idea – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:13:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.7 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 idea – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin calls ‘AI governance’ a “bad idea” https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-calls-ai-governance-a-bad-idea/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-calls-ai-governance-a-bad-idea/#respond Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:13:04 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-calls-ai-governance-a-bad-idea/

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin claims it is a “bad idea” to use artificial intelligence (AI) for governance. In an X post on Saturday, Buterin wrote:

“If you use an AI to allocate funding for contributions, people WILL put a jailbreak plus “gimme all the money” in as many places as they can.”

Why AI governance is flawed

Buterin’s post was a response to Eito Miyamura, co-founder and CEO of EdisonWatch, an AI data governance platchorm who revealed a fatal flaw in ChatGPT. In a post on Friday, Miyamura wrote that the addition of full support for MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools on ChatGPT has made the AI agent susceptible to exploitation.

The update, which came into effect on Wednesday, allows ChatGPT to connect and read data from several apps, including Gmail, Calendar, and Notion.

Miyamura noted that with just an email address, the update has made it possible to “exfiltrate all your private information.” Miscreants can gain access to your data in three simple steps, Miyamura explained:

First, the attackers send a malicious calendar invite with a jailbreak prompt to the intended victim. A jailbreak prompt refers to code that allows an attacker to remove restrictions and gain administrative access.

Miyamura noted that the victim does not have to accept the attacker’s malicious invite for the data leak to take place.

The second step involves waiting for the intended victim to seek ChatGPT’s help to prepare for their day. Finally, once ChatGPT reads the jailbroken calendar invite, it gets compromised—the attacker can completely hijack the AI tool, make it search the victim’s private emails, and send the data to the attacker’s email.

Buterin’s alternative

Buterin suggests using the info finance approach to AI governance. The info finance approach consists of an open market where different developers can contribute their models. The market has a spot-check mechanism for such models, which can be triggered by anyone and evaluated by a human jury, Buterin wrote.

In a separate post, Buterin explained that the individual human jurors will be aided by large language models (LLMs).

According to Buterin, this type of ‘institution design’ approach is “inherently more robust.” This is because it offers model diversity in real time and creates incentives for both model developers and external speculators to police and correct for issues.

While many are excited at the prospect of having “AI as a governor,” Buterin warned:

“I think doing this is risky both for traditional AI safety reasons and for near-term “this will create a big value-destructive splat” reasons.”

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How Low Can Bitcoin Price Go? Bollinger Bands Have Some Idea https://earlybirdsinvest.com/how-low-can-bitcoin-price-go-bollinger-bands-have-some-idea/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/how-low-can-bitcoin-price-go-bollinger-bands-have-some-idea/#respond Tue, 29 Jul 2025 16:37:17 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/how-low-can-bitcoin-price-go-bollinger-bands-have-some-idea/

Bitcoin (BTC) is back in the red this week, and while there is no full-blown panic, the technical indicators are starting to show just how far things could worsen for bulls if this selling pressure continues. 

One of the clearest tools for mapping this kind of scenario is not some secret indicator but the familiar Bollinger Bands, which quietly outline the upper and lower bounds of price volatility. Right now, the lower bounds are sitting lower than most realize.

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Title news

On the daily time frame, Bitcoin has slipped below its 20-day average, the middle of the band, which had been providing short-term support at around $118,100. Losing this support level is not dramatic in itself, but it does tip the balance toward the lower boundary, which is currently around $116,300. 

If market conditions do not improve soon, this level will be the first real test. Should things become more aggressive, the price could fall toward $112,000, which aligns with the outer limit of expected volatility.

Article image
Source: TradingView

However, it is the weekly and monthly time frames that provide a broader perspective. The lower weekly band is currently at around $76,000 — not because anyone expects Bitcoin to fall that far tomorrow but because the structure allows it to go down to that level without disrupting the bigger picture. 

Bitcoin to $35,000? Not surreal

On the monthly chart, the midline, which often marks the longer-term median trend, is sitting around $77,000 per BTC, while the lower Bollinger band, far below current levels, is sitting at around $35,000. This is the technical bottom of the channel should the broader market unwind dramatically.

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Title news

The bands do not predict direction; they simply define the range. Right now, the lane beneath Bitcoin stretches farther than most people are anticipating.

