CryptocurrencyScripts

Tag: blockchain technology

Securing your personal wallet(s) in a wild environment.

In a space of a few months, I’ve seen an alarming number of people lose their crypto assets. The number of victims is mind-blowing, but the fact that these assets were stolen from their personal wallets makes it even more surprising.

Personal wallets are thought to be a better option for the safekeeping of crypto assets than exchange wallets. Trustwallet and MetaMask are amongst the best mobile wallets to store your crypto assets, this is where the full surprise comes in. Most of these victims stored their assets in either TrustWallet or MetaMask, yet these assets were lost in the most tragic way.

Crypto assets are precious stuff, the thought of losing them is a pain only the bearer can properly explain…I actually doubt if anyone can properly explain the feeling that comes with losing a crypto asset.

Maybe I need to correct an impression; your cold wallets are still safe. These hacks aren’t directly on the blockchain. Perpetrators have developed special social engineering techniques and some good technologies to support their fraudulent activities.

Keeping your assets in a personal wallet is thus not the only thing that keeps you safe. In addition, keeping your wallets ‘safe’ is also vital. It’s a bit complicated, but here are a few tips to help.

Keep your wallet SAFE

Crypto assets are the best items to steal; yeah, that sounds a bit crazy…I know. Thanks to the anonymity features of cryptocurrency, a successful heist of crypto assets are hardly traceable. Perpetrators easily go away with stealing cryptocurrencies, especially when they don’t belong to a big organization. This put individual investors at high risk without tangible external security support.

Mobile wallet users are not only vulnerable to hacks, but physical theft also happens at a high frequency. With these in mind; the importance of keeping your wallets safe can not be overemphasized. Keep it as safe as possible. Yes, your wallet and your phone too.

Just like a dangerous chemical, keep them out of reach. Everyone is capable of siphoning your assets if they get sufficient access to them. For a cryptocurrency investor using mobile wallets, your phone should be private property. This means lesser freedom with how you share them with anyone apart from yourself.

Sounds harsh but you might have to be strict with your mobile phone and disciplined too. Unsupervised use of your devices by any external person is a poor security practice.

If you feel these rules are hard to adhere to, then consider getting a separate device for your cryptocurrency wallets. Probably the best practice.

Keep your Phrase/key SAFE

Here’s one piece of advice, “if you can’t keep secrets, then consider learning them before investing in cryptocurrency!”. Not just cryptocurrency, the internet, and most other forms of investment. Your keys, your investments; every vital detail of your involvement in cryptocurrency should be kept as secret as possible. Now that’s one hell of a task, but one you must perform if you must have a nice story to tell about your investments.

Blockchain-level security protocols are almost impossible to breach without external aid, hackers are aware of this. As a matter of fact, most hacks are actually socially engineered. The easiest way of getting your security breached is through you. Hackers are social engineers; most hacks are done with tips given up by the owners of the accounts. Keeping your security details safe is your obligation. Social hackers devise means to obtain these details or helpful hints about them (your details) from you.

Developing strong passwords is just one step toward your security, keeping these passwords safe is another (more) important step. Each of these is a tedious and sensitive process. A couple of writings on security tips suggest the best practice in password development. Taking a look at these tips, developing abstract passwords is the safest way to do it.

A password without reference to common knowledge of you is unarguably harder to guess. Popular ways of developing passwords such as; a combination of your name, birth date, and other notable dates, hobby e.t.c have simplified ‘hacks by guessing’ in many known cases. An abstract password makes guessing harder for the intruder. However, a strong password not properly stored is in fact weaker than a weak password. It all boils down to one thing; ‘keep it secret, as much as you can’.

Interacting with Decentralized applications (DApps)

Decentralized applications are utility platforms built to interact with the blockchain and sometimes your wallets. They possess connectivity features that allow your wallet connects to the platform. This connection gives the platform certain automatic access to your wallet. Administrators of these platforms or hackers can harness this short-term breach in intact blockchain security to meddle with personal wallets. Original DApps can also be cloned to target unsuspecting users.

For a personal wallet user, ensure to doublecheck the DApp’s website to ensure that you are visiting the right website. Also, do well to confirm the audit report of new DApps. Ensure that the project team is a trustable one and wouldn’t meddle with your assets as you connect to their website.

Watch out for Scammers

All those glitters are not gold. Regardless of how many times this warning is sounded, people still get unhealthily drawn toward shiny things. Shiny ideas, shiny projects, undeserved gains. The simple truth is, “if it sounds too good to be true, then it’s probably not true”. But greed clouds personal cognizance and in the pool of our greed, everything sounds good and everything is possible…like getting $3000 daily from a $1000 investment in a shady mining firm.

