Image: Gridcoin

The Beginning Of My New Era

Up till late 2014, I had no idea nor have I heard of cryptocurrencies. While I have heard of bitcoins, I did not give any thoughts to it at all as I thought it was just some online/in-game credits (many people would have stoned me for this).

But this all changed at the end of 2014.

Some of you may know from my previous posts that I am a HIV positive individual. It might sound like a weird and unusual reason. However, it is because of my status that I started "dabbling" (for the lack of a better term) in cryptocurrencies.

That all started with Gridcoin.

It All Started With Research

Image: Gridcoin

I'm sure some would be wondering how could I even correlate my condition with cryptocurrencies.

It was simple, really. I was browsing online for research and studies that I could participate in so that I could help contribute to HIV research. But my search yielded very little result. That was until I came across the FightAIDS@Home project on the World Community Grid website.

To cut the long story short, I thought that it was a meaningful way for me to contribute towards the research by volunteering my unused computational power. As I read on further on the project I came across how we could be rewarded with gridcoins for doing so.

"Gridcoin rewards BOINC computation using the Distributed Proof of Research (DPOR) reward mechanism, which is a combination of Proof of BOINC (POB) and Proof of Stake (POSv2)." - Gridcoin.us

Project Participation & A New Hobby

Of I went downloading the BOINC application on laptops and computers at home, letting it run and hoping that my participation could be of some use to HIV research.

I went on to look for and participate in projects that are of interest to me. Of course, my own personal agenda came into play as I participated specifically in health and life sciences research (FightAIDS@Home & Rosetta@Home projects).

There are also many other projects that everyone can participate in - from astroscience to mathematics and even to search for extra-terrestrial intelligence!

Journey To The Crypto-World

For participating in these research projects, we are awarded with gridcoins. This was where my journey with cryptocurrency started.

When I first received my gridcoins, I honestly did not know what to do with it. Was it just a token or badge of achievement? Was it even useful? Should I even bother myself with it? Those were the questions I asked myself.

I went on to read up more. One thing led to another and I finally found out the meaning of cryptocurrencies and of course how bitcoins are not just some online/in-game credits. Haha!

Since then, my life has been involved with cryptocurrency investments and tradings.

Contribute To Science & Be Rewarded

Image: BOINC, Artist: Francois Normandin

Sometimes, it's the small things that matter. Why not put unused resources to use and help contribute to scientific advancements. On top of that, be rewarded for your participation.

After all, we would never know how these could in fact be beneficial for ourselves one day.

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For More Information:

BOINC: Information about the program, projects and guides
Gridcoin: Gridcoin information
CoinMarketCap: Gridcoin market cap, pricing & exchanges list