Beware of The Bitcoin!
More than popcorn or just a 'ghost in the machine'?
– #A picturesquely blurred paradoxical intention on digital popcorn –
WHAT’S NAKAMOTO SAN‘S BLOCKED VIEW[1]?!
A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending.
We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work.
The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure.
Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.
ENLIGHTENMENT OR SUBWAY ILLUMINATION?!
WHY’RE DOLLARS STILL OF INTEREST THEN?!
SUPERSEDING THE DOLLAR[2] AS A GLOBAL ANCHOR CURRENCY?!
SPOOFING[3]?!
BITCOIN ROCKS, RIGHT?!
(BLACK) ROCKIN’[4] ALL OVER THE WORLD?!
WHAT’S NAKAMOTO SAN‘S CHAINED VIEW[5] AGAIN?!
Commerce on the Internet has come to rely almost exclusively on financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments. While the system works well enough for most transactions, it still suffers from the inherent weaknesses of the trust based model.
Completely non-reversible transactions are not really possible, since financial institutions cannot avoid mediating disputes. The cost of mediation increases transaction costs, limiting the minimum practical transaction size and cutting off the possibility for small casual transactions, and there is a broader cost in the loss of ability to make non-reversible payments for non-reversible services.
With the possibility of reversal, the need for trust spreads. Merchants must be wary of their customers, hassling them for more information than they would otherwise need. A certain percentage of fraud is accepted as unavoidable. These costs and payment uncertainties can be avoided in person by using physical currency, but no mechanism exists to make payments over a communications channel without a trusted party.
What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party. Transactions that are computationally impractical to reverse would protect sellers from fraud, and routine escrow mechanisms could easily be implemented to protect buyers.
In this paper, we propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer distributed timestamp server to generate computational proof of the chronological order of transactions. The system is secure as long as honest nodes collectively control more CPU power than any cooperating group of attacker nodes.
HI GUYS, WHAT’S YOUR VIEW ON NAKAMOTO’S VIEW?!
BEAVIS N BUTTHEAD[6] > Hehe ... huhuhuhu ...
ELIZA[7] > Hello, I‘m Eliza. I'll be your therapist today.
INVISIBLE[8] MAN > Do you trust Bitcoin?
ELIZA > Oh … let's move on to something else (!) ... trust Bitcoin?
INVISIBLE MAN > What do you think Weizenbaum?
WEIZENBAUM[9] > The computer programmer is a creator of universes for which he alone is the lawgiver. No playwright, no stage director, no emperor, however powerful, has ever exercised such absolute authority to arrange a stage or field of battle and to command such unswervingly dutiful actors or troops.
INVISIBLE MAN > What do you think Eliza?
ELIZA > Why not?
INVISIBLE MAN > Why, "why not"?!
ELIZA > Have you asked anyone else?
TEACHER > Anyone, anyone?![10]
STYX[11] > Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto, domo, domo ...
ELIZA > I see. Let's try another topic and we‘ll come back to that issue later.
CAPTAIN FUTURE[12] > ♫
QUEEN[13] > Gotta Shear Heart Attack.
WANNA MAKE FAST MONEY, HONEY?[14]
WANNA GET RICH QUICK?![15]
AIN’T MONEY LIKE QUICK SAND?![16]
RAMBLING N GAMBLING ALL NIGHT LONG, RIGHT?![17]
BAD ASS COMPUTING POWER‘S GONNA WHIP IT, RIGHT?!
FASTER MASTER BLASTER OF DESASTER?![18]
‘RE YOU IN A RUSH TOO?![19]
DAMN, WHAT’S A FINANCIAL SCAM?![20]
1. Never Wire Money to a Stranger
2. Don’t Give Out Financial Information
3. Never Click on Hyperlinks in Emails
4. Use Tough-To-Crack Passwords
5. Never Give out Your Social Security Number
6. Install Antivirus and Spyware Protection
7. Don’t Shop With Unfamiliar Online Retailers
8. Don’t Download Software From Pop-Up Windows
9. Make Sure the Websites You Visit Are Safe
10. Only Donate to Known Charities
The Bottom Line
In this day and age, it seems like financial scams and rip-offs are lurking around every corner – both on and offline. (See the Federal Trade Commission’s Scam Alert for the latest ones.
