If the stresses and strains of modern life are becoming a little too much, fear not. Those of you who’ve been stacking sats may soon be able to take your foot off the pedal. According to a Bitcoin researcher and creator of Smitty’s Bitcoin Retirement Guide, in much of the world, you can retire with less than 1 BTC in 2035.

Retire with less than 1 BTC

Of course, the amount of bitcoin you need to retire depends on the country you live in, with Burundi and Afghanistan among the cheapest destinations. HODLers can withdraw from the 9-to-5 with substantially less than 0.1 BTC. Of course, they may be dwelling in caves with no electricity, but… maybe if you really hate your boss, the option appeals.

Monaco and Lichtenstein will set you back the most if you want to spend your later years frequenting beaches, casinos, and swanky hotels. You’ll need about seven bitcoins to be a high baller among the likes of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez here.

How does Smitty come up with these numbers?

Before you sell your home, bid farewell to your family and friends, and buy your ticket, you should know this chart is based on a couple of assumptions. The first is that U.S. monetary expansion (M2), continues to grow at a 7% annual rate:

“This will make a difference, so we will see in the next update. This will also contribute to more error depending on the currency.”

The second is that annual expenses remain on par. For this study, annual expenses are based on each country’s average annual income (in USD), taken from worlddata.info.

The model also assumes that everyone lives to 100 years old, so depending on your genes, you may need more or less sats to see you through to your deathbed. The calculations also do not take into account the specific taxation requirements per jurisdiction, as one follower points out. So if your heart is set on Kabul, you should probably DYOR.

Today, Web3 security has emerged as one of the most attractive and promising career paths for professionals. Web3 security involves the practices that are adopted for safeguarding diverse components within the Web3 ecosystem, such as decentralized systems, user data, and applications. In the year 2024 alone, a total of $2,362,748,975.83 has been lost across hundreds of on-chain security incidents. The surge in security concerns has automatically increased the demand for competent Web3 security researchers today.

At present, organizations across diverse industries have been looking for capable and talented Web3 security researchers. This trend has undoubtedly boosted the Web3 security landscape by giving rise to a large number of Web3 security jobs. If you dream of becoming a top Web3 security researcher, you certainly need to adopt a methodical approach so that you can achieve your goal.

Importance of Web3 Security

Web3 Security is a pivotal element of Web3. The emergence of Web3 has definitely expanded the boundaries of the digital space. However, it has also given rise to a number of security concerns that cannot be ignored. The importance of Web3 security in the Web3 realm can be understood by focusing on the following areas:

• Web3 security serves as the catalyst to safeguard the funds of users.
• It creates a safe environment, thereby ensuring that solid trust is built in decentralized systems.
• The fact that no centralized authority exists further magnifies the role of Web3 security.
• By prioritizing Web3 security, the possibility of cybersecurity breaches, attacks, and risks can be dealt with strategically.

Now that you have clarity on Web3 security and its importance, it is time to shift the attention towards how one can become a Web3 security researcher. The Web3 Security Researcher roadmap will surely act as the ultimate guide and help you achieve your dreams.

Steps to Transform into a Web3 Security Researcher

If you have the passion to become a Web3 security researcher, you may be wondering – ‘How to get into Web3 security?’ This is a very good question. An important thing to remember is that you must adopt a structured and systematic approach to become a competent Web3 security researcher. Without a well-planned and disciplined approach, you may feel overwhelmed. In order to become a Web3 Security Researcher, you need to follow the steps below:

Step 1 – Master the Fundamentals of Blockchain

The fundamental step that you must take before you venture into the Web3 security space is to familiarize yourself with Blockchain basics. Before diving into Web3 security, you need to have a solid foundation in blockchain concepts and how it works. The insight can undoubtedly create a solid foundation on which you can establish your career as a Web3 security researcher.

Some of the main concepts that you need to focus on include consensus mechanism, decentralization, and immutability. Additionally, you must also have proficiency in the concept relating to smart contracts.

Step 2 – Learn Ethereum and Smart Contracts

In order to move ahead in your journey to become a Web3 Security Researcher, you need to learn Ethereum. Ethereum is one of the most popular platforms used for the deployment of decentralized applications as well as smart contracts. The solid knowledge of Ethereum will certainly help you when you start working as a Web3 security researcher.

As stated previously, learning smart contracts is a must for a Web3 security researcher. By having a detailed understanding of how smart contracts function as well as their vulnerabilities, you can develop robust security solutions. As smart contracts act as the core of the Web3 ecosystem, having a solid understanding of the concept is non-negotiable.

Excited to learn about the critical vulnerabilities and security risks in smart contract development, Enroll now in the Smart Contracts Security Course

Step 3 – Broaden Knowledge on Cybersecurity

Web3 security is not about Web3 concepts alone. Instead, it is also about cybersecurity processes and practices. Thus, it is essential for an individual to have a strong grasp of cybersecurity tools and techniques. You need to learn core cybersecurity concepts relating to threat modeling, authentication and authorization, secure coding practices, and common vulnerabilities.

