Are hard wallets safe? Are you having fun in Web3? Switchboard, Memecoins, Scribbles, Magna, Natamon, Frucks

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👀WHAT’S THE META..👀

GM, GA, or GN wherever you may be.

Want to stay ahead of the curve? Don't worry we got you. The market has been brewing, here's what's currently happening:

NodeOps Secures $5 Million Seed Funding to Revolutionize Node Infrastructure

Ledger Begins Shipping High-End Hardware Crypto Wallet After 18-Month Wait

Analyst Forecasts Solana's Upcoming Rally and Imminent Decline

Memecoins Dominate Crypto Open Interest Charts, Claiming 4 of Top 10 Spots

Mt Gox Transfers 141,686 BTC to Three Addresses, Consolidates 142,846 BCH

Meme Coin Generated by ChatGPT Surpasses $600M Market Cap

Dog-Themed Tokens Surge Following Gamestop Rally

🔮 NFT EVENTS & DROPS 🔮

So many mints, so little time. Don't worry Mani's got you covered.

1. The most anticipated "Elixir games" IDO goes live on May 29th.

   It's a major gaming launchpad backed by "Square Enix"

2. Next-Gen gaming ecosystem "Param Labs" is launching their token $Param on May 29th, 8 AM UTC.

   Backed by "Delphi ventures" and "Animoca Brands"

3. Blast's community coin "Pacmoon" is launching their highly anticipated "V2" on May 29th.

4. NFT summit happening at "Lisbon" from May 28 - 30.

   5 main events and few side events to keep y'all excited and vibing

5. "Binance × Christiano Ronaldo":

   A new NFT collection of Christiano Ronaldo launching on binance on May 29th.

📆 POWERED BY ALPHABOT 📆

So many mints, so little time. Don't worry Mani's got you covered. Eight gems to keep an eye on this coming week.

1. @STR8FIRE_io

   Redefining the entertainment industry • 500+ global IPs • backed by @shimacapital

   Mint Date: 29th May

   Supply: 1,200 FREE MINT

   Chain: ETH
   

2. @madbearsclub

   Web3 investment company focused on the Solana ecosystem. We have our $MBC token, NFT collections and alpha tools.

   Mint Date: 29th May

   Supply: 900,000

   Chain: SOL
   

3. @DegenAlphaxyz

   Home of all Degens.
   multichain DAO , Alpha group and Doxxing service

   Mint Date: 30th May

   Supply: 500 FREE MINT

   Chain: ETH

4. @virginleague

   Biggest free mint on base

   Mint Date: 31st May

   Supply: 7777 FREE MINT

   Chain: BASE

5. @carv_official

   Building the Largest Modular Data Layer for Gaming and AI.

   Mint Date: 3rd June
   

6. @colosseum_io

   Chapter 1: Stake & Earn. Dominate the Colosseum: Stake Your NFT and Earn $10-$70 Monthly Income Per NFT!

   Mint Date: ⚔️ 1st Phase: SOLD OUT / 2nd Phase: 3 June

   Supply: 400

   Chain: ETH

₿ BTC/ORDINALS ₿

Upcoming Projects on BTC

1. Scribbles by 0xVM

   0xVM leverages Bitcoin as the data availability layer to enable Turing-complete smart contract functionality, supporting a broader range of dApps within the ecosystem. It achieves high performance through innovative batch instructions, optimized encoding, and parallel execution mechanisms, providing a scalable and cost-efficient solution by utilizing off-chain computation and on-chain verification. This modular design ensures secure, scalable, and low-cost operations while enhancing interoperability and programmability for Bitcoin, unlocking new opportunities for users, developers, and businesses.

   Backed by Huobi, Jump, Razer, and more, Scribbles will be a free mint on Bitcoin with a supply of 888.
   

2. Magna

   Magna is a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution tailored for gaming, using Bitcoin and ZK roll-ups to provide a decentralized ecosystem with low transaction fees and a seamless user experience. By leveraging Bitcoin’s liquidity and immutability, it supports EVM-compatible smart contracts, ZK state channels, and integrates Ethereum token standards to enhance transaction validity and asset interoperability across EVM-compatible chains. Key products include the $MGC utility token, AI development tools, various marketplaces, and a grants program to support and monetize game development within the ecosystem.
   

3. NATAMON

   NATAMON aims to be the first dueling card game built on Bitcoin, using UNATs (Unique Non-Arbitrary Tokens) generated by DMT (Digital Matter Theory). The rarity and qualities of the cards will vary based on the patterns used for their attributes, adding to the gamification. Each card will have a rarity level - common, rare, legendary, or <redacted> - and items will have their own rarity as well. As a DMT project, all attributes and rarities will be determined by patterns found in Bitcoin data.

4. Frucks

   Frucks is a project founded by the Kaiju Kingz team, a legacy project on Ethereum. Their unique and interactive website attracted significant attention upon its launch and has continued to build an audience eagerly awaiting the mint details, which have yet to be announced. They also recently announced a collaboration with Borpa token, a memecoin incubated by EntangleFi, featuring squishy green creatures called Borpas as its main characters - a fitting match for frogs on Bitcoin.

