bitcoins – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Armed robbers steal $1.8 million worth of cryptocurrency

The Manhattan District Attorney has charged a man with robbery and kidnapping after he swiped a digital wallet containing a fortune in ethereum cryptocurrency. Louis Meza and an associate allegedly held up the victim at gunpoint after luring him into a vehicle, then stole his keys, wallet and cellphone. Meza used the keys to enter the victim’s apartment and make off with his digital wallet. Shortly afterwards, he transferred $1.8 million in “ether” cryptocurrency to his own wallet. According to the DA’s press release, Meza knew the victim and knew he had a large amount of ethereum. After meeting the victim on the evening of November 4th, “Meza insisted on ordering a car service for the victim, who entered a minivan after parting ways with Meza, ” the DA stated. The perpetrator was also charged with computer tampering, criminal possession of stolen property, and computer trespass. The DA notes that the crime is a vivid illustration that hacking isn’t the only way crooks can get their hands on your Bitcoins and other crypto-cash. “This case demonstrates the increasingly common intersection between cyber and violent crime, ” said NY County District Attorney Cyrus Vance. “We can expect this type of crime to become increasingly common as cryptocurrency values surge upward.” Via: Coindesk Source: New York County District Attorney

A brief history of Bitcoin hacks and frauds

Enlarge (credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images ) There’s a lot of excitement about Bitcoin right now, with the value of the cryptocurrency recently soaring above $11,000—more than 10 times its value at the start of the year. This has caused many people to wonder if they should be getting involved in the Bitcoin craze. But it’s important to keep in mind that participating in the Bitcoin economy comes with big risks. Over the years, the Bitcoin world has been plagued by hacks, scams, and abusive practices. Users who don’t take appropriate precautions can lose everything. Here we present a short history of the Bitcoin world’s most significant scams and hacks. It’s worth noting that all of these attacks were against Bitcoin-related services, not the core Bitcoin software. As far as we know, the Bitcoin network itself is highly secure, though of course that’s little comfort if you entrust your bitcoins to a third party who gets hacked. Read 25 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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A brief history of Bitcoin hacks and frauds

Did Mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki Invent Bitcoin?

It’s hard not to be curious about the true identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, since he or she basically just stuck around on the internet long enough to introduce Bitcoin/get everyone all riled up and then disappeared. But Ted Nelson, the sociologist who invented the term “hypertext,” thinks he knows who Nakamoto really is, and in the video below he calls out Japanese mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki . Read more…

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Did Mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki Invent Bitcoin?

How a Bitcoin Transaction Actually Works

At this point, you probably have a working understanding of what bitcoins are (at the very least your handle of bitcoins is like how you can kinda, sorta explain why the sky is blue to a kid). But how does an actual transaction with bitcoins work? That’s a bit more complicated. It’s not exactly pulling crumpled cash out your pocket and dropping it off at the bodega counter for a soda now is it? Read more…