BEAM me up Scotty

And then it dropped in price.

Registration free, just use it and exchange any Crypto-Currency you want. There are quite a lot to choose from at Stealth Exchange. It can be done at a fixed price or one that is flexible, following the actuall current exchange prices. And for this one I did use the flexible setting. A minimum of 0.005 BTC to get about 62 BEAM in return. It only needed one Bitcoin confirmation to get it done. So now I have some BEAM too. The reason I choose this Mimble Wimble kind of Crypto was because it reminded me of Star Trek and the BEAM-Team made a great wallet. To me the Mimble Wimble protocol is as big an invention as Bitcoin once was. The next step in blockchain technology. With another enigmatic creator (or group of creators), just sharing the protocol and leaving again. Not Satoshi Nakamoto this time but Tom Elvis Jedusor, the next Crypto-Currency mystery. One specific part I do like about the Mimble Wimble protocol is that is can purge itself and keep the blockchain size under control. The technology behind it is quite complex. Extremely simplified it can be seen as a way to drop all the inputs and only keep the unspent outputs, which should add up to all the Cryptos that have been created so far. It is even possible to combine transactions as if it were only one. Even hiding the values and where it all wend. Any transaction will do as long as the numbers add up to zero. (As I stated before, this is extremely simplified.)

Downside is that it is needed for sending and receiving parties to be online, within a specific time frame. Using the Stealth Exchange there was a time-window of 24 hours. The longest wait though was the actual first Bitcoin {BTC} confirmation. After that I received the BEAM right away. That was in an Android wallet using an external node. And while I am typing this article I also have installed a BEAM wallet it on my Linux laptop. Which I will be using with the build in node. Currently downloading the BEAM blockchain. That would take about an hour, more or less, to complete. And in the near future, or further away, this would still be about the same, for any node. The blockchain will gain in size, when it gets used more and more often by the many. Yet, it will still be manageable in size, as it keeps on purging itself. That is already a kind of magic. And it was something that I have been looking for. Blockchain technology that can manage its own size. With the release of the Mimble Wimble protocol I had a kind of Eureka experience. While I think Bitcoin {BTC} will be like the 'Gold-standard' of the Crypto-Currencies, Mimble Wimble Cryptos will gain in trust. And thus in their Market value. And Cryptos like Litecoin {LTC} are already working on a Mimble Wimble implementation. Where I do expect that others will follow, like BTC {Bitcoin}, DGB {DiGiByte} and also Dogecoin {DOGE}.

Yeah, but ... Anonymously?

No, that is something that I am convinced about that actuallyy does not excist in the digital realm. Forget about anonymity, it does not excist in real life, and in the digital one it is even worse. There is this internet protocol known as ARP / RARP. And they make all the anonymity claims false. BEAM, for instance, promotes itself as confidential and I do think that is more close to the truth. Or it gives a high level of privacy. Bitcoin {BTC} is even a public record of all in- and outputs, even when mixing them up, as I see it, will still expose a trail that will lead to those who swapped it. All those who think they can 'safely' go on the dark-web and pay with BTC or any other Crypto are basically falling for a so called 'honey-trap'. Just like those crooks who ask a ransom payment in any Crypto. Even if they would use a new address every time, the web will reveal itself very nicely. That is to those who have the resources to unwind it. And even if Satoshi Nakamoto (individual or group) were still amongst the living, using any of those (alleged) 22 thousand private keys would lead to the one(s) who did so. Besides all the other effects that it would have. Therefore, it can be assumed that of the 5 million BTC mined in 2009/2010 in total, at least 20 percent can be considered to be lost for ever. (The same accounts for all the forking blockchain splitting clones of Bitcoin {BTC}.) Think about taxation, for instance. And what would happen if about one million BTC would hit the market? Could any government claim them? And what would they then do with it? So, it is highly improbable that the supossedly lost BTC will ever become part of the total of 21 million to be used by the year 2145. Yet, Bitcoin and all the others alike are no way near anonymous, not even very private. As every transaction can be back traced.

