{"id":8964,"date":"2018-08-04T22:03:53","date_gmt":"2018-08-04T22:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=8964"},"modified":"2018-08-04T22:03:53","modified_gmt":"2018-08-04T22:03:53","slug":"news-bitfi-hack-court-of-the-blockchain-bitforex-fake-volume-luxe-for-ethereum-domain-names-crypto-mining-still-environmentally-awful-bitcoin-still-useless-tether","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/08\/04\/news-bitfi-hack-court-of-the-blockchain-bitforex-fake-volume-luxe-for-ethereum-domain-names-crypto-mining-still-environmentally-awful-bitcoin-still-useless-tether\/","title":{"rendered":"News: BitFi hack, Court of the Blockchain, BitForex fake volume, .luxe for Ethereum domain names, crypto mining still environmentally awful, Bitcoin still useless, Tether"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bitfi.com\/\">BitFi<\/a> is a new hardware wallet. It&#8217;s basically an <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cybergibbons\/status\/1023667374153773057\">Android-based device<\/a> for holding cryptos. (And it <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/2005\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/oversoftnl\/status\/1024008149093822464\">tracks the heck<\/a> out of the user.) Unfortunately, BitFi&#8217;s chairman is John McAfee, who is not so good at keeping his social media interactions on an even keel. McAfee released a video in which he insisted the BitFi was &#8220;unhackable&#8221; \u2014 but researchers have <a href=\"https:\/\/mobile.twitter.com\/oversoftnl\/status\/1024684201575108615\">rooted the device<\/a> and uploaded patched firmware. For instance, here&#8217;s a BitFi that&#8217;s been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pentestpartners.com\/security-blog\/hacking-the-bitfi-part-3-the-device-with-no-storage\/\">hacked to play McAfee&#8217;s video.<\/a><\/p>\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\/xugF36dPI9w?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<p>Dubai launches the <a href=\"http:\/\/cpifinancial.net\/news\/post\/46031\/court-of-the-blockchain-launched-by-difc-courts-and-smart-dubai\">Court of the Blockchain,<\/a> for resolving disputes in the fast-moving world of Digital Ledger Technology! This is presently just a forward-looking plan, just like literally every other governmental &#8220;blockchain&#8221; scheme in Dubai to date.<\/p>\n<p>Tiny new crypto exchange BitForex has been faking its volume reports to CoinMarketCap so blatantly that <a href=\"https:\/\/modernconsensus.com\/cryptocurrencies\/tether\/bitforex-coinmarket-cap-bitcoin-tether\/\">even bitcoiners have noticed<\/a> \u2014 $4.3 billion in Tether trades, on a tiny exchange with trades on the order books of a few tens of thousands of dollars. And a bot-filled Telegram channel. But you can rest assured that every other exchange reports good numbers, and doesn&#8217;t try to manipulate prices with wash trades, and &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mmx.co\/\">Minds + Machines<\/a> (MMX) is a domain name registrar. They own the top-level domain .luxe \u2014 which was <a href=\"https:\/\/icannwiki.org\/.luxe\">created in 2014<\/a> for luxury goods websites, but they&#8217;re now marketing it as being <a href=\"http:\/\/domainincite.com\/23273-my-brain-explodes-trying-to-understand-mmxs-new-blockchain-deal-for-luxe\">ideal for Ethereum wallets.<\/a> Apparently it now stands for &#8220;Lets U Xchange Easily.&#8221; They&#8217;ve also done a deal with the <a href=\"https:\/\/ens.domains\/\">Ethereum Name Service.<\/a> The main benefit that domain name people can see is that it&#8217;ll be <a href=\"https:\/\/domainnamewire.com\/2018\/08\/03\/mmx-to-connect-luxe-with-ethereum-name-service\/\">easier to register<\/a> a .luxe name than it is to <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-ethereum-name-service\/a-beginners-guide-to-buying-an-ens-domain-3ccac2bdc770\">register a .eth name,<\/a> and that .luxe is an official <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ICANN\">ICANN<\/a>-listed <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Generic_top-level_domain\">top-level domain<\/a> and .eth isn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/whistleblower\/submit-a-tip\">Office of the Whistleblower hotline<\/a> now has a category for &#8220;Initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/prestonjbyrne\/status\/1025409723426906112\">Via<\/a> Preston Byrne \u2014 &#8220;The fact that there is an option to report cryptocurrency manipulation now on the SEC\u2019s Form TCR suggests (a) many such whistleblower reports have been received and (b) maybe @Bitfinexed and Bloomberg\/@mattleising weren\u2019t blowing hot air.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/08\/04\/news-bitfi-hack-court-of-the-blockchain-bitforex-fake-volume-luxe-for-ethereum-domain-names-crypto-mining-still-environmentally-awful-bitcoin-still-useless-tether\/sec-tips-complaints-referrals-crypto\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-8974\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8974\" src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/sec-tips-complaints-referrals-crypto.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/sec-tips-complaints-referrals-crypto.png 712w, https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/sec-tips-complaints-referrals-crypto-300x210.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Vili Lehdonvirta: &#8220;I&#8217;ve co-authored a peer-reviewed paper on why the Bitcoin\/blockchain hype persist despite being unmoored from reality.