Bitcoin Forum

If you want to be a merit source:

 1. Be a somewhat established member.

2. Collect TEN posts written in the last couple of months by other people that have not received nearly enough merit for how good they are, and post quotes for them all in a new Meta thread. The point of this is to demonstrate your ability to give out merit usefully.

Hi everyone,

In my opinion, over-quoted threads are amongst the most annoying types of shitshows in the forum. Honestly, I used to compose such over-quoted threads, but over time I saw better threads from higher-ranked members, then I learnt from them and improve my threads' styles.
In the topic, I would like to present these following stuffs:

- To share with you some necessary tutorials on how to improve your threads' appearance by avoiding over-quoting when composing them.
- To save more space and help it more comfortable for readers, all images will be shown with links. Therefore, readers should click to those links to see them.

For now, your question will be "oh, what are the problems of over-quoted threads?"

As you can see in the following thread, creator over-quoted past threads, which result in vague of idea flows. Furthermore, doing this also causes their threads a bit messy, annoying. Looking at those threads, it is hard to know which specific thread they wanted to discuss (dozens of threads quoted).
https://i.imgur.com/6uL9h6A.png (https://i.imgur.com/6uL9h6A.png)
Additionally, such over-quoted threads also require large space to display. It means my fingers hurted too much to scroll my computer mouse. And no one is responsible for my medical bills  ;D.

To improve threads' quality, at least its appearances, there are three basic simple steps composers should do:
1) Deleting all un-necessary stuffs (including threads, contents, over-sized images attached, etc.). Only keep which threads (full contents of those threads) you want to discuss with.
2) Using snip to announce that in your thread, you only quote part of original contents of others' threads.
3) Seperating original threads to different smaller sentences/ paraphrases which you want to discuss specific part of its contents with your specific ideas.

So, if you spend time to read, and interested in the topic, your next question might be: Oh, sounds great, but how to do this?
Here you go:
Please look at the following images, then you will know how to do this.
I present three ways of avoiding over-quoted threads for you, which correspond to the three points I mentioned above.

1) The first way:
For the specific thread above, please click on the quote, then deleting all contents in the blue highlighted range (which I show you in the two following images).
From there:
https://i.imgur.com/fMhzPmR.png (https://i.imgur.com/fMhzPmR.png)
To there:
https://i.imgur.com/pi7Iwkg.png (https://i.imgur.com/pi7Iwkg.png)
Case study here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3046992.msg32182737#msg32182737 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3046992.msg32182737#msg32182737)

2) The second way: if you would like to hide all contents which are extremely long (but still allocate which thread you want to discuss). Please do like this:
https://i.imgur.com/foveK5R.png
Replace all contents by using ~, snip.
Case study here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2818350.msg35410681#msg35410681 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2818350.msg35410681#msg35410681)

3) The third way:
For instance:
https://i.imgur.com/gD8uQxm.png (https://i.imgur.com/gD8uQxm.png)
Additionally, if you only discuss with one thread, you should ignore link to the original thread since the second part of quote, you can do like this (simply using):
to ignore link to the original thread
Case study here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3377342.msg36883745#msg36883745 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3377342.msg36883745#msg36883745)


To sum up:
Composing your threads with the approach will make them have better appearance. It does not relate to the quality, but somehow makes your threads look a little bit better.
It is not only useful in the Meta board (and other serious ones), but also has good impacts in spamming boards (like altcoin discussions, etc.) ^^
I strongly believe that lots of higher-ranked members don't know how to do this because they luckily ranked up to those current high levels due to old rank requirements, before the lauch of merit system.

Sorry if my topic hurts your fingers, but I think that it's better to display those images to make the topic easier to understand.
This is valuable lesson I learnt from my experiences, so I would like to share it with someone who need it, and has still don't known how to do it.
For someone who known, just ignore my topic.
Please take it easy, because I don't want to bother you with my topic.

Notes:
The topic has been under-constructions

Table of contents

      1. General Information (#post_point1)
      2. The most popular hardware wallets (#post_point2)
      3. Other hardware wallets worth attention (#post_point3)
      4. Comparison of wallets (#post_point4)

General Information

What are hardware wallets?

Hardware wallets are devices designed to store private keys and sign transactions independently from the computer. Their main advantage is being able to use them even on an infected computer. These days, most hardware wallets have built-in screen on which user can check whether or not the destination address was modified by a malware. However, it is not possible to store every cryptocurrency on a such device. It all depends on the support of the manufacturer.

What if I lose my wallet or destroy it?