So why are international criminal gangs and dark-web abuse networks not brought down by the masses? Well, first of all, who says they are not? Also, there are many countries that still do dislike each other, for one reason or the other. Collaboration would be needed on an international scale to be the most effective. And then there are suspected cases of secret services that use the dark-web themselves. In that way even becoming an active part of international crime networks. Then there is the effectiveness of the 'honey-trap', where there is no use in just taking out the small fish. But it will take a lot of work to be done to take out the big fish and bring down complete criminal and abusive networks. These rings of evil often spread out all over the globe and if some, so called, high placed well known individual is part of it, it could be considered a no go area. Corruption is everywhere, even though the digital realm could be seen as one big 'honey-trap' in reality this does not always lead to end results. And a protocol like Mimble Wimble does not protect its users with complete anonymity, as that is highly improbable on the world wide web. But it can add a level of security to transactions. In a way even replacing the use of cold-hard-cash. Going to the local market and using BEAM to buy something, just like it still can be done with cold-hard-cash now. At some point it will still end up in some journal, as a transaction, that can be traced though. Key is that any hardware device can be traced and followed, recorded in its every data move. Even when it would be able do a MAC hardware address change, constantly (Without attracting some alarming attention.) Packets need to be going from one hardware location to another and that means exposure, at any given time, no matter what route the digital packets take. Address Resolution Protocol {ARP} and Reversed Address Resolution Protocol {RARP} are hard to escape. It is the Media Access Control {MAC} hardware address that makes anonymity in the digital realm highly improbable. Cryptos like BEAM will not change that, yet will make transactions more safe, thanks to a higher level of privacy.

A high level of privacy added.

Making a confidential transaction, or just a cold-hard-cash alike one, the Mimble Wimble protocol makes it possible. While at the same time making sure only the needed data is being stored on the blockchain. As long as the final numbers add up it does not matter what the actual transactions were. It is those who use it that can add information to it. Even companies could use a Mimble Wimble based Crypto Currency and add who paid with it, for what and send a customer a confirmation. Then it becomes a second layer, or even a third one, build on top, or maybe even a kind of a side-chain, with the data encrypted. Mostly to protect those who use it from criminal organisations and individuals. While goverments might be able to sniff out the packets and their destinations using ARP/RARP and MAC hardware addresses, it will be tougher for criminals to do so. Which then might be a reason to use it, still knowing big brother is watching the complete digital realm. And all we have to do is to make sure governments do not become totally evil themselves. Maybe even lock them into blockchain constructions, so any human on earth can watch its every move publicly. That might be a Utopian dream though. While we might want to stay alert on what governments want to make illegal through its laws, as justice is not always served by its ruling. If history could speak, imagine the stories it could tell... So we need to keep encryption for our packets, even though also criminals might use it. Because governments also can turn rogue. In the end there are effective tools to take out criminal and abusive dark-web networks. And it is also important to be carefull with what is to be classified as criminal, I think.

With protocols like Mimble Wimble the blockchain technology moved into a new direction. Where scripting was lost other ways of adding smart-contracts will be added. The BEAM project is showing some real progress in that direction. Innovation is key. The succes of Crypto-Currencies will depend on it. Bitcoin {BTC} started it, but in no way finalized it. In the meantime I do have some BEAM, not really knowing what to do with it, might even exchange it for some Steem. And of course evil human monsters will use any tool for their own agenda. Just like the still do and have done with bankers money. And even if they use Cryptos, at some point they will need to get some legal real life stuff. While in the meantime their every move in the digital 'honey trap' realm has been registered. And even if they would know how ARP / RARP works, they would probably still fall for the trap. In the meantime most Crypto-Currency users are no way near whatever is to be considered evil doings. It has become a fast innovating business, mostly drive by the Open Source communnity. Where Bitcoin {BTC} and others apparently are to be seen as a safe haven in times of war threats. It seems Cryptos have become a part of life on earth and it might be going for another big bull-run soon.

May the Cryptos be with us!

BEAM me up!

BEAM girl image courtesy of BEAM Foundation.

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