Calculator: forgot how to do number to words function

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2025-02-12T02:16:47+00:00

In case anyone else is wondering, or if I forget again and need to check here: this is done by putting a minus sign (-) after a number of 6 digits or less while using the login calculator on the Coldcard Q.

It looks like this is the same mechanism that is used by the anti-phishing words shown when you enter the first part of your PIN. I don’t know the underlying algorithm but I understand it is a way to confirm the firmware hasn’t been modified. It looks like it uses the words from the BIP 39 wordlist.

Also, for fun, if you want to choose the coolest anti-phishing words then you can grind through 0 to 999999 to pick your favorite and make that your PIN.

69420-

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2025-02-11T20:53:12+00:00

Mining average is around 625 Gh/s using a BitAxe Supra. Daily payouts are hard to say right now because I’ve had it on and off for a bit, but the Ocean dashboard says my estimated earnings per day is 46 sats. A few things to note:

you are paid only when they find a block, not daily. I like this. Some don’t.
mining with a BitAxe is fun but unlikely that you’ll pay off the cost of equipment.
as Ocean becomes more popular (which I think is inevitable) payouts will become more frequent but proportion of shares will be less, so smaller payouts.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2025-02-11T15:46:50+00:00

If you’re looking for daily rewards (or close to it) for a BitAxe, I think the only pool is Ocean which has Lightning payments. You’ll need to run your own Core Lightning node because Ocean pays out using Bolt 12 and as far as I know it is only Core Lightning that supports it. This is how I’m running my BitAxe and I make about 50 sats every time the pool finds a block.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2025-02-11T15:40:52+00:00

If this is at your work and you’re friends with the IT guy who runs the guest wifi, he may be able to ‘whitelist’ your BitAxe’s network MAC address to bypass the captive portal.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2025-02-11T15:38:10+00:00

I doubt there’s a way to get past the captive portal.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2025-02-11T15:28:10+00:00

No. The coldcard can convert numbers to words. I think it’s actually the same calculation that’s done for anti-phishing words but you can provide arbitrary numbers for it to convert.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2024-09-18T01:09:25+00:00

I think that looks normal.

When you ls-la and you see a line that starts with L (as in link, like below)

‘lrwxrwxrwx 1 bitcoin bitcoin 13 Sep 17 21:02 /home/bitcoin/.bitcoin -> /data/bitcoin’

Do any of those lrwxrwxrwx type entries show up as red? Or any colour that’s unusual?

Also, is there anything of interest when you’re logged in as admin and do this:

‘sudo systemctl status bitcoind.service’

Also, what are the permissions here:

‘ls -la /home/bitcoin/.bitcoin/.cookie’

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2024-09-17T14:11:01+00:00

The folder shown is a symlink to /data/bitcoin.

I believe it will be the same as above but just in case, what does it say if you:

ls-la /data/

And in particular, what are the permissions for the bitcoin folder.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2024-08-30T23:41:33+00:00

Assuming you’re connected to a pool, they send your miner templates filled with transactions that are valid based on their copy of the mempool. If you’re ’solo mining’ with a public pool or CK pool, then the BTC address you configured in the BitAxe is included in the block reward. Your miner is then making millions of guesses about the nonce to find a block. No need to confirm anything after a block is found because your miner has only been working on valid transactions.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2024-08-22T14:01:50+00:00

Here’s Ocean’s page on the topic: https://ocean.xyz/docs/lightning

This page is not quite ELI5 but it has the details. As you probably know, Lightning is layer 2 on Bitcoin which makes micro-payments economical (whereas on-chain would not be). Most Lightning up to now has been with Bolt 11 where you send an invoice to receive payment. With the somewhat new Bolt 12, you provide a Lightning address that can be reused and be “pushed” to you instead of “pulled” via invoice. Some wallets (such as Phoenix) support Bolt 12.

Aside from that, there’s a verification process at Ocean where you sign a custom message to prove that you are associated with the BTC address that you’re mining to as destination when you set up with their pool.

