Man City will win formidably. It has many reasons for Man City to win, not only because of Erling Haaland but because Man City is a really good team. Of course, Haaland can make a difference again and his goals are of utmost high importance for Man City to win.

Betting on favorites once and securing profits after it will be most profitable because a favorite is much more likely to win.
It can be a good strategy for us to select a favorite once and pay out our profits after it.

Mich stört vor allem der große Stromverbrauch des Bitcoins, der leider untrennlich mit Bitcoin in Verbindung steht, denn sonst würde Proof of Work nicht funktionieren. Leider kommt in der Diskussion mit dem hohen Stromverbrauch nur selten das Argument, dass dieser Stromverbrauch Bitcoin so sicher macht, wie Bitcoin am Ende ist und das ist eben auch ein guter Punkt für den Bitcoin, wenn der Strom aus erneuerbaren Energien kommt, was er immer öfter tut.
Man sollte bei dieser Debatte immer bedenken, was mit dem Strom für ein Mehrwert geschaffen wird und für viele Leute, die mit Bitcoin nichts zu tun haben, ist diese Menge an Strom einfach Verschwendung, weil man Bitcoin und seinen Nutzen einfach nicht (genau genug) kennt.

Wie von den Vorrednern schon gesagt, ist leider die Kriminalität rund um Bitcoin sehr hoch, weil der "wilde Westen" allerlei kriminelles Pack anzieht und dieser unregulierte Markt gnadenlos für Betrug ausgenutzt wird.

UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany is goind on currently and Denmark has a great shot to suceed in Group stage. After a good draw against England, Denmark will face Serbia as a hard team to play against because Serbia will play fouls for sure and Denmark needs to win.

Italy had huge difficulties to even get a draw against Croatia, which should not be underestimated because of Modric. He always knows when to play a tactical pass and does it, as well.

Round 1


Bitcointalk vs. YouTube from an educational viewpoint
Board: Beginners and Help
Category: Education / Advice

What ChipMixer’s, Whirlwind’s and Sinbad’s downfall teaches us
Board: Beginners and Help
Category: Recent ChipMixer / Sinbad seizing event

YouTuber's hype video is not good advice
Board: Beginners and Help
Category: Education / Advice

Be careful and don’t promote a scam campaign
Board: Beginners and Help
Category: Education / Advice

What is your most important pro Bitcoin argument?
We know many Altcoins want to be better compared to Bitcoin but have failed so far
Please share here and also add a short comment why it is your most important Bitcoin argument.

My most important Bitcoin argument is PoW because PoW really ensures Bitcoin is safe and can't be attacked very easily, like it is possible for PoS, for example.

What is your most important crypto advice?
Please share here and also add a short comment why it is your most important crypto advice.

My most important crypto advice is "not your keys - not your coins" because it is simply a very important advice, where we should be aware to have real access to our coins and don't need to rely on a middleman. Bitcoin is clearly designed as a P2P currency.

Now, just a few days to go before year’s end we need to remember a year of centralized mixer fails. First, ChipMixer’s downfall, later Whirlwind’s downfall and now Sinbad.io’s downfall are truly lessons to be learned from.
We need to draw conclusions and it is important for us to learn from it to avoid repeating similar mistakes.

While all cases are different, a basic problem is boiling down to being centralized services. We have learned from Bitcoin why decentralization is important. Centralized mixers is exactly what a decentralization maximalist needs to be critical of.


Disadvantages of centralized services

We know it very well from Bitcoin: decentralization is king. Bitcoin is so famous because it’s decentralized. By decentralizing it, important attack vectors against it won’t work.

In opposite, mixers like Whirlwind, Sinbad.io or ChipMixer are centralized. It is run by an operator / CEO and he can do mistakes, get caught and steal funds. We have to trust him and how he is running his service.
Whirlwind outright scammed everyone, where developers just decided to abandon Whirlwind and as a logical result from centralized services, customers received financial loss. Maybe all data will be sold on Darket marketplaces to increase owner profits.
It is all about avoiding a middleman, trustless.
Bitcoin is legit, Bitcoin has no CEO.

Decentralized is king!


ChipMixer’s case


Let's have a closer look at ChipMixer:

Are ChipMixer operators really well educated and honest?

In a centralized service, we depend on its operators to be honest and well educated. We don’t know it if ChipMixer’s developers are honest and well educated but what we heard from some research, ChipMixer’s founder was not someone who was extremely educated, as flaws in his operations were revealed. Yes, he was able to set up a website and code mixing operations, also in DarkNet but after all, he can also have hired a coder to set it up and maintain it. We don’t now much about ChipMixer’s development team size and experience. It is unknown.
Once again, we need to trust some internet strangers.


