That wordpress plugin is brilliant! I can't wait to see it in action.

Exciting times for DNotes as we continue to carve out a path forward to a more inclusive financial future. Well done!

An interesting article on Forbes for anyone who read recent media reports about the latest Mueller indictment of 13 Russian officials, saw the repeated references to how the accused used Bitcoin to fund their hacking/phishing operations, and thought: "Here we go with the anti-crypto narrative again." This article correctly observes that the very fact that prosecutors were able to trace the transactions demonstrates that coins like Bitcoin "may not be the best economic instrument for criminals."

"The 29-page indictment clearly outlines the concerted efforts carried out by Russians operatives, including such commonplace cyber threats as spear phishing, malware, spoofing, virtual private networks (VPN), social engineering, and the use of bitcoin as a means of payment.  It is perhaps this last area, the use of bitcoin and the perception of anonymity the agents relied on, that left the clearest trails of their financial movements and wherewithal.

This much is shown in the indictment, which devotes substantial passages to outlining how bitcoin’s public blockchain registry served to trace back $95,000 and the perceived anonymity the perpetrators relied on.  While the bitcoin blockchain does provide “identity shelter” in the form of pseudonymous addresses, it is nevertheless a highly traceable transaction registry, much more so than the U.S. dollar for example, which only triggers red flags at large transaction thresholds.  These anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) rules in traditional banking also rely on often spotty compliance from a vast global banking network (one that is often culpable), wherein transactional information is stored in a one-sided manner and may be typically accessed through subpoena.  The bitcoin blockchain by contrast is a public ledger and the movements of capital and their destinations, albeit in hashed digital addresses or wallets, are highly traceable, widely known and at a much lower transaction value.  In effect, these properties enables law enforcement officials to quickly ring-fence a suspect transaction, set up trip wires and follow a veritable digital crumb trail if bitcoins are liquidated. This much held true in the WannaCry ransomware attack, where despite the vast ransom drag net, the cyber criminals only absconded with $65,000 worth of bitcoin.

While crypto crime fighting clearly taps a new set of forensic and technological approaches, such as Bitfury’s Crystal, the indictment, like the limited haul of the vast WannaCry ransomware attack, which spread to over 150 countries over a weekend affecting thousands of organizations, shows that bitcoin may not be the best economic instrument for criminals."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2018/07/15/does-the-russian-indictment-exonerate-bitcoin/#7a6376ad418a

I'm sure we can all understand those moments of impatience. Many of us have experienced similar emotions when we look at the slow pace of progress throughout much of the industry. Digital currency's promise has often seemed to be little more than hype, with little visible evidence that anyone has any kind of tangible plan to make mass adoption a reality. That's never been the case with DNotes, though, as the goals and plan have been clear for years now. It's a credit to the DNotes community that they have not only understood why DNotes has taken the methodical, value-driven path to achieve mass adoption, but have embraced it as well. That type of patience is nothing short of astounding when you consider that we live in a time where immediate gratification is the order of the day.

Great observations, Tim. The key for us or any digital currency project is to focus less on the short-term voting and more on how we measure up when it comes to the eventual weighing. It's one thing to come up with a crypto-coin name and rush out to raise a ton of fast money through an ICO - all the while focusing on little more than marketing and brand recognition. it's quite another to start out with a real-world strategy, and actually do the hard work required to develop your project so that it can effectively use investor capital to achieve its goals.

All the ICO-fueled investment funding in the world can never serve as an adequate subsitute for a sound business plan and the drive to see a project through to success.

There are so many things that make DNotes a special project. The vision. The commitment to serving real human needs. The strength of its community. The leadership's dedication to ensuring that DNotes is an inclusive and accessible digital currency usable by everyone around the world. And so much more...

Undervalued? Absolutely. But I like the prospects for that long-term weighing. Hares and grasshoppers are all flash and dazzle, but it's the tortoises and the ants that look like winners when all is said and done.