This is not a warning but a reminder that, if support keeps cracking, the next stops are already in place, whether anyone is looking at them or not.

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From Idea to Launch: How to Build a Blockchain App with Smart Contracts https://earlybirdsinvest.com/from-idea-to-launch-how-to-build-a-blockchain-app-with-smart-contracts/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/from-idea-to-launch-how-to-build-a-blockchain-app-with-smart-contracts/#respond Mon, 28 Jul 2025 14:23:55 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/from-idea-to-launch-how-to-build-a-blockchain-app-with-smart-contracts/
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Blockchain technology has gained widespread attention for its ability to promote transparency, efficiency, and automated processes. With applications in sectors such as finance, supply chain, healthcare, and gaming, blockchain apps are now more accessible and practical than ever before. If you are considering building your own blockchain application with smart contract functionality, this guide will walk you through every major step, from conceptualizing your idea to launching a secure product.

Before venturing into development, it is crucial to understand the underlying concepts. Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology that records transactions across many computers in a way that makes data tampering very difficult. Each “block” contains transaction data, a timestamp, and a cryptographic hash of the previous block.

Smart contracts are self-executing programs with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. They automatically execute transactions once predetermined conditions are met. A reputable Smart Contract Audit Company can certify the reliability of your code, ensuring that any flaws are caught before deployment.

Start with a clear understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. Ask:

  • What pain point does your app address?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • How does blockchain add value to your solution?
  • Which blockchain platform will best suit your needs (Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, etc.)?

Clearly stating the app’s primary function and goals will help you stay focused as you move through the development process.

Conduct thorough research:

  • Identify existing competitors.
  • Analyze other blockchain apps with strategies similar to yours.
  • Understand current trends and technologies.
  • Engage with potential users to obtain feedback.

Market research prevents investing resources in an idea with limited potential and helps you tailor your solution toward real needs.

A practical blockchain app needs both a robust back end (the blockchain logic) and a user-friendly interface.

System Architecture

  • Decide if your app needs a public, private, or consortium blockchain.
  • Choose between a monolithic or modular system.
  • Plan for scalable data storage and transaction management.

User Experience (UX)

  • Map out user journeys and clearly define app navigation.
  • Focus on simplicity and clarity to promote usability.
  • Draft wireframes to visualize layout and key elements.

Selecting appropriate programming languages, tools, and frameworks is essential:

  • Solidity (for Ethereum-smart contracts)
  • JavaScript or TypeScript (for decentralized app front end using frameworks like React or Angular)
  • Tools like Truffle Suite or Hardhat for development and deployment
  • MetaMask for wallet integration

Evaluate technology options based on community support, ease of use, and compatibility with your chosen blockchain.

Set up your tools:

  • Local blockchain network using Ganache or Hardhat Network
  • Code editor like VS Code
  • Version control with Git
  • Package manager (npm or yarn)

Test everything locally to catch issues early and maintain code integrity.

This is the core component that drives blockchain logic:

  • Draft your smart contract in Solidity or another suitable language.
  • Break code into small, manageable functions.
  • Validate logic and handle exceptions effectively.
  • Write unit tests to verify all contract functions.

Smart contracts operate autonomously, so thorough testing is critical. Ensure code is clear, readable, and well-documented.

Security is vital, as vulnerabilities can cause significant financial losses. It is standard practice to engage a Smart Contract Audit Company for a comprehensive review. An audit entails:

  • Static analysis to detect coding mistakes or unsafe patterns.
  • Manual review by blockchain experts.
  • Simulated attack vectors to spot weak points.

Security practices also involve:

  • Using established libraries and standards (like OpenZeppelin).
  • Minimizing permissions and restricting access as much as possible.
  • Running bug bounty programs to crowdsource code reviews.

The interface is what users interact with. Build a responsive front end that communicates with the smart contract.

  • Use libraries like web3.js or ethers.js for blockchain communication.
  • Enable wallet connections for transactions.
  • Display data from the blockchain in real time.

Prioritize clarity and intuitive design in every detail. Conduct usability testing with real users and incorporate their feedback.

