Ethereum is NOT a blockchain. It's NOT a cryptocurrency either! It's actually a protocol (a set of rules or procedures). When you browse the Internet, you may have noticed that website URLs begin with an HTTP or HTTPS. That's hypertext transfer protocol. Emails use simple mail transfer protocol, post office protocol. All the coolest tech stuff runs on protocols.

Ethereum is a protocol. And multiple independent blockchains run on it - most popular being Mainnet, Grli, Kovan, Rinkeby, and Ropsten. These blockchains do NOT talk to each other.

When most people talk about Ethereum, they are talking about Mainnet - the primary public Ethereum production blockchain. This is where actual-value transactions occur on the blockchain. The native crypto of this Ethereum is Ether (ETH). At the time of writing, the price of 1ETH is $3,577or approximately Rs. 2,77,750. Let's stick to this definition for this post.

And then there's Ethereum Classic, the original version, with its native crypto ETC.The moral of the story so far is - There's more to Ethereum than meets the eye.Let's dive in.

I hate that Ethereum is neither "immutable" nor "censorship-resistant".Surprised? Let's go back to 2016.

A bunch of really smart people came up with the concept of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO). That's kind of like a cooperative society think co-op banks or even the Amul milk co-op. The difference being that a DAO exists only on a blockchain and its rules are coded in "smart contracts". By the way, smart contracts are neither smart nor contracts. But that's a rant for another day.

So anyway, this DAO raised about $150 million USD worth of ether (ETH) through a token sale. But a really smart hacker exploited a bug in the "smart contract" and siphoned out all the money!Now, logically nothing should have been done about this. Blockchains are "immutable" and "censorship-resistant", right? Again, that's a rant for another day.

But a bunch of people proved that Ethereum is neither "immutable" nor "censorship-resistant". They implemented a "hard fork" and rolled back Ethereum's history to before the hack.This reallocated the hacked ether to a different "smart contract" and allowed investors to withdraw their funds.

The purists hated this and that's what led to Ethereum splitting into 2 blockchains: Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

Did you know?

Ethereum has pioneered decentralized finance (DeFi).

An amazing multi-billion dollar ecosystem has evolved around it:

The high price of ETH will kill Ethereum.As a blockchain, Ethereum is valuable only if startups, DAOs, and developers continue to build upon and use it.

Investors, on the other hand, don't give a rat's a** for the blockchain. They only want ETH to "moon" and "lambo". So as ETH soars, Ethereum becomes infeasible for users. Imagine this it costs $160 to transfer $100 worth of tokens! Yes, that's how ridiculous things have become.

This is leading startups, DAOs, and developers tomigrate to "Ethereum-killers" like Cardano and Solana.

Let's take an example to understand how silly this situation has become.

In the conventional world, we need fuel (petrol, diesel, coal, electricity, etc) to power the transportation sector (trains, planes, trucks, etc). Now suppose the price of fuel skyrockets. It would impact the entire global economy. Everything would become very expensive. The transportation sector would then be forced to move to alternativeenergy like solar.

That's what the ETH price is doing to the cost of doing business in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). ETH is the fuel for DeFi. Raise its price and you destroy DeFi.

The secondthing I fearisthe sudden creation ofa huge number of ETH. Unlike Bitcoin which has a cap of 21 million coins, there is no limit on how much ETH can be created. So, if a rogue group suddenly created a huge quantity of ETH, its price could crash to near zero!

The third thing I fearis a major flaw or bug being exploited. Ethereum is undergoing a lot of technological upgrades to improve transaction speeds, reduce gas fees and migrate from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. One major bug and ETH could lose its value and crash to zero.

Rohas Nagpal is the author of the Future Money Playbook and Chief Blockchain Architect at the Wrapped Asset Project. He is also an amateur boxer and a retired hacker. You can follow himon LinkedIn.

Interested in cryptocurrency? We discuss all things crypto with WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty and WeekendInvesting founder Alok Jain onOrbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available onApple Podcasts,Google Podcasts,Spotify,Amazon Musicand wherever you get your podcasts.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.

