I felt compelled to put my thoughts into a video about getting involved with crypto and the changes it will have on our society. I've uploaded it to twitch as their video service works nicely!
The links below will be valuable to advanced users for those who're not yet aware. Enjoy!
Joe Lubin Keynote
Reddit Trader Forum
Perspective of Market Value
Transcript
Hey folks, I am Supernal and today I’m talking about crypto assets, Web 3.0 and the silent revolution that is currently underway. I’m going to provide for you resources and links to get started with crypto, so check on those in the description. Crypto is short for Cryptography, which is a system of mathematical protocols and algorythms designed to protect sensitive information; this is how much of our data is kept safe if cryptography is used properly. In 2009 the Bitcoin protocol was created and unleashed to the masses, in which digital tokens could be created through a certain algorythm and distributed across its own network. This is effectively a form of software, or application, that allows people to send a new form of ‘currency’ to each other. This is where we get the term Crypto-Currency, however, Crypto Asset is a better term. The tokens created through the various crypto applications are not all used as currencies an act much more like stocks of a company; in this sense, imagine if you could purchase a coffee or a pizza with stocks and bonds! This is the basics of crypto assets, and every major company is now getting involved. The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance has been setup to coordinate information and purpose with large businesses to utilize this new technology. A revolution akin to the web 2.0 of the early 2000’s is now under way. The results of this silent revolution will make fraud and theft nearly impossible due to the new extents of security baked within the software itself.
Now, how can you get involved? Crypto is all about the individual and allows for immense freedom; no longer will you interact with banks and certain financial institutions, and possibly governments, once all of this gets implemented. We are currently in a transition phase of awareness and installment. You need to first setup on an exchange that allows for the purchase of crypto assets with regular dollars; Coinbase is most popular for this, and it takes a few days to sync up your bank info and credentials to then buy crypto directly with your bank funds. Credit cards are not advised to be used, as some companies are applying hidden fee for doing so. Ethereum is the asset I suggest purchasing, as the majority of the top 100 assets are based off of ethereum; this is akin to buying stock in microsoft as then many companies use microsoft products to build newer things. Once you purchase Ethereum, or any other asset, you can now send it off of Coinbase to your own private wallet. The software crypto assets use is generally refered to as a wallet, as it holds your tokens and allows you send and receive to other wallets. The wallet software gives access to any address, as long as you have the key to that address. So, first, head over to MyEtherWallet.com. Ethereum, and all other crypto assets, use a technology called Blockchain. Blockchain technology can generate an address in which tokens can be sent to and from. When you create your address, it will provide a private key you will use to access that address and gain control over it. You must save this private key by writing it down; this is extremely sensitive information, if you lose your private key you will not be able to access that address and may forever lose your assets! Don’t worry though, this is quite easy to do but be careful! Once you have your Ethereum address and private key, you can use MyEtherWallet or any other Ethereum software to send, receive and utilize Decentralized Applications. Ethereum wallets can hold any other ERC20 Tokens, which are special tokens created on the Ethereum Blockchain Network. Much of the top 100 assets are comprised of Ethereum and it’s fellow ERC20 tokens. Follow the instructions on Coinbase to send your Ethereum to your private wallet. Your wallet address is publicly visible, as the Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger; this means you can see anyone elses address and the info within, and so can they see yours! No cooking the books and fraudulent actions! Now I think you can understand why this is so powerful and revolutionary.
New forms of assets is not the only thing that crypto and blockchain are good for; remember that these things are software applications and can do much of what we’re used to interacting with but now with more security and freedom. Let me introduce you to Steemit. On steemit you create a similar account with a private key and all that. Now, Steemit has a reward pool that functions like this. Each user on steemit has Steem Power, or Voting Power. On steemit users can create content and then upvote content they appreciate and think has value. Your Upvote actually rewards others with the steem crypto asset and the size of that reward is related to your Steem Power. The more Steem Power, the more your upvote will give in rewards. Your steem power has its limits, but most people can give a full reward up to 10 times a day. As you get more steem power, more options open up to you. This system is effectively a form of Passive Income, as you and a small group of users can upvote each other’s content every day and effectively give each other valuable assets! Through Steemit itself you can convert Steem, or SteemDollars noted as SBD, into other assets like Ethereum. If you so desired, you could then send the Ethereum you gain to Coinbase and sell for Dollars! Steemit is a blogging website, but it has multiple platforms for other formats: Dtube for video, Dsound for music and Dlive for livestreaming. These platforms are relatively new but are very active with people all over the world.
The end goal of crypto assets is to reduce our need for government and traditional monetary systems. If you understand the federal reserve, you know our dollar essentially has no real value and there’s serious problems with it. Crypto assets can be used like normal money and once enough people agree to do so, say good bye to the ‘ol greenback. How does this apply to governments then? Well, through crypto we can create a governance model in which every user can easily agree upon certain contracts within various software layers. There are groups that are actively developing an ID layer which would act as a virtual ID for use of purchasing goods, traveling across borders and anything you might already use your drivers license and Social Security for. We know the pitfalls and problems with identify theft; well, crypto applications can make identity theft nearly impossible to occur. From this ID layer, we can then easily setup voting schemes to allow laws to be easily enacted and voted upon without all the red tape and bureaucracy that we have to go through now. Instead of going to some school gym to vote on an antiquated machine, you would simply vote from your phone. Gathering signatures to setup new laws and provisions to be voted upon would all be done in the same system. No longer would you have to bother strangers at the super market for signatures. I think you get the picture; think about it and do some additional research yourself and get involved once these further elements become available; I’ll certainly let you know once it all happens!
I can’t stress enough how important all of this crypto business is, and how easy it is for you to get started and involve yourself with new communities. This is real folks, so lets take it seriously and not be complacent towards it.
Further reading and references for developing Art techniques.
the /ic/ Wiki. Lots of info to get started with. https://sites.google.com/site/ourwici/
This is a download containing more resources. https://www.mediafire.com/?i44dwzkf9j9n8
I have a Discord server setup where you can easily chat to me during stream, plus I have some interesting links and chat-rooms you can dive into :)
Discord: https://discord.gg/e6WJ2tp
Check me out on Sola I’m active on Sola and would love to share some upvotes to you Sola users!
I also use Minds and Gab. Both places are alternatives to Tumblr and Twitter and have growing communities.
