Syndicateis in the Blockchain Infrastructure Industry

Syndicate

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By now, if you have read about blockchain technology, you might have an idea about its potential. Bitcoin made its spectacular announcement as a result of the financial disaster led by centralized banks and government, back in 2009. But, is bitcoin free from its own vices? Also, after the financial disaster, have banks learned their lesson? Today, we are not here to point fingers or pick sides. Instead, why not make an extraordinary product by combing the best of the two worlds. Enter Blockchain in Banking Sector The underlying technology of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies- Blockchain- is all set to solve the underlying issues pertaining to the banking and finance sector. In fact, many banks and governments are exploring ways of using blockchain in the banking and finance sectors. The Fintech industry is keen on investing in this latest technology. But why? Cryptochain Sphere loves statistics. Let’s look at some of the future figures and insights. Figures Don’t Lie! According to this , deployment of blockchain technology can save banks more than $27 billion annually by 2030. research Findings from this research, done by , banks can potentially save more than $10 billion in annual cost savings, by implementing blockchain technology in banking infrastructure. The report also says that blockchain can reduce bank infrastructure costs by almost 30% Accenture This says, 90% of European and American banks are already exploring blockchain. article According to a report by , 77% of financial incumbents will adopt blockchain as a part of systems or processes by 2020. PWC So, now that we have covered the ‘why’ portion of blockchain in banking, let’s focus on the ‘how’ Need for Blockchain technology in Banking Sector The Fintech industry has evolved quite a bit in these past few years. The banks, which used to conduct all of its operations within the brick and mortar walls, have fairly expanded its horizons. Few clicks on the smartphones in the vicinity of our home have now become second nature to us. With the world getting more and more digitized, it becomes imperative for the financial institutions to keep up with the pace. However, the question we are asking ourselves is this: Is the current banking infrastructure sustainable for the future? Almost 45% of Financial institutions like stock exchanges are prone to financial frauds daily. It still takes days, to transfer money from one continent to another. Not to mention, the high fees that are imposed upon. Even after this, the settlements of funds and the ledger entries take days, if not months. Important information in trade finance is still conducted through fax. Millions of dollars are spent annually to conduct due diligence check such as KYC, each year. Even after the digitization, much of the banking infrastructure still involves paperwork and files stored in siloed cupboards. To sum up, in one word, the current banking infrastructure is highly lacking, for it to sustain in the future. The distributed ledger technology can potentially save banks billions of dollars annually by reducing costs, performing efficient and faster transactions, and providing one uniform ‘ledger’ copy across multiple platforms in an ecosystem. The implications of an immutable digital ledger, based on truth, has its implications not only on the financial sector but across multiple aspects in the society- under one ecosystem. Efficient Payments System Efficiency essentially means obtaining the best results while incurring lower costs. Hence, in this case, efficient transactions mean faster processing with lesser expenses While we have got to the point where sending money to someone can be done by clicking a few buttons, settling the same money, within minutes is yet another story. This holds true, especially for cross border transfers. The settlement of money takes anywhere between 3–7 days. The industry also involves multiple third parties in order to carry such transactions across borders. With each party getting its own cut, the transaction fees keep on multiplying The Distributed Ledger Technology permits anyone to transfer and receive funds across the world in a matter of minutes. Bitcoin is the most acclaimed proof of this concept. With the help of blockchain technology, the funds are instantly transferred, across borders. The ledger provides a way for unknown people to conduct efficient transactions without the need of any third party. This invariably removes the additional costs and hence lowers the transactional fees implied upon. Digitized Records At present, each bank has its own record keeping. It involves a lengthy process, manual recording, and tedious methods. It has major flaws. Since it is still manual, it is subjected to faulty entries. The centralized ledger of the bank is also susceptible to frauds. The procedure is lengthy and hence the settlement entries might eventually take days. Blockchain technology, or the blockchain ledger, provides an extremely sustainable solution. First and foremost, the ledger records each transactional entry and action. The ledger remains uniform across all the stakeholders. Any transaction or action updated in one copy simultaneously gets updated in all the copies across the platform. The ledger is constantly updated in real time. It also remains immutable- Once recorded, the entries cannot be modified or deleted without other stakeholders noticing. The entries are forever timestamped and can be accessed by anyone who has the permission. The transparent and secured ledgers across banking platforms can help save billions of dollars annually. Credit Systems and Loans Applying blockchain technology to the banking infrastructure has massive outreach in this area of loans and credit. The present traditional system offers loans based on the credit system. The credits (based on assets and past history) of individuals are evaluated by credit bureaus. These centralized bureaus record the individual’s credit history and based on this, gives them an equivalent credit score. This credit score determines whether the individual qualifies for the loan amount, the interest collected on the loan, etc. However, this age-old method of loan approval has its own loopholes. Not every individual has his own credit history, hence making it very difficult for him to get the loan amount. Research suggests that the credit scores evaluated are unjust and it negatively impacts the individual’s capacity to obtain loans. Moreover, centralized credit evaluation bureaus are prone to hacking and fraudulent activities. Even after evaluation checks, the loan default amount continues to rise year after year. The present centralized, biased, inefficient, and ambiguous system of lending is incompetent. Blockchain in banking provides a better evaluating system for sanctioning loans. Blockchain technology enables an integrated system of a global credit score. An ecosystem enveloping a person’s digital identity, the approved assets, past history of payments, legal track record, time frame, tax history- under one system. The blockchain based system of giving global credit score can be transparent, secure and decentralized. The global credit score is based on the documents that are verified and approved by the authorities. This drastically reduces the risk of fraud. Trade Finance Trade Finance ensures that International Trade is carried out swiftly between the exporters and importers. Effective trade finance mitigates risk, prevent frauds, extend credit and help two untrusted enterprises across different borders to carry out productive trade activities. However, the current scenario still relies on predecessor methods. The industry still operates on manual documentation and duplicated copies of the same document. The settlement between banks is lengthy and yet paper-based. Physical letters of credit from one party’s bank to another party’s bank are still often used to ensure that payment will be received. The distributed technology ledger can provide a single truth across the multiple stakeholders. This reduces the amount of paperwork to be generated. Also, there is no need for the constant back and forth between stakeholders in order to pass information. The ledger automatedly ensures that stakeholders are updated with real-time information. The digital ledger records each piece of information in the The origin of the product, its history, shipment movement, delivery- each action is permanently timestamped on the blockchain. Any stakeholder, with appropriate permission, can access this piece of information at any point of time. supply chain. Earlier, we discussed how the cross border payments can be made efficient with the help of blockchain technology. However, the story doesn’t end here. One step further, blockchain in banking, powered with smart contracts can turn the most complex trade finance functions into simple effortless techniques. Blockchain will add value to the trade finance industry by ensuring the efficient movement of money as well as goods. Smart contracts are a set of autonomous instructions that are executed when certain predefined conditions are met. In respect to trade finance, such smart contracts can be enforced. This creates a value-based system- one which is focussed on the delivery of money as well as goods. Syndicated Loans The number of Syndicated loans has significantly increased in the past few years. A syndicated loan, also known as a syndicated bank facility, is financing offered by a group of lenders — referred to as a syndicate — who work together to provide funds for a single borrower. The present process is time-consuming with multiple intermediaries including the lead arranger, the syndicate members, organization and banks- at various junctions. The intermediaries like agents charge heavy fees due to the risk as well as administration needed at each checkpoint in the loan process. Much of the work, even today, is done through manual processing. Lack of technological innovation increases the scope for fraudulent activities. Additionally, the delayed settlement cycles cause locked up capital as well as increases defaulter risk. With the help of blockchain and smart contracts, the selection criteria for syndicate members becomes accurate and autonomous. The digitized contracts, agreements can be validated at each point by the various involved stakeholders. There is no need for creating multiple documents of the same copy. The financial structure can be integrated with digital identity checks such as KYC. Hence, this helps to reduce the need for due diligence check at each point. Conclusion Much of the discussion above is yet very theoretical. When we take a practical check, blockchain technology still has a long way to go. However, at the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that it does hold immense potential in the banking sector. The present model of global banking and finance is hardly sustainable. We need to bring more innovation and technological variations in this industry if we want it to sustain for future developments.

Blockchain's Impact on Payments Systems, Digitized Records, Trade Finance and Syndicated Loans

<a href="https://medium.com/media/e8b549c99d037ec1d7c060ac5bed77a5/href">https://medium.com/media/e8b549c99d037ec1d7c060ac5bed77a5/href</a> Zach is a 4 time entrepreneur, full time angel investor and all around good and helpful guy. His Cruise Automation syndicate was the first billion dollar exit on AngelList and he’s invested and advised several more startups well on their way to the coveted unicorn status. Before starting investing, Zach’s company Triggit raised ~$18M in funding before being acquired. Listen and Learn: Why it is better to be good and lucky The value of social proof with co-investors How to build a top 10 AngelList syndicate The massive opportunity in South East Asia Why competitive markets kill startups Poker and meeting startup founders The way to add value to entrepreneurs How to invest unicorns Click to Check out the Original Episode and Much More! Itunes: Android: http://thesyndicate.vc/itunes http://thesyndicate.vc/android If you got something actionable or valuable from this post or enjoyed the interview, go ahead and “Clap” below .

Replay of “Zach Coelius on 1st Billion Dollar AngelList Exit and Building a Top Tier Syndicate”

I recently spent a half hour talking to from . We cover different aspects of my investing philosophy, along with the advantages of AngelList syndicates. Hope you enjoy it! Adam Carver AngelList If you want to join our AngelList syndicate, go here: https://angel.co/pomp/syndicate/ ___________________________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this post, please recommend it by clicking the “heart” in the bottom left corner so it will be shared with more people. You can always tweet me your thoughts as well. is how hackers start their afternoons. We’re a part of the family. We are now and happy to opportunities. Hacker Noon @AMI accepting submissions discuss advertising &sponsorship To learn more, , , or simply, read our about page like/message us on Facebook tweet/DM @HackerNoon. If you enjoyed this story, we recommend reading our and . Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted! latest tech stories trending tech stories