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Ethereum - What I Hate, Love, and Fear About the Cryptocurrency - Gadgets 360

The infamous US whistleblower Edward Snowden criticized CBDCs potential impact on the financial network. He labeled them as a perversion of cryptocurrency and a cryptofascist currency, as they could grant a lot of power to the governments and leave less freedom to the people.

The computer programmer who worked as a subcontractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) Edward Snowden opined strongly against the potential use cases of central bank digital currencies. In a recent note called Your Money and Your Life, he opposed the belief that a CBDC will be the representation of the digital dollar, explaining:

I will tell you what a CBDC is NOT it is NOT, as Wikipedia might tell you, a digital dollar. After all, most dollars are already digital, existing not as something folded in your wallet, but as an entry in a banks database, faithfully requested and rendered beneath the glass of your phone.

Snowed further explained on Twitter the main disadvantages of central bank digital currencies:

A CBDC is a perversion of cryptocurrency, or at least of the founding principles and protocols of cryptocurrency a cryptofascist currency.

He added that launching the financial tool would put the government at the center of every transaction, meaning less ownership of money from the general population and thus less freedom.

As an example of his statement, Snowden pointed out China. There, the total ban on everything crypto, alongside the release of the digital-yuan, is intended to increase the ability of the State to impose itself in the middle of every last transaction.

The 38-year-old American, who now resides in Russia because of his issues with the US government, has been both a critic and an admirer of the leading cryptocurrency throughout the years.

He interacted with bitcoin after embezzling numerous classified documents from the National Security Agency, such as proof of mass government surveillance, espionage, computer hacking, and phone tapping. Snowden admitted he used BTC to help him reveal the stolen information:

The servers that I used to transfer this information to journalists were paid for using bitcoin.

In March this year, Snowden stated that the digital assets operational structure has many disadvantages, especially when it comes to financial privacy:

Bitcoin sucks in many ways, such as financial privacy.

Last week, though, he praised bitcoins stability, saying that the Chinese ban only strengthened it. Thus, he joined the party of people who believe that the harsh stance on crypto in the most populated country is a huge opportunity for further progress of BTC.

Featured Image Courtesy of Politico

PrimeXBT Special Offer: Use this link to register & enter POTATO50 code to get 50% free bonus on any deposit up to 1 BTC.

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Edward Snowden: CBDC Is a Perversion of Cryptocurrency - CryptoPotato

OPINION: As someone whos seen many investment fads, I think most retail investors will lose money from crypto currencies.

It is gambling, not investing. And, like gambling, only a few insiders will win.

Simplicity has recently become an indirect investor in a local crypto currency exchange called Easy Crypto, via an Icehouse Ventures fund we are invested in.

We insist our suppliers have an approach to ethical investing consistent with ours, but this is a good example of how different groups can reach different conclusions. Another KiwiSaver manager has invested directly.

READ MORE:* Monday thoughts: Why an ethical KiwiSaver provider invested in cryptocurrency industry* Four free online tools for investors* Warren Buffett becomes sixth member of US$100 billion club

Easy Crypto is a local success story, professionally run by people who passionately believe in the power of crypto to change the world.

And because it facilitates the buying and selling of crypto, investing in it is legitimising the industry. You might not invest in drugs directly, but if you own shops that sell them, youre invested in the drug trade.

So is crypto unethical? It is debatable. We have four areas of concern.

The first is how bad it is for the environment.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Cryptocurrencies show no evidence of allowing the unbanked greater financial inclusion, says Simplicity KiwiSaver chief executive Sam Stubbs.

No one knows for sure how much power is used to create (or mine) crypto. Estimates range from the amount of power used by Finland each year, to that used by Brazil.

An authoritative source, the University of Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, calculates total consumption at over 80 GwH, or the equivalent of 23 coal fired power stations.

That is a huge amount of power for relatively few crypto users and miners.

And the more people that mine crypto, the more power is required. It currently costs between USD $7-11,000 of electricity to mine one bitcoin. But because they sell for much more, there is every incentive to carry on mining and pay the power costs.

Charlie Riedel/AP

Because cryptocurrencies require so much coal to be burnt to mine them, they are contributing to global carbon emissions. One estimate says crypto mining has the annual equivalent power requirements of a large country.