As the Web3 realm is expanding with the passage of time, you need to constantly learn about relevant cybersecurity practices. By understanding cybersecurity in the context of Web3, you can adopt a holistic approach to deal with new kinds of vulnerabilities and security concerns.

Step 4 – Familiarize with Key Web3 Security Concepts

An important step that you must take to move ahead in the Web3 security setting involves learning key Web3 security concepts. By focusing on this area, you will be able to gain a proper insight into specific security concerns that arise in the Web3 ecosystem. You need to focus on specific smart contract vulnerabilities such as flash loan attacks, reentrancy, and many more.

Moreover, it is essential to take into account real-world examples. By looking at these examples, you can certainly have better clarity about Web3 security. At the same time, you must start familiarizing yourself with popular tools for analyzing smart contracts. You need to learn how to use Slither and Mythril. While working as a Web3 security researcher, in the future, you will have to use these tools in order to perform the audits of smart contracts.

Step 5 – Enroll in a Top Web3 Security Course

The final step, which is also the most crucial step, involves enrolling yourself in the best Web3 security course. It is the ultimate step that can help you transform yourself into the best Web3 security researcher. The course will act as the ideal learning platform that will help you realize all the other steps in a systematic and methodical manner.

By choosing the right Web3 security course, you can get hands-on experience in your Web3 security journey. You will have the opportunity to access a broad range of learning materials and engage in engaging assignments. Moreover, you can also get valuable insights from top Web3 security researchers who have experience in diverse industries. The course can definitely act as a game-changer for you and help you accomplish your dreams. Furthermore, the certification that you will receive by enrolling in the course can give you a competitive edge over other professionals in the Web3 security realm.

Start your journey to becoming an expert in Web3 security skills with the guidance of industry experts through Web3 Security Expert Career Path

Future of Web3 Security Researchers

The future of Web3 security researchers is full of promise. In the future, the demand for these professionals is likely to increase. So if you wish to become a Web3 security researcher, now is the perfect time to enter the career pathway. By entering the promising Web3 security setting, you can take up the best Web3 security jobs. The exposure can definitely help you to strengthen your skills and competencies in the area.

In order to make the most of the attractive career opportunities, you must definitely enroll in the best Web3 security course. It can undoubtedly open up new pathways in your path and help you excel as a Web3 Security Researcher.

Final Words

Today, the Web3 Security landscape is undoubtedly flourishing like never before. If you wish to find an answer to the question – ‘How to get into Web3 security?’ You need to follow the key steps. The steps in this Web3 Security Researcher roadmap can surely act as the ideal guide for you.

By transforming yourself into an expert Web3 Security Researcher, there will be no looking back for you. You can reach new career heights and set an example for others. All you need to do is adopt a disciplined approach and believe in your career goals. 

The Ethereum mainnet’s gas limit could theoretically grow 100-fold and reach 2,000 transactions per second under a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) put forward by Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist.

Feist, who had the blockchain’s “danksharding” data storage solution named after him, put forward EIP-9698 on April 27, which would introduce a “deterministic gas limit growth schedule” starting at epoch 369017, or around June 1.

The proposal would gradually increase the gas limit by a factor of 10 for roughly two years, or 164,250 epochs, when one final tenfold increase would occur.

Ethereum clients would need to vote on the proposal for it to take effect, Feist said.

“By introducing a predictable exponential growth pattern as a client default, this EIP encourages a sustainable and transparent gas limit trajectory, aligned with expected advancements in hardware and protocol efficiency,” he added.

As Ethereum can occasionally reach up to 20 TPS in blocks dominated by simple transactions, a 100x gas limit increase could theoretically increase Ethereum’s TPS to 2,000. Feist’s proposal would better position Ethereum to compete with the likes of Solana, which currently processes a non-vote TPS between 800 to 1,050 and has a theoretical TPS of 65,000.

The EIP would expand the current gas limit of 36 million to 3.6 billion, potentially allowing around 6,000 transactions to fit into Ethereum blocks.

Feist’s proposal comes after Ethereum validators agreed to raise the gas limit from 30 million to 36 million in February.

Before that, the last change to Ethereum’s gas limit occurred in August 2021 under the London hard fork, where the figure was roughly doubled from 15 million to 30 million.

Feist acknowledged that a rapid increase in the gas limit under his proposal may stress less-optimized nodes and increase block propagation times. 

“However, the exponential schedule with very gradual increments per epoch gives node operators and developers ample time to adapt and optimize,” he said.

