Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Spending Bitcoin via the Lightning Network
Bitcoin has proven an effective store of value, but it isn’t suited to small, time sensitive transactions. The Lightning Network, however, can enable fast and instant transactions, utilising Bitcoin blockchain. You can see the growing list of sites that accept Lighting here. We’ve a separate articles on how to use the Lightning Network and how it solves Bitcoin’s…
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Crypto backed debit cards
Paxful Binance Coinbase Other services work like a regular debit or prepaid card, giving you cash back in crypto on regular Visa purchases. Crypto.com is one of the leading examples of this, with rewards paid their own token – CRO. There are services, such as Nexo, that issue a loan for every purchase, which can be paid off in…
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Why retailers and services might choose to offer cryptocurrency
Given the distinction between coins and tokens, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that most of the cryptocurrency tokens out there aren’t widely used outside of trading or their specific blockchain ecosystem. Even though cryptocurrencies that are intended to be used as money, they face a challenge in convincing merchants to incorporate them as…
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How & where to spend crypto
What you’ll learn How different cryptocurrencies are created for specific purposes Why retailers & services might choose to offer cryptocurrency The most common things you currently spend cryptocurrency on A list of the most popular websites & services accepting cryptocurrency right now Cryptocurrency is a new form of internet money with properties that suggest it…
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SMS Hijacking
Having just encouraged the use of 2FA as standard for custodial services, we now have to warn that choosing SMS as the 2FA can create a serious vulnerability via SMS hijacking. If attackers know your mobile number and provider, and have harvested personal information from OSINT, they can impersonate you with your Mobile Service Provider…
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Brute Force Attack
It’s one of the oldest and most obvious techniques for trying to steal someone’s password, running a software that churns through password options. This can be used in conjunction with information known about the user from OSINT – Open Source Intelligence. The best way to mitigate this kind of threat is to use two-factor authentication…
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Loss of data/access details
If you decide to let an exchange or mobile wallet custody your crypto, the most obvious point of failure is forgetting the details that enable you to access that service. In the first instance this means your Username and Password, which you should take appropriate action to be strong/unique and saved securely. If you save…
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Returning To The Concept of Custody
If you read the first article in this section you’ll be familiar with the concept of custody, which is central to cryptocurrency ownership. Custody refers to how you manage responsibility for the one critical piece of information that enables control of your crypto – a Private Key or Seed. As cryptocurrency works without a central authority like a bank,…
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Security best practice
What you’ll learn You are ultimately responsible for your crypto Things to protect against; accidental loss & theft Best practice & sleeping soundly at night If you’ve reached this stage in our series of articles on how to use cryptocurrency, you’ll have invested considerable time and hopefully some of your money; putting into practice what…
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How transparency is being leveraged
The radical transparency of crypto transactions is powering an entire industry of blockchain analysis. Companies such as Chainalysis and Elliptic are employing advanced data science techniques to provide custom tools for customers who range from governments to hedge funds with tools to either ensure their own transactions are compliant with rules around of the movement…
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