Moenie bang wees vir crypto-watse-goeters nie, Kindjies-klein

Ek is redelik verbaas - okay ek is nie - oor Afrikaners se onkunde betreffende crypto geldeenhede, die metaverse, en hoe blockchain werk. (Ekself het redelike goeie kennis daarvan, ek adverteer dit eintlik net nooit.)

Ek het netnou op 'n Facebook groep die foto hierbo gesien, en toe hierdie plasing as kommentaar daarby geplaas, en dit daarna toe hier ietwat kom aanpas.

Net omdat die genius Jood Friedman se FTX verhandelingsplatform onlangs getuimel het, beteken nie crypto is sleg of bedenklik nie. Hy het eenvoudig uit gierigheid fondse belê in nuwe startups wat gevou het. Hy het dit voorheen ook gedoen, toe het sy waagstuk gewerk, en het hy en sy venture capital partners groot winste gemaak.

Nou, weens die ekonomiese en politieke klimaat wat uiterste onsekerheid skep op veral risiko markte, het sy waaghalsige streke tussen die digitale pixels deur ongelukkig geboemerang. 'n Paar entrepreneurs se drome dryf nou dood op die Dooie See by Jodeland in baie se nagmerries. Saam daarmee die gelde vanaf FTX om daardie nuwe ondernemings te finansier. 

Mens kan Putin indirek blameer, ja. Tydens ekonomiese en politieke onstabiliteit soek beleggers veiliger hawens as die onstuimige crypto markte op.

As 'n gewone bank sou vou, beteken dit dan alle fiat geldeenhede soos dollars, euros en liras is ook sleg? Nee. (Ons weet wel die ZAR is sleg, kyk hoe val die ding.) 

Tradisionele banke vat ook vet kanse met beleggers - lees: gewone deponeerders wat hul salarisse aan banke toevertrou - se geld, maar omdat hulle peanuts as rente uitbetaal wat hulle terugsteel met bedrieglike transaksiekostes kan hulle verliese absorbeer. 

FTX is nou sleg, crypto nie. Die beginsels agter crypto en blockchain tegnologie is solied. Dis tans nog die Wilde Weste stadium soos nuwe tegnologie getoets en verbeter word, en regulering ingestel word, voordat stabiliteit op verskeie blockchains sal intree soos hulle begin waarde ontsluit.

Hacking a Whole Blockchain to Become Rich Fast

How to become a millionaire overnight? Well, let me tell you how hackers think, and I'll use a practical example as well. I will keep it super basic, and sweet and short.

Cryptocurrency is all the rage now, and will be for the next 8 years until either Putin or climate change destroys mankind. Meanwhile, you want a private yacht and a private plane. Why risk your pelt with an old school bank robbery, when you can steal hundreds of millions of cryptocurrency anonymously from behind your computer?

Opera News Hands-down The Worst 'news service'

 

 

Ever heard of Opera News?  No, not the one that reports about news in the, well, opera music niche market. The Opera News that wasted half an hour of my day today is compliments from the well-known Opera browser, with its several innovative browsers and deemed to be one of the big players in the browsers niche. 

This particular company used to be Norwegian, and claims to still be. And somewhere the Snow Mexicans (Canadians) slips into the picture too, if my mind serves me correctly. But in reality, Opera is owned to a large degree by a Chinese company as stakeholder. 

What that means, is that all the data the browser collects about you – including those passwords you type in on various sites – goes  straight to the Chinese government. For real. It should creep you out.

Under Chinese law, any company owned by any Chinese entity have to hand over any and all data about all users without a warrant to the Chinese government. We all know what a big surveillance state China had become in the past 15 years, and the data they collect from apps and more is a tremendous amount. You think Facebook and Google is scary with their data collection? Try a browser, that collects even more. Don't let privacy statements fool you.

True, Norwegians are still involved in Opera, and for the most part they're an honest, decent people. But Chinese and Nigerians are involved too, and neither of those two nations can be trusted. I'm stating it as fact, although generalizing is never 100% accurate, of course. It's like saying all Russians are complicit in war crimes, which is only true for the 71% that supports their warlord Vladimir Putin.

 All Opera's software is proprietary, closed-source, meaning security analysts cannot review each product's code to check for spyware in there. Opera Mini, when in Extreme or High modes in the settings, first send all your data through their servers to be compressed, before passing it on to your device. Great idea, you save data, and thus money. A major selling point in poverty-stricken Africa, one of Opera's largest markets. 

But, that means Opera gets hold of whatever you have typed into a website, like your bank's site. Your passwords. Your messages on Facebook. That naughty pic you sent. And all data under those two modes are decrypted on their servers, Opera says so itself somewhere in their lengthy legalese, before being encrypted again. It remains in possession of Opera for some months, and under Chinese law with the Chinese government too. 

Tesla Token + Metaverse + Wallet Launching Now! But there is a Catch...

 
It was a week ago, when I got an invitation to check out a website. And not just a site, a whole new world of excitement. Tesla is launching its own crypto money (called a coin/token), and its own metaverse (suck it, Facebook!), and even its own wallet. How great, you can add all the various cryptocurrency you collected and worked for so hard all into this one new wallet. And buy NFT's. Maybe even hitch a ride on a magical unicorn. And more.

Giveaway: FREE Cryptocurrency to ONLY FIVE People!

 (To skip the reading below and go straight to the free cryptocurrency giveaway, click the image above.)

Ten years ago an unknown guy gave a new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin away. For free. Seriously, here dude, here's ten Bitcoins for you. Hey Sarah over there, want ten Bitcoins?

Well, just a decade later each single one Bitcoin is enough to buy a (small) car with. If Sarah took that free ten BTC she could have paid cash for a new house today.

  As you know, new cryptocurrencies are now popping up everywhere. And just like with Bitcoin, at the beginning they are giving away some of it for free. Some will be useless over a few years, others will be worth gold. It is like a lottery ticket, except when you get it for free now you're not paying for that ticket. So coming up are some free crypto coins for you that may give you a stiffy in five years' time.