Full Tilt Capital AngelList Syndicates

for Investors & Startups, by David E. Weekly , written mid-2016 Hi! I help run two separate syndicates on AngelList; (focused on drone tech) and (focused on applied deep learning). Many people are unfamiliar with how AngelList Syndicates work — what makes them similar and different to working with either individual angels, an “angel group”, or working with a traditional institution. This guide hopes to clarify that for you. If you’d like a basic primer in stocks and the like, I’d recommend my free as a resource. drone.vc neuron.vc venture capital startup Guide to Stocks & Options : I’m not a lawyer. None of the below should be constituted as legal or tax advice, for which you should seek the services of a licensed professional. The below was written with US investors investing in US-incorporated technology startups: rules, restrictions, and considerations may vary considerably from the below advice for other geographies. I don’t work for or represent AngelList and may have materially misrepresented their program. Investing in startups is dangerous. Also, don’t run with scissors. Disclaimers Galore Angels “Angels” are what we call people who invest their own money. The SEC puts restrictions around what kind of investments people can make if they’re not rich yet — to keep, say, grandparents from getting tricked out of their retirement savings by a huckster — so most angels need to be rich by . If you meet this bar, the SEC will consider you an . These definitions haven’t changed in a while, but when we talk angels, we’re not talking institutions, we’re talking individuals — humans. With motivations. And there are good and bad motivations to being an angel. the SEC’s bar accredited investor The first thing an investor should ask themselves is what they’re hoping to get out of their investments. If an angel is hoping to “get rich quick”, “help steer an early stage company” or even “get a front row seat into a company’s operations” by angel investing, they’re may well be disappointed with the process. Angels very rarely get special rights, like a Board seat or even observer rights. Angels that try to too aggressively interfere with a company’s operations get a bad name, and for good reason — you’ll likely hurt more than you’ll help. Good angels often have a broad portfolio of companies and act as a passive “service provider”, helping startups when they ask for it. , the “godfather” of Silicon Valley, pioneered this approach, meeting with huge numbers of companies, making quick decisions about investment, investing in a very large number of companies, and generally not asking for control/observation — there was just no way he’d have the time to sit on that many boards! While some derided this as “spray & pray” and prefer to see investment as “smart money” where companies receive both capital and active advice, Ron’s returns speak for themselves. Ron can get access to pretty much any deal because Ron has removed every reasonable objection you might have to taking his money. The returns you’ll realize are going to map to whether you are able to get in on the deals, likely ones where lots of other investors are vying for entry to the deal as well. If you establish a reputation for being helpful and easy to work with, you make it easier to get in on any deal you want. Ron Conway best Now lest I frame passive investors too passively, Ron would move mountains for a portfolio company that had a specific ask of him — even if you’d need to spend the first thirty seconds on a phone call reminding him that you were CEO of a company he invested in. ;) I’ll disclaim that Ron invested in my first company, PBwiki, and was a wonderful supporter. The portfolio approach is important from a returns perspective. It can be very difficult to predict which companies will do really well and which will flounder. A humble “ ” style approach is for an investor to admit they’re probably going to get this wrong a lot and so to have a wide range of bets in the hope that one will be a breakout hit. Investor returns are typically on an extreme power law curve — if one company does really well, it will do so well that it literally won’t matter what happened with any other company in your portfolio. So a good angel investor will seek to build to a portfolio of e.g. 30+ startups. Your probabilistic returns are much higher to make thirty $10k investments versus one $300k investment. Put another way, if your only involvement in angel investment is writing one check, you’re probably going to be disappointed with the outcome and conclude that angel investing isn’t for you. Pace yourself! Allocate a certain yearly budget for investment and seek to regularly make small bets. black swan Another good reason to be an angel investor is that you like meeting with founders, who can teach you about new industries, emerging best practices, and clever approaches to problem solving and teambuilding. Founder energy is fun and infectious and can inspire you. Finally, it’s great to give back. A lot of people in Silicon Valley (maybe most of them!) made it big when others “took a bet” on them and thus they want to “pay it forward” by blessing newcomers with capital, advice, and networking. This is one of the most powerful and poorly held secrets of Silicon Valley; I attribute it to the area’s hippy history. :-) Syndicates , a privately-held company in SF, offers a wide range of services to enable companies, individuals, and angels to connect. Startups can post jobs available, angels can seek companies to invest in, and companies can seek funding. One of the features AngelList has added in the past few years is the ability for an individual well-connected angel to create a syndicate to allow other angels access to deals the lead is participating in, on the same terms. Angel participants can “soft commit” to seriously consider funding companies alongside these influential angels. This has interesting follow-on effects: startups now have more motivation to meet with these “super angel” syndicate leads since they represent a collective of investors, which means these syndicates get more and better deal flow than they would as an unorganized group of individual investors. Over time, the size of such a syndicate may give an individual angel decision-making power equivalent to a traditional small venture capital firm with almost none of the typical investment overhead of a fund. Let’s walk through the math. AngelList If I wanted to be a syndicate lead, I’d announce “I’m planning on investing $10,000 of my own money in 3–4 companies a year”. I might find thirty friends who are each willing to tentatively commit to putting in $10,000 of their own money into such deals on the same terms as me. Now I’ve got $10k of my own money with $300k of other people’s money that I can offer for investment in a company. This obviously makes it much more interesting for a company to meet with me versus if I could have only cut them a $10k check. For those of you paying attention, you’ll note that the $300k is only committed. In reality, only ~60% of syndicate backers will actually close on a deal. So with $300k in syndicate backing, I can reasonably expect to offer $180k in funding to a company. tentatively When the syndicate lead finds a specific deal that they’re excited about, they agree on the terms of investment with the startup (“leading” the deal) or they join other investors who are investing in the company at the same time, on the same terms (“following”). They indicate the deal to AngelList, which triggers some AL folks reaching out to both the syndicate lead and startup to confirm terms and help the startup get their AngelList page into proper shape to “launch” the deal. Once the deal has been approved for launch by AngelList, it’s up to the syndicate lead to publicize. The lead then writes up why they were interested in this particular company and shares those thoughts and data confidentially with syndicate participants. Participating angels in the syndicate can then review the deal and decide if they would like to opt-in to the deal. An individual syndicate deal can only have up to 99 accredited investors participate; if 100 or more investors want to join, it will be up to the syndicate lead who they want to allow into the deal. Typically investors who choose to “pre-fund” their syndicate participation are first in line; these investors have to actively opt-out of deals. They’re followed by investors willing to invest larger amounts, e.g. $10k vs $5k, then everyone else. With the deal launched, AngelList sets up an escrow into which syndicate participants can ACH transfer or wire their funds, and collects electronic signatures from the startup, syndicate lead, and syndicate participants. AngelList charges a fixed $8k for the deal to manage all of the backoffice. So if in the above example there was a $180k syndicate raise, $8k of that would get paid to AngelList and $172k would be wired to the startup. AngelList creates a new Delaware LLC as a single-purpose corporate vehicle to make and manage the investment. The name of this LLC is typically a jumbled combo of the name of the syndicate and the name of the startup being invested in; in the case of ’s investment in , for instance, the entity created was called “AngelList-Prav-Fund, a series of AngelList-DrVc-Funds, LLC”. Yeah, that’s a mouthful. To make things even more fun, AngelList actually outsources the management of these LLCs to a company called . drone.vc PRENAV Assure Fund Management From the startup’s perspective it’s pretty good, since they only get new shareholders on their cap table; the syndicate lead, who makes their investment directly as an individual, and the LLC. So PRENAV got “David E. Weekly” as a shareholder as well as the above mouthful of an LLC. Because there is meaningful ongoing backoffice work that needs to be done for every shareholder a company has, minimizing cap table entries is a great time and money saver for startups. two Most of the deals I see use pretty vanilla terms: a (equity), a , or otherwise templated convertible notes (debt) with a clear cap and discount. I’ve heard a few stories of early stage investors being pretty badly abused with a SAFE note, so I’m gently nudging people towards using Series Seed, since it’s pretty easy for the startup and offers investors the safety of actual equity. Series Seed SAFE note The deal is only live for a fixed period of time, typically 20-30 days. This gives the lead enough time to discuss the deal with participants, gives investors a chance to ask questions (or come back from vacation!) and to wire their money in. I’ll note that for most deals, you’ll know within four days of launch about how well the deal will do. Here below are three real deals I closed with drone.vc. Note that committed capital can dip week to week if a prefunded investor chooses to opt out. Something to be aware of: AngelList has syndicate amplification funds like Maiden Lane and CSC Upshot that can further financially amplify a syndicated deal with significant traction. Typically these funds will make a go/no-go decision on investment in a few days. They are looking for deals that have strong “signal”, meaning several notable investors or firms are already participating in the deal beyond the syndicate. So a deal led by a syndicate with only syndicate members participating is unlikely to be able to access these funds. If the fund does decide to participate in a deal, they’ll come in at the same terms, through the syndicate vehicle. If you’re a syndicate lead, you’ll need to not only hype a company but also candidly disclose potential risks. It’s really important to do this thoroughly; if it can be shown that you knew about certain material risks to a startup’s success and didn’t disclose them to fellow investors, you could end up in hot water. Finally, you’ll need to disclose any variations — if the startup is actually run by your brother, if you have been given advisory shares, if you’re already a shareholder, if you’re getting a different deal than syndicate participants, etc. Needless to say, it’s best if your deal has no variations. Carry So far, so good, but you might ask what’s in it for the syndicate lead other than getting better deal exposure and getting to help their friends? A syndicate lead isn’t paid a penny of the $8k that goes to AngelList. Indeed, the only movement regarding their bank account is the outbound money being invested in the startup! The payout to a syndicate lead happens when a company invested in by the syndicate has a (e.g. someone buys the company or the company goes public). At this point, the shares held by the LLC get exchanged for cash. The cash that investors put in is returned to them and money returned to the LLC beyond funds invested is then called , which is basically the profit off of the investment. Of the carry, AngelList takes 5% and typically syndicate leads take around 15%. The total amount, e.g. 20%, is listed clearly on a syndicate’s page when investors sign up to the syndicate or a syndicated deal. liquidity event carry Thanks for reading this guide to AngelList Syndicates! Let me know if it was useful to you and/or what I got wrong at . Finally, if you’re an accredited investor in interested in drones, I’d love to welcome you to my syndicate; if into deep learning, . david@weekly.org drone.vc neuron.vc HN Discussion is how hackers start their afternoons. We’re a part of the family. We are now and happy to opportunities. Hacker Noon @AMI accepting submissions discuss advertising &sponsorship To learn more, , , or simply, read our about page like/message us on Facebook tweet/DM @HackerNoon. If you enjoyed this story, we recommend reading our and . Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted! latest tech stories trending tech stories

The Mechanics of AngelList Syndicates

[Audio] How Runs a $1.4M Syndicate, a Top Tech Startup and an AL Venture Fund All At Once Pascal Levy-Garboua AngelList <a href="https://medium.com/media/5f40ae3af49f9ed169a012bdd8e41a0e/href">https://medium.com/media/5f40ae3af49f9ed169a012bdd8e41a0e/href</a> Pascal has 10+ years experience in Enterprise software and Consumer Internet and is passionate about marketplaces and local commerce since working at eBay. He built and scale VirtuOz (VC backed) from 4 to 80+ employees before ultimately being acquired. Pascal also runs one of the top Angellist syndicates, having invested in Realty Shares, , Wag, , , and Payjoy. He also runs one of the first AL venture funds and is a is a mentor and judge at in the Technology Venture Formation class (MS&E 273). Checkr Shyp Caviar Sprig Stanford Listen and Learn: How to run a top syndicate while working a day job Why local commerce is the future The way Angellist funds work What most angel investors do wrong initially How Angellist has evolved in the past three years Why liquidity is hard to come by How the on demand economy is changing commerce as we know it Why cryptocurrency is overrated in the short term and underrated in the long term Pascal’s Projects: Pascal’s AngelList profile Pascal’s Syndicate Pascal’s LinkedIn Pascal’s on Twitter: @2pasc Check out the Original Episode Here! Itunes: Android: http://thesyndicate.vc/itunes http://thesyndicate.vc/android If you got something actionable or valuable from this post or enjoyed the interview, go ahead and “Clap” below .

[Audio] How Pascal Levy-Garboua Runs a $1.4M

Why Chainwire is the Best Crypto PR Distribution Tool for Web3 Marketing Professionals

কেন চেইনওয়্যার ওয়েব3 মার্কেটিং পেশাদারদের জন্য সেরা ক্রিপ্টো পিআর ডিস্ট্রিবিউশন টুল

Warum Chainwire das beste Krypto-PR-Verteilungstool für Web3-Marketingprofis ist

Por qué Chainwire es la mejor herramienta de distribución de relaciones públicas criptográficas para los profesionales del marketing Web3

Pourquoi Chainwire est le meilleur outil de distribution Crypto PR pour les professionnels du marketing Web3

वेब3 मार्केटिंग पेशेवरों के लिए चेनवायर सर्वश्रेष्ठ क्रिप्टो पीआर वितरण उपकरण क्यों है

Chainwire が Web3 マーケティング専門家にとって最高の暗号 PR 配信ツールである理由

Chainwire가 Web3 마케팅 전문가를 위한 최고의 암호화 PR 배포 도구인 이유

Por que Chainwire é a melhor ferramenta de distribuição de criptografia para profissionais de marketing Web3

Почему Chainwire — лучший инструмент распространения крипто-PR для специалистов по маркетингу Web3

Chainwire Neden Web3 Pazarlama Uzmanları için En İyi Kripto PR Dağıtım Aracıdır?

