Information Networks

I n this episode of the Part-Time Show, Dr Kapil Amarasinghe explores the idea of social mobility being linked to physical mobility and the idea that public transport networks function in and serve a similar purpose to social media networks by enabling the flow of people and ideas.

He makes the argument, based broadly on the UK model, that public transport should be free (or significantly less expensive) and how this would improve the economy and culture whilst helping to combat the isolationism that is enabled by many social networks.

"How are you supposed to know anything about what life really is if you're not listening to anyone?"

Dr Kap, as he universally known, is a leading Speciality Doctor in Emergency Medicine and is the UK Community Ambassador to the Particl Project/Foundation. His interests include Emergency Medicine, Business Management, Arts, Geopolitics, Emerging Currency Markets and Distributed Ledger Technologies. He is also the MD of artradio, a creative social network that enables artists worldwide to share their work, see more at www.artradio.tv

Dr Kap is contactable through Twitter, LinkedIn, at particl.io or via hello@decentralize.today

Regulars here will know that I am always on the hunt for new tools that can make your lives more decentralized and more private and to bring these to you in The Privacy Cookbook. Finding something that does both is usually the best solution.

I also cover blockchain technology and as I was a bitcoin early adopter I thought I would circle back and pick up on a device that has actually been around a while and that sometimes gets overlooked.

So in this new chapter, No 18, called "The One with the Pi" (yes, ok, also a former Friends fanatic) I am referring to, and looking at, the Raspberry Pi, and since we mentioned Bitcoin I will start off with a Bitcoin node.

buy bitcoin
become bitcoin

A catchy headline isn't it, but Umbrel is more than just a personal Bitcoin Lightning Network. It's about privacy, and you can connect Tresor, Ledger, Wasabi, Blockstream Green, Electrum, Zap, BlueWallet, you name it, to your Lightning Pi, thereby helping you achieve unparalleled privacy.

The wallet providers usually use a company server which knows your IP address and can link it to your bitcoin address. In the case of Ledger, which leaked a hell of a lot of its clients' data, they also have your address, telephone number etc. as well!  This is less than ideal, not that bitcoin ever claimed to be anonymous, but the information shouldn’t be available to others and even the companies you are using shouldn't hold any of your information.

“By running Bitcoin Core, your Umbrel stores and validates every single Bitcoin transaction that has ever existed and will ever exist. It’s “don’t trust, verify” on steroids. Not only that, transacting with your Umbrel also helps keep the entire Bitcoin network decentralized; win-win!”

So, what do you need to be able to have Umbrel on a Raspberry Pi?

1. Raspberry Pi 4
2. 1 TB SSD

The setup cannot be more simple or straightforward, just download UmbrelOS, install it via Balena Etcher and pop the SSD card into your Pi. Add at least 1 TB SSD hard disk to the Pi and power the beast up. After you have set your Raspberry Pi up you are ready to use Bitcoin - private, trustless, uncensored and permission-less - and from anywhere in the world.

The beauty behind this setup is that you control the node, not some company and you get  privacy by default.

“All services on Umbrel, including Bitcoin, Lightning and Electrum are configured to use Tor by default, thus preserving your anonymity at all times.“

So you can also access your Umbrel from anywhere in the world with a Tor-enabled browser. Automatic backups are in place and future developments via the Umbrel App Store will make things even more interesting.

Examples would be BTCPay Server which lets you become your own payment processor, you can set up multi-signature custody with Specter Desktop, run your own Blockchain Explorer, chat over the Lightning Network. The possibilities are endless, and all from your little Pi. A unique Tor hidden service (onion address) is generated and configured for every app you install and you can individually connect to each with a separate onion address.

Umbrel have also released the Umbrel App Framework for developers, so they can build, test and submit apps to Umbrel.

Each app running is isolated from all the others. The best part of this is that each app is sitting at your home, on your Pi and whilst your data can only be accessed with your private onion address it is accessible to you from anywhere in the world.