Human greed is the biggest tool for scammers, tricking your greed and getting the best out of it. The most tactical scams are simply ones most developed to put your greed to work in the best way. Scams are the biggest threat to every cryptocurrency investor. Falling into one is way easier than you’d think but also relative to your greed level. Greedy investors are more vulnerable. Fix your greed, said it for the second time!

Strategies used to break into user accounts are ever-evolving, everyday birth a new way to get to break into ‘secured’ profiles, looking out for existing and emerging means of scamming investors, and taking precautions to stay safe from them by applying advised security measures is the most effective way to protect your funds and stay safe in the internet

02/01/2023
CBDCs appeal more to governments than proper cryptocurrencies.

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For a moment I thought; “that move by El Salvador was supposed to trigger an era of national cryptocurrency adoption”. Well, it was actually too early to say that. National governments will have a very hard time accepting cryptocurrency in its normal form. ‘Impossible’ is a rare term, but if anything comes close, this is one of them. It will take a very long time before this becomes the case…if possible.

While El Salvador prepares to move their bitcoin gains into the nation’s education sector, most other countries are yet to take a definite stand on bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The People’s republic of China continues its ban on bitcoin and crackdown on crypto-related activities while the Federal Republic of Nigeria has officially launched its Central Bank Digital Currency — the E-Naira.

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Same Naira, more possibilities…the E-Naira has been received with mixed reactions from the Nigerians as the majority consider it ‘useless’; an assertion I disagree with. In comparison, the development in Nigeria is healthier for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. China’s controversial stand on bitcoin and cryptocurrency continues to worsen. The crypto ecosystem will have to learn to steer ahead without the communist nation.

Despite detesting the idea of a decentralized form of money controlled by the people and essentially resisting the influence of a centralized government, China is rumored to be testing out its own CBDC — the digital Yuan. Nigeria’s close neighbor and fellow west African country — Ghana is also working on releasing a digitized form of her national currency. China’s effort on the digital Yuan and a nationally owned blockchain isn’t a rumor anymore.

One thing is common about these countries — little tolerance for proper cryptocurrencies.

Very logically, a centralized government will expectedly detest decentralized concepts. The world government structure is centralized. The presence of a central body of authority controlling the affairs of the people is the original idea of the government; this concept is also expected to be the main feature of a government-owned ‘cryptocurrency’.

With government-backed cryptocurrencies; it is impossible to ‘be your own bank’. Core financial activities will still require the involvement of a third party and the government retaining its veto power on activities related to this currency. From what we have seen in recent prototypes, this is exactly what CBDCs are and the government is absolutely loving it!

As far as the adoption of blockchain as a superior financial technology goes, CBDCs are a huge breakthrough. It delights the government; not only does it equip them with an easier way to manage financial activities, but it also preserves their central power and keeps them above the people…something not obtainable with proper cryptocurrencies.

It’s obvious that the government loves everything about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology except for one thing — censorship resistance. CBDCs are in fact perfect; for them.

We are seeing national governments partner with blockchain firms to launch their CBDCs on their blockchains. Fantom blockchain is reportedly working with a number of reputable banks and governments to develop CBDCs, Algorand is also rumored to be taking a similar path. The idea of a central bank digital currency resonates well with governments and is set to be the next wave of blockchain adoption. On the other hand, proper cryptocurrencies will unarguably continue to face even sterner regulations.

02/01/2023
Tim Cook owns “some bitcoins”; should you?

A billionaire’s investment in any project should easily run into hundreds of thousands and probably millions. With that in mind; I’ll make a wild guess… Apple’s CEO Tim Cook owns at least TWO full bitcoins. That’s a wild but very conservative guess for a man presiding over a company worth more than the entire market capitalization of bitcoin and who sees cryptocurrency as an ‘interesting’ idea.

Cook’s revelation comes as a little surprise to me. For a guy as brilliant as him; it might be easy to ignore ‘the future of money’ but a bit harder to ignore the best performing ownable asset over the past decade. Hard to say why Apple’s CEO bought a cryptocurrency but whatever the reason is, it is probably the same with other wealthy individuals who have added bitcoin to their portfolios over the past decade.

Too bad, his revelation didn’t rally the crypto market, probably because he didn’t confirm if his company will be adding any cryptocurrency to its balance sheet or showing any form of special support for crypto products. But Tim Cook adding a cryptocurrency to his portfolio is actually a big deal.

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Cryptocurrency just like most other investments is a very risky venture, there’s unarguably a more pronounced risk when it comes to cryptocurrency. The often outrageous fluctuations and nerve-spinning volatility give it a good place amongst “a thousand ways to die in the west”…that wasn’t meant to scare you!

But whether you should consider bitcoin and cryptocurrency investment just because some popular names are invested in it is simply not advised. These popular people are regarded as smarter and more informed; but, making your own research and personal considerations have worked even better most times.

