Molly White

crypto researcher & critic, software engineer, wikipedian • [@web3isgreat](https://indieweb.social/@web3isgreat ) creator • subscribe to my newsletter at http://citationneeded.news/
she/her • :QueerCat_Bisexual:

website: https://www.mollywhite.net
twitter: https://twitter.com/molly0xFFF
newsletter: https://citationneeded.news/
etc: https://www.mollywhite.net/linktree

Public Key

npub13qdgdr8m0glkmgfh65rpx6deh6pd80875p2cpnum7pkdr0g709dqpdhau6

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsgsx5x3nah50md5yma2psndxumaqknhnl2q4vqe7dlqmx3h508jkspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds7q8l6l

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub13qdgdr8m0glkmgfh65rpx6deh6pd80875p2cpnum7pkdr0g709dqpdhau6

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Last Notes

2024-08-18 00:17:25

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Some in the industry also seem to have gotten a little too high on their own supply, buying the story that it is this supposed “crypto vote” that will decide the election, and that presidential candidates must “bend the knee”.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #newsletter #CitationNeeded #USpol #USpolitics
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/979/669/283/146/988/original/80dc1a1b53798a0b.png
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/979/673/972/264/969/original/ff3b0bf475cf92cf.png

2024-08-18 00:15:03

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Some think the cryptocurrency industry called the presidential race too early, throwing massive support behind Donald Trump just before Biden dropped out of the race. Now some in the industry are scrambling for a backup plan.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #newsletter #CitationNeeded #USpol #USpolitics
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/979/640/745/393/740/original/e2c4fe25b5e652cb.png

2024-08-18 00:07:24

Newsletter: As parts of the crypto industry scramble to court the Harris administration with events like “Crypto4Harris”, others insist it is Harris who must “bend the knee”.
https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-64/
#crypto #cryptocurrency #newsletter #CitationNeeded

2024-06-26 00:53:26

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other honorable mentions:
• COMMITTEE THAT BELIEVES ALL CAMPAIGN DONATIONS ARE BRIBES, AND WILL, THEREFORE, DENY ALL CONTRIBUTIONS.
• COMMITTEE TO ELECT LITERALLY ANYBODY ELSE FOR PRESIDENT

2024-06-26 00:22:34

hmm
#SuperPACs
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/679/593/220/485/726/original/fda5707a0ec608d5.png

2024-06-25 18:40:58

Fighting bots is fighting humans.
One advantage to working on freely-licensed projects for over a decade is that I was forced to grapple with this decision far before mass scraping for AI training.
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenAccess
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/678/250/551/987/703/original/065f1389605dd8f1.png

2024-06-22 01:27:41

The cryptocurrency industry Super PAC Fairshake is now #1 out of all Super PACs by total funds raised.
They've raised more than $175 million to influence upcoming elections in the US, and have more than $100 million of it still waiting to deploy.
#CryptoLobby #Fairshake #USPolitics #cryptocurrency
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/657/197/317/863/303/original/73023484a2104453.png

2024-06-20 16:37:27

Back home from Switzerland, where I went to speak at This Next Thing. What an amazing trip!
#Switzerland #ThisNextThing
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/649/453/289/622/218/original/d9dc64d0b5035172.jpeg
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/649/453/300/941/504/original/6f8b5bedcb6209b7.jpeg
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/649/453/243/640/478/original/ea398c73d2ccffce.jpeg
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/649/453/311/988/504/original/f6649e2ec2d82a4f.jpeg

2024-06-10 17:54:27

Cool blogroll project courtesy of @npub1e02…7m30. I like that it sorts based on recent posts, and shows a preview of those posts inline.
https://blogroll.social/
#blogging #blogroll #RSS

2024-06-07 22:20:35

Coinbase’s “Stand With Crypto” PAC claims to have raised $87 million, but their donations list totals up to only $1,176,900. They seem to be double-counting corporate contributions to super PACs to overstate how much their “community” supports this supposedly grassroots project.
The list trails off at donations of $44.67, so there could be additional smaller donations not shown on the page, but not more than $85 million’s worth.
#crypto #coinbase #USpolitics
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/577/192/438/963/102/original/5d4933591b4d90b0.png
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/577/192/513/823/787/original/04f9a1d70863f2bf.png