Centralized services need an income – not unlike Bitcoin

As every centralized service, also ChipMixer needed an income. ChipMixer didn’t charge any fees for mixing, only dust, which didn’t fit in Chips was charged, which is not much after all. ChipMixer also had a gambling part, where customers can bet a Bitcoin amount and double it – or lose it. 47% chance of success. A part of it was ChipMixer’s revenue.
To generate revenue for it’s operations, every centralized service needs an income and most likely ChipMixer’s income was to launder criminal funds and even being involved in DarkNet operations.
It’s not a surprise. Sinbad.io is even worse involved in criminal syndicate businesss, it is shocking, but later more about it.
Conclusion: Such money needs to have an origin and it’s likely to be from criminal origin (hacked funds, stolen funds, extorted funds), where ChipMixer participated in deals to obtain income from.


ChipMixer’s involvement in DarkNet markets

After ChipMixer was operating for a long time, it suffered to be a target for criminals to launder stolen or hacked Bitcoins. It is quite likely, more and more hackers and criminals found out about ChipMixer over time.
In addition, ChipMixer seemed to be operating a DarkNet activities itself but it is still not known to which degree ChipMixer has been involved in DarkNet markets.
After ChipMixer never provided any statement, not from employees as well, it seems to be a very centralized service and a very small team. We don’t know how many employees ChipMixer had. Most likely ChipMixer was run by few people close to DarkNet markets and didn’t apply valid security measures, like deleting old private keys from customers because data was found later and keys emptied.


Sinbad.io’s case

Let's have a closer look at Sinbad.io:

While most points are already covered and apply for Sinbad.io like it does for ChipMixer, Sinbad.io is one step more shocking and more tied to crime. Because from all information available, seachable for anyone to do a quick internet research, Sinbad.io was already tied to massive criminals when it started.
Sinbad.io started as a re-branded, already busted mixer, blender.io, known for funneling funds from big hacks and criminal syndicates before it got busted:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sanctioned-mixer-blender-launched-sinbad-183621428.html
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/02/13/sanctioned-mixer-blender-re-launched-as-sinbad-elliptic-says/
https://decrypt.co/208160/sanctioned-bitcoin-mixer-blender-relaunch-sinbad-sanctioned-again
https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/14/blender_crypto_mixer_sinbad/
https://decrypt.co/121222/new-sinbad-bitcoin-mixer-is-sanctioned-blender
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-mixer-blender-has-been-rebranded-to-sinbad-says-elliptic
https://www.theblock.co/post/211225/sinbad-crypto-mixing-service-may-be-blender-in-disguise-elliptic
https://dailycoin.com/elliptic-reports-that-blender-rebranded-as-sinbad/

While people here now complain about Royse777 remaining funds are difficult to process, many funds going into blender.io previously, going into Sinbad.io after blender.io got busted, are 100% identical. It’s also stolen and hacked funds.
Sinbad.io funds were not just from DarkNet markets like ChipMixer, funds were even from organized crime syndicates.

Sinbad.io abused Bitcointalk to attract clean coins, to get volumes for mixing Sinbad.io’s extremely tainted coins. Bitcointalk members were abused like exit liquidity from shitcoin pump and dumps.
It’s a real shame, what Sinbad.io pulled of.
We need to spot such scum next time.



Final conclusions

While mixers like ChipMixer or Sinbad.io have been very famous, it’s now clear how ChipMixer clearly missed solid standards in terms of operation, transparency and security, how Sinbad was already guilty when it started and what Sinbad.io pulled off against Bitcointalk.
While ChipMixer was tied to DarkNet marketc, Sinbad.io funds were even from big organized crime syndicates.
We don’t know yet, which fallouts are still upcoming because for ChipMixer, 7 TB of data are a lot. For Sinbad.io a similar outcome of sized data might be up and people need to be aware how tainted coins from Sinbad.io really are. It’s coins from criminal syndicates. 
Possibly, many transactions can get unmixed, which is good to catch scammers, criminals and syndicates but everyone who used such a mixer legitimately, can possibly get identified as well.
In Whirlwind, many people lost funds but just because of luck, an escrow still held money for refunds. In future cases, such refunds might not be available.
In ChipMixer, many people lost funds because private keys, which serves as "chips" were not deleted by ChipMixer.
According to LoyceV’s research many chip-sized funded addresses were emptied, indicating funds from Chips were moved at once in a sudden action. We can draw a conclusion from it: ChipMixer didn’t delete private keys after a session expired. According to ChipMixer, deleted sessions can’t be restored, where we can expect also deleting keys to prevent any malicious actor from obtaining it.
Because imagine it is also possible for a hacker to obtain such private keys.

Because of being a centralized service, ChipMixer's, Whirlwind's and Sinbad.io's downfall was no surprise.

YouTube is very famous when people want to find out more information about crypto and it's always generating many clicks for YouTubers. But unfortunately, information quality is not very high for most videos because of hype and clickbait videos.