At the first boot, every hardware wallet generates either 12 or 24 word seed which you can later extend with a custom passphrase. This seed can be used to recover coins using third party software, for example, Electrum. It is recommended to test the seed before sending any coins to the generated address. Exposure of the seed should be considered as a major security issue and coins should be urgently moved to another address not associated with the same seed. Firmware updates sometimes wipe the device, keep that in mind before updating your device.

Are hardware wallets completely safe?

No, there is no perfect solution. A few vulnerabilities have been found in the most popular hardware wallets but they required a physical access to the device. Here are examples of attacks that were possible to perform on TREZOR One (https://blog.trezor.io/fixing-physical-memory-access-issue-in-trezor-2b9b46bb4522) and Ledger Nano S (https://saleemrashid.com/2018/03/20/breaking-ledger-security-model/). If you don't trust hardware wallets because of that, you should consider using a cold storage. It's less convenient but it provides higher security.

Choosing a proper wallet

Every hardware wallet is different. It is difficult to recommend only one model but there are only a few companies which sell trustworthy devices. Keep in mind that you are not paying only for the device but also for a long-term support. It would be a shame if your wallet didn't get an update after, for example, SegWit was activated.


The most popular hardware wallets

Ledger Nano S (https://www.ledgerwallet.com/products/ledger-nano-s)


https://i.imgur.com/BAQlKip.png


This device is maintained by a French company. Ledger decided to use Secure Element which checks on every boot if the software on the device was modified. Some people are not keen on this solution since it's not completely open-source. You can either use Electrum or Ledger's Chrome app to access your wallet. It will be soon replaced by a new desktop and mobile client which will have more features. Currently, their Chrome app seems to lack some useful features such as using your custom backend and signing transactions without broadcasting them. To send specific coins you have to install a proper app on your device using Ledger Manager. Because of Secure Element, the available space on this model is quite small. However, you can uninstall apps anytime and your coins won't disappear. Later, you will have to reinstall the app which takes some time.

Ledger Nano S supports a huge variety of altcoins which is why many people choose it. You can find a full list here (https://www.ledgerwallet.com/products/ledger-nano-s).


Ledger Blue (https://www.ledgerwallet.com/products/ledger-blue)


https://i.imgur.com/tIpCwTG.png


Big touchscreen, built-in battery, Bluetooth connectivity (not used by any app) and a larger memory are things which differ this model from Nano S. Due to high manufacturing costs, Ledger decided to stop selling this device. At the time of writing this guide, the last batch of ten thousand devices is available. Its support has been much worse than the other model, but Ledger is trying to make up for it.


TREZOR One (https://shop.trezor.io/product/trezor-one-black)


https://i.imgur.com/Cbr3LbQ.png


TREZOR is one of the most trustworthy hardware wallet manufacturers, located in Czech Republic. TREZOR software is fully open-source so anyone can contribute and help with implementing more coins. TREZOR is constantly upgrading their web wallet interface - you can find many features which are not supported natively by other hardware wallets. The device doesn't have any pre-loaded firmware. Due to security measurements, it's downloaded from TREZOR's servers on the first boot. Some users might find it difficult to input PIN and the seed recovery is done on the computer.


TREZOR T (https://shop.trezor.io/product/trezor-model-t)


https://i.imgur.com/yciIRvm.png


TREZOR T runs on a completely different software written from the scratch. Developers claim that it will make adding more coins easier. This model has a touchscreen which allows user to input PIN and passphrase on the device screen. SD card slot is definitely an unique feature. In the future, it will be possible to store files which will be automatically encrypted with your private key. This model will soon support Monero and Ripple.


KeepKey (https://www.keepkey.com/)


https://i.imgur.com/avrYViU.png


KeepKey has been recently bought by ShapeShift. This device has less features than models described above. However, the developers are trying to make up for it. KeepKey does not support (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Bech32_adoption) native SegWit addresses (it's not possible to receive and spend from them). You can use either Chrome extension or Electrum to manage your coins. Because of the large screen, it might be difficult to hide or transport this wallet.


OpenDime (https://opendime.com/)


https://i.imgur.com/OSopmTx.png


OpenDime is a small USB stick which you can hand out to any person you want. The device generates private keys and does not expose them (even not to the owner) unless the seal is void. There is no need to broadcast a transaction to the network, it's useful especially if the transaction fees are too expensive. You can simply give it to the other person.


Other hardware wallets worth attention

Coldcard (https://coldcardwallet.com/)


https://i.imgur.com/EzAvsqP.png


This device doesn't have any specialized software. It works with some well-known software wallets. The device has a micro SD card slot which can be used for data storage and transporting (un)signed transactions. Currently, it's only available as a pre-order. It's worth to mention that you can use multiple PINs (accessing different wallets or even bricking the device).


