If you’re like me – the only crypto person representing the entire industry at the dinner table this Thanksgiving – you’re probably also expecting the usual barrage of questions full of preconceived judgments about Web3, crypto and blockchain.
Let’s think about all these questions before we fall into a food-induced daze, and maybe this year we can finally be grateful that we were finally able to get through to your most skeptical aunt.
What’s up with the crypto guy that was in the news?
FTX, SBF, FBI, SEC – an alarming jumble of letters that heralds some stressful times ahead for our industry. In short, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) committed fraud using an exchange he created.
At the end of the day, cheating is cheating. Bankman-Fried committed fraud using crypto and Web3, and no, his actions do not reflect the entire industry. Think about the Internet. We can use it to order double chocolate cookies to our door or sell fake autographed pictures of Elvis.
Read more: SBF is guilty: what happens next?
Using a technology like the Internet as we know it, or Web3, does not make it inherently bad. The fact that Bankman-Fried uses a crypto exchange to steal money from his customers does not make crypto fundamentally bad.
Bitcoins and Doggiecoins? Did I miss something?
Bitcoin is crypto (a cryptocurrency), just like Ether and Dogecoin (or Doggie Coin as my cousin prefers to call it). In fact, there are thousands of cryptocurrencies with different advantages and disadvantages. Some people love speculating on crypto prices, some people think they are securities, and some people move to Miami because of them.
Read more: Gensler: Bitcoin is not a security, but tokenized Pokémon cards may be
The interesting thing about them, at least to me, is what they were able to do. Think borderless payments, intermediary-free contracts and a more accessible financial system. We’re working on it.
Is it called Crypto or Web3 or what?
We enjoy arbitrarily changing the term we use to maintain a sense of intellectual superiority, but when it comes down to it:
Crypto often refers to the industry, more specifically cryptocurrencies (think Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.).
Blockchain technology is the technology that powers everything – essentially a ledger that can be used without the traditional trust and intermediaries that our current systems require, and is permanent and cannot be edited.
Web3 is the big umbrella term that covers everything we talk about, from cryptocurrency to blockchain to the applications built on blockchain networks. We like to think we are building a new internet. What most of us use now is Web2 (think Google, Amazon, current websites, etc.), and Web3 is a step forward to improve everything by giving you control over your own data and money.
Isn’t crypto terrible for the environment?
Technology and our current financial system (banks, credit cards, etc.) require energy. Our industry is no exception. Cryptocurrencies have gotten a bad rap because of Bitcoin’s high energy consumption, but many projects have changed their approach to be much more environmentally friendly by changing the way they work (Ethereum has done this), paying for CO2 removal, or shifting their energy sources . Today, research shows that Bitcoin is powered primarily by renewable energy sources and in some cases even reduces harmful emissions.
Where do you work (a short key)?
I work in a new technology area called Web3. A year sometimes feels like five, which is why I look significantly older this year.
If you work for Layer 1: I work in an emerging technology field for a project focused on the base layer of Web3, a new version of the Internet. A Layer-1 or L1 is what the whole world of other projects are built on. Think of Nintendo 64 as Layer-1 and Starfox as the project built on top of it.
If you work for a Layer 2: I’m working for a project that aims to improve the base layer of Web3 by making it easier to use – faster and leaner or just adding advanced functionality. In this case, think of the base layer (L1) as an N64 controller and layer 2 (L2) as a rumble pack.
If you work for a crypto-focused investment firm: I work for a firm that funds various projects such as Layer-1s, Layer-2s, etc.
I know it’s still confusing, it’s not just you. I’ve heard different questions over the past five Thanksgiving days and I’m really grateful that you’re still curious about everything. Just like stuffing recipes, there are differences in the way we do things and we don’t even agree on everything. It’s all going to stay a little stressful and a little different until this new technology fades into the background and becomes something we use without really thinking about it.
Please pass the cranberry sauce.
Kelsey McGuire is Chief Growth Officer at Shardeum. Previously, Kelsey served as CMO at crypto investment firm CoinFund. Previously, she also led partner marketing at Celo and held leadership positions in marketing at ConsenSys.
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