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Seth For Privacy || Activate CTV + CSFS Profile picture
Seth For Privacy || Activate CTV + CSFS
@sethforprivacy
Vice President @cakewallet || Host of @optoutpod 42uDZuVw13kSCf6BFFWanFcofAvCjMeatf3zzA6Gbms7UDgwB6rd6hLYAyP985YoyLdsa8NwhSgtH6dWadw7TeXiTHaMQS8
Apr 27, 2024 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
They won't stop with "mixers," they're coming for self-custody too ‼️

While this government response is not yet enshrined in law or precedent, it paints a much clearer picture of how the state views not only the place of privacy tools, but even that of self-custodial wallet providers moving forward.

Let's walk step-by-step through this response from the DOJ together and see why in a thread. FinCEN's guidance is worthless

While we have spent so much time wondering how the FinCEN guidance from 2019 on VASPs, mixers, and wallet providers should be viewed, the government didn't mince words:

All that worrying was pointless, as even the government considers it useless in a court of law. Much of my previous writing hinged on that FinCEN guidance being somewhat authorative, but clearly the government doesn't view their own guidance as valuable.Image
Dec 13, 2023 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Only 9 steps to run your own Bitcoin pool 😎

Thanks to the amazing work of @Public_Pool_BTC, I've created a guide, Docker images, and a simple repo to make it easier for anyone who wants to spin up a new solo-mining Stratum Bitcoin mining pool.

🧵👇Image I've created the new guide on my blog with detailed instructions to take you from a brand new VPS or server at home to a fully-functional Bitcoin mining pool in 9 steps total.

Have a Bitcoin node already? Things get even faster and easier!

sethforprivacy.com/guides/run-you…
May 16, 2023 • 23 tweets • 6 min read
1/ Ledger "Recover," a thread 🧵

Last night Ledger accidentally leaked some info on their new recovery subscription service, and today they revealed the details.

Let's walk through their proposed "solution" to cryptocurrency custody and how dangerous it is. Image 2/ The core premise of the offering is the ability to (supposedly) encrypt shards of your seed phrase into 3 pieces, give over your identity + a selfie recording, and then trust 3 custodians to secure those shards for you.

Here's why that's problematic. Image
May 16, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
So excited to finally get to do this, I know that price has been a big factor in people's decisions around securing their Bitcoin.

Self-custody that is FOSS and FOSH from a principled and cypherpunk company just got a lot more accessible. I work at Foundation precisely because their ethos from the top down is rooted in cypherpunk, pro-privacy, and pro-sovereignty ideals.

We will never compromise on any of these core ideals and have made them clear and cemented them publicly from day one.
Apr 3, 2023 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
A thread on Wasabi Wallet after more digging/research:

First off, please do not connect my joining their Space last week or researching their protocol as lending *any* credence or support for their approach or wallet. I still do not recommend using it in any way. Digging into WabiSabi has revealed some core issues that should prevent you from considering using it. Note this list is not in any particular order.

1) Wasabi's funding and willing usage of chain surveillance companies puts your on-chain data at risk when you use them.
Apr 2, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Busy Sunday for me so far, kicking off #SkepticismSundays a little late!

The goal of this thread (which I'll post weekly on Sunday's) is for discussing the uncertainties, shortcomings, and concerns some may have about Bitcoin.

NOT the positive aspects of it. Discussing things with a critical thinking approach and level-headed discussion helps us learn where Bitcoin and it's community can improve and go from there. We had a *fantastic* amount of good conversations last week so I can't wait to see this week's!
Nov 5, 2022 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Tonight the creator of my favorite mobile OS, @DanielMicay, gloated that he weaponized Twitter reports to get my friend Henry's account permabanned and is trying to get @techloreistaken banned as well.

I just... I'm so tired of so much of this space. You can see my reply here, but @DanielMicay deleted his original tweet after I called him out on it:



If this alleged abuse is actually happening and being done by Henry, prove it and let each of us come to our own conclusions.
Oct 3, 2022 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
1/ So absolutely thrilled to announce that I'll be joining @FOUNDATIONdvcs as Head of Content next week!

My goal from day one is building out the best content and educational material in the space for sovereignty and personal privacy. Image 2/ I want users to be able to come to Foundation for not only sovereignty tech, but all the info and content they need for a holistic approach to personal privacy as we continue building out our tools and offerings to empower the community.
Oct 3, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Bitcoin maximalists are really making it easy to separate those who actually care about freedom and cypherpunk ideals and those who simply want to pump their bags.

Asking for millions of $ in funding to attack #Monero instead of spending it on #Bitcoin privacy dev is disgusting. Ethics/care for human freedom aside, Monero doesn't give an F, and such an attack would provide a live chance to test (and likely improve) Monero's anti-fragility.

If Bitcoiners want to spend their money hardening Monero and funding miners, they have the freedom to.
Oct 1, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Only one day in, but have to say that if you have *any* ability to make it to #hcpp23 next year, DO IT!

I knew these were "my people" when I saw @SamouraiWallet, @ZeusLN, @cakewallet, @GrapheneOS, and @pop_os_official commonly in the wild.