2024-06-07 16:35:13

As usual, @npub14j8…pjuf is spot on about why the recent bill to "sunset" Section 230 is one of the most harebrained things to come out of Congress recently.
#Section230
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/575/825/203/329/649/original/1729d7dd836ebed6.mp4

2024-05-30 21:54:57

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Fairshake, a crypto-focused super PAC, is #3 on the list of super PACs by the amount of money raised. Coinbase and Ripple are both in the top ten companies by amounts donated to outside spending groups. This is far out of proportion when you look at the size of the industry.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #newsletter #CitationNeeded #superPACs #USpolitics #lobbying

2024-05-30 21:54:57

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Meanwhile, cryptocurrency companies like Coinbase have been aggressively recruiting their customers to donate and vote along pro-crypto lines, with in-app calls-to-action and flashy websites that rate politicians based on their perceived pro- or anti-crypto stances.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #newsletter #CitationNeeded #superPACs #USpolitics #lobbying
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/531/793/064/564/729/original/fb72908896f08978.png
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2024-05-30 21:54:56

Cryptocurrency companies have raised over $115 million to influence US elections this cycle, and they’re just getting started. We need to closely watch how cryptocurrency companies are influencing US politics. https://www.citationneeded.news/2024-cryptocurrency-election-spending/
#crypto #cryptocurrency #newsletter #CitationNeeded #superPACs #USpolitics #lobbying

2024-05-29 02:36:44

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IMO buying a domain and using the registrar's options to redirect it to your primary platform or a plug-and-play webhost and alias your email is still way better than nothing.

2024-05-28 23:36:49

FTX's Ryan Salame has returned to Twitter for the first time since FTX collapsed — hours after he was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for his role in the FTX fraud and for his illegal campaign contributions 💀
#FTX #crypto #cryptocurrency
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/520/869/174/636/640/original/9bf242f1cdf75aaf.png

2024-05-28 18:46:13

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🙁 mine's been consistently $11–$15/yr for the last ten years

2024-05-28 18:36:53

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oh i'm right there with you.
anyway you just reminded me to check if i could get fartbag.lol back for the $2 intro price after letting it expire when i decided not to pay the $28 renewal fee
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/519/688/019/543/412/original/7d7f9274c6a5ab22.png

2024-05-28 17:15:04

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ugh. there's been a squatter on mollywhite[.]com for ages — at least ten years, given i remember them being there when i ultimately bought the .net.
the bright side is it helped me realize that there isn't really much benefit to having a .com, except inasmuch as people default to that when they only remember part of the domain.
especially now with all the fun TLDs (molly.wiki!), .com is less of a dominant force IMO

2024-05-28 17:06:34

just realized i've had the mollywhite.net domain for over 10 years(!!)
related sneak peek into an upcoming piece: i firmly believe that if you're going to spend money on one thing online it should be a domain, particularly as online identity gets more fragmented. as platforms come and go, you can always find me there.
#domains #web

2024-05-27 19:45:59

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definitely not
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/514/297/825/620/023/original/9ba7b65f7c10d871.png

2024-05-23 18:02:59

“Google Is Paying Reddit $60 Million for Fucksmith to Tell Its Users to Eat Glue”
“If Kevin Roose Was ChatGPT With A Spray-On Beard, Could Anyone Tell?
thank you to these new independent media companies like @npub1psa…j5uh and Defector for giving us the headlines we deserve

2024-05-23 15:49:55

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I think perhaps in this case, a better analogy would be that Dutch courts have found Pertsev guilty for selling hammers.

2024-05-23 15:38:25

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I’m glad to hear that. It’s not that I think I’ve been inconsistent — I think I just sometimes assume everyone is familiar with my earlier writing and have that baseline understanding of where I’m coming from. It’s probably unfair to expect as those pieces pass two years old.