BitBox (https://shiftcrypto.ch/)


https://i.imgur.com/I0lZylC.png


A small wallet created in Switzerland. Wallet data is stored on a micro SD card. Instead of built-in screen, this device has a touch button which is used for accepting and rejecting transactions. It is possible to use a smartphone to verify if the recipient's address is correct. It does not support as many altcoins as Ledger and TREZOR.


Bitlox (https://www.bitlox.com/)


https://i.imgur.com/Mjzbe6u.png


Credit card sized wallet with e-ink screen which doesn't require much power. Bluetooth can be used to communicate with a mobile device and a micro-usb cable with a computer.


Comparison of wallets

Which one is better? TREZOR or Ledger?

It all depends on your needs. Ledger mostly focus on supporting more and more altcoins while TREZOR developers are adding more advanced features to their wallet. I would recommend TREZOR for anyone who is not interested in altcoins. Their build quality and support is almost equal (TREZOR team responds very fast not only through their ticket system, but also GitHub and Telegram).

What is the difference between TREZOR One and TREZOR T?

TREZOR T is going to support more coins in the future because of new hardware and software. Touchscreen in TREZOR T allows for a secure input of PIN, passphrase and the seed in case you want to recover your coins.

Which device is more future proof?

If you decide to buy either TREZOR or Ledger you won't have to worry about future Bitcoin forks. Don't expect to be able to claim every single one without exposing your keys to a third party software. More advanced features such as touchscreen and additional connectivity are useful, but they might easily break, it will make your device useless.

Hi,

In this guide I'd like to show you how to do offline-transactions using MyEtherWallet.
By using this method your private-key won't won't leave the offline machine so this is the safest way of sending transactions without a hardware-wallet.

First of all something about your private-key/keystore-file/recovery-seed: Do NOT store this files on your computer which is connected to the internet! If you're getting infected my malware you may lose all of your coins/tokens linked to this private-key. The safest way would be just using your keystore-file on your offline computer to sign transactions and storing your private-key/recovery seed safely on paper. Your private-key and recovery-seed are unencrypted provide instant access to your wallet while the keystore-file is encrypted and requires an additional password.

Requirements:
- a computer which is connected to the internet
- a computer which isn't connected to the internet
- Your ETH public-key
- Your ETH private-key (Keystorefile should be preferred)


Installing MyEtherWallet locally [Do this on the offline computer]

Download the local version of MyEtherWallet from the official MyEtherWallet Github (etherwallet-vX.X.X.X.zip):
https://github.com/kvhnuke/etherwallet/releases

Move "etherwallet-vX.X.X.X.zip" to your offline computer (USB Stick, Smartphone, ...) and extract the content from the ZIP.

Open MyEtherWallet by double clicking 'index.html' - you may have to right-click it, then go to 'Open with' and select a browser; I'd recommend using Google Chrome - you may want to download it on your online machine and transfer it to the offline machine.

Making an offline transaction

STEP 1: [ONLINE] Go to the MyEtherWallet-Website and select the 'Send Offline'-tab (https://www.myetherwallet.com/#offline-transaction). If needed adjust your GWEI according to https://ethgasstation.info/ by clicking on 'Gas Price: X GWEI' in the upper right corner and adjusting the slider to your needs. Then enter the public-address of the sender account into the 'From Address' textbox and click 'Generate'.
Write down the contents of 'Gas Price' and 'Nonce'.

http://i.epvpimg.com/QXS1gab.jpg

STEP 2: [OFFLINE] Open your local copy of MyEtherWallet, select the 'Send Offline'-tab and scroll down to 'Step 2: Generate Transaction (Offline Computer)'.

Enter the following information:
- To Address: Receiver-address
- Value / Amount to Send: Amount you want to send (it's also possible to send Tokens by clicking on 'ETH' on the right side of the textbox and selecting the respective Token in the dropdown-menu)
- Gas Limit: https://kb.myetherwallet.com/gas/what-is-gas-ethereum.html
- Gas Price: Value from STEP 1
- Nonce: Value from STEP 1
- Data: optional - leave empty if not needed

http://i.epvpimg.com/XkgEeab.jpg

Now scroll down until you see 'How would you like to access your wallet?' and log in using your preferred authentication-method (I'd recommend using your Keystore-File!) and click 'Unlock'.

https://i.imgur.com/gnXmlSz.jpg

Click 'Generate Transaction'

STEP 3: [OFFLINE] You'll now see two textboxes - 'Raw Transaction' and 'Signed Transaction'. Copy the content from 'Signed Transaction' and transfer it to your online computer.

https://i.imgur.com/fX57x6z.jpg

STEP 4: [ONLINE] Go back to the MyEtherWallet-Website and select the 'Send Offline'-tab (https://www.myetherwallet.com/#offline-transaction). Scroll down to 'Step 3: Send / Publish Transaction (Online Computer)', enter your signed transaction, click 'Send Transaction' and confirm it.

https://i.imgur.com/1Ainpt9.jpg


Congratulations, you're done :)

Sidenote: To check your balance just use https://ethplorer.io/ or https://etherscan.io/ or log in to MyEtherWallet just using your public-key (View only of couse).