Tại sao Chainwire là Công cụ phân phối PR tiền điện tử tốt nhất dành cho các chuyên gia tiếp thị Web3

为什么 Chainwire 是 Web3 营销专业人士的最佳加密 PR 分发工具

"When You Take VC Funding, the Clock Often Starts Ticking" Entrepreneur Jack Smith on Exiting Vungle

"আপনি যখন ভিসি ফান্ডিং নেন, ঘড়ি প্রায়শই টিক টিক শুরু করে" উদ্যোক্তা জ্যাক স্মিথ এক্সিটিং ভাংলে

„Wenn man VC-Finanzierung annimmt, beginnt die Uhr oft zu ticken“ – Unternehmer Jack Smith über den Ausstieg aus Vungle

"Cuando se obtiene financiación de capital de riesgo, el tiempo a menudo empieza a correr" El empresario Jack Smith habla sobre su salida de Vungle

"Lorsque vous prenez un financement en capital-risque, le temps commence souvent à tourner" L'entrepreneur Jack Smith à propos de sa sortie de Vungle

"जब आप वी.सी. फंडिंग लेते हैं, तो अक्सर समय की गति बढ़ने लगती है" उद्यमी जैक स्मिथ ने वुंगल से बाहर निकलने पर कहा

「VC から資金を調達すると、時間が刻々と動き始めることが多い」起業家ジャック・スミスが Vungle からの撤退について語る

"VC 자금 지원을 받으면 시계가 똑딱거리기 시작하는 경우가 많습니다." 기업가 Jack Smith, Vungle 종료

“Quando você recebe financiamento de capital de risco, o relógio geralmente começa a contar” Empreendedor Jack Smith sobre a saída do Vungle

«Когда вы берете венчурное финансирование, часы часто начинают тикать» Предприниматель Джек Смит о выходе из Vungle

Girişimci Jack Smith, Vungle'dan Çıkış Konusunda "VC Finansmanı Aldığınızda Zaman Sıklıkla İşlemeye Başlıyor"

"Khi bạn nhận tiền từ VC, đồng hồ thường bắt đầu tích tắc" Doanh nhân Jack Smith khi rời khỏi Vũngle

“当你接受风险投资时，时钟通常开始滴答作响”企业家杰克·史密斯谈退出 Vungle

You can jump to any part of the United States International Cyberspace & Digital Policy Strategy here. This part is 4 of 38. Cyber Attacks and National Security Threats Adversarial cyber campaigns can cumulatively produce strategic loss for the United States and its allies, and they increasingly put the development goals of emerging economies at risk. Cyber threats continue to intensify in both frequency and severity, with increased risks of escalatory or uncontrolled cyber activity. State actor and non-state actors, including criminals, terrorists, and violent extremists, have tremendous incentives to invest in and exploit digital technologies to threaten our and other’s national interests. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) presents the broadest, most active, and most persistent cyber threat to government and private sector networks in the United States. Beijing has mounted cyber espionage operations against government, commercial, and civil society actors and has increased its ability to carry out destructive and disruptive cyberattacks. The PRC is capable of launching cyberattacks that could disrupt oil and gas pipelines, rail systems, and other critical infrastructure services within the United States or its allies and partners. Attempts to compromise critical infrastructure by PRC actors are designed in part to pre-position themselves to be able to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict—either to either prevent the United States from being able to project power into Asia, or to affect our decision-making during a crisis by instigating societal chaos inside the United States. Both state-sponsored activity and that of PRC-linked actors are part of the PRC cyber approach. A persistent cyber threat, the Russian government is refining its cyber espionage, cyberattack, influence, and information manipulation capabilities to threaten other states and to weaken U.S. alliances and partnerships. Russia continues to provide safe haven to transnational cybercriminal actors, such as disruptive ransomware gangs. Russia’s cyberattacks in support of its 2022 unprovoked invasion of Ukraine were intended to destabilize the Ukrainian state and military and have resulted in spillover effects onto civilian critical infrastructure in other European countries. As the war continues, Russian government and Russian government-aligned cyber actors have targeted Ukraine with cyber operations against the public and private sectors, information manipulation and online influence operations, and attempts to divert and censor Ukrainians’ access to the Internet. Russia appears particularly focused on improving its ability to target critical infrastructure in the United States to demonstrate its ability to damage infrastructure during a crisis. The governments of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) and Iran have both increased the scale of their malicious cyber activities. Facing multiple rounds of international sanctions, the DPRK evades controls through cybercrime and the theft of cryptocurrencies. DPRK hackers continue to gather intelligence on military technology targets as well as academia and think tanks. In addition, the DPRK dispatches thousands of skilled IT workers around the world to generate fraudulent revenue that ultimately contributes to its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs despite U.S. and UN sanctions. Iran’s growing expertise and willingness to conduct cyber operations threaten the security of networks and data globally. Iran’s opportunistic approach to cyberattacks makes critical infrastructure owners in the United States susceptible to being targeted by Iranian actors, particularly when Tehran believes that it must demonstrate it can push back against the United States in other domains. Iranian actors have engaged in a wide range of intelligence-gathering operations around the world, and—in the wake of Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s military operations in Gaza—have conducted wiper, website takedown, hack and leak operations, espionage, and online information manipulations campaigns. Iranian actors have also conducted malicious activity against operational technology devices used in the water sector and other industries. Cyber criminals and criminal syndicates operating in cyberspace now represent a specific threat to the economic and national security of countries around the world. Cybercrime and online fraud cause significant harm to economic development, with small- to medium-sized enterprises and financial service providers especially at risk. According to one estimate, the global cost of cybercrime is estimated to top $23 trillion in 2027. [3] Ransomware incidents have disrupted critical functions, services, and businesses, from energy pipelines and food companies to schools and hospitals. Ransomware attacks against the healthcare industry can undercut the level of care provided to patients and others under care. Total economic losses from ransomware attacks worldwide continue to climb, reaching into the billions of U.S. dollars annually. Ransomware groups often operate out of safe haven jurisdictions whose governments, often adversaries like Russia, do not cooperate with law enforcement and sometimes encourage, direct, sanction, or tolerate their activities. Terrorists’ and violent extremists’ use of digital technologies also represents a threat to the national security of the United States and its allies and partners. Malign activities include the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) to spread violent propaganda; encourage radicalization and mobilization to commit violent acts; recruit individuals to terrorist organizations; to train, plan, and coordinate attacks; and finance terrorist acts. Continue Reading Here. This post was originally published on May 6, 2024, by the U.S Department of State You can jump to any part of the United States International Cyberspace & Digital Policy Strategy here. This part is 4 of 38. You can jump to any part of the United States International Cyberspace & Digital Policy Strategy here . This part is 4 of 38. here Cyber Attacks and National Security Threats Adversarial cyber campaigns can cumulatively produce strategic loss for the United States and its allies, and they increasingly put the development goals of emerging economies at risk. Cyber threats continue to intensify in both frequency and severity, with increased risks of escalatory or uncontrolled cyber activity. State actor and non-state actors, including criminals, terrorists, and violent extremists, have tremendous incentives to invest in and exploit digital technologies to threaten our and other’s national interests. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) presents the broadest, most active, and most persistent cyber threat to government and private sector networks in the United States. Beijing has mounted cyber espionage operations against government, commercial, and civil society actors and has increased its ability to carry out destructive and disruptive cyberattacks. The PRC is capable of launching cyberattacks that could disrupt oil and gas pipelines, rail systems, and other critical infrastructure services within the United States or its allies and partners. Attempts to compromise critical infrastructure by PRC actors are designed in part to pre-position themselves to be able to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict—either to either prevent the United States from being able to project power into Asia, or to affect our decision-making during a crisis by instigating societal chaos inside the United States. Both state-sponsored activity and that of PRC-linked actors are part of the PRC cyber approach. A persistent cyber threat, the Russian government is refining its cyber espionage, cyberattack, influence, and information manipulation capabilities to threaten other states and to weaken U.S. alliances and partnerships. Russia continues to provide safe haven to transnational cybercriminal actors, such as disruptive ransomware gangs. Russia’s cyberattacks in support of its 2022 unprovoked invasion of Ukraine were intended to destabilize the Ukrainian state and military and have resulted in spillover effects onto civilian critical infrastructure in other European countries. As the war continues, Russian government and Russian government-aligned cyber actors have targeted Ukraine with cyber operations against the public and private sectors, information manipulation and online influence operations, and attempts to divert and censor Ukrainians’ access to the Internet. Russia appears particularly focused on improving its ability to target critical infrastructure in the United States to demonstrate its ability to damage infrastructure during a crisis. The governments of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) and Iran have both increased the scale of their malicious cyber activities. Facing multiple rounds of international sanctions, the DPRK evades controls through cybercrime and the theft of cryptocurrencies. DPRK hackers continue to gather intelligence on military technology targets as well as academia and think tanks. In addition, the DPRK dispatches thousands of skilled IT workers around the world to generate fraudulent revenue that ultimately contributes to its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs despite U.S. and UN sanctions. Iran’s growing expertise and willingness to conduct cyber operations threaten the security of networks and data globally. Iran’s opportunistic approach to cyberattacks makes critical infrastructure owners in the United States susceptible to being targeted by Iranian actors, particularly when Tehran believes that it must demonstrate it can push back against the United States in other domains. Iranian actors have engaged in a wide range of intelligence-gathering operations around the world, and—in the wake of Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s military operations in Gaza—have conducted wiper, website takedown, hack and leak operations, espionage, and online information manipulations campaigns. Iranian actors have also conducted malicious activity against operational technology devices used in the water sector and other industries. Cyber criminals and criminal syndicates operating in cyberspace now represent a specific threat to the economic and national security of countries around the world. Cybercrime and online fraud cause significant harm to economic development, with small- to medium-sized enterprises and financial service providers especially at risk. According to one estimate, the global cost of cybercrime is estimated to top $23 trillion in 2027. [3] [3] [3] Ransomware incidents have disrupted critical functions, services, and businesses, from energy pipelines and food companies to schools and hospitals. Ransomware attacks against the healthcare industry can undercut the level of care provided to patients and others under care. Total economic losses from ransomware attacks worldwide continue to climb, reaching into the billions of U.S. dollars annually. Ransomware groups often operate out of safe haven jurisdictions whose governments, often adversaries like Russia, do not cooperate with law enforcement and sometimes encourage, direct, sanction, or tolerate their activities. Terrorists’ and violent extremists’ use of digital technologies also represents a threat to the national security of the United States and its allies and partners. Malign activities include the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) to spread violent propaganda; encourage radicalization and mobilization to commit violent acts; recruit individuals to terrorist organizations; to train, plan, and coordinate attacks; and finance terrorist acts. Continue Reading Here. Continue Reading Here . Here This post was originally published on May 6, 2024, by the U.S Department of State This post was originally published on May 6, 2024, by the U.S Department of State by the U.S Department of State

The Growing Cyber Threat Landscape: Insights into State-Sponsored and Criminal Cyber Activities

ক্রমবর্ধমান সাইবার হুমকি ল্যান্ডস্কেপ: রাষ্ট্র-স্পন্সর এবং অপরাধমূলক সাইবার কার্যকলাপের অন্তর্দৃষ্টি

Die wachsende Cyber-Bedrohungslandschaft: Einblicke in staatlich geförderte und kriminelle Cyber-Aktivitäten

El creciente panorama de amenazas cibernéticas: información sobre las actividades cibernéticas criminales y patrocinadas por el Estado

Le paysage croissant des cybermenaces : aperçu des cyberactivités criminelles et parrainées par l'État