Blockchains are one of the most interesting inventions of the past couple of decades. The ability it poses and its numerous applications are certainly one to look out for. Cryptocurrencies aside, blockchains are one of the most advanced computing protocols which are unsurprisingly gaining mainstream attention.

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An immutable store of data, a flexible network for building almost anything on the internet, the list is endless. Venturing into the crypto space is as good as swimming in the oceans of blockchain technology, and getting used to what has been a tangible offset of traditional ways of data storage, internet, and finance…to mention a few. Regardless of the risks, these features should make you give it a try.

Even if the technology fails to impress you, it is hard to ignore the fact that cryptocurrency investments make mouth-watering returns. For investments in the last decades, cryptocurrencies have made the biggest return on investments, posting up to 20X gains.

The ‘fast money’ idea is surely an unhealthy one and an investor who really wishes to be successful in the crypto space must first get rid of this orientation and embrace the technology and avoid being over-expectant of their crypto bags. Regardless, there is an already proven fortune in cryptocurrency investment, but just like every good thing, this takes a lot of time and requires some good level of patience and persistence.

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To spice it all up, cryptocurrencies come with some enticing level of freedom and privacy in the management of your finance and the performance of some core financial activities. Probably this doesn’t sound so clear to you, but here in the crypto space ‘you are your own bank’, guess that sounds better! You don’t need a stockbroker to help you invest in cryptocurrencies, the simplicity makes it possible for a total noob to invest in cryptocurrency and manage this investment.

Now should you invest in bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency? Personally; I’d say yes, but that could be a very wrong source for your answers. You probably already own a few cryptocurrencies for different reasons…making some profits is a common one. Regardless of deep you are invested or will be investing in cryptocurrency, understanding the basics and making informed decisions is paramount. Albeit tons of compelling shills on the internet, an informed investor is healthier for the project and other investors too.

02/01/2023
Bitcoin is stronger with its ‘Taproot’

A couple of weeks ago; you could simply describe bitcoin as ‘a sophisticated payment technology’ and still make a whole lot of sense. Very reasonable when you consider the fact that the bitcoin blockchain which powers the alpha cryptocurrency is built to simplify peer-to-peer financial transactions while employing some very clever tokenomics and economic principles. Bitcoin maxis would easily frown when you describe their beloved investment this way; but yeah, I’m no maxi.

This description categorizes bitcoin as a payment technology. Sorry, but you can shake that idea off now.

Hello Ethereum! Not so soon anyways…guess I got too stoned by the thought of what can be achieved with bitcoin following its latest upgrade. More private transactions, increased efficiency, and of course smart…

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In case you missed the news; at block 709,632 the bitcoin taproot upgrade went live. Bringing into life what has been described as the biggest bitcoin upgrade since its inception the Taproot upgrade is the bitcoin blockchain’s first upgrade in the last four years. Over five months of thorough testing and optimization, the Taproot finally grows!

And if you’re still wondering how big this is for bitcoin and cryptocurrency, it is HUGE.

In addition to the current “Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm” (ECDSA), the Taproot upgrade introduces the “Schnorr signatures”. ECDSA creates a signature from the private key that controls a bitcoin wallet and ensures that bitcoin can only be spent by the rightful owner. When used to sign multiple-signature transactions, the Schnorr signature algorithm adds a privacy layer to multi-signature transactions.

‘Privacy layer’ might sound too complicated for what the Schnorr signature actually does. The Schnorr signature combines the signatories of a multiple-signature transaction into one signature. The individual signatories in this transaction are a little bit more ‘hidden’ as the transaction is represented with only one signature.

In addition to improved privacy for multi-sig transactions, the Schnorr signature can be used to significantly reduce the size of multi-sig payments and other multi-sig-related transactions, for example, lightning channel transactions. It not only makes these transactions more private and secure; but trimming the size of the transactions’ data makes for more efficiency in execution.

Smart contracts? Arguably the most important feature of the Taproot upgrade…

I’d say the Schnorr Signature is the real game-changer. Currently, smart contracts can be created on bitcoin’s core protocol layer and also on the Lightning Network. The lightning network is a payment platform built on bitcoin, it improves bitcoin transaction speed and enables almost instant transactions. Smart contracts on the Lightning Network are notably faster and less costly when compared to smart contracts on the bitcoin core blockchain.

By compressing multiple signatures into a single signature and greatly reducing the size of multiple signature transactions, the Taproot upgrade is set to add a whole new level of efficiency and speed to smart contracts on the bitcoin core blockchain and the lightning network as well.

An efficient smart contract platform with privacy features for multi-sig transactions unlocks more possibilities for the bitcoin blockchain. In a blink, you could think about a handful of new applications this could power.