If you have any questions please feel free to ask anytime.

Best regards,
Nestade

Hi,

Many people don't know how to generate a seed for their IOTA-wallet properly so they just use an online-seed-generator.
However this online generators aren't safe of course as you only need the seed to log in to your wallet.
I'd just like to show you how to generate your own secure seed.

Linux:

Well... It's incredibly easy generating your seed using Linux - it's just one command.


Windows:

1.: Download and install Python:

Direct-Download (2.7.14):
64bit: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.14/python-2.7.14.amd64.msi
32bit: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.14/python-2.7.14.msi

Overview: https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-2714/

2a: Open Python Command Line (in start menu it's shown as 'Python (Command Line)') ***

3a: Paste in the following commands and hit enter:

http://i.epvpimg.com/YADSeab.png

Congratulations - you can copy your generated seed now - be sure to write it down and don't lose it!


----------------------------------------------------
2b: You can also download this phyton-script so you don't have to use the console:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KgS8JhsQuX7LPP-SW6mrYscJsy8nqThS/view?usp=sharing
(If you don't trust it you can check the source-code by right-click and edit and it should be shown by default when downloading it.)

3b: After installing Phyton as mentioned in step 1 you should be able to run the script by double clicking it.
It will create a text-file called 'IOTASeed.txt' (same location as 'IOTASeed_AUTO.py') which contains the generated seed.

4b: Open 'IOTASeed.txt' and congratulations - be sure to write the contained seed down and don't lose it!
----------------------------------------------------

There are multiple ways of generating your seed - another popular method uses the programm 'keepass' - if you prefer this method you could use this guide (haven't checked it!):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b4dpnC6VWTQ3N7JHVU3SwYmwL_dt-QRD/view

MacOS

I'm sorry, but I don't own any device running MacOS.
It should be possible using the Windows method mentioned above.
Just download this instead of the .exe and follow the Windows guide.

Direct-Download (2.7.14):
32bit [Mac OS X 10.5 and later]: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.14/python-2.7.14-macosx10.5.pkg
32/64bit [Mac OS X 10.6 and later]: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.7.14/python-2.7.14-macosx10.6.pkg

Overview: https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-2714/


Hope you could generate your own seed using this guide :)
Any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Nestade alias xuNsh1ne

Alternative title: how to be a dinosaur and resist change

But seriously, I'm hoping this might be useful to someone who's a bit old-school like myself. I know there's Blockfolio and all that jazz, but I'm a bit weird in that I don't like using phone apps that much (get way too addicted) - so I like to manage my portfolio and handle my crypto business on a dedicated laptop. I also manage a portfolio for my dad and my father in law too, so I needed a solution where I could track totals for a number of different people - and I couldn't find an app that has this feature out of the box. It also opens up the possibilities of making all kinds of cool custom graphs etc. if you have the know-how.

Spiel over: so you want to be able to import live crypto price data into an excel spreadsheet? It's actually pretty simple. (Also bear with the post, the images take a while to load!)

1. Open a new spreadsheet and head the the Data tab on the ribbon, then click "From Web"
https://i.imgur.com/I5zKZZ4l.png


2. A dialogue box will then open as follows:
https://i.imgur.com/EXTYxdrm.png
a. Now you're going to need to type in the link for the coinmarket cap API. For bitcoin, it is: https://api.coinmarketcap.com/v1/ticker/bitcoin
b. For alternative coins, you are going to need to find out the long URL name from coinmarketcap - simply look up your chosen coin on CMC and look at the URL - the name you want is the entry following /currencies/, for example for ETH: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum
c. A step for international users - if you'd like the ticker to include a conversion into your local currency, you can append the following code to the end of the API link: ?convert=[ENTER CURRENCY CODE HERE]. For example, I'm English, so my full code would read: "https://api.coinmarketcap.com/v1/ticker/bitcoin/?convert=GBP"


