Another day, another digital dollar • CEO Letter #57

Howdy, it’s Taylor! Is there a snake in my boot? No. Am I a real cowboy? Also no. I am, however, the real CEO of Hedgehog, where you can sync your crypto wallets and exchange accounts, then never again have to open 12 tabs, 17 excel documents, and the calculator app to discover the total value of your portfolio.

Last week’s giveaway question asked what browser you use, since we were talking about Brave. What I learned is, many of you already use Brave! Sweet. Also, my mom replied that she’s been using Safari since I was in diapers. Safari, in fact, was launched well after I had ditched the diapers. Does my mom know how old I am? Do I know how old I am? Unclear. Now my wife works on Safari at Apple, so it’s like everything came full circle.

As for this week’s giveaway question… well, if you want a chance to win the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet, you gotta read to the end to find out!

Another day, another digital dollar, another hacker eager to grab that delicious DeFi dollar.

“Nomad just got drained for over $150M in one of the most chaotic hacks that Web3 has ever seen,” Paradigm researcher @samczsun began his epic Twitter thread detailing the exploit. I’ll admit, this was my first time hearing about Nomad, and it’s already been pwned. Additional hackers (and regular users!) just copied the same exploit and ran it, so people are calling this “decentralized robbery.” Cool? I mean, not really, theft is immoral — but it’s all very cyberpunk.

Adding insult to injury, the vulnerability was previously identified in an audit of Nomad. On Hacker News, commenters speculated that this weakness was put there intentionally, or intentionally not fixed. Others countered with Hanlon’s razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” While this is a fun quote, keep in mind that you people are capable of being both mean and dumb at the same time.

Tldr: Hanlon’s razor is a great quote, but keep in mind that people are capable of being both mean and dumb at the same time. It’s called multitasking.

Meanwhile in Solana land, “at least 5,000 wallets had been compromised.” But wait, @SolanaStatus asks, “If your wallet was one of the 7,767 impacted please complete this survey — engineers are investigating the root cause.” Hmmm. So at least 7.7k wallets were compromised. No bueno. The story is still unfolding as I write this.

Just last week I repeated my favorite catchphrase, “The best part about crypto, is that you get to be your own bank. The worst part is that you have to be your own bank.” Welp, it sure do be that way. Should I make a bumper sticker? Also, reminder that hardware wallets are the solution to this problem.

Tldr: If crypto is still the Wild West of finance, then maybe I am a real cowboy? Maybe we all are 🤠 See, there’s always a silver lining. Giddyup!

Newsletter reader @okahnisis suggested a topic:

The idea of how 1BTC = 1BTC is not the same as 1FIAT=1FIAT

Btc applies the same concept as any other form of measurement that has a known constant. In BTC’s case its constant is the known circulating supply to never exceed 21 million Btc. Fiat can't use this because their circulating supply and value constantly change.

1 metre = 1 metre because it's the measurement of how fast light can travel in a vacuum in approx 1/299millionth of a second. [Here’s why.] Light speed is a constant. BTC has a constant known supply.

This is why my cofounder Colton likes to talk about “digital physics.”

The point about BTC being a constant is important, and it’s why bitcoin remains the “gold standard” of crypto. 1BTC is always 1/21,000,000 of the total supply and will always equal 1/21,000,000 of bitcoin’s overall market cap.

Not every cryptocurrency has this property. But due to bitcoin’s longevity and the zealousness with which the codebase and network are guarded, it is a reliable store of value.

How can I say that when the price of bitcoin is always changing and sometimes swings wildly? The key thing is that only market forces can devalue your BTC holdings — very different from fiat currency, which fluctuates based on government actions. That doesn’t mean fiat currency is useless, since obviously it isn’t. But it does mean that crypto enables different types of assurances versus fiat currencies like USD.

Tldr: Bitcoin is backed by math. Fiat is backed by *waves hands at government*.

I just gave you a lot to chew on, so let’s do some Quick Hits.

A frequent question is, what should my crypto portfolio even be? Instead of buying coins at random — no judgment, we’ve all been there — decide how you’re going to allocate your total crypto portfolio and follow a plan. As Lipsa said: “The art of not putting all your eggs in one basket.”
Tldr: If these are ostrich eggs, you’re in trouble, because then you need giant baskets.

Are airdrops worth it? Yes and no, it depends on what you’re trying to do.
Tldr: Someone airdropped a snake into my boot once, and let me tell you, that was definitely not worth it.

Out in the Wild West, you don’t need to use your real name. You can go by Rattlesnake Spurs or Solana Saddleman or anything else you come up with. Ryan dives into “The Philosophy of Being An Anon Crypto Twitter Account.”
Tldr: My cowboy name is Cactus-Kicking Taylor. Also, why do I have all these spikes in my boots? Usually there are just snakes in there. Weird.

Giveaway time! For the chance to win a Ledger Nano S hardware wallet, reply to this email with your answer to the following question: What would you drink at the cowboy bar, whiskey, rum, root beer, or an unholy combination of all three?

Snakes are the worst.
— Taylor

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