FAQs

Crypto has so many amazing uses – it can bull and bear, moon and dip, even get you food to dip in sauce. But today I’m here to talk to you about something even more incredible: how crypto can help us cure cancer.

The World Community Grid is a volunteer research project which is working on mapping the relationship between genes and health outcomes. Recently, they’ve made some exciting news: they’ve identified 26 new genes associated with lung cancer. To do this, they crunch billions of data points over many years, using the computers of volunteers. That’s a huge amount of computing power – every day they burn through about 240 years of computation on just one computer!

But the really cool thing about this is that World Community Grid is one of a dozen projects which is incentivized by r/Gridcoin. Instead of paying miners to calculate hashes, Gridcoin pays them to contribute their processing power to science projects. This includes World Community Grid, Folding@Home, Alzheimer’s research, pulsar mapping, and more. It’s been doing this since 2013 when they asked “What if all that hashpower going towards Bitcoin went to science?”

So if you want to learn more about how crypto can help with science, take a look at the coin-neutral space at /r/cryptoforscience. I’m always so amazed by all the incredible things crypto can do!

73-year-old US Senator Elizabeth Warren recently launched a re-election campaign that was critical of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In an interview with Meet The Press, she criticized Bitcoin for being “backed by nothing” and advocated for a US central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a safer alternative.

The idea of a CBDC has been met with a strong backlash on social media. Many people feel that Senator Warren is pushing her own agenda and is not representing the will of her constituents. Others point out that a CBDC would remove the need for banks in many situations and could be a dystopian horror. There is also criticism about how Senator Warren has pretended to be a Native American for decades.

At the end of the day, cryptocurrencies are unstoppable, no matter who is in power. As long as there is a demand for them, they will continue to grow. The weekend may be over but the future of cryptocurrencies is still in the making.

Last week, Arbitrum distributed tokens with a tokenomics design that locked the team and VC allocations for a year. However, in their first governance proposal, they recently proposed to grant themselves another 750 million ARB tokens worth almost $1 billion from the DAO, to be allocated to an “Administrative Budget Wallet”.

The proposal looks suspiciously like a blatant cash grab. The team is basically trying to siphon funds from the DAO, under the guise of operational and administrative efficiency. We have seen countless examples of teams cashing out of treasury funds in the crypto space, but this is the first instance of a team creating a new channel of funding while their own allocation remains locked.

Many groups have already raised alarm over the proposal, with Blockworks Research even voting against it. The 750 million tokens were supposed to be part of the treasury, but now they are under the centralized control of three people.

Unfortunately, these kinds of shady activities make people like Gensler right – that much of the cryptocurrency industry is unregulated and filled with poor practices. This is why we need stronger regulations and stricter enforcement of existing rules in order to protect users and investors.

It’s been a wild week in the world of crypto. Bitcoin started to pump like crazy, gaining around 30% in three days while the banking sector was imploding. This was a major milestone, showing that the trust-less alternative to banks that Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned was actually beginning to take shape.

Looking at the data, it’s clearer than ever that this crypto pump was mainly driven by retail users. A chart made by MitchellHODL on Twitter shows how small investors (shrimps) with holdings of 0.1 to 1 BTC were accumulating during the same time that banks were collapsing at the highest single-day pace since the FTX collapse in November. This shows that people who were affected the most by the financial uncertainty were turning to crypto as an alternative, potentially helping to drive the surge in Bitcoin’s value.

It’s amazing to see Bitcoin doing exactly what it was intended for: not as an inflation-hedge or a recession hedge, but as a bank-hedge. With banks in panic mode and Bitcoin pumping hard, this is truly a dream come true for many crypto enthusiasts.

The US government’s prejudice is clear. FRC First Republic Bank (FRC) has been hit hard with a 90% drop in its share price, with its charts looking worse than ever. Despite this, there have been attempts to revive the bank and the injection of $40bn in deposits by JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and other major banks last week. Unfortunately, this week it became clear this wouldn’t be enough, and there is ongoing discussion about how to save FRC. A buyout by a bigger bank and raising fresh capital are still possibilities, and the bank continues to operate in its weakened state.

