Bitcoin: attention and incentives · 21 Aug 2026
1. Coldcard released new firmware after more than $114 million was stolen from Bitcoin wallets through a catastrophic seed generation flaw.
Research & analysis2 min
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MASTR · 2024–2026
All publications · 3
Original investigations, critical essays and the conversations behind them. Read by subject, follow a thread, or find a person or project in the source texts.
694 · Selected publications · 3/29
Trust, opportunism and exhaustion in crypto
Liars, profiteers, useless parasites and self-righteous moral frauds performing virtue in public while behaving like absolute pieces of shit behind the scenes.
Commentary & rants2 min
Trump: Web3 culture · 20 Aug 2026
I cannot believe half of this industry is once again praising Donald Trump and lining up to kiss the ass of a serial grifter who has spent his presidency turning public power into private revenue.
Commentary & rants5 min
Exchange inflows are not evidence of manipulation by themselves
Exchange inflows are not evidence of manipulation by themselves. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
Security and verification · 19 Aug 2026
I’m being paid to perform full security assessments on 2 of them, while I gave another 5 only a rough 30-minute pass. Even at that depth, some of the vulnerabilities and basic security failures I found are frankly alarming.
Commentary & rants1 min
Because apparently this is too much for most people to read, here it is again, short, clearly and plainly:
Because apparently this is too much for most people to read, here it is again, short, clearly and plainly:
Commentary & rants1 min
Binance, Russian authorities and the use of KYC records
According to law enforcement files, Binance supplied Russia’s Investigative Committee with the personal dossier and transaction records used to prosecute Yuri Belenkiy over barely $700 sent to Ukrainian causes.
Research & analysis6 min
Building useful products · 17 Aug 2026
Education is the most valuable asset a person can build because it changes the instrument through which every other asset is understood: the mind itself.
Commentary & rants3 min
TRM, ICE and the dispute over a blockchain analytics contract
ANOTHER (SHADY) US ADMINISTRATION DEAL EXPOSED: DHS AND ICE HAND TRM $95M, @chainalysis SUES, AND RIGHTLY SO.. (lobbying..?)
Research & analysis2 min
Buying tops has never been the path to wealth. Buying lows is what everyone claims to be here for.
Everyone forgets that those who became rich here, or have simply been around long enough to understand this market, took risks when everyone else had already declared it dead and buried.
Commentary & rants2 min
Binance: exchange accountability · 16 Aug 2026
Crypto’s chief charlatan @cz_binance may currently be in Bulgaria, or at least his X account is being accessed through Bulgarian IPs.
Commentary & rants1 min
AI-assisted intrusion: the Taiwan attack and crypto’s exposure
Its Ministry of Digital Affairs said the operation came from overseas and combined manual hacking with AI agents such as OpenClaw.
Research & analysis6 min
Trump: political influence · 15 Aug 2026
Trump will personally attend Wednesday’s crypto summit, with the heads of the SEC and CFTC beside him and executives from @coinbase @Ripple @a16z @chainlink @paradigm @Kalshi reportedly in the room.
Commentary & rants2 min
What is being built underneath the casino noise?
What is being built underneath the casino noise?. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
Inside X’s recommendation algorithm: incentives for crypto accounts
I went through X’s newly open-sourced algorithm instead of relying on the flood of “algorithm hacks” already circulating.
Research & analysis5 min
The cost of publishing research people do not read
I wish more people actually cared about the things I research, write about and put together here, because a lot of work goes into it.
Commentary & rants2 min
Solana: decentralisation and control · 12 Aug 2026
A few important points from today’s #Solana incident, although unfortunately this is not an airdrop, giveaway, memecoin, casino promo, some dumb capitalist extraction scheme, another dumbfuck scammer KOL campaign or any of the other…
Research & analysis2 min
Solana’s near-finality event and validator hosting concentration
Since the intern running @solana is apparently busy with other things, here is the technical breakdown and everything I could verify about today’s near-finality event on #Solana.
Research & analysis6 min
Solana: paid promotion · 12 Aug 2026
A routing failure at TeraSwitch knocked 28.83% of all staked SOL offline at once. Once delinquent stake crosses roughly 33.34%, Solana can no longer finalize blocks.
Research & analysis2 min
Low engagement does not establish low research quality
Low engagement does not establish low research quality. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
Reply-bot phishing: why blocking one account is not enough
Some of you have probably noticed this already: under certain accounts, almost every crypto-related tweet gets one of these bot replies within seconds.
Research & analysis2 min
Solana Foundation: what official attention rewards
My main criticism is not that every builder deserves funding, a stage at Breakpoint or a retweet from @solana.
Commentary & rants5 min
Personal brands and the monetisation of audience trust
I’m so tired of watching grown adults in Web3 build an audience around trust, credibility and supposed expertise, then turn around and monetise that same audience by feeding them into the next casino, the next shitcoin, the next leverage…
Commentary & rants3 min
A forensic watchlist of Solana copy-trading wallets
I went through 30 of the currently top-ranked Solana KOL/trader wallets and built a forensic copy-trading watchlist.
Research & analysis2 min