Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: finance – Page 140

Wallet Security: Cloud/Exchange Services

3½ years ago, I wrote a Bitcoin wallet safety primer for Naked Security, a newsletter by Sophos, the European antivirus lab. Articles are limited to just 500 hundred words, and so my primer barely conveyed a mindset—It outlined broad steps for protecting a Bitcoin wallet.

In retrospect, that article may have been a disservice to digital currency novices. For example, did you know that a mobile text message is not a good form of two-factor authentication? Relying on SMS can get your life savings wiped out. Who knew?!

With a tip of the hat to Cody Brown, here is an online wallet security narrative that beats my article by a mile. Actually, it is more of a warning than a tutorial. But, read it closely. Learn from Cody’s misfortune. Practice safe storage. If you glean anything from the article, at least do this:

  • Install Google Authenticator. Require it for any online account with stored value. If someone hijacks your phone account, they cannot authenticate an exchange or wallet transaction—even with Authenticator.
  • Many exchanges (like Coinbase) offer a “vault”. Sweep most of your savings into the vault instead of the daily-use wallet. This gives you time to detect a scam or intrusion and to halt withdrawals. What is a vault? In my opinion, it is better than a paper wallet! Like a bank account, it is a wallet administered by a trusted vendor, but with no internet connection and forced access delay.

Exchange and cloud users want instant response. They want to purchase things without delay and they want quick settlement of currency exchange. But online wallets come with great risk. They can be emptied in an instant. It is not as difficult to spoof your identity as you may think (Again: Read Cody’s article below!)

Some privacy and security advocates insist on taking possession and control of their wallet. They want wealth printed out and tucked under the mattress. Personally, I think this ‘total-control’ methodology yields greater risk than a trusted, audited custodial relationship with constant updates and best practice reviews.

In case you want just the basics, here is my original wallet security primer. It won’t give you everything that you need, but it sets a tone for discipline, safety and a healthy dollop of fear.

Philip Raymond co-chairs Crypsa & Bitcoin Event, columnist & board member at Lifeboat, editor
at WildDuck and will deliver the keynote address at Digital Currency Summit in Johannesburg.

Billionaire Entrepreneur says Longevity is the Next ‘money fountain’

UK billionaire investor believes rejuvenation biotechnology will be the next mega-industry.

Many of you may already know about billionaire entrepreneur Jim Mellon and his interest in rejuvenation biotechnology. But for those of you who do not, we would like to introduce you to him and his exciting work.

About Jim Mellon

Jim Mellon is an entrepreneur and investor with interests in several sectors. He also holds a Master’s degree from Oxford in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. From the mid 1980s he worked as a fund manager in Asia and later in the United States until founding his own company in 1991. Jim is the Co-Chairman of Regent Pacific Group Limited, Chairman of Manx Financial Group plc, Chairman of Plethora Solutions Holdings plc, and Chairman of Port Erin Biopharma Investments Limited. He is also a non-executive director of Charlemagne Capital Limited, Condor Gold plc; West African Minerals Corporation; Kuala Innovations Limited and 3Legs Resources plc; and is also a director of Portage Biotech Inc. Jim has been in the top 10% in the Sunday Times Rich List for several years.

Read more

Zoltan Istvan: The Economy Of The Future Will Be Powered By Neural Lace

A write-up on about neural lace and the future economy: https://altleft.host/zoltan-istvan-the-economy-of-the-future…ural-lace/ #transhumanism

Zoltan Istvan, a leading Transhuman, shows us that the economic system of Technocracy needs Transhuman citizens to make it work. This is not surprising because Transhumanism and Technocracy are two sides of the same coin. ⁃ TN Editor.

The battle for the “soul” of the global economy is underway. The next few decades will likely decide whether capitalism survives or is replaced with a techno-fuelled quasi-socialism where robots do most of the jobs while humans live off government support, likely a designated guaranteed or basic income.

Many experts believe wide-scale automation is inevitable. Even the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, recently announced it’s building an AI to replace its managers, many of whom are highly educated and previously thought invulnerable to automation. Robots, it seems, will manage everything. Or will they?