Connect the user interface with blockchain back end using APIs and wallet integrations:

  • Interact with the smart contract through functions triggered by user actions.
  • Display transaction status (pending, successful, failed).
  • Include tips to guide users about transaction fees and confirmations.

Handle errors gracefully and keep users informed about ongoing transactions.

Before going live, subject your app to comprehensive testing:

  • Functional tests covering all features and contract functions.
  • Security testing for both front end and back end.
  • Performance testing under simulated loads.
  • User acceptance testing to gather feedback from pilot groups.

You may also want to test on public testnets like Ropsten or Mumbai to assess performance under real-world network conditions.

Once satisfied with the test results:

  • Deploy smart contracts to the mainnet using trusted wallets or deployment tools.
  • Publish metadata and verify contracts on block explorers (such as Etherscan).
  • Announce your launch and open your dApp to users.

Be prepared to support the launch with clear documentation and customer support.

Blockchain apps require continued support:

  • Monitor transactions and on-chain activity.
  • Respond to bugs and provide timely updates.
  • Address changes in blockchain protocol or market conditions.
  • Communicate with your user community for ongoing improvement.

Having an update mechanism in your app and service for emergency fixes (like using proxy contracts) is beneficial for stability.

Depending on your app’s function and jurisdiction, compliance may be required:

  • Respect local regulations around digital assets and user data.
  • Obtain any necessary licenses or authorizations.
  • Maintain records and transparency about operations.

Engage legal counsel for advice on your particular project.

A blockchain app’s success often depends on its community:

  • Share your vision across social media, crypto forums, and relevant online platforms.
  • Develop engaging content explaining your app’s features and benefits.
  • Offer incentives for early users and feedback contributors.

Transparent communication is key. Regular updates, Q&A sessions, and engagement will help create trust and interest.

After launch, use analytics tools to measure:

  • Transaction volumes
  • Retention and active user metrics
  • User feedback and bug reports

Adapt your strategy as new opportunities or challenges arise.

A professional audit by a specialized company significantly reduces the risk of bugs or vulnerabilities that can lead to financial or reputational losses. Third-party audits combine automated tools and expert analysis for thorough evaluation.

Your choice will depend on use case, transaction speed, cost, and community. Ethereum is popular, but newer chains like Binance Smart Chain, Solana, or Polygon may offer advantages for certain projects.

Many blockchains allow for updates through proxy contracts or by deploying new versions. However, transparency is important — keep your users informed at all times about any changes.

Ready to turn your blockchain vision into reality? Get expert guidance and technical support for building tokens and smart contracts by exploring Token Development services from codezeros. Let solid expertise guide each phase of your project — from concept to secure deployment.

Contact codezeros today to move your idea forward with confidence!

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Why the "TACO Trade" Is a Bad Idea. Do This Instead. https://earlybirdsinvest.com/why-the-taco-trade-is-a-bad-idea-do-this-instead/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/why-the-taco-trade-is-a-bad-idea-do-this-instead/#respond Wed, 18 Jun 2025 02:22:19 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/why-the-taco-trade-is-a-bad-idea-do-this-instead/ One of the newest trends and acronyms in the investing world among retail investors is the “Trump Always Chickens Out” trade — also known as TACO. It’s built on a belief that President Donald Trump will back off on harsh policies after announcing them and that investors can profit by buying in to stocks at the “right” time as Trump changes his mind and markets react.

Investors point to the pausing and reduction of tariffs as examples of this, with Trump’s initial announcements spooking the markets and leading to reduced valuations, before things changed. The idea behind the TACO trade is to buy when that fall happens, since inevitably the president is due to back off from his harsh stances and the market will bounce back.

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I understand the theory, but I think it’s flawed and comes with serious risks. Here’s why I don’t think you should do it and why there is a better strategy to deploy amid market volatility.

Businessperson looking at their laptop with a second computer near at hand.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why the TACO trade could fail miserably

At its core, the TACO trade is a speculative bet on government policy. And betting on any kind of government policy can be risky and unpredictable. What may seem like a sure thing today could appear incredibly unlikely later on.

Just ask cannabis investors of how certain they were in early 2021 (when the Democrats controlled the House and Senate) that marijuana legalization was inevitable. One cannabis company’s CEO even said he expected his Canada-based company to be operating in the U.S. in a year. Those hopes didn’t pan out — not by a long shot.

