Crypto Read/Watch/Listen Picks: new Date(12/16/2017)
Each week, I compile the most useful links to articles, posts, and videos that helped me to level up my knowledge of Bitcoin, cryptos, blockchain, and levelling up in life.
On to the picks:
- Cryptocurrency Inventory: Start Here for Inheritance Planning: Pamela Morgan has a series of great posts about planning for how loved ones can access your crypto assets if you die. Most folks don't like to think about this, but imagine that assets left on exchanges could possibly be claimed either by the exchange or the government instead of benefitting people you care about. Highly recommend reading this series and starting a plan, establishing a safe deposit box, and chipping away at the documentatio a little at a time.
- The Blockchain Economy: A beginner’s guide to institutional cryptoeconomics: A deep dive into why the blockchain's killer feature is its role as a ledger. Set aside some time and settle into a great exploration of ledgers before the hammer comes down: the "the institutional consequences of cryptographically secure and trustless ledgers."
- 50 Shades Of Grey: What Bitcoiners Should Know About S.1241: U.S. Senate Bill S.1241 is an effort to update the Anti Money Laundering laws (AML) to include "new types of money." In this post, Pirate Beachbum takes a comprehensive look at the matter from both sides: the government and the crypto community. Imagine if you had to declare carrying more than $10k in crytocurrency every time you flew into the U.S. -- and it being a crime if you didn't.
- Overwhelming Support for Andreas after Insensitive Remark from Roger Ver: Roger Ver remarked that if Andreas Antonopoulos "had invested even $300 in bitcoin back in 2012, he’d be a millionaire today." You see, Andreas was busy paying his bills and supporting his family while educating the world about Bitcoin. It's always been clear to me that Andreas is more about the mission than the money. In response, the community rallied to his side and made him a Bitcoin millionaire overnight. We've got to support the people building the knowledge of these technologies. Andreas is a critical counterweight to the speculative greed that will certainly overshadow cryptocurrencies for a while. Folks need to level up on seeing beyond the investment to the world changing possibilities.
- Different people hear differently: More wisdom from Seth Godin. Money quote:
It takes two to be understood. Not just speaking clearly, but speaking in a way that you can be understood.
This post has received gratitude of 1.00 % from @jout
You got a 0.20% upvote from @postpromoter courtesy of @jout!
LIked the "50 shades" article bc it harks to a future where governments will lasso cryptos. just a matter of WHEN?
Been reading Medium articles for awhile, and have YET to see a useful one. This "blockchain economy" is no different. Here's our beef:
Ledger isn't what makes crypto special, digital ledgers have existed since computers were born, see the entire programming language (one of the first dozen) which was invented for "business" (COBOL).
the ONLY thing special about cryptocurrency, is the de-centralization which allows for PRIVATE transactions. Period. When you boil it (any "technology" involved) all down, bitcoin is a collection of technologies sprung together to take the form of money-- PRIVATE money. To the extent it's a "Revolution", we agree, it's a revolution like all others--> against centralized authority.
If you think about it, no other living species abides by rules set by a central authority. All rules are dictated by survival and mother nature herself, not other animals. A Lion can't write down a rule, and have other lions abide by it, or punish those who violate the rule. The head Lion can only punish by full-on fight, and rarely if ever with the support of his minions.
bitcoin and successor "dark coins" will be the future only in that either
This is the future of all crypto currencies.
Think about Steem, is is a better social/blogging network than stuff that already exists? Definitely not, it's lacking TONS of features the others have. It's special bc writers/creators can get paid. So we're right back to the CURRENCY, no? And Steem is created essentially from nothing. It's based on more currency coming into the system, which really is a form of ponzi scheme as all the crypto-tokens values rely on more people buying into crypto vs those leaving it. If everyone decides at once crypto is worthless, it becomes worthless. Ponzi schemes operate EXACTLY the same.
So crypto is ALL about currency, a currency which defies central governments. The crypto underneath bitcoin has been around for a long time. Byzantine Quorom methods help make bitcoin de-centralized, but is merely digital voting. The mining and difficulty algos are simply algos, it's just how they are used which is "clever".
