Chapter 517 Cryptocurrency
"Breaking news! Xia Country's richest man was arrested in the United States! Is this a loss of morality or a distortion of human nature?"
"Xia Country's richest man shorted U.S. stocks and was taken away by the FBI for investigation!"
"Xia's richest man is being bullied by the Western world and may end up in prison."
The three major portal websites, Zhalang, Sohu, and NetEase, almost simultaneously reported that Lu Yiming was being investigated by the FBI, and their reports were very detailed, as if Lu Yiming had already been imprisoned and pleaded guilty.
Compared with the lag in information dissemination of paper media, the magic of the Internet lies in its excellent timeliness. Newspapers have to typeset, print and even distribute news before the information can be delivered to users.
However, the Internet only requires a computer connected to the Internet to spread news throughout the entire network in an instant. The speed of replication is incredibly fast, and its immediacy completely crushes traditional media.
When the newspapers in the United States had not yet fully spread the news of Lu Yiming's arrest, the three major domestic portals had already received the news first and published the news on the front page of their websites.
The news with the highest number of hits is about Zhalang, a person with moral degradation and distorted humanity, which is simply irresistible.
In fact, Zhalang, founded in December 1998, has been hyping and attracting attention since its establishment. For example, when the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was bombed on May 8, 1999, Zhalang carried out a crazy hype and won the first place in the CNNIC Internet website ranking.
Hype and riding on the popularity are the foundation of Zhalang's website, and it did not start after a certain software was launched. In fact, that software continued this idea and carried it forward and innovated it, which can be regarded as another way of "staying true to your original aspiration and achieving your goal".
Although surfing the Internet was not as convenient as it is now, there were indeed a lot of Internet users, and they were available all over the country, unlike newspapers and television media which had certain geographical limitations.
What’s more, the most important thing about the Internet is that it spreads information quickly. Add in the words “richest man”, “beautiful country”, and “jail”, and the topic becomes very popular.
For a time, the news that the richest man in Xia Country was arrested in the United States spread almost throughout the streets and alleys of Xia Country, becoming a topic of conversation after dinner and triggering countless discussions and even quarrels.
A few plastering workers had just finished work. After washing the dust off their faces and hands, they hurriedly found a small restaurant and started eating.
While waiting for the food, several people started talking about the news that Lu Yiming had been arrested.
A worker said excitedly: "Hey, do you know? I heard that the richest man in Xia country was arrested in the United States. Tell me, how could the richest man in Xia country be arrested by the detectives of the United States?"
The worker sitting opposite him immediately argued, "What's the point of being arrested? The news said he was just assisting in the investigation. Everything will be fine in the end."
But fair words may not necessarily win people's hearts. On the contrary, hatred of the rich is becoming more and more common in this era when money is becoming more and more attractive.
When Lu Yiming was arrested, many people applauded and praised him: "Well done! Rich people are not good people. Lu Yiming became the richest man in Xia Country at such a young age. Can he be a legitimate business man? I think he is in great danger this time."
Since ancient times, hatred of the rich has been a very common psychological state . The fact that Lu Yiming is so rich at such a young age will of course make many people feel uncomfortable, especially those at the bottom of society like them who have not received much education and can only work as plasterers on construction sites.
I feel unbalanced because I feel that I work hard but earn less than a fraction of what the capitalists earn.
Therefore, after Lu Yiming was arrested, although it had nothing to do with them, many people still felt happy, as if it was a happy event.
Afterwards, the news spread from the Internet to offline. After all, the arrest of the richest man in the United States was a big deal. Various newspapers and magazines reprinted the news, and the matter became bigger and bigger.
China Overseas, stock exchange hall.
Xu Dadan held the newspaper in his hand, bewildered: "Where is the value investment we agreed on? How come Mr. Lu is shorting US stocks in the blink of an eye?"
The people around me were also looking at the news in the newspaper and talking about it.
"The richest man is worthy of being the richest man. His plan is too big. We are still thinking about making a few bucks by speculating in stocks, but he is so good that he can easily destroy the economy of a country, and the one he destroys is the United States!"
"I admire Mr. Lu's courage! That's the United States, the world's number one superpower. Hey, do you think Mr. Lu can come back alive this time?"
"Who knows? Can the United States be easy to deal with? And I also heard that the laws there are very perfect. If Mr. Lu really broke the law, he will inevitably go to jail."
"That's such a pity. He's still so young. If he has a criminal record, he won't be able to take the civil service exam when he returns. Not only him, but his descendants won't be able to take the exam either."
"Are you kidding me? He has so much money to spend, what's the point of taking the civil service exam?"
"That's true."
At this moment, in the beautiful country, New York.
On this day, Lu Yiming received a group of special guests in the villa.
Embassy staff.
After all, he is the youngest richest man in Xia Country. When such a big thing happens, the authorities will of course come forward to understand the situation.
To put it in a broader sense, I am the richest man in mainland China, Xia, but I ran to your beautiful country and was arrested. Aren't you slapping my country Xia in the face?
In any case, the authorities will make some statement.