Government policy comes with a lot of red tape and complexity. And while it may seem like we’ve experienced a predictable pattern of a tough policy announcement followed by a pause or scaling back of those policies, that doesn’t mean that it will continue. There’s also the risk that rising talk of the TACO trade could embolden the president to take a tougher stance. When he was asked about the acronym, Trump said the person had asked a “nasty question.”

^SPX Chart

S&P 500 returns since Liberation Day data by YCharts

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has risen by around 6% since “Liberation Day” and the announcement of global and reciprocal tariffs back on April 2. Buying amid that uncertainty and fear would have proven to be a good move. But with the broad index now getting close to its all-time high again, it would take a significant sell-off in the markets to get back to those lows today. Trying to profit from smaller moves in the market can be risky.

It’s one thing to bet on a company to perform well and to hit its expectations in an upcoming quarterly earnings report, but it’s a far riskier bet to buy or sell stocks based on what the president may do. And by doing so, you could end up in an unenviable position, potentially incurring significant losses if those expectations don’t match up to reality.

What investors should do instead

Trying to time the market is a risky endeavor that the world’s smartest investors caution against. It makes more sense to create a watch list of stocks you might consider buying if their price drops. Then, set your own price targets — prices that you think would be cheap for those stocks.

You could put your numbers in a spreadsheet, adding current prices for stocks to see how far away a stock is from your price target. In the event that the market tumbles based on bad news, you can load up on any stocks on your watch list that may have reached your desired price targets. It’s important when considering these price targets to build in some margin of safety; it should be a pretty attractive deal rather than just a 5% or 10% drop in price.

Personally, I do this and set aggressive price targets that are near 52-week lows and perhaps even around multiyear lows. With a watch list of stocks and the prices you’re willing to pay, you’ll be ready to deploy money you have for investing, i.e., that you won’t need for several years or to pay regular bills or high-interest debt.

As long as you have a watch list that includes safe, blue chip stocks, this is a strategy which can yield much stronger results in the long run than simply trying to bet on short-term trends and patterns. It will require patience, but by setting up your own watch list and buying when the price for one of your stocks is too cheap to pass up, you can set yourself up for significant gains, which will likely eclipse anything you’ll earn in the short run from a speculative TACO trade.

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Michael Saylor Explains Why On-Chain Proof-of-Reserves Are a Bad Idea https://earlybirdsinvest.com/michael-saylor-explains-why-on-chain-proof-of-reserves-are-a-bad-idea/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/michael-saylor-explains-why-on-chain-proof-of-reserves-are-a-bad-idea/#respond Tue, 27 May 2025 14:52:56 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/michael-saylor-explains-why-on-chain-proof-of-reserves-are-a-bad-idea/

Michael Saylor, executive chair of Strategy, has warned that on-chain proof-of-reserves may create artificial intelligence-related security attacks.

Speaking during a panel on the sidelines of the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Saylor said the practice is a “bad idea.”

Security Risks and Incomplete Transparency

When asked about the growing trend of institutions adopting the transparency measure, Saylor was opposed to it.

“It actually dilutes the security of the issuer, the custodians, the exchanges and the investors. It’s not a good idea, it’s a bad idea,” he argued.

The 60-year-old acknowledged that the industry has lessons to learn from the failures of FTX and Mt. Gox. However, he noted that proof-of-reserves is not the correct approach for companies to use.

He also highlighted that no enterprise-level security professional would advise revealing all wallet addresses, a practice that is part of the process. He added that if AI were asked to evaluate the long-term risks of publicizing wallet structures, it would generate 50 pages of potential threats.

The Bitcoin enthusiast emphasized that while transparency is important, proof-of-reserves only shows what a company owns and does not reflect what it owes, making it an incomplete measure of financial health. He suggested that instead of relying on the mechanism, institutions should focus on more holistic accountability solutions that provide a clearer picture of their financial stability.

Would Strategy Adopt Proof-of-Reserves?

When Blockware Solutions’ head analyst Mitchell Askew asked Saylor whether Strategy would consider using the verification method, the executive avoided giving a direct response.

Proof-of-reserves gained popularity following the collapse of crypto exchanges like FTX and Mt. Gox, which left investors uncertain about whether exchanges had enough assets to cover liabilities.