Contrast this with Signature Bank (SBNY) which was shut down without hesitation despite its share price the day before closing at a respectable $70. Despite claims by the director of the bank that withdrawals were still manageable, the bank was shut down due to its pro-crypto stance. No attempts were made to revive SBNY, no chance was given to improve its liquidity or raise external capital. It was just shut down overnight.

It is evident that the US government’s bias is shown in the way different banks are treated. While FRC is being given a chance to improve its situation, SBNY was not given the opportunity. This unfairness raises questions about how the government approaches the banking sector, and it should be addressed.

As someone who has grown up in Venezuela, I had the incredible opportunity yesterday to do something that many of us here never thought would be possible: I paid for my purchases at a supermarket with Bitcoin. I had already picked up some fresh fruits, vegetables and chicken from the farmers market, and it was time to pay for the groceries.

When I walked up to the cashier, I told them that I wanted to pay with cryptocurrency. Their system then showed me a selection of different coins, with the amount shown in Bolivares (Bs.) which was 725 Bs., which is approximately 30 USD at the current exchange rate of 1 USD to 24.2 Bs. The cashier mentioned that they would soon be adding Bitcoin Lightning (BTC LN) as well.

I settled on Bitcoin, and the system then showed me the amount in Bitcoin. At the time, Bitcoin was very volatile and was trading around 27,200 USD, so using that rate, I paid around 34 USD for my groceries. It seemed like a strange amount because it was around 4 USD more than what I was expecting to pay. I suspect this was due to a fixed fee, as it wouldn’t make sense if it was a 10% fee.

Finally, the system showed me a QR code which I had to scan. After scanning it, I had to wait for at least one confirmation before the cashier could press the ‘payment received’ button. It took a few minutes, but eventually I got the confirmation and the cashier checked a blockchain explorer to make sure that the payment matched the amount. After that was confirmed, the payment was complete.

It was an incredible experience being able to pay directly with Bitcoin in a supermarket. This is a huge step forward for cryptocurrency adoption in Venezuela, and I am excited to see what other possibilities the future holds.

The United States government holds a substantial amount of Bitcoin in its coffers – over 205,000 BTC, to be exact. This number accounts for over 1% of the total circulating supply of Bitcoin. Where did this Bitcoin come from?

The first case involved a mysterious individual, dubbed “Individual X.” This person managed to take 69,369 BTC from the Silk Road marketplace account and the US government was able to find out who the person was. The individual signed a consent and agreement to forfeiture with the US attorney’s office, handing over the said amount of Bitcoin.

The second case was announced on February 8th 2022, where the US Department of Justice announced the seizure of 94,636 BTC linked to the 2016 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.

The third case was announced on November 7th 2022, where James Zhong pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud in September 2022. He had unlawfully obtained over 50,000 BTC from the Silk Road marketplace.

Now that we know where the US government’s Bitcoin holdings come from, it’s worth taking a look at how these holdings compare to other large holders.

Coinbase holds the most BTC with 2 million BTC, making up 10.34% of the circulating supply. This is followed by Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, who holds 1.1 million BTC (5.69%). Grayscale is third, with 643,572 BTC (3.32%), followed by Binance with 248,597 BTC (1.28%). The US government is fifth largest holder, with 205,515 BTC (1.06%), followed by MicroStrategy with 124,391 BTC (0.64%), the Winklevoss twins with 70,000 BTC (0.36%), Tesla with 42,902 BTC (0.22%) and El Salvador with 2,381 BTC (0.012%).

It’s shocking to see just how large Coinbase’s holdings are compared to other large holders. With 10.34% of the circulating supply, Coinbase is one of the largest holders of Bitcoin in the world. The US government, on the other hand, holds a respectable amount of Bitcoin, as it has confiscated over 205,000 BTC from three separate cases. This accounts for over 1% of the circulating supply, which isn’t too shabby.

