Ahoy Pirates! January was a busy month with many developments, updates and events. There were several new implementations around our discord, a new wallet support system, new how-to videos, and a revamped ARRRmada website. The Pirate Chain wallet was updated decreasing loading times and underwent a facelift. The Pirate team also held several fundraises for important upcoming events and listings. Read more about these updates in this edition.

Project Updates

Wallet Support Upgrades

Support Videos

Pirate.black website update

Our homepage Pirate.black is undergoing significant revamp. In addition to a visual makeover, new features include a FAQ page, a how-to page, wallet support page and donation links.

The About page now includes a link to dedicated page that shows every interview about Pirate Chain. Anyone who wants to contribute to Pirate Chain's privacy advocacy efforts can go to the Contribute page to look for opportunities to volunteer. In addition to developers, there are many non-technical positions that community members can volunteer in. Take a look at how you can contribute here.

Every official Pirate wallet is linked to it's latest version Wallets page. The Exchanges page lists all the exchanges that are functionally trading and sending/receiving $ARRR.

Under the Developers tab, the For Developers page now lists all the documentation and github links to Pirate Chain. In tandem with the development page is the Projects page which shows all the current projects in development. Contributors are highly encouraged to check this page often for exciting opportunities to contribute to new Pirate projects. For example, at the time of writing, Pirate's own secure operating system and in house-built payment gateway Pirate Pay are actively being developed and welcome anyone who would like to contribute their expertise. The Merchants page was created to complement the new ARRRmada.com website, showcasing payment options and web plug-ins. Under the Developers tab is also the link to the Pirate Whitepaper.

The Blog page lists all the articles and past issues of this monthly newsletter. The Social tab lists all the social media outlets where Pirate Chain can be found.

Lastly, a significant amount of work has gone into the Support tab. The Donations page lists all the ways by which donates can give to the #Privacy cause. The Get Started page is a great starting point for anyone new to Pirate Chain or even new to cryptocurrencies to learn the basics. In conjunction with the new support ticket system implemented on discord, the team has painstakingly collated a very thorough list of Frequently Asked Questions. Users are highly encouraged to utilize the FAQ page and Wallet Support page before opening a support ticket, most common questions are more than likely to be answered on this page. Users can find the compendium of how-to videos for all the wallets and Pirate Chain products on the How-To page. The Beginners' Guide is the a great starting point for any person new to cryptocurrencies. The page explains the basics starting from "what is the blockchain." Lastly, for anyone interested in mining, the Mining page provides all the information needed to get started with mining $ARRR.

Arrrmada website relaunch

Thanks to Seko, the ARRRmada website underwent a signficant revamp.  The site was reorganized to optimize for easier navigation, increased functions and received a beautiful makeover. New merchants or website owners who accept $ARRR for payment or donations can now sign up directly on the website to get their stores/websites listed with the ARRRmada.

The website also includes calculator to that lets you know how many ARRR you can get for the fiat amount you wish to invest.

Wallet Updates

Desktop wallet

The Pirate team brought you the updated Pirate Ocean wallet 3.1.2 in January. Very shortly after that Firstmate Forge continued to push the boundaries and launched Treasure Chest. Treasure Chest is the latest officially recommended pirate wallet with updated code that reduces wallet loading and synchronization times, including a new gorgeous backsplash!

Paper wallet update

The Pirate paper wallet was updated to improve the entropy factor when generating new addresses. Additionally, pirate Captain Mrlynch also included a new vanity address generator. The Linux version of this latest paper wallet generator can be found here.

How to create a paper wallet

As usual, our amazing Firstmate Kaks created a video guide on how to create a paper wallet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMpRy-GUaYI&feature=youtu.be

Exchange news

Successful Fundraising for Changelly listing

After a long negotiation with the Changelly team, we settled at a listing price of $5o,ooo. Immediately, JL777 offered to match any donations 1:1 up to $25,000. It did not take long to fill and we are proud that say our Pirate community came through and completed the fundraise in record time!

The Scuttlebutt

As suggested by Pirate Ectocooler, this is a new section for Pirate Projects in the works and rumored upcoming developments and events!

wrapped-ARRR aka wARRR!

