A rare, signed, higher resolution and non-watermarked version of this image is available for download at: https://creary.net/digitalart/@jaichai/dust-theft-and-a-phone-number.
"Dust"
In November of 2018, I had just withdrawn most of my assets from Binance.
I was fed up with all the bugs of the fledgling cryptocurrency exchange upstart. It had taken forever to get verified and whenever there was a run on a coin, the exchange would mysteriously go down.
Sound familiar?
And of course, I could not get all my funds off the exchange.
Suspiciously, like all crypto exchanges, there always seemed to be a reason for remnants (called "dust") that were leftover from trying to withdraw all one's assets.
By December of 2018, Binance started their new "Dust Collection" option. Any dust could be converted into their exchange token: BNB.
At the end of my dust collection efforts, I had a grand total of 0.87 BNB, equaling about 7 dollars; which, of course, did not meet their minimum BNB withdrawal amount.
Besides, back then, BNB was not listed on other reputable exchanges. So, I just left the 0.87 BNB sit in the account.
Since I didn't plan on doing anymore trading on Binance, I basically wrote it off as just the cost of doing business.
"A Theft "
On New Year's day, 2019, I woke up with a huge hangover resulting from drinking way too much during the previous night's New Year's Eve party. Seriously, it was so bad that I felt like a camel sh*t down my throat and was tap-dancing on my skull!
To make matters worse, after searching the whole house, I couldn't find my phone.
The last time I used it, I think, was when I asked someone to take a picture of me and my girlfriend at the party.
I immediately called my friend who hosted the party and asked him if he happened to find my phone laying around. I waited while he searched. But alas, my phone was nowhere to be found.
(Heavy Sigh)
That day, when some stores had opened in the afternoon, I bought a new phone and SIM card.
"A Phone Number
I Spent the rest of the day going through the hassle of changing my phone on all my online accounts.
As an afterthought, I tried to access my old Binance account and change my phone number, but was unsuccessful.
I emailed their customer support about my situation.
After 8 days, Binance replied with, "Please allow 2-3 weeks for processing".
After a month, I made an inquiry.
Binance recommended that I do the whole verification process all over again!
Thinking, "F*ck this! It's not worth it", I promptly walked away from the headache. And for three years, I didn't give it much thought at all.
"3 Days Ago"
I went to my lawyer friend who created an "Affidavit of Loss" of my stolen phone from 2018 - free. That with some 3 y/o phone bills, I managed to regain my old phone number on a new SIM from my Cellular Provider.
Using that SIM and my email address, I was able to logon to my old Binance account.
Why did I go through all this hassle?
Because the "dust" (0.87 BNB) I had left in the account was now worth $369!
I promptly traded the BNB for ZIL and withdrew it all into my Kucoin account.
Why did I convert to ZIL and then withdraw to Kucoin?
Because it only cost me about 3 ZIL (~ 15 cents) and IMHO, trading on Kucoin is faster, cheaper and an overall better experience; especially on their excellent mobile app.
And lastly, unless your trading 1 BTC's worth or more of crypto, THERE'S STILL NO STUPID KYC.
Submitted FYI.
May you and yours be well and loving life today.
In Lak'ech, JaiChai
(JaiChai 13 FEB 2022. Simultaneous multi-site submissions posted. All rights reserved.)