3. The Query Tracker window will then open:
https://i.imgur.com/FgG6NRsl.png
a. This can be a bit fiddly, but the first thing to do is give your query a title in the Query Settings: Property bar on the right (just for your convenience), e.g. just type in "Bitcoin" or whatever
b. Click on 'Record' and the table will populate:
https://i.imgur.com/jE7lAZ7l.png
c. Then go to 'File'>'Close and Load' in the ribbon, and voila, you'll have your shiny new table (complete with useful additional fields like "percent_change_24h", "rank" etc.)
https://i.imgur.com/wj1AOQg.png

4. Finally you're going to want to tweak the connection settings so the table auto updates and gives you dynamic pricing data.
a) Highlight the table, then click on the "Table Tools: Design" tab - then click the down arrow underneath "Refresh" and then click "Connection Properties" in the cascade menu
https://i.imgur.com/UPgBWLM.png
b) I then personally set it to "Refresh every 1 minute" and "Refresh data when opening the file"
https://i.imgur.com/JIH8vyP.png
c) OK, and ... that's it!

You now have a dynamic price ticker in Excel, and can start charting up your portfolio, tracking % gains etc. - your imagination and Excel skills are the only limit really. Enjoy!

(Opened initially this on Reputation with the idea most "Merit/alts investigators" would be in there but turn out they may be actually in here as well, if you are an Investigator, i suggest you read this, it may make your work easier)

Hi,

i had made this tool visualization of the Merit Network to find merit sources:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4584759.0

But actually found out it may be good to find abusers as well. This visualization show the merit connections happened between users and in one of these version i marked also the red trust level for each user:

In here you can see who was red trusted(red), who is not(azure) and who is trusted (green) Updated to Sunday 1st of July

Link to the tool below: https://albertoit.github.io/Merit-Network-Visualization/?config=config_Trust.json

https://albertoit.github.io/Merit-Network-Visualization/images/2a.png

Now if you move along the peripheral area of this circle you see in the picture, you will notice a lot of points (users) isolated from the rest, these could be transactions happened between alts or abuse in general(some in fact were already spotted as you can see):

Example 1:
https://i.imgur.com/7d4UX9w.png
Example 2:

https://i.imgur.com/y6WQPY7.png




If anybody has the time and will to go through these would be quite convenient as you can see immediately:

• Suspicius exchanges of merits between users
• If the user was already red trusted
• If any people he had some exchange was red trusted
• Clicking on the node you get information about rank - merit sent and received in general

If you have any questions ask.


More over: when you have identified some person of interest, you can use this other tool to output a list of the merit transactions with clickable links to the user profiles and message merited in the forum

Go here: https://albertoit.github.io/Merit-Explorer-SQL/

You can specify in the last line the name of the user you want to search for ( in this example theymos)


paste this in the box to see the merit sent from the user

paste this in the box to see the merit received from theymos

---

One real case research example

i went here: https://albertoit.github.io/Merit-Network-Visualization

and found this user hrbt:
https://i.imgur.com/psAl11K.png

then go to see the same in here: https://albertoit.github.io/Merit-Network-Visualization/?config=config_Trust.json

https://i.imgur.com/equ02sa.png

Run this query in here: https://albertoit.github.io/Merit-Explorer-SQL/


Result, i display the links of: who sent, who received and a link to the message merited:


Done, the situation in here is pretty clear.

 
When 1 Merit is given it generate .5 sMerits. I found many times user trying to calculate like from 23045 will create 11522 and then 5761  and so on.
But they are not able to reach the number at end (after all the sum of halving merits).

So I decided to calculate it Mathematically. Since number of smerits will halved every time and 23045 is not perfectly divisible by 2.
We need to represent 23045 as sum of numbers that can be easily divisible by 2 at every stage till we reach Merit 1 .

In other words, first we need to put 23045 as sum of numbers in power of 2

23045 = 16384+4096+2048+512+4+1
23045= 2¹⁴ + 2¹² + 2¹¹ + 2⁹ +2² +2⁰

Now we start with  2¹⁴ i.e  16384 and check how many merits it can generate.

16384 + 8192   + 4096 + 2048 +1024 + 512 + 256 + 128 + 64 +32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 =  32767
  
Similarly, for other terms
4096 + 2048 +1024 + 512 + 256 + 128 + 64 +32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 =                              8191
2048 +1024 + 512 + 256 + 128 + 64 +32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 =                                          4095
512 + 256 + 128 + 64 +32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 =                                                                1023
4 + 2 + 1 =                                                                                                                                7
1=                                                                                                                                              1

So sum of these number will be  32767+8191+4095+1023+7+1=46084
Since we have 6 number that make up to the sum of 23045 , so  we get 6/2 =3. and further 3/2 =1
You might be wondering why I did not use same formula for 6 (2²+2¹ ) because 6 is converted to merit ,it is not smerit anymore.

