{"id":5171,"date":"2018-02-17T12:28:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-17T12:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=5171"},"modified":"2018-05-05T14:07:32","modified_gmt":"2018-05-05T14:07:32","slug":"news-tether-in-the-netherlands-and-puerto-rico-coinhive-thefts-cftc-pump-and-dump-bounties-the-market-is-stupid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/02\/17\/news-tether-in-the-netherlands-and-puerto-rico-coinhive-thefts-cftc-pump-and-dump-bounties-the-market-is-stupid\/","title":{"rendered":"News: Tether in the Netherlands and Puerto Rico, CoinHive thefts, CFTC pump-and-dump bounties, the market is stupid"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftm.nl\/artikelen\/ing-tether-miljardenfraude-cryptomunten?share=1\">A nice article on Tether<\/a> (in Dutch), which also reveals that Bitfinex is now banking with ING in the Netherlands. Here&#8217;s the <a href=\"https:\/\/translate.google.com\/translate?sl=auto&amp;tl=en&amp;js=y&amp;prev=_t&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ftm.nl%2Fartikelen%2Fing-tether-miljardenfraude-cryptomunten%3Fshare%3D1&amp;edit-text=\">translation,<\/a> and here&#8217;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/erjeetjeh\/status\/963835102248755200\">Twitter thread<\/a> in English by one of the researchers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings is <a href=\"https:\/\/weisscryptocurrencyratings.com\/alert\/the-danger-of-tether-218\">horrified by Tether.<\/a> Its daily trading volume routinely exceeds its market cap, meaning it&#8217;s one of the main sources of liquidity in the entire crypto market. (One of the reasons &#8220;market cap&#8221; is a silly concept for cryptos is that trading is so thin and affects the price so strongly.) This means that if Tether collapses for whatever reason, the crypto market will suddenly be trying to use and get out actual dollars that &#8230; aren&#8217;t there. I believe I <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/01\/04\/why-you-cant-cash-out-pt-3-bitcoin-is-not-a-ponzi-scheme-it-just-works-like-one\/\">warned you too.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>There&#8217;s also some weirdness over what Tether are doing in Puerto Rico. An article ran in Caribbean Business and was then <a href=\"http:\/\/caribbeanbusiness.com\/puerto-rico-to-have-first-cryptocurrency-bank\/?print=print\">edited<\/a> \u2014 here&#8217;s the <a href=\"http:\/\/archive.is\/9a17M\">archive version.<\/a> Presumably Tether and Nicholas Prouty had a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidgerard\/status\/963576825581588480\">fruitful discussion.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There is so much wrong with this line that I don&#39;t know where to begin. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IyWanN4lJk\">pic.twitter.com\/IyWanN4lJk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Robert-Jan den Haan (@erjeetjeh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/erjeetjeh\/status\/963425241920933888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 13, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/02\/17\/news-tether-in-the-netherlands-and-puerto-rico-coinhive-thefts-cftc-pump-and-dump-bounties-the-market-is-stupid\/eventprophire-com-giant-whistle-prop\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5174\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-5174\" src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/eventprophire.com-giant-whistle-prop.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/eventprophire.com-giant-whistle-prop.jpg 280w, https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/eventprophire.com-giant-whistle-prop-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The CFTC is now offering a bounty for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cftc.gov\/idc\/groups\/public\/@customerprotection\/documents\/file\/customeradvisory_pumpdump0218.pdf\">whistleblowers on crypto pump-and-dump schemes.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>What three-letter agency of men with guns is coming after our noble cryptocurrency freedom fighters now? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-02-15\/bitcoin-mine-causes-harmful-interference-for-t-mobile-users\">The Federal Communications Commission,<\/a> &#8216;cos it turns out Antminers are quick and shoddily-built devices that don&#8217;t worry about little things like whether they spew out enough RF interference to blat out mobile phone coverage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>I call this the &#8220;dead Kodak bounce&#8221;: the corporate zombie revenant wearing Atari&#8217;s flayed and tattered skin is <a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gaming\/2018\/02\/atari-stock-jumps-52-on-plans-for-nostalgia-backed-cryptocurrencies\/\">launching an ICO.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Hackers loaded Monero miner Coinhive into UK, US, and Canadian government websites. And made a total of &#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/motherboard.vice.com\/en_us\/article\/qvevxq\/biggest-cryptocurrency-mining-hack-coinhive-monero-made-24-dollars\">twenty-four dollars.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>There&#8217;s no inefficiency that crooks won&#8217;t sink to when spending other people&#8217;s money: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/technology\/millions-of-android-devices-compromised-mining-for-monero\/ar-BBJ68g3\">Millions Of Android Devices Compromised, Mining For Monero,<\/a> according to Malwarebytes. Only millions?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The trouble with crypto currency is, eventually you run out of other people\u2019s CPU cycles.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Paul (@xciv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/xciv\/status\/964435529017315328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 16, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/archive.is\/vvwl5\">I Was A Paid Cryptocurrency Shill &amp; I&#8217;am Here To Make Amends.