बढ़ता साइबर खतरा परिदृश्य: राज्य प्रायोजित और आपराधिक साइबर गतिविधियों की जानकारी

拡大するサイバー脅威の状況: 国家主導および犯罪的なサイバー活動に関する洞察

증가하는 사이버 위협 환경: 국가 후원 및 범죄적 사이버 활동에 대한 통찰력

O cenário crescente de ameaças cibernéticas: insights sobre atividades cibernéticas criminosas e patrocinadas pelo Estado

Растущий ландшафт киберугроз: понимание спонсируемой государством и преступной кибердеятельности

Büyüyen Siber Tehdit Ortamı: Devlet Destekli ve Kriminal Siber Faaliyetlere İlişkin Bilgiler

Bối cảnh mối đe dọa mạng ngày càng tăng: Thông tin chuyên sâu về các hoạt động tội phạm mạng và do nhà nước tài trợ

日益严重的网络威胁形势：深入了解国家支持的网络犯罪活动

The words "venture" and "venture capital investment" are heard more and more often nowadays, but many beginner investors experience fear of uncertainty and doubt when choosing this method of financing. In order to better understand this topic, I asked Aleksandr Belov, co-founder and CEO of the Prosto VC club*.* First of all, it is important to understand that angel investors are very eager to reach out to the top startups investments in which can multiply your invested money many times over. But for a regular angel investor, this is virtually impossible. Especially remotely, it is impossible to reach the best venture deals that take place, for example, in Silicon Valley - there are thousands of funds there, claiming your place in the startup. Therefore, the only working business model for getting into such deals is the model of community and co-investment with those who already know how to get into such deals. Why do people go into venture capital? And what is it, anyway? Venture means nothing less than investment. It’s neither philanthropy, nor sponsorship of startups and not just the financing of some technologies. In abstract terms, venture is a field of financial engineering. Simply speaking, it is one of the ways to multiply your own capital. Not to save, but to multiply, because venture capital is a high-risk tool, so it is much less suitable for saving than classical banking and stock exchange options, which means that people come to venture capital to earn money. It is important for both beginner investors and startups to understand this - a venture capitalist is the same as an entrepreneur who is looking for a way to make a super profit, but in a more passive way. That is, if a start-up founder's contribution consists of 90% of his time and 10% of his personal funds, an investor, on the contrary, wants to devote 10% of his time, but is ready to compensate 90% of his "involvement" with money. This is what the investor's partnership with the startup is based on. In Kiyosaki's Cash Flow Quadrant, this type of employment is called "Investor". It turns out that those who aim at this part of the quadrant go into venture capital. They can be former entrepreneurs, top managers, celebrities who have the initial capital to make the first steps towards this role. Venture is, obviously, not quick, you have to wait several years for your share in the startup to grow in monetary terms. And during these years you have to build a whole portfolio of projects, i.e. invest in other startups to reduce the risk of losses and increase the chances that several portfolio projects will shoot up and bring super profits - 10, 100, in rare cases 1000 times more than you invested in them. This is why people come to venture capital when there is no longer a goal of making money "here and now". Why do they go into venture capital - from a purely practical point of view, to be able to earn much more than with any other tool. In real estate the average income yield is 8-10% per annum, the average annual yield of the US stock market is 15%,the investments into metals in some cases can reach 20%. In venture capital it is historically 30-40%. But it is important to realize that not every startup will show such profitability, and the portfolio as a whole - you should be prepared that out of 10 startups 5 will pass away, a few more will bring nothing, and only 1-2 will show such growth that the earnings from them will cover the losses from all the others. To sum it up - people go into venture capital with the aim to improve their standard of living; to satisfy their own motivation to provide for the future, for their tom orrow better due to strategically higher profitability than can be obtained in classical financial instruments. Is venture capital complicated, is it knowledge available only to a few? After talking to the founders of the Venture Club, I can say that, in fact, no - this opinion about venture capital is not accurate - it comes from ignorance, from the lack of completeness of information. Like when you first go to the gym and you think that losing weight and gaining muscle is some kind of rocket science. Or like when we all thought that about math in first grade. But as you dive in, the subject gets easier. Venturing is an extension of entrepreneurial or management experience. Decision making is very similar, the same questions about market, team, strategy are relevant as in any other non-venture project. Of course, there are nuances - for example, in venture capital you have to be a little more immersed in technological trends; you have to do market analytics a little differently. But there is already a lot of information on how to do this. The main rule of thumb is that if you start today, in six months you will have a good understanding of venture capital and an idea of what kind of portfolio you want to have. If you don't start - you will be six months off your own startup earning schedule. Do venture capitalists need large amounts of capital? It's no secret that previously an investor's check to a startup was several tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even 5 years ago, the minimum check was $25,000-30,000. But the industry is evolving. The business model of syndicates and venture clubs has emerged - where several investors can throw together smaller checks, and eventually score one substantial one. There are already deals where the minimum check is $10,000, and there are even deals where the minimum check is $5,000. But at the same time, all club members together can raise up to $500,000, which is even more than the checks of many funds at the early stage of a startup's development. In this case, the investor has no commitments, they independently decide whether to join the deal and in what amount. To do this, the club provides all the information required to make the decision. In addition, there are online platforms where you can invest as little as $1,000 in your favorite startup according to the same principle. All this makes it possible, even with a relatively small amount of capital allocated for high-risk venture investments, to assemble a balanced portfolio of projects in different industries, in different markets and with different levels of risk. Moreover, Aleksandr told me that even those club members who have large venture budgets should not be in a hurry to put $100,000 into each project. From the point of view of statistics and mathematical expectations, it is better to distribute these $100,000 into a dozen of projects. Strategically, this will give a better return on the entire portfolio. And if you see that some startup is rapidly taking off, you will have the opportunity to put a bigger check into the startup at the next round, thus greatly reducing risks by investing substantial checks only in the most successful projects in your portfolio. So, small initial checks are a boon for the investor, it is his option to "take a place" in a promising project without risking all his capital at once. So if you are ready to allocate $5,000-10,000 several times a year to your favorite startups, join venture clubs - they give you the opportunity to get a small check into interesting and often exclusive deals that are simply impossible to discover without a club. The words "venture" and "venture capital investment" are heard more and more often nowadays, but many beginner investors experience fear of uncertainty and doubt when choosing this method of financing. The words "venture" and "venture capital investment" are heard more and more often nowadays, but many beginner investors experience fear of uncertainty and doubt when choosing this method of financing. In order to better understand this topic, I asked Aleksandr Belov, co-founder and CEO of the Prosto VC club *.* In order to better understand this topic, I asked Aleksandr Belov, co-founder and CEO of the Aleksandr Belov, co-founder and CEO of the Prosto VC club Prosto VC club First of all, it is important to understand that angel investors are very eager to reach out to the top startups investments in which can multiply your invested money many times over. But for a regular angel investor, this is virtually impossible. Especially remotely, it is impossible to reach the best venture deals that take place, for example, in Silicon Valley - there are thousands of funds there, claiming your place in the startup. Therefore, the only working business model for getting into such deals is the model of community and co-investment with those who already know how to get into such deals. Why do people go into venture capital? And what is it, anyway? Why do people go into venture capital? And what is it, anyway? Venture means nothing less than investment. It’s neither philanthropy, nor sponsorship of startups and not just the financing of some technologies. In abstract terms, venture is a field of financial engineering. Simply speaking, it is one of the ways to multiply your own capital. Not to save, but to multiply, because venture capital is a high-risk tool, so it is much less suitable for saving than classical banking and stock exchange options, which means that people come to venture capital to earn money. It is important for both beginner investors and startups to understand this - a venture capitalist is the same as an entrepreneur who is looking for a way to make a super profit, but in a more passive way. That is, if a start-up founder's contribution consists of 90% of his time and 10% of his personal funds, an investor, on the contrary, wants to devote 10% of his time, but is ready to compensate 90% of his "involvement" with money. This is what the investor's partnership with the startup is based on. In Kiyosaki's Cash Flow Quadrant , this type of employment is called "Investor". It turns out that those who aim at this part of the quadrant go into venture capital. They can be former entrepreneurs, top managers, celebrities who have the initial capital to make the first steps towards this role. Cash Flow Quadrant Venture is, obviously, not quick, you have to wait several years for your share in the startup to grow in monetary terms. And during these years you have to build a whole portfolio of projects, i.e. invest in other startups to reduce the risk of losses and increase the chances that several portfolio projects will shoot up and bring super profits - 10, 100, in rare cases 1000 times more than you invested in them. This is why people come to venture capital when there is no longer a goal of making money "here and now". Why do they go into venture capital - from a purely practical point of view, to be able to earn much more than with any other tool. In real estate the average income yield is 8-10% per annum, the average annual yield of the US stock market is 15%,the investments into metals in some cases can reach 20%. In venture capital it is historically 30-40%. But it is important to realize that not every startup will show such profitability, and the portfolio as a whole - you should be prepared that out of 10 startups 5 will pass away, a few more will bring nothing, and only 1-2 will show such growth that the earnings from them will cover the losses from all the others. Why do they go into venture capital Why do they go into venture capital To sum it up - people go into venture capital with the aim to improve their standard of living; to satisfy their own motivation to provide for the future, for their tom orrow better due to strategically higher profitability than can be obtained in classical financial instruments. Is venture capital complicated, is it knowledge available only to a few? Is venture capital complicated, is it knowledge available only to a few? After talking to the founders of the Venture Club, I can say that, in fact, no - this opinion about venture capital is not accurate - it comes from ignorance, from the lack of completeness of information. Like when you first go to the gym and you think that losing weight and gaining muscle is some kind of rocket science. Or like when we all thought that about math in first grade. But as you dive in, the subject gets easier. Venturing is an extension of entrepreneurial or management experience. Decision making is very similar, the same questions about market, team, strategy are relevant as in any other non-venture project. Of course, there are nuances - for example, in venture capital you have to be a little more immersed in technological trends; you have to do market analytics a little differently. But there is already a lot of information on how to do this. The main rule of thumb is that if you start today, in six months you will have a good understanding of venture capital and an idea of what kind of portfolio you want to have. If you don't start - you will be six months off your own startup earning schedule. Do venture capitalists need large amounts of capital? Do venture capitalists need large amounts of capital? It's no secret that previously an investor's check to a startup was several tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even 5 years ago, the minimum check was $25,000-30,000. But the industry is evolving. The business model of syndicates and venture clubs has emerged - where several investors can throw together smaller checks, and eventually score one substantial one. There are already deals where the minimum check is $10,000, and there are even deals where the minimum check is $5,000. But at the same time, all club members together can raise up to $500,000, which is even more than the checks of many funds at the early stage of a startup's development. In this case, the investor has no commitments, they independently decide whether to join the deal and in what amount. To do this, the club provides all the information required to make the decision. In addition, there are online platforms where you can invest as little as $1,000 in your favorite startup according to the same principle. All this makes it possible, even with a relatively small amount of capital allocated for high-risk venture investments, to assemble a balanced portfolio of projects in different industries, in different markets and with different levels of risk. Moreover, Aleksandr told me that even those club members who have large venture budgets should not be in a hurry to put $100,000 into each project. From the point of view of statistics and mathematical expectations, it is better to distribute these $100,000 into a dozen of projects. Strategically, this will give a better return on the entire portfolio. And if you see that some startup is rapidly taking off, you will have the opportunity to put a bigger check into the startup at the next round, thus greatly reducing risks by investing substantial checks only in the most successful projects in your portfolio. So, small initial checks are a boon for the investor, it is his option to "take a place" in a promising project without risking all his capital at once. So if you are ready to allocate $5,000-10,000 several times a year to your favorite startups, join venture clubs - they give you the opportunity to get a small check into interesting and often exclusive deals that are simply impossible to discover without a club.