With a ‘Taproot’; the bitcoin blockchain is stronger than it has ever been. Technologically this is a huge step forward. Bitcoin to 100k EOY? Well, ‘effect on price’ is not a yardstick for measuring technological breakthroughs. If it was, bitcoin climbing past $0.1 million would be an understatement.

02/01/2023
The 2022 Scripts: CryptocurrencyScripts Annual report!

You read through our content while we watched the charts and wrote even more. Not sure what the charts felt like, for you, but it’s generally not fun to watch the whole space weaken against a band of the worst financial news you ever heard. We could go on and on about how 2022 was a year to forget for the cryptocurrency markets, but since “it’s not about the money”, we will put that aside and detail you on how we fared this year!

Well, if the coffee hits the right spot, we might put out a 2022 summary. Hint: The title will be “Death to 2022”

CryptocurrencyScripts is “keeping up”; keeping up with events, with the bankruptcy, and hooking you up with these events in the most fun way, if you missed any of your 2022 publications, you can get to them here.

Closing in on what has been another amazing year for us, we did a couple of plausible stuff, and here’s a spoiler, We didn’t go bankrupt…at least not yet.

In 2022 we:

Didn’t stop writing

You know that popular where condition writers run out of ideas? We can’t really get the proper word for that but that’s because we didn’t experience it in 2022. One sentence after the other and we built quite a good number of words and put them out, one content after the other. We literally discussed crypto and wrote some nice scripts…they all played out!

Collaborated with other projects

CryptocurrencyScripts is powered by writers, as individual writers, and as a collective team, we have been involved in quite a reasonable number of projects. CryptocurrencyScripts in 2022 delivered content for cryptocurrency startups like Inocyx, Mosdex, Sleefi, CoinLore, MetaApes, and a few more. Affiliated writers have taken up writing roles at reputable cryptocurrency projects like CoinGecko, Gate exchange, Citizen (CTZN), OKX exchange, Tokenguard, and even more. We are excited to share our skills with other brilliant projects in the space!

Launched our official blog!

Yeah, have you seen this? The cryptocurrencyScripts blog is officially live! We are progressing with our goal of gaining a bigger internet presence and reaching out to even more readers with our content. As part of this goal, an official website has been added to our list of outlets. We will simultaneously maintain these channels and make additions and removals as the need may be. Visit and bookmark our official website!

Watched the charts

Like the space, we watched the charts. Unfortunately, we witnessed many meteorites fall. In fact, the whole charts look like fallen stars making their way to the center of the earth. The gravitational pull was fierce. Anyways, if Mr. Sam could post that $250 million bail, then he might also come back to save FTX and the whole space. He just needs 100X more.

Spent Quality time with you!

We develop our content like discussions, open opinions calling for arguments and criticisms and each time we post them, we get just what we want! A good number of readers raising their arguments in the comment sections and interacting with other readers; that’s exactly the plan! We spent a good time replying to the comments directed at us and reading the interaction! Time well-spent!

Awesome year! I heard you say that, but we are not relenting in our mission to keep you refreshed in a space that makes sure you don’t get any refreshments. Moving into another positive year, we hope to do better.

So, in 2023, we will:

Continue writing

As long as this space continues to welcome new developments every second, our pen will continue to flow. Even when we run out of ideas, the next pump or dump is already a good way to start. We promised to keep price talks at the minimum though. Nevermind, you won’t need to worry about our articles telling you about “the Next 1000X”. We will continue writing, you can count on that!

Continue to grow

In 2022, we saw a significant increase in external collaborations, as a team and individual writers. This is a positive development for our growth. We are exploring ways to disperse our services and grow the project itself. In 2023, we hope to come up with solutions and implement them. In addition, we are also ruminating on ways to improve readers’ experience and be even more resourceful to our audience. These we hope to tackle in the coming year.

Love to work with you

One of the main goals of CryptocurrencyScripts is to build around itself, a community. A community of people who wish to discuss cryptocurrency and not only “get rich quick” schemes. We hope to welcome our readers to our Telegram channel and grow as a discussion community without necessarily issuing tokens or going deep into monetization. Stay hooked with us and let us how we can improve on this!

What more can we say? Thank you! we are just a class of clueless writers building words on the internet. Our time in the space has been a beautiful one, this is only possible because you are devoted to giving us your attention. If you spent the whole year shorting cryptocurrencies, then you must be reading this from your Tesla Model Y, else, the public buses are still a fun thing…pun intended. Notwithstanding, we appreciate your contributions and see you in 2023!

Here’s a list of our outlets!

25/12/2022
Just like bitcoin, Ethereum is not an Altcoin.

