L.A. Cryptocurrency and Many, Many Questions.

Hey guys, I'm just now leaving L.A. and I have had a perhaps life-altering trip that lasted just 3 days. I went to go visit my brother, who is very involved in the cryptocurrency community. What I found while visiting was a brand new option to explore when I decide to get out of the Army in roughly 9 months, I found that I am extremely interested in pursuing a future working with cryptocurrency and expanding my incredibly small knowledge base on the subject. Seeing how my brother worked from home and had this type of incredible freedom from the shackles of "institutional income" (I decided to call it that, because it seems cool and deep and describes money that the government creates fairly well) really thrilled me and I want to be a part of this big movement, this revolution. One thing that I do want to point out is that this entry is simply about me trying to understand things about cryptocurrency on the simplest levels, so if you would like to correct something for me, feel free to comment and tell me. I truly want to learn and would love the input.

It is my understanding that there is something called a blockchain that I have a very rudimentary understanding of. Blockchain seems to be like a way to keep record of transactions using Bitcoin or whichever cryptocurrency. Two things truly amaze me about Blockchain; Firstly, the way that blockchain is able to keep track of transactions but still remain anonymous. The major draw in cryptocurrency seems to be decentralization (as anyone would tell you) and anonymity, which is incredibly important and isn't something that most people have come to know prior to cryptocurrency because the government monitors everything they spend money on. That seems wrong and tyrannical and intrusive. The second thing that amazes me about blockchain is the permanent nature of how the blockchain keeps records. What I understood is that all the blocks of information are tied to one another, or CHAINED to one another (woah, I just got it), so if you were to try to retroactively change one block, you would effectively be setting off a chain reaction that would eventually get you "locked out"(?). Also, how does the issue of a piece of cryptocurrency being used more than once? Is there a system in place that can prevent these same pieces from being used more than once? Double-spending?

Another thing that I want to understand is the stigma that the government is trying to place on cryptocurrency. Is the stigma based on the fact that they can't control and track the currency? Is it based on the misconception that the only reason someone would possess and use cryptocurrency is to provide payment for an illicit service or product? At the same time that the government is projecting these sentiments about cryptocurrency, they are also holding a large amount of cryptocurrency, this was noted after the arrest of Ross Ulbricht and the government's seizure of all the Bitcoin that he possessed. The government seems to hunger to control this form of currency as well and obviously it is not because they are interested in helping cryptocurrency along, but for the far more insidious purposes of either gaining control of it, or because they want to eliminate it from their precious economic stranglehold made up mostly of phony fiat money. ANYWAY, the point is that I want to understand the role that the government plays in crypto development and the role that they will play in the future. I would also love for you guys to comment your thoughts on this.

Finally, I would like to comment that I am growing and learning in this community. I just want to understand the basis of the subject of cryptocurrency and its little intricacies. I want to meet the people who are involved in this community and I want to push forward this incredible and potentially revolutionary movement. As I pick things up, I will be able to contribute more and more!

-Rico