🔐 WEB3 SECURITY 🔐

Are hardware wallets are SAFE?

Not all Hardware wallets are created equal and not all offer the same security level you think!

It is certainly “safer” than using a software wallet, Why?

Software wallets are vulnerable to browser zero-day vulnerabilities and malware attacks that can extract the seed phrase of your wallets from your browsers.

What makes hardware wallets more secure is that the seed phrase is “inside the hardware wallet ” not an application, and only to be used while signing (usually by pressing double buttons) physically, Which is something malware can’t do nor can remote attackers.

Now, how secure is the “insert name” hardware wallet? & Which one to choose?

To answer these, we have to learn about Secure Element Chips, what are they and do all hardware wallets have it?

A Secure Element (SE) is a chip designed to be protected from unauthorized access, used to run specific applications and store sensitive data securely.

It operates as a secure operating system in a tamper-resistant processor chip or secure component, safeguarding assets against high-level threats, it does not allow the installation of programs, ensuring that all software on it is preinstalled, which minimizes the risk of malware or unauthorized software accessing sensitive data

A hardware wallet with a Secure Element chip is essential for securing private keys and sensitive data, protecting cryptocurrencies from unauthorized access and cyber threats, they undergo stringent testing, for chips to receive their EAL ratings & certification.

Some brands/models use a Microcontroller unit (MCU) or Safe Memory Chips, those are not Secure Element Chips! Nor certified to the same security EAL Certification Standards.

Some however, like KeyStone Hardware Wallets, use a multi-chip system (Microchip ATECC608B & Maxim DS28S60) with compliance to a different security standard called PCI (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

While both EAL & PCI are security standards, they differ in scope, objective, certification method, and flexibility, without getting into much details: PCI DSS is not a certification but a set of requirements. Organizations can be certified as compliant with PCI DSS. EAL is a certification level assigned after a product or system has been evaluated, is more rigid and is based on the level of assurance provided by the product or system.

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What brands & models have SE EAL Certified?

Brands I tried:
Ledger
Ledger Nano S Plus (SE Certified Chip EAL6 +):
https://shop.ledger.com/pages/ledger-nano-s-plus/?r=58e23344bb8e

Ledger Nano X (SE Certified Chip EAL5+) https://shop.ledger.com/pages/ledger-nano-x/?r=58e23344bb8e

Looking forward to try:

Trezor Safe 3 Model (SE Certified Chip EAL6+):

https://affil.trezor.io/aff_c?offer_id=169&aff_id=34179

(note that model T AND One do not include SE Chip, I tried model T)

NGRAVE Zero (SE Certified Chip EAL7 ) :

https://www.ngrave.io/products/zero?sca_ref=5674604.tO4F87B80p

CoolWallet Pro (SE Certified Chip EAL6 ):

https://www.coolwallet.io/product/coolwallet-pro/?ref=ywi0zta

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Make sure you create a new wallet with a new seed-phrase, do not import your software wallet seed into it, don't take screenshots, don't save in any digital format, no iCloud/drive.

Stay Safe, Stay Vigilant!

🕵️UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT AIRDROPS🕵️

Are you having fun in web3?

We joined for many different reasons, a quick buck, a love of art and artists, to push the boundaries of technology, to protect our freedom to transact, or even be a part of something historic and revolutionary. Whether you're up or down, something has kept you here.

Some fall in love with a community, or a group of friends, they show up for them everyday. Others may be profitable, and enjoying the opportunities the space offers. While some have been taking advantage of the opportunity to accumulate, others have been scamming and sucking the space dry while we were at our lowest.

Now as we reach and surpass ATHs those who are left are the best of the best. As well as the worst of the worst. Are you here bitterly resentful that you picked the wrong bags, chasing those same highs hoping for just 1 more big hit? Or have you made web3 your home?

Will you leave a mark on this space, or be a random spark along the way?

If you want to answer this question, ask yourself...Am I having fun?

If the answer is yes, you are either here for the right reasons, or a sociopathic weirdo...either way keep vibin.

If the answer is no, if this is just a job, if you hate it here, or if you're just having a bad day. Then maybe you aren't ready for what is about to happen.

The "Bull Market", 10k eth, 150k BTC, that meme coin going to 200 billion, blue chip NFTs back at 100 eth floor...IMO it's all eventually going to happen, this cycle or the next.

But are you ready for it? Have you built your network, your family?

Have you established your base of knowledge, and do you continue to learn and grow daily?

Do you understand bankroll, and risk management?

Either way, you are here, and have the opportunity to become great...find your way.

🤑AIRDROPS🤑

Switchboard, along with Pyth, is the largest price oracle on the Solana blockchain. As we saw a few months ago with Pyth, there is a high chance that Switchboard will have an airdrop.

When Oracles have airdrops, they normally airdrop an allocation to users of partner platforms. Here are some of the partners of Switchboard:

@MarginFi
@RainFi_
@KaminoFinance
@MangoMarkets

I have written step by step instructions on how to use most of these platforms in the past few weeks on Alphabot.

To check of you are eligible use this link: https://switchboard.xyz/orbs

Twitter: https://x.com/switchboardxyz?s=21