- cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Crypto Bank Silvergate Plunges After It Says Examining Viability, Delays Annual Report
by Gunnar Larson 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Crypto Bank Silvergate Plunges After It Says Examining Viability, Delays Annual Report https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-01/silvergate-says-annual-f… Cryptocurrency-friendly bank Silvergate Capital Corp. (SI) is studying whether it’s still viable and reviewing its financial controls, following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. The shares plunged as much as 25%.

1 0

Mondaq Launches Litigation Funding Comparative Guide
by Gunnar Larson 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Check out my new article. This new guide is one of the best guides of its kind: https://litigationfinancejournal.com/mondaq-launches-litigation-funding-com… Given the rapid pace of innovation and expansion in the global litigation funding space, it is helpful to engage reference tools to separate the wheat from the chaff. Mondaq’s new Litigation Funding Comparative Guide guide spans 12 chapters, serving as an interactive tool for worldwide litigation franchise comparisons. Mondaq’s new guide (https://www.mondaq.com/guides/49?) includes a bevy of options, including 12 global jurisdictions with subgroups, such as ethical considerations, legal framework, tips and traps. From there, additional information allows for comparative analysis by including a list of 60 subjects that are key to litigation finance business systems and processes for each jurisdiction. The guide aims to engage internationally recognized litigation finance professionals as subject matter experts to provide responses for comparative research. Mondaq claims that over time, the guide will expand to offer more detailed analysis of the litigation investment landscape globally.

1 0

Cryptocurrency: Action - US States Passing Ignorant and Laughably Bizarre Legislation, satoshiaction.io
by grarpamp 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