But is it the planet that really pays? The Cambridge study says 39 per cent of crypto uses at least some coal fired electricity, with the combined carbon footprint of London. Some crypto operators claim they only use renewable energy, although these claims have been challenged. But even if its true, it ignores the obvious consequence - the renewable power they use is unavailable to others, which forces the burning of more fossil fuels.

And an over-looked consequence of all the computing power required to mine crypto is the e-waste. The ever-increasing computing power required means hardware usually needs replacing every 18 months. It is too rarely re-used, or re-cycled. Credit to Icehouse Ventures and others who have backed local recycling company Mint Innovation, which extracts precious metals from e-waste.

The second concern is it exploits the poor.

In spite of assertions that crypto banks the unbanked, there is very little evidence to substantiate this. Quite the opposite in fact. Like gambling, it can hook them into yet another get rich quick scheme.

I have travelled enough in the developing nations to know that crypto features nowhere in daily transactions and cannot be used for essential financial services.

Fourteen years after the internet and mobile phones were invented, they were a viable way for the third world to access useful financial services. In contrast, 14 years after crypto was invented, almost no one is using it to transact anything useful.

SUPPLIED

E-waste recycling around the world is patchy at best.

Instead, crypto offers the poor the allure of getting rich quick by investing their hard-won savings.

And if crypto is just another form of gambling, and ethical investors wont invest in gambling, how is investing in crypto ethical?

Another virtue signal from crypto investors is that it is building a better financial infrastructure. This is a very dubious claim, and arguably virtue signalling. Better infrastructure is provided by the internet and blockchain, neither of which are exclusive to or because of, crypto.

Getty Images

Do cryptocurrencies offer better financial future for the poorest people in the poorest countries? Simplicity KiwiSaver chief executive Sam Stubbs says theres no evidence to support this claim.

The third concern is it harbours illegal activity.

The crypto world was designed to operate outside regulation and the law. So its a natural place to hide and launder the proceeds of crime. Some negate this by saying how little illegal money there is in crypto. But due to its untraceable nature, this is a dubious assertion.

Simple logic says the un-traceable and un-taxable nature of crypto means it is highly likely to be a magnet for criminals.

LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff

Simplicity's Sam Stubbs says crypto was designed in ways that help criminals launder money.

And defenders say because criminals also use cash for laundering, crypto is no worse. But two wrongs dont make a right, and at least cash used for crime is traceable. Crypto simply isnt, and was designed to be that way.

And if taxes are the price of civil society, anything designed to hide wealth and avoid tax is, ipso facto, ethically questionable.

The fourth concern is how crypto thrives on ignorance and greed I first became concerned about the ethics of crypto when, on the same day, two Uber drivers told me they were in crypto, and asked me which one to buy. Neither had any real idea what they were investing in. They both used get rich quick, FOMO-fuelled language.

NZ Police/Supplied

Photos of the firearms, cash and gold organised crime gang individuals had possession over.

And the marketing used by the crypto industry is hardly re-assuring. Many use language very similar to pay day lenders.

At best, crypto is ethically questionable. At worst, it could be environmentally toxic, exploitative, fostering criminal activity and thriving on ignorance and greed. Ethical investors take note.

And when it comes to the motivation of greed, I will leave the last word to the worlds best investor, Warren Buffett.

Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.

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Is it ethical to invest in cryptocurrency? - Stuff.co.nz

Cryptocurrency prices fell on Monday amid high volatility. (Photo: Reuters)

Cryptocurrency prices fell on Monday as the virtual coin market witnesses high levels of volatility. Cryptocurrency prices fell over the weekend as trading volumes remained low.

Bitcoin, the worlds most popular cryptocurrency, was trading at $44,445.58 or 3.51 per cent lower than its value 24 hours ago at 3 pm. Its market capitalisation has fallen to 836.20 billion and the 24-hour trading volume stands at 749.17 million.

Ether also dropped sharply by over 6 per cent and was trading at $3,209.23. The market capitalisation has come down to $376.18 billion and trading volume stands at 941.67 million.

Most of the other altcoins are also trading in negative territory after falling sharply amid high volatility. Most of the altcoins have fallen nearly 5 per cent after overshadowing Bitcoin for the past few sessions.

