Censorship resistance is the foundation of crypto, so for many cryptocurrency purists, the Nov. 23 announcement by ConsenSys, the New York-based company behind the leading Ethereum browser wallet, informing its 20 million MetaMask users that their IP and wallet addresses would be collected was simply a gross violation of the crypto spirit. In the weeks that followed, ConsenSys first reacted by saying the data collected would only be retained for seven days and then that it had updated the MetaMask features to allow users to opt out of Infura. However, the question remains: Have they done enough to establish crypto …

The cryptocurrency community has a tendency to fixate on a new issue every few weeks and then promptly forget about it. The limited attention span of this community misses the ultimate resolution of important issues. Over the Thanksgiving holiday in November 2022, ConsenSys released a disclosure about a privacy policy affecting MetaMask users that sent “Crypto Twitter” into a firestorm. My first reaction was also negative. That’s what a sly fox would say isn’t it? pic.twitter.com/PfKMTiNHoR — J.W. Verret, JD, CPA/CVA (@JWVerret) November 25, 2022 The MetaMask browser extension wallet uses a node called Infura. That node is owned by …

Israel’s national intelligence agency, Mossad, has posted a job listing for an expert in cryptocurrencies who has at least three years of experience in the fintech space. The candidate should have “in-depth technological understanding and expertise in the world of fintech, e-commerce, DEF and digital currencies,” according to the outlined requirements. The role’s description succinctly indicates that it includes “leading, initiating, planning and accompanying systems development activities” — sufficiently open for local media to proffer its own interpretation of what exactly Mossad may be seeking a crypto expert for. Major Israeli news site Ynet, for example, has claimed that Mossad …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor’s note The political machinations of Eastern Europe have dominated recent headlines. Protests unprecedented since the fall of the Soviet Union have rocked Belarus for weeks. Outrage over the Aug. 8 election that has seen challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya flee the country has threatened the longtime dominion of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, the so-called “last dictator in Europe.” Protestors are calling the 80% win for Lukashenko a fraud. The regime has tried to crack down with its traditional tactics of disinformation and …

On Aug. 18, the Senate Intelligence Committee released volume five of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The new version found that former CEO of Overstock.com and noted crypto advocate Patrick Byrne was a patsy to plans by Maria Butina, served time for espionage on behalf of Russia. The romance between Butina and Byrne was the reason the latter gave upon his departure from Overstock last year. Always an eccentric character, Byrne’s account of the relationship said that he was working with U.S. intelligence. Per one email from Paul Erickson quoted in the report, Byrne was a …

The NSA has been spying on politicians and common citizens, domestically and abroad, for decades now. Now, a recent online hack of private documents has revealed that national governments are able to obtain software services to hack into Bitcoin and other private digital currency accounts through an Italian subcontractor. 400GB of documents captured from a popular international surveillance technology company called Hacking Team has been uncovered by CSO Online’s Steve Ragan. These documents reveal what spy technology is available and how much countries are investing in it. Bitcoin, Litecoin and other digital currency wallet hacks are one of many services …