https://www.satoshiaction.io/so/b0OQJlZ_A https://legiscan.com/IL/text/SB1887/id/2692354 https://Illinoispolicy.org/maps/illinois-house/ https://Ilga.gov/house/ a court may order any appropriate blockchain transaction for digital property or for the execution of a smart contract. Provides that a blockchain network that processes a blockchain transaction originating in the State at any time after the effective date of the Act shall process a court-ordered blockchain transaction without the need for the private key associated with the digital property or smart contract civil penalty of between $5,000 and $10,000 for each day that the blockchain network fails to comply with the order PSA to miners and node operators in Illinois, USA (self.Bitcoin) submitted 21 hours ago * by Appropriate_Bug74662 As many of you have surely heard, senate bill 1887 as proposed would essentially outlaw mining, validating, and running a node in Illinois (in the name of consumer protection). Whether this is an act of criminal incompetence or underhandedness is unclear. Does this stop bitcoin? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean we want it slowed down either - better to win without fighting the war. If you live in Illinois I urge you to contact your house representative on this matter. You can find your representative by your address at: Illinoispolicy.org/maps/illinois-house/# After looking that up you can also look up more contact details at: Ilga.gov/house/ I just left voice messages and an email urging my representative to oppose SB1887 in its current form as it is unworkable and would drive talent, innovation, and business in the crypto industry out of state. 66 comments share save hide report all 66 comments sorted by: best Want to add to the discussion? Post a comment! [–]Magnus826 37 points 17 hours ago Thank you! I'm in Illinois. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]pcvcolin 19 points 12 hours ago* ^ Oppose this Illinois idiocy - and also advocate against certain Congresspersons' attempts to limit mining based on ESG reporting. Proof of work has also become the target of worthless partisan bureaucrats in three-letter agencies - be ready for court battles in the USA on this issue. See: https://www.satoshiaction.io/so/b0OQJlZ_A?languageTag=en&cid=21afbe68-15af-… permalink embed save report give award reply [–]soliton-gaydar 50 points 19 hours ago As if anyone needed another reason to leave Illinois. permalink embed save report give award reply [–][deleted] 15 hours ago [removed] [–]SnooMachines7409 11 points 5 hours ago I recommend not fighting the dinosaurs, they would die in next 1-2 halvings. Use TOR if you're in Illinois. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Linrono 1 point an hour ago Don't people suggest not mining over tor because of the latency? Of course you can run a node over tor. I've also heard lightning nodes have issues over tor. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [+]deebmaster -9 points 8 hours ago* *liberal. Red states currently enshrining one’s right to mine bitcoin permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Kinimodes 1 point 2 hours ago Nah, just dinosaurs 🦕 permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]clue5tick 30 points 19 hours ago Sue the hell out of them. Nothing like a good First Amendment penalty to focus their corrupt little brains. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]minerscentral 6 points 15 hours ago I'd get behind that. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]mossyoaktoe 15 points 17 hours ago That state has no problem infringing on the 2nd amendment, I doubt they hesitate to continue the same with the 1st. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]DatBuridansAss 2 points 3 hours ago Didn't you know? Bitcoin is hate speech against the climate. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Neat_Caterpillar_866 4 points 9 hours ago So dumb because they are shutting down nuclear plants because of no one to buy the power…. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]fnetma 4 points 6 hours ago This state is complete shit.. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]igadjeed[🍰] 10 points 16 hours ago criminal incompetence This a court may order any appropriate blockchain transaction for digital property or for the execution of a smart contract. Provides that a blockchain network that processes a blockchain transaction originating in the State at any time after the effective date of the Act shall process a court-ordered blockchain transaction without the need for the private key associated with the digital property or smart contract ... civil penalty of between $5,000 and $10,000 for each day that the blockchain network fails to comply with the order permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Double-LR[🍰] 16 points 15 hours ago Weapon grade ignorance. What moron wrote this crap? I’d love to know who it is. I’m betting they look the part. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]igadjeed[🍰] 9 points 15 hours ago It appears to be copied from the Craig Wright lawsuit against Bitcoin developers. He's asking a UK court to order the developers to change the Core code so that he can be paid the coins for which he claims he lost the keys permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Double-LR[🍰] 9 points 15 hours ago Oh. It’s Craig! Now it makes sense why it’s so stupid. Thanks for the info. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]ubring 7 points 16 hours ago This uses words but their ordering is so weird permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Wise-Application-144 6 points 12 hours ago a court-ordered blockchain transaction without the need for the private key This is just plainly impossible right? That's the entire point of bitcoin, that this cannot be done? It's like saying "a court ordered pig must fly", just making a court order doesn't mean you can do impossible stuff... permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]avance70 3 points 10 hours ago there was a law to define Pi = 3.2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]fnetma 3 points 6 hours ago This was in the 1890s.. I am not as shocked. I would also hate to do calculations with pi without a calculator. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]thealiensguy 3 points 5 hours ago This is hilarious and i never knew this. How the fuck do you legislate mathematics? Thats fucking insane lol permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]fllthdcrb [score hidden] 30 minutes ago At least a pig could theoretically be equipped with something to make it fly. What they're saying, at least where Bitcoin is concerned, is more like ordering a tornado to disperse. They clearly have no concept of just how implacable a decentralized consensus-driven network can be, especially when most of the nodes they propose to fine and/or hold liable are far out of their jurisdiction. As if any individual node operator can change things. It would be almost impossible for such an entity to change the consensus rules, and I doubt any amount of threatening of operators is going to convince the developers to implement such changes. Do they think the devs are going to go, "Oh no, those poor people in the US*. We better change the rules just so the State of Illinois can break the rules and steal people's money, in violation of everything Bitcoin stands for!"? And even if the devs did that, would the vast majority of node operators go along with it? Because that would be necessary to enforce this whole thing. If they didn't, then it wouldn't work; I imagine there would be some sort of fork. * I think this bill doesn't just apply to residents of Illinois. Although there is no explicit language to this effect, it appears to potentially fine and/or hold liable anyone anywhere, as long as it involves property in Illinois, or something along those lines. Now, as to how far they'll go, or can go, to reach people outside the state, I don't know. I just want to mention this, because simply moving out of the state might not be enough. But I'm no lawyer. That section 30 (service of process) is also laughable. What, just serve any single node operator, and the whole network is on notice? I don't think so. What if the operator keeps it to themselves? Smh. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]rydogthekidrs 4 points 13 hours ago Do they not understand public key cryptography in the slightest? This shit’s weird man permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]igadjeed[🍰] 4 points 12 hours ago You don't need a key to spend a UTXO. You only need a line of code in the software which says, "This UTXO, by court order, can be spent to this address without a key". The state's problem is that the Bitcoin node network would refuse to accept that line of code. And they're totally insane if they think they can impose a day-by-day fine on the Bitcoin blockchain On the other hand, look at all the centralized shitcoins. They have nodes which are controlled by the corporation which owns that cryptocurrency. A court can force the corporation to change the node code. The corporation has to implement the code change on all nodes. The corporation can be fined $10,000 per day for not complying permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]rydogthekidrs 1 point 3 hours ago No yeah I see where I went wrong. I was just tired and — frankly — a little drunk. It’s still absurd to me to give the government any level of authority over a decentralized system, though permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]beaker38 2 points 2 hours ago so chatGPT writing legislation now? permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]SeemoarAlpha 43 points 20 hours ago Better yet, move. The state is headed for bankruptcy and a few proposals include heavily taxing BTC. Illinois ranks 48th, just ahead of Connecticut and New Jersey, in financial stability. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]ip_address_freely 3 points 8 hours ago That’s due to the decades of corruption and ignorance toward certain social issues permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]kajunkennyg 8 points 10 hours ago All the states are headed for bankruptcy. California went from having a 100b surplus to 25b deficient in ten months. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]SeemoarAlpha 3 points 6 hours ago Not all states, some are much better run that others. California's long term outlook isn't great, but states like Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, etc. have entered the death spiral with no political will to stop it. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]kajunkennyg [score hidden] 48 minutes ago It’s going to get worst permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]cabinfvr 24 points 19 hours ago Illinois is in a death spiral. Don't let them take you down with them. Agree, move. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]AvisPhlox 8 points 14 hours ago Fuck the law, keep mining. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]recessiontime 2 points 7 hours ago I understand the sentiment but never test the government. Just walk away. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]mr_sew 13 points 17 hours ago Vote with your feet and move to another state. Computer code and sending bits willingly to other willing participants is protected in the U.S.A. under the first amendment to the U.S Constitution as free speech. If you are going to stay in Illinois, you are going to need an attorney, or organize a law suit with some organization that can provide assistance. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]fverdeja 3 points 8 hours ago Don't worry guys. I'm running Snowflake (a TOR node) in my house and I don't live in the states, you can just use TOR and your Bitcoin node could be "running" from my home or from the Nort Pole in a second. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]OceanSlim 3 points 5 hours ago Lol I just realized even if this does pass, all they've done is further decentralize Bitcoin in their state. Plebs won't stop running over TOR. This just stops and mining companies in Illinois essentially. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]porculaeyeyeb1redditor for 5 weeks 2 points 9 hours ago Wow, Illinois is getting serious about cryptocurrency. Guess it's time to look into setting up a mining rig there! permalink embed save report give award reply [–]highdra 5 points 17 hours ago THE ANSWER TO 1887 IS 1776 permalink embed save report give award reply [–]PotentialTap2 3 points 16 hours ago What happened in 1887? permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]fllthdcrb 1 point an hour ago Read the OP again. 1887 is not actually a year. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]Sweaty-Play-9746 10 points 19 hours ago That State sounds a lot like a Communist Venezuela in early stages… permalink embed save report give award reply [–]LonnieJaw748 4 points 16 hours ago Is this why Ken Griffins Citadel Securities relocated to Florida recently? He’s trying to build a CEX with Fidelity, guess he wouldn’t have been able to if still headquartered in Chicago. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]mibjt 2 points 15 hours ago 5 bucks say us cbdcs are about to be rolled out. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]ScoobyD00BIEdoo 3 points 14 hours ago Illinois is the most corrupted state unfortunately. You'd need a hefty sum of money to get them to do anything you wanted. Letters do nothing =[ permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Bitcoin_Maximalist 1 point 13 hours ago good post permalink embed save report give award reply [–]bjandrus 1 point 8 hours ago Serious question: how do these states actually plan on enforcing these bans? (I believe a similar bill has already passed in NY). Like, if I have a mining rig setup in my home, how is anybody gonna know unless I tell them? Are they trying to enact a "busybody bounty" like Texas did with abortions? I definitely urge everyone to write their senators and I do hope with every fiber of my being that these bills stop picking up steam like they seem to be doing lately. But also on the other hand, is there really anything to fear (as far as enforcement goes, anyway)? permalink embed save report give award reply [–]information-zone 1 point 5 hours ago They might not be able to stop a pleb from running a single ASIC in their basement, but big hosting companies which consume megawatts of power will not be able to hide. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]thealiensguy 1 point 5 hours ago Have you ever heard of off grid power generation? Lol permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]SucaMofo 1 point 5 hours ago This was my question. I don't mine but do run a node. How would they know I have a node? The node runs on a Pi with Umbrel so I am running Pi Hole as well. Most of my node connections are over Tor. Usually have 30 connections and 80% are over Tor. I am not in Illinois so not concerned about myself. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]americunt2 1 point an hour ago Do you know how many laws there are that are unenforceable? There's a lot. permalink embed save parent report give award reply [–]ip_address_freely 1 point 8 hours ago Lol that’s funny. Thinking they can ban it. 🤣 permalink embed save report give award reply [–]AnxiousQuestioner 1 point 6 hours ago Illinois? The state next to me with gambling at every corner, ridiculous taxes, and large debt? Yeah that one. Illinois will find a way to double tax your crypto. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]OceanSlim 1 point 5 hours ago Source: https://legiscan.com/IL/text/SB1887/id/2692354 Page 4 Line 13. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]that1rowdyracer [score hidden] 31 minutes ago Gotta love the commie legislation in IL. permalink embed save report give award reply [–]Full-Bluebird385redditor for 3 months [score hidden] 30 minutes ago Interesting. Illinois is a democrat stronghold. It seems to be a trend that democrats are anti-Bitcoin/crypto and republicans are not (see the Montana bill to ensure the right to mine Bitcoin). permalink embed save report give award reply