Commenting on the weakness, Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global algorithm based crypto trading platform, said, Bitcoin broke below the support level at $45,000, giving bears a perfect opportunity to enter the markets again.

The largest altcoin, Ether, dropped below the $3300 level. The crypto market remained shaky, with most of the altcoins tanking over the past 24 hours. However, Polkadot moved more than 13 per cent higher, driven by huge demand, he added.

Cryptocurrency

Price (US Dollar)

24-hour change

Market cap (Billion)

Volume (24 Hours)

Bitcoin

44,587.03

-3.17%

$838.86

$749.17 million

Ether

33,216.38

-6..40%

$377.02

$941.67 million

Dogecoin

0.233854

-5.13%

$30.66

$1.45 billion

Litecoin

173.66

-4.83%

$11.90

$2.34 billion

XRP

1.05

-4.08%

$105.23

$3.63 billion

Cardano

2.40

-8.55%

$77.63

$7.07 billion

DISCLAIMER: The cryptocurrency prices have been updated as of 03:15 pm and will change as the day progresses. The list is intended to give a rough idea about popular cryptocurrency trends and will be updated daily.

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Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin, Ether fall sharply ...

The cryptocurrency market continues to witness losses duets a spike in volatility, triggered by a sudden meltdown in global financial markets that led to a heavy sell-off overnight.

Stock markets around the world weakened suddenly after concerns about a possible loan default by major Chinese property developer Evergrande. While the situation has eased slightly, investors continue to brace for more volatility as the situation remains uncertain.

Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency, was trading at $42,832.22 or 5.87 per cent at 12:50 pm.

Cryptocurrency highlights | Check yesterday's prices

The market capitalisation of Bitcoin fell sharply to $806.61 billion and the 24-hour trading volume fell to $2.44 billion as a result of higher selling activity.

Ether, the cryptocurrency on blockchain platform Ethereum, barely clawed back above $3,000 after plunging sharply.

The cryptocurrency was down over 4.25 per cent compared to its value 24 hours ago, while the market capitalisation fell to $356 billion.

The 24-hour trading volume fell to $2.25 billion as a result of the heavy sell-off witnessed overnight.

All other popular altcoins including XRP, Polkadot, Stellar, Dogecoin, Chainlink, Uniswap, Polygon and Litecoin fell sharply due to higher selling activity.

Commenting on the weakness, Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global algorithm based crypto investment platform, said, The cryptocurrency market remained under bearish dominance. With ETH dropping below the $3000 mark, investors started panicking.

It led to an even bigger fall across the Altcoins. The largest crypto, Bitcoin, was able to hold on to the $42,000 mark. The next strong support for BTC is at $40,500, he added.

The entire market would be closely tracking the price action in those two market influencers.

Cryptocurrency

Price (US Dollar)

24-hour change

Market cap (Billion)

Volume (24 Hours)

Bitcoin

42,829.07

-4.46%

$806.11

$2.44 billion

Ether

3,031.35

-3.05%

$355.50

$2.25 billion

Dogecoin

0.208789

-4.26%

$27.40

$2.00 billion

Litecoin

159.72

-2.13%

$10.95

$136.03 million

XRP

0.945416

-1.40%

$94.58

$5.92 billion

Cardano

2.12

0.23%

$68.76

$728.74 million

DISCLAIMER: The cryptocurrency prices have been updated as of 01:15 pm and will change as the day progresses. The list is intended to give a rough idea about popular cryptocurrency trends and will be updated daily.

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Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin weakens further amid ...

Whenever there's a high risk, there's almost always a chance for a high reward. In a time when regulators around the world are cracking down on the burgeoning cryptocurrency space, there's one company that's not only undeterred by setbacks but is thriving. Of course, I'm talking about Silvergate Capital(NYSE:SI), whose stock has returned 603.8% in the past year.

Heck, the cryptocurrency bank even bestedBitcoin's 477.4% return during the same period. So why is Silvergate so popular all of a sudden? Let's find out.

Image source: Getty Images.

Silvergate is a waypoint into the mysterious cryptocurrency realm. The company has four major areas of operations:

The company currently provides such services to 93 cryptocurrency exchanges and 771 institutional investors such as hedge funds. Notable clients include Binance.us,Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets,PayPal, andCME Group. It also has 360 customers engaged in activities such as crypto mining or building decentralized finance services.

