Tag: Cryptocurrencies

Of Bunkers & Bitcoin…& CERN Switzerland And…

Source: GizaDeathStar.com
Dr. Joseph P. Farrell
February 6, 2017

Believe it or not, today’s blog may be related to the two previous days’ blogs. But what possible relationship could Bitcoin and for that matter, crypto-currencies in general have to CERN or to Argentina and the recent visits of Mr. Tillerson and Mr. Bezos there, to check out the “nature”.

Well, when Mr. M.A. sent the following article to me, he did so with some very suggestive high octane speculation of his own. He suggested that, perhaps, there might be a connection between CERN and crypto-currency mining. Why? Well, because there is a bunker in Switzerland which was built by the Swiss military as a command headquarters during the Cold War, and which now functions as a private corporate facility, surrounded by intense security, to guard crypto-currency encryption keys, the very things that drive blockchain:

Switzerland’s bitcoin bunker

The article itself points out the reason for all the security:

It’s odd to think of a virtual currency needing physical storage, but just like your most precious photos, cryptocurrencies need some kind of material container. A bitcoin vault doesn’t store actual bitcoin units. Technically, what’s being stored are private, cryptographic keys. These keys form a pair with public-facing keys and provide access to the balance of coins stored on the bitcoin network. Gaining unauthorized access to someone’s private key is akin to stealing their gold bar. The security protocol in the bunker is designed to ward off attacks from “well-funded terrorist groups or hackers.”

Stories of hackers finding their way through even the best-secured bitcoin accounts are legion, and—given that bitcoin was designed to make banks obsolete—it’s ironic that bank-like methods have to be used to keep cryptocurrencies safe.

If someone gets hold of your private key, there’s no way to claw the funds back or demand a refund. That’s why firms that store bitcoin like this one, called Xapo, are a juicy target—and why the bunker requires paranoiac levels of security.

But why would Mr. M.A. suggest a potential link to CERN? While his email was rather sketchy in details, I had to admit, as I allowed my own penchant for high octane speculation to run amok, he may have a point, for three basic reasons: (1) mining crypt-currencies requires a lot of electricity, something which CERN has in abundance; (2) mining crypto-currencies also requires a lot of computing power, something which CERN also has in an abundance rivaled probably only by the vast computing power of intelligence and signals-intercept agencies; and the real kicker is (3) CERN may be engaged in secret data analysis and correlation experiments, as I have speculated on numerous occasions. But it is also a sovereign entity, and could equally use that power as a means of very covert funding. Enter crypto-currencies, for as I’ve also pointed out on this site, stories have recently emerged that some very nefarious groups are using crypt-currencies to fund their operations and activities. So Mr. M.A.’s speculation may not be all that much of a stretch. (Hmmm… Switzerland, Templars, lots of money, Templar space satellites…. hmmm….)

But then, squatting in the middle of this article, something else caught my attention, and my jaw hit the floor. Recall that yesterday I blogged about the appearance of Mr. Jeff Bezos in Patagonia, tweeting about glaciers and saving the planet and space. Mr. Bezos, as most people know, is a billionaire, the founder of Amazon, owner of the Washington Post, and Amazon and the CIA are in turn related (and not just indirectly through the Post). Amazon is a huge database, if one wants to look at it a certain way, sitting on top of mountains of raw data of inestimable value to intelligence.

Mr. Bezos’ presence in Argentina is coincident with U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson’s, and again, Mr. Tillerson’s Argentinian junket began, not in Buenos Aires with a meeting with President Macri, but in San Carlos di Bariloche where, ostensibly, he was to give a speech to a nature preserve and meet with a Fullbright scholar.

Uh huh. Sure. Glaciers, Fullbright scholars, and nature preserves.

So what was squatting in the middle of the article?

Sit down, and have a couple of fingers of Jack Daniels, because this one is a stunner, and full of implications:

Xapo’s founder is the Argentinian entrepreneur Wences Casares, the “patient zero” of bitcoin among Silicon Valley’s elite. It was Casares who gave tech luminaries like Bill Gates and Reid Hoffman their first bitcoins. Carlos Rienzi, Xapo’s head of security, chose the vault, and he designed the private suite and its security protocols.(Emphasis added)

That’s right: the owner of this bunker, and one of the “founders” of Bitcoin, according to this article, and therefore, someone who sits on top of the Bitcoin op, is an Argentine “entrepreneur”.

Now let’s search for Senor Cesares. Wikipedia says this about him:

He is the founder and CEO of Xapo, a bitcoin wallet startup based in Palo Alto, California.[2] Xapo is said to be the largest custodian of bitcoin in the world.[3]Xapo has raised $40 million from leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms.[4]

Casares sits on the board of PayPal and, as part of his non-profit activities, he serves on the board of Endeavor,[5] a non-profit organization that promotes high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging markets and that was instrumental in his early success. He also served on the board of Kiva,[6] a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty worldwide.

Originally from Patagonia, Argentina, Casares launched that country’s first Internet Service Provider, Internet Argentina S.A. in 1994, a company he would go on to sell in order to found the Argentine online brokerage Patagon in 1997. Patagon established itself as Latin America’s first comprehensive Internet financial services portal and expanded its online banking services to the United States, Spain, and Germany. Patagon was acquired by the Spanish bank, Banco Santander for $750 million which became Santader Online worldwide.