As the crypto market tumbles, Lamborghini is reminding crypto bros that they won’t accept used Lamborghinis just because the market is tanking. Mike, a self-proclaimed crypto bro, is facing the realization that he may have to pay back the loans he took out to buy his lime-green Lambo.

Wendy’s, a popular place for crypto bros to work, is no longer hiring. Thankfully, McDonald’s has announced that they are willing to help crypto bros and others who are facing market uncertainty. They will accept applicants willing to work for minimum wage with no overtime and no complaints. However, those interested should move fast since the job opening may not last long.

Unfortunately, times are tough for crypto bros and all investors affected by the falling crypto market. The market, which many thought would only go up after its high in 2018, has seen its value drop drastically in the past few months.

Despite the uncertain times, Mike and other crypto bros should look on the bright side. There are still some opportunities out there, even if they aren’t as glamorous as they used to be. Crypto bros should take the chance to invest in more stable markets, such as stocks and bonds, or to find work in more secure job markets.

The current crypto market is a reminder that no market is safe from downturns, and no investor should be overconfident that their investments will only rise in value. The crypto market may eventually recover and even reach new heights, but investors should always be aware of the risks and be prepared for the worst.

It has been a tumultuous week for the US banking industry, with three banks closing their doors due to poor management, mismanagement of risk, and poor regulation. However, many articles have attempted to pin the blame for these bank failures on cryptocurrency, despite the fact that none of the banks held any cryptocurrency in their balance sheets.

Barney Frank, the former Congressman who was instrumental in the establishment of the Dodd-Frank Act, was one of the most prominent figures blaming cryptocurrency for the bank failures. Frank argued that cryptocurrency was a “common element” in the bank failures, a claim that is simply not true.

Risky bets on cryptocurrency were also blamed for the closure of Signature Bank, as well as a bank that was focused on crypto. However, the real culprit was the banks’ mismanagement of their treasury portfolios, not their investments in cryptocurrency.

The Wall Street Journal also weighed in with an article titled “Crypto Crypto”, which continued to blame the bank closures on cryptocurrency. The reality is that cryptocurrency has nothing to do with the bank failures, and that the banks were shuttered due to their mismanagement of their treasury portfolios and the poor regulation that allowed a run on these banks.

It is clear that cryptocurrency is currently the biggest scapegoat for the banking industry’s woes, and the current administration is taking full advantage of this scapegoat to deflect attention away from their own mismanagement and regulation of the banking sector. The truth is that bank closures are the result of poor management and regulation, not cryptocurrency investments.

It’s been an exciting week for justice fans with some of the world’s most notorious fraudsters facing the heat. This week, the Montenegrin police have detained one of the most wanted fugitives in the world, Do Kwon, the co-founder and CEO of Singapore based Terraform Labs.

Do Kwon, often referred to as the “cryptocurrency king” is responsible for causing losses of more than $40 billion and was caught at the Podgorica airport carrying falsified documents. South Korea, USA and Singapore are all demanding his extradition.

As Montenegro’s Minister of Interior, Filip Adzic tweeted, this person is the reason thousands of families had their lives destroyed. Do Kwon was a notorious crypto shill, who had built a fake ecosystem based on spoofed transactions and had even managed to orchestrate a secret bailout of his own funds while telling the public it was the “strength of his algorithm”.

Do Kwon’s lack of empathy for the people he had defrauded was evident when he made jokes at the expense of retail investors who had committed suicide. It is only fitting that the full force of the law descends on Do Kwon for his actions.

It is still unclear how Do Kwon managed to make his way to Montenegro, a small country in the Balkans, in the first place. There have been no denials from Do Kwon yet, leading many to believe that the police have caught the real culprit. It is only a matter of time before the official confirmation of identity arrives.