In the spirit of Christmas, Bloomberg TV host Matt Miller gave the station’s anchors Adam Johnson and Trish Regan the surprise gift of $20 worth of Bitcoin (for those of you who don’t know what that is, listen carefully to avoid making these mistakes when you crawl up from under that rock). But in doing so, one anchor exposed the Bitcoin’s QR code on air, clear as day.
Naturally the Bitcoin was immediately stolen, because flashing the QR code is pretty much like handing somebody your banking PIN number. The thief himself, who goes by “milkywaymasta” on Reddit, cheerfully agreed to give back his laudable $20 score as “a segment on Bitcoin security and the importance of NOT showing the private key [aka, the QR code] and also the BIP0038 (Password Encrypted Private Keys) Wallets will be more than enough compensation.”
But responding to this as it was posted on Reddit, Miller decided to let milkwaymasta keep the “well-earned” $20, as his actions showcased an important lesson on Bitcoin security. They were also hilarious, which I think is what really earned him the prize.
So once again for those of you just learning about Bitcoins: flashing your QR code:
Keeping your QR code and your BIPOO38 Private:
Let this be a lesson to you.
Source Business Insider
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