Perhaps you are just one Pi away from being in control of your Bitcoin startup or just to make sure your transactions are private.

More servings of Pi to follow!

A history of the Petrodollar and the future of the USD

ICYMI: In this special episode of The Part Time Show with Dr Kap looks into the origins of the fiat currency system, outlines how and why the USD emerged as the de facto dominant global reserve currency along with a look into it's possible future.

A complicated topic delivered concisely and clearly: Essential 15 minute listen for anyone interested in understanding the fundamentals and future horizons of global finance.

Dr Kap, as he universally known, is a leading Speciality Doctor in Emergency Medicine and is the UK Community Ambassador to the Particl Project/Foundation. His interests include Emergency Medicine, Business Management, Arts, Geopolitics, Emerging Currency Markets and Distributed Ledger Technologies. He is also the MD of artradio, a creative social network that enables artists worldwide to share their work, see more at www.artradio.tv

Dr Kap is contactable through Twitter, LinkedIn, at particl.io or via hello@decentralize.today

Over the past few years, blockchain technology has been changing how we transact, store data and, consequently, how we carry out economic activities such as international trade.

This in turn has spurred the growth of people seeking blockchain-based financial solutions as well thus decentralized finance (DeFi) has taken off, with the complexities of traditional finance now being built on a blockchain and bank processes to access financial products being replaced by smart contracts.

This break from traditional forms of financial transactions has now moved us towards decentralized commerce (DeCom). There are many advantages to DeCom with one being, as the name would suggest, getting rid of the middleman via the use of smart contracts as a result of which the huge commissions extorted by the likes of Amazon, Alibaba and Ebay will no longer be in play.

DeCom platforms are, therefore, leading to the mass adoption of crypto solutions as an easy and, most importantly, private way to pay for goods and services not hindered by borders nor stifled by rules and regulations.

So, who is leading the pack when it comes to DeCom? Bitcoin springs immediately to mind as a way of paying for stuff but other than that, it has zero infrastructure built around it. Moreover, transaction fees involving Bitcoin are at the moment edging higher and higher. Ethereum has smart contracts although their implementation has been poor and they face a number of challenges.

One true DeCom platform is Particl which is currently on public testnet and poised to go onto mainnet very soon. More than just a coin, this is a complete decentralized platform where users can transact with each other, confident in the knowledge that their data will be not be retained. The marketplace is private by default and no identifiable information is linked to users. Metadata is removed from images and all data exchange and communications are encrypted.

This DeCom marketplace offers many other advantages. For sellers, they can offer much more attractive prices as those previous huge cuts taken by the middleman are no longer having to be costed in. Moreover, users do not have to give up their privacy or find themselves under any form of surveillance. And because of the unique trustless escrow system in place on the platform, there is little to no chance of fraud or underhand tricks taking place.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-11-28-ebay-issues-warning-to-iscammers-selling-photos-of-ps5s

From a seller's point of view, they will now have international reach without having to pass through 3rd parties, with credit frauds and chargeback frauds being a thing of the past. So with no platform fees, operating costs or payment delays, vendors will have a much better experience using this marketplace.

Amazon is currently being hauled over the coals by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic for its cloning of successful products sold on its platform. This cannot happen on the Particl marketplace as sales data is neither required nor retained. The privacy protocols which are embedded in the system ensure that there can be no manipulation of product listings or supply chain interventions as is common practice with Amazon.

With DeCom platforms, customers get to decide which product is better through transparent reviews and recommendations. This is unlike centralized platforms which decide which companies should be higher in the search query. Every person has their own identity and has the power to decide who has access to it and so thus privacy is protected. Deliveries can be tracked on the blockchain so lost or stolen packages will be hugely minimized.

The futre is coming, the future will be DeFi emabled DeCom!

Decentralization is a word people in crypto like to throw around. Same goes for the privacy folks who also dream of decentralization, yet we see these same people trading their decentralized cryptocurrencies on centralized exchanges like Bttrex, Binance and their ilk.