Every cryptocurrency enthusiast holds bitcoin in high esteem. The market placed Ethereum just below it, can’t say the same for a majority of cryptocurrency investors. Despite occupying the second position, a wide gap exists between Bitcoin and Ethereum, in terms of market capitalization. Not considering ‘First to market privilege’, bitcoin’s prestige and the portion of the market it controls are quite justifiable. Revolutionary technology, a devoted community, and a long list of ‘copies. Furnishing the whole space, it has created a major ecosystem and every other cryptocurrency project benefit from its relevance; Speaking of which spreads across disciplines and school of thought. Politics, finance, governance, mathematics…the list is continuous.

Bitcoin’s breakthrough set off a spiral; exact copies and slightly modified copies of bitcoin’s code and functionality soon emerged. Just like the recent DeFi boom, these copies were simply bitcoin with a different name and tokenomics (probably). The term “Altcoin” was invented to accord these alternatives a more generalized name. A proper name in my opinion. An even funnier name — Shitcoin was invented by a growing community of bitcoin maximalists as a better definition of these bitcoin offspring. This group still exists and believes in the nothingness of every other cryptocurrency/blockchain project; a notion I disagree with but wouldn’t combat. Well; if we are being fair, the majority of altcoins fit perfectly into the ‘shitcoin’ description.

If you tried paying the least attention to Ethereum, the above story is familiar. Tons of ‘killers’; copying Ethereum exact code (almost) and running different consensus algorithms. These alternative projects have survived mainly off the fact that they offer a faster and cheaper platform than Ethereum’s Layer-1. Ethereum has resisted these competitions to remain the most used and ‘copied’ blockchain project. Apart from enjoying the ‘first to market’ benefits, Ethereum’s resistance to these competitions is majorly thanks to its brilliance, originality, the fact that it houses the most reputable projects pronounced instability of alternative projects; and thanks to a strong maximalist community.

“Originator of many things”, countless ‘copies’ and a strong maximalist community; these terms are peculiar to bitcoin and Ethereum…only. Both are in a league of their own; bitcoin controls a market capitalization of almost double Ethereum’s, but in terms of technological relevance, it is a close duel. Ethereum’s technological advancement is a level above bitcoin’s. OG bitcoiners would disagree, but even the recent tap root upgrade adopts some of Ethereum’s technology.

An alternative should share tangible similarities to the originator and improve on its core technology. This is the case with the numerous forks and copies of bitcoin. Pretty much ‘re-invented wheels’. This is the same with the uncountable Ethereum copies as well. Ethereum itself is a huge improvement and many steps away from bitcoin’s P2P technology.

Apart from recreating bitcoin’s decentralized value exchange system; Ethereum built a proper platform on the blockchain. A versatile platform of limitless potential. Smart contract and Decentralized application technology are novel and brainchild of Vitalik Buterin and his team of founders. Several projects have emerged separately to improve on this; basically working on improvements to the functionality and not the core technology itself. Even more, projects have been built directly on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum boasts the largest and most diverse blockchain ecosystem.

A personal opinion but bitcoin and Ethereum are the two most prestigious blockchain projects. Bitcoin has championed the political and economic revolution, a major factor keeping it afloat. Ethereum represents the biggest advancement in blockchain technology in terms of proper technology. Bitcoin maximalists frown at calling the orange coin ‘a cryptocurrency’; but placing Ethereum in the rank of an altcoin is an even bigger sin. Bitcoiners disagree; a big delusion.

25/12/2022
Greed will catalyze the next bull run

“Bull run comes around once in four years or just after a bitcoin halving”; I have my calendar set to July 2024; but just like my early morning alarms, I’m likely to miss it. Apart from the halving, the 2021 bull run was thought to be triggered by institutional adoption of bitcoin and cryptocurrency…at least that’s what they said. That’s not wrong anyways; Elon Musk dipped some of his Tesla money into bitcoin and spent most hours of his early 2021 days shouting “to the moon”. He’s deep in losses if he still holds on to those bitcoins. I hope DogeCoin is still very much around when his son grows up. He has a huge stash of some Dog coins to inherit…I heard. Not just the rocket man, even Tim cook applauded bitcoin at some point. If there’s anything like ‘Tech leaders’; these two guys should be somewhere up the list with Satoshi Nakamoto and Vitalik Buterin…of course. A worthy mention; Charles Hoskinson; you disagree…I know.

On speculations of institutional adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, a handful of enterprise-level cryptocurrency projects grew to sky-levels in just six months… or less. Social media did its bit, the hype was many levels above the propaganda. DeFi, GameFi, (and ‘MemeFi’) were the rave. Mark Zuckerberg was destined to have a huge influence on the crypto space. Despite failing with his ambitious Diem project, his Metaverse ambitions have been championed by pump-and-dump cryptocurrency projects. Elon Musk pioneered dog-themed shitcoins; Mark introduced a popular prefix for the next generation of Hype projects. Hats off to Elon though; billion-dollar projects came to life thanks to Dog tags.

