Up until this point, we've been mostly deceived by banks and corporations in order to believe in what they say and keep them in power.

Was watching the Thanksgiving day parade as a foreigner and the amount of pharmaceutical propaganda in the endless commercials is ridiculous! I believe this will change once the infrastructure for media, businesses and everything else becomes decentralized and judged on their accuracy through truth scales.

Also, we have needed to put on metaphorical masks when we interact with other people to save face in society, to which extent we do this is dependent on the cultures in which we live.

In an age of decentralization, globalization, blockchain and digitization (avatars on internet platforms, etc.), I feel as though we are entering an age of truth and disillusion from all angles.

People can say whatever they want and feel because they are now interacting with the rest of the world through the internet. Transactions can now be anonymous and secure because business dealings no longer require banks, ID's or middlemen.

"Give a man a mask and he will tell you the truth."

-Oscar Wilde

Thoughts?

How would the crypto arena be different if everyone knew who Satoshi was?

https://www.coindesk.com/new-bank-of-america-patent-hints-at-plan-to-store-cryptocurrency-keys/

"Bank of America was awarded a patent for a device that stores cryptographic keys and the document's details hint at applications for cryptocurrencies.

In a patent awarded Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the bank outlines a "hardened storage device" for storing private keys – such as those used for blockchain platforms – explaining that, at present, most keys are stored locally protected by nothing more than a password."

Would this make banks responsible for uncontrollable losses? This will be great for adoption and hints at a future where banks essentially regulate smooth digital transactions and keep them secure.

The personal data of 9.4m Cathay Pacific passengers has been stolen in a cyber attack on the Hong Kong airline.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/24/cathay-pacific-says-data-94-million-passengers-stolen-hack/

Ryan Wilk, vice president at NuData Security said “Data in the wrong hands – especially payment card information – can have a huge impact on customers, far beyond the unauthorised use of their cards.”

“Payment card information, combined with other user data from other breaches and social media, builds a complete profile. In the hands of fraudsters and criminal organisations, these valuable identity sets are usually sold to other cybercriminals and used for myriad criminal activities.”

Maybe instances such as this will wake people up to the tangible benefits of using Bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency-not being as vulnerable in an age of unbeknownst vulnerability.

After reading crypto blogs, books, user experiences, and this forum over the last few months, I've come to the conclusion that Bitcoin will not become the universally accepted global currency.

It doesn't have many applications apart from storing value and it's not user-friendly.

It's not all BTC's fault. The current economic model doesn't support its widespread use because we're still dependent on centralized institutions for infrastructure.

Kind of a chicken or the egg? type question. What comes first? Decentralization or one universal cryptocurrency?

With seemingly unlimited ICO releases, (https://ethereumworldnews.com/ico-volume-double-2018/) which qualities will the be-all and end-all coin have? And which economic circumstances will facilitate its success?

I get the impression that every influential entity has plans of creating its own currency. There's even speculation of Facebook creating its own ICO.

Do you think that fractionalized ownership will be applied to everything? Are all assets going to be tradable?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45889707

Ms Wambugu started trading in Bitcoin two years ago and and within a year she made enough money to buy the two-storey Nyeri hotel, which she converted to Betty's Place, her bbq restaurant. She also teaches customers how to trade and use Bitcoin.

Africa will represent blockchain's ability to democratize opportunity even for the geographically challenged. Once smartphone use and internet access expands, 350 million Africans are going to be able to do the same thing.

Definition of a farm: a plot of land devoted to the raising of animals and especially domestic livestock.

Countries are the plots of land, and humans are the domesticated livestock.

Instead of being fed fodder to keep us alive and render us profitable, we are fed information (mostly lies) in educational institutions and kept docile by means of cheap entertainment, comfortable paychecks and pleasure-food.

We don't need much to be happy-Be able to spend time with a few close friends, family, freedom to create without constraint, health, and self-sufficiency.

How did you escape from the farm, if you have? I've noticed a lot of people are using this forum to create better lives for themselves, prioritizing personal freedom and making themselves human again.

A significant barrier to universal acceptance of cryptocurrency is its susceptibility and attractiveness to hackers, which also cause price drops.

https://thenextweb.com/cryptocurrency/2018/06/29/this-company-wants-to-stop-hackers-from-stealing-your-cryptocurrency/

"Since the founding of the first cryptocurrency exchange in 2010, hackers have walked away with billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrencies and digital tokens stolen from exchanges, and they continue to eye the cryptocurrency landscape as an attractive arena to make money."

The blockchain-based threat intelligence platform "Sentinel Protocol" has one solution to preventing such nightmares:

"At the heart of Sentinel Protocol is a decentralized threat reputation database (TRDB), which contains blockchain addresses associated with theft, fraud and ransomware, IP addresses, malware signatures, file hashes and other relevant information. Sentinel Protocol relies on a crowdsourced community of cybersecurity experts, which it calls Sentinels, to maintain its TRDB.
By integrating Sentinel Protocol into their platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges will be able to detect and block of fraudulent and malicious transactions by comparing source and destination addresses against Sentinel’s TRDB. This is especially useful to DEXs, where hackers are flocking to launder and cash their ill-gained fortunes."

They're apparently already working with quite a few exchanges.

Any hypotheses as to future methods of hack prevention? Machine Learning?

If retailers want to stay in business, they have to find a way to compete with Amazon, and AI might be their last chance for retail businesses in countries where Amazon dominates multiple markets.

http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/ai-ecommerce-report-2017-8

"One of retailers' top priorities is to figure out how to gain an edge over Amazon. To do this, many retailers are attempting to differentiate themselves by creating highly curated experiences that combine the personal feel of in-store shopping with the convenience of online portals.

Using AI to personalize the customer journey could be a huge value-add to retailers. Retailers that have implemented personalization strategies see sales gains of 6-10%, a rate two to three times faster than other retailers, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It could also boost profitability rates 59% in the wholesale and retail industries by 2035, according to Accenture.

For many retailers, successfully leveraging AI will require partnering with third parties. Because of the barriers involved, employing an in-house strategy can be extremely costly and difficult. This has led to the rise of AI commerce startups, which can provide a more cost-effective approach to overhauling the customer experience."

Thoughts as to if AI commerce startups will save the retail industry?