That is a really interesting idea, Brandon, and it could be really entertaining if done properly. I can imagine an educational benefit as well, if each answer - right or wrong - was followed by a brief but engaging lesson about DNotes, its mission, and its benefits. I've seen quiz shows like that in the past, mostly focused on things like history or science. The question is asked, the answer is given, and then there's a brief "official answer" that offers a bit more insight into the topic.

It would take some creativity and effort to pull it off, but I can almost picture it in my mind's eye.

Great question.

As Joe notes below, the effort to tell the world about DNotes Pay is already underway. With that said, though, there's nothing to prevent others from copying the idea. In fact, I would be surprised if that doesn't happen, since it happens pretty much everywhere you look in the marketplace. There's a reason that we have so many different types of soda, cars, toilet paper, potato chips, and so many of the other products that we find in our supermarkets and retail stores. Someone comes up with a great idea, and others follow along and imitate it. I fully expect one or more projects to move to create a similar payment system. It's almost impossible to fully protect ideas once they're out of your head and into the public square.

The thing is, though, that DNotes Pay is part of a broader ecosystem that others will struggle to replicate. Few would even want to attempt the feat. And without that ecosystem, it doesn't really matter if someone else tries to say that they were first. What matters is what they are able to accomplish with the idea. Unless they have a strategy to effectively push toward mass adoption, they're not likely to make much of an impact.

Of course, this is an issue that is likely to come into play in the months and years to come, as DNotes Global continues to innovate and release additional products and services. There will always be imitators.

It is almost impossible to overstate just how important this innovation will be going forward - and not just in the technical sense. Sure, it represents a true game-changer for individuals, companies, and organizations - providing an almost cost-free way to engage in online commerce, which in turn opens up new opportunities for micro-payments and other innovative solutions. Jut as important, though, it is an inclusive solution that perfectly aligns with DNotes' promise as a trusted, inclusive digital currency for everyone around the world. As Alan notes, "No one shall be left behind."

It should also have a profound impact in the area of public perception, once more people become aware of and understand its benefits. All those industry promises and snake oil solutions that Alan referenced sounded good at the time they were made, but the crypto space has been slow to advance toward any of those goals. Too many projects have contented themselves with cash-grabs through ICOs or speculative price increases in the crypto markets, and it's sometimes easy for outside observers (and many within the industry for that matter) to start to dismiss the industry's promise of change as nothing more than hype. As usual, DNotes is a different type of project, with a different type of approach to solving real-world problems. This payment solution is just another example of why DNotes will succeed in its efforts to become the world's trusted, inclusive digital currency solution.

A good question. Thanks for asking it.

I believe that Joe covered the story's relevance for DCEBrief when he talked about our mission to educate and inform readers about important developments and points of interest in the cryptocurrency space. Obviously, we cover a lot of stories and topics that have no direct correlation to DNotes the digital currency. In fact, the vast majority of stories that we deal with have little or no relation to DNotes, other than the fact that they involve people, companies, and issues that directly impact the industry in some way. However, those stories are newsworthy and help us to better understand where we are as an industry and - more importantly - where we are heading.

For the record, that's also why we post links to those stories in this forum (as well as links to material published by DNotesEDU and other information sources). We are all committed to providing the education and information the world needs to fuel the drive toward mass adoption of DNotes, and this community is an important part of that effort.

As DNotes Global grows  and DCEBrief expands, we look forward to providing an even broader selection of news stories and opinion pieces for our readers and everyone within the DNotes community.  Stay tuned, because the best is yet to come.

Nice to see the ladies of crypto getting that type of positive exposure. It's important to ensure that the media represents the digital currency revolution in the right way, as an inclusive and accessible opportunity for everyone around the world. Women make up more than half the world's population and control a sizable share of the world's wealth and purchasing power, so it is impossible to imagine how mass adoption of digital currency can ever occur without women being involved in the effort.

DNotes has been committed to that type of inclusiveness since its inception - dedicated to ensuring that people from all walks of life can participate in and benefit from the digital currency revolution.