Category: Tech

Elon and the Absurdity of Bitcoin

Elon Musk is considered by fools to be among the smartest people alive. He will be discussed as though he has the intellect of Nikola Tesla, combined with the ability to create products of Thomas Edison. This towering intellect is a facade built on the willingness of others to continue to propagate the myth, and … Continue reading Elon and the Absurdity of Bitcoin →

A Rant About Coinbase ‘Media’ and Coinbase ‘Fact’ ‘Checking’

Photo by brotiN biswaS on Pexels.com Protos reported that Coinbase was aggressively looking for a 'top media editor'. It clearly seems intended for Coinbase to build up a content marketing team that will help them manage their own image. https://protos.com/coinbase-crypto-exchange-media-content-marketing-journalism/ http://web.archive.org/web/20210529221305/https://protos.com/coinbase-crypto-exchange-media-content-marketing-journalism/ Now I can hear your objections already, that perhaps I am being too harsh … Continue reading A Rant About Coinbase ‘Media’ and Coinbase ‘Fact’ ‘Checking’ →

The 2015 Bitstamp, 2015 Bitfinex, and 2017 Tether Hacks are Connected

Note: An earlier version of this article contained a version of this diagram with a minor typo. Acknowledgements: I would not have been able to complete this as thoroughly as I did without building off existing work. It needs to be pointed out that years ago u/SpeedflyChris (archive) pointed out these same connections. I also … Continue reading The 2015 Bitstamp, 2015 Bitfinex, and 2017 Tether Hacks are Connected →

Guest Lecture at WHU – An Introduction to Bitfinex and Tether

UPDATE: I MAKE THE CLAIM THAT BITFINEX LIED ABOUT OWNING TETHER, THIS IS TRUE BUT I WANTED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT HERE Recently I was asked to do a guest lecture on Bitfinex and Tether. You can find it here: https://whu.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?tid=f0fca2e9-f79e-4f81-b659-acd30078104e YouTube version: https://youtu.be/jGl6XKv4k0E My uploaded version: You can find the slides here. You can … Continue reading Guest Lecture at WHU – An Introduction to Bitfinex and Tether →

A Timeline of Deeply Conflicted Tether Transactions

On November 1st 2018 Tether proudly proclaimed that they were once again banked, this time with Deltec Bank in the Bahamas (archive). This announcement included a letter (my copy) (archive) signed by someone associated with Deltec that stated that Tether had a 'portfolio cash value' of $1,831,322,828 on October 31st. This suggested to all that … Continue reading A Timeline of Deeply Conflicted Tether Transactions →

My Appearance on The Blockchain Debate podcast with Larry Cermak and Patrick McKenzie

You can find it here. I had a ton of fun recording this podcast, however, due to time constraints I was not able to get to all my notes on whether or not Tether acts in good faith. I would like to summarize a few of the things I was not able to get to … Continue reading My Appearance on The Blockchain Debate podcast with Larry Cermak and Patrick McKenzie →

Predictions and Outcomes

At one point I tried to learn about a token called Kimchi. That token no longer has any volume or value to speak of. I decided to summarize some facts about the failed crypto entrepreneur Jacob Kostecki. Today, the class action lawsuit against him has entered default judgement. I wrote about a deeply exploitive scam … Continue reading Predictions and Outcomes →

A List of Funds/Companies who Fundraised Through Havelock Investments

NOTE: THIS MAY BE UPDATED OR CHANGED AS I DEVELOP A BETTER PICTURE OF OWNERSHIP OF THESE COMPANIES, UPDATES WILL BE LABELED AS SUCH. Havelock Investments was an early platform in the cryptocurrency space that allowed for a variety of companies to fundraise. Havelock Investments was purchased by the Panama Fund, S.A. in 2013. The … Continue reading A List of Funds/Companies who Fundraised Through Havelock Investments →

An Introduction to the Tether/Bitfinex Controversy

I RECENTLY RE-WROTE AND RE-WORKED THIS ARTICLE, YOU CAN FIND THE IMPROVED VERSION HERE. https://bennettftomlin.com/2021/08/08/tether-and-bitfinex-introduction/ https://anchor.fm/s/297d9b4/podcast/rss https://youtu.be/1bWegLXn7Mc Bitfinex is one of the historically largest Bitcoin exchanges and Tether is by far the largest stablecoin. Each potentially has significant influence over the industry on their own, and their interconnectedness makes this more of a concern. However, … Continue reading An Introduction to the Tether/Bitfinex Controversy →