So it is 2009, Heartless by Kanye is blasting everywhere, college was college and Facebook had just opened the flood gates to the rest of humanity; I had just started a Facebook Group with Sean-X called “Facebook Cyberfreaks”, membership was booming, posts on technology, science and cybersecurity were going up. Sean-X was putting up a massive chunks of these posts, I was more of the research and not post type of co-founder, and Sean-X carried the group on his back, and I have always wondered if he got musculoskeletal disorders just by that very act alone.

One of the major selling points of that group was the testing and posting of “Free Browsing Cheats”. These were a set of SSL, HTTP, HTTPS tunneling protocols and vulnerabilities that allowed users to access the internet for “free”. We tested all manner of software and tactics from using Ultrasurf to Tor to modifying Opera Mini J2ME Apps and applying public proxy addresses.

While we were doing this, I happened upon the dark web, and it was fun; it was new, it was a never before seen part of the internet with all its associated mysteries and mystique. That was when I ran into the forums about decentralized payments, a revolution, privacy-based payments and the Silk Road (yes, I’ve been to the Souq of Shaitan), so do not judge me; I did not believe any of the things happening there was real; until it was.

Fast forward to 2010, I get my first bitcoin wallet but, I could not mine nor buy any bitcoins. It was gaining traction, lots of news, most in derision. 2011 sees graduation with an engineering degree. The mobilization to serve 12 months playing pretend soldier and whatever crazy occupation my country could dream up in a remote location away from friends and family.

Get my second wallet from Coinbase in 2012, still could not purchase any Bitcoin as Coinbase was catering to the US market, so began the journey of getting itsy bits and pieces of Bitcoins from faucets and boy was it a slow, painful journey of drudgery. In that time period I was also trying to go into the domain trading business which saw me investing every meager stipends and allowances from my National Service into acquiring exotic domain names, none of which I was ever able to sell or flip.

The National Service came with two jobs, one as a liaison between the local government, primary place of assignments and other co-mobilized and then there was my day job as a *************, I hated that job which eventually became a career, stay with me for a minute or two more.

Three jobs, two countries, several lost digital assets, a massive cloud of depression from all-the-lost-digital-assets-and-opportunities later including the COVID-19, I can now proudly say that I have started from square one.

Here’s to more adventures in the future of decentralized applications and ledgers and to fresh starts.

So it is 2009, Heartless by Kanye is blasting everywhere, college was college and Facebook had just opened the flood gates to the rest of humanity; I had just started a Facebook Group with Sean-X called “Facebook Cyberfreaks”, membership was booming, posts on technology, science and cybersecurity were going up. Sean-X was putting up a massive chunks of these posts, I was more of the research and not post type of co-founder, and Sean-X carried the group on his back, and I have always wondered if he got musculoskeletal disorders just by that very act alone.

One of the major selling points of that group was the testing and posting of “Free Browsing Cheats”. These were a set of SSL, HTTP, HTTPS tunneling protocols and vulnerabilities that allowed users to access the internet for “free”. We tested all manner of software and tactics from using Ultrasurf to Tor to modifying Opera Mini J2ME Apps and applying public proxy addresses.

While we were doing this, I happened upon the dark web, and it was fun; it was new, it was a never before seen part of the internet with all its associated mysteries and mystique. That was when I ran into the forums about decentralized payments, a revolution, privacy-based payments and the Silk Road (yes, I’ve been to the Souq of Shaitan), so do not judge me; I did not believe any of the things happening there was real; until it was.

Fast forward to 2010, I get my first bitcoin wallet but, I could not mine nor buy any bitcoins. It was gaining traction, lots of news, most in derision. 2011 sees graduation with an engineering degree. The mobilization to serve 12 months playing pretend soldier and whatever crazy occupation my country could dream up in a remote location away from friends and family.

Get my second wallet from Coinbase in 2012, still could not purchase any Bitcoin as Coinbase was catering to the US market, so began the journey of getting itsy bits and pieces of Bitcoins from faucets and boy was it a slow, painful journey of drudgery. In that time period I was also trying to go into the domain trading business which saw me investing every meager stipends and allowances from my National Service into acquiring exotic domain names, none of which I was ever able to sell or flip.

The National Service came with two jobs, one as a liaison between the local government, primary place of assignments and other co-mobilized and then there was my day job as a *************, I hated that job which eventually became a career, stay with me for a minute or two more.

Three jobs, two countries, several lost digital assets, a massive cloud of depression from all-the-lost-digital-assets-and-opportunities later including the COVID-19, I can now proudly say that I have started from square one.

Here’s to more adventures in the future of decentralized applications and ledgers and to fresh starts.