Breaking into Venture Capital: Overcoming Obstacles and Embracing Potential 

Elon Musk's X Lawsuit Against Anti-Hate Group, CCDH, Alleging Speech Suppression Tactics 

In recent years, headlines have been flooded with reports of cybercriminals arrested for orchestrating ransomware attacks and employing extortion tactics. Despite awareness and efforts to combat these threats, ransomware gangs continue to thrive, reaping profits from their activities. This begs the question: How are ransomware gangs as profitable as they are? The evolution of Ransomware into a service. Ransomware has undergone a dramatic evolution since its inception in the 1990s. Originally, it was largely a one-off endeavor, with cybercriminals conducting isolated attacks targeting individual users. However, as technology advanced and cyber defenses improved, ransomware tactics also evolved. Fast forward to the present day, ransomware has transformed into a sophisticated and lucrative business model, generating billions of dollars in illicit profits annually. Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platforms give access to ransomware tools, allowing even those with limited technical expertise to launch attacks in exchange for a share of the ransom payments. This combination of technological advancements, economic incentives, recruitment tactics, and offering support to victims has turned ransomware into a multi-billion-dollar industry, making it a significant threat to individuals, businesses, and critical infrastructure worldwide. Trust is a hard concept. The rise of Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platforms has democratized access to ransomware tools, allowing cybercriminals of varying skill levels to participate in extortion schemes. Raas provides everything from ransomware code to payment processing services, enabling affiliates to execute attacks in exchange for a percentage of the ransom proceeds. This model has lowered the barrier to entry for cybercrime, resulting in an influx of new actors entering the ransomware crime syndicate. RaaS platforms have revolutionized the ransomware business and actually reflect standard business practices and operations. One such business practice is the support options that are available to victims. Ransomware groups have transformed their operations into sophisticated support services for their victims. These services extend beyond providing ransomware code and include technical assistance, customer support, and even negotiation services. Victims can access dedicated forums or communication channels such as TOX, where they can speak with support about any issue or issues they are facing. Some sites offer a detailed description of how to use their support system including the use of proper etiquette. Another example is the mission statement of Ransomware groups. Despite their illicit nature, ransomware groups often display their mission statements through their actions and communications. While they may not articulate their objectives in formal documents or public declarations, their actions speak volumes about their goals and motivations. For instance, the targeting of specific industries or organizations can indicate a desire to maximize financial gain or exert influence over critical infrastructure. In essence, ransomware groups convey their mission through their actions. Show me the money!!! At its core, ransomware is a lucrative business venture for cybercriminals. The potential for high profits with relatively low risk has attracted individuals and organized groups alike to engage in ransomware operations. With the ability to target a wide range of victims, including individuals, businesses, and even critical infrastructure, the financial rewards can be substantial. “Joining the alliance advantage” option can gain you 90% of the payment. All that is needed is your Bitcoin wallet address as a payment method. They will pay you first and they will take their 10%…you may go to prison but that is the risk of success, I guess. Just like the cybersecurity job market, cybercriminals are offering high salaries and assorted perks to attract the best for the job. Some job ads have annual salaries of as much as $1.2 million for the most skilled cybercriminals. Other positions include attack specialists, reverse engineers, testers, analysts, and administrators. In an article published by “Just as any other business, cybercrime needs labor. New team members to participate in cyberattacks and other illegal activities are recruited right where the business is done – on the dark web. We reviewed job ads and resumes that were posted on 155 dark web forums from January 2020 through June 2022 and analyzed those containing information about a long-term engagement or a full-time job.” securelist.com Below is an organizational chart workflow of how recruits would function. “A total of roughly 200,000 employment-related ads were posted on the dark web forums during the period in question. The largest number of these, or 41% of the total, were posted in 2020. Posting activity peaked in March 2020, possibly caused by a pandemic-related experienced by part of the population.” income drop Below are examples of Job postings resumes that ranged from a diverse group of individuals looking for various forms of work on the dark web. Don’t pay and you will pay. The transition to extortion in ransomware was a significant move in profitability for cybercriminals. While traditional ransomware attacks involved encrypting data and demanding payment for its release, extortion tactics expanded the scope of potential victims and increased the potential for higher payouts. By exfiltrating sensitive data before encrypting it, ransomware gangs gained leverage over victims, threatening to expose or sell the stolen information if ransom demands were not met. This approach proved to be more lucrative for several reasons. Firstly, victims faced the double threat of data loss and reputational damage, making them more likely to comply with ransom demands. Secondly, the value of stolen data could far exceed the ransom amount, especially for organizations storing valuable intellectual property or sensitive customer information. The attack on Change Healthcare was an example out of many where Ransomware cybercriminals used extortion to turn more profit. According to “This development is likely to lead to more sophisticated and advanced extortion methods. For example, rather than relying solely on encrypting a company’s data for ransom, Eagan said she expects hackers will employ double or even triple extortion strategies, encrypting sensitive data but also threatening to leak or sell stolen data unless their ransom demands are met. With so much going on, Thakar said the cybersecurity landscape continues to be a cat and mouse game: “Companies come up with a better way to defend, the bad guys figure out another way to go after businesses.” cnbc.com The Pheonix and the Hydra. When law enforcement agencies such as the FBI take down a website associated with ransomware operations, cybercriminals often execute their disaster recovery (DR) plans. These plans typically involve redundant infrastructure, decentralized communication channels, and backup mechanisms to ensure continuity of operations in the event of disruption. In response to takedowns, ransomware groups may leverage their networks and resources to quickly bring the website back online, either through alternative hosting providers, mirror sites, or through peer-to-peer communication protocols. Moreover, the takedown of a major website like Lockbit can serve as a rallying point for cybercriminal communities, prompting them to unite their efforts in restoring operations and retaliating against law enforcement actions. This coordinated response highlights the agility and adaptability of ransomware groups in the face of regulatory scrutiny and underscores the ongoing challenge of disrupting their illicit activities. According to “LockBit is now running from backup servers and has a new Dark Web presence after their site's recent takedown by the FBI and international partners”. techrepublic.com In conclusion, the resilience and adaptability of ransomware gangs, coupled with their sophisticated business model and operational strategies, have solidified their status as the highly profitable business of cybercrime. Their ability to communicate with other criminals and victims, coupled with their ability to restore operations swiftly following law enforcement takedowns, underscores the challenge to the world. Despite continuous efforts to combat ransomware, the nature of these operations, fueled by the potential for substantial financial gain and the anonymity afforded by cryptocurrencies, suggests that ransomware is a threat that is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. The Cybersecurity world will always be the phoenix rising from the ashes as ransomware gangs are the hydra remaining constant even when one head is removed…another takes its place.

Risky Business: Decrypting the Profitable World of Ransomware Operations 

Toppled power lines catalyze fires and electrical injuries amid an already upsetting hurricane. Natural disaster recovery is expensive and time-consuming, as its ferocity makes operations more complex. The time for resilient, modern infrastructure is now and that is visible in the planet’s extensive network of underwater cables. However, critical fixtures like these are prime targets for cybercriminals because of how much data travels through them. Are humans doing enough to safeguard them? The Importance of Undersea Internet Cables Undersea cables are as subtle as they can be despite worldwide. They are small in diameter and house impressively thin wires despite the immense pressures and climate of the deep ocean. Visualizing how much they impact the world’s day-to-day operations is challenging. However, they are deceptively critical for our productive, communicative planet, sending up to 224 Tbps (terabits per second). spanning 1.4 million kilometers Global Connectivity An estimated through hundreds of fiber-optic undersea cables. Disrupting this much communication and data transfer with careless cable management and security could uproot societies. 97% of Earth’s information passes The subsea infrastructure map describes international relations and what regions are responsible for the most information distribution and retrieval. Because this information is public, it’s straightforward for criminal syndicates to craft a profitable project. Economic Impact Nations connected to these cables have a more impressive global reach, signifying international economic prominence, expansion, and urban development. Unfortunately, cybersecurity breaches are expensive to isolate and recoup from, and prices balloon yearly. Critical infrastructure compromises have a price tag higher than any other type of breach, per instance. This is a culmination of essential businesses shutting down and becoming inoperable, labor required to contain the threat, and resources necessary to put everything back online and salvage extricated data. averaging around $5 million Technological Advancements Submarine cables are one of the backbones of digital transformation and tech development. These were and the Internet of Things because they deliver high-speed, low-latency connections to every area. The robust infrastructure makes communities more efficient and convenient, but its surface area means more entry points and potential vulnerabilities for hackers. critical in expanding 5G Physical Threats to Undersea Cables Cybersecurity risks are not all hidden within the digital ether — physical threats accompany those efforts. How do they appear and how can the world defend against them? Natural Disasters and Wildlife Seismic activity and oceanic storms threaten cable sturdiness. Additionally, sharks and other marine life add more stress. Severed cables leave gaps for hackers to tinker and fix the wires to work for them. Advocating for regulation to standardize the usage of strong materials that do not degrade under sand and water is necessary for keeping them out of harm’s way. Additionally, endorsing any legislation to reduce climate change impacts indirectly supports subsea cable health. Human Activities Consider how a heavy anchor could cut or smash an old cable. Threat actors are just as capable of this type of physical destruction to cyber infrastructure as they are of executing it within digital landscapes. Other destructive activities include drilling or fishing. Additionally, and could permeate any commercial industry with financially-susceptible interests. nation-state sabotage is not unheard of Aging Infrastructure New cables may hit ocean floors, but this does not mean old ones are getting the upgrade they need. Additionally, many of the most critical wires are in clumps, making it easier to attack a lot at once. Updates should include redistributing chokepoints for less concentrated attack surfaces. Even amateur hackers know antiquated technology stops receiving support, meaning vulnerabilities abound. Undersea transmission must be able to receive ongoing patches and updates to withstand novel threat variants. Cyber Threats to Undersea Cables The attacks within digital spaces are arguably more destructive. These are the most notable threat variants and ways humanity should protect cables. Wiretapping Tapping undersea cables has been , demonstrating the literal leagues people will go to impede and damage communications and information. This can happen by going underwater or tapping it from a landing station. happening since the First World War DDoS Attacks Interrupting internet connections is a lucrative venture, primarily when and health care rely on connectivity just as much as everyone else. Overwhelming submarine cables are an obvious way to extend the outage duration because remediation takes so long. essential services like finance Data Interception Instead of destroying or bombarding cables, why not place a small bug to capture bytes of sensitive data? Disrupting signals allows criminals to receive immediate information while redirecting or obstructing communication — a popular option for espionage. Surveillance threats are harder to catch, making them enticing to criminal outfits. Intercepting data may also occur through social engineering, such as manipulating an official to steal credentials to access subsea wire operating systems. Protection of Undersea Cables Dedicated upkeep makes these techniques viable for the long term. Next-generation remote monitoring and maintenance systems will be quintessential for identifying threat attempts, detecting backdoors, submitting updates, and gathering data. This calls for upgraded inventory management systems , as well as coordinate and record each cable with greater visibility. to cut costs and improve efficiency Education on physical and digital threats is vital for forging plans to make undersea cables secure. The International Cable Protection Committee is an example of the degree of commitment the planet needs. They submit calls to action from the most powerful entities, including recent events like involving hard-to-access, damaged cables. the compromises in the Red Sea Generally, international laws to deliver the coverage undersea cables demand. Writing contingency plans, filling out regulatory gaps, and completing more risk assessments require dedicated research into the resilience and distribution of the wires. This knowledge is limited, publicly unavailable or hard to access. need to be more holistic Advanced encryption and security measures based on the most up-to-date compliance frameworks ensure the industry’s best knowledge shields these cables. More digital and physical walls equate to better data integrity. Authorities must get into the habit of consulting with leaders like the ICPC and related organizations for informed guidance. This includes discussing industry threats and thoughtful operations execution with businesses like fisheries. Out of Sight, Out of Mind Ignoring the power and value of submarine cables allows their data and influence to fall into the hands of cybercriminals. More comprehensive and strict protective measures are crucial for withstanding the modern hacker’s constantly developing and subversive tactics. Global connectivity and sustainable development mandate it, which only happens with collaboration and awareness of how essential underwater infrastructure is.