1 0

Tor reportedly under attack
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

>>> the Tor network typically used by Liquid is under a mysterious attack that makes it harder to use <<< https://blog.nymtech.net/how-mixnets-led-to-bitcoin-blockstream-green-suppo… Reposts not outings of Satoshi Nakamoto as Microserf cypherpunk

1 0

Ambush-style attacks against security personnel and law enforcement officers
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

In late May and early June 2020, two ambush-style attacks occurred against security personnel and law enforcement officers in California. The attacks left two dead and injured three others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_boogaloo_murders Reposts not public conspiracy to catch and kill all cops everywhere by any means necessary

1 0

FBI Special Agent Steven May & Special Agent Timothy Taylor need killing ( My 2k sats )
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Fucking Bureaucratic Imbeciles are now acting as America's Gestapo again. Best to just lure them into traps and kill them like rats. https://anarchistnews.org/content/fbi-harasses-activists-two-indicted-janes… Reposts not dead USG cops like Thomas Wales

1 0

Two Indicted Masterminds of the FTX Fraud Were Clients of Big Law Firm Sullivan & Cromwell
by Gunnar Larson 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/03/two-indicted-masterminds-of-the-ftx-… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 1, 2023 ~ Andrew (Andy) Dietderich, Law Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell Andrew (Andy) Dietderich, Law Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell On January 17, Sullivan & Cromwell law partner Andrew Dietderich filed a declaration in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware that acknowledged – after much prodding by the U.S. Trustee – the more than 20 legal engagements Sullivan & Cromwell had been involved in with Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Group before it filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022. According to the declaration, the law firm’s legal work began 15 months prior to the collapse of the firm. (See our previous report, Sam Bankman-Fried, BlockFi and Sullivan & Cromwell: A Viper’s Nest of Conflicts and Intrigue.) This does not look good for the 144-year old law firm because the Securities and Exchange Commission is now charging that FTX was a fraud from the very beginning and Sam Bankman-Fried illegally used FTX customer funds from the very beginning. Making the situation even more dicey for Sullivan & Cromwell, its former law partner, Ryne Miller, was employed as General Counsel at FTX US as this fraud was expanding. Raising reputational risk not only to Sullivan & Cromwell but also to the federal court system, none of the above information stopped the presiding judge in the FTX bankruptcy case, Judge John Dorsey, from signing an order making Sullivan & Cromwell the lead law firm overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of the more than 100 companies involved in Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed crypto house of cards. Sullivan & Cromwell has already billed more than $20 million in legal fees in the bankruptcy case along with more than $239,000 in expenses – including more than $20,000 for “Conference Room Dining” and “Meals – Overtime.” (See Judge John Dorsey Has Effectively Privatized Justice in the FTX Bankruptcy Case.) The January 17 disclosures to the Delaware Bankruptcy Court by Sullivan & Cromwell revealed that in addition to the 20 legal engagements for corporate entities of FTX or Alameda Research (Sam Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund), Sullivan & Cromwell had also done legal work on an individual basis for Sam Bankman-Fried and the Head of Engineering at FTX, Nishad Singh. Bankman-Fried has now been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on 12 criminal counts. He has pleaded not guilty to the first eight counts and has not yet entered a plea on the additional four counts, one of which is bank fraud. Yesterday, Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to a 6-count criminal indictment. (Two other top lieutenants at Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire have been indicted: Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang. Both have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors, as is Singh.) Sullivan & Cromwell explained in its January 17 filing with the Bankruptcy Court that it had worked for Bankman-Fried from April 14, 2022 to August 5, 2022. The work involved Bankman-Fried’s purchase of more than half a billion dollars in the stock of Robinhood Markets (a trading app). Bankman-Fried used loans he took from Alameda Research to purchase the Robinhood stock. Federal prosecutors have charged that Alameda Research was looting FTX customer funds from the very beginning of the creation of FTX in 2019. The U.S. Department of Justice seized the Robinhood stock in early January. The rightful ownership of the stock is the subject of multiple court battles. Sullivan & Cromwell’s January 17 disclosure also revealed that it had worked on an individual basis for Nishad Singh during a period when he was Head of Engineering at FTX. The disclosure explains: “The work was primarily performed out of the S&C London office and supervised by a partner resident in London. The representation started December 16, 2021 and ceased on August 8, 2022. The work was arranged, and paid for, by Alameda.” According to the bankruptcy court filing, Sullivan & Cromwell’s legal work for Singh concerned “tax matters and estate planning.” It doesn’t appear that Nishad Singh will have much use for that “estate planning” work by Sullivan & Cromwell. Singh signed a forfeiture order with the criminal court in Manhattan yesterday in addition to pleading guilty to the six criminal counts. While the specific properties and assets that he will forfeit have been redacted in the filing, the forfeiture agreement includes anything that is traceable to the six counts of fraud to which he has pleaded guilty. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed charges against Singh yesterday. The SEC’s complaint provides far more damning detail than does that of the Justice Department. The SEC writes, for example: “In 2020 and 2021, Singh executed promissory notes with Alameda totaling approximately $577.5 million. The funds borrowed under the promissory notes (referred to internally at FTX as ‘Founders Loans’) in Singh’s name were generally not intended for Singh’s personal use but were instead used by Bankman-Fried for other purposes, including additional venture investments and acquisitions. Singh also borrowed millions to donate to political campaigns and causes, as well as philanthropic causes associated with effective altruism. Some of these donations were funded through a line of credit that Bankman-Fried authorized Singh to provide himself on his personal FTX account. In 2021, Singh also borrowed $10 million in an undocumented loan and provided the funds to friends and family…Moreover, in September and October of 2022, when Singh was already aware that FTX customer funds had been used by Alameda and that Alameda was unable to repay the debt, Singh withdrew approximately $6 million from FTX for personal use and expenditures, including the purchase of a multi-million-dollar house and donations to charitable causes.” Estate planning indeed.