Oh… gee… look! He’s from Patagonia in Argentina!

And oh… gee…look: he has online banking services connected to Spain, the USA, and Germany!

And… wow… look again! It’s all being coordinated from a bunker!

Now the question is, who else, and what else, is he connected with?

And gee, this all sort of makes me wonder, with blockchain encryption, if crypto-currencies aren’t  a perfect way to launder all sorts of missing money, and while doing so, manipulating their prices as well, kill two birds with one stone, so to speak…

See you on the flip side…

Read More At: GizaDeathStar.com

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How Precious Metals Can Help Protect Your Wealth From Hackers


Source: ActivistPost.com
June 14, 2017
Stefan Gleason

Could your wealth be hacked? It’s a threat most investors overlook. But they do so at their own peril.

If elections can be hacked, then so can bank and brokerage accounts, as well as any online platforms for digital currencies.

More than five months into Donald Trump’s presidency, the “Russia hacked the election” conspiracy theories still won’t go away. They’re expanding to also implicate Russian hackers for meddling in elections in France and elsewhere. The latest Russian hacking story centers on Qatar.

According to the Guardian, “An investigation by the FBI has concluded that Russian hackers were responsible for sending out fake messages from the Qatari government, sparking the Gulf’s biggest diplomatic crisis in decades.”

The Russian government has repeatedly denied involvement in these hacking campaigns. Regardless of whether the news about Russian hackers is fake, the threat of cyber attacks is very real.

In recent months, major e-mail providers and e-commerce sites have been hit by hackers. They often take customers’ information and try to sell it on the dark web.

Think Bitcoins are “hack proof” due to cryptography? Think again. Tens of millions of dollars worth of the crypto-currency have been digitally stolen by hackers. The biggest heists hit Bitcoin exchanges Mt. Gox and Bitfinex. More recently, South Korean Bitcoin exchange Yapizon was hacked out of more than $5 million.

Electronic Banking Is Vulnerable to Hackers

Electronic banking and brokerage institutions are also vulnerable. A rogue government, a group of terrorists, or even a lone mischievous teenager could potentially crash markets by unleashing a debilitating computer virus or breaking into networks that undergird the financial system.

The worst-case scenario for the digital economy would be an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) attack. An EMP could be triggered by an extreme solar flare or a nuclear detonation. In the event of an electro-magnetic pulse, large-scale economic disruptions could unfold as the power grid goes down and computer systems get fried.

If the Internet goes dark, then so does Bitcoin and other digital platforms. No online banking. Your ATM card may no longer work. A national “bank holiday” may have to be declared as a physical cash shortage sends the economy reverting to barter transactions.

Granted, this is an extreme scenario. But you don’t have to take extreme measures in order to protect yourself from it.

Reducing Your Vulnerability to Cyber Attacks: Simple Steps You Can Take

One of the most important steps to take to boost your resilience to digital threats is to hold tangible assets that aren’t dependent on, or connected to, the internet. Physical precious metals are a time-tested form of unhackable money.

Virtual ownership of metals in the form of futures, options, or exchange-traded products will leave you vulnerable to any of the major threats to the financial grid.

The upshot to owning low-premium bullion products you can hold in your hand is that it costs you nothing extra to obtain the protection and utility that physical metals provide.

We’re not suggesting that you pull everything out of your bank accounts and close all your credit cards – for now, they remain a convenience most of us won’t want to do without in our daily lives. (And we’re not saying to steer completely clear of cryptocurrencies either.)

But you can and should take steps to make your accounts at least somewhat more secure:

  • Close any dormant accounts that you no longer use.
  • Keep paper records, including statements, from accounts you access online.
  • Strengthen your passwords by lengthening them or using a password manager.
  • Avoid storing sensitive information directly on cell phones or other commonly stolen/ hacked devices.
  • Check your credit report regularly for signs of identity theft.
  • Install anti-virus software on your devices and keep it up to date.

For the portion of your wealth you want to secure in physical, off-the-grid metal, make sure you keep it far removed from the banking system. That means not storing your precious metals in a bank safe-deposit box that could be raided or rendered inaccessible during a financial crisis.

Keep at least some portion of your gold and silver stash stored in a home safe for immediate accessibility at all times. And keep quiet about it! Your neighbors don’t need to know all about your pure silver bars or your shiny gold Krugerrands.

For the portion of your precious metals holdings you don’t want to keep at home, opt for a secure bullion storage facility such as Money Metals Depository.

MMD only uses physically segregated storage which ensures your metals aren’t pooled or co-mingled with those of other customers.

Even as new and potentially bigger cyber threats emerge, you can rest comfortably knowing much of your wealth is beyond the reach of hackers. That peace of mind is difficult to put a price on. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to obtain. Rotating wealth out of financial assets and into hard assets is as easy as writing a check to a reputable bullion dealer such as Money Metals Exchange.

Read More At: ActivistPost.com

Stefan Gleason is President of Money Metals Exchange, the national precious metals company named 2015 “Dealer of the Year” in the United States by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of the University of Florida, Gleason is a seasoned business leader, investor, political strategist, and grassroots activist. Gleason has frequently appeared on national television networks such as CNN, FoxNews, and CNBC, and his writings have appeared in hundreds of publications such as the Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, Seeking Alpha, Detroit News, Washington Times, and National Review.