NFT privacy concerns; AussieMates raises mental health awareness

Transcript

About to show off your cool new NFT avatar this weekend? You might want to think carefully.

Welcome to The Daily Forkast December 3rd 2021. I’m Megha Chaddah of Forkast.News covering all things blockchain.

Privacy is a key word in the cryptocurrency world, but do you realize how much personal information you are giving away when you show off your latest NFT purchase? We’ll take a look at that and a whole lot more coming up.

Let’s get you up to speed from Asia to the world.

Let’s kick off with some of the top stories out of Asia today.

First up, local financial authorities in Beijing have announced the release of another batch of e-CNY coupons to promote adoption of the digital yuan and as rehearsal for the Winter Olympics, which open on February 4.

The coupons will be issued by China’s four state owned banks and can be used for public transport, in supermarkets, laundries and bookstores, as well as for express deliveries.

The Winter Olympics are seen as a key test scenario for stepping towards introducing the e-CNY globally, with authorities hoping that athletes from around the world can use it then.

Meanwhile, BadgerDAO, which focuses on bringing Bitcoin to DeFi, has suffered an exploit with estimated losses of US$120 million.

BadgerDAO said on Thursday that it had received reports of unauthorized use of money withdrawals and that smart contracts would be paused while the issue was investigated.

Data forensics experts Chainalysis are now exploring the full scale of the incident.

According to CoinMarketCap, BadgerDAO’s native Badger token fell 19% by Friday morning Asia time.

You can find those stories and more at Forkast.News.

Shifting gears, though, as we enter the world of disintermediation where we explore how disruption has created new rules of engagement.

So how to navigate? To help us out is Adrian Brink, co-founder of Anoma, a sovereign proof of stake protocol that replaces money by enabling asset agnostic cash and championing privacy.

Adrian, it’s so great to have you with us.

Adrian: Glad to be here.

Megha: Speaking of privacy, this next issue; I bet very few people are even aware of how vulnerable they are when one discloses they own a certain NFT, maybe a particular Cryptokitty or a Bored Ape. Is it just an innocent digital bragging, or are you actually setting yourself up as a target for hackers?

Adrian: I wouldn’t say so much as you’re setting yourself up for hackers. You are just disclosing your entire financial history, potentially to whoever you’re showing this Bored Ape to.

This is an identifiable thing. I look at the Ape, and I go, well, I know this Ape. This allows me to look up the specific address that currently owns the Ape.

In the best case, this address only owns the Ape. But predominantly what actually happens is that people reuse addresses all the time. And so all of a sudden, I not only see which Ape you own, but ultimately other NFT own, or how much ETH own, how much ETH you’ve owned in the past. I mean, you used to see what kind of trades you do.

Megha: So how do you make these purchases more secure and frankly, keep them anonymous, the way most people believe cryptocurrency is supposed to be?

Adrian: No one should ever believe that cryptocurrencies are anonymous because currently they aren’t. Like none of the existing systems, so is Bitcoin or Ethereum or any of the other near Solana doesn’t really matter. None of them are private.

The one thing you could be doing is minimizing the amount of information that the world has about you. So, for example, what you could be doing is you go to Kraken and you withdraw some ETH, then use that to a completely new address. Then you use that ETH to buy the NFT that you want to own, and you only use that address for that NFT and nothing else.

And it means that only now Kraken knows how much you hold.

Megha: Well, there you have it. Who would have thought your digital portfolio is out there for all to see? Adrian Brink of Anoma. Thanks so much for joining us today and shedding light on this very important issue that we all definitely need educating about.

Over in Australia, one firm is looking to use NFTs to raise awareness of mental health issues.

The AussieMates NFT project will offer wellbeing support to owners of its kangaroo based NFT collection.

Forkast.News Lachlan Keller has more from Melbourne, Australia.

Much of the world has faced times under varying levels of lockdown over the past couple of years, and the spread of the Omicron variant has raised that threat once again.

Australia’s pandemic regimes have been particularly strict – as of October, Melbourne holds the world record for the most time spent in lockdown, a total of 262 days.

And globally collective mental health has been severely impacted, with the OECD reporting that the prevalence of anxiety, depression and mental distress has doubled in some countries.

AussieMates is aiming to raise both awareness and funds to address the issue with its “down under” themed NFT series in partnership with mental health nonprofit LIVIN.

The collection of 10,000 unique kangaroo NFTs inspired by elements of Australian culture is to go on sale early next year.

After that, owners known as “Downunder Club” members will be able to access LIVIN’s virtual health workshops, resources and early prevention and intervention initiatives.

It’s “LIVINWELL” program is based on the mantra “it ain’t weak to speak”. It aims to break down stigma while encouraging people to seek help.

According to EY, 79% of participants in the program said it helped them make positive changes to their wellbeing.

For Forkast.News, I’m Lachlan Keller from Melbourne, Australia.

That’s The Daily Forkast from our vantage point right here in Asia. Hit like, hit subscribe. Appreciate it always. Help us reach our goal to reach more of you. For more, visit Forkast.News. I’m, Megha Chaddah. Until next time.