Privacy, freedom, independence, security, and anonymity... These are the buzzwords cryptocurrency is all about, and these are the virtues that our "father" Satoshi Nakamoto tried to bring by inventing BTC way back in 2009. Yet, let's face it, are we living with any of those ideals? let's look at the crypto space nowadays with an honest eye...is there any of Satoshi's goals left? Alas, I don't think so...The only thing I can see is a handful of centralized exchanges, big companies, and regulated entities each with its own rules and limits, monopolizing over 80% of crypto activities...
Even worse, we're living at a time where we can see a company pretending to be something which it isn't, or claiming to offer something which it doesn't...YES, I'm talking about MetaMask...
MetaMask...The sly fox that betrays its users' trust...
MetaMask is a wallet and an application that serves as a bridge for users to access decentralized applications, decentralized websites, and other decentralized protocols built on crypto blockchains, principally Ethereum. MetaMask was founded by ConsenSys company in 2016 (an American blockchain technology company that builds infrastructure for Ethereum). The main reason was to provide users with a free-to-use, secure, and open-source tool to interact with decentralized platforms. Since that time, the MetaMsak Extension has had over 10 million downloads on Chrome, and over half a million downloads on Firefox, so it's easy to see how popular MetaMask has become and how many users are giving it their trust. Well, until very recently I was one of those users, more specifically Until it began to deviate from its path and betray the trust of its users...Yes, My trust in MetaMask has been completely destroyed, and let me tell you why...
Last year, Metamask announced its divorce from the open source approach and adapted what it called a “tiered proprietary license.” And without so much wordplay, this effectively means MetaMask’s entire codebase is now owned by ConsenSys, developers no more have the right to fork MetaMask or built on it, and this actually paves the way to deprive users of the right to verify and check the codes. MetaMask has said frankly that “MetaMask’s entire codebase is now owned by ConsenSys”. It's a policy that flies in the face of blockchain and crypto values...
Do you think that it doesn't much matter? Do think we should just trust MetaMask because of its "long history". If you do, it is a grave mistake. But don't take my word for it. Let's just take a look at what MetaMask has to say about itself. Yup, I'm just gonna show you how MetaMask describes its "privacy" policy...
Spoiler alert: it's going to be a nightmare! ☠️
First of all, if you want to read the privacy policy of MetaMask, you have to go to the official site and scroll way down until you reached that small fine print (the devil tends to be in fine print), and here we go...
As you can see, MetaMask with its mother company (Consensys) gave itself the right to collect users' names, contact information, usernames, passwords, financial information, transaction information, bank account numbers, crypto addresses, passport ID, KYC...effectively ALL users' personal and sensitive data!
But wait, this is not even the worst part! MetaMask goes further to sell user's data to third parties as well, and no, this is not a conspiracy theory. This is just what MetaMask rudely admits:
They admit selling users' data and revealing it whenever they want!
Is this a wallet that we should trust over our hard-earned funds and our personal data? Sorry, but I don't think so...
Okay, enough talking about MetaMask! All we need now is an alternative we can count on to store our coins and interact with Defi in a truly safe way...We need a solution. We need something to break MetaMask's monopoly...Something for us, not against us
Well, this is exactly where Tally Ho has come to achieve, and this is what this article is all about...
What is Tally Ho?
Tally Ho is a free-to-use, community-owned & operated Web3 wallet that allows users to have a decent alternative to MetaMask with many more advantages. Basically, it has all the positive features of MetaMask and it drops all its flaws...It's the necessary response to the new shift towards corporate-run, closed-source software in today’s most popular cryptocurrency wallets, It's something built, operated, and run by the people who use it, not by any big greedy company...
Tally Ho is completely open source, meaning everybody on the planet has the right to verify the base code, fork it, and build on it. Open-source also means faster development, free education for developers, and stronger security for the whole project. This is the same ideology as Bitcoin and Ethereum and any project that aims to bring good to people. No hidden deals, no double-meaning messages, no opacity. Everything out there is transparent and open to anyone to verify. Tally Ho represents the spirit of crypto. And in this post, you'll see that it truthfully delivers what it promises and claims...
How to install Tally Ho?
Okay, let's start with how to download and install the Tally Ho wallet on your browser! So, the first thing is to go to the official link by clicking here, then scroll down to pick up your favorite browser. For me, I'm choosing the Brave browser...
This will take you to the store where you can download the extension simply by clicking on "add to brave".
After installation, it will show in the upper right corner with an icon of a little cute puppy. Click on it to set your wallet...
After opening the extension, several consecutive windows will pop up, welcoming you to the new wallet and describing some of its features. Please, keep clicking on continue then press "get started"
If you did everything right, a new message will show up. Here, you can choose from multiple options including importing an old wallet, connecting to Ledger, activating the "Read-only" mode, or creating a new wallet. Alright, I'm gonna create a new wallet for now. Then, another message comes asking you to set a password which should be as long and complicated as possible. After that, click on "begin the hunt" and then "reveal my secret recovery phrase".
Now, it should be obvious that this is the MOST important part of your wallet. Whoever gets to those words can own your cryptos, fund, and NFTs. So, you should keep them offline on a piece of paper, and do NOT show them to anyone, not even your mom (sorry mom!). Tally Ho won't be able to help you in case you lose the secret phrase that's why it will ask you to input some of its words again to make sure you saved them correctly. Yup, it may seem a bit patronizing, but better safe than sorry...