2024-05-23 15:37:43

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i don’t think there is a way to truly outlaw cryptocurrency without pretty horrifying implications for other software

2024-05-23 15:27:12

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Some who know me as a cryptocurrency critic may find these opinions surprising coming from me.
But if you are surprised, I have failed. And I think I have, because I think some of you will be.
#crypto #cryptocurrency #privacy #TornadoCash #newsletter #CitationNeeded
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/490/629/969/818/617/original/1a14356d5ef3e225.png

2024-05-23 15:12:55

We must protect privacy, even in the face of cryptocurrency crime. As governments crack down on one of the most notorious tools for criminal money laundering in the cryptocurrency world, I’m worried about the ramifications.
https://www.citationneeded.news/tornado-cash/
#crypto #cryptocurrency #privacy #TornadoCash #newsletter #CitationNeeded

2024-05-21 17:55:23

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https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/microsofts-new-recall-feature-will-record-everything-you-do-on-your-pc/

2024-05-21 17:01:34

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what additional risks are now being posed to people who share devices, whose devices might be accessed by others or compromised, or who might not realize these tools are running? what is the risk that the company might later change its decision on local storage?
#AI #privacy

2024-05-21 17:01:33

"it's all stored locally" is not a panacea for these alarming privacy-invading products!
what exactly is stored locally? what data is extracted from that local data and sent to the company's servers? is that local data being backed somewhere?
#AI #privacy

2024-05-21 16:53:34

back in my day we called this spyware
#AI #privacy #Microsoft
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/479/647/357/184/181/original/d1e8da61b14a909b.jpeg

2024-05-21 16:53:34

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"have you ever wanted to install a keylogger to spy on your spouse or kid? well have we got news for you"
#AI #privacy #Microsoft

2024-05-15 17:27:48

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Salame is the first of the four other high-level FTX employees to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty (as did all the others), but was the only one who did not have a cooperation agreement.
Salame has agreed to restitution (~$5.6 million) and forfeiture ($6 million, two properties, and a business) which he says "will leave him with no remaining assets".
#FTX #crypto #cryptocurrency

2024-05-15 17:27:34

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He argues that he was not substantially involved in the wrongdoing at FTX and instead lays much of the blame on others (mainly Bankman-Fried and Dan Friedberg).
He argues that his substance abuse (alcohol and unspecified drugs), charitable work, and family commitment should be considered in his sentencing.
#FTX #crypto #cryptocurrency

2024-05-15 17:23:56

Ryan Salame (former CEO of the Bahamian portion of FTX) has submitted his sentencing memo. He's asked for no more than 18 months imprisonment for his charges.
He was charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.590939/gov.uscourts.nysd.590939.433.0_1.pdf
#FTX #crypto #cryptocurrencyf

2024-05-11 17:08:21

i...
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/423/081/278/757/287/original/09b3a49bf42ca6d8.png

2024-05-10 18:42:50

"In 2024, for the first time, it finally feels like we have a critical mass of people and platforms who are interested in rewilding the internet to bring back what we lost, and create something new. ... There's a palpable feeling that this just might be the year of the open web."
is this feeling... hope? https://activitypub.ghost.org/day-0/
#ActivityPub #Ghost #fediverse #OpenWeb
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/417/791/608/664/900/original/979912a39535e2c3.png

2024-05-04 21:38:26

gardening supervisor on duty
#dogs #DogsOfMastodon
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/384/508/219/531/306/original/b099134e6fd6ab46.webp

2024-04-30 23:05:09

If you've ever found yourself missing the "good old days" of the #web, what is it that you miss? (Interpret "it" broadly: specific websites? types of activities? feelings? etc.) And approximately when were those good old days?
No wrong answers — I'm working on an article and wanted to get some outside thoughts.

2024-04-30 21:03:57

Former #Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has been sentenced to four months in prison.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/361/723/354/234/271/original/44a53c70d36ad3da.jpeg

2024-04-25 17:59:55

took me a few attempts to say "bitcoin memecoins" in my newsletter voiceover without saying "beancoins", but I think I may be on to something here

2024-04-24 03:20:01

So excited to hear that the Ghost blogging software is going to support federation via ActivityPub! https://activitypub.ghost.org/
If you sign up for updates, they have a survey where they're asking for feedback. Now's your chance to get your suggestions in!