When Bittrex announced the recent delisting of Dash, XMR and Zcash we saw their prices dive within seconds. Yet, these coins are decentralized, have value based on usage and shouldn’t be impacted by one announcement from a centralized exchange. On top of this Bittrex was not even the main exchange for them handling massive volumes of these coins. So assense prevailed, it was no real surprise that all the coins recovered the lost value before long following the delisting announcement.

This in mind, this article is not about pricing of cryptos but about decentralization, so let's focus on that and get the real message out.

DeFi (Decentralized Finance) is growing, and this not just because people are realizing that they shouldn't have anyone in the middle, but because they don’t need to put their trust in anyone. And that nullifies the risk of handing over money and cryptos to a centralized middle entity. DEXs (decentralized exchanges) exist, they do not ask for KYC (Know Your Customer) nor insist on following rules based on a bank not liking a specific coin on an exchange. DEXs are growing massively and I encourage you to use them.

The main problem is, of course, mostly around liquidity, and the potential for slippage in prices of an asset during a swap. Another issue is that many of the existing DeFi products are ERC-20 based. That, therefore, excludes Bitcoin, XMR and the like. However, with more people using decentralized exchanges, the better this swap selection will become.

So lets dig into your options!

Bancor

...probability one of the best known and one of the oldest DeFi projects out there. Bancor has a solution that's involves not just a direct counterparty, but rather liquidity pools.

Curve

Another great one, this is designed for stable coins. It is one of the most used Automatic Market Makers and liquidity aggregators. Featuring mass integration in DeFi protocols, it allows the lowest slippage rates and trading fees for stable coins and wrapped tokens.

1inch.exchange

The DEX aggregator sources liquidity from 0x Protocol, Uniswap, Bancor, Balancer, Kyber, Airswap and a few others. This one offers a wide range of ERC-20 Tokens.

Uniswap

The biggest around is Uniswap , it has such high volumes it already completes with the larger centralized exchanges. The UI/UX is a big plus here and, of course, it has permission-less listing. It also has low slippage and fees. It has virtually every ERC-20 coin listed on the platform and if you trade ERC-20 coins, you shouldn't use anything else! They also allow users to supply liquidity to pools.

ShapeShift

In the process of moving back to a DEX version and removing KYC.  Just like most other DEX products you can do ERC-20 coins here.

Coming to options which are not just involving ERC-20 coins...

Binance DEX

Yes! Binance (the biggest centralized exchange) does have an open-source decentralized version. It works great, and the best is that you can also trade Pegged Tokens. In other words, you are not just able to trade ERC-20 tokens, but also trade against BTC, ETH, LTC BCH, XRP and TRX. You can also trade against Fiat Pegged Coins. These pegged tokens are all fully backed by the original counterparties like Bitcoin etc.

Binance also has an option to send cash to bank accounts via P2P. The rate on the P2P cash-outs are largely better than the cash-out providers in your country. Additionally, this is integrated in and with the original centralized Binance website.

I really hope this evolves into a much bigger DEX over time and that the P2P cash-out grows and supports non-KYC on the DeFi version of Binance.

WizardSwap

Another one that is pretty new but appears to work well is called WizardSwap. It is as simple as ShapeShift was in the olden days and is totally without KYC.

However, what makes WizardSwap stand out is that it is not ERC-20 based and actually facilitates swaps between XMR, LTC, Dash, ETH, PivX, Zcash and Particl. It does not always have a lot of volume, but as more people use it this will improve and make it a better option.

Block DX

Another one which has some swap options apart from ERC-20 and including BTC and Bitcoin Cash is called Block DX. The UI/UX reminds me a lot of Bittrex so people will feel right at home using the setup.

AtomicDEX

One I am very much looking forward to using is AtomicDEX, which offers Android and iOS trading, but is still on TestFlight. Bitcoin, Komodo, Ethereum, ERC-20 tokens, you name it. The test version comes with a dozen coins enabled, and the Komodo team behind the project are adding new assets with every beta release.