So in total 46084+3+1 = 46088 Merit will be generated Mathematically.

This all calculation is derived by using the fundamentals of Geometric Progression and sequence, their n^th term and sum till the n^th term.

Some links to understand Geometric Progression are here (http://www.mathguide.com/lessons/SequenceGeometric.html)  and  here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_progression) and here (https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/sequences-sums-geometric.html)

Tabular Data of the Calculation
https://i.imgur.com/Boq5Yfz.png


Hope you all enjoyed the calculation.

PS: 46088  is mathematically feasible and maximum limit that can be generated if we used all source merit but actual number can be less or more because many users will left with residual smerits but this residual smerit can be used next time when they receive a single merit or odd number of merits.

I'm going to make a short list indicators on how you can spot an obvious ponzi scam website. Please tell me if this board is the right place for this content.

You can give suggestions and other variables so I will edit the list below.

What is a Ponzi scheme?
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud platform that requires payment of returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. They often seduce new investors by promising them to invest money for an opportunity claimed to generate high-value returns with small or even no risk at all. They usually or mostly attracting new amount of money to make promised payments to earlier-stage investors to create the false impression that investors are profiting from an authorized business.


History of Ponzi Scheme
These known scheme is named after Charles Ponzi (1882–1949). He received a letter in the mail from a company in Spain that contained in it an IRC/International Reply Coupon (a coupon that can be exchanged for a number of priority airmail postage stamps from another country). Ponzi realized that he could turn a profit by buying IRCs in one country, and exchanging them for more expensive stamps in another country.
Ponzi began to seek investors to turn even higher profits. He promised investors outrageous returns of 50 percent in 45 days, or 100 percent in 90 days. Ponzi paid these investors using money from other investors, rather than with actual profit—as in the criminal scheme of Bernie Madoff.

Ponzi's manipulation made him very rich—he bought a mansion in Lexington, Massachusetts, with air conditioning and a heated swimming pool. He reportedly made $250,000 a day. Ponzi was arrested on August 12, 1920, and charged with 86 counts of mail fraud. Owing an estimated $7 million, he pleaded guilty to mail fraud, and subsequently spent 14 years in prison. Ponzi died penniless in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 18, 1949.


Red Flags and Indicators

• High investment returns. Ponzi schemes typically have a high value of returns, 1% a day, 30% a month or more is ridiculous.
• Lack of transparency. The names, contacts, office address of the operators should be publicly shown to run a legitimate business. Which most ponzi doesn't provide their valid address and even names of the operators.
• Consistent Returns. Regardless of the market conditions which will rise and fall yet the investment continues to generate regular, positive returns.
• Advertised as "risk-free". Ponzi advertised their shaddy service as such as "Invest to us, we are risk-free and are guaranteed to make money for you." in which  All investments come with a different degree of risks.
• Increasing minimum investment. Ponzi starts off with a very small amount of capital and later grows rapidly for their new investors. Ponzi needs to make their capital grow which is higher than their minimum withdrawal amount so they can pay their old investors by the funds  of the new investors.
• High rates of commision. Users are highly motivated to promote their referral links due to high commision which is very lucrative.
• Difficulty receiving payments. If you do not receive a payment or have difficulty to cash out your investment then its a high chance that the operators doesn't have enough new investors to fund their old investor and a high chance to run your investment and get scammed.

How to avoid Ponzi
Obviously, if you noticed that an investment platform has the characteristics of red flags metioned above then stay away from it make report the site to any authorized people/websites. Don't invest without a thorough research coz you will end up nothing and lossing your money instead of profit.


Famous Ponzi Scheme in Crypto-world
Bitconnect.co the most known ponzi in cryptocurrency (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitconnect)
Onecoin running a centralized private ledger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OneCoin)
My Big Coin team misappropriating more than $6 million from customers in a cryptocurrency-fueled Ponzi scheme. (https://www.ccn.com/cftc-charges-gold-backed-my-big-coin-with-6-mil-fraud/)
Plexcoin claiming would yield a 1,354 percent profit in less than 29 days (https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-219)


Videos Related to Ponzi
The Wizard of Lies (Movie Trailer) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1mhAB-790A
Bernie Madoff The $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_RVG2qBB_U
In Search Of History - Charles Ponzi & His Scheme (History Channel Documentary) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pxxS07PZn0


Where to report Ponzi Scheme
https://www.sec.gov/tcr
https://badbitcoin.org/
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=83.0 (Create a thread on Scam Accusation)


References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ponziarles_Ponzi
https://www.biography.com/people/charles-ponzi-20650909
https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/answersponzihtm.html
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes/ponzi-schemes


Disclaimer: Linked websites does not equal to endorsement.

