The Block — The Buttcoin Standard: the problem with Bitcoin — by me
Today’s post is over at The Block — Mike Dudas asked Twitter for a really good skeptical take on Bitcoin and crypto, and lots of people suggested me.
Author: David Gerard
News: Me in Greece, QuadrigaCX, pay your taxes, crypto malware, Tezos
Come hear me speak at “Blockchain: Utopia or U-turn?” at the Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, Greece on Sunday 17 February!
UK Financial Conduct Authority draft “Guidance On Cryptoassets” — respond by 5 April
Even if you’re not in the UK, this will affect you — because all the regulators talk to each other, as they try to understand crypto.
News: US investors lose $1.7b on Bitcoin, Lightning Network, Cryptopia hack, QuadrigaCX founder/CEO dies, Tether timeline update
“Crypto is a tax on libertarians the same way lottery is a tax on the poor.”
Brave web browser no longer claims to fundraise on behalf of others — so that’s nice
Despite Brendan Eich tweeting for about five days to defend Brave’s previous behaviour, his web browser is no longer displaying apparent donation pages for creators who never signed up.
News: no crypto banking in India, SEC, Texas treats stablecoins as money transmission, cross-EU crypto rules, Bitmain CEOs step down, Tron is nonsense, Girlfriend on the Blockchain
Girlfriend on the blockchain, I know it’s serious.
KodakOne claims ONE MILLION DOLLARS of … hypothetical copyright-trolling income
Not answered: just how KodakOne’s “artificial intelligence” is supposed to automatically divine the correct email address to send a notice concerning any random web page.
News: Georgia state senator jailed over Bitcoin miners, Bitmain CEOs, stablecoin money laundering, FCA, Kleiman v. Wright, Deltec and Tether, notes from the crash
“In reality, ‘blockchain’ has always just been an attempt to ride crypto’s cool factor. So if coins crash, people stop caring about blockchain.”
The Telegram ICO’s TON blockchain has questionable security, and will probably centralise
I’m pretty sure Nikolai Durov is confident nobody could outsmart him here — he’s thought about it really hard, after all. But what happens when someone comes at the Telegram Open Network with a hammer?
News: Bitmain fires half its employees and all of Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Private exploit, Kleiman v. Wright proceeds
“Exchanges don’t go insolvent, they just repeatedly discover they need to do better KYC.”