For a bull run that was “catalyzed’ by institutional adoption”, even the most innovative cryptocurrencies struggled to make the top search lists in some of the world’s most technologically advanced nations. Bitcoin’s record-setting $67,500 price was just about 3 times its previous record. $100,000 was meant to be a deserved price. That didn’t happen, not when the ‘OGs’ were busy throwing their money on some moon and ‘inu’ tokens and the newbies were struggling to survive the rampant rug pulls. Clean, rinse, repeat; even Hwang Dong-hyuk ‘s Squid game birthed some notable cryptocurrency projects. You can find them languishing in almost zero trading volume while their creators make a living off those funds pulled off the rug.

Simply put, the previous bull run was triggered by Greed. No, not ‘institutional investors’. Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey have always been pro-bitcoin and never hid their appreciation for the technology. Micheal Saylor has always channeled that MicroStrategy money into the orange coin and JP Morgan didn’t start talking about cryptocurrencies two years ago. The halving cycle and the institutional investors’ propaganda only triggered human greed which subsequently caused a hurricane of ‘dumb money’ thrown at everything that runs on a blockchain.

Once it runs on a blockchain, then it’s the future. It was that simple, yet funny. Even the blue-chip projects had huge loopholes in their technology and management. But it’s hard to care one bit when you have a moon flight to catch. DogeCoin raced to $0.7 per coin despite over 130 billion coins in circulation. This wasn’t because it “had a better economy than bitcoin” but because this exact statement was made by the richest man on earth and a lifelong fan of the fun token. Calling the tenth biggest cryptocurrency a ‘fun token’ feels odd anyways.

Like a beast unleashed, the whole space ran haywire. Frequent rug pulls couldn’t quench the raging greed from a horde of investors. When one 1000X project crashes, another is born. It only takes one popular influencer or music star and the gains start to roll in.

An almost exact scenario as the 2017 bull run. We thought that won’t repeat itself; it did…even worse. Taking a look at the 2017 raves that were short-lived, 2017 investors had way less greed. Investors were supposed to be more informed with time; turns out this wasn’t the case. The crypto space is a field of emotions; greed being the principal emotion. The ‘Bigger fool’ theory works here; no doubt.

The next bull run? Not sure the exact time that will come, but it will come when there is enough greed. If there are any handy metrics to watch, it’s the greed and fear index; not the halving or institutional investments…if that was ever a thing.

25/12/2022
Polygon’s ZKEVM promises scalability and compatibility with Ethereum blockchain.

Polygon had a Bullrun type of move over the past week, they’ve got a lot going on and the market reflects that. Nailwal and his team are obviously killing it. At least, Paulo and his Tether team now have a new platform to print the ‘all important’ USDT. Not trying to throw shades…just stating the obvious. In the middle of a strong bull run; that move was quite impressive, but it wasn’t without a trigger. Polygon had announced an announcement.

Well, cut the wait…if you did wait at all. Polygon is launching a scaling solution for Ethereum. Ethereum’s inability to scale has turned out to be a good business itself. A handful of projects only exist because you might have to pay over $20 to execute a smart contract transaction on Ethereum mainnet, and sometimes more…or less. Optimism, Arbitrum, Binance smart chain, Fantom opera chain, Avalanche, and Polygon itself; you’ll be making up a huge list if you attempt to mention every multi-billion-dollar projects that are relevant because Ethereum is slow, heavy…and boring. The mainnet itself might not scale anytime soon, but these fixes and alternatives are somewhat more efficient. Fast and cheap; the common features.

One other thing in common; they sacrifice decentralization and security. The blockchain trilemma. When some of these cross chains aren’t halted by the validators, they are incredibly fast and could execute smart contract transactions for a few cents. The constant on-chain mishaps and halts defeat the goal of sovereignty and decentralization. Polygon’s Zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine (ZKEVM) will leverage layer-2 technology to develop an efficient scaling solution for Ethereum that maintains Ethereum blockchain-level security.

Layer-2 scaling solution is a collection of infrastructures designed to take the bulk of your activities on the Ethereum blockchain away from the main net. Moving away from the main net and utilizing scalability infrastructures gives projects built on layer-2 certain clear-cut advantages.

Leveraging cleverly built resources, Layer-2 projects are building sustainable facilities on the decentralized layer of the most used and innovative blockchain to date. This fast-growing space is welcoming completely new projects as well as existing projects delving into the second layer to build a more efficient version of their products.

ZKRollup speeds up smart-contract transactions and offers a cheaper transaction cost by mass validating transactions. Transaction validation is hence simplified and facilitated as a huge number of transactions are validated at once. ZK-Rollups play the ‘exit game’ ingeniously and perfect the shift from Ethereum’s congested layer-1 while ensuring better functionality than the closely related ‘optimistic rollups’.

