but the whole idea of alternative energy and the companies that would stand to lose money because of the breakthrough really parallels this in some way. Maybe not with the international espionage etc., but the fact that companies are going to do everything they can to maintain the status quo and keep the money rolling in for them...

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That seems like a pretty decent password to me. It ticks all the boxes for complexity that they usually require!

Trump thought so for his Twitter too :D

Energy in many ways is similar to a currency in the economy I think. It is also something that countries (or individuals) could produce themselves - though individuals are heavily punished or doing so.

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I’ll still drive my dirty car like a good American lol.

I think this is why they are rushing to get central bank digital currencies to the table. They are terrified of the decentralized nature of what we are doing!

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I’ll still drive my dirty car like a good American lol.

I wonder at what point the good American will change based on price? A car that does 700Mi on a single charge and takes 10 minutes to charge, doesn't sound too bad to me.

And yeah, the gold rush is on in many respects - and "gold 2.0" won't be the only thing getting mined.

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I look forward to the days where cars aren't just limited to petrol based or electric. Some busses here in America run in natural gas which would be interesting to use more wide-spread. An additional issue I have with electric cars is the batteries require very costly rare earth metals. I understand technology needs to advance but more should be put into sourcing less expensive or environmentally damaging materials.

I watched a quick video a few years ago on a guy in India that designed a motorbike that ran on water, good old fashioned h2o out of the tap! It was remarkable. Sadly the guy was mysteriously disappeared and the bike destroyed. Surprise surprise.

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Some busses here in America run in natural gas which would be interesting to use more wide-spread.

I think it is used in a lot of places now and it is possible to do a conversion with cars, though the tank takes up space,

An additional issue I have with electric cars is the batteries require very costly rare earth metals.

If I understand correctly, they will use fluorine in the batteries, but I don't know if that is better or worse. It is less expensive at least, as there is more of it available than lithium.

It was remarkable. Sadly the guy was mysteriously disappeared and the bike destroyed. Surprise surprise.

I have been reading these stories since the 80s. I remember when I was 11 or 12 saying to one of my brothers that, if I was a billionaire, I would create the factory and give the cars away for free. I might be disappeared, but there would be no way the tech would be hidden.

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Very nice sir. When did you get that email? I'm still using a first gen ledger but this is the first I'm hearing of a breach.

I remember a few years back now, I had signed into my ledger to do some things. It was either Bitcoin or Litecoin, when I went to do my send, the recipients address wasn't the same one I punched in. That was the craziest thing. I started over and the next time around, receiving wallet didn't change. A week or two later, they announced a breach. Only happened that one time.

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The email came yesterday and I think it only went to the people involved in the breach.

I have been meaning to move over to my Trezor, but haven't done so yet - this is a good reason. THough I think they are all vulnerable in some way.

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I seem to remember more security issues hitting the media with trezor than ledger. Sucks when either of them make the news.

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Yeah. They have to work this out.

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(Edited)

"it will be us who either empowers ourselves or resigns us to a fate similar to the one we already live"

That deserves some bold font.

Thank you for your activism and the way you share it with the community, very inspiring.

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No worries - I think I read somewhere you just grabbed a ledger? I will assume that after this, they are more secure now :)

also, when it comes to quotes, you can use markdown with an > at the start of the line.

"> Like this" without the quotation marks

Like this

To Italicize, add * either side of the text. To Bold add ** either side of the text, to bold italic add *** either side.

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Thanks for the tips, edit done ;)

Haha I think you're right about being more secure now.
Would not be surprised to have a firmware update pushed in the coming days.

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The quoting is easier this way and makes readability better :)

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Pretty new here and I'm happily learning everyday, any advice is welcome.

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With the big boys now knowing that crypto is not going away, how long will it be before they own enough of these digital resources to once again be at the helm? For those of us that entered the crypto space early, we may have gained a leg up, but for those who are still on the sideline, I fear that they may find themselves in the same boat, having to rely on big institutions for their financial needs.

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Yes. What is going to get interesting is the ability to fork or start fresh. If the corporations are smart, they will learn from the past and make sure distribution is satisfactory, otherwise it is going to be an endless sea of forks. I doubt they will learn though, as the timeline to get back to where we are today might take crypto longer than a lifetime or two. People generally live their life and care little about those to come.

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People generally live their life and care little about those to come.

and that creates many of the problems that continue to haunt us all.

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With the "big boys" entering into an unregulated arena, they have a lot of resources at their disposal and they are up against what could be considered quite a disorganized and unprofessional collection of targets.

Still caught between centralized/decentralized thinking many do not grasp this concept. Large consortium's are now climbing on-board, possibly a reality check, this may work, buy now, do not miss the boat. Including Governments looking for a way in or a hand out.

Hardware and software will be breached, human nature, some clever people prefer quick buck! We have to be honest in saying a lot more security measures have been setup since the last run on BTC.