In the past couple months, many Pirates have asked about the wARRR project. The project is under heavy development in collaboration with TurtleNetwork and work has been gaining momentum. Briefly, TurtleNetwork will host a gateway through which $ARRR can be converted to ERC-20 wrapped-ARRR tokens, named wARRR. This will enable ARRR users to access DeFi features while at the same time allowing DeFi users access to the most private cryptocurrency in the industry to protect their personal finances.

Dreadnought OS

During the January 27th weekly meeting, Pras shared with the Pirate community an $ARRR mining project that he's been working on. Dreadnought OS is a plug 'n play miner built on a USB for portability and security. This is an exciting development brought to Pirate by a community member. We're excited to follow Pras's project and cannot wait to test the beta version. Listen to that weekly meeting in the link below.

Meeting Recordings

Monthly Project Update Meetings

After reviewing feedback from our community, the meeting schedule has been updated to better serve the needs of all Pirates. Starting in January, the Pirate team will hold a monthly update meeting on the the first Wednesday of each month.

Catch up on the updates from the meeting on our social channels:
Youtube : https://youtu.be/f0D9MicQeNA
Bittube: https://bittube.tv/post/fb8d21c5-bbc2-4101-a5e5-22f950dfe5e9
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/1172841642869376/videos/680436779315067

Pirate Fireside Chat meeting replays:

Catch up on the weekly Pirate community meetings,

1. January 6th, review all the progress in the previous month.
2. January 13th, Privacy Side chat with Alpha Vedic.
3. January 20th, hear ideas from the community at Marketing Mayhem.
4. January 27th, discussion with Pras about Dreadnought, a custom mining optimized OS.

Events

The CryptoVigilante Summit

Lootz was invited to speak about Privacy and Pirate Chain at The CryptoVigilante Summit, a prestigious crypto event attended by high rollers and notable figures in crypto. Lootz spoke alongside a starstudded cast of luminaries including,

• Jeff Berwick, Founder, The Dollar Vigilante, Anarchast, and the TDV Summit
• Rafael LaVerde, Crypto Economics Analyst, TCV
• Riccardo "fluffypony" Spagni, Monero Core Team / Tari Labs
• Jameson Lopp, Bitcoin Developer, Casa Co-Founder & CTO, BTC Times Editor
• Dr. Daniel Kim, CEO/Founder of Sweetwater Digital Asset Consulting, LLC
• Giacomo Zucco, Bitcoin Evangelist
• Justin Ehrenhofer, Monero Contributor
• Gary Lachance, Dogecoin Evangelist, Co-Founder of Decentralized Dance Party (DDP)
• Chris Pacia, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Developer

Anarchapulco 2021

Pirate will be sponsoring Anarchapulco 2021!

"Anarchapulco is an annual voluntaryist gathering in Acapulco, Mexico. We discuss all things philosophical anarchy, offer engaging and liberating workshops, and enjoy the company of like minded friends from around the world."

Lootz will be attending the event live and as an official sponsor, Pirate Chain will be streaming the event via our own party booth! Stay tuned!

Social Media

Sylvain Coultier interviews Crypto Rich

Sylavin Coultier interviews firstmate Crypto Rich and talks about Pirate Chain and the BPSAA non-profit organization. They discuss the origins of Pirate and $ARRR, wallets and exchange options. The duo also share their thoughts on the anonymity of Pirate Chain in relation to the privacy marketcap leader Monero. 

Terry Tillaart interviews Captain Draeth

Terry is very passionate about Pirate Chain. Here are some notable quotes from Terry during the interview,

Pirate Chain is "everything bitcoin was intended to be and then some"

"...one problem with a lot of cryptos these days, just my opinion, a lot of them are trying to be the expert in 8500 different things, they want to be defi, they want to just literally everything crypto, everything on the internet and every form of commerce...I get the impression that Pirate Chain is really just trying to be the currency."

GFox2.0 wrote a fantastic blogpost on the role of Pirate in global macroeconomics

http://theprimitivefox.com/privacy-for-piracy/

Here's a quote from GFox's blogpost about the state of global economy, loss of privacy, and the role of Pirate Chain in his future.

"I’m taking back my privacy and financial freedom. And one method for that is the inclusion of crypto into my regular earning and spending habits. After some research and discussion with a few of my fellow radicals, I’ve decided I want to use Pirate Chain (ARRR)."