We knew that Ethereum needed to scale. We knew that ZK Proofs were the best way to do so. We knew that EVM-equivalence was the secret sauce that would empower both devs and users. So we built Polygon zkEVM, the next giant leap for Ethereum.

Polygon’s ZKEVM is compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine; developers on Ethereum can easily port their projects or build new ones on Polygon’s ZKEVM without necessarily making changes to their codes or having to learn a new coding language. Polygon’s ZKEVM will go live, pending completion of public testing.

25/12/2022
The Saga: Solana is building a blockchain-based smartphone.

A blockchain-powered smartphone is a popular topic, despite not being in relevant existence. A topic of widespread discussions and rumors over the years. Building the core functionalities of a smart device on the blockchain is expected to add a layer of privacy, security, anonymity, and overall improved performance. Relative to contemporary gadgets; a device built around the blockchain should have more flexible support for the decentralized web, seamless value exchange facilities, and other provisions of blockchain technology. While many blockchain enthusiasts will be expecting top-level immutability in a blockchain-focused smartphone; everything about a blockchain phone has been mere speculation…a Saga.

Looks like we are close to the end of a long-running Saga.

Privacy-focused tech company — Osom, has announced that it would be partnering with a popular blockchain project — Solana to produce Solana Saga; a blockchain-focused smartphone built on the Solana blockchain. Solana Saga is an improvement from Osom’s OV1 which was expected to be released later this year. As part of the partnership; Solana Saga will be released with core functionalities built on the Solana blockchain.

When not switched off by the validators; Solana is a super-fast blockchain featuring support for smart contracts and decentralized applications. Dubbed ‘Ethereum killer’ (a name it shares with tons of other similar projects), Solana presents faster and cheaper transactions relative to the Ethereum blockchain. Thanks to an overall improved throughput; Solana boasts a rich ecosystem with a handful of reputable projects, mostly NFT and DeFi projects.

Working on the Solana Saga, the blockchain project will be looking to team up with the Osom team and integrate Solana blockchain into the core functionalities of the device. Efficient support for Web3 applications will surely be the main feature of the Solana Saga. Osom is already hands-on with privacy as a feature, they will be looking to develop blockchain-level privacy with the Solana team.

Solana Saga will run on Android OS and flaunt some impressive memory and processor features. 512GB storage memory and 12GB RAM; Solana Saga fits into the everyday smartphone user’s memory capacity cravings. A big 6.6-inch screen and a 50MP rear camera quality. Saga will come with some pretty attractive features and bodywork as well. It is expected to be rolled out in 2023 with pre-orders underway already.

Well, my opinion probably doesn’t even matter; Just like the Solana coin, Solana Saga will be surely swooped by a sea of buyers. Part of the perks includes an NFT, I’d expect an NFT sort of craving for the new Solana phone. With Sam and his co ‘researchers’ from the Alameda group putting their weight behind any Solana project, there’s surely enough purchasing power on the way.

A mobile phone project for a blockchain that “is still in its beta-testing phase” is an audacious move…unarguably. A dollar for every time Solana blockchain goes off would make anyone rich; pun intended. Solana’s instability and regular outages are a bigger problem than the scalability issues it claims to solve. Albeit relatively young and obviously brilliant, Solana developers still have a long way to go in developing their blockchain to industry standards. A mobile phone project is somewhere down in the hierarchy in terms of relevance. Any true enthusiast will choose a stable and secure Solana blockchain over a Solana smartphone. $1000 for Solana Saga even makes this decision more likely.

Anyways, “numbers go up”; anything to bring this to fruition is considered fair in the crypto space. Osom probably received much-needed funding as part of the deal. Pushing back productions and overhauling functionalities to integrate web3 support isn’t an easy decision. However, this partnership could afford to wait. A stable and more reputable blockchain fits in better. Solana might satisfy the latter, but can’t say the same about the former. At least, the beta testing stage should be done first.

If the crypto space and the world is ready for a blockchain smartphone is uncertain too. We are hardly ever ready, but penetrating a blockchain phone into the gadget market will take some advanced effort and marketing skills. While Solana might have financial strength, it goes beyond that.

Solana’s price shot up 30% on the announcement; it’s fair to say that the first goal was achieved. The big doubt is on the success of the Solana Saga in penetrating the market and functioning to users’ taste…this is even more important. There should be a backup plan in case the Solana blockchain goes off unexpectedly (or expectedly); they will be needing that…a lot. Not technical advice though, I’ll be looking forward to Saga too.

25/12/2022
2022 Bear market: The ‘Big players’ ruined the game.

