Chapter 26: The Dark Web
After attending classes, Michael headed home. He opened this computer and started browsing the internet. He was trying to look for more investments. He still invested in options but wanted to diversify a bit more. Michael stumbled upon Bitcoins. Bitcoins were a digital currency that has been popular for quite some time.
Bitcoins have been called the currency of the future by many fans. It was a cryptocurrency that was mined and issued without a central bank or administrator. Michael started investigating bitcoins. His main concern was if bitcoin could be used in stores. After all, the purpose of currency is to be used to buy and sell goods. Michael was disappointed to find out that most traditional stores did not accept bitcoins.
It seemed like the most popular place where bitcoin was actually being used as currency was the Dark Web. Michael was surprised when he stumbled upon information about the dark web. It seemed to be a hidden part of the internet where anything can be sold and bought.
Michael decided to see what the Dark web had to offer. He bought a VPN and downloaded the Tor browser. The VPN was the most popular method used to hide one's origins on the internet. Apparently, the Tor browser was the main browser for navigating the Dark Web. Michael visited several of the most famous dark web marketplaces. Alphabay is perhaps the most popular dark web marketplace.
Michael was astonished as he browsed the marketplace on Alphabay. The site had listings for everything from drugs, hacked accounts, Fake IDs and more. Nearly everything that is illegal is sold on the website. Furthermore, Bitcoin was required to purchase all the goods on the Website. The buyer would place an order and the site would hold it in escrow and tell the seller to deliver the product; once the buyer confirms delivery, the bitcoin will be released to the seller.
The dark web was to the internet as the back alley is to a city. Michael knew that these grey areas would always remain a part of society. As long as bitcoin remained the currency of the dark web, Michael was confident that it would appreciate in value. The anonymity Bitcoin offered for online transactions was priceless, Furthermore, it had a fixed supply limit at 21 million units. Without the option to issue more Bitcoins than the limit, each Bitcoin would keep appreciating in value.
Michael's current portfolio had $200 million. He decided to invest $50 million in bitcoin. He transferred a small amount to an anonymous wallet to spend on the Dark Web. When browsing Alphabay earlier Michael had seen an ad for a comprehensive Background check. The seller had great reviews and had a very good reputation. The report would include the normal checks like credit check and employment history in addition to a comprehensive internet history report.
Michael decided to order a background check on Jennifer. If he was going to hire her then he wanted to know everything about her. Michael paid nearly $2,000 for the comprehensive check and got an instant reply saying that the order would be fulfilled within a week. All Michael had to provide was Jennifer's full name and her Facebook profile along with the city of residence.
Michael closed the site and turned his attention to his investments. With the Advanced tier Stock market skill, Michael needed to put in very little effort to pick winning stocks. However, he was always looking for higher returns.
Michael turned his attention to Penny stocks. Penny stocks are basically stocks of companies that are just starting out. These stocks were not regulated like the regular stocks. Any information provided by the company such as financial documents could not be trusted. However, the upside to them was that they usually cost pennies, hence the name penny stocks.
Normally any serious investor would stay Miles away from penny stocks. Penny stocks were often a part of pump and dump schemes. Where the company would provide stocks to journalists and other promoters who would recommend the stock. Once gullible people started buying the stock, the schemers would dump the stock and walk away with the profit. The poor investors would be left with worthless stocks.
However, things for different for Michael, Penny stocks were practically meant for him. His deception detection would sense frauds and lies; his stock market skill would tell him the true value of a stock. Michael started investing small amounts in various penny stocks. The amounts were all less than a million so even if he lost he would not suffer much.
Some of these companies were so small that he even got emails from the company owners because they were so grateful for the investment. Michael was especially hopeful about a company called Concur Technologies. They created an accounting software for keeping track of employee spending. The stock had gone up and down in the past. This year would mark the company's 20th anniversary and Michael's intuition was telling him that the stock would perform well. Michael finished up his investments and went to bed.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Red_Tempest
Red_Tempest Thanks for reading. Sorry for the short chapter. Some exciting action coming from the next chapter.
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