Related: Ethereum community members propose new fee structure for the app layer

EIP-9698 marks the Ethereum community’s latest effort to boost scalability at the base layer after predominantly focusing on scaling through layer 2 solutions in recent years.

Critics of Ethereum’s layer-2 focused strategy claim that it has fragmented the ecosystem into several siloed chains with little interoperability, leading to a worse user experience.

EIP-9678 looks to increase gas limit

Ethereum developers are also looking to test a fourfold increase of Ethereum’s gas limit in the Fusaka hard fork under EIP-9678.

Fusaka has been flagged as possibly going online in late 2025, while the next major Ethereum upgrade, Pectra, is scheduled to go live on the mainnet in May.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/researcher-proposes-scaling-ethereum-gas-limit-by-100x-over-4-years/feed/ 0 33190 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/cybercriminal-vs-windows-bug-bounty-researcher/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/cybercriminal-vs-windows-bug-bounty-researcher/#respond Tue, 08 Apr 2025 01:08:15 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/cybercriminal-vs-windows-bug-bounty-researcher/

EncryptHub, a notorious threat actor linked to breaches at 618 organizations, is believed to have reported two Windows zero-day vulnerabilities to Microsoft, revealing a conflicted figure straddling the line between cybercrime and security research.

The reported vulnerabilities are CVE-2025-24061 (Mark of the Web bypass) and CVE-2025-24071 (File Explorer spoofing), which Microsoft addressed during the March 2025 Patch Tuesday updates, acknowledging the reporter as ‘SkorikARI with SkorikARI .’

A new report by Outpost24 researchers has now linked the EncryptHub threat actor with SkorikARI after the threat actor allegedly infected himself and exposed their credentials.

This exposure allowed the researchers to link the threat actor to various online accounts and expose the profile of a person who vacillates between being a cybersecurity researcher and a cybercriminal.

One of the exposed accounts is SkorikARI, which the hacker used to disclose the two mentioned zero-day vulnerabilities to Microsoft, contributing to Windows security.

Hector Garcia, Security Analyst at Outpost24, told BleepingComputer that the link of SkorikARI to EncryptHub is based on multiple pieces of evidence, making up for a high-confidence assessment.

“The hardest evidence was from the fact that the password files EncrypHub exfiltrated from his own system had accounts linked to both EncryptHub, like credentials to EncryptRAT, which was still in development, or his account on xss.is, and to SkorikARI, like accesses to freelance sites or his own Gmail account,” explained Garcia.

“There was also a login to hxxps:// github[.]com/SkorikJR, which was mentioned in July’s Fortinet Article about Fickle Stealer, bringing it all together.”

“Another huge confirmation of the link between the two were the conversations with ChatGPT, where activity related both to EncryptHub and to SkorikARI can be observed.”

EncryptHub’s foray into zero-days is not new, with the threat actor or one of the members attempting to sell zero-days to other cybercriminals on hacking forums.

Outpost24 delved into EncryptHub’s journey, stating that the hacker repeatedly shifts between freelance development work and cybercrime activity.

Despite his apparent IT expertise, the hacker reportedly fell victim to bad opsec practices that allowed his personal information to be exposed.

This includes the hacker’s use of ChatGPT for developing malware and phishing sites, integrating third-party code, and researching vulnerabilities.

The threat actor also had a deeper, personal engagement with OpenAI’s LLM chatbot, in one case describing his accomplishments and asking the AI to categorize him as a cool hacker or malicious researcher.

Based on the provided inputs, ChatGPT assessed him as 40% black hat, 30% grey hat, 20% white hat, and 10% uncertain, reflecting a morally and practically conflicted individual.

The same conflict is reflected in his future planning on ChatGPT, where the hacker asks for the chatbot’s help in organizing a massive but “harmless” campaign impacting tens of thousands of computers for publicity.

Who is EncryptHub

EncryptHub is a threat actor that is believed to be loosely affiliated with ransomware gangs, such as RansomHub and the BlackSuit operations.

However, more recently, the threat actors have made a name for themselves with various social engineering campaigns, phishing attacks, and creating a custom PowerShell-based infostealer named Fickle Stealer.

The threat actor is also known for conducting social engineering campaigns where they create social media profiles and websites for fictitious applications.

In one example, researchers found that the threat actor created an X account and website for a project management application called GartoriSpace.

This site was promoted through private messages on social media platforms that would provide a code required to download the software. When downloading the software, Windows devices would receive a PPKG file [VirusTotal] that installed Fickle Stealer, and Mac devices would receive the AMOS information-stealer [VirusTotal].

EncryptHub has also been linked to Windows zero-day attacks exploiting a Microsoft Management Console vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-26633. The flaw was fixed in March but was attributed to Trend Micro rather than the threat actor.

Overall, the threat actors’ campaigns appear to be working for them as a report by Prodaft says the threat actors have compromised over six hundred organizations.