Good luck to Toyota if they can produce a battery more efficiently, we need innovation where we consume less. This concept relates to looking further into new technology, is solar paneling using or saving us from using up raw materials? Replacing coal with gas is it the answer, we have come some way, still have a long way to go without delving into the depths of the earth and raping her. Raw commodities are to be slowed down in use, not accelerated who is keeping tabs while the rich get richer>

@tipu cuate

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This concept relates to looking further into new technology, is solar paneling using or saving us from using up raw materials?

I think that it needs adoption in order to fund the innovation, otherwise it is relying on corporations to do it on their own back or governments, who aren't generally the greatest at funding what is useful. The argument that always gets me is, "it's too expensive to change to green" when isn't that a benefit for the economy? - oh... not for the companies already established in the not green sectors.

Raw commodities are to be slowed down in use, not accelerated who is keeping tabs while the rich get richer

Just wait til they have to have all their transactions blockchained ;D

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"it's too expensive to change to green"

My worry is not the cost of change. It is the usage of raw materials already bantered being worrisome, now being used in slightly different manufacture. Life of solar panels approximately 25 - 30 years degrading as aging in performance. End of life waste, toxins where are they going?

A field of solar cells. Making solar or photovoltaic cells requires potentially toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium. ... It even produces greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that contribute to global warming. Solar Panels

We need to approach many new technologies with caution, finding out more before taking the plunge, supporting something being sold by excellent salesman.

Having blockchain to move money is another scary yet exciting new concept, I am in total agreement change must come, highway robbers appear everywhere.

Another thought is 5g technology. Just last year a 36 meter mast was suggested across the road from where I live, after extensive research, many meetings with municipality, local community we managed to stop this. Fibre Optic has since been rolled out to go online mid-February. What is the difference both offer a new technology service, 5g has not been proved to be safe (don't believe WHO), lifespan is short, batteries problematic (stolen where we live) compared to fibre optic with line renewal every 20 years, is underground not creating an eyesore as these cellular towers every kilometer or so are.

No I don't wear a tin foil hat, nor do I take everything at face value, our generation and the ones before have left this world in enough of a mess not to be gullible to swallow everything dished up today!

!BEER

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I have always said that I cannot see the big banks releasing their power without fighting it with any means at their disposal To wit, one of their favorites is to run crypto down in the media.
Slowly but surely crypto is making headway and the naysayers are having mindset changes.
But we have not won the fight yet and we can expect many nasties waiting to crawl out of the cupboards.

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It will be an eternal battle between light and dark rich and poor.

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Ah, a very spiritual reply here and the scriptures verify your statement.

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But, I think that the higher the price goes, the more this is going to happen as not only are there massive financial incentives to hack wallets, there are massive incentives to hack wallets and destroy rivals in the process.

Don't worry too much. That sooner than later and in one way or another, we all are gonna fall into some kind of amnesia one more time.

As said, crypto strikes at the heart of control and as such, it is going to bleed into every corner of transactional life in time.

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Perhaps, but I am hoping not to be one of the instigators of maintaining the status quo.

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Yeah, I have to admit that you are one of the few awake and conscious that we can count on. But from the looks of it, not everyone is exempt from suffering amnesia. };)

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I think it's just a matter of time, as well as media coverage to get crypto/decentralization out there where the average Joe can understand it and see the value in it. Some will completely miss the boat, I just hope my people catch the on ramp.

In the early part of the 70's there was so much buzz about electric cars, then suddenly they were gone. I saw a documentary about how the big oil companies bought the rights and squashed any further development and production. Big money talks.

I was so bummed out by that fact, I saw the electric car as a big step toward stopping global warming.
Just imagine the positive impact we could have been realizing already if production and improvements could have moved forward some 50 years earlier.
Humm...

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In the early part of the 70's there was so much buzz about electric cars, then suddenly they were gone.

Supposedly, the first international car race in 1890s or something was won by an electric car - but in the end, Henry Ford's production line was cheaper to produce combustion. So, battery tech was put on hold for 100 years or so.

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I am sorry to hear Ledger let you down, and compromised the security of their customers.

Interesting piece. I agree that Bitcoin specifically, and crypto in general are small amounts of money compared to the stock and other markets, and amongst all asset classes is even smaller. But the key, as you point out is the escape from control for basic fiat functions and that smart contracts allow us to escape control for more complex fiat functions and NFTs allow us to perform functions fiat can’t or banks won’t so they lose control over that also.

The control yields money, so it must be regained. However many rich persons and large wallet fund managers also see the wisdom of Bitcoin, so the ability to outlaw, delegalize and regulate are going to be a lot more complicated as time goes on.

It’s an exciting time to be alive.

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Would you switch to something else? Or do you stick with Ledger?

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