A next-generation technology, likely to arrive in five to 10 years, is being credited as the saviour of capitalism. Known today as neural prosthetics, or neural lace, it’s essentially tech that reads your brainwaves. This tech promises to connect our brains to the cloud and AI to link us with machines using thought alone.

Read more

Catapult joins over 1,000 delegates at the UK Space Conference in Manchester

Today sees the launch of the biennial UK Space Conference, taking place at Manchester Central, from 30 May through to 1 June. This year’s conference is designed to inspire, enable and connect the UK and international space community.

The multiple plenary and parallel sessions feature informative and interactive presentations, workshops and debates covering a wide range of topics from space science through to how satellite data is being used by many industries here on Earth. The programme has been designed to provide a compelling forum to discuss the changing economic and technological landscape impacting the UK space sector.

Stuart Martin, CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult, said: “The UK Space Conference provides an invaluable opportunity for those involved or interested in the space sector to gain up-to-date information, network with peers, establish new contacts, exchange information and improve links with government, industry, academia, customers, suppliers, and the financial community.

Read more

I gave the Co-Closing Keynote speech at San Francisco’s The Battery the other day to ultra high net worth families and their finance managers

My topic was #transhumanism and life extension. I’m hoping they might invest in these fields. Former Keynote speakers of this event include Newt Gingrich, Peter Thiel, Andre Agassi, etc. I’ll share a recording of it when I get one. http://familyofficeassociation.com/

Read more

Bitcoin closes in on (US) $2000; Why it matters

At the beginning of 2016, Bitcoin was fairly steady at $430. Richelle Ross predicted that it would finish the year at $650. She would have been right, if the year had ended in November. During 2016, Bitcoin’s US dollar exchange rose from $433 to $1000. In the past 2 months (March 24~May 20, 2017), Bitcoin has tacked on 114%, rising from $936 to $2000. [continue below image]…

If this were stock in a corporation, I would recommend liquidating or cutting back on holdings. But the value of Bitcoin is not tied to the future earnings or property value of an organization. In this case, supply demand is fueled—in part—by speculation. Yes, of course. But, it is also fueled by a two-sided network built on the growing base of utilitarian adoption. And not just an adoption fad, but adoption that mirrors the shift in our very understanding of bookkeeping, trust and transparency.

Despite problems of growth, governance and regulation, Bitcoin is more clearly taking its place as the future of money. Even if it never becomes “legal tender” in any country—and is used only as a mechanism of payments and settlement, it is still woefully undervalued. $2000 is not an end-game. It is a beginning.

Philip Raymond co-chairs Crypsa & The Bitcoin Event. He is columnist & board member at Lifeboat Foundation,
editor at WildDuck and is delivering the keynote address at the 2017 Digital Currency Summit in Johannesburg.

Your art degree might save you from automation, an AI expert says

When machines control all the world’s finances and run factory floors, what will humans be left to do?

We’ll make art, says Kai-Fu Lee, a former Google and Microsoft executive who has since launched VC firm Sinovation Ventures.

“Art and beauty is very hard to replicate with AI. Given AI is more objective, analytical, data driven, maybe it’s time for some of us to switch to the humanities, liberal arts, and beauty,” Lee told Quartz editor-in-chief Kevin Delaney during a live Q&A session. “Maybe professions where it’s hard to find a job might be good to study.”

Read more

Android Pay adds support for 71 more banks and merchants

Android Pay keeps growing its network of supported institutions. The mobile payment system added as many as 71 new places where you can carry out Android Pay transactions. The complete list of new additions is available at the end of the article.

With Android Pay, both your credit card and the institution that services it must be compatible in order for the system to function. Google keeps adding new banks and merchants in order to increase its range of support. Once set up, the system works by simply tapping your phone on a payments terminal at the store. The functionality is also available in Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches.

Recently, Android Pay was updated with PayPal integration, enabling users to pay quickly using their PP balance. The service is available in 13 countries across the world.

Read more