After learning that Lu Yiming had not violated any laws and regulations, these staff members repeatedly assured that they would absolutely protect Lu Yiming's legal rights and interests as a citizen of Xia State before they got up and left. Before leaving, they even expressed their willingness to keep an eye on the progress of the incident.
After seeing these people off, Lu Yiming sat on the sofa with a tired look on his face and sighed, "Oh, I'm tired."
Li Yiwen said disdainfully: "You are tired at all, I am the one who is really tired, okay? I have been running around these days just to help you settle this matter, but you are just sitting here watching TV or chatting online, and now you are telling me you are tired? How can you be so embarrassed!"
Lu Yiming retorted, "What do you mean by chatting online? You just can't talk. I'm in the Internet business, and surfing the Internet is my job! I'm doing something big!"
"Making a big deal?"
When Li Yiwen heard this, he immediately became alert.
"What big deal are you making? Didn't you say before that you wanted to keep calm? Now you tell me that you are making a big deal?"
"I'm warning you, don't do anything rash. We're not out of danger yet."
Lu Yiming comforted him and said, "Don't worry, I won't provoke the FBI again."
Li Yiwen frowned and asked, "Then what are you doing?"
Lu Yiming did not hide it and said, "I'm working on cryptocurrency."
"What the hell?" Li Yiwen didn't know anything about computers, and for a moment he had no idea what Lu Yiming was talking about.
Lu Yiming repeated: "Cryptocurrency."
Li Yiwen asked: "What is that?"
Lu Yiming said: "In simple terms, this is a medium of exchange that uses cryptographic principles to ensure transaction security and control the creation of transaction units. It is also called digital currency. In simple terms, I am creating a general equivalent."
"ha?"
Although Li Yiwen did not understand the first half of what Lu Yiming said, he understood the second half.
"Your thing is useless. It's true that the essence of currency is a general equivalent, but its value is determined by national credit and commodity anchoring. You have nothing. And your thing is essentially just a set of data, right? Can it be used as money? Who has a hole in their brains to recognize this?"
Li Yiwen thought this matter was outrageous. Is there really such a fool in the world who would treat a set of virtual program data as money?
Lu Yiming took out a hundred-dollar bill with Franklin's portrait printed on it, stretched out his fingers and flicked it, and the crisp sound echoed in the spacious living room.
"Do you think this hundred dollars in my hand is really worth a hundred dollars?"
Li Yiwen frowned and asked, "What do you mean by that? Didn't I just say that? Money is a general equivalent. The US dollar is backed by the United States. Who will back your cryptocurrency?"
Lu Yiming shook his head and replied with a smile: "No one is responsible for the loss, but this is precisely the biggest advantage of cryptocurrency."
The biggest feature of cryptocurrency is decentralization, which is also its greatest value.
Li Yiwen held his forehead and asked in distress, "No one is covering for me? What the hell is this? Why do I feel like the more you talk, the more confused I get?"
"This is complicated to explain."
Lu Yiming thought for a moment and said, "Let me tell you this. Do you think it would be difficult for me to leave the United States after making money by shorting U.S. stocks?"
Although he didn't know what Lu Yiming meant by asking this, Li Yiwen still said, "It must be difficult. Although the financial market in the United States is open, it is actually regulated everywhere. Especially the transfer of large sums of money is difficult to conceal. What's more, you are under investigation now, and your every move is under scrutiny. Once a large amount of funds is transferred, the FBI will come to your door in minutes."
Lu Yiming said seriously, "In the United States, if you carry $10,000 in cash, you must declare it in advance, otherwise it is illegal. This means that any large amount of money that you want to transfer must be transferred through a bank in advance. As long as the United States freezes my account, I won't be able to take a penny with me."
Then Lu Yiming changed the subject and said, "But what if I exchange the US dollars in my hand for other currencies? For example, electronic currency without physical form, relying on the Internet for transactions, and then after leaving the United States, I can exchange it for the currency I need. In this way, can't I completely circumvent the supervision and blockade of banks and other financial institutions? I call this decentralization. The essence of cryptocurrency is such a decentralized currency."
“As for whether the value of cryptocurrency can be recognized by more people, it is actually very simple. First, the algorithm should make it impossible for cryptocurrency to be copied and forged. Secondly, it should be promoted continuously to let more people know about the existence of cryptocurrency. In this way, this virtual currency that relies entirely on the Internet will have sufficient credibility.”
After hearing Lu Yiming's crazy plan, Li Yiwen became Spartan, his eyes widened: "Oh my God, you are going to rebel against the United States!"
Now he finally understood that the birth of cryptocurrency would first shake the U.S. dollar hegemony.
What is suicidal behavior?
That's it!
"My dear cousin, please don't mess around. You've already upset many bigwigs in the United States by shorting U.S. stocks. Now you're also working on cryptocurrency. Do you think your death isn't a good one?"
Seeing Li Yiwen's expression change, Lu Yiming burst into laughter and said, "Don't worry, I know what's going on."
Li Yiwen said bluntly: "Counting bullshit! In my opinion, you are clearly looking for death!"
