Ethereum

Brave Browser

basic attention token

Install the Brave Browser (affiliate link)

Unlike almost all other tech companies that farm out users personal data for profit, Brave has found a way to be available for free, while still protecting the privacy of its users and allowing advertisers to get their products in front of customers. This is amazing, the best of all worlds! 

I have been using the Brave browser for about 10 months on iPhone and Mac. For about four years before, I had used Safari and Chrome. Before that, I used Internet Explorer and Firefox. 

At this point, I am able to use Brave almost exclusively with only two real drawbacks that affect me:

  • not being able to select it as the default browser on the iPhone 
  • the syncing feature is not yet implemented between the Mac and iPhone

BAT Token:

The BAT token is the vehicle by which all of the magic occurs. BAT tokens are a currency that can be passed around between blog readers, Youtube channel subscribers, advertisers, and publishers. The BAT token has been trading between 10 cents and 1 USD for the past year, but this value is so far just in speculation. The real price discovery will happen with the usage of the browser and its advertising platform. 

BAT Token Promotion:

Brave has been running a promotion to help onboard users. Brave has been giving BAT tokens to users of the Brave browsers. These promotional tokens are deposited into the wallet within the browser and are available for tipping websites or automatic contributions to websites of Brave Verified Publishers.

Install the Brave Browser (affiliate link)

Verified Publishers:

This website is a Brave verified publisher. At this point in the development of the Brave platform, if you are using the Brave browser and have enabled automatic contributions to your favorite websites, your Brave browser may contribute to farawaystars.com in proportion to the time you have spent on this website. If you are using the most up to date browser, you can click the BAT icon in the URL bar and tip farwaystars.com. 

Although the ways publishers can be compensated is limited currently; in time, the Brave ecosystem may look something like this:

  1. advertiser or publisher purchase tokens on an exchange, available on Coinbase (affiliate link) now.
  2. advertiser pays for ads (not available as of 12/10/18) 
  3. readers opt in to receiving ads (the browser blocks ads by default)
  4. readers are paid as they view ads
  5. readers sell tokens to an exchange or donate them to preferred sites. 

Install the Brave Browser (affiliate link)

Ethereum Name Service: Registering a Domain Name

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is dope and I have been interested in trying it out since I first heard about it. But, time is a cruel mistress and much passed before I took a chance to Check It Out!

Steps to Register a .eth Domain

  1. Go to https://www.myetherwallet.com/#ens
  2. Connect your wallet (I used a Ledger Nano S)
  3. Check the availability of the domain.
  4. Enter in an actual bid amount and a masked bid amount.
  5. Record your secret phrase.
  6. Select ‘Start the Auction’.
  7. At this point an error may appear stating that you need to enable ‘Contract Data’. This means go into the Settings menu on the Ledger Nano S and navigate to ‘Contract Data’ and select ‘Yes’.
  8. Again press ‘Start the Auction’, and you receive some information and are urged to screenshot that data.
  9. Here is my successful transaction after step 8: https://etherscan.io/tx/0x0c97bb5e11d265da02c2b59ddcc61274ec7ab7b76addf16f2f335da2a6eb479. Edit: I did not properly understand the reveal date and therefore forfeited my deposit – don’t make my mistake! Here is the new transaction:  https://etherscan.io/tx/0xab9ac4ac05934df15a696bbfd6f5259a06b5b0e79817860c971377de1c6725bb
  10. The reveal date is in 3 days, the auction ends in 5 days.
  11. Use the ‘ENS’ tab on myetherwallet.com during the reveal period to enter the chosen domain name and reveal the bid. You need to connect your wallet (my Ledger Nano S) in order to have a place to enter in the info from the initial start of the auction and also enter a secret phrase and bid amount. Here is my successful transaction record: https://etherscan.io/enslookup?q=0x467d28fdec1d6bafd780c293f466c6489b2d433c58360f5c8a0e91b257000777
  12. When the auction ends (5 days), you can enter your domain at myetherwallet.com under the ENS tab to see if you won. If you did, you can ‘finalize’ the domain.
  13. Finalizing the domain includes setting the resolver for your name and setting the address to which your name will resolve (I selected an address that I can receive payments at). All of this is laid out in step-by-step directions at myetherewallet.com. 
  14. Now, I can receive payments at farawaystars.eth. 
  15. The domain name can also resolve to a contract address. This will be . a topic in a later post.