Finally, click on "take me to my wallet" and congrats, your wallet is ready for you...
Why we should #switch_to_TallyHo
Alright, let's get into the nicest part of my article which is the pros of using Tally Ho, why I think it is superior to MetaMask on so many different levels, and why we (as a crypto community) should #switch_to _TallyHo ...
0.5% instead of 1% swap fees, and profits will go back to the community...
As I mentioned above, MetaMask is relentlessly selling our data to third parties in all shapes, ways, and forms. It is making huge money on the back of our privacy, but hey, do you think it stops here? You know, greed has no limits after all... That's why Metamask launched the swap service in which it charges about a 1% fee on each swap transaction. This works out to about $1 million a day and all this money goes directly to the owner company. Yup, Users cannot get a single pence of it.
In contrast, Tally Ho launched the very same swap service, but it reduced the fee to as low as 0.5% per transaction, and all funds go to DAO (an upcoming community-owned entity). There is no company sucking money here. The community will decide what to do with the funds, whether it's to support the development of Tally Ho, build new Defi tools, burn tokens...etc. In other words, the fees will go back to the users...
The upcoming "DOGGO" token with a fair launch...A potential airdrop?
I think everybody in crypto is well aware of Uniswap and its governance token $UNI. It's the number 1 Defi protocol on the Ethereum blockchain. Well, did you know that this token was freely distributed to Uniswap users back in 2020? Anyone who had used Uniswap prior to the airdrop announcement was eligible to claim 400 UNI ( which is about $2700 at today's price). It was one of the most surprising and happy launches in crypto at the time and I think this is part of the reason that Uniswap still has a high reputation in the Defi space. Well, the good news is that Tally Ho is preparing to have a similar, if not greater, launch. Yes, you've read it right. Tally Ho is working on having a fair launch with its upcoming governance token $DOGGO. And according to Michael Haley, more than a third of $DOGGO supply will be distributed in a community-wide merkledrop. So, if you weren't lucky to get a piece of Uniswap airdrop, make sure you don't miss this one!
Strong and committed team:
There is nothing more infuriating than having an issue or a question and not having a support team to help you. Unfortunately, this is very common in crypto, even among major exchanges where you often have to wait weeks to months before getting help for an issue you may have.
Now, the good news is that Tally Ho has a strong and supportive team standing behind the project. Just take a look at their Discord channel or Twitter account to see how active they are in interacting with users and updating the project.
Another reassuring thing is how committed the team is to creating relationships and connections with other players in crypto. A quick glance at their Twitter account is enough to know they're making partnerships left and right to move the project forward. It is really peace of mind to know that you're getting involved in something that is here not only to survive but also to thrive.
Read-only mode, No need to manually add tokens:
Sometimes, it doesn't have to be complicated to help users. Sometimes, a simple and straightforward addition can make a big difference. This is what Tallo Ho did by implementing the "Read-only" mode. It basically means you don't have to go etherscan to see your balances or history of transactions. You can do it right from within the wallet without the need to input your secret phrase. I think it is a nice and important feature for convenience and security purposes. Another simple yet useful feature is that Tally Ho automatically shows up all tokens you have to your balances, so you will never have to go through the time-consuming process of adding your tokens manually as you do with MetaMask. It's really amazing to see Tallo Ho think outside the box and add features that are nonexistent on its 6-year-old peer!
An excellent and smooth Ledger integration...
There is a point for any crypto enthusiast when they move the best part of their crypto portfolio to a hardware wallet. And although it's not that easy to deal with a hardware wallet like Ledger, it is highly recommended. But hey, Tally Ho is here to make it so convenient and easy to use as well ;)
Since last year, Tally Ho developers have been heads-down working on creating an excellent, reliable, and smooth Ledger integration with the browser. And just a few months ago, they announced the excellent results of their work by enabling the Ledger integration with Tally Ho.
It's worth mentioning that Tally Ho uses WebUSB to talk to Ledger, which spares users the connectivity issues experienced by MetaMask and other wallets users
Conclusion:
Throughout the ages, the financial system has been dominated and exploited by a few big companies and giant corporations at the expense of regular people. This unfair structure continued operating until somebody called Satoshi Nakamoto came into existence. He/She offered an ambitious view of a new financial system led and controlled by people. At the time, many were excited, and big companies started to ride the wave claiming they were going to offer products to serve the values of decentralization and transparency. Alas, this was not the case. Most companies that once claimed to be on the side of decentralization came gradually back to implement centralized policies for their clients, store their data, sell it, and charge greedy fees that go nowhere other than the pockets of the owners.
However, we now have a product that is putting us on the right track again. It enables us to hold crypto, swap it and interact with Defi protocols in a secure, safe, fair, decentralized, and transparent way. This is what Tally Ho is bringing to the crypto community. While MetaMask is still at advantage in terms of popularity, user base, and the number of supporting Defi platforms, it may be just a matter of time for Tally Ho to prevail in the crypto space. After all, the crypto community is not stupid and they know very well how to choose what truly represents their values in an honest, secure, and loyal manner... Well, for me, I think it's obvious that a dog is more loyal than a fox!
What you guys think about Tally HO? Are considering to give it a try? And do you think it's going to dethrone MetaMask soon?
I'm keen to read your opinions and thoughts...
THANK YOU FOR READNG :)
You can find more information about Tally Ho and its updates by visiting its official site and social accounts:
PS, Unless otherwise stated, all images in this post are either my own design or from free photo-sharing sites (e.g. pixabay.com)