Are We Ignoring the Cybersecurity Risks of Undersea Internet Cables?

Ooga Booga, situated in London, made headlines when it revealed a significant plan: an investment of one million dollars to construct the first liquidity broker on Berachain. By providing consumers with the finest discounts and the most sophisticated tools for asset exchanges that are both fast and straightforward, this new company hopes to revolutionise the decentralised finance landscape. Let us have a look at the ways in which the strategic plan of Ooga Booga, which is supported by an excellent set of partners, will improve the environment of the Berachain from the very beginning. Ooga Booga and Berachain: Exploring Uncharted Concepts and Ideas A combination of human ingenuity and technological advancement led to the creation of Ooga Booga. Bruno Wu and Kevin Liu, who is just 19 years old, are the two individuals that are in charge of Ooga Booga. Their earlier achievements with the Gridex Protocol, which is an EVM order book that is completely on-chain, have had a significant influence on the early concepts that Ooga Booga has developed. Ooga Booga is getting set for a huge start on Berachain, and they are going to use Liu's expertise to skillfully manage this new region. The company has a significant worth of $10 million after fundraising. Making Use of Knowledge to Determine the Appropriate Market Fit Ooga Booga is not simply another new startup; rather, it is exceptional in that it makes use of the knowledge it has gained via the Gridex Protocol. Within Berachain's environment, which is said to be one of the most anticipated layer 1 alternatives of the year, the objective is to identify the product-market fit that has the greatest potential for success. The Syndicate of Visionaries: The Organisation Responsible for Making Ooga Booga's Journey Possible One might say that the individuals who have put money into Ooga Booga are a veritable who's who of cryptocurrency investors. A large number of investors, such as Cypher Capital and CitizenX, amongst others, have shown their support for the initiative. A number of notable angel investors, including Sandeep Nailwal of Polygon, have also shown interest in the venture. It is clear from the wide spectrum of investments that many individuals believe that Ooga Booga has the potential to be a game-changer for Berachain. Bettering the overall experience of using DeFi With the goal of putting the customer first, Ooga Booga intends to revolutionise the way that products are marketed. A user-friendly trading experience is provided by the platform, which includes several features such as gasless switches and transactions involving numerous assets. When it comes to speed and convenience of usage, it will establish a new standard in the DeFi arena. Ooga Booga's Core Features Have Been Revealed—The Innovations That Are at the Heart of the Game Enhanced liquidity and a smooth trading experience Ooga Booga makes it possible to employ direct routes to different financing sources, and it also enables dollar-cost averaging techniques for users who are diligent. If you want to trade more readily, you may take use of these features. Limit Orders and Multi-Asset Swaps: In order to make the platform function in a manner similar to that of a centralised exchange, it incorporates on-chain limit orders and the capability to conduct complex deals that include many tokens at the same time. Evidence-of-Liquidity: A Revolutionary Approach It is now feasible for Ooga Booga to link different liquidity pools thanks to the new Proof-of-Liquidity consensus technique that is implemented on Berachain cryptocurrency. It is possible that this may result in a significant enhancement in the blockchain's capital efficiency. Enjoying the anticipation of a successful launch With the launch of the Berachain mainnet drawing nearer, Ooga Booga's work on the Artio testnet demonstrates that the company is entering the market at the right moment and in the right manner. This allows early users to immediately take advantage of all of the capabilities that the mainnet has to offer. Recognising the Ecosystem and Taking Ooga Booga into Account The Ecosystem Growth Team at the Berachain Foundation is very enthusiastic about the path that Ooga Booga is on and the commitment that it has made to the community. The anticipated positive impacts on the environment of the Berachain have been brought to their attention. Ooga Booga: The Next Step Forward in DeFi is the Subject of This Article Ooga Booga is at the forefront of blockchain innovation, and its intended outcome is to make Berachain the blockchain that is the most efficient in terms of capital utilisation. Ooga Booga is going to provide customers with the tools they need to make the most of every deal, thanks to its user-friendly design and extensive range of decentralised application (dapp) interaction. When it comes to the development of decentralised finance, this will be a significant step forward. While Ooga Booga is getting ready to unveil its collection of liquidity collecting tools, everyone in the cryptocurrency industry is holding their breath in anticipation. It is possible that the innovative platform that Ooga Booga has developed and the cutting-edge technology that Berachain has developed could work together to usher in a new age for decentralised finance. This new era will bring about increased speed, safety, and openness for both buyers and sellers. The integration of advanced technologies and innovative financial mechanisms is at the core of Ooga Booga’s strategy to reshape the DeFi landscape. By focusing on user experience, Ooga Booga aims to lower the barriers to entry for both seasoned traders and newcomers to the cryptocurrency world. The initiative’s emphasis on seamless transactions, enhanced security, and liquidity provision positions it as a pivotal player in the future of decentralized finance. The Role of Community in Ooga Booga’s Ecosystem An integral part of Ooga Booga's strategy is its focus on building a strong community around its platform. The company believes that the success of its initiatives is closely linked to the active participation and feedback of its users. To this end, Ooga Booga is committed to fostering a vibrant community where users can share insights, discuss strategies, and contribute to the platform's ongoing development. This community-driven approach not only enhances the platform's offerings but also strengthens the overall ecosystem, making it more resilient and adaptive to market changes. Pioneering the Future of Finance with Ooga Booga As Ooga Booga prepares to launch its suite of financial tools, it is clear that the company is not just introducing another set of applications into the market. Instead, it is pioneering a new approach to financial transactions that could redefine how individuals and institutions engage with the digital economy. With its innovative solutions and community-focused ethos, Ooga Booga is poised to play a key role in the evolution of decentralized finance, making it more accessible, efficient, and secure for everyone involved. Don’t forget to like and share the story! This author is an independent contributor publishing via our brand-as-author program. Be it through direct compensation, media partnerships, or networking, the author has a vested interest in the company/ies mentioned in this story. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR Vested Interest Disclosure:

Ooga Booga Ignites the DeFi World with $1 Million Investment in Berachain

Ooga Booga Berachain-এ $1 মিলিয়ন বিনিয়োগের মাধ্যমে DeFi ওয়ার্ল্ডকে আলোকিত করেছে৷

Ooga Booga bringt die DeFi-Welt mit einer Investition von 1 Million US-Dollar in Berachain in Schwung

Ooga Booga enciende el mundo DeFi con una inversión de $1 millón en Berachain

Ooga Booga enflamme le monde DeFi avec un investissement d'un million de dollars dans Berachain

ओगा बूगा ने बेराचेन में $1 मिलियन के निवेश के साथ डेफी वर्ल्ड को प्रज्वलित किया

Ooga Booga、Berachain への 100 万ドルの投資で DeFi 世界に火をつける

Ooga Booga는 Berachain에 100만 달러를 투자하여 DeFi 세계에 불을 붙였습니다.

