1BTC Project - Nord VPN

By 2MFTProductions | 1BTC | 24 Dec 2023

A VPN (virtual private network) is a powerful tool for many different applications. A VPN essential acts as an a barrier between your valuable inforamtion and the bad guys. Having a VPN is essential for life on the internet - for now. The reason I became so interested in crypto currencies is because of the value of all out information and the benefit of Web3 and the fact that Web3 makes services like VPNs obsolete.

You can find better explanations of Web3 from people much smarter than I but essentially in the future we will be able to log into different websites with our wallet IDs, similar to how one logs into a website now with your Google, Facebook or Linkedin account. The difference with Web3 is who owns the data and who gets paid for it. Instead of a large advertising platform like Facebook owning all this data, individuals do. Users would earn fractions of pennies or sats for logging in. Think about it like turning every website to into a crypto-faucet. This would like the advertising industry upside down, and in a perfect world Web3 becomes a UBI, but its paid for through individuals engaging in mutually beneficial consensual transactions and not pain for through non-consensual taxation.

Which brings me to my love/hate relationship with NordVPN and my crypto journey. I have been blogging about earning crypto for over a year now. For a large chunk of that time I was staking most of my bitcoin on my Binance account. For a larger majority of my time blogging (as of writing this) Binance had not been operational in Ontario. I had to use a VPN to shift my IP address to a different country. I usually picked Bulgaria to pay homage to my favorite Bulgarian Rusev.

- Rusev Machka-

I needed NordVPN because I had to restake my Stacks Tokens. This strategy was the slow and steady income for my account. It worked, but not without downside.

Every month I would fire up my NordVPN to log into my Binance and make some crypto moves. Sometimes it would be a transfer, or a faucet, or a withdrawal. Many times I would forget to turn the VPN off and get temporarily banned from a site, several times I got a permanent ban for using features with a VPN active. It was never malicious, but I understand a zero tolerance policy. It would be too easy to exploit if there were any leniency and you can image how onerous the appeals process would be.

The irony should not be lost on anyone. These crypto sites absolutely hate VPNs because they require your personal information even though the goal of cryptos involved in Web3 is to repatriate the ownership of information to the individual.

In a twisted way this is Web3 in its infancy. You can make tiny amounts of money from websites if you are willing to give away your information. Things like selling ads and KYCs feel like extortion because they are. They are a reflection of Web2 (HTML) trying to do Web3 (crypto) things.

Being blocked out of different faucets is no longer a concern of mine. As I posted about earlier this year, Binance has exited the Canadian market completely. They made me move all my crypto off of their platform. Although unfortunate because I liked my routine, I am happy I no longer have to worry about my VPN being on or off.

Its good to be safe on the internet but because of using a VPN I have lost thousands of SATs forever.

I give Nord VPN (and VPNs) in general 2.5 out of 5 stars. They serve a purpose for now. One day - hopefully soon- they will be obsolete. Always check your VPN is off before starting in on your daily crypto routine.