Feeling demotivated after recent rank demotion? Everybody says make good post but how to make good post?
With so many user do I really stand a chance?  Will I ever receive a Merit?

If you are struggling to find all the answer and thinking too much then let me help you.

1. Read,Read and Read more.
Read some books like  Mastering  Bitcoin (https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook). Read articles from reputed site like coindesk (https://www.coindesk.com) and cointelegraph (https://cointelegraph.com/). Avoid reading from ICO promoting sites.
Forum has good source of information ,start with reading stickies in the forum

Reading will give you first hand knowledge in subject , vocabulary expansion  that  ultimately help you in writing good post.
What to avoid in reading : Speculative topic, Price discussions and thread after first 3 pages  Conditions Apply* (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5035358.msg46033686#msg46033686).

2. Show some posting etiquette:
Do not post in Mega threads, no body reads there, they are just farming grounds of activity
Before replying to OP, Read all the replies in thread.
Do not reply if you have nothing to add in  previous replies.
Do not post off topic replies.
While replying, do not quote the full post , Just quote the relevant part of the  post that you want to reply.
Check your reply for spelling errors and read it once before posting and read again after posting to check whether sentences are meaningful and making sense and everything you quoted is coming properly.
Address each other with their Forum names only, Be humble but use of "Sir" and  "Please" is not required. Make sure you have searched it yourself before asking in the forum.

3. Practice as Practice makes man Prefect.
There are boards like "Fit to talk" (https://fittotalk.com/english-talk/index.php) where you can practice. You can start your topic and reply on existing topic. Legendary member like Jet Cash and jackg
will help you by improving your already written post. So you can learn ,how to post better.

4. Diverse yourself in this forum.
For better use of forum, you should visit multiple boards in this forum. Do not get yourself stick in one board and be ignorant of others board. This will help you in learning different thing simultaneously.


5. Choose your signature campaign wisely.
Do not join a  campaign just for rewards. Join the campaign that suits your posting habits. Do not join campaign that ask for 25 post in a week when you are comfortable with 15 only. Instead join which ask for 10 only, that will give you a time to research.
Some campaign allow post in local board to be included so they can be a good option too.

6. Be Yourself
Do not try to chase Merits but try to gather knowledge. See what others are requiring and try to come up with a solution.
Take some initiative/or participate in initiative  that may bring good to forum. You might get insulted but there is no need to react on the insult.
Always work on developing your skills.

7. Put some little more effort.
A little extra effort will pay you in long run and I will explain this mathematically.
.01 is only 1% of 1.  If you see at a glance you will not say that .99 and 1.01 is a huge difference.

But a huge difference occurs when they are multiplied repeatedly.
(.99)¹⁰⁰ = .3660
(1.01)¹⁰⁰ = 2.704
(1)¹⁰⁰  =1

1 % laziness repeated in 100 post reduce your chances of getting merit from 1 to .366 but in other hand 1% of extra effort repeated 100 times will increase your chances from 1 to 2.704.

This is important, because Merit giver/ source do look in the history of poster. You might not get Merit for your all posts but if some Merit source/giver decide to give you Merit than he/she might double up seeing your history. In other hand if your continuously making bad post then Merit source/giver can change its mind by seeing other bad posts.

 Few topics for your further reading:
TMAN's Guide for getting merits (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3182178.0)
Fit To talk project (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3754793)
Improve your English skills (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3864751.0)
Guides to earn Merit (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2901152.0)
Attitude matters (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4932316.0)


Edited: 1 and 2.
    

~snip~

No way Jose!!! You in for a quick game. There are many old and far more deserving members than you.

Good luck, although I don’t know how long it will take for theymos to add new merit sources.

I suppose you will be added as a merit source at some point, you have been earning merits at a faster pace than your activity, you have reported a lot, you try to fight spam and scam. It looks good to me. Better than my application I’d say.

Good luck, although I don’t know how long it will take for theymos to add new merit sources.

No, I don't think I am better than from you. You applied before me, I assume you should first if theymos want to add more. I know theymos added 36 merit source recently. It's doesn't mean he will not add more if there is decent candidate. Merit source is for help forum, not for ourselves. I expect theymos will consider this case since my smerit 00 currently.

Do you frequent any of the local boards, by any chance?  I really think there need to be more merit sources there to reward people who can't necessarily make great posts in English but might make some brilliant ones in their native language.