Ooga Booga incendeia o mundo DeFi com investimento de US$ 1 milhão em Berachain

Ooga Booga зажгла мир DeFi, инвестировав 1 миллион долларов в Berachain

Ooga Booga, Berachain'e 1 Milyon Dolarlık Yatırımla DeFi Dünyasını Ateşledi

Ooga Booga khơi dậy thế giới DeFi với khoản đầu tư 1 triệu USD vào Berachain

Ooga Booga 向 Berachain 投资 100 万美元点燃 DeFi 世界

103 Stories To Learn About Banking

Let's learn about via these 50 free stories. They are ordered by most time reading created on HackerNoon. Visit the to find the most read stories about any technology. Libra /Learn Repo 1. Is this the best time to buy Bitcoin or not? The recent rally has affected many market participants; at such moments, many people are influenced by the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) effect. But an understanding crypto investor, clearly aware that it's just only beginning. 2. Libra Investment Token: Crazy ROI The main focus on Libra so far was the stablecoin - a digital currency pegged to a basket of underlying assets. If the pegging mechanism works as intended, Libra coin won't undergo any crazy crypto pumps & dumps. Holders of Libra coin probably won't face any bigger risk than holding cash. This of course also means they won't make any money on the coin. 3. Facebook's Libra Means the Death of Privacy Picture a dystopian society. What do you see? Are you imagining a world with the aesthetic of Blade Runner 2077 or a similarly Cyberpunk-esque environment? 4. Libra (or the Announced Failure of a Pseudo-cryptocurrency) With Paypal withdrawn and Visa and Mastercard soon to follow suit, the death knell has sounded for Facebook’s cryptocurrency, Libra. Here’s an analysis of what happened in just 4 months. 5. Is Facebook Putting Digital Identity At Risk With Libra? Here’s Why It Raises Privacy Concerns Last month, Facebook finally disclosed details of its much-hyped cryptocurrency, Libra. After generating an immense amount of chatter, the company announced that the digital currency, set to launch in 2020, will enable people to buy things or send money to others with almost zero fees. 6. Some Insights into Facebook's Libra Consensus Method and How it Compares to other BFTs While there has been plenty of talk about the regulatory and privacy implications, there has been little public dialogue about the technology behind Facebook’s new digital currency. Can regulators concerns about privacy be alleviated upon closer inspection of Facebook’s new digital currency? 7. How Facebook Stablecoin Libra Could Replace all Current Stablecoins Facebook recently announced their new Libra cryptocurrency, a stablecoin set to launch in 2020 which will initially let users transfer money between Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp applications. However, the larger goal of Libra is to transform the global economy. In conjunction with other companies and partners that make up the Libra Association, including payments companies, technology companies, marketplaces, and venture capitalist firms, Libra has the potential to do just that. Having been involved in the cryptocurrency industry for the last couple of years there is definitely a reason to doubt how decentralized Libra truly is and if it can even be considered a cryptocurrency. However, one thing is certain, given the proposed makeup of Libra it could ultimately replace all current stablecoins, and quickly. 8. What Makes Facebook’s Libra More Centralized? 9. The Facebook Fake-Waves of Libra Scams. There’s a new wave of dozen fake accounts, groups and pages which are spread across Facebook and Instagram. — Claiming and trying to sell Facebook’s latest cryptocurrency Libra everywhere across the social platforms. 10. Did Libra announcement impact the price of BTC? Last week, the price of BTC rose extensively, jumping to almost 13k. It was perfect timing for the organizers of the BTC2019 conference in San Francisco. 11. Finally Congress grasps crypto Occasionally an investigation turns up a piece of evidence that is unexpected, and is in fact more valuable that the information that is actually being sought. It could be said that last week’s Congressional hearings into Facebook’s Libra did just that. 12. How The Hotstuff Protocol is NOT Secure? Each participant stores a tree of pending commands locally, in addition to the state variables viewNumber (starting at 1, stores the highest QC it voted to pre-commit), and prepareQC (starts at nil), lockedQC (starts at nil, stores the highest QC it voted to commit). When a “new-view” or round starts, a public function determines the leader from the current participants. 13. Accounting & regulations for businesses that integrate Libra The lack of transparency has been a growing problem for crypto-based companies. For most of them, it is a nightmare just to meet basic regulatory needs like finding an accountant, opening a bank account, getting audited and certified compliant. The main challenge lies in the fact that most accounting practices and financial reporting guidelines are formulated for traditional FIAT currency based businesses. There is a lack of clearly defined standards and practices for businesses dealing in tokens and cryptocurrencies. 14. Chain reaction: What will the next decade of blockchain look like? For a mechanical entity that nobody was aware of just three years ago, blockchain has certainly come a long way. Bitcoin’s rise in popularity turned the blockchain technology that drives it firmly into the limelight, but what does the future hold for this brave new world? 15. Is Facebook's Libra Even a Cryptocurrency? When Facebook first publicised its plans to launch a new 'decentralised' digital currency in 2019, Libra, many people were surprised at the news. Few months after Libra's announcement, Facebook released its official whitepaper to the general populace, and eyebrows were raised. 16. Business Model Innovation And The Future Of Crypto In his essay, Fred Wilson wrote in AVC blog about technical innovation, business model innovation, and the last two big waves we had in the tech industry: 17. Digital Euro (CBDCs): Closer To Reality Than You Think The ECB (European Central Bank) has published a report stating
the digital euro is getting closer to be launched. It gives an overview of a
possible roadmap for implementing the digital euro as well as the advantages and disadvantages of a digital currency in the euro zone. 18. Facebook’s Libra Currency ‘Big Tech’ are coming for our banks, but should we be worried? 19. Olaf Scholz vs. Facebook's Libra Vice-chancellor and Germany's finance minister, Olaf Scholz, says ‘No’ to Facebook, ‘Yes!” to digital currency. 20. Why The Death of Libra May be a Good Thing For The Crypto Landscape Facebook’s Libra project had promised to spark a global financial revolution that would bring unprecedented inclusivity and borderless banking. Within months, Mark Zuckerberg’s stablecoin dream was in tatters. But the death of Libra may turn out to be a positive thing for the crypto landscape. 21. This Decade, The Masses Will Not Be Able to Avoid Digital Currencies Over the past decade, cryptocurrency has become a term that everyone recognizes. Whether it registers as some far-out concept that has something to do with invisible money, or whether you are a crypto geek who belongs to exchange platforms and follows various currencies religiously. 22. Cryptocurrencies as Money: Evolution of Stablecoins and What's Next Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are backed by other assets to achieve a stable value, which creates untold opportunity for the way humans interact with money as they have the benefits of cryptocurrency (borderless, secure, low cost) while protecting the users from volatile price action. They often represent real money (GBP, USD etc) and for this reason are more easily understood by a global audience. 23. How to Build a Stablecoin To Compete with Libra In my Libra project analysis report ( A Business Analysis of the Libra Project), I pointed out that there is still a very good opportunity to develop a new stablecoin that competes with Libra. The Libra project is definitely not the end of the stablecoin project, but a milestone in this process. More stablecoin projects will appear to provide more stablecoin products for the market. In terms of the mechanism for generating stablecoins, other stablecoin products can be substantially different from Libra. In terms of application scenarios of stablecoin, a more suitable application scenario can also be adopted. In view of the fact that stablecoin is still at a very early stage and all the risks of the Libra project, other stablecoin products still have a very high probability of success. As long as the correct strategy is adopted in the design of stablecoin, promotion organization and adoption scenario, it is very likely that the new stablecoin can be better accepted by the market. This article discusses some of the factors related to the new stablecoin. [24. Making Good Money: The Coming Synthetic Hegemonic Currency](https://hackernoon.com/making-good-money-the-coming-synthetic-hegemonic-currency-yff4v32xw) Caption: James Gillray, The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, 22 May 1797, public domain, courtesy of the Bank of England 25. LIBRA- Decoding Facebook Cryptocurrency In 7 Questions The American giant must present Tuesday its cryptocurrency project. While waiting for its launch scheduled for 2020, the future “libra”, conceived in partnership with 27 groups, raises many questions: how can we buy them? How will it work? Who to regulate it? 26. Wake Up and Smell These #TopTechStories 🍏 27. How Libra Changed the Design and Expectations for Other Digital Currencies What should digital currency operators consider before creating one ? 28. Interview With Cosmas Wong: Don’t Fear Skynet, Libra Catapulted Crypto Awareness in Masses Cosmas Wong is a tech entrepreneur and investor who created companies for more than 20 years. He is the founder of Grey Jean Technologies; the genesis of the GNY platform, and also of other strong technology companies. I had the opportunity to make that interview with him, and we discussed the problems of AI, blockchain, and crypto adoption as well as his business ideas. 29. 10 Data-Driven Predictions for Bitcoin, Stocks, and Commodities in 2020 It's a brand-new year, and oh man, 2020 has a lot on its plate. Last year, we witnessed the benchmark S&P 500 surge almost 29%, crude oil rallied 35% and the bitcoin price nearly doubled since the beginning of the year. [30. Facebook & the Libra Effect: The New Importance of Privacy in Online Marketplaces](https://hackernoon.com/facebook-and-the-libra-effect-the-new-importance-of-privacy-in-online-marketplaces-esfj3y5p) Members of the Libra Association, a group of 28 companies and not-for-profit groups including and brought together by Facebook may soon have the power to forever change the history of the online marketplace worldwide. The Senate and House hearings in Washington July 18th and 19th - as theatrical as they were - may still only be a subtle indication of the grand ramifications of a marketplace where privacy does not exist for buyers and sellers. 31. Libra is The Offshore Oil Rig of Data Collection. Drill Baby Drill. Libra Is Not A Gateway Cryptocurrency 32. Libra untangled: what lies behind facebook's digital currency project - PART I Libra - Facebook´s digital currency project - has been a very populartalk lately. Even US President Trump tweeted about it. But few have looked at what may be the hidden implicationsof Facebook´s project. 33. Libra Starts the End of Public Chains In my previous article (So Many Public Chains, So Few Dapps), I pointed it out that too many public chains was one of the reasons that there were so few Dapps. App developers really do not want to develop their apps for so many blockchains. 34. What I learned from Ethereum Devcon5 The Ethereum Foundation Devcon is the most important annual gathering of developers, designers, and researchers in the Ethereum ecosystem. This year’s Devcon5 in Osaka, Japan is the 5th Devcon, and as in past years, it is a bellwether of what to come in Ethereum. 35. Is Libra a Paper Tiger? Of course, Libra is not a paper tiger. Otherwise it won’t cause theimmediate concern of global financial regulatory bodies and central banks, as well as the hearings by United States congress. But, this project indeed has inherent risks which make it very vulnerable. There is a good chance that it may get seriously delayed or may be forced to shut down if it cannot deal with these risks appropriately. If, unfortunately, it is forced to stop, then its short period of existence is then really a paper tiger. 36. Libra: The Ideavirus The lid on the fabled "Facebook coin" project has been finally lifted in the middle of June. Libra, a name evoking an ancient unit of weight, scales of justice and a somewhat clever jab at Winklevoss' Gemini, has already been written about extensively. 37. Learning from the Past to Create a Modern Financial System for the Digital Age The global financial system is comprised of a framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic actors that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade financing. Our current global financial systems are based on a series of historical events and innovations that brought us to where we are today. Historical markers such as the first minted coin, the use of paper money, the adoption of the US dollar as the international reserve currency, abandonment of the gold standard, and the ubiquity of mobile payments have all greatly influenced the way we exchange and store value on a micro and macro scale. 38. Comparing Algorand and Libra: The Road to Decentralization August 12, 2019 39. Resources: Programming Ownership on The Blockchain Smart contracts are a unique class of software explicitly designed to manage ownership of valuable digital assets. While existing programming environments can be used to keep track of the ownership of assets, they are most typically used in scenarios where they are reflecting ownership rather than defining it directly. Smart contracts are unique in that the value they represent is often embodied directly in the state they maintain. 40. How to Mint Stablecoins Based on Bitcoin? The Libra project raised market’s attention to stablecoin to an unprecedented level. It not only forces global financial regulatory bodies and central banks to take necessary measures, but also stimulates market’s enthusiasm in developing more stablecoins. Since Libra’s project scope is too large, it assumes a lot of risks. There is a big uncertainty in its future. But, Libra’s design and its experience can certainly be learned by other stablecoin projects. Better designed and more feasible stablecoins can be brought to the market. 41. Will Facebook and Telegram Kill Bitcoin and Ethereum? 2019 has marked itself not only with the end of the crypto winter but also with time when established technology companies entered the blockchain field. Telegram is going to release its own blockchain with the goal of processing millions of transactions per second. Facebook plans to introduce Libra coin to facilitate payments for 1.7 billion unbanked but connected people. 42. What lies ahead for crypto-exchanges in 2020? Experts' opinion on the trade war, halving, and Libra The mid-term results for the cryptographic industry in 2019 still remain uncertain. On one hand, market capitalization increased by 125 per cent in the second quarter alone. On the other, users have already lost more than $4 billion this year due to the actions of hackers and scammers, which is more than the entire year of 2018. It is unlikely that 2019 will meet the original expectations. Yet, experts predict a lot of interesting happenings for crypto exchanges in 2020. 43. Facebook's Libra And China: The Real Scenario Photo Credit: Christoph Scholz Flickr via Compfight ccThe people and government of China should be mostly concerned about Facebook’s intended launch of the Libra. The story didn’t just end there because Facebook said that in addition to Libra, the project will also issue a “Libra investment token.” 44. Facebook Libra: on the 4 steps road for World Presidency... Something changed on the 18th of June 2019. The day that Libra went public. Facebook’s long rumoured cryptocurrency project, which has rallied 28 world-leading partners, came out of the closet, and with it this new asset class seems to have landed its first concrete, large scale application. With over 2.7 billion users spread across all of its platforms1(Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram), and in response to recent strides into the payment sector and digital wallets by the likes of Samsung, Apple and Tencent, it was time for the group led by Mark Zuckerberg to finally wade into the great cryptocurrency arms race unfolding before us. 45. To Libra or not To Libra An interesting fact about Libra Facebook’s native currency which was announced June 18th, it’s inspired from three distinct elements: the Roman weight measurement system, the astrological sign for justice, and the French term  for freedom. 46. Everything wrong with Ethereum in 2019 The purpose of this state of the union is the criticize aspects of the Ethereum project and bring awareness to fixable issues while combating general ignorance of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. 47. Facebook’s Libra Coin and PayPal's “Commitment Issues” MasterCard and PayPal Backing out of the Promised $10M Investments and more... 48. Libra, Frax, The Battle of the Centuries and The Rise of The Meta-Dollar Alfred Owen Crozier 1912, on the "Aldrich Plan," 49. The Complete Guide to Stablecoins in 2019 50. Everything Wrong with Bitcoin in 2019 This editorial was first published in Coinmonks, now re-syndicated with permission and discretion of the original author to reach wider audiences. Thank you for checking out the 50 most read stories about Libra on HackerNoon. to find the most read stories about any technology. Visit the /Learn Repo