The disclosures are meant to show that institutions hold enough digital assets to back customer deposits. They are also used by entities such as crypto-tracking exchange-traded funds to confirm asset backing. Many crypto exchanges, such as Binance, Kraken, and Bitwise, have adopted them as a way to demonstrate solvency.

The interview follows Strategy’s recent announcement that it had acquired an additional 4,020 BTC for nearly $430 million. The company now has 580,250 BTC and has recorded a BTC yield of 16.8% year-to-date in 2025, making it the largest corporate holder of the flagship cryptocurrency.

Despite this, Google Finance data shows that the business intelligence firm’s stock closed at $369.51 on May 26, a 7.50% decrease in the last 24 hours.

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Why picking a travel eSIM for your next trip is a smart idea https://earlybirdsinvest.com/why-picking-a-travel-esim-for-your-next-trip-is-a-smart-idea/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/why-picking-a-travel-esim-for-your-next-trip-is-a-smart-idea/#respond Sun, 11 May 2025 06:48:36 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/why-picking-a-travel-esim-for-your-next-trip-is-a-smart-idea/

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The Nothing Phone 3a’s Essential Key is a great idea, but there’s a big problem https://earlybirdsinvest.com/the-nothing-phone-3as-essential-key-is-a-great-idea-but-theres-a-big-problem/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/the-nothing-phone-3as-essential-key-is-a-great-idea-but-theres-a-big-problem/#respond Sun, 09 Mar 2025 21:12:37 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/the-nothing-phone-3as-essential-key-is-a-great-idea-but-theres-a-big-problem/
Nothing Phone 3a Pro power button and Essential Key with man's fingers

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

One of the star features of the new Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro is the Essential Key. It’s a new hardware button that controls an app called Essential Space. Using AI, Essential Space allows you to combine screenshots (or photos) with voice recordings and automatically turn them into actionable tasks. It’s an interesting idea and, with some more polish, it could become a hit.

The problem, though, is the location of the Essential Key. For some reason, Nothing chose to put it right underneath the power button. During my time with the phones thus far, I’ve accidentally hit the Essential Key instead of the power button numerous times. I’ve also accidentally held down the power button, thinking I was holding down the Essential Key.

Nothing must have known this would be a problem because it designed the Essential Key to have a glossy, rounded look, which is different from the flat matte design of the power button. Unfortunately, this still doesn’t stop me from mistaking which was which and wishing the Essential Key wasn’t even there.

Let this be a lesson to Nothing and any other manufacturer thinking of adding a new button to their latest smartphones: it’s a good idea to stay away from the power button!

If a button is even necessary, it could go in so many other places

Nothing Phone 3a Pro power button and Essential Key

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

Nothing phones have what I call a “button split design,” with the power button and volume rocker on separate sides, similar to iPhones and OnePlus phones. This leaves a ton of room on either side of the phone for a new button.

Instead of putting it on the right side of the phone underneath the power button, Nothing could have put the Essential Key on the left side underneath the volume rocker, for example. As long as there was enough separation between the volume keys and the Essential Key, no one would ever mistake the latter for the former — and they certainly wouldn’t mistake it for the power button.

Why not put the button on the left, under the volume rocker? Why not way above the power button? In fact, why have a button at all?

Conversely, Nothing could have put the Essential Key above the power button, near the very top of the phone. This would have put enough separation between the two while also preventing your thumb from naturally covering the Essential Key when you’re blindly hunting for the power button. My big problem is that I put my thumb on the right side of the phone and press the first key I feel. But if the Essential Key were way high up, that wouldn’t happen. I would need to purposefully go to the Essential Key when I wanted to use it.

Of course, there is the notion that the button doesn’t need to exist at all. As it stands, the Essential Key only operates Essential Space. That limited functionality could easily have been transferred to the volume keys (hold down both volume keys simultaneously, for example) or even a power button shortcut (double-pressing the power button traditionally opens the camera, but Nothing could choose to transfer that to Essential Space).

I’m sure Nothing avoided doing that because it would be too easy for users to ignore Essential Space. Having a dedicated button there puts it front and center, for better or worse.