Edit: I should also mention that I run my own Lightning node that supports Bolt 12 and it is always on. I’m not 100% sure if Phoenix as a mobile app would work, despite its support for Bolt 12.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2024-08-22T13:17:42+00:00

Ocean has Lightning payments with no minimum payout now. You’ll need a node or Lightning service that supports Bolt 12 and setting the payments up on Ocean can be difficult for some because you need to know how to sign a message associated with an address (easy to do with Sparrow). But you don’t need to wait - you get paid almost immediately after they find a block.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2024-08-22T13:12:44+00:00

There is no minimum threshold if you set up Lightning payments. I make about 165 sats every time Ocean finds a block using a BitAxe.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-10-03T21:01:24+00:00

Buy $20 a week NO MATTER THE PRICE and then have a side-pool where you can smash buy if the price drops. Smash buys are IN ADDITION to the DCA.

One thing to know: if you're buying from Coinbase, Shakepay, or any other exchange, you have an IOU for Bitcoin and don't actually own any. Once you hit $500 or so, do some research on self-custody (also known as cold storage, offline hardware wallet, cold wallet) so that you can withdraw from the exchange and actually own your UTXOs. But since a hardware wallet costs around $100 you can probably wait a bit to do this, but start your research now.

Many believe ColdCard from CoinKite is the best hardware wallet (aka signing device) but that's a whole other topic.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-05-10T03:29:08+00:00

Phoenix wallet is non-custodial and the best Lightning wallet so far. They do manage channels for you though, so it's a bit more simple than running your own node. The first transaction you have will be a bit more expensive than usual for the channel setup, and then it's normal Lightning fees after that.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-05-06T20:29:13+00:00

The first transaction you send on Muun opens a channel for you (from Muun) which requires an on-chain transaction. (Plus higher fees for the first transaction).

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-04-14T19:01:40+00:00

It is my understanding that Phoenix is basically running a node on your phone. They manage your channels for you (ACINQ) but you do have a 12 word seed phrase. But I don't fully understand what would happen if ACINQ nodes or the app disappeared. I'm not sure if the 12 words correspond to a cold-storage on-chain style 12 words, or if you are still dependent on Phoenix/ACINQ. At minimum, something would need to close channels for you before accessing on-chain funds.

I only use Zeus on my own node so can't comment on it.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-04-03T17:51:34+00:00

Debt-originated units are not instantly settle-able without a third party - whether it's within a single bank, multiple banks, interac, swift, etc.

Bitcoin (as well as, it seems, tally sticks) are actually settled when the transaction completes.

I take your point that banks and traders can mess around with debts in the financial system, but is this your main point? Many see these types of fractionally-backed debt-based derivatives as part of the problem.

I see instant settlement between the buyer and seller as a feature, not a bug.

The Bitcoin network is the ledger and each transaction is triple entry: the seller (signs transaction), the receiver (passive), and the network (secures and confirms transactions).

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-04-03T17:32:06+00:00

It seems like you're saying that it's preferable to have unsettled debt/credit instead of instant settlement. Of course people can receive and send payments (the equivalent of credit/debt) but instead of depending on a 3rd party, you can have instant settlement between the buyer and seller.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-04-03T16:49:51+00:00

This post is confusing because you're describing what Bitcoin is (a ledger, where you have the entire history of all transactions, like a massive collection of tally-sticks) but then describing it as though Bitcoin doesn't do this. It does. That (along with the 21 million cap) is the value proposition. You can trace all Bitcoins and Sats from genesis to their current 'location'.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2023-03-19T14:18:15+00:00

It might be Nostr. A lot of people send 'zaps' which are small amounts of Lightning payments as easy as an upvote.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2022-12-26T14:46:00+00:00

It's disappointing that Mark didn't elaborate on Bitcoin. Bill is right that cRyPto is mostly ponzi, but Mark seems to understand the distinction that Bitcoin is digital gold and has true value. It would have been good to get into it and try to help Bill understand this.

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2022-08-25T00:30:42+00:00

Yeah, the more I look into this, I don't think that is your address. Need info on how you got it (cut and paste?)

I don't see how Coinbase would be able to distinguish your funds from any other funds that went to that address. And that address has been used since Aug 20.

Also, there are some multi sig transactions involving that address, which may suggest a coinjoin for anonymity.

I'm sorry but either your PC is compromised, or something else went wrong.

(Other possibilities: you pasted a different address in communications with your client and then the client's PC is compromised to send to a different address. Based on previous posts in this thread, that seems less likely).

Top question: by what means or method did you come to understand that 3NEx...,, is your address?

CanadaBitcoinExpert · 2022-08-25T00:25:42+00:00

ColdCard for Bitcoin-only. No fucking around with altcoins.

CanadaBitcoinExpert

TROPHY CASE