The Survival Podcast published a great post on "Getting Your First Pirate Chain"

Jack Spirko at The Survival Podcast wrote a fantastic article about how to get your first $ARRR. From Wallet Setup, where and how to use an exchange to get your first ARRR, other wallet options and where to spend your $ARRR.

https://agorist.market/FreedomPosts/GettingYourFirstPirateChainARRR.html

Crypto Rich revisits his Grin vs Pirate comparison

This is a video originally recorded in 2019 and now being re-uploaded. In this video, I compare Grin and Beam's privacy tech with that of Pirate Chain. Which is the most private and secure and how does each function?

Grin and Beam vs Pirate Chain Which is more Private and Secure?

Crypto Rich takes a look at Privacy Altcoins

Could this be the best privacy altcoin to invest in? Pirate Chain is most secure, the most private with an anonymity set larger than Monero's. I give an update on what has been accomplished by this decentralised community project in January 2021.

TOP PRIVACY ALTCOIN - JAN 2021 UPDATE - PIRATE CHAIN

ARRRmada merchant-of-the-month feature

This month we are proud to feature one of ARRRmada's latest members. Takase Studios was started in 1997 by owner and master Japanese Calligrapher. Master Takase started studying Japanese Calligraphy at the age of six. In 1989 she was awarded the highest rank in Japanese Calligraphy of Shihan (Master) by two of Japan's most prestigious calligraphic societies. For the past fifteen years she lived and worked in the US teaching Calligraphy, advancing her art and working directly with individuals to create unique and custom art for personal and professional use. Visit Takase Studios today.

Last word from the editor

Trust in currency

With regards to "trust in a currency." First, I think of it in the old way of "trust in the government" vs. the new popular mantra of "trust in the code" as introduced by bitcoin. I don't think the sovereign power construct is going away anytime soon, and therefore, government-issued currencies will be here to stay for as long as they are. Government issued currencies are an important tool for domestic and foreign political policies. As such, I just cannot see any government limiting the supply of Fiat. Hence modern monetary theory is the oft used label for fiat these days.

On the other hand, I think that cryptocurrencies have introduced the possibility of secular demand-backed currencies. Trust in fiat exists because of the presence of the government. Trust in cryptocurrencies exists because of the belief that enough people want that currency for its inherent properties including scarcity, immutability, portability and, in my opinion, something that bitcoin sorely lacks for a currency: privacy.

I believe we will evolve into an economy with 2 types of currencies. One is the traditional fiat based economy, just like today. The other will be cryptocurrency based that will be preferentially used in the burgeoning virtual world. Of course governments will not like the dilution in the power of their fiat, but truly decentralized cryptocurrencies cannot be taken down, manipulated or influenced. Which brings me to a side point: China has controlled over 70% of bitcoin's hashrate for years and at the time of writing this newsletter, holds 65% of the hashrate (https://cbeci.org/mining_map). With bitcoin, consensus to change the code lies in the hands of the majority hashrate providers. No, China is not going to try shutting down bitcoin, there is just too much money to be made. However, it does not take any stretch of the imagination that China may modify Bitcoin's code to self benefit.

My other point is privacy. "Put your money where your mouth is" is a familiar quote to many. It stands to reason then, that where, when and how we choose to allocate our money is as essential expression of our freedom, which in turn is fundamental to the "free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted." (A Letter on Justice and Debate, Harper's Magazine). While governments decry the existence of private cryptocurrencies, privacy is fundamental to a currency, without which, flow of that currency will be significantly stymied. That's how central bank digital currencies will be, a tool that enables the new age of the panopticon. Cash is the most private currency in the world. When it goes away, privacy-prioritizing cryptocurrencies will be sorely needed (and in demand) to take its place. So, I think scarcity and very importantly privacy, amongst other nascent features are needed for the parallel secular economy.

Pirate Chain Anonymity Set

Every newsletter ends with the latest anonymity set size of Pirate Chain at the time of publication. Why is this important? Every privacy technology hides transactions amongst others in an anonymity set. Monero's maximum anonymity set is 11, Lelantus's maximum anonymity set is capped at 65k. The anonymity set of Pirate Chain can be tracked in real time at the Pirate Chain Privacy Stats website made by CHMEX.

At the time of publication, the anonymity set size of Pirate Chain is:

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