Earlier quoted context omitted.
Post modernist retort kudos
> Post modernist retort kudos That's not what post modernism is
This is a post-modernist thread.
Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
211–220 of 303 posts
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s so funny to me when everyone touts crypto + smart contracts as revolutionary™ then when you follow a system implemented with them to its logical conclusions you have analogs to everything that already exists. Lawyers to audit the contracts for bugs (and yes there can be bugs in a formally verified spec as well), courts to arbitrate disagreements, and an authority to enforce rules when someone finds a security ho…
> a formally verified spec A formally verified X is just a reliable X. If X is wrong, then you just have something that will reliably do the wrong thing.
See also: many Black Mirror episodes.
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s so funny to me when everyone touts crypto + smart contracts as revolutionary™ then when you follow a system implemented with them to its logical conclusions you have analogs to everything that already exists. Lawyers to audit the contracts for bugs (and yes there can be bugs in a formally verified spec as well), courts to arbitrate disagreements, and an authority to enforce rules when someone finds a security ho…
> Maybe we should understand the existing system before advocating complete disruption. This is a great point. One name for it is 'Chesterton's Fence' [0] [0] https://www.chesterton.org/taking-a-fence-down/
In 2011 a new Bitcoin exchange called Bitcoinica launched.
I deposited 100 BTC to test it out.
First thing I did was to try to withdraw negative 100 BTC.
It sent me 100 BTC, but instead of a zero balance in the exchange, it said I now had 200 BTC.
So then I withdrew a negative 200 BTC, and it sent me 200 BTC and increased my exchange balance to 400 BTC.
I contacted the owner and returned the funds and he sent me a 100 BTC bug bounty.
Was entering a negative number in a web form "hacking"? Should that be illegal?
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
The irony whenever someone references this article is they always seem to forget that he was arguing against the decision to rewrite Netscape, specifically, to create version 6, also known as Mozilla.
Looking back, updating Netscape may have been the correct choice.
This is an impossible counterfactual to figure out. Microsoft crushed Netscape, and it's far from clear that continuing Netscape as it had been going would have had anywhere near the success that Mozilla ultimately had.
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
Dont you think the incentive to find a double spend flaw in bitcoin is large enough due to it's ever-increasing market cap?
This would not be a double spend attack, but a denial of service attack. If you spend $600 million worth of mining work, you can prevent any transactions from executing for two weeks (although in this scheme where you pay twice the block reward to defectors, only one week).
Okay, sorry, I mean to find ANY flaw in bitcoin's protocol there is the weight of the entire market's worth hanging in the jeopardy. The incentive is to always be trying to crack it. So far, unsuccessfully.
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love how the crypto community encourages circumventing laws, UNTIL someone steals from them using their own “smart” contract then calls on authorities for help.
Can someone explain to me why HN is so anti-crypto?
> Can someone explain to me why HN is so anti-crypto?
Short answer: Crypto has been touted as a primarily technological advancement (blockchain!) while the primary use case for most crypto proponents is simply getting rich (flipping coins or spreading "HODL" encouragement).
Imagine if Venmo had launched with the requirement that all Venmo transactions had to be performed with VENMOCOIN instead of dollars. To transact on the Venmo platform, you had to buy some of this VENMOCOIN from the founders or early adopters, funneling your real money to them in exchange for tokens you could use on the Venmo platform. The VENMOCOIN early adopters really, really want you to use Venmo so the price of their VENMOCOIN goes up, so every online discussion gets filled with people talking about how amazing Venmo is and how it's the way of the future and everyone should buy as much VENMOCOIN as possible.
Sound ridiculous, right? That's more or less what the crypto discussions have become: People pretend to talk about technology but it's really about getting rich by flipping coins and pumping their value.
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
You claim to know what you meant, but that isn't clearly the case. GP's post was short and to the point. Your posts are long and confusing. We do have private prisons. As you note, they started under Reagan, in response to Reagan's "anti-crime" policies. Reagan is notorious for claiming to support small government and balanced budgets while actually spending us deep into deficit in order to purchase boondoggles. How…
> Your posts are long and confusing What’s the average length of a post on HN and where does that post stand? > How are your preferences different than Reagan's? You just stated that he acted contrary to his claims, if your position is that I say I’m for small government but wish to spend, spend, spend, then I can see why you’re confused. Try dropping the assumption I’m lying, the principle of charity is a wonderful…
> where does that post stand
i think the bit where you talked about Sweden being in the southern hemisphere places it in the top tier of 'confusing' for me...
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#218I haven't seen any evidence there was in fact a hack at all. A digital contract was used in a way that complied with the contract that the bonehead writers of that contract did not intend. That's it. If bad contract writers get to cry "hack" and beg for their money back there is no point to digital contracts at all. If someone had physically or electronically broken into systems and illicitly copied private keys that…
I know, like how many times has this happened and people keep jerking each other off about smart contracts
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#219"...demonstrates that even if you can steal cryptoassets, laundering them and cashing out is extremely difficult due to the transparency of the blockchain." These are the type of arguments that reinforce my belief that crypto assets do not make any sense. Yet.
BTC-XMR atomic swaps are soon available [tm]
Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can’t use cash to buy a kilo of XXXX from Sergei in Ukraine when you live in Chicago.
You can. It’s just more difficult. But you can use cash to buy a kilo of XXXX from someone in Chicago very easily.
I live in Chicago. I've bought plenty of drugs. Buying on the internet is much, much easier.