I don't like to mention my native community.

I wouldn’t bump this thread more often than once a month or so. It makes you look too anxious and that’s not good for your application.

I will like to see you in DT as well.
With QuestionAuthority removed as Merit source, we are reduced by 1000 source Merits.

Probably because of this:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5050263.msg47050953#msg47050953

When did he get removed?  Was it mentioned in a thread of its own or did I just miss it in another thread? 

I wouldn't worry about that: it took me 3 months (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2851620.0), many endorsements and almost daily bumping to get a (positive) response from theymos.

<snip>....

When did he get removed?  Was it mentioned in a thread of its own or did I just miss it in another thread?  I'm not trying to derail this thread--and I've already lent my support to Coolcryptovator--but I don't want to make a new thread just about that.  

I don't know why he got removed as a source, but I think he was far too liberal handing out merits.  It was something like 10-20 merits per post that he'd hand out, and while there may be some posts deserving of that amount I think it was way too much.  

Sounds like there's an opening, then.  May the best man/woman win if Theymos decides to replace QA.  Good luck, Coolcryptovator.

Edit:
Ah yes, thank you--and to LoyceV who sent me a link via PM.

Bump, I am fully out of smerit now,

No way should you be a merit source. Let's get some of the older legends on to being merit sources that have made huge contributions here.

Most of legendary like you still newbie to me. Whoever got merit by airdrop does it mean they are able to become merit source ? Never mind what is the rank.
Come on man don't behave like childish, make a list who is self made legendary then submit to theymos. Theymos should add you as merit source ? If you are a good contributor then why did you received only 92 merit on your life time ? I can't consider you as my competitor. Earn first 450 merit then come on this thread to comment. Better to stay away from thread.  S_Therapist better then you, he have earned lot of merit even still new on the forum.

Most of legendary like you still newbie to me. Whoever got merit by airdrop does it mean they are able to become merit source ? Never mind what is the rank.
Come on man don't behave like childish, make a list who is self made legendary then submit to theymos. Theymos should add you as merit source ? If you are a good contributor then why did you received only 92 merit on your life time ? I can't consider you as my competitor. Earn first 450 merit then come on this thread to comment. Better to stay away from thread.  S_Therapist better then you, he have earned lot of merit even still new on the forum.

This user is currently ignored.

At the bottom-left of his post you can find a magical button "Ignore". You can use this all the time whenever you like it is needed, just to prevent you seeing things that isn't right. And always remember this magical thing is quite abusive in the eyes of douchebags, they find this thing so offensively that they might want to go rampage.

After using the magical tool, you will see a better environment:

Can you point me to some of your great posts. Let me take a look at these original thought provoking contributions.

Actually, this post of his is actually pretty good.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5004397.msg45150042#msg45150042

Yes it is an okay post. Let's call this a nice presentation of the quite obvious with some questionable reasoning behind some subheadings. Net positive on the whole I guess.

Imagine though that post has more earned merit that gjhiggins smooth, david zimbeck and 100's of other great legends that have earned in total. Please get serious.

Go read some of their posts they are not simply the presentation of the mostly obvious mixed in with some questionable reasoning.

The most valuable poster to examine real ico value is banned. Who can you ask now for a detailed analysis of some complex white papers conceptual design entirely for free?

 

Well, perhaps the next time Theymos determines who should be new merit sources, he should pick some distinguished regulars that post on the altcoin boards. The problem with this though is most people are only interested in a limited set of altcoins. If at all. So the selected merit source would probably only distribute their merits in the threads talking about the coins they are either interested in or have serious concerns with.

Well, I can see your concern. However, we are getting a bit off topic for this thread. However, anyone is welcome to apply to become a merit source. However, theymos does also just recruit people. That's how I got to be a merit source.  :) I only cared very little about the forum politics until I was drawn into meta, since many of the threads are about the merit system and I want to see what other people consider to be a good way to distribute merits. Of course, I am not perfect at the task and only venture in the boards that I am interested in. However, I have expanded my horizons quite a bit since being made a merit source and continue to expand. Unfortunately, there is only so much that I can read in a day.

Can you point me to some of your great posts. Let me take a look at these original thought provoking contributions.

Hurry up.

Bump for visibility

You are one of the good candidate to be a merit source for sure,but it looks like theymos didn't add any merit sources in the recent days.So I feels he is not interested to add anymore unless there is in need.

But hope to see you on the list soon.

I really hope to have merit even though it's only one, but why is it so hard for me to get it, even though I'm a member since 2016

Up for visibility