2024-04-24 02:13:25

it is such a delight to have my own microblogging space again, for random braindumps that don't belong in the newsletter
i missed it

2024-04-23 19:55:28

"While more of the #web is becoming accessible to people with low-end connections, more of the web is becoming inaccessible to people with low-end devices even if they have high-end connections."
[@danluu](https://mastodon.social/@danluu) on web bloat: https://danluu.com/slow-device/
https://www.mollywhite.net/micro/entry/202404231317

2024-04-21 17:50:04

been using vim keybindings for years and i still do this at least once a day
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/310/000/149/216/523/original/6ad7de9a1a121d6a.png

2024-04-18 20:12:37

just dug up a book i made when i was five. not too much has changed.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/293/573/763/820/760/original/bccdad1bb1f55c7b.jpeg
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/293/573/767/564/398/original/8cae25ca59793928.jpeg

2024-04-17 21:13:24

was briefly baffled by this CAPTCHA until i realized it was asking me to identify the animal that was bigger than the other animals in the picture, not the animal that, in real life, is bigger than roughly 1cm
we are rapidly approaching the point at which CAPTCHAs clever enough to keep the bots out are too confusing for the humans
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/288/150/474/147/311/original/3294b1e1b3a36953.png

2024-04-17 16:22:33

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When I boil it down, I find my feelings about AI are actually pretty similar to my feelings about blockchains.
#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #newsletter #CitationNeeded
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/287/002/449/108/887/original/92b5c2dc4a0eb433.png

2024-04-17 16:18:28

I spent a long time experimenting with AI before finally writing about it in depth. It can be pretty useful — but is it worth it?
https://www.citationneeded.news/ai-isnt-useless/
#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #newsletter #CitationNeeded

2024-04-16 19:21:22

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web devs spent years agonizing over time to FCP only to now make people wait for their unnecessary animation to finish before visitors can actually read anything

2024-04-16 19:20:25

i am so over the web design trend where every piece of text on the page has to animate in
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/282/040/215/110/959/original/b0a17c0886077438.mp4

2024-04-14 16:59:57

i never thought to check the ratings of my newsletter's podcast feed until now, but 🥹
#CitationNeeded #podcast #newsletter
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2024-03-28 17:43:42

My article for The Guardian just dropped.
"With no changes to how the industry operates and no watchdogs to check the abuse and greed that have defined it over its now-15 years of existence, we are doomed to see history repeat itself. More Bankman-Frieds will emerge to take his place, drawn by the promise of easy money and the low likelihood of consequences."
https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2024/mar/28/sam-bankman-fried-prison-crypto-regulation

2024-03-28 16:48:01

Sam Bankman-Fried has just been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
#SBF #SamBankmanFried #crypto #cryptocurrency

2024-03-27 00:30:59

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Prosecutors think the likelihood that he might reoffend is high, but would be willing to impose a sentence that would see him released after he passes "working age". This is a downward departure from the Probation Department, which recommended a 100-year sentence.
#sbf #SamBankmanFried #FTX #crypto #cryptocurrency

2024-03-27 00:28:16

As we approach Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing on Thursday, I break down the sentences requested by the prosecution (40–50 years) and by Sam Bankman-Fried (5–6 years).
https://www.citationneeded.news/sam-bankman-frieds-sentencing/
#sbf #SamBankmanFried #FTX #crypto #cryptocurrency

2024-03-23 19:27:39

all the snuggles for this little lady today
#caturday #catsofmastodon
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/146/408/500/421/022/original/7344391eba2d65f2.jpg

2024-03-20 23:20:53

I had to say goodbye to my Max this week after an unexpected and rapid decline. I'm heartbroken, but more than anything, I'm so grateful for the 6½ years we got to spend together. He was my first pet, and he taught me so much. He never, ever stopped purring. I miss him terribly.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/130/324/290/587/427/original/222e4b8aaa18f5ea.jpeg
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/130/325/940/271/410/original/0d3478899217b285.jpeg
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/130/326/030/287/649/original/1854e23616863d9b.jpeg
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/130/326/194/590/341/original/c559f2e1b2ad02bb.jpeg

2024-01-28 19:16:59

need to start keeping a list of all the times some big supposed display of bleeding edge technology turns out to just be A Guy
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/111/834/942/345/550/973/original/ffd07dee42f02f1a.png