Important links:
https://medium.com/the-ethereum-name-service/a-beginners-guide-to-buying-an-ens-domain-3ccac2bdc770

Getting Started with the Ledger Nano S

The Ledger Nano S Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet

Current price: $99.00

The Ledger Nano S can be ordered here (affiliate link).

Go to start.ledgerwallet.com and follow the instructions there to prepare the hardware wallet.

Initializing the Ledger Nano S:

I am not going to give detailed instructions on how to get the device up and running as they are available at start.ledgerwallet.com and may change with future updates. The current instructions are easy to follow and included installing the Ledger Live app, initializing your Ledger Nano S by creating a pin and saving your recovery seed (very important!). After that, you need to install apps to the Ledger Nano S and then add accounts to your device before adding your crypto accounts.

  • Ledger Live installation on a Mac
  • Initializing
  • Receiving funds

Operating the Ledger Nano S:

The Ledger Nano S has only two buttons, and it has menus to navigate. This is accomplished by using the left button as a ‘up’ or ‘left’ button, the right button as an ‘down’ or ‘right’ button and both buttons simultaneously as an ‘enter’ or ‘continue’ command. 

Sending crypto to your Ledger Nano S:

Using the Ledger Live app that you have installed to your computer, you can select one of your accounts on the lower left corner of the app. Once the account is selected, ‘Send’ and ‘Receive’ buttons are visible. Selecting the ‘Receive’ button will give you the address at which the Ledger Nano S can receive funds for that account. The address shown can be copied and pasted into the app you are sending crypto from (or given to a friend so that they can send crypto to you). 

Of course, one of the cool things that blockchain allows you to do is to view the immutable ledger that records all transactions. Here is my first transaction on the Ledger Nano S:

https://etherscan.io/tx/0x8e820f84780ef55ea27c438bc51d87b7761e8654d5cc7a623661d29865518297

Why use a hardware wallet?

“Don’t store your coins on an exchange!”

Like many cryptocurrency enthusiasts, I have seen this posted on Reddit and other internet hangouts many times.  There are a few reasons to have your coins on an exchange:

  • Ease of acquiring
  • Ease of trading
  • Less effort to setup and maintain a wallet

However, storing coins on an exchange is in conflict with one of the great advantages of cryptocurrencies:

  • Counter party risk
    • Bitcoin has not been hacked, but exchanges seem to be routinely hacked. Storing coins on an exchange exposes the owner of the coins to the same risks of the traditional banking system (i.e. getting locked out of your account, having your funds frozen ,etc.).  Where as properly protected coins can be protected from these things.Bad players – storing coins on an exchange equals trusting that the exchanges owners and employees will not steal your coins.

After considering this, as a newbie to crypto, I downloaded the Jaxx wallet and the Bread (now BRD) wallet and stored my crypto on my phone.  Maybe many people do this, it certainly is convenient. 

Storing crypto on a phone has some advantages:

  • Purchasing goods and services at local vendors is convenient with a phone wallet, it is always with you.
  • The phone wallets are very easy to use and all the ones that I have used are available free of charge.

BUT….phones are connected to the internet nearly 24/7 and are therefore able to be attacked 24/7. This is a significant disadvantage and risk as you start to acquire more crypto.

This risk associated with phone wallets creates an opportunity for manufacturers of secure hardware devices that are not connected to the internet. This is why I checked out the Ledger Nano S.

Additional information of interest:
Ledger Nano S Github

The Ledger Nano S can be ordered here (affiliate link).