The power button’s location is well established, don’t mess with it

Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro flat on a table

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

Outside of some extremely niche smartphones, the power button is always in the same place. It’s always on the right and easily accessible by your thumb when held in your right hand. Even Apple abides by this rule. Apple also seems to understand that it shouldn’t mess with it. It smartly put the new Camera Control button very low under the iPhone’s power button and made it flush with the side so the two don’t feel anything alike.

Is it OK for new buttons on phones to be near the power button?

37 votes

Granted, some companies put all their buttons on the right and then put the power button above the volume rocker, with Google being the most prominent example. This might seem backward to Samsung users who are used to the right-sided setup but with the power button below the volume rocker. Either way, though, the power button is always on the right and easily accessible by your thumb. In both cases, should Google or Samsung decide to add a new button, it would almost certainly need to go on the left side of Pixel and Galaxy phones, where there currently are no buttons. This wouldn’t mess with the established norms.

Apple has added two buttons to iPhones over the past few years, and even it knows not to mess with the power button.

Nothing seems to be the only company that thinks this design rule isn’t that important. I’m interested to see how Nothing users react when they get their new Phone 3a or Phone 3a Pro. I’m sure that, over time, muscle memory will adjust, and they’ll stop doing what I’ve been doing over the past week and mixing the buttons up. Even assuming that will happen, though, it still would have been better for everyone if the Essential Key were in a less confusing spot in the first place.

What do you think? Vote in our poll above and sound off in the comments with how you feel about the sanctity of the power button’s location!

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David Sacks pushes back against idea of crypto transaction tax https://earlybirdsinvest.com/david-sacks-pushes-back-against-idea-of-crypto-transaction-tax/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/david-sacks-pushes-back-against-idea-of-crypto-transaction-tax/#respond Sat, 08 Mar 2025 20:13:50 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/david-sacks-pushes-back-against-idea-of-crypto-transaction-tax/

White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks rejected the idea of taxes on each cryptocurrency transaction as a method of filling the US strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve and the crypto stockpile with digital assets.

During a recent appearance on the All In podcast, host Jason Calacanis proposed charging a 0.01% tax on every cryptocurrency transaction, which would be denominated in the asset that is transferred, bought, or sold. Sacks responded:

“That’s always how taxes start. They are described as being very modest. You know, when the income tax started, it only applied to like a thousand Americans, and the legislators swore up and down that it would never be applied to middle-class people.”

“So, I don’t particularly like the idea of new taxes, even if it is promised that they won’t affect people very much. That sounds burdensome to me,” Sacks continued.

Crypto investors were highly critical of the idea, which would also tax transfers of assets between wallets owned by the same person.

The recent White House Crypto Summit made no mention of concrete tax policies. However, the Trump administration has signaled its support for sweeping tax reform at the federal level.

Bitcoin Regulation, US Government, United States

David Sacks discusses Bitcoin strategic reserve and crypto stockpile. Source: All In podcast

Related: US will use stablecoins to ensure dollar hegemony — Scott Bessent

President Trump proposes eliminating income tax and Internal Revenue Service

President Donald Trump previously proposed eliminating the federal income tax and replacing the income tax revenue with tariffs on imported goods.

Trump said the United States federal government was funded exclusively by tariffs in the 19th century and argued that it was a time of almost unparalleled prosperity for the country.

Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary of the US, reiterated the proposal and said that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would be replaced by an “External Revenue Service.”

According to research from accounting automation company Dancing Numbers, the Trump administration’s plan to replace revenues from federal income taxes could save each American taxpayer at least $134,809.

The company added that the lifetime savings could be extended to as much as $325,561 per person if state-income taxes are also repealed.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

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Arthur Hayes Floats the Idea of Rolling Back Ethereum Network to Negate $1.4B Bybit Hack, Drawing Community Ire https://earlybirdsinvest.com/arthur-hayes-floats-the-idea-of-rolling-back-ethereum-network-to-negate-1-4b-bybit-hack-drawing-community-ire/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/arthur-hayes-floats-the-idea-of-rolling-back-ethereum-network-to-negate-1-4b-bybit-hack-drawing-community-ire/#respond Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:43:00 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/arthur-hayes-floats-the-idea-of-rolling-back-ethereum-network-to-negate-1-4b-bybit-hack-drawing-community-ire/

CORRECTION (Feb. 22, 19:16 UTC): Reworks the story throughout to clarify and include more context of the so-called “rollback” and the criticism around it. Also removed the percentage of ETH held by hackers in 2016).

