The Crypto 101 Show

Episode 24 - What happened to stable coins with the market meltdown?
I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.
These last few weeks we saw the crypto market get rocked. One part of this meltdown was stablecoins, which we are going to talk about further in this episode. We saw a tremendous drop in value for most if not all of the coins and I think this is important to go over and understand what and how this happened, with stablecoins in particular. Back in episode 6 we talked a bit about Stablecoins with what they are and how they work but as a quick refresher Stablecoins are tokens pegged to the value of a government-backed currency or fiat currencies such as the US dollar or commodities like silver or gold. Hence the name stablecoins because they are kept stable by being pegged to those assets and therefore can be traded 1 to 1 for them. But there are even some Stablecoins that are pegged to currencies with an algorithm which we will discuss in this episode.
Let’s answer first: what's the point of stablecoins? Stablecoins are seen as a safe haven to store cash without having to interact with the traditional financial system like banks or other regulated financial institutions. This means holding in a stablecoin allows crypto traders to both hold their money entirely on blockchains or in the crypto ecosystem without being burdened with the market fluctuation because stablecoins are supposed to be the least volatile. A lot of crypto traders hold stablecoins to easily go in and out of different crypto investments without using a traditional bank or fiat currency and can make for faster trades. Stablecoins are supposed to help crypto traders have a steady and less volatile place to park their cash and occupy a different role in the digital finance market because of this.

I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.

Before we begin into what Web3 or Web 3.0 is, let's take a step back. The very first version or first generation of the internet available to use, we know as the World Wide Web. This goes back to the early 90s, where it was primarily made up of static web pages connected by hyperlinks. Some of you may remember those annoying dial up tone high pitch squeals that sounded like this. That was the very first of its kind and we called it Web 1.0. Next came Web 2.0, the 2nd generation where the internet was used as a platform. We saw the rise of e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay as well as social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. People had the ability to interact with online platforms and publish content of their own websites as well. Cloud computing and smartphones were the large accelerators of growth for this.

Some people believe the problem with Web 2.0 is that internet users are required to surrender their personal data. If users want to use "free" services provided by the tech giants of the industry, they collect all the users' information and preferences while using these services. This personal information is then sold to third parties and often used to send specific ads to its users. And this is where the 3rd generation called Web3 or Web 3.0 comes in. Web 3.0 is believed to bring Internet technology that has the advantage of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and blockchain all together unified to achieve real-world human communication. It can potentially be open, trustless, and permissionless which we'll touch on in a bit. But first in this episode we will take a look at what Web 3.0 is, where it is now, where it’s possibly going in the future, and why it pertains to cryptocurrency.

I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.

Blockchain has been single handedly changing the tech industry with its ability to keep a decentralized encryption ledger. This technology has led to the evolution of cryptocurrency which has shaken up and changed the financial industry. There are so many other industries evolving with blockchain technology like the medical, real estate, supply chain, cyber security and the most recent being the art and entertainment industry. NFT’s or non-fungible tokens are the latest thing to come out evolving the art world. So let’s take a look at what these are, how they work, and what the possible bigger picture is for them.

Episode 21 - The basics about cryptocurrency exchanges
I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.
In this episode we are going to talk all about crypto exchanges. How crypto exchanges work, the difference between them, why they have different prices, and rules to live by finding the right exchange for you. Crypto exchanges are a pretty big critical function in the crypto ecosystem. Think of exchanges like the portal between the fiat world and the crypto world. There are currently thousands of digital currencies, and more get added every month. With the crypto world evolving investors, beginners and everyday people will need to understand where and how to do all transactions with cryptocurrencies. One of those ways is with a crypto exchange. Simplified, crypto exchanges make it possible to do 3 main things. They allow the exchange of one cryptocurrency for another, the buying and selling of coins, and the exchange of fiat money into cryptocurrency.

Episode 20 - Everything we need to know about blockchain including use cases
I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.
Blockchain. I am not a guru on blockchain nor do I claim to ever be when it comes to crypto or blockchain, but the coolest thing about cryptocurrency in my opinion is blockchain. It is estimated that global spending on blockchain technology will reach around $17.9 billion in 2024. So it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere considering the demand for it. Blockchain is the online digital ledger. Think of it as the blocks are what store data and as you add more blocks full of data they build the chain with one block after another, hence its name blockchain.
In this episode we will go over the basics of blockchain and some use cases such as NFT's, cybersecurity, smart contracts and IoT (Internet of Things).

