Bitcoin Wednesday Amsterdam #141

Join us again for Bitcoin Wednesday #141 on March 5th. We'll meet at the back of the Stadschouwburg's Brasserie on the Leidseplein.

Breaking News, February 2025:

Bybit Exchange Hit by $1.5 Billion Hack, Largest Crypto Theft in History

Let's separate fact from fiction.

As misleading headlines circulate worldwide, let's examine what really happened. The Bitcoin network wasn't hacked. The Ethereum network wasn't hacked either, although more than 400,000 ether is what the hackers managed to take. Neither blockchain was attacked.

Instead, Lazarus, a group of North Korea's state-sponsored hackers breached Bybit's security, proving once again that centralized organizations -- exchanges, crypto ETFs, large mining operators and enterprises like Michael Saylor's Strategy -- will pose a significant risk.

It remains to be seen whether stricter regulations would necessarily prevent incidents like these. A hack of this kind is an act of highly sophisticated state-sponsored cyber warfare in a sector where rapid innovation far outpaces regulators' understanding of the risks, even in jurisdictions with stricter supervision like, say, New York or Japan.

Yet the solution to this problem has been staring us in the face since Bitcoin's inception: self-custody. Those who hold their own keys will not be affected. Those who trust centralized third parties will hopefully learn a lesson that Bitcoin's early adopters have been teaching for years.

If you're still letting others control your crypto, what are you waiting for? Join us on 5 March, and let's discuss practical approaches to security and self-custody.

Cash bar for this evening.

P.S. This is a small drop in the bucket compared to the $22 Billion loss involved in the FTX scandal at the end of 2022. While that was not a hack, but a "mismanagement" *of funds by the company itself, the centralized exchange had been licensed to operate legally throughout most of the U.S. and Europe.

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Bitcoin Wednesday

One of the best and longest-running regular Bitcoin and Blockchain conferences in the Netherlands.

Always held on the first Wednesday of every month.

An open and informal program for anyone interested in digital currency and the blockchain.

For Bitcoin novices and experts alike. Beginners, investors, entrepreneurs, developers, miners, traders, legal professionals -- all find value in this event.

Brings together a diverse group of people from all levels and backgrounds without any barriers in order to give this important new technology a prominent role in Dutch society.

One of the goals of Bitcoin Wednesday is to promote the industry, to spread the word about Bitcoin (and related technology) in the Netherlands by raising the overall level of awareness and knowledge./