During the second quarter of 2021, Silvergate facilitated a whopping $239.6 billion worth of transfers on its network, recognizing $11.3 million in revenue. Both represent significant increases over the $22.4 billion in SEN transactions and $2.4 million in revenue it brought in Q2 2020. Like any other bank, the company lends out money while only using a portion of its deposit as collateral in a process called fractional reserve banking. Total leverage increased more than tenfold in the past year to $258.5 million worth of loans in Q2.

Under the current international banking regulations (Basel III), a bank's capital must be at least 8% of its risk-weighted total assets (loans, mortgages, etc.). This is called the risk-based capital ratio (RBC). It ensures that a sudden stock sell-off or rise in default rates wouldn't wipe out a bank's capital due to the latter's leverage. The higher the ratio, the healthier the bank, but the less its profits due to less leverage.

Major U.S. banks typically have an RBC of 15% and possess a net interest margin (NIM) of between 2% to 5%. However, it's clear that Silvergate is a very conservative bank as its RBC stands at a whopping 48% while possessing a NIM of 1%. So there's definitely a lot of room for the company to leverage up and beef up its returns. What's more, its default rate stands at roughly 0%, compared to 0.05% for its competitor banks.

With the rise of the $172.15 billion decentralized finance (DeFi) industry, there are now more opportunities than ever for investors to buy and hold cryptos and earn fixed income with them. As a result, expect continued massive demand for Silvergate's fiat-crypto services. And don't forget about its ability to expand its loan portfolio and increase interest profits, either. Overall, I'd consider this a high-flying crypto stock to buy, even at 38 times earnings going forward.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Here's a Top Cryptocurrency Stock to Buy Now - The Motley Fool

Hunter Yarbrough and Drew O'Connor| CapWealth Group

With the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009, much of the world has become fascinated by cryptocurrency. Within its first decade, Bitcoin reached the mainstream, becoming a household name. And more recently, on Sept. 8, El Salvador launched Bitcoin as a national currency. Because of its popularity alone, many investors and financial advisors cannot escape the question: Should we invest in cryptocurrency?

To get to the bottom of this, lets first start at the top.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency created as a medium for payments that bypasses the traditional banking structure. According to its creator (who has used the presumable pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto), Bitcoin was created to be a peer-to-peer version of electronic (payments) . . . without going through a financial institution. (bitcoin.org.)

Bitcoin mining is the process of finding new bitcoins by using sophisticated hardware to solve difficult math problems. Miners are rewarded for their work with new bitcoins. Most holders of Bitcoin, however, simply buy Bitcoin as an investment, speculating the price will increase.

There are thousands of digital currencies, with Bitcoin being the most widely used, taking nearly half of the market share (coinmarketcap.com/charts.)

In 2011, one Bitcoin was worth roughly one U.S. dollar. By April 2021, Bitcoin reached its highest price (so far) of over $64,000.

When running the numbers, Bitcoin averaged a return of over 200% per year over the last decade. Compare this to the annualized return of the S&P 500 stock market index - which had a stellar decade of about 16% per year (finance.yahoo.com, Morningstar.com.)

While these returns are certainly incredible, we encourage you to keep several things in mind if you are going to invest in Bitcoin.

Valuation. Traded entirely on sentiment, cryptocurrency lacks economic fundamentals to support any valuation. Stocks, on the other hand, have underlying value based on company profits, giving a logical basis to invest. While some may state that buying cryptocurrency is a way to invest in blockchain (the technology behind crypto), owning Bitcoin doesnt give ownership in the underlying blockchain technology.

Performance. While cryptocurrency may continue its upward trajectory for some time, it is important to remember that past performance does not indicate future results.

Risk. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile investment. Prices may dramatically fluctuate, even within seconds, and therefore the risk is very high. Investors need to feel comfortable with the risk of loss.

History. What if tulip bulbs each cost more than the average annual salary? Tulipmania really happened in Western Europe in the 1630s when Dutch investors began buying tulips and dramatically drove up the price only to see prices collapse. Or how about the dot-com bubble of the late '90s? The Nasdaq index quadruped in five years and subsequently fell by 78% within two years.

