Anonymous Currencies Might Limit Financial Access

November 23, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments



A recent report states that Bitcoin isn’t anonymous enough, and to an extent, the report is correct. While part of Bitcoin’s reputation has been built on the notion of privacy, the truth is that the blockchain records every transaction in real time, and nothing can escape its shuttering technology. In the long run, no matter how private Bitcoin claims to be, there always seems to be an open window to one’s financial history.

But one has to wonder if this isn’t a bad thing. Two of the cryptocurrency world’s most recent additions, Zcash and Monero, tout complete anonymity for those looking to remain duly private, but there seem to be issues emerging from the backend, and many investors and crypto-enthusiasts are having a hard time deciding where they stand.

First off, let’s look at criminal activity. Anonymity is often showered with praise, but when something is completely hidden like this, it can potentially give rise to back-door dealers looking for ways to exploit any lagging visibility. Monero, for example, is often labeled as the most popular cryptocurrency amongst drug purchasers on the dark net. Many regulators arguing against the notion of completely anonymous digital currency trading feel that the situation is likely to give rise to another Silk Road, only this time, things may be a little harder to shut down.

Zcash is another financial entity that claims to offer new waves of privacy. Again, good for some, criticized by others. Zcash recently hit new heights on cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, hitting the $2 million per coin mark, but many argue whether this was real or caused by error or platform manipulation. If that’s the case, there’s certainly cause to worry. It was this same kind of manipulation that fired bitcoin into the $1,000 range in 2013 prior to the sudden collapse of Mt. Gox.

Lastly, the likelihood that a government or legislative system would ever be willing to regulate or fully allow the trading of anonymous currencies is particularly slim. While this may sound positive at first (cryptocurrencies were designed to offer independence), access to digital currency for third world and developing nations could wind up limited in the near future. It’s precisely because Bitcoin isn’t fully anonymous that it probably has the highest chance of ever going mainstream and reaching acceptable terms on a global scale.

As consumers, we have to ask ourselves which we’d prefer – true anonymity, or higher monetary access? The independence these currencies claim to provide is what gives us such a choice in the first place.

Will Bitcoin Have Its Moment in the Trump Era?

November 13, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments


History tells us that no international monetary system lasts forever. And as Barry Eichengreen, the leading thinker in this arena, has repeatedly reminded us, those systems tend to collapse very quickly, whether it was the dominance of Rome's coins, the British pound's status as the common unit of international trade, or the various periods in which the world aligned around the gold standard.

The same will be true for the dollar's unofficial status as the international reserve currency. Its hegemony will at some point disappear and, when it does, the fall will be swift as the world scrambles for a new commercial anchor.

Below I will make the case that the trigger for this decline, whether it happens in the next four years or not, could well have been put in place last Tuesday. A Trump presidency could hold the right ingredients for a dollar collapse.
I will also argue that this time, when the dollar system collapses, it won't be replaced by another outdated fiat currency like the euro, yen or Chinese yuan. Neither will we go back to a precious metals standard, however much gold bugs hanker for it.
In the interim, we may anchor world trade to a transitional, multilateral combination of these paper and commodity currencies, but soon enough it will prove to be too unwieldy and out of touch with a changing global economy.

The fact is we now operate in a digital economy in which economic activity is increasingly decentralized, with transactions happening peer-to-peer and, when the Internet of Things is in place, machine-to-machine. That online, decentralized economic architecture will require a digital, decentralized system of monetary exchange that bypasses the inefficient financial intermediaries of a broken banking system.

The solution might not be bitcoin per se, but the distributed, network-run system of value transfer that it represents will, I believe, provide the template for the future model. It's one possible explanation for why the digital currency got a bump on Tuesday evening through Wednesday.

Change is coming
Why might Trump set this chain of events in play? To be sure, we don't know what changes the next president will introduce, but he has definitely stoked uncertainty around the direction of US policy. And uncertainty, the enemy of efficient markets, can often have a self-fulfilling effect.
That's an unsatisfying answer, however. So let's also break down some of the ideas that Trump has floated and how they might change the international perception of America's commitment to the dollar-based international system:

Rights determined by ethnic background
Trump suggests we should discriminate against external foreigners (Muslim visitors to the US), domestic non-citizens (undocumented Hispanic immigrants) and domestic citizens (judges deemed unfit to serve for being of Mexican descent.) This is not just a moral issue; it goes to the heart of whether the law is impartially upheld in the US.


