Cryptocurrency

Crypto prices and NFTs are hogging the headlines, but they are just the most visible components of a rapidly growing decentralized financial system (DeFi) that has the potential to significantly challenge how we buy, sell, and trade just about everything. Blockchain and cryptocurrency may seem like a new thing, but they have been around for over 10 years. The problem is that the world of crypto can be very confusing with all the jargon, acronyms, and other unfamiliar words. This brief overview will introduce you to some of the basic areas through a series of links to the most prominent organizations, platforms, and toolsets. Continue Reading →

Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange. It trades under the ticker symbol COIN. It makes most of its money on trades involving Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), but also lets you exchange about 50 other cryptocurrencies. Almost everyone you know who has a substantial amount of BTC or ETH has done at least a few trades on Coinbase. Continue Reading →

Visa announced plans to use its payment network to settle USD Coin (USDC) transactions. USDC tokens are stablecoins, pegged to the value of a US dollar. Continue Reading →

We’re in the middle of a cryptocurrency bubble and an NFT (non-fungible token) craze. For context, the price of a Bitcoin (BTC) is bubbling around $56,000. The price of an Ether (ETH) is just over $1,700. That sounds bubbly, but this column is not about financial advice. I’m going to teach you, step by step, how to build a very small cryptocurrency mining operation so you can get a deeper understanding of the process. Continue Reading →

On average, minting a new NFT takes about 130 kWh of electricity. That's about $27 worth of electricity here in NYC. Selling your NFT will use about 340 kWh of juice, which is about $71 per transaction, which is enough electricity to power your whole house for about two weeks or run your refrigerator for a year. Continue Reading →

A smart contract is just like an old-fashioned verbal or paper contract except with a smart contract, the conditions can be met digitally. Smart contracts are not new, but they are newly relevant (and a bit overhyped) because they are an awesome, non-cryptocurrency use of blockchain technology. Continue Reading →

Blockchain is the underlying technology that powers bitcoin, altcoins (other cryptocurrencies), NFTs, smart contracts and DAOs. Distributed ledgers, the term of art for blockchain’s underlying technology, offer a way to transact business without relying on a central authority. Here’s a nontechnical, simplified description of the component parts. Continue Reading →