Whether or not you decide to invest in Bitcoin, our objective as a financial advisor is to help carefully guide your decision-making regarding a speculative investment. Always feel free to reach out to a financial advisor to discuss further or for general investment and planning advice.

Hunter Yarbroughis an executive vice president and financial adviser with CapWealth. For more information about Hunter and CapWealth, visitcapwealthgroup.com.

Drew OConnor, CFA, CIPM, is a Portfolio Manager at CapWealth Group, responsible for client portfolio analysis, investment research, and performance reporting. Drew is an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) with a background in client portfolio management, investment company research, due diligence, financial and performancereporting, investment consulting, and financial data/software. For more information about CapWealth, please visit capwealthgroup.com.

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Personal finance: Be sure to understand cryptocurrency before investing - Tennessean

COLUMN

In his regular column, veteran journalist A. Craig Copetas asks if Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin are the modern-day equivalents of sneezing powder and whoopee cushions.

Samuel Soren Adams reckoned it was time to stop hustling in a New Jersey pool hall. So he put down his billiard cue and in 1905 took a job selling coal-tar soap.

Dad noticed distilled coal tar possessed a tremendously high sneeze potential, his son Bud recounted thirty years before the iPhone Sneeze App arrived on the scene. So for fun, dad squirted the powder through hotel-room keyholes and inside cafes.

The elder Adams bottled and marketed his carcinogenic concoction under the name, Cachoo. Within three months of its introduction, a Philadelphia retailer had bought 70,000 bottles. That triumph was followed by the Snake Jam Jar, which, when opened, let loose a metre-long imitation serpent. Then came the Dribble Glass, and then, of course, the Whoopee Cushion. Exploding matches made another big boom.

Bud Adams said his familys leap from gags to riches proved the public will buy anything, regardless of how dodgy, ridiculous or hazardous the gimmick. And all these years later, it remains hard to dismiss the marketing wisdom of a practical joke mogul whose records indicated he annually sold 10,000 Super Joy Handshake Buzzers in Kuwait and kept the locals coming back for more.

The Adams familys gizmos spearheaded the way for all sorts of the silly stuff currently available through a smartphone, such as Ajit Khubanis Massaging Slippers ($27.99); Witty Yetis Dehydrated Water ($13.30), and Arnie McPhees Yodeling Pickle ($12.99). A tin of slightly radioactive uranium ore on Amazon costs $39.95 and a fee of $5-a-month lets anyone play Wall Street tycoon on the Robinhood Gold stock trading app.

The trick, Bud Adams precisely instructed, is to come up with a product that captures what the public is wishing for and can bring that dream to life, however briefly.

As everyone wants to be a millionaire, how about a $32,000 Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin. Vitalik Buterins Ethereum are priced to move into your digital wallet at $3,073 an Ether. Too steep for your pocket? Dogecoin is a deal at 17 cents a Doge, particularly as software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer say they created the gimcrack which today has a market capitalisation of more than $32.65bn in 2013 as a joke to make fun of cryptocurrencies.

Although the Wizard of Oz advises to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, Nassim Nicholas Taleb nonetheless says the cryptocurrency pranksters are hawking a gimmick and a Ponzi scheme. Taleb should know. The economists bestselling 2007 book, The Black Swan, spelled out highly improbable events and their potential to trigger severe cascade effects.

Indeed, the feted multibillionaire investor Warren Buffet described Bitcoin as probably rat poison squared, pooh-poohing cryptocurrency as a non-productive asset. All youre counting on is whether the next person is going to pay you more because theyre even more excited about another next person coming along, was the Oracle of Omahas verdict.

The Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman argues that cryptocurrencies play almost no role in normal economic activity. Almost the only time we hear about them being used as a means of payment, as opposed to speculative trading, is in association with illegal activity.

Adds digital godfather and Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates, Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind.

It is likely no surprise that all the Baby Boomer grumpiness over cryptocurrency echoes the establishments initial reaction to Adams sneeze concentrate. Cachoo has divided the country like nothing since the Civil War, read an account in a New Jersey newspaper. Town fathers pass ordinances, school principals preach sermons, editorial writers inveigh against Cachoo. But a laugh-hungry population demands more. The eagle screams as this fair land reverberates neath the thunder of nasal broadsides.