It is very important for us to know YouTuber's hype video is not good advice.


YouTubers want to create hype, not quality information

An important point for each YouTuber is to generate clicks and views and followers.
And to get clicks and views and followers, it is a strategy from many YouTubers to launch hype videos, where outrageous claims are made, such like:
- Bitcoin will crash (soon)
- Bitcoin will die (soon)
- Bitcoin will make new all-time-high (soon)
- Altcoin will overtake Bitcoin (soon)
- Altcoin will die (soon)
- …

It is always similar strategy for YouTubers to create hype instead of presenting normal information. It is very dangerous because accurate information is not presented. Instead, reality is hyped and exaggerated.
= information quality is suffering and sometimes very misleading


YouTubers spreading HATE and FEAR (FUD)

It is also very efficient for YouTubers to spread hate and fear because it's also generating clicks and views. Many people will get worried and click such videos to find it out but all information is just unjustified FUD, resulting in damages.
One reason is YouTuber’s greed to generate clicks and views and also a reason is for example, Russian propaganda. It is also possible, YouTubers are getting paid from Russia to spread hate and fear, as Russia has many loyal serfs on YouTube.
For us, such YouTubers are very dangerous because it’s facilitating
- Hate
- FUD
- weak hands and more sell pressure because people don’t trust to HODL

It is scientifically proven for hate and fear (FUD) to generate more clicks, so it is a common strategy for YouTubers to get more clicks and views.

Be careful when you see hate and fear (FUD) on YouTube.


YouTubers getting paid to advertise a project

Very often, big YouTubers are getting paid from a project directly to present it in a positive way. Some projects pay YouTubers directly and hope to get more investors due to positive YouTube videos because many followers trust, what YouTubers are publishing even it makes not much sense at all.
For a high payment by projects, many YouTubers will only mention positive facts and forget often to inform about risks and flaws of a project to get many followers to invest.
Or it's about a shady exchange, where YouTubers will also get a profit if you sign up from a referral link.


YouTubers are trying to distribute referral links

A significant amount of YouTube videos is made in hindsight to collect money by referral-links.
For such YouTube videos we'll find a referral link mentioned somewhere which will lead us to to an official project site, where we can register to invest. Of course, a YouTuber who will mention such projects and mention his referral link, will get a reward if we click his link to join, register and invest, often a percentage of our amount invested. Of course, any YouTuber will be interested to make you join and invest a huge sum because of his profit.

A famous hype channel was (or still is) Trevon James, who advertised heavily for a known scam, Bitconnect.



Conclusion

YouTuber's content is often of very low quality and only based on hype:
It is very easy to detect, when we view some YouTube presentations, where it’s often clickbait:





It is very clearly clickbait.
For us, we should always know: YouTuber's hype video is not good advice. It is not well researched and low quality content.

If borovichok really lent his account to someone to shitpost, a negative trust is completely valid. Accounts changing hands and getting a tag is where DT has shown to be reliable to shut down any potential abuse. At least OP has now 3 neutral trusts and sig managers will be more careful to hire borovichok.

My suggestion was including a second chance: just create new account.
Of course, old account getting trashed as punishment for plagiarism needs to be accepted.

But from a new account, everyone could have a second chance.

BINGO, you've just uncovered that there's Bitcoin and then, there's Shitcoin.

Next time, read Bitcointalk rules and write your posts accordingly. Spam or rule violation is not wanted on Bitcointalk.

If you feel traded unfairly, create an appeal and present your case.

We can just abolish any so-called "ban evading" rule because it's useless in any case.

A spammer or scammer will not care for it but members trying to improve after getting banned, honest from a new account will be targeted.
Plagiarism should simply result in a ban - no discussion. Plagiarism is serious violation.
Accounts engaging in plagiarism need to be trashed.

But after plagiarizer accounts are trashed, a new chance should be given by starting a new account.

We do not nee any strange so-called "ban evading" rule.

Very sad to hear. 
300$ is very high amound because right now, it might be even more.

I hope it won't happen to you again and I wish you always a safe storing of coins. Hack is always dangerous and when we rely on an insecure application.
Technology might make progress in technology as well. 

It is allowed but not recommended because Merit spend at such account will not be available for re-distribution.
One more point: old and inactive accounts don't have any profit from higher rank.

Any actions like ban related to new Mixer rules. Not sure because I did not hear about any known incident.

Any known incidents, where someone got banned because of changed Mixer rules?

It's almost a week now.

Okay, if it's pissing you off, maybe it's an idea for you to consider leaving Bitcointalk?

Ratimov does not exist anymore, it's Symmetrick now. 

What's his goal, when he announced Ratimov account is dead but now, he's also active meanwhile? It's really strange.


Does he want to be cheered?

Ratimov is dead, long live Symmetrick!