What is Doxxing and Which Role it Plays in Crypto
Anyone entering this fascinating new industry has noticed a unique culture in the crypto world — it consists mostly of people demanding a change. But on social media, we see a lot of crazy avatars — anything from cartoon dogs to intergalactic aliens.
On the surface, this seems like a little bit of harmless fun. But, if we go a little deeper, this is the whole world of individuals who have dedicated their time to learning about finances, regulations, and politic.s
Many have set to find their purpose in this crypto/blockchain industry, directing their ambitions towards building a career in this new industry.
The whole new generation is learning how to use financial instruments to generate income for themselves and their families. Many start with cryptocurrencies and later learn how to apply the knowledge to stocks, forex, and other traditional markets.
Doxxing Explained
While surfing the web it’s easy to notice that a lot of these unique characters have “crypto” as a prefix in front of their chosen user name. But all fun and character aside, why are so many people hiding their faces in this industry? Why are so many influencers finding comfort in the anonymity, behind the avatars?
If you have been in this space for a while you probably heard the term “to doxx”.
But what does it mean?
Dox — past tense: doxxed; past participle: doxxed
“Search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.”
In the crypto world, it signifies an individual who knowingly and willingly put themselves at risk for reasons we will explore later.
So why is Doxxing such a Taboo in Crypto?
Well, the main reason seems to be security. Successful cryptocurrency traders earn significant sums of money and can become a target of hackers. By keeping their identity a secret they reduce the chances to become a person of interest for the crooks. There have been a lot of high-profile hacking cases in the last couple of years, confirming that there is really a reason to be careful.
But not just that. An increasing number of physical attacks on cryptocurrency owners is also a reason for concern. Violent attempts to force the owners to give up their digital wallet keys are seen more frequently and there are even reports of people being tortured by the side of their close friends and family.
Keeping all of this in mind, it is easy to assume the larger the account gets the more unwanted attention it attracts.
Others, such as Teddy Cleps aka Crypto Freak, decided to go public from the beginning. He realized that his real name and surname can only add credibility to his account in the world of cartoon characters and avatars. Numerous business opportunities popped up, as the brands always prefer to work with a real person instead of an alias. This layer or transparency brought new troubles as his email was targeted by hackers countless times.
Conclusion
It is obvious that we have a long way to go as an industry. In order to expect mass adoption, first we need to get an average person to feel comfortable revealing any personal details while holding cryptocurrency even if it potentially puts them in danger. The complexity of the buying process and usage of digital coins need to be reduced, too. The digital currencies are a new form of value transfer for all people, not just for the tech savvy ones.
We also need to work on weeding out the scammers and charlatans in order to make the space safer for all new and existing users. Education is also the key to staying safe. Educate all the people you know about cryptocurrencies and how to stay safe online.
Thank you for reading. If you like to chat about privacy, doxxing and other interesting topics, feel free to join our Telegram group. We have a great team of community managers that are more than willing to talk about anything that will help us make this world a better place.