<\/a> Probably just Bitcoin fan fiction, but an amusing read.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>John Quiggin, Crooked Timber: <a href=\"http:\/\/crookedtimber.org\/2018\/02\/09\/bitcoin-kills-the-efficient-market-hypothesis\/\">Bitcoin kills the efficient market hypothesis.<\/a> And his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/02\/08\/opinion\/bitcoin-financial-markets.html\">New York Times article<\/a> making the same point. <strong>tl;dr<\/strong> even <em>if<\/em> they had all the information, people are dumb as hell.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Conservative Party, right, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativehome.com\/platform\/2018\/02\/mike-rouse-how-the-conservatives-can-use-the-blockchain-for-activism.html\">on the blockchain.<\/a> Getting volunteers to show up by offering them ICO token loyalty points. One of the posited use cases is &#8220;queue jumping.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And in related news: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.com\/investing\/value\/2010\/04\/30\/technical-analysis-is-stupid.aspx\">Technical Analysis Is Stupid.<\/a> That&#8217;s from 2010 and about stocks, but anyone who tries to do chart astrology on a market as <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/02\/03\/notes-from-the-crash-watching-the-bitcoin-pumps-and-dumps-live-on-gdax\/\">ludicrously manipulated<\/a> as cryptos is being silly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EhL2OWXZ26s&amp;feature=youtu.be\">How to Lose your Life Savings with Cryptocurrency.<\/a> Featuring BitConnect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"735\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EhL2OWXZ26s?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I&#8217;ll be at the Financial Times&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/bitcoin-after-the-bubble-is-the-crypto-revolution-here-to-stay-tickets-43192295318\">&#8220;Bitcoin after the bubble: is the crypto revolution here to stay?&#8221;<\/a> on February 27.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>I was on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cascadianviews.com\/\">Cascadian Views<\/a> podcast, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cascadianviews.com\/past-shows\/2018\/1\/27\/january-27th-2018\">27 January 2018<\/a> show \u2014 intro then 46:00 to 1:09:58. This was a pretty good short interview, giving an introduction to Bitcoin and the issues around it, mostly the environmental ones \u2014 power consumption, proof of work as a clumsy hack, proof of stake, video card prices, Tethers, CoinBase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fundraising \ud83d\udcb0\ud83d\ude80 <br \/>(two-part comic)<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/startups?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#startups<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Blockchain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Blockchain<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aGk4rgGcbP\">pic.twitter.com\/aGk4rgGcbP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Pablo Stanley (@pablostanley) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pablostanley\/status\/958376812786024448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidgerard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@davidgerard<\/a> I heard you like pictures of physical block chains. Here\u2019s one being destroyed by our parrots <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/08Tcgo5s4z\">pic.twitter.com\/08Tcgo5s4z<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tony \u201cAbolish (Pol)ICE\u201d Arcieri \ud83e\udd80 (@bascule) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bascule\/status\/964517136239505408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 16, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">remember: crypto miners treat their rigs well with proper ventilation and undervoltage and you can be assured of a quality secondhand AHAHAHAHAAHAAAHAHAHAAHAH excuse me <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pv6Xms8kF9\">pic.twitter.com\/pv6Xms8kF9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/963067055837720576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 12, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I just want to die. Please let me die <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yyUCBG0R4O\">pic.twitter.com\/yyUCBG0R4O<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ed Zitron (@edzitron) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/edzitron\/status\/963568415553105920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<br><br><div align=\"center\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\"><img src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/become_a_patron_button.svg\" alt=\"Become a Patron!\" title=\"Become a Patron!\" width=217 height=51><\/a><br><p style=\"align:center;\" class=\"patreon-badge\"><i>Your subscriptions keep this site going. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\">Sign up today!<\/a><\/i><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tether&#8217;s banking may be more interesting than we thought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[472,402,38,474,167,185,473,471,469,6,470,39,416],"class_list":["post-5171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-atari","tag-bitconnect","tag-bitfinex","tag-cascadian-views","tag-cftc","tag-coinhive","tag-crooked-timber","tag-fcc","tag-ing","tag-links","tag-nicholas-prouty","tag-tether","tag-weiss-ratings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5171"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6890,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5171\/revisions\/6890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}