Spotted a scam yourself?
You can report it to the FTC here. By following these 10 tips, you can outsmart even the most cunning fraudsters and shield yourself from financial harm.
WHY DON’T YOU PAY ATTENTION?![21]
WHAT’S NAKAMOTO SAN’S[22] FREUDIAN SLIP?!
WHAT’S NAKAMOTO SAN’S[23] TOP 20 WORDLIST INKBLOT?!
COULDN’T GOVERNMENTS RAISE INTEREST IN GENERATING[24] VIRTUAL[25] CURRENCY FOR REPAYING THEIR DEBTS?![26]
ASAP?![27]
NOW?![28]
TIC TAC TOE?![29]
RIP-OFF?![30]
WHOOPS?![31]
KAZOOM?![32]
BIG BANG?![33]
DOOM?![34]
LOOM?!
BOOM?![35]
ZOOM?![36]
ZOOOM?![37]
ZOOOOM?![38]
ZOOOOOM?![39]
ZOOOOOOM?![40]
ZOOOOOOOM?![41]
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGLE?!
LAW’S[42] LAW?!
Money has fallen much from the Value it had. That Land is of greater Value. (..) To Supply the Nation with Money, it is humbly propos'd, (..) To authorize the Commission to lend Notes on Land Security (..) Land has a more certain Value than other goods, for it does not encrease in quantity, all other goods may. (..)
For as everything is produced by Land, so the Land must keep its value, because it can be turn'd to produce the Goods that are in use. (..)
Land is what is most valuable, and what encreases in Value more than other Goods; so the Paper Money issued from it, will in all appearance not only keep equal to other Goods, but rise above them (..) But as this Addition to the Money, will employ the People are now Idle, and these now employ'd to more Advantage: So the Product will be encreas'd, and Manufacture advanc'd.
If the Consumption of the Nation continue as now, the Export will be greater, and a Balance due to us (..)
Since it is very practicable to make Land Money, it would be contrair to Reason to limit the Industry of the People, by making it depend on a Species is not in our power, but in the power of our Enemies; when we have a Species of our own every way more qualified.
NEED AN AUTOMATIC LOVER[43]?!
FEELIN‘ SPIRITS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD[44]?!
Addendum
Just one more thing[1] ... Venkman[2] ... sorry ... Bankman[3] ... Madoff[4] ... Fonzie[5] ... sorry ... Ponzi[6] ... m#therf*ckers like these just want(ed) to rip you off!
[1] "Oh, just one more thing" - Columbo - YouTube
[2] Best of Peter Venkman | GHOSTBUSTERS - YouTube
[3] Sam Bankman-Fried (Wikiped) ––– United States v. Bankman-Fried (Wikiped) ––– Verdict reached in Sam Bankman-Fried fraud trial | CNN Business ––– Is SBF the new Madoff? We asked the former head Madoff prosecutor. | CNN Business ––– FTX crash shares eerie similarities with Bernie Madoff, ex-regulator Sheila Bair says | CNN Business
[4] Bernie Madoff (Wikiped) ––– related: Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme (sec.gov)
[5] The Fonz | Top 10 Aaayyys - YouTube
[6] Charles Ponzi (Wikiped) ––– Ponzi scheme (Wikiped) ––– related as follows: Ponzi Scheme Puzzles (sechistorical.org) ––– Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are Ponzi bubbles says BIS (cnbc.com) ––– Mega Investment Fraud Schemes Pervasive Despite ‘Crypto Winter’ | TRM Insights (trmlabs.com) ––– Little Black Book Scams (yrp.ca)
Frame of Reference
Homebodies Blinded by the (Screen) Light!