Blockchain: Why the 'Big Guys' Can’t Win

November 06, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments


Matthew Spoke is CEO and founder of enterprise blockchain startup Nuco. He is a bitcoin and ethereum enthusiast, who has previously worked with Deloitte with the aim of advancing the use of smart distributed protocols.
In this opinion piece, Spoke looks at moves by tech industry incumbents to capture the emerging blockchain market, and offers a warning for the eventuality that they succeed. 

Chess pieces
There's a seemingly obvious marriage happening right now between two incredibly important Internet technologies, one that promised to make web businesses more scalable and organizations more efficient (which has happened to a large extent), as well as holding decentralization and disintermediation as the ultimate objective (on which the jury is still out).
Earlier this year, I wrote a piece about the "Race Towards Irrelevance" that seemed to be taking place among traditional organizations whose markets and business models stand to lose from the adoption of decentralized systems. Primarily, I was referring to some intermediary companies in the financial services industry who will struggle to redefine their value propositions as blockchains become more commonplace.

What I failed to include in my prior ramblings was that it's not only traditional industries and businesses who face this risk. Similar to the attention and investment that has poured into the "blockchain industry" from financial services firms, there are a number of global scale technology vendors positioning themselves to dominate this market – or, to a skeptic, centralize it.

I'm referring to "the cloud" and "the blockchain", two terms which should more accurately be used in the plural sense.

Decentralization is key
I'm not suggesting that cloud computing is not well suited to underlie blockchain infrastructures.

On the contrary, in many cases, there's an obvious match that allows for efficient scalability, robust node security and light weight onboarding, among other benefits. But (and this is a big but) these benefits quickly become irrelevant if we forget about the need for appropriate decentralization. Naturally, it's no surprise that the same companies who, to a large extent, brought us the mainframe and the PC, want a piece of the blockchain action. It's also no surprise that these same companies are already in the process of capturing large parts of the emerging blockchain market.

As the old adage goes: "nobody ever got fired for buying [insert big tech company here]."

In general, I think the entrance of big tech companies into this domain has had a positive impact. It has helped bring much needed credibility and reaffirm the importance of these new technologies. That said, as markets consider their adoption, we should encourage an objective analysis as to the appropriate implementation of this technology so as to achieve its intended outcome.
Although there are many reasons to trust the competency of  prominent technology vendors and the integrity of their systems, which have been proven for decades in other domains, let's keep in mind that the intended purpose of this paradigm shift is to eliminate the need for trust. Objectively, this means that a blockchain cannot be dependent on a single vendor's infrastructure or security.

The Umbra Marketplace

November 04, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments



Wіth thе аdvеnt оf сrурtосurrеnсіеѕ, рrіvасу hаѕ gоnе to lеvеlѕ wе wоuld nеvеr have thought оf juѕt ten оr twеntу уеаrѕ аgо- but dеѕріtе аll of that, thеrе are still issues wіth рrіvасу еvеrуwhеrе. Yоu nееd to tumble аnd mіx coins аnd mаkе nеw wallets juѕt to bе able tо ѕеnd аn 'аnоnуmоuѕ' trаnѕасtіоn that can bе trасеd rіght bасk to its ѕоurсе- whу not just hаvе a ѕіmрlе рlаtfоrm where all оf that is removed, and security іѕ ѕtіll there? Umbrа dоеѕ juѕt thаt, and іf you're interested іn a platform like it, ѕtісk wіth us.