I believe we have covered every 'no KYC' DeFi service out there at present, sadly mostly are in ERC-20 swaps, however. we are seeing swap innovations and more DeFi solutions popping up all the time. We have seen wXMR, a wrap around XMR, which allows Monero to be added to some DEX versions out there. We are also excited to see Particl's Open Marketplace's V3 coming soon which promises to have swaps integrated as per their roadmap, for reference, XMR to PART already works.

Sibex is another option, but again has mostly ERC-20 tokens although but ETH and BTC too. I've not had no test run on Sibex yet, but will do so soon. Interestingly it also has an OTC trading room that you can create yourself.

InstaSwap.io is another way to swap coins, they have a good list of coins, including some none ERC-20 tokens. Dash, PivX, Ark and Bitcoin are for example included. Interesting is also the option of Apple Pay and credit cards to but crypto and Sepa to cash out.

One we reviewed a while back is called Bisq, and it is worth looking into. Liquidity with some coins can be an issue, but ultimately as more people use so the bigger and better this platform will become.

I am keen to find more, so switch, guys, remove the middle man and make the next step into the world of decentralization. It makes so much more sense using your decentralized assets on a non-centralized platform.

If you know any other great DeFi products, great Decentralized Exchange solutions or want to talk about anything crypto, blockchain or privacy related, consider joining us on our Matrix Channel , or on Telegram .

You probably are aware that Facebook is going to share the user data from its ‘end to end encrypted’ chat service WhatsApp . This is not optional. You have to accept that or stop using WhatsApp altogether.

Privacy cautious people had seen it coming a long time ago. After all, Facebook paid $19 billion to buy a mobile app like WhatsApp that hardly made any money at that time. Now it’s time for Facebook to get the return on its $19 billion investment. They will share your data with advertisers so that you get more personalized (read invasive) ads.

If you are fed up with the “ my way or highway ” attitude of the big tech like Facebook, Google, Twitter, perhaps you may try some alternative social media platforms.

These alternative social platforms are open source, use a decentralized approach with P2P or Blockchain technologies, and you may be able to self-host some of them.

Open source and decentralized social networks

I’ll be honest with you here. These alternative platforms may not give you the same kind of experience you are accustomed to, but these platforms would not infringe on your privacy and freedom of speech. That’s a trade off.

1. Minds

Alternative to: Facebook and YouTube
Features: Open Source code base, Blockchain
Self-host: No

On Minds, you can post videos, blogs, images and set statuses. You can also message and video chat securely with groups or directly with friends. Trending feeds and hashtags allows you to discover articles of your interest.

That’s not it. You also have the option to earn tokens for your contributions. These tokens can be used to upgrade your channel. Creators can receive direct payments in USD, Bitcoin and Ether from fans.

2. Aether

Alternative to: Reddit
Features: Open Source, P2P
Self-host: No

Aether is an open source, P2P platform for self-governing communities with auditable moderation and mod elections.

The content on Aether is ephemeral in nature and it is kept only for six months unless someone saves it. Since it is P2P, there is no centralized servers.

An interesting feature of Aether is its democratic communities. Communities elect mods and can impeach them by votes.

3. Mastodon

Alternative to: Twitter
Features: Open Source, Decentralized
Self-host: Yes

Mastodon is already known among FOSS enthusiasts. We have covered Mastodon as an open source Twitter alternative in the past, and we also have a profile on Mastodon .

Mastodon isn’t a single website like Twitter, it’s a network of thousands of communities operated by different organizations and individuals that provide a seamless social media experience. You can host your own Mastodon instance and choose to connect it with other Mastodon instances or you simply join one of the existing Mastodon instances like Mastodon Social .

4. LBRY

Alternative to: YouTube
Features: Open Source, Decentralized, Blockchain
Self-host: No

At the core, LBRY is a blockchain based decentralization protocol. On top of that protocol, you get a digital marketplace powered by its own cryptocurrency.