&#8221;\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/1461444818786220\">Mine the gap: Bitcoin and the maintenance of trustlessness.<\/a> There&#8217;s also a <a href=\"https:\/\/ssrn.com\/abstract=3225236\">non-paywalled version.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cryptocurrency mining is so <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/05\/22\/bitcoins-stupendous-power-waste-is-green-apparently-bad-excuses-for-proof-of-work\/\">environmentally destructive<\/a> that it could <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2018-07-energy-intensive-bitcoin-transactions-pose-environmental.html\">damage a country&#8217;s compliance with the Paris climate accords<\/a> all by itself. Here&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2214629618301750?via%3Dihub\">the paper,<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jon-truby-b7042166\/\">Jon Truby<\/a> at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.qu.edu.qa\/law\/departments\/private-law\/staff\">Qatar University College of Law.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The merchant case for Bitcoin still doesn&#8217;t exist any more than it did in 2014 \u2014 and now it&#8217;s got <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-08-01\/bitcoin-s-use-in-commerce-keeps-falling-even-as-volatility-eases\">even less use for just buying things.<\/a> (This is part of why the Lightning Network addresses a need that doesn&#8217;t exist \u2014 Bitcoin is a bad payment network, and putting a different bad payment network on top won&#8217;t make it more attractive.)<\/p>\n<p>Goldman Sachs is <a href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/currencies\/news\/bitcoin-price-never-coming-back-goldman-sachs-says-2018-8-1027429844\">pretty sure Bitcoin&#8217;s price is going to keep tending down<\/a> \u2014 because there&#8217;s still nothing holding the price up except irrational exuberance, and the exuberance is burnt out. Given that a commodity with almost no trading is trivially manipulable, as we see right now, Bitcoin <em>could<\/em> go back up again! But it strikes me as quite likely it could stay down for this year and much of next year. Of course, Goldman Sachs and I could be assuming the market is in any way rational.<\/p>\n<p>Bitfinexed has a new post up: <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@bitfinexed\/the-tether-truth-machine-the-wheels-of-justice-turn-slowly-but-grind-exceedingly-finely-8e3bd72ad011\">The Tether Truth Machine<\/a> \u2014 detailing how Tether and its bank were set up by the same team, led by Brock Pierce, that attempted to buy out the Mt. Gox exchange a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Yahoo! Finance has an <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/exclusive-former-fbi-director-louis-freeh-going-crypto-181018185.html\">interview with Louis Freeh,<\/a> the lawyer who did the latest non-audit of Tether.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">people really want to sell <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24usdt&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">$usdt<\/a> right now <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uTD3HtPb04\">pic.twitter.com\/uTD3HtPb04<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kyle S. Gibson (@KyleSGibson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KyleSGibson\/status\/1025433316454019077?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 3, 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>KryptoGraphe&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kryptographe.com\/best-books-for-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency-beginners\/\">&#8220;What Are the Best Books for Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Beginners?&#8221;<\/a> recommends <em>Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain<\/em> to new altcoin investors.<\/p>\n<p>Not crypto-related \u2014 but over on my personal blog, I&#8217;ve posted about <a href=\"https:\/\/reddragdiva.dreamwidth.org\/606812.html\">how we&#8217;re dealing with day-to-day GDPR issues<\/a> at the day job. At this point, it&#8217;s just regulatory compliance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is the only kind of blockchain I want to see. Stone blocks, iron chains. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hXV5W98UAY\">pic.twitter.com\/hXV5W98UAY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Stilgherrian (@stilgherrian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stilgherrian\/status\/1024433307352616960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 31, 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>You can definitely trust John McAfee on all crypto-related matters. Maybe.<\/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":[21,807,84,809,792,5,812,491,631,808,814,6,815,810,811,33,39,813],"class_list":["post-8964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitfi","tag-bitfinexed","tag-bitforex","tag-brock-pierce","tag-dubai","tag-ethereum-name-service","tag-gdpr","tag-goldman-sachs","tag-john-mcafee","tag-jon-truby","tag-links","tag-louis-freeh","tag-minds-machines","tag-mmx","tag-sec","tag-tether","tag-vili-lehdonvirta"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8964","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=8964"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9001,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8964\/revisions\/9001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}