"All the World's a Stage We Pass Through" R. Ayana

Friday, 3 June 2011

What Happens When Anonymous Gets a Bank?


What Happens When Anonymous Gets a Bank?

by Dominic Basulto

Anonymous_bitcoin

The same people who brought you Wikileaks are back, and this time, they've created a virtual currency called Bitcoin that could destabilize the entire global financial system. Bitcoin is an open-source virtual currency generated by a computer algorithm that is completely beyond the reach of financial intermediaries, central banks and national tax collectors. Bitcoins could be used to purchase anything, at any time, from anyone in the world, in a transaction process that it is almost completely frictionless. Yes, that's right, the hacktivists now have a virtual currency that's untraceable, unhackable, and completely Anonymous.

And that's where things start to get interesting. Veteran tech guru Jason Calacanis recently called Bitcoin the most dangerous open source project he's ever seen. TIME suggested that Bitcoin might be able to bring national governments and global financial institutions to their knees. You see, Bitcoin is as much a political statement as it is a virtual currency.

If you think there's a shadow banking system now, wait a few more months. The political part is that, unlike other virtual currencies like Facebook Credits (used to buy virtual sock puppets for your friends), Bitcoins are globally transferrable across borders, making them the perfect instrument to finance any cause or any activity -- even if it's banned by a sovereign government.

You don't need a banking or trading account to buy and trade Bitcoins - all you need is a laptop. They're like bearer bonds combined with the uber-privacy of a Swiss bank account, mixed together with a hacker secret sauce that stores them as 1's and 0's on your computer. They're "regulated" (to use the term lightly) by distributed computers around the world. Most significantly, Bitcoins can not be frozen or blocked or taxed or seized.

Julian_assangeThink back to the very peak of the Wikileaks Affair, when financial institutions were blocking payments to and from bank accounts controlled by Julian Assange and Wikileaks. This then precipitated a wave of hacktivist attacks on financial institutions ranging from Bank of America to Mastercard to Visa. Anybody who attempted to stop Wikileaks was slammed with massive denial-of-service attacks that had people seriously concerned about the fate of the world's financial system. That was just the amuse-bouche.

Theoretically, you could start generating Bitcoins right now on your laptop by putting a sophisticated computer algorithm to work. (Watch this video segment from Jason Calacanis for all the details)

Right now, there are six million Bitcoins in circulation, trading at an average value of $6.70 each. $40 million is a lot of money, but a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. After all, trillions of dollars trade hands each day in the spot FX markets. However, remember that computer algorithm I mentioned earlier? Well, it controls the value of all those Bitcoins in circulation. The greater the demand, the higher the value of the Bitcoins. Within years, we could be talking about billions of dollars' worth of Bitcoins in circulation. Money might not grow on trees, but now it grows on your laptop.

Keyser-sozeThere are so many fascinating angles to this that even the digitally-savvy folks at Boing Boing have had a hard time wrapping their heads around Bitcoin. Quite frankly, it sounds like something out of a James Bond movie: a group of shadowy individuals attempt to bring the world's financial system to its knees. The founder of the Bitcoin open source project, Satoshi Nakamoto, hasn't been heard from in months, but other leaders of the open source movement have taken over. (People really aren't sure if a Satoshi Nakamoto really exists -- he's more like a Keyser Soze figure right now).

What's fascinating is that anybody can download an 8-page PDF explaining this P2P virtual currency system and judge for themselves if it makes sense -- just be prepared to work through some differential calculus and probability theory.

Lisbeth-salanderCan any government do anything about Bitcoin? Well, the hacktivists like to point to the example of P2P distributed systems like Bit Torrent or The Pirate Bay. What happened then? Nobody has been able to consistently shut them down. So... back to our original question: What happens when Anonymous gets a bank? Well, it's worth re-reading the final chapter of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, where Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander single-handedly re-routes hundreds of millions of dollars around the world and brings down a huge billion dollar corporation, all without leaving an electronic fingerprint. Truth, it seems, may soon be stranger than fiction.


From http://bigthink.com/ideas/38488



For further enlightening information enter a word or phrase into the search box @  New Illuminati:

@  http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com (or click on any label/tag at the bottom of the page for direct references)

And see

The Her(m)etic Hermit - http://hermetic.blog.com





This material is published under Creative Commons Copyright (unless an individual item is declared otherwise by copyright holder) – reproduction for non-profit use is permitted & encouraged, if you give attribution to the work & author - and please include a (preferably active) link to the original along with this notice. Feel free to make non-commercial hard (printed) or software copies or mirror sites - you never know how long something will stay glued to the web – but remember attribution! If you like what you see, please send a tiny donation or leave a comment – and thanks for reading this far…

From the New Illuminati – http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com

26 comments:

  1. For one thing, the Spanic government arrests 'Anonymous' members...

    ReplyDelete
  2. The sentiment for manufacturing is improving and facility investment is also increasing. Facility investment in April rose 16.8% year-on-year, up 7.3 percentage points from the previous month (9.5%). Machinery is leading facility investment by increasing 23.9%, focusing on semiconductor-related special industrial machinery (43.6%) and general machinery (34.2%). Capital goods imports also rose 16.1 percent in May, a leading indicator.
    사설토토