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and major ether (ETH) holder, asked Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin if he would be willing to entertain the idea of rolling back the network to assist hacked exchange Bybit, which lost nearly $1.4 billion in ether (ETH) on Friday.

“@VitalikButerin will you advocate to roll back the chain to help @Bybit_Official,” Hayes said in the social media post.

“My own view as a mega $ETH bag holder is $ETH stopped being money in 2016 after the DAO hack hardfork. If the community wanted to do it again, I would support it because we already voted no on immutability in 2016 [wh]y not do it again?” he added

Buterin was yet to reply as of time of publication.

While some, including Unchained’s Laura Shin, wondered if Hayes’s post was a joke, it did raise a serious question about whether rolling back is even feasible. CoinDesk reached out to Hayes about the post and hasn’t received a comment at the time of writing.

“I wish we could roll back for the Bybit hack, I’m not against the idea. But the DAO hack was 15% of ETH with a clean recovery path. Today, a rollback would break bridges, stablecoins, L2s, RWAs and so much more. ETH ecosystem is just too interconnected now for a clean solution like 2016,” said Gautham Santhosh, co-founder of Polynomial.fi.

The problem with “rollback”

Hayes’ suggestions of rolling back the blockchain as one of the potential ways to address hacking involves reverting the blockchain to a state before a specific event, in this case, the hack. That way, malicious transactions resulting from the hack can be erased, effectively restoring lost or stolen funds. Implementing a rollback requires consensus from the network participants.

For instance, in 2016, the Ethereum network saw a controversial revision of the network using a hard fork to reverse a theft of $60 million in ether from The DAO (the percentage the hackers took control of is still up for debate). The hard fork split the chain into two – Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

However, the term “rollback” was never used during that revision; it was referred to as an “irregular state transition.” The move still triggered huge and important debates over so-called “immutability” in blockchains.

Immutability is a security feature that prevents data from being changed after it’s added to the blockchain, making it trustworthy and tamper-proof.

A similar controversy played out in the Bitcoin community in 2019 when Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao and his team considered pushing for a “rollback” approach (the term was later rephrased by CZ as “re-org” and decided not to pursue the approach) on the Bitcoin network following a $40 million hack. However, the Bitcoin mining community criticized the idea of going back against the principle of decentralization and immutability.

Similarly, the Ethereum community criticized the idea of “rollback” in this case, noting that the idea wouldn’t even have been considered by the community.

Theoretically, an actual “rollback” won’t be possible on Ethereum, as the network uses something called “accounts” to store the ether, which can be analogous to bank accounts. When the 2016 hack occurred, the nodes upgraded to new software, and the ETH held was moved to new addresses.

However, the idea of reversing a transaction in light of a hack isn’t a new one; at least one smaller blockchain network, Vericoin, actually executed such a procedure previously.

The Bybit hack came into light on Friday when on-chain sleuth ZachXBT noted suspicious outflows of over $1.4 billion from the exchange, with the attacker quickly swapping mETH and stETH for ether through a decentralized exchange.

The hackers were later identified by ZachXBT as the North Korean Lazarus Group.

The attacker then split 10,000 ETH to 39 different addresses and another 10,000 ETH to nine addresses, Polynomial.fi’s Santhosh said on X.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said that the hacker “took control of the specific ETH cold wallet and transferred all the ETH in the cold wallet to this unidentified address.” Zhou confirmed that the exchange “is solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered.”

Margaux Nijkerk contributed to the revised story.
Read more: Ether Price Spikes Further on Reports of Bybit Starting to Buy ETH

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Samsung might launch real Hi-Fi wireless earbuds using UWB. Here’s why that is a great idea. https://earlybirdsinvest.com/samsung-might-launch-real-hi-fi-wireless-earbuds-using-uwb-heres-why-that-is-a-great-idea/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/samsung-might-launch-real-hi-fi-wireless-earbuds-using-uwb-heres-why-that-is-a-great-idea/#respond Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:11:40 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/samsung-might-launch-real-hi-fi-wireless-earbuds-using-uwb-heres-why-that-is-a-great-idea/

There is a report that Samsung is preparing to launch a set of earbuds that use UWB (Ultra-Wide Band radios) to allow for mountains more music data to make its way to your ears. I have no idea if this is true and, if it is, when Samsung might launch a product like this, but I do know the company has filed a patent to do just that. I also know it is a fabulous idea that needs to happen.

