Category: Bitcoin
You’re Probably Not Ready for Bitcoin
Wednesday June 15, 2016
Most people who have bought some Bitcoin, or have been “involved” in the space, are not ready for the psychological change Bitcoin normally facilitates. This is very similar to the way Usenet users needed to acclimate newcomers to a proper level of netiquette. The problem in Bitcoin is most users don’t understand their limitations or entitlements, much like the classic millennial who doesn’t pay for music.
Read more…
The Ethereum Smart Ponzi
Sunday June 12, 2016
The pirateat40 Ponzi scheme required a lot of work. Trendon Shavers had to manage all those incoming funds and payouts by himself. Because the consumers have come to expect convenience, a nice fellow has introduced an automated Ponzi scheme via Ehtereum. Instead of paying out old users with new users’ deposits manually, the smart-Ponzi does all the work for you! When people talk about how Ethereum is going to revolutionize the finance industry, this is what they mean: an economy completely based on Pyramid Schemes.
“I have a great opportunity that doubles your money!”
In the scheme above, which is honestly disclosed as a Ponzi, I counted about 400 people once I got to tier 5 and decided to stop counting. Although the contract only works on 1 ETH, I can only imagine a malicious entity repurposing this Smart Ponzi and receiving hundreds of thousands of ETH deposits. The sad reality is it’s only matter of time before an obfuscated DAP (decentralized autonomous Ponzi), starts this process of seeking deposits from gullible bag holders.
Monetizing with Micropayments
Saturday June 11, 2016
Everyone is obsessed with micropayment and tipping with Bitcoin, which inevitably devolves into a South Park Episode. You know the one where South Park is invaded by hobos asking for change, and eventually Gerald (pictured below), gives up his last bit of change turning him into a beggar.
“Can anyone spare some satoshis?”
Our Problems are Man-made
Friday June 10, 2016
Therefore they may be solved by man.
When I wrote the Hard Fork Missile Crisis article, it was a direct allusion to the Cuban Missile Crisis incident JFK encountered during his Presidency. During the Cold War it was as if the world superpowers were willing to terminate the entire world for political disagreements – disagreements between men – The East against The West. A few months before the Hard Fork Missile Crisis, Gavin Andressen released his “Scalability Roadmap” (aka a block size increase), on the now defunct Bitcoin Foundation’s blog. Opposition rose to this roadmap, and eventually this deteriorated into a plenitude of political disagreements. Consequently, a cold war began. Eventually two vocal communities arose, each completely ignoring the true problems of Bitcoin – the problems of men: problems of trust and faith. Read more…