    ReplyDelete
  3. Increased facility investment is the biggest sign of economic recovery. This is because if companies expand their production capacity, employment and private consumption usually increase with a certain time difference. 토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  4. However, the recovery of construction investment has been delayed, with construction feasibility recording -1.8% in April due to disruptions in supply and demand of construction materials such as steel.
    먹튀검증

    ReplyDelete
  5. Consumer sentiment has improved and retail sales have continued to rise high. Retail sales in April rose 8.6 percent year-on-year, recording a high growth rate following March (10.9 percent). Durable goods (7.7%) and non-durable goods (4.2%) are showing good flow, while semi-durable goods have increased by 22% due to the base effect. In May, the consumer sentiment index rose three points to 105.2 points from April (102.2). 검증업체

    ReplyDelete
  6. Inequality in supply and demand of raw materials and intermediate materials and rising prices are cited as factors that are unstable in economic recovery. "There is a possibility that production in the manufacturing and construction industries may be temporarily restricted due to disruptions in supply and demand of construction materials such as automotive semiconductors and steel," the KDI said. "The surge in raw material prices, including oil prices, is working as inflationary pressure."
    스포츠중계

    ReplyDelete
  7. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a plan to innovate LH of Korea Land and Housing Corporation, which caused controversy by employees participating in land speculation in the third new city. We decided to deprive public housing site surveys and reduce the number of people by more than 20%, but the reorganization plan, which was supposed to be "dismantled," delayed the announcement.
    토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi, Neat post. There's a problem together with your site in web explorer, would check this?
    IE still is the market chief and a good part of other people will miss your excellent writing
    due to this problem.

    Look at my page :: 휴게텔


    ReplyDelete
  9. Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here!
    It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained!강남안마


    ReplyDelete
  10. This is the perfect post.안전놀이터 It helped me a lot. If you have time, I hope you come to my site and share your opinions. Have a nice day.


    ReplyDelete
  11. This is an excellent post I seen thanks to share it. It is really what I wanted to see hope in future you will continue for sharing such a excellent post. Feel free to visit my website;

    야설

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have read your excellent post. This is a great job. I have enjoyed reading your post first time. I want to say thanks for this post. Thank you… Feel free to visit my website;
    일본야동


    ReplyDelete
  13. 사설토토사이트4 December 2021 at 21:53

    Of course, your article is good enough, 사설토토사이트 but I thought it would be much better to see professional photos and videos together. There are articles and photos on these topics on my homepage, so please visit and share your opinions.


    ReplyDelete
  14. 크레이지슬롯15 December 2021 at 19:12

    I am very impressed with your writing크레이지슬롯 I couldn't think of this, but it's amazing! I wrote several posts similar to this one, but please come and see!


    ReplyDelete
  15. 카지노사이트19 December 2021 at 13:20

    Don't go past my writing! Please read my article only once. Come here and read it once"카지노사이트


    ReplyDelete
  16. It’s really a great and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing. Feel free to visit my website; 한국야동


    ReplyDelete
  17. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon everyday. It’s always useful to read through content from other authors and use something from other sites. Feel free to visit my website;
    국산야동

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi there, You have done an excellent job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this web site. Feel free to visit my website; 일본야동


    ReplyDelete
  19. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I'm looking to create my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. thanks a lot. Feel free to visit my website;
    일본야동

    ReplyDelete
  20. "My primary goal this year is to make adjustments to Korea as quickly as possible," said Ji, who spent three years in Japan before her Chelsea stint and has never played club football in her native country. "I want to get on the same page with my teammates."

    ReplyDelete
  21. "Incheon Hyundai Steel have been dominant, but I think things will change a bit. That's what I am here for," Ji said. "If we can be competitive against Incheon, I think it will make the league more interesting."

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ji wore No. 10 with Chelsea but said she chose the new number at Suwon for a couple of reasons.

    ReplyDelete
  23. She hoisted 13 trophies with Chelsea: six Super League titles, four FA Cups, two league cups and one Community Shield. Ji capped off her career by helping Chelsea to a double this year, as they captured the Super League title and the FA Cup.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ji ended a successful eight-year run with Chelsea FC Women earlier this month and signed with Suwon FC Women of the WK League, Tuesday. The club formally introduced her in a press conference at Suwon City Hall, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul, Thursday.

    ReplyDelete
  25. She scored 68 goals in 210 matches in all competitions for Chelsea; and is third on the club's all-time lists in both goals and matches.

    ReplyDelete
  26. "I haven't played with Korean teammates since I was 20 years old (as a university student)," said Ji, who turned down an offer from Chelsea and from a few U.S. clubs. "I have a lot of friends at Incheon, but they will now be enemies. It's going to be fun."

    ReplyDelete

Add your perspective to the conscious collective