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A Pixel 6a with an Internet Computer Internet Identity account open.
How to create an Internet Identity account

Learn how to create an Internet Identity account to securely access Web3 services and dApps, the decentralized web, using Internet Computer's ID

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If you're interested in how to create an Internet Identity account, you may have heard about Web3 (the decentralized web) and want to explore the services and apps it offers. This guide shows you how to set up online authentication to access private sessions. When you're finished, you can explore the decentralized web on DFINITY's Internet Computer.

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Google is reportedly throwing its hat into the blockchain ring

Could we see a Google cryptocoin, or something else?

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It's been over ten years since Satoshi Nakamoto unleashed Bitcoin on the world and introduced us to the blockchain. Since then, we've become inundated with technology powered by these cryptographically linked lists of data. Even though blockchains are pushing at the margins of popular perception, they have yet to find a mainstream use outside of the niches of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. However, that may be about to change, as Google is reportedly venturing into blockchain technology.

Google Pay adds support for Coinbase, to the joy of crypto edgelords everywhere

Don't wait, and you too can get in on this crypto craze on the ... well, top floor by now

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Google Pay: Convenient, accessible, an utter joy to use. Cryptocurrency: pretty much the exact opposite of all those things. Of course, despite those setbacks, there are a still a ton of reasons to be excited about crypto, from its use as an investment security to its decentralized nature. That's led companies like Coinbase to come up with solutions designed to streamline access to these finances, including its crypto-backed Visa debit card. Now Google Pay's getting in on the action, as it adds support for the Coinbase Card.

Signal wants to replace your Venmo and Cash apps with private crypto payments

Privacy and security first thanks to crypto, but it's not a well-known coin

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Signal was being really secretive about its open-source server code over the last year, and now we know why: the nonprofit has been working on a payments feature and didn't want to spill the beans ahead of the announcement. Starting now, people living in the United Kingdom can send and receive a cryptocurrency using Signal beta builds.

Brave Browser is undeniably a commercial product first, and a privacy-centric web browser second. While the browser does have quite a few improvements to privacy compared to stock Chrome, it's designed to promote the use of a cryptocurrency (BAT) that Brave itself owns, and it has a referral program that pays browser users by how many people they can get to download Brave. Now the browser has been caught injecting its own affiliate codes into web addresses for popular cryptocurrency trading websites.

Most of the details surrounding Sirin Labs' Finney "blockchain phone" were revealed back in the spring/summer, including the Safe Screen dual sliding display design and a whole pile of specs. I'll be honest, on paper it sounded like it could be Saygus-level vaporware, but the phone is now open for pre-order ahead of its expected launch.

Twitter has quite a few ongoing problems, but perhaps none of them are as amusing as the ever-constant cryptocurrency giveaway spam. For months, scammers have impersonated celebrities (especially Elon Musk) to trick people into giving them bitcoin, but some have actually managed to hack high-profile accounts — including one of Google's.

In what seems to be a theme today, Opera has revealed it's launching a private beta for a crypto-integrated version of its browser. This new beta adds a built-in wallet for cryptocurrencies as well as support for Ethereum-based decentralized applications (Dapps, for those in the know).

Google regularly updates its Play Store developer policies; the last time it happened, fake ID apps were banned from being submitted by developers. The guidelines have once again been changed, and several more categories of applications are now banned.

If you had asked me about the topic yesterday, I'd have said that tech has already hit "peak blockchain," but based on today's developments, I'm reassessing my views. Sirin Labs revealed its specs for the "first blockchain smartphone" earlier this year, and in a surprising twist, the specs for the Finney were actually realistic. Now the company has some visuals which show the industrial design for the phone, including a secondary "Safe Screen" running standalone firmware for enhanced wallet security.

We have blockchains for currencies, blockchains for sex, and blockchains for phones. Or is it phones for blockchains? Either way, add HTC to the list of companies interested in finding profit from the subject with its new Exodus, ostensibly a decentralized, blockchain and buzzword-packed marketing experience that may also be a phone.

For most people, investing in cryptocurrencies is already enough of an emotional roller coaster as it is. The highly volatile and unpredictable highs and lows of Bitcoin, Etherium, Litecoin, and the like are enough to put almost anyone on edge, especially when money is involved. But if for some reason that doesn't satisfy your adrenalin fix, a new game called Crypto Rider might.

The Chrome Web Store is a hotbed of sketchy browser extensions, with seemingly little intervention from Google (except for the occasional crack-down). The company already takes down extensions that secretly mine cryptocurrency, but now it is going a step further. Starting today, all extensions that mine cryptocurrency will be barred from the Chrome Web Store.

OnePlus has seen both hits and misses when it comes to marketing, but the company has its April Fools' day gags down to a science. Based on a recently released video, this year's joke seems poised to offer its own commentary-by-example on one of 2018's biggest fads: cryptocurrencies. 

'Blockchain' is the technology that powers cryptocurrencies, but on a technical level, it's just a growing list of records that are linked and secured. While you can mine Bitcoin on just about every PC and phone on the market, there is no shortage of dedicated hardware options, like physical wallets. According to Bloomberg, Huawei is currently in talks with Sirin Labs to develop a 'blockchain-ready' phone.

Over the past few months, websites have begun to capitalize on the increasing value of cryptocurrency in not-so-great ways. Numerous websites have started to include scripts that use your device's processing power to mine cryptocurrencies. While the scripts usually aren't as noticeable on desktop computers, they can slow smartphones down to a crawl and drain the battery.