The cypherpunk future is now. Some of the best presentations I've heard so far in the space, and all so beautifully aligned with cryptoanarchy, cypherpunk ideals, and sovereignty.

Seeing so many people in the space still holding these values gives me so much hope.
Jun 29, 2022 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Such an honor to be able to go on @WhatBitcoinDid for this one and be able to cover the immensely important topic of digital privacy with @PeterMcCormack.

#Monero is such a valuable tool for freedom, I hope more people will take the time to see how it can fit into their toolkit. Many of the most common issues or worries people have with #Monero are broken down in detail (with *tons* of linked resources) here:

sethforprivacy.com/posts/dispelli…
May 31, 2022 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Attempted to make a semi-exhaustive list here, please read through and let me know if I missed something, misspoke, or need to add more detail to any of the proposals:

sethforprivacy.com/posts/proposed…

Hoping to make this a useful and up-to-date list of proposals both WIP and DOA. Posted on @stacker_news as well, per the usual 🙂

stacker.news/items/33089
May 19, 2022 • 28 tweets • 12 min read
1/ Time to share some of my thoughts and experiences from getting this self-sovereign #LightningNetwork stack up and running.

tl;dr - not for the faint of heart/non-tech-savvy, but once configured and up and running it seems to be working quite well for me! 2/ For the Bitcoin node, I simply exposed the Dojo bitcoind node's RPC that I already had up, and was able to easily access it across my home's network:

code.samourai.io/dojo/samourai-…

Be sure to write down the ports used here if using a Dojo node externally, as they're non-standard.
May 7, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Oof.

Anyone with a more #LightningNetwork-focused following want to run the same poll and see what you get?

In some ways I'm glad I'm not alone but that's... Not exactly the UX normies will put up with.

Do you all think this is why custodial LN is so commonly used? If you voted in my poll don't vote here, but will add polls by others that are similar here to compare among follower sets.

Thanks for kicking it off @L0laL33tz!

May 5, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
It's *very* early, but I've started collecting resources, open questions, and proposed efforts to explore how trustless zk-SNARKs could be useful for a potential future #Monero protocol update:

github.com/monero-project…

If you have useful resources or questions, please reach out! The goal here is to build a go-to resource that marries the promise of trustless zk-SNARKs with the specifics of Monero's payment protocol to ease potential research and interest by Monero developers and researchers, not to push for implementing zk-SNARKs ASAP.
Apr 21, 2022 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
1/ I'm really tired of responding to lots of comments from DERO people claiming they've solved the worlds problems and scamming people with false marketing, so here's a thread breaking down all of their grandiose claims 👇 2/ DERO claims to be using "fully-homomorphic encryption" to prevent nodes from being able to see transaction information.

Not only is this nonsensical (zk-proofs allow verification without revealing data simply) FHE is absolutely unusably inefficient:

anandtech.com/show/16533/int…
Apr 21, 2022 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
1/ As always, ransomware and DNM trends are a good litmus test for the usefulness of a technology, and especially the usefulness of a cryptocurrency.

Let's dive into some interesting info in the latest CipherTrace ransomware report 👇 2/ First off, no mentions of tracing Monero or tracking it's usage, despite Ciphertrace having used social-engineering to collect XMR addresses from known ransomware entities.
Apr 17, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
1/ Get ready for the #Monerorun tomorrow by reading up and taking control of your $XMR:

localmonero.co/knowledge/hold…

Here are some excellent wallets depending on your preference to start using today 👇 2/ First off, no matter what wallet you use *save your seed*!!!

Always do so in multiple locations, in ways that you can find and recover, and inform your family or loved ones of how to recover funds as well, just in case.
Apr 15, 2022 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
While this is "just" the front-end, this continues the trend of "privacy tools" preempting regulatory pressure to kiss the boot of our benevolent overlords.

#Monero cannot do this by design, and that's what makes it such a powerful tool.

Permission-less or GTFO. P.S. -- "privacy tools" like @wasabiwallet and @TornadoCash using your fees to pay @chainalysis is the irony of ironies.

Quit giving these people your funds and just use Monero.

It's that easy.
Apr 14, 2022 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
Glad to see some more nuanced discussion of privacy issues in #Lightning at #Bitcoin2022!

The keys are:

1) Receive privacy is poor
2) Routing cross-network makes privacy of channels poor
3) L1 privacy issues cascade onto L2 to great detrimental effect

invidious.sethforprivacy.com/watch?app=desk… One of the biggest paradoxes of Lightning is that cross-network routing *requires* public knowledge of nodes, channels, and channel UTXOs/balances, but LN is being relied upon to "fix" all of the privacy issues of L1.

These problems are not easy to solve, maybe impossible.
Apr 14, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Looking more and more like exchanges are paper trading #Monero and lying about how much they have to customers.

Opt out, get those keys off exchanges and actually own your $XMR:

localmonero.co/knowledge/hold… To be clear here, there is no reason multiple exchanges would need to maintenance their wallets at the same time.

No network outage, no bugs, nothing.

This is happening with @binance and several others.