[1] Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (bitcoin.org)
[2] Fed warns of 'economic ruin' when governments print money to pay off debt (cnbc.com)
[3] How ‘Spoofing’ Traders Dupe Markets - WSJ
[4] Status Quo - Rockin' All Over The World (Live Aid 1985) - YouTube
[5] Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (bitcoin.org)
[6] Beavis & Butthead laugh - YouTube
[7] Eliza, a chatbot therapist (njit.edu)
[8] Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992) - Official Trailer - YouTube
[9] Eliza, a chatbot therapist (njit.edu)
[10] "Anyone, anyone" teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off - YouTube
[11] Styx - Mr. Roboto (Official Video) - YouTube
[12] Captain Future - Theme - YouTube
[13] Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (Live in Houston, Texas, '77) - YouTube
[14] making fast money (Google)
[17] RhymeZone: gambling lyrics
[18] Money. An Environmental and Energetic Burden: A Brief overview of Banking, Bitcoin, and PIVX (pivx.org) ––– The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin - The New York Times (nytimes.com) ––– Why is Bitcoin bad for the environment? | The Independent ––– Why Does Bitcoin Use So Much Energy? – Forbes Advisor ––– related: Energy consumption of AI poses environmental problems | TechTarget ––– The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin - The New York Times (nytimes.com) ––– Exploring AI's carbon footprint (techhq.com) ––– The AI Boom Could Use a Shocking Amount of Electricity - Scientific American ––– Global electricity consumption by AI could increase by 85-134 TWh annually by 2027 - YouTube
[19] The Klondike Gold Rush New Documentary - YouTube
[20] 10 Tips To Avoid Common Financial Scams (investopedia.com)
[21] Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. - YouTube
[22] Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (bitcoin.org)
[23] Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (bitcoin.org)
[25] Money creation, bank profits, and central bank digital currency | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal (voxeu.org) ––– Money Creation in Fiat and Digital Currency Systems (imf.org) ––– Money Creation in Fiat and Digital Currency Systems (researchgate.net) ––– Digital Cash: Why central banks should issue digital currency (positivemoney.org)
[26] Banks do not create money out of thin air | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal (voxeu.org) ––– Fed warns of 'economic ruin' when governments print money to pay off debt (cnbc.com)
[27] Global Debt 2011 shares (viewsoftheworld.net)
[28] America's Foreign Creditors - NYTimes.com
[29] Visualizing Eurozone debt crisis data - JMP User Community – weblink deleted as the day was dawning.
[30] The Great European Rip-off (Google)
[31] Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay by John Lanchester | Book review | Books | The Guardian
[32] World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
[33] Countries Compared by Economy > Debt > External. International Statistics at NationMaster.com
[34] Caleidosco.Pic 1 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[35] Caleidosco.Pic 2 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[36] Caleidosco.Pic 3 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[37] Caleidosco.Pic 4 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[38] Caleidosco.Pic 5 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[39] Caleidosco.Pic 6 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[40] Caleidosco.Pic 7 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[41] Caleidosco.Pic 8 – Sliced Brain – Thin Layer Chromatography
[42] Note: Law urged the establishment of a national bank to create and increase instruments of credit and the issue of BANKNOTES BACKED BY LAND, GOLD, OR SILVER. The first manifestation of Law's system came when he had returned to Scotland and contributed to the debates leading to the Treaty of Union 1707. He published a text entitled MONEY AND TRADE CONSIDER'D WITH A PROPOSAL FOR SUPPLYING THE NATION WITH MONEY (1705). Law's propositions of creating a national bank in Scotland were ultimately rejected, and he left to pursue his ambitions abroad. ––– related as follows: John Law (economist) (Wikiped) ––– Money and trade considered: with a proposal for supplying the nation with money. First published at Edinburgh 1705 : Law, John, 1671-1729 : Internet Archive
[43] Dee D. Jackson - Automatic Lover (1978 Original Video) - YouTube
[44] The Police - Spirits In The Material World (Official Music Video) - YouTube
