Technology:
Is The US Government Hoarding Bitcoins?
By now you’ve possibly heard the illegal hidden website ‘Silk Road’ has been taken down by the FBI. If you’re unaware of Silk Road, it is/was a hidden website on the Tor Network.
The Tor network is a completely anonymous part of the internet. Some call it the Dark Web, but in essence it supposedly keeps your identity anonymous when online.
Around the 10th July this year, US Border Patrol conducted a routine search on a mail delivery. During that routine search they uncovered a parcel. In this parcel were nine counterfeit identity documents.
Ross Ulbricht had ordered these documents. Ulbricht used the website he owns, operates and profits from to get these documents. That website? Silk Road.
This chain of events culminated in Ulbricht’s arrest this week. Ulbricht is a 29 year old that runs a criminal website selling drugs, explosives and guns.
So you’d expect a Hollywood style arrest. In some plush hotel suite littered with the paraphernalia his website sells. But no, his arrest was subtly done while he was at the library.
Due to the shutdown of Silk Road and Ulbricht’s arrest the price of Bitcoins plummeted to $109US. This kind of volatility isn’t unusual for Bitcoins, and it’s this kind of news that often makes it jump around.
For some time the US government has been wary of the Tor network, Bitcoins and the way in which criminal activity is fuelling their notoriety. And Silk Road has been a target for the FBI for some time.
In response to this the Tor project posted a statement about the anonymity of their browser. In part I’d suspect because there would be many concerned (legitimate) users now worried about their privacy.
‘So far, nothing about this case makes us think that there are new ways to compromise Tor (the software or the network). The FBI says that their suspect made mistakes in operational security, and was found through actual detective work.’
The FBI has subsequently arrested Ulbricht. The US has now lodged a criminal complaint against him. They also lodged a civil complaint against Ulbricht and…
‘Any and all assets of Silk Road including but not limited to the Silk Road hidden website and any and all Bitcoins contained in wallet files residing on silk road servers, including the servers assigned the following internet protocol addresses: 46.183.219.244; 109.163.234.40; 193.107.86.34; 193.107.86.49; 207.106.6.25; and 207.106.6.32.’
In the Civil cases the US Department of Justice can take proceedings against property, not just the person involved. In order to keep the property the only proof needed is that the property is a result of crime. In this situation, the property they’ve seized is Bitcoins.
Voilà, the U.S is 26,000 Bitcoins richer.
Now what’s worth asking here is, what will they do with the Bitcoins? Because the aim of seized property is to maximise the net return from seized property then one would assume they have to sell the Bitcoins back into the market? And if that’s the case, then this is just a temporary dip in the Bitcoin price. In other words, a buying opportunity.
But let me leave you with this. If you’d just acquired 26,000 Bitcoins and it cost you nothing, would you hold onto them to ‘maximise the net return’? I know I would. But the US Government…surely not?
Makes you even think if they can seize Bitcoins, who’s to say they haven’t been actively buying them for some time? Maybe the Winklevoss twins aren’t alone. Maybe, just maybe the US government is hoarding Bitcoins too?
Energy:
E.Coli to Be The Number Two in Fuel
We’ve written before about the genius of Korean scientists. More specifically the scientists at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). They’re a smart bunch at KAIST and they haven’t let us down this time.
Excitingly this breakthrough isn’t just about electric buses. This breakthrough from the KAIST scientists has to do with petrol, poo and E.Coli.
The humble little gut bacteria that spoils food and makes you sick has some pretty potent potential for producing petrol.
Oh and it does it through poo.
In a report by the Wall Street Journal the scientists said,
‘When the modified E. coli were fed glucose, found in plants or other non-food crops, the enzymes they produced converted the sugar into fatty acids and then turned these into hydrocarbons that were chemically and structurally identical to those found in commercial fuel.’
That is, the E.Coli poo is petrol.
It might not necessarily replace traditional fuel, but it could be…the number two. The process is nowhere near efficient enough to start pumping E.Coli poo down at the local Shell just yet. But like all good science and technology breakthroughs, it’s a start.
What this could do is flush the concept of dwindling fuel supplies down the toilet. You see E.Coli is very common, easy and inexpensive to grow. It could lead to a common way of creating fuel.
I know it all sounds a little out there, bacteria poo as fuel. But the science doesn’t lie. In a world where we’re consistently seeking alternative forms of energy this is but another option, hopefully. The future of energy will come from multiple sources. Whether it’s fusion power, EV’s, solar, wind or bacteria poo, each one has a role to play.
And with the team at KAIST advancing their research, E.Coli might just turn out to be better for you than you think.
Health:
Is Eugenics Alive and Well?
Earlier this year Dan Denning, Nick Hubble and I had our DNA analysed. If you haven’t seen my results have a look here.
Anyway, I found the results to be particularly helpful. Not in the sense that I now know I’m prone to atrial fibrillation and heroin addiction. But in the sense that I’m more educated about my own body.
I think this kind of information is invaluable. I also know what kind of traits I’m likely to pass on to any future children I might have.
The company we used for our DNA analysis is 23andme.com. It was pretty easy. They sent us a kit, we gave them a saliva sample, shipped it back to the US and a few weeks later we had our results.
23andme are under fire at the moment for a new patent they just had approved. The company says it’s nothing new and that they lodged it five years ago.
The patent was designed to assist with 23andme’s Family Traits Calculator. As the company states,
‘The tool – Family Traits Inheritance Calculator – offers an engaging way for you and your partner to see what kind of traits your child might inherit from you.’
They go on to say,
‘The tool offers people an enjoyable way to dip their toes into genetics. It aligns nicely with our goal to introduce people to their DNA and help them better understand the science of genetics.’
But the particular wording of the patent states,
‘(Gamete donor selection includes) identifying a preferred donor among the plurality of donors, based at least in part on the statistical information determined.’
What this really means is the patent allows for something that will raise the eyebrows of many. It effectively allows for selection of a preferred donor based on particular genetic traits. It’s a roundabout form of eugenics.
In today’s world we have cutting edge technologies. In particular the rise of Personalised Medicine and the DNA revolution has opened the proverbial can of worms.
Because of the availability of such pioneering technology we have to ask a simple question. Is eugenics so wrong in the world we currently live in?
It’s a huge topic, which I’ll cover in more detail over the next few weeks. But there’s significant debate about what eugenics actually means. And over the course of history the term has taken on some significant, and horrible definitions. None more so than the incorporated ideas of Eugenics in Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
But what if eugenics led to a better life for people? What if we had the ability to use genetic code to prevent suffering? What if we could prevent a child suffering from leukaemia? What if we could eliminate genetic disease completely? Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, perhaps more. The potential is astounding.
But of course there are moral and ethical issues too. There will always be those that seek to use such practices for immoral purposes. There will also be plenty of people that use this technology for its greater benefit.
Besides, what’s to say the practice of eugenics isn’t currently alive and well? Perhaps the patent issued to 23andme is more a sign of the times rather than a horrible mistake.
There are arguments from both sides of the fence. But when you think about the potential eugenics might have with available technologies, maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all?
Sam Volkering+
Technology Analyst, Revolutionary Tech Investor
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