January 22nd, 2024
Cryptography
Cryptography is the art and science of securing communication and information using codes and ciphers. It's like creating a secret language that only the intended people can understand. Imagine having a magical lock on your journal that only your friend knows how to open. Let’s say you have a 3-letter shift on the message or code, A becomes D, and B becomes E. Only the people who know the shift can decode the message or code, so it helps keep things secure. The main goal is to protect data from unauthorized access to that code or message, you can encrypt the message anyway or as hard as you need because only people who know how to decrypt the message will have access. Cryptography has what you call hashes.
Cryptographic hashes are algorithms that take input data, such as a message or file, and create a fixed-size string of characters, known as a hash value. One way to think of this is if you made the password “paperclip%150!” into a 50-character hash of just random characters that equal the password. Sort of like a password for a password. Sometimes called a “key”; how cryptocurrencies work when you send 0.001 in Bitcoin to another Bitcoin address, where they have public and private keys to encrypt the cryptocurrency. Cryptographic hashes are also used in many security applications. One way is when you create an account on a website, the system doesn't store your password directly. Instead, it creates the hash of your password and stores that hash. That is so if the website data is compromised, data is still encrypted and just helps with overall security. Cryptographic hashes act like secret fingerprints for digital information used all over the world in things you probably wouldn’t think.
This Week In Crypto
Well, the ETFs or “ETPs” are here, and wow what a prediction I made with the sell-the-news situation. Bitcoin peaked at $49k, then dropped to $47k by the first trading day. ETFs are Exchange Traded Funds, it’s a way to buy Bitcoin as a stock instead of buying Bitcoin, which is wildly stupid, but some people must prefer the stock version. And then since the first day of trading, that Thursday, January 11th, people have been selling Bitcoin. It’s extra smart to take some profits but also extra dumb since Bitcoin halving is two months away. It’s put Bitcoin in a level but slightly downward move since the first ETF trading day. I sold some crypto, all my altcoins, I only hold Bitcoin now and not even any Ethereum. I am trying to break away from following the Elliot wave of my crypto and focus on learning Chinese more. I bought more Bitcoin and am now just in the situation everyone is in where we are all just waiting for Bitcoin to moon up. There has been a new resurgence of meme coins this cycle, Dogecoin & Shiba Inu are dead, and the hype has been Bonk & Coq Inu. I missed out on Bonk and just watched it go up, Bonk is a Solana meme coin and it had its time where some people online made money off its popularity. Coq Inu and Bonk have had their pumps, so who knows if they’ll go up further, timing meme coins is hard. By the time you hear about the meme coin, it’s already pumped 5-10x to build the hype.
The halving is coming for Bitcoin and history shows up goes way up, this drop from the ETF news with Bitcoin going from $49k down to $41k is the dip during a major bull market. I have been correct all 2023 being bullish on Bitcoin and 2024 is the pump year and with Blackrock & Fidelity now buying Bitcoin the bull run could go into 2025. Bitcoin being under $50k is a good price still if it lands way over $100k this cycle, we could just see an ultra-bull run like how the gold ETF did for gold. Where we just slowly trend up, of course with major dips of 20-30%, but overall, a major up trend for years for Bitcoin.
There might be hype for Ethereum Spot ETF now next, but we’ll see, I think the hype will just be Bitcoin and how it’s a limited supply going into a halving in April. George on CryptosRUs keeps mentioning how eventually there won’t be any Bitcoin for the large buyers to buy, the demand will outpace the new Bitcoin being minted. It’s just going to be a few exciting months going forward into 2024. Like I said, I have my Satoshis bought, I’ll see the halving pump when it happens.
Cicada 3301 and “Liber Primus”
Liber Primus translates to “First Book”, which is the book Cicada solvers are trying to solve. Written in runic script and just leaves people giving a bit of effort in solving. I guess the idea is that if a bunch of people try to solve the puzzle, the better chances we have of solving the pages of the book. I first was introduced to Cicada 3301 in 2014, on the wild website named 4chan, I was a big 4chan browser in the military with my barracks mate named Hicks. We would scroll the images saving wallpapers and weapons photos, a big-time filler for infantry dudes when not training. They have made a movie about Cicada 3301 and from the trailer it looks wildly dramatic, I don’t think spending hours surfing the web translates to an action-packed movie. It’s out there though, probably on Netflix or Amazon. I remember some of my friends in the Anonymous IRC brought up Cicada 3301 and I just kept thinking that I really couldn’t put forth any effort towards the puzzle. The puzzles were too hard but sometimes just more brains thinking about something helps.
The Cicada Solvers have a discord server and I have been scrolling through the channels, some of the smartest minds in the world are on that server. I don’t think I’ll be able to think of anything for Liber Primus that hasn’t already been thought of but who knows maybe so. I just feel like trying to solve the pages simply with the runic language has already been tried and I brought up how maybe AI could solve the pages. Cicada 3301 used to leave puzzles with clues in real life that where the puzzles were solved in real life, not in front of a screen. I had someone make me a custom Cicada 3301 wallpaper back in 2014, so I have been a solver for years in the background always. Now with me being sober, helping solve is more like a hobby for me.
Be a nice human.