Episode 19 - What would it mean if the Fed creates a Central Bank Digital Currency?
I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.
Recently the Federal Reserve came out and stated that it is beginning the talks over whether or not they should create a Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC and how it could improve a safe and effective domestic payments system. With this news coming out, there’s been a big heated debate about what this would ultimately entail. As it tries to figure out how to keep cash relevant in a cashless digital world. And we need to be clear that there is no determined date at the moment for this, and if they do say yes to this we don’t actually know when this will come to fruition. There is a MIT and Boston Fed test project in the works called Project Hamilton which is a high performance payment system specifically designed for a CBDC but again this is really just in the early phases.
If we do see a CBDC we would most likely see a direct bank account given to each U.S. citizen that the Fed would have access to to deposit funds. Think exactly like a banking app but with the Fed. China, for example, allows digital yuan payments in the cities in which the country is piloting its digital currency, and it allows citizens to make payments via an app set up by the government.
So many questions arise with this. Will stable coins survive if this happens? How would a US digital coin work with being centralized? What regulations and restrictions could be issued with this? How would this affect cryptocurrencies as a whole? One of the biggest concerns is what about privacy? Add in the differing opinions on all sides with it and it becomes a bit of cluster and confusion.
So let's take a look at what this all means.

Episode 18 - The “cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value” argument.
I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.
Maybe this will come off as an economics 101 lesson or a history of currency lesson but I really hope it doesn’t. This question gets asked so many times that I felt like it was a necessary episode to have. Let me clarify that this podcast is strictly for education, and I want you all to be better thinkers when it comes to this new technology and financial market. I am neither for nor against crypto. I think there’s a bigger picture that everyone should be thinking about with it though and I will get to that later.
The statements “cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value” or “how is cryptocurrency worth anything” often come up in discussions and many times it turns into a debate of all sorts. But I will get straight to the point with this and no sugar coating. There are 3 main characteristics any form of currency must have to be worth for trading. So let's dive in!

Episode 17 - What are airdrops, hard forks, soft forks and governance tokens?
I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.
Airdrops, hard forks, soft forks, and governance tokens. I know, I know…more terms for you to hear and digest. For those of you who are still trying to grasp this whole cryptocurrency environment I don’t think these terms will make or break you. Adding more crypto tools like these into your crypto toolbox will ultimately help you in your future crypto endeavors. With thousands of cryptocurrencies in circulation the number of people purchasing and investing in digital coins is rising.

Episode 16 - Protocols, yield farming, staking and mining in cryptocurrency.
I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.
These may sound like some big terms but there’s no need to worry. We will simplify these and make them easier to digest. It’s important to understand cryptocurrency may be decentralized but it still has rules you have to follow especially when it comes to the blockchain. Let’s understand that Bitcoin's blockchain is different from Ethereum's blockchain. And to clarify quickly each coin can have its own blockchain but tokens do not. Blockchain’s rules are called protocols. Protocols allow digital money to be securely exchanged on the internet. They are the basic sets of rules that allow data to be shared between computers or nodes and that data can be either peer to peer payments, or file exchanges between to nodes, or even digital art work. The specific blockchain running will set the rules.
Why am I mentioning protocols? Because these rules help you understand what exactly you can and can’t do with cryptocurrency and specific coins and tokens. Especially when it comes to staking, mining, and yield farming. People often think decentralization means there’s no rules, but that just strictly means there is no central authority like we have learned in previous episodes. For a quick example, one of Bitcoin’s protocols is the double-spend problem, meaning Bitcoin can’t be spent simultaneously more than once. Think of it like if you bought a concert ticket from a stranger only to discover that it’s already been scanned by someone else. Bitcoins blockchain protocol prevents this from happening. So what does this have to do with mining or staking?
So et’s get into it.

I need to start off by saying this is not financial advice so if you are looking for that this show isn’t for you. The content of this podcast episode is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are not meant to be taken as financial, investment, or any other advice.

Many associate cryptocurrency with being illegal, as well as with the dark web, illegal gun trades, sex trades or trafficking, illegal drugs or even terrorism funding. Which to be fair has a lot of pop culture stigma and reference to it thanks to Hollywood. I wanted to really dive into this to show the percentages and data of what illegal activities were actually happening involving crypto. Cryptocurrency is so new and the data will change frequently and we’ll see new laws and regulations added and changed within the next few years to decades because of it. The digital world itself is so new and it has really blown up only in this last decade, especially involving digital coins or cryptocurrency. So let's get started down the rabbit-hole so to speak.