Thinking about Economic Freedom and Financial Privacy

Thinking about Economic Freedom and Financial Privacy

Happy Independence Day! As with the right to privacy, economic freedom, and the right to transact are fundamental human rights. Get to know our new affiliate partner, iCoin Technology, the maker of a slick, modern hardware wallet designed to “cold store” bitcoin and other digital assets. Use code “Freedom24” at checkout to receive $50 OFF your iCoin Wallet.  

At Unplugged, we think a lot about human freedom. It’s one of our core values.  

As you can imagine, the Independence Day holiday in the United States holds particular significance. Amidst the fireworks, parades, and family barbecues, it’s worthwhile to take some time to consider the ideas and the history preceding the signing of the Declaration of Independence and how to protect our rights in the modern world.  

Among other justifiable grievances, a lack of economic autonomy and freedom sparked the American Revolution. The British government imposed taxes on the colonies without their consent, restricted their trade and commerce, and failed to provide adequate representation in Parliament. The early colonists felt a growing discontent with oppressive British rule. 

Vastly outnumbered and out equipped, the American colonists courageously asserted their right to self-governance. They set themselves on a path of resistance, of war for independence and the formation of a government established upon the principles of liberty, democracy, and equality. 

That was almost 250 years ago.  

The Founding Fathers and patriots of the newly born United States would scarcely recognize our world with its global economy and technological marvels, but ironically, the ideological battle lines for human freedom have not changed much.  

At Unplugged, we play our part by simplifying digital privacy. By combining hardware, an independent operating system, encryption, and an aligned business model, we strive to secure privacy for our customers. Privacy is a fundamental human right serving a crucial role in securing human freedom. 

We are always on the lookout for like-minded entrepreneurs and companies, who are just as passionate about the principles of human freedom as we are. So, we got excited when we met the team over at iCoin Technology, the maker of a slick, modern hardware wallet designed to “cold store” bitcoin and other digital assets.  

Blockchain technology, and Bitcoin in particular, are extraordinary technologies in the project to secure human freedom over the long term.  

Like our friends at iCoin, Unplugged supports the rights of individuals to 

  • maintain privacy in personal financial decisions. 

  • choose what to produce, consume, and trade. 

  • save, invest, and manage one’s assets as one sees fit. 

  • start a business and make decisions about its operations and goals. 

  • trade in voluntary exchanges with others, buying and selling goods and services. 

Father and son co-founders of iCoin, Chet and Adam Silvestri, take a similar approach to building the iCoin Hardware Wallet System that we do to the UP Phone. The system combines hardware wallet security, a simplified smartphone application client (that works on the UP Phone of course), full node blockchain servers for broadcasting transactions and a companion thermal printer for documentation, backup, and recovery.  

We are particularly impressed with iCoin’s approach to device security. The hardware wallet never has any direct connection to a blockchain or the internet. It displays important transaction details to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks. You only sign the transaction information you see. For ultra-security, the device is built without Wi-Fi, cellular antenna, or GPS.  

The wallet interfaces with the iCoin app using the device's Air Gap technology and a rear facing camera to snap QR codes to facilitate transactions. You can optionally enable Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for added convenience. Additionally, iCoin offers a companion mini thermal paper printer for convenience in printing the QR codes, seed phrase back-up and transaction receipts.  

Expanding and securing economic freedom takes practice and knowledge. We encourage our customers to practice using bitcoin and decentralized blockchain technologies. Learning to secure these digital assets outside of centralized exchanges and to manage your own private keys with a cold hardware wallet is an important skill to protecting your wealth and financial privacy. It is worth the effort.  

Financial privacy, economic freedom and personal autonomy are interwoven concepts, but we must be proactive in learning, sustaining, and fighting for these ideals.  

We’re up for the challenge. Are you?  www.icointechnology.com


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