PSA: KuCoin Exchange Hacked for $150M
Not your keys, not your crypto.
One of the exchanges I use, KuCoin just got hacked for $150M at 4 AM. It took them 7-8 hours to realize they were even being hacked. Hot wallet compromised (BTC and ETH).
They are kinda shrugging it off like it's not a big deal and a small amount of money. 30M Tether has been frozen. Many exchange accounts have been locked. The money stolen is being blacklisted and apparently it was insured as well.
These things should alarm you, because none of these actions line up with how crypto is actually supposed to operate. These are the actions of the legacy economy. This is their playbook.
So how much money am I risking on KuCoin?
I know right?
High roller. There are a few coins here that aren't offered elsewhere so I keep a tiny bit of money into networks I care nothing about. For now it's all about BTC, ETH, HIVE, and LEO for me. Everything else can...
However, the hacks have just begun.
What do we think happens when Bitcoin goes x20 in 2021? Do we imagine the hackers will stop trying when the honeypot grows by x20? Or will they try 20 times harder to steal those centralized funds? The rhetoric is obvious.
That's the kind of money that will cause CEOs to betray their own companies and fake their own deaths. Keeping crypto on the exchanges during Q4 2021 will likely be a suicide mission for many users.
I personally have never used a Bitcoin wallet. I keep all my Bitcoin on the exchanges. They are insured with FDIC insurance up to $250k. Technically I should get my money back in the event of a hack.
However, I still believe FDIC insurance is going to fail, sooner rather than later. I think everyone is blinded by this fake V-shaped recovery that's going to crash into the mountain 1 or 2 years down the line. We can't stop this slow-motion train wreck from happening. The damage has already been done and nothing can stop the derailment.
Notice how no one is talking about bank bail-ins? Bank bailouts are illegal. They've been illegal for a decade. The only way for banks to stay above water now in the event of catastrophe is to steal money from their own clients and force them into becoming investors. That's what a bail-in does.
The velocity of money is slowing to a halt. Banks have been allowed to keep 0% reserves. Interest rates are going negative. Trillion dollar Quantitative Easing is like giving heroine to a crashing addict. Spoiler alert: re-upping over and over again with liquid crack injections has diminishing returns. Nothing about our situation is sustainable, and most people turn a blind eye to it, or even worse, are completely ignorant of the situation.
Get your money out of the banks!
That is all.
My favorite wallet is MetaMask. It is an amazing product. It connects to everything, including my hardware wallets. Speaking of hardware wallets, now I actually have a place I can store that Bitcoin should the price spike too high to be FDIC insured.
Stars in alignment.
Seriously though, imagine it. Bitcoin goes x20 in Q4 2021. Exchanges start getting hacked. Coinbase and Bittrex start making FDIC insurance claims. Lots of users who only paid $10k for one Bitcoin are now owed $200k from FDIC insurance.
Then Q1 2022 rolls around and the ENTIRE SYSTEM collapses. Not just crypto, the entire legacy economy. It takes years for the bottom to hit, just ask 2008. Now every bank is asking for help. Think that crypto FDIC insurance claims are gonna go through? Think again. No one is going to give two shits about crypto banks when the "real" banks are completely insolvent and liquid-locked.
Money flows like water in a river. When the river runs dry, everyone suffers. It doesn't help that the 'banks' are littered with liquid-sucking leeches, giving nothing back to the ecosystem.
Conclusion
I get the feeling that anyone who gets greedy during this next bull run is going to find themselves high and dry for the next 4 years. Note to self: if Bitcoin goes x20 from here take some gains.
The problem with "taking gains" is that it is normally done via USD. Do you trust USD to continue being a stable asset for the next 5 years? I'm on the fence. Then again, many many other fiat currencies will crash into the mountain before USD does. There are canaries in this coal mine.
Therefore, it stands to reason that actual assets will retain their value better than these broken legacy systems. I'll be looking to invest in water rights, silver, solar panels, 3D-Printing, batteries, mining equipment, greenhouses, etc if I find myself in a position to unload magical internet money into things that have actual value for the hard times ahead.