After the FTX-Fraud Fiasco: Alternatives to Democrat Top Donors and Other Conmen

With Bankfried’s (or Sam Bankman-Fried, or what that character out there calls himself) on-purpose fiasco and shameful exit designed to give Crypto coins a bad name, alternatives are needed for traders looking for option-style opportunities. Not only is Bankfried not what some people thought he was, the entire FTX fiasco isn’t either. The breakdown of FTX is not proof for “Bitcoin being bad” whatsoever. Bitcoin is about de-centralization (not about banks, not about privately-controlled exchanges, not about the credibility of some “conscious” capitalist or the lack of it) but Bitcoin is about cutting out the middleman. This includes middle-men like Bankfried, or Joe Biden, or Donald Trump — the list doesn’t stop here (only that the latter two never had a clue about Bitcoin or internet or high-tech, at al — for better or worse).

So the failure of yet-another centrally-controlled entity causing some damage to a number of Crypto-market participants does not even touch about the concept of de-centralization. It’s not rocket science to figure this out.

Bitcoiners who obey by common-sense rules of storing their coin in paper wallets or in cold storage, and never rely on others to store them for them were doing just fine — and did not lose a penny. So, when you look at it closely, the FTX-Fraud fiasco does not damage Bitcoin but it confirms Bitcoin and its safety — except for user error and negligence, both of which affected users alone are to blame for.

You do not leave money in hot wallets and/or on exchanges, but you bring it back home at the end of a trade or at the end of a trading day. You do not leave it on Coinbase, on FTX, let alone on Binance, a minute longer than needed. Yes, it is convenient to use an exchange’s or other provider’s public and private keys to store your coins in — but no, it is dangerous: not your keys, not your coins. Simple as that.

Regardless, for the loss of leveraged long and short coins on BTC, LTC, ETH and others, there is a replacement needed for options-style leveraged trading that FTX’ “Bull” tokens and “Bear” tokens offered back in the day. An alternative might be with other exchanges, and we’ll look into that further in a separate article.

Maybe, we all can resume trading leveraged long and short positions with alternative tools — on other exchanges, and always with the above safety measures in place.

Bitcoin Safekeeping

Crypto-coin paper wallet exampleBitcoin and other Crypto currencies allow users to Be Their Own Bank, but being foolish or lax with security can prove very dangerous for those bankers-to-be. We explain how advanced users keep their Crypto coins safe and introduce tools and services available for Bitcoin and other Crypto currency owners.

Best and Safest Way

Despite what the media — and even mainstream bitcoiners, or at least the loudest ones! — keep telling you, the best solution is not the Trezor wallet or any other gadgetty hardware solution, however neat it may look. Don’t fall for shiny object syndrome here. The best way is a, literally, not at all shiny one — namely a simple paper wallet.

What Is a Paper Wallet, Anyway?

A paper wallet is a simple piece of paper, printed out on any computer printer (but preferably one without WiFi or any other smart or wireless capabilities — the dumber the better)! What’s not quite as simple about paper wallets is the underlying cryptography as well as other technological aspects involved. As a Crypto user, you do not have to worry about any of these though.

How You Do This

In fact, you do not have to stress out over any of the things happening in the background, The only thing you need to do is properly generate your paper wallet. Basic steps for this involve loading a paper-wallet generator website for your coin, disconnect your computer (and printer) from the internet (also turn off WiFi or any other local wireless connections that might act as a backdoor), then move your mouse around to create randomness (usually your progress is displayed on your screen), and print out your resulting paper wallet (or list of key pairs, depending on which format or type you have chosen).

Make Sure to Do This Properly — and Safely

Also make sure to put away all cellphones with cameras to also prevent these from eavesdropping; nobody must except you see your private-key portion on that paper you print! It’s also a good idea to fold over your paper wallets immediately, private key down. Afterwards, you may re-connect your devices, strip off any tape over cameras or what not.

That’s it — you now have a paper wallet. Note that different coins have different wallets (following from the different encryption mechanisms and other Block-index features of the different coins). You don’t have to worry about that either, but only make sure you follow the obvious steps of using the proper wallet generator for the coin you want to store.

Convenience & Showing Off

Sure, all Crypto coins are the coolest thing around — and conveniently using them is tempting. Showing off and being a great person for having the latest in portable cards, equipment or devices is anyway 

Be aware that most of the convenient or cool toys out there are less secure than the other stuff listed in our Coin Security section. Be sure to use them only for limited amounts or “risk capital” as in you can afford to lose it…

Apple Pushing a Proprietary Payments System for iOS

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have removed a number of Bitcoin-related iOS applications from their proprietary online App Store. While in some cases, Apple failed to even give a proper reason for their move, other app developers have received notifications from Apple , Inc. that Bitcoin payment functionality, in a stricter sense, needed to be removed for apps to stay “acceptable” for Apple’s platform.

The measure taken by Apple, Inc. has resulted in the extinction of usable payment applications for Bitcoin on Apple iOS devices such as iPhone, iPad or iPod touch for the time being. Only a few apps that show just Bitcoin wallet balances or general prices on Bitcoin exchanges continue to be “permissible” for Apple. The company have, therefore, censored all truly useful Bitcoin applications for the widely used Apple devices out of existence.

This is yet another attempt at a proprietary, corporate-run, centrally-controlled system instead of using state-of-the-art technology, which is decentralized Crypto and private blockchains to deliver decentralized consensus and overall payments operations worldwide at low cost.