Lu Yiming blurted out: "How could I possibly seek death?"
Li Yiwen immediately grasped the key point of Lu Yiming's words: "Wait, if you don't want to die... who do you want to blame?"
Lu Yiming said confidently: "What do you mean by looking for someone to take the blame? Am I that kind of person? It's just that I have a friend online who has always wanted to pursue greater freedom and believes that this world controlled by capital is extremely unreasonable. I agree with his ideas very much, so I gave him a little advice."
Li Yiwen was stunned and asked, "Could this friend of yours be the founder of VA Linux, the 'Pope of Liberalism' Linus Benedict Torvalds who claimed to subvert the world?"
Lu Yiming nodded and said, "Yes, it's him."
After getting the answer, Li Yiwen could only sigh and say, "It's really unlucky for him to know you."
However, in fact, Linus Benedict Torvalds didn't feel that he was cheated by Lu Yiming at all. He and Lu Yiming were chatting enthusiastically on the dark web.
Facing the technical concept that Lu Yiming had just sent over, Linus Benedict Torvalds was as excited as a three-year-old child who had just received a new toy. He couldn't wait to say to Lu Yiming: "Your idea is really great! Let's work on it together!"
Faced with Linus Benedict Torvalds' invitation, Lu Yiming refused without thinking.
"Although I really want to accomplish such a great feat with you - please believe that I do want to do so, I think you should also know my current situation. FBI people are hanging around outside my house every day, and my phone has been tapped, so I can only contact you through the dark web now."
"You know what? I love this thing of mine so much that I can't wait to make it a reality. You know, it is absolutely groundbreaking. But I don't want the United States to know about it. Otherwise, I think you should know better than me what kind of people they are."
"So I'm sorry, I have to entrust this great task to you. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation, just like before."
Why is it that Satoshi Nakamoto, who invented Bitcoin in the previous life, has never been found?
It's because cryptocurrency is inherently rebellious and is trying to steal meat from other countries, especially big countries with stable monetary systems. They are naturally disgusted and repulsive to cryptocurrency and can't wait to kill it.
A currency that is not officially issued, not officially regulated, and cannot be officially tracked or controlled will never be tolerated by anyone in power.
It is easy to imagine what the fate of the person who invented this currency would be if he dared to show up.
Many people do not understand why Bitcoin is valuable and think it is just a game of pass the parcel. In fact, this is a misunderstanding of the essence of the game.
The value of currency lies in its own circulation properties, and the financial system is something that is firmly held in the hands of the world's major powers. Therefore, some people need a currency that is not controlled by the existing financial system to more conveniently complete asset transfers.
This is where the value of cryptocurrency lies.
In other words, there is no Bitcoin now, otherwise Lu Yiming would not have to go through so much trouble. He could just exchange all the money he earned from shorting U.S. stocks into Bitcoin in the United States and then sell it in Xia Country. He would not even bother with the FBI.
However, precisely because cryptocurrencies are so destructive to the existing financial system, Lu Yiming dares not get involved.
"That's really a shame."
Faced with Lu Yiming's rejection, Linus Benedict Torvalds had no doubts.
Because Lu Yiming directly told him the core theories of this system, he could definitely gather people to build this system.
And how powerful this thing is, he can tell with his leather swallow.
Is it because Lu Yiming is doing charity that Lu Yiming can give him such a good thing?
Obviously not.
So, there is only one final explanation left.
The two had made a lot of money from their previous collaboration, so they had a foundation.
And Lu Yiming really has no way to do this now.
For the first time, Linus Benedict Torvalds warmed to the FBI.
If the FBI hadn't been keeping a close eye on Lu Yiming, how could such a good thing have fallen into his hands?
However, Lu Yiming didn't know that Linus Benedict Torvalds had made up so many things in his mind. In order to prevent Linus Benedict Torvalds from having the illusion that "being nice to someone without any reason is either a traitor or a thief", Lu Yiming continued, "I have nothing to do recently, and I plan to make an online payment software, but I don't have any idea yet. Do you want to give me some advice?"
Sure enough, when Lu Yiming said this, Linus Benedict Torvalds became even more convinced and immediately said to Lu Yiming enthusiastically: "I know a few very powerful guys. Their Confinity specializes in this area. If you are interested, you can talk to them."
Then, he sent Lu Yiming his contact information.
Lu Yiming had never heard of the name of this company, so he was a little confused.
But since it was Torvalds' recommendation, his strength must be strong. It would not hurt to learn more about him first. He immediately printed out the information and said, "I will go visit him now."
After turning off the computer, Lu Yiming put on his coat and prepared to go out. Li Yiwen asked jokingly, "Where are you going? Are you planning to run away?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Why are you running away? I came to the United States to make money. What's there to be ashamed of? Anyway, I'm free now, so I might as well find a new project to invest in and make some pocket money."
Li Yiwen frowned, "You've started a new business? You're really not quiet. Which company are you planning to short?"
Lu Yiming emphasized: "This is not short selling, it is value investing. Do you understand value investing?"
"Leave."