50 Stories To Learn About Libra

153 Stories To Learn About Bitcoin

This article was originally published on by . ProPublica Cezary Podkul Mr. Big had a problem. He needed to move what he called “fraud funds” back to China, but a crackdown was making that difficult. So in August, Mr. Big, who, needless to say, did not list his real name, posted an ad on a Telegram channel. He sought a “group of smuggling teams” to, as he put it, “complete the final conversion” of the stolen money by smuggling gold and precious stones from Myanmar into southern China, in exchange for a 10% cut. It’s unclear whether Mr. Big ultimately succeeded; his ad has since been deleted, and ProPublica was unable to reach him. But the online forum where he posted his ad says a lot about why Americans and people around the world have found themselves targeted by an unprecedented wave of fraud originating out of Southeast Asia, whose vast scale is now becoming apparent. In a single recent criminal investigation, Singapore police in money laundered from a to organized crime, including “scams and online gambling.” seized more than $2 billion syndicate with alleged ties The Telegram channel that featured Mr. Big’s plea for assistance was a Chinese-language forum offering access to “white capital” — money that has been laundered — “guaranteed” by a casino operator in Myanmar, , that purports to ensure that deals struck on the forum go through. Fully Light Group Fully Light also operates its own Telegram channels that advertise similar services. One such channel, with 117,000 participants, featured offers to swap cryptocurrency for “pure white” Chinese renminbi or “white capital” Singaporean dollars. (Telegram took down that channel after ProPublica inquired about it. Fully Light did not respond to requests for comment.) The presence of a casino in facilitating such deals is no coincidence. A growing number of gambling operations across Southeast Asia have become key pillars in a vast underground banking system serving organized criminal groups, according to new research by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The research has not been published, but the agency shared its findings with ProPublica. There are now over 340 physical casinos across Southeast Asia (as well as countless online ones), and many of them show accelerating levels of infiltration by organized crime, according to the UNODC. The casinos function as “a shadow banking system that allows people to move money quickly, seamlessly, jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction, with almost no restriction,” Jeremy Douglas, UNODC’s top official , told ProPublica in September. in Southeast Asia That has made money laundering “easier than ever before,” he said, and it’s been “fundamental to the expansion of the transnational criminal economy” in the region — especially cybercrime. , Southeast Asia has become a major hub for cryptocurrency investment scams that often start as innocent-sounding . As ProPublica reported in detail last year “wrong number”-type text messages The messages frequently originate from seedy casino towns in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, where criminal syndicates lure workers with the promise of lucrative jobs, only to force them to work as online scammers. UNODC’s map of known or suspected scam compounds shows a clear overlap with gambling hubs in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, where allegations of forced online scam labor have become so widespread that they recently prompted Interpol to issue a , which the international police agency said was occurring on “an industrial scale.” global warning about the problem Gambling has long attracted organized crime, but never more than in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines, where loose regulations and endemic corruption allow casinos to operate with little oversight or responsibility to report suspicious transactions. Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, officials in those countries in an effort to attract foreign direct investment. wooed Chinese casino operators Criminal bosses, facing a crackdown in China , began investing in casinos and cutting deals to run their own special economic zones in Myanmar and elsewhere where they could operate unfettered. and sanctions imposed by the U.S. When the pandemic struck in 2020, travel restrictions emptied newly built casinos, hotels and offices of workers and visitors across the region. Criminal syndicates repurposed the facilities to house online fraud operations and turned to human smugglers to staff them up. (For example, when Philippine authorities raided several online gambling operators between May and August, they discovered more than 4,400 laborers, most of them .) human trafficking victims forced to perpetrate online fraud Online casinos can be easily used for money laundering: They often accept cryptocurrency deposits that can be converted to virtual chips and placed in bets or cashed out in currency, making them seem like proceeds of legitimate gambling. is becoming increasingly common in Southeast Asia. That method of money laundering Physical casinos have their own attractions for money laundering. They have become a draw for a parallel industry of junket operators, who organize gambling trips for high-rollers. Those junkets also attract organized criminal groups that need to move money across borders and do so using junkets’ gambling accounts, according to recent prosecutions by Chinese authorities. Last year, 36 individuals connected to Suncity Group, once one of the biggest junket operators in the world, were about $160 million in illegal cross-border payments and transactions. convicted in China of facilitating The company’s ex-CEO, Alvin Chau, is in jail for . running a criminal syndicate and other charges In northeast Myanmar, Fully Light Group has emerged as a “multi-billion-dollar business conglomerate and a key player” in casinos and illegal online gambling, according to , Myanmar country director for the United States Institute of Peace. research by Jason Tower “These are not normal casinos in any way,” Tower said, because they’re located in what he calls “criminal enclaves” that are more under the control of organized crime than any government authority. For instance, hundreds of criminal convictions by Chinese courts related to illegal casinos, fraud, kidnapping, drugs and weapons charges in the Kokang Special Administrative Zone, near Myanmar’s border with China, where Fully Light is based. Tower found In its review, UNODC found Kokang casinos — both those owned by Fully Light and by others — also played a major role in money laundering. They operate Telegram channels that openly advertise money laundering services, including some that link back to official Fully Light channels and offer the company’s guarantee to cross-border exchanges of cryptocurrencies. Some Fully Light-affiliated Telegram channels include solicitations to participate in what are known as money mule “motorcades” that move funds through multiple cryptocurrency wallets or bank accounts. Billions of dollars more are likely flowing into the region, thanks to online scams that show no signs of abating. Nick Smart of the cryptocurrency analytics firm Crystal Blockchain has been tracing the flows of crypto funds deposited into online platforms that are set up to look like investing sites in order to fleece victims. Following the money trail from just one such website, which he suspects to be linked to criminal organizations in Myanmar, led him to a wallet that also pooled funds from 14 other known crypto scams. The wallet received about $44 million in various cryptocurrencies between December and July, when it ceased activity. With thousands of such websites popping up every day, victims’ losses are easily “in the billions,” said Smart, the director of blockchain intelligence at Crystal. The global cybercrime spree has prompted countries across the region to take a bolder tack. In June, Thailand to two cyberfraud hot spots across its border with Myanmar (with ). More recently, six illegal cellular towers suspected of providing internet service to scam compounds in Myanmar. cut off electricity disappointing results Thai officials shut down Chinese authorities have also in dramatic operations that included a of hundreds of suspected cybercriminals across a border crossing from Myanmar to China’s southern Yunnan Province on Sept. 6. arrested thousands of their own citizens humiliating perp walk On Sept. 26, UNODC with China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to jointly and human trafficking linked with casinos and scams. An accompanying the agreement calls on the countries to “make anti-money laundering and wider anti-corruption efforts a higher priority.” unveiled an agreement combat organized crime action plan But the challenge is steep. Even as multiple countries crack down, Laos, one of the poorest nations in the region, is online gambling operators to set up shop within its borders and target foreigners. getting ready to allow And governments need to broaden their focus. Anti-money-laundering regulations often zero in on bank cash transfers of $10,000 or more. The UNODC’s Douglas said governments will need to turn their attention to casinos and other nontraditional financial players. “Everyone’s been focusing on transactions of $10,000 going through banks and flagging suspicious transactions,” Douglas said, “and these guys are moving millions around the corner through the casino, laughing at the system.” Photo by on Carl Raw Unsplash

Southeast Asian Casinos Are Helping Global Cybercrime

দক্ষিণ-পূর্ব এশীয় ক্যাসিনো গ্লোবাল সাইবার অপরাধে সহায়তা করছে

Südostasiatische Casinos unterstützen die globale Cyberkriminalität

Los casinos del Sudeste Asiático están ayudando al cibercrimen global

Les casinos d’Asie du Sud-Est contribuent à la cybercriminalité mondiale

दक्षिण पूर्व एशियाई कैसीनो वैश्विक साइबर अपराध में मदद कर रहे हैं

東南アジアのカジノが世界的なサイバー犯罪を助長している

동남아시아 카지노가 글로벌 사이버 범죄를 돕고 있습니다

Os cassinos do sudeste asiático estão ajudando o crime cibernético global

Казино Юго-Восточной Азии помогают глобальной киберпреступности

Güneydoğu Asya Kumarhaneleri Küresel Siber Suçlara Yardımcı Oluyor

Sòng bạc Đông Nam Á đang hỗ trợ tội phạm mạng toàn cầu

东南亚赌场正在助长全球网络犯罪

With recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, the future of non-player characters (NPCs) in is on the brink of a transformative leap. Happily, the outcome could be richer and more dynamic collaborative game worlds for all players. video games While NPCs have always had fairly limited roles within games, a consequence of their narrow predetermined set of behaviours, the prospect of LLM-powered NPCs gives rise to an altogether more immersive and enriching playing experience. Picture this: NPCs with the depth, complexity, and unpredictability of human beings, figures that adapt and evolve (or even ) based on every single interaction they have with living players. regress This isn’t just an upgrade on what has gone before; it’s a complete reimagining of gaming as a whole. The Infinite Possibilities of LLM-Powered NPCs The integration of LLMs into games promises to rewrite the script on NPC interactions. These AI entities can be trained on vast datasets, enabling a spontaneity and realism that was hitherto unachievable.  Players might engage in intricate dialogues or strategic conversations, developing strong relationships with NPCs that affect their standing in the game. Large-language models promise an unprecedented level of immersion, as each NPC could develop a distinct persona that extends and evolves as the player’s journey unfolds. The implications here are far-reaching. Non-playable characters might represent heroes or villains, allies or enemies, their moral compasses and personal arcs defined by the individualised influence of every gamer. AI-driven NPCs could even be ported across different gaming universes, functioning as plug-and-play APIs and opening a Pandora’s box of narrative possibilities. Earlier this year, Replica Studios, an AI voice platform for games and film, for the Unreal Engine platform. These smart NPCs will be powered by OpenAI (developer of ChatGPT) and Replica’s library of 120+ text-to-speech AI voices, with the feature made available as a cloud-based plugin. unveiled AI-powered smart NPCs “Within the next technology hop, we will see AI-powered smart NPC live games and virtual experiences with hundreds of live concurrent players and NPCs all together, with no more latency than a Zoom video call that has hundreds of participants,” predicted Replica CEO Shreya Nivas. Alien Worlds’ Very Own LLM: A Large Lore Model In the , the potential for LLM-powered NPCs is particularly intriguing due to the game’s thriving user base: it’s the world’s most-played on-chain game. What’s more, players (known as Explorers) already generate creative content using AI tools, suggesting a willingness from the community to embrace everything AI has to offer. Alien Worlds Metaverse While Alien Worlds is a game in its own right, a number of other games live under its metaverse umbrella, from Battledome and Trilium Quest to Galactic Standoff and Battlefleet Armageddon. The ability to integrate AI-powered NPCs into current and future games that exist within the Alien Worlds universe is something that is likely to appeal to developers and the players they serve. Plans are already underway to turn Alien Worlds into a sprawling, cross-media sci-fi storytelling platform. One of the game’s key selling points – decentralised governance via Planetary Syndicate DAOs – presents a unique opportunity for further AI integration: these Syndicates could democratically curate and approve the flood of AI-generated content produced by players, whether in the form of stories, characters, artwork, videos, etc, ensuring Explorers are the ones who shape the game’s lore. Alien Worlds’ vision of a Large Lore Model, meanwhile, would see additions to the game’s official canon ratified by Syndicates, whereafter NPCs could be trained up on the extensive, community-approved lore: there could, for example, be a Keeper of the Lore character whom players consult to aid their quest or deepen their knowledge of Alien Worlds. In short, a DAO controls the game’s IP and canonization so the community is empowered to take stories where they want them to go. It’s decentralised decision-making meets AI content creation. The integration of LLMs into gaming, specifically within successful decentralised ecosystems like Alien Worlds, heralds a new era for interactive storytelling and collaborative game worlds. As AI-powered smart NPCs become more nuanced, and their storylines more deeply interwoven with players’ actions, games will provide a level of interactivity that borders on the dream-like. What a time to be a gamer.

Is AI the Future of Collaborative Game Worlds?

এআই কি সহযোগিতামূলক গেম ওয়ার্ল্ডের ভবিষ্যত?

Ist KI die Zukunft kollaborativer Spielwelten?

¿Es la IA el futuro de los mundos de juegos colaborativos?

L’IA est-elle l’avenir des mondes de jeux collaboratifs ?

क्या एआई सहयोगात्मक खेल जगत का भविष्य है?

AI は協力的なゲーム世界の未来ですか?

AI는 협업 게임 세계의 미래인가?

A IA é o futuro dos mundos de jogos colaborativos?

Является ли ИИ будущим совместных игровых миров?

Yapay Zeka İşbirliğine Dayalı Oyun Dünyalarının Geleceği mi?

AI có phải là tương lai của thế giới trò chơi hợp tác?

人工智能是协作游戏世界的未来吗？

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