1 0

Cryptocurrency: CBDC Digital Fiat WARNING BELLS GOING OFF
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Gramps fears this - Gramps fears that. Hey G - I hear there's a place you can be treated for that in London. Its called the " Ecuadorian Consulate ". This is what's going to happen with CBDC's 1) They are a success and we ' nationalize ' them. 2) They are a failure - part of collapse of govts - our success 3) They fill in the little time left before the singularity - the cryptoanarchist singularity, naturally 4) Black Swan - low odds - not worth screeching about.

1 0

Cryptocurrency: CBDC Digital Fiat WARNING BELLS GOING OFF
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Not what I hear - I no longer go to COINDESK btw - GIGO - I hear they're in serious disarray with a grave fear the US one would overwhelm everything else out there. Also how's the Chinese one going? I read they gave some away and promised not to spy on the plebs but its still not taking off. A lot of homeless in the US - or here - might jump at something like that - " I'd buy that for a dollar! " Complicating matters is the advent of clever droids - these sound like they'll be smart enough soon to work out a global UBI - part of the move to a Star Trek economy. So relax G. Be of good cheer - Xmas is a time of miracles.

1 0

Dishonest Tor relay math question - tor-talk is to lazy grarpamp
by professor rat 01 Mar '23

01 Mar '23

Since this is an old problem lets see if we can get a consensus for an old-school response. I move Tor now be treated in a similar fashion to the way this list treated the EFF and REASON magazine back in the day. Treat it as damage and route around ( pace Gilmore ) All those in favor? ( Carry on ) All against? ( See how Karl is going ) Democracy, for lack of a better term, is good. Democratic consensus works. Consensus for success, love and the greatest good of the greatest number. Democratic consensus cuts through, clarifies and captures the rapid-evolutionary teen spirit that has driven the upward ascent of humanity from ancient Athens through the Renaissance & Enlightenment to the industrial revolution and Modernity. I see self-described anarchists attack democracy and know they mean nationalism, false representations & that whole catastrophe but still feel bad cos they have immediately placed themselves in lock step with every Red, Brown and Gray Nazbol fascist out there. They're throwing a beautiful baby out with the bathwater and also an error-correction mechanism political science now needs more than ever. Technology is the hare and democracy the tortoise - we run the race - the race is won by running slowly.

1 0