Encrypted Mеѕѕаgеѕ
Mаnу рlаtfоrmѕ like Skype аll hаvе оnе major flаw- аnd thаt is the fасt thаt thе IP of thе реrѕоn you аrе chatting with саn easily be retrieved аnd uѕеd. Yоu dоn't wаnt a DDOS аgаіnѕt уоu, оr mаlісіоuѕ things wеrе dоnе, rіght? Umbrа mаkеѕ thіѕ еаѕу and ѕесurе with ѕеаmlеѕѕlу easy trаnѕfеrѕ- аll уоu need іѕ thе аddrеѕѕ and a private key frоm thаt аddrеѕѕ, аnd уоu аrе ready tо go. All transfers аrе heavily encrypted, ѕо there іѕ nо nееd fоr mіxіng, unlike Bitcoin. Nоtе that уоu can transfer your funds from a рrіvаtе аddrеѕѕ to a рublіс address and vice-versa; bу uѕіng thе public аddrеѕѕ trаnѕfеrѕ, you're gеttіng ѕlіghtlу bеttеr ѕuрроrt thаn wіth thе Bіtсоіn platform, but private іѕ an еntіrеlу different ѕtоrу.

Nоw that we've gоttеn thаt оut оf the wау, уоu саn еvеn mаkе ореn сhаnnеlѕ and groups wіth Umbrа- ѕіmіlаr to Teamspeak оr Mumblе. Yоu саn discuss whаtеvеr уоu wіѕh tо dіѕсuѕѕ on that platform, and everybody hаѕ ассеѕѕ- іt'ѕ all trаnѕраrеnt. Or if уоu wіѕh, you саn opt for private channels that are invite-only- thе роѕѕіbіlіtіеѕ аrе еndlеѕѕ. Yоu can even Direct Mеѕѕаgе wіth Umbrа- thеу рrоvіdе a great mеѕѕаgіng ѕуѕtеm fоr уоu to ѕеnd mеѕѕаgеѕ, аnd аѕ always, іt'ѕ соmрlеtеlу еnсrурtеd аnd соnѕtаntlу bеіng uрdаtеd fоr your соnvеnіеnсе.


Thе Currеnсу
As with аll сrурtосurrеnсіеѕ, thеrе hаѕ to bе thе main сurrеnсу bеіng used wіth transfers- іn thіѕ case, it's Shаdоwсаѕh- ѕіmіlаr to Mоnеrо, Umbrа'ѕ Shаdоwсаѕh uѕеѕ duаl-kеу addresses and rіng ѕіgnаturеѕ that аutоmаtісаllу 'tumblе' соіnѕ tо make sure transactions аrе соmрlеtеlу private- аll with a tоuсh оf a button. Like we mеntіоnеd before a few ѕеntеnсеѕ аgо, Umbrа hаѕ a рrіvаtе and public ассоunt- you саn ѕtаkе еаѕіlу wіth thе public ассоunt balance (note that thіѕ іѕ nоt соmрlеtеlу аnоnуmоuѕ; for соmрlеtе ѕесrесу, you mау want tо use thе private ассоunt) аnd ѕеnd ѕtеаlthу fundѕ tо whoever уоu wіѕh tо ѕеnd thе funds to.

And аll оf іt is transferrable wіth a touch оf a buttоn- you won't gеt stuck coins with Umbra! Aѕ ѕuсh, уоu wіll bе аblе to create digital mаrkеtрlасеѕ wіth thіѕ соіn using its аnоnуmоuѕ ѕеndіng features- juѕt lіkе wіth Mоntеrо; we expect this соіn wіll bе adopted оntо dаrk wеb mаrkеtѕ; іt'ѕ nоt a guаrаntее, but it's probably a gооd сhоісе fоr thоѕе ѕіtеѕ since this соіn іѕ ѕо рrіvаtе. If you want еvеn mоrе added security, bесаuѕе thеrе'ѕ аlrеаdу so mаnу bаѕіс fеаturеѕ іnѕіdе оf it, you саn еvеn furthеr еnсrурt dаtа to mаkе уоur ассоunt аnd mеѕѕаgеѕ even mоrе unсrасkаblе! Wіth so mаnу features аddеd іntо іt аnd ѕо mаnу wауѕ tо uѕе іt, Umbrа will bе a very uѕеful соіn іn thе futurе, especially fоr those whо lіkе keeping their data іntасt and unсrасkаblе.

ShadowCash Specifications

  • Block time: 60's
  • Difficulty re-target: every block
  • Nominal stake interest: 2% (PoSv3 – static inflation annually)
  • Min. stake age: 8 hours (no max age)
  • P2P port: 51737
  • RPC port: 51736
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