This kind of corporate policy has infuriated a large number of mobile device users. As a short-term result, a number of fixes for the problems caused by unavailable official App Store programs supporting full Bitcoin payments functionality have already appeared. Most prominent among these is … These are only functional on jail-broken iOS devices though. (“Jail breaking” means removing existing and re-installing modified versions of the operating system onto original devices in order to circumvent DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) technologies present in standard Apple items.)

Apple, Inc. have a vested interest in electronic payments systems. The reason for Apple fighting Bitcoin is that the company appears to be determined to introduce their own payments system for Apple mobile devices. Apple’s planned system is said to be designed for PoS payments (point-of-sale payments) and to also be suitable for small or micro payments useful, for example, for downloading music or movies from Apple’s proprietary iTunes platform.

Forcing users to not use Bitcoin seems to be “okay” then for a large corporation trying to, obviously increasingly desperately, introduce something they see as the next big thing into the market predominantly for their own good, not the users’ who would certainly benefit much more from using low-cost and reliable Crypto currency payments such as Bitcoin.

Secured Payments Worldwide

Forget about PayPal, forget about Credit Cards, forget about that 19th century dinosaur system S.W.I.F.T sending paper currency using a technology that’s outdated and almost 200 years old. What’s needed is something to help you re-gain control, something cutting out the middleman, particularly banks and their organizations co-operating diligently to siphon off percentages from EVERY transaction. Get rid of the financial Cosa Nostra like credit card companies or PayPal.

The Technology Is Here

The technology is here to put yourself in the driver’s seat, we just need to use it by analyzing the current situation intelligently and deploying appropriate tools and de-centralized control.

The Right Tools for These Depressed Markets

To trade Crypto coin calls or puts, Gate.io is a great exchange offering 5x long and short positions along with many other trading choices. Of course, it’s FREE to sign up for a trading account there. Wondering what to do in falling Crypto markets? Looking for smart strategies to make the best of a pretty bad situation? Then read this post and discover pro trader methods! In this article, you will discover the tools you need for the type of free-falling markets we seem to be witnessing in Crypto coins for multi-months now.

Tools to Apply to Any Market Situation

Find the right tools for any market, good or very bad ones! In this article, you will be introduced to and find some explanations about the tools and strategies you need in order to prepare and turn big profits on the back of the breakdown we’ve been experiencing in bitcoins across the board. No matter if it gets worse, or how nasty it’s going to be specifically, here’s how you can turn the tables on markets “doing this to you” right now! There are “Tools of the Trader” that are meant to be used specifically in markets like this! It’s not simply “buy low, sell high” or “buy now and wait for better times” but something more refined (and much more effective).

Call and Put Options for Crypto Markets

To do the same on Bitcoin as an underlying asset, you can use Crypto Long-Instruments and Short-Instruments. These are similar to Calls and Puts as we know them in other markets. Here they are structured as “perpetual leveraged positions” in a Crypto asset, i e a specific coin such as Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and many more. To see what this looks likein real life, use this chart and link to register for a trading account on Gate.io. Again, tt’s FREE to sign up.

If you like this post and want to stay in the loop on available “Tools of the Trader” and strategies, then please subscribe on this website in order to be notified of news and updates like this one WHEN the markets change and WHEN they’re needed.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only, as are all articles and posts on this website. None of the information in this or our other publications or articles on this site is financial advice. Content authors do not even know your individual situation and, therefore, cannot and do not offer such financial advice here.

Opinions expressed in these articles and posts are observations, thoughts, and analyses of the article or post author and opinions derived from them. Do not rely on them or any other content of our videos for your own trades or investments; do your own due diligence and/or seek any necessary financial advice from licensed professionals before investing your money.

Disclosure notice: Links in the description above are affiliate links; if you click them for signing up, I will receive a commission — and YOU RECEIVE rebates on trading fees they offer on Gate.io for referred customers, depending on the individual offer chosen.

Is Confiscation of Gold a Real Risk?

No. Not even in the U. S., or maybe particularly not in the U. S. While there may be some risk of government interference, it is not very likely to happen. Here is why: unlike in the 1930s, the U. S. dollar has become the world’s “reserve currency” today, with more dollars in circulation overseas than in the U. S. itself. Therefore, it would be extremely foolish for the U. S. government to “confiscate” gold as this might immediately raise suspicions worldwide about something being even more seriously wrong with the U. S. dollar than is generally accepted today and would very likely collapse the U. S. dollar within hours.

Most other ways of interference with the gold market would be as unlikely for the same reason.

Spreading scary news about “government confiscation” of gold is one ingredient of the better known gold scams and are normally used to get people to buying things they should not buy for the true reasons they set out on their original buying plan (like numismatic coins instead of bullion, see Can I Earn a higher Profit with Numismatics…, above). Successful investors develop a plan and stick with it. Do develop your plan and find out yourself how high the probability of gold “confiscation” really is. Once done, stick with your plan and be not fooled by some ignorant call center agent.

How Do I Buy and Sell Physical Gold and Silver?
Do I Have to Pay Sales Tax (or VAT or Similar) on Precious Metals?
Should I store my precious metals locally or overseas?
How Much Should I Pay for Physical Bullion?
Can I Earn a Higher Profit With Numismatic Coins?
What Is a Reasonable Premium Over Spot?
Should I Buy Bullion Bars or Bullion Coins?
Should I Buy Bullion Online?
Should I Buy Bullion Over the Phone?
Should I Buy Bullion Using eBay or Amazon Marketplace?
Are There Any Reporting Requirements for Gold or Silver?
Should I Buy Vaulted Allocated Gold or Silver?