Yet whatever your wager on cryptocurrency, I would heavily bet Adams product catalogue would have branded the stuff Digital Dough and displayed the product alongside Suckers Soap, Squirting Flowers and Mystic Smoke From Fingertips, a goo that went poof when rubbed between thumb and forefinger.

Bud Adams described his business as hand jive. He passed away a millionaire in 2001.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.

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That time cryptocurrency proved people will buy anything - Al Jazeera English

Coinbase, the cryptocurrency platform used for buying coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum and others, has suffered a hack that's affected 6,000 users, completely draining their accounts.

Coinbase sent a document to users, as reported by our sister-site Techradar, telling them that all their funds had been drained by taking advantage of the company's two-factor authentication (2FA) and using phishing attempts to gain access to passwords. The attacks took place between March and May of 2021.

The reason this attack wasn't more widespread was because the hackers needed some very specific information before going after someone. This meant knowing a user's email address, password and phone number, as well as access to personal email accounts. Coinbase has not been able to determine how these hackers were able to get access to this information, but suspects phishing attacks and other social engineering techniques to be the culprit.

According to Coinbase, "We have not found any evidence that these third parties obtained this information from Coinbase itself."

"However, in this incident, for customers who use SMS texts for two-factor authentication, the third party took advantage of a flaw in Coinbases SMS Account Recovery process in order to receive an SMS two-factor authentication token and gain access to your account."

Coinbase claims that as soon as it learned of the issue, it updated its SMS account recovery protocols to prevent further abuse. The company also worries that the hackers were able to view some critical personal information, including home addresses, date of birth and IP addresses. Luckily, Coinbase has refunded users and put crypto back into user accounts.

"We will be depositing funds into your account equal to the value of the currency improperly removed from your account at the time of the incident. Some customers have already been reimbursed we will ensure all customers affected receive the full value of what you lost."

Of course, Coinbase is already working with authorities to try and find the criminals. Coinbase will also be providing free credit monitoring to affected customers.

The company is also imploring customers to forego SMS authentication and to instead use time-based one-time password (TOTP) like Google Authenticator or a hardware security key. And, of course, users should probably change their current password on their Coinbase account and email account as well.

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Thousands of Coinbase wallets drained by hackers - Tom's Guide

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NEW YORK, Oct 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday revived a lawsuit by investors who claimed they were defrauded into buying the HelbizCoin cryptocurrency as part of a "pump and dump" scheme.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a lower court judge erred in finding he lacked jurisdiction to review Helbiz Inc's $38.6 million initial coin offering because its coins were not listed on a U.S. exchange or bought domestically.

While not addressing the lawsuit's merits, the 3-0 decision could be a setback for cryptocurrency firms seeking to avoid liability in U.S. courts by claiming they operated and raised money in foreign countries.

Investors said Helbiz promised to use proceeds from its 2018 offering to develop a smartphone-based transportation rental platform allowing users to rent bikes, cars, scooters and flying drone taxis.

The investors said Helbiz instead kept most of the money for itself, and for almost every rental accepted U.S. dollars, euros and other payment methods, dooming HelbizCoin.

U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan dismissed the lawsuit in January, citing a 2010 Supreme Court precedent that limited the extraterritorial reach of federal securities laws.

But the Manhattan-based appeals court said Stanton should have used a more "tailored" approach, and consider the investors' claims under New York state law and that state's rules for applying its laws extraterritorially.

It also said investors could amend their complaint to show that one plaintiff was a Texas citizen who bought HelbizCoin domestically, supporting their federal securities law claims.

Robert Heim, a lawyer for Helbiz, said the company believes the lawsuit "is without any merit whatsoever, and we look forward to a speedy resolution."

Michael Kanovitz, a lawyer for the investors, said his clients plan also to show that title to their coins were transferred in the United States.

"The fraud is there to be proved," he said. "We think we're very well situated to win the case."

The case is Barron et al v Helbiz Inc et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 21-278.

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkEditing by Marguerita Choy

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HelbizCoin cryptocurrency lawsuit is revived - Reuters