We think Szabo, and we assume he's Satoshi, is pretty brilliant and VERY studied into the history of money and contract law. What he built is rather awesome, in that it CAN usurp central authorities. But always remember, EVENTUALLY the usage of crypto will be criminalized, and those braving the storm will be labelled "terrorists" and "criminals". It's in the history, owning GOLD was a criminal activity inside the very borders of the US empire, not even 100 years ago.
I agree that the decentralized/distributed, and public blockchains weaponized withe a useful currency are the more disruptive use case. But the private blockchains (in-house, or industry-specific) applications will also be highly disruptive -- just in terms of the jobs they will displace. Both will happen, both will be impactful.
As for Government criminalizing it all or shutting it down, I'm still on the fence. This has come up multiple times with folks I know over the last couple months.
I'd love to do a thought experiment discussion with folks where we sit down and map out (1) how the government will kill cryptos and (2) what would the resistance from the crypto community look like.Ultimately, I think there is a lot of game theory involved here and there is no way to know just how effective Government will be in controlling it. Like the encryption battle, you can't just make it illegal when it simply exists in the wild whether you like it or not. Clearly there will be an inverse relationship with a Government's commitment to human rights and it's aggressiveness to shutting down cryptos (the less they care, the more they suppress). So there will be dictators that try to shut it down, and we'll get our first glimpses into what resilience looks like.
If only the USA "Founding Fathers" had put the "right to bear cryptography" in the Bill of Rights.
Luckily like Szabo, we harpooninvestor's are students of history, and have an example of EXACTLY how the gov't, backed by guy's losing their power like Zberg, will attack crypto; the "playbook" has already been written...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102
and yes, the Revolutionary Founding Fathers dealt with all of this same stuff as relates the "crown" (@kingscrown ?)-- look up the Stamp Act and then remember what Ben Franklin did for a living (Newspapers-- each daily paper requiring a "stamp").
I'm curious what the end result would be if something similar to EO 6102 were enacted for cryptos. How easy would it be to enforce? If it's too hard to enforce and it's impact is too broad, could there be any Constitutional issues? What happens if other world governments don't go along and instead see an opportunity by supporting cryptos?
I think of this a little like encryption -- it's hard to put all this back in the bottle.
Thank you for the reminder of the Stamp Act! I believe the Founding Fathers (FFs) in spirit supported the idea of cryptography. I always find literalists frustrating -- like Christian denominations that will only play musical instruments specifically mentioned in the Bible (as if that is more "truthful"). I daydream of a world where the FFs specifically mentioned cryptography so all the literalists would be appeased.
nice
Excellent round up. Interesting exchange between Roger Ver and Andreas Antonopoulos. Did people really donate that much to Andreas?
They sure did. It was really moving. After he posted a response to a member on Patreon, it was leaked on reddit. Then Roger. Then the floodgates opened. You can find the donations on the blockchain here.
Good compilation @seanlloyd.
It would be good you just copy and paste the whole article here and put a reference link at the bottom.
Keep readers on Steemit and encourage the Medium writers to see that there are links coming from Steemit but not arriving, so they come and publish here....haha!
UpVoted and I'm following you now!
Thanks for the follow!
I'll keep on posting the link to the author's chosen location. I wouldn't be happy as a writer if someone lifted my work, posted it on their Steemit blog, then claimed the rewards.
I hear you though, it will be great when Medium writers begin to see the light and start posting (or at least crossposting) their content here. In the meantime, you and I can hold the space for them until their ready. 😃 🚀
greetings @seanlloyd,
The internet is one giant copy machine. Imitation is also the greatest flattery for any content creators.
As long as you put a reference link that points them back to the originator's page it's all good. How do you think all the news, linkedin, yahoo, etc, get publishs? Almost all by references.
If you have done the leg work to read and select the best, you are already curating, but you're not getting paid for curating correct. Get rewarded here on Steemit. I would suggest putting a short paragraph of your own thoughts and twist for it to add value to increase the payout!
Best Wishest!