Though LBRY allows creators to offer l kind of digital content like movies, books and games, it is essentially promoted as an YouTube alternative. You can access the video sharing platform on Odysee .

We have covered LBRY on It’s FOSS in the past and you may read that for more details. If you are joining LBRY, don’t forget to follow It’s FOSS there.

5. KARMA

Alternative to: Instagram
Features: Decentralized, Blockchain
Self-host: No

Here’s another blockchain based social network governed by cryptocurrency.

KARMA is an Instagram clone built on top of open source blockchain platform, EOSIO . Every like and share your content gets, earns you KARMA tokens. You can use these tokens to boost your content or convert it to real money through one of the partner crypto exchanges.

KARMA is a mobile only app and available on Play Store and App Store.

6. Peertube

Alternative to: YouTube
Features: Decentralized, P2P
Self-host: Yes

Developed by French company Framasoft, PeerTube is a decentralized video streaming platform. PeerTube uses the BitTorrent protocol to share bandwidth between users.

PeerTube aims to resist corporate monopoly. It does not rely on ads and does not track you. Keep in mind that your IP address is not anonymous here.

There are various instances of PeerTube available where you can host your videos or you host it yourself. Some instances may charge money while most are free.

7. Diaspora

Alternative to: Facebook
Features: Decentralized, Open Source
Self-host: Yes

Diaspora was one of the earliest decentralized social networks. This was back in 2010 and Diaspora was touted as a Facebook alternative. It did get some deserving limelight in its initial years but it got confined to only a handful of niche members.

Similar to Mastodon, Diaspora is composed of pods. You can register with a pod or host your own pod. The Big Tech doesn’t own your data, you do.

8. Dtube

Alternative to: YouTube
Features: Decentralized, Blockchain
Self-host: No

Dtube is a blockhain based decentralized YouTube clone. I use the word YouTube clone because the interface is way too similar to YouTube.

Like most other blockchain based social networks, Dtube is governed by DTube Coins (DTC) that creator earns when someone watches or interact with their content. The coins can be used to promote the content or cashed out from partner crypto exhcnages.

9. Signal

Alternative to: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger
Features: Open Source
Self-host: No

Unlike the end to end encrypted chats in WhatsApp, Signal doesn’t track you, share your data and invade your privacy.

Signal rose to fame when Edward Snowden endorsed it. It got even more famous when Elon Musk tweeted about it after WhatsApp sharing user data with Facebook.

Signal uses its own open source Signal protocol to give you end-to-end encrypted messages and calls.

What else?

There are some other platforms that are not open source or decentralized, but they respect your privacy and free speech.

• MeWe : Alternative to Facebook
• Voice : Alternative to Medium
• ProtonMail : Alternative to Gmail

There is also Element messenger based on Matrix protocol which you may try.

I know there are probably several other such alternative social media platforms. Care to share them? I might add them to this list.

If you had to choose one of the platforms from the list, which one would you choose?

DeCommerce is the real DeFi

In this week's episode of the Part-Time Show, which was first released on October 6th 2020, Dr Kapil Amarasinghe discusses the current issues around the 'DeFi hype train' in cryptocurrency and why it may not be the catalyst for a sustainable bull run. Instead he makes the case for real world usage of cryptocurrency in retail spending for eCommerce as the next major driver for real growth in the industry and explains why!

This is 22 minutes of compelling listening!

Dr Kap, as he universally known, is a leading Speciality Doctor in Emergency Medicine and is the UK Community Ambassador to the Particl Project/Foundation. His interests include Emergency Medicine, Business Management, Arts, Geopolitics, Emerging Currency Markets and Distributed Ledger Technologies. He is also the MD of artradio, a creative social network that enables artists worldwide to share their work, see more at www.artradio.tv

Dr Kap is contactable through Twitter, LinkedIn, at particl.io or via hello@decentralize.today

Enjoy the podcast, more next week!