“Your last chance to buy bitcoin at $30K” may sound like a failed prediction, but on a second and deeper thought, your favorite influencer and ‘trader’ might be right. Judging from recent events, bitcoin at 30k is a huge target and is growing further every day. “Plan B” might have gotten his $100,000 bitcoin prediction wrong, but he’ll have more issues if he actually followed his own analysis and bought through them. Most influencers are too clever to follow their own predictions anyways. No jibe about his brilliance anyways, his analyses are still reasonable. Unfortunately, the crypto market hardly follows ‘fundamentals’

Bitcoin was close to some historic values. $69,000 would have been an orgasmic figure, things like that don’t happen too often…naturally. A slow and rather disappointing regression followed; hitting lower points and breaking downward resistances, bitcoin’s off-brake downtrend pulled the rest of the crypto market into a great depression. The bull market looked all synthetic; the market always looked programmed, but this time it was close to obvious. A total market capitalization of $5 trillion was realistic. If bitcoin reached the $100,000 target, that would have been easily possible…

Everyone is a hero in a bull market. Billion-dollar meme coin projects, tons of high-profile airdrops, invincible traders, and ‘rich folks’. The buzz was felt worldwide; Peter Schiff tried to warn everyone and squeeze in his gold superiority arguments along the line. Wasn’t a really good time for him; can’t say the same about the current situation.

Under the flourishing market, a number of projects rose to absolute fame and reveled in bitcoin’s glory to create wealth…and a little bit of utility. Corny developers had their feast and quickly filled the space with tons of projects built in the shortest time by a team of rookies who joined the space when Elon Musk was riding his doge to the moon. Heard he’s got a court case to attend to in that respect. Well, the dogefather went from moon to court, not a bad move…at all. I’m certain he has enough wits to pull that one off, easily.

Elon’s SNL session marked the absolute top for bitcoin and dogeCoin. I’m forever skeptical about the “to the moon” slogan. Things gradually went from bright to dim and the bandwagon of mainstream artists claiming to have adopted blockchain technology quickly began to disperse. Lil Yachty and Soulja Boy made more from their shills than they ever made from jumping in and out of the booth. Making money has never been so easy. ‘Lil Boat’ never bothered to release an album since then. I wouldn’t blame him though, his last one was forgotten too quickly and he certainly has more people listening to his shills than his mumble raps.

Do Kwon at the peak of his wealth might be worth a few billion, but his ego was worth many times that figure. It’s logical anyways, USDC was meant to die by his hands; the reverse was the case but he did put up a good fight. Unfortunately, LUNA investors took all the hit while he was left to worry about a strange knock on his door. The Luna2.0 incentive must have saved him from more strange knocks. Airdrop recipients who managed to sell at launch probably made some of their money back. Can’t say the same about those who held on. The new Luna is 90% down already, and the old Luna…you’ll need a stick to count the zeros. All good, it was fun while it lasted.

A few friends were comfortably living off the returns they got on the bitcoin they locked on Celsius’ lending platform. The temperature quickly got too hot and it was all close to melting. Don’t know the exact degree but somewhere above the boiling point of water. Celsius claimed to be decentralized, but just like my bank, users’ funds were locked when the market conditions became ‘unfavorable’. Alright, they offered more returns than my bank anyways, so I’d still stick to the juicier offer, even if it means risking being liquidated along with the rest of the market.

3AC? A very long story I’d love to skip…

While traders’ and investors’ greed rose to its highest levels; developers’ and project teams’ egos and arrogance also grew to similar levels. You could get the coldest replies for suggesting a fix for some discovered bugs. Who cares about bugs and fixes when prices are going haywire and investors are rugged slowly and swiftly? The big players in the space basked in the health market to fill up their pockets and cared less about the feasibility of their solutions and the sustainability of their strategies.

The real argument is if they had any strategy at all. LUNA and UST’s collapse probably clouded a lot of events, but a few other stablecoins got pretty unstable. Justin Sun mastered the act of following the trend; USDD was basically born in an attempt to bring the Luna sort of price growth to the Tron ecosystem. USDD was in no way an improvement from UST. Just another copy facing the same issue. In Mr. Sun’s case, $600 million is an easier war to fight. USDD stays de-pegged for a number of days now. His Excellency will ultimately do something when his stablecoin gets to the same price as Cardano.

It’s another situation where I find enough reason to justify bitcoin maximalists’ stand on altcoins and any other thing apart from bitcoin. The orange coin’s tragic fall to $17,000 is a result of these irregularities from ‘shitcoin’ projects. that name has never been more proper. Microstrategy will have to bear their losses for now while Elon Musk gets himself a lawyer, there are a few hundred billion on the line. The rest of the space will have to hope we don’t fall into a proper “great depression”

25/12/2022