Breaking News from the Future

Breaking News from the Future

[nature @Nature]

A powerful gene-editing technique has been used to edit DNA directly in a person’s body — the first known instance of such a treatment.
https://t.co/hoSR2fXR2V

[Claus Gherghel @ClausGherghel]

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[Claus Gherghel @ClausGherghel]

Grok @bot accessed my personal Gmail without my consent!

I only connected a work gmail. But @bot somehow got connected to my personal Gmail, and it searched through it 11 times, opened one email, and tried to send 3 times. All of that was without my consent. I never authorized that account. The screenshot is the bot’s own log: 9 of those searches had no request at all.

cc: @spacexai @shubgaur @vincentzhu @joshkim @grok

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@QuantusNetwork Request: qzpYbPQ5Mw8uuQFRTDGdmCjkKoZssbYSZRBzgPCdsJkvzDnw3

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@Gemini More like, “tell me how you use your money or else” check. Still waiting for an explanation. Cc: @GeminiSupport

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@monerify I was wondering when the Monero folks will join the chat.

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@BlizzardAd56304 @cameron @GeminiSupport 😂😂

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@BenWest @Gemini @tyler @cameron @zashi_app @naomibrockwell I actually ignored their email thinking it’s not legit. But it checks out, it is from @GeminiSupport

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@omsantarelli @nuttycom @Gemini Hey @omsantarell, can someone from @Gemini please clarify this request? Much appreciated!

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@mikeradford2018 @Gemini @tyler @cameron @zashi_app It is really concerning, ngl. Who decides what’s the “wrong” and “right” use of my Zcash? Maybe I’m a degenerate and I want pineapple and ketchup on my pizza. Will the culinary police deny me access to my Zcash?

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@cypherpunk Privacy is normal, until @Gemini sends you this email

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@Anonymist @Gemini @zashi_app Thanks for the reply. Even if that is the case, it is nevertheless concerning that @Gemini wants to know “my intended account activities moving forward”?

And what happens if they disagree with how I want to use my money?

Cc: @arjunkhemani @cypherpunk

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

@Anonymist Hey @Anonymist could use some help amplifying this just to get clarity.

Cc: @Gemini

Context: bought Zcash on Gemini → transferred to @zashi_app → moved shielded $ZEC back to Gemini.
Then I got this email👇 It’s supposed to be private. Why do you want these details?

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

Hey @Gemini, any thoughts on this? 👆

[Breaking News from the Future @gistofthisbook]

Hey @Gemini, is this legit?
Context: bought Zcash on Gemini → transferred to @zashi_app → moved shielded $ZEC back to Gemini.
Then I got this email👇 It’s supposed to be private. Why do you want these details?

@mert @Zcash @zooko @tyler @cameron @ZcashFoundation @BostonZcash

[Saad El Kouari 🛡️ @elkouaris]

😂 This is very bullish, they can't identify a single whale, they can't even identify big organizations such @Grayscale or @ElectricCoinCo or @ShieldedLabs and I'm 100% sure they got @ZcashFoundation holdings wrong, and 0 individuals, not even very clear targets like @zooko

[Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io @EliBenSasson]

Quantum Computer -- how does it work?

You've read the news -- a quantum computer could some day break the cryptography used to sign Bitcoin transactions.

We can fix Bitcoin to prevent that, but it's really important to understand: How does it work?
How would a quantum computer solve problems that we can't solve today?

This is a dumbed-down explanation, written by someone who is *not* a quantum expert.

So, how does it work?
The Universe works in mysterious ways. And none more mysterious than quantum mechanics.

The way I picture it is like this: The state of the universe in 1 second from now is a bit like jello, it takes time for it to stabilize. During this time -- when it's not final/stable --particles (like electrons) are not quite here or there.

The correct description of the universe is that there's a multitude of different possibilities, that are all real, and later on, one of these possibilities turns up as reality.

Now, think about a computer trying to guess your Bitcoin spending key (those 24 words that control your money).
For each one of these 24 words, there are many possibilities. A non-quantum computer would pick one of these possibilities for the first word, like one path in a maze, and then continue to the next word, and so on and so forth until it picked a value for each of the 24 words. If the computer picked your correct value, it's like it reached the exit to the maze. If it's incorrect, the computer hits a dead end and will backtrack and try some other combination. This computer can continue to try different combinations (like different paths in a maze) until it finds the correct one.

But there are so many possibilities, the sun will freeze before a computer goes over all of them to find your spending key. This is why the computers we know today don't pose a threat to Bitcoin.

But now consider a quantum computer --
It uses the unfinalized nature of reality, this jello-like behavior, to simultaneously explore all possible paths in the maze. Most of these paths reach a dead end and "die". Only a few paths (maybe only one) reaches the exit and remains to live.

When reality, this jello, finally settles, it settles only on viable paths that leave the maze. And that's how a quantum computer will get to efficiently guess your spending key and steal your Bitcoin.

FOR NEXT LESSON:
How could *any* cryptography survive a quantum computer? Is there a way to use keys that cannot be stolen by the all-powerful quantum computer?

SPOILER:
Not all cryptography is breakable.
In particular, ZK-STARKs, (the technology I co-invented and which powers Starknet) is not breakable by a quantum computer.

[WikiLeaks @wikileaks]

New trailer (#1) for soon to be released film on Julian Assange: The Six Billion Dollar Man. The film is an independent, high-stakes documentary tracing WikiLeaks' revelations, the attempts to censor them and the fight that freed Julian Assange. It won the L’Œil d’or at Cannes this year as well as the Golden Globe.