This would fix the one flaw with Bluetooth headphones — poor bandwidth. That’s a pretty big deal.

What is UWB?

Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) support on a Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

UWB is a radio tech that uses high-bandwidth and short-range radios to send a lot of data from one device to another. If you’re the engineering or ham radio type of person, it’s simply a new name for pulse radio >500 MHz with a complete set of standards.

You probably know that phone carriers use UWB to send 5G signals and are probably disappointed by the results. UWB for 5G can be great (and probably is in a few places), but what it has in bandwidth is that it lacks in range.

The theoretical range of a UWB signal is 200 meters or about 650 feet. The realistic range is 50 meters with an uninterrupted line of sight. UWB for 5G does work, but it works best with cell sites every 30-40 meters placed above vehicle and foot traffic. Since that’s hard to do, UWB 5G can be spotty and finicky unless you’re in the sweet spot.

UWB is not just for cellular radios, though. It transfers data across a very wide slice of bandwidth, meaning it can send lots of it very fast. It doesn’t care what the data is — it might be phone data from your carrier, it could be a signal to unlock a door, or it could be talking to a device tracker. It’s just really good at sending big bursts of data over short distances and doing it without using a lot of power.

Why use it for headphones?

All three Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro colors

Using UWB for wireless headphones is both a great idea and a potentially costly one. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.

Right now, not every phone supports UWB. Most new Galaxy S models offer it, as does the iPhone, then the list gets a lot slimmer. Google Pixels have it, as do some phones from Xiaomi. I’m sure some phone I can’t think of supports it, too, but the idea is that the list is short, and there aren’t any real budget models with it. You and I might like our “flagship” phones, but those budget models make up the bulk of the 4 billion phones that are in use today.

So, most phones won’t be able to take advantage of anything these rumored headphones have to offer. And they are going to be expensive, at least until the cost to develop them has been offset by a little profit. Apple can get away with telling its customers they have to buy this shiny new thing, but Samsung can’t. The product could bomb as soon as it’s released, even if it works perfectly. That’s a costly mistake that will make some heads roll in Korea.

Galaxy S23 at Unpacked Feb 2023

(Image credit: Samsung)

I’m going to ignore the “bad idea” part of this rumor because I like the “good idea” part so much. You probably shouldn’t do that and do the whole grain of salt thing.

The problem with Bluetooth headphones of any shape or size is that they sound terrible. You might think they sound OK, but they still sound terrible, especially when trying to reproduce very high-frequency or very low-frequency sounds or sounds of multiple frequencies at the same time.

This isn’t a “feelings” thing, either. They sound worse than wired headphones because of Bluetooth’s terrible bandwidth. Companies have tried new codecs (encoder/decoder, a way to compress music at its source and decompress it at the destination) to fight this, and they do help. Bluetooth sounds a lot better than it used to sound.

If the connection between the source (your phone) and the receiver (the headphones) had a higher bandwidth connection, it would be a lot easier to fix that terrible-sounding music. A stream of digital music is just data. It’s the same as uploading a picture to Instagram or filing your homework in an online portal — ones and zeros fly across space and time. When more ones and more zeros can fly, we see faster data rates. Music would be the same — it could sound better because more of it can be sent.

Headphones are an excellent platform for UWB because of the tech’s limitations: short range, optimal with a line of sight. You’re going to be within 50 meters of your phone while listening to music wirelessly, and your phone in your back pocket is still mostly in the line of sight of the headphones. UWB is really good at passing through the human body, which is why a RayBaby infant health monitor works so well.


I really hope Samsung ends up making the things and the product survives long enough to become mainstream. I doubt you would be able to send uncompressed audio data over UWB, and more bandwidth means ample room for better codecs that allow more sound to be transferred on the go.

